The Union Budget seems to have elicited a starkly opposite view from rural India compared to urbanites, says Mahesh Vyas.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Alhluwalia has said that a person who can spend Rs 32 a day in urban India -- and Rs 26 a day in rural India -- is not poor and that he is above the poverty line.
Banks now ride on what is defined as a "banking outlet". This is a fixed-point service unit, manned by either the bank's staff or its business correspondent (BC), where all kinds of services - acceptance of deposits, encashment of cheques, cash withdrawal or lending of money - are provided for a minimum of four hours per day, for at least five days a week. Banks are now turning to reposition the manner in which they acquire customers, report Abhijit Lele and Raghu Mohan.
Rihanna, who has frequently spoken out on issues such as LGBTQIA+ rights and racism, is the fourth most followed person, with 101.3 million followers, on Twitter after former US president Barack Obama and singers Justin Bieber and Katy Perry. Her tweet on India's farmers received hundreds of thousands of retweets and likes.
While the New Delhi Municipal Council area was given the 'Cleanest Small City' award, Uttarakhand's Gauchar was adjudged the 'Best Ganga Town' in the central government survey.
While sales of compact cars, including models such as Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno and Dzire declined, sales of utility vehicles, including Vitara Brezza, S-Cross and Ertiga, increased 26.3 per cent to 19,177 units as compared to 15,178 in the year-ago month.
Hindustan Unilever Ltd, India's largest personal care product maker, on Tuesday reported a better-than-expected increase in its September quarter net profit and revenues, signalling a revival of demand following the world's biggest lockdown.
'The BJP and RSS accept that the party is winning election after election because of Modi.' 'If the BJP is winning due to Modi, it will also lose due to Modi.'
Rural inflation running higher than urban: HSBC
'Should we need just one day in a year to talk about their achievements?', asks Aarti David.
Indian Matchmaking has clearly been produced to pander to Western audiences's awful fascination with the institution of arranged marriage, notes Kanika Datta.
If everyone had decent meaningful jobs, the rally maidans would be largely empty and, save for the Akhara babas and curious foreigners and the devout senior citizens, not very many would spare time for the Kumbh Mela, says Mahesh Vyas.
Cities have also see a decline in the savings rate.
You may not believe it but data show average real appreciation in residential property in urban India over 2007-14 was zero.
'Wine bars there are, in plenty, in Karnataka,' notes Alok Chandra.
Deane De Menezes hopes to reduce the awkwardness and stigma around menstruation.
Rediff.com's Paloma Sharma visits a few polling stations in Mira Road, a town located to the north of Mumbai, to listen to the voters' polling experience.
Why it isn't a good idea!
'Painting opponents as the enemy of the State, using fake news, making wild allegations about rival parties, curtailing civil liberties and challenging the Constitution itself are worrying developments.'
Newspaper readership was 50 per cent in the 16-19 year age group, the highest in any age segment, followed by 42 per cent each in the 12-15 years and 20-29 year age group.
The project, which has been in the making for five years, includes a 550-metre twin tunnel and a 9.29 km elevated road.
The hounding of Rhea Chakraborty in the Sushant Singh Rajput case is a drug that is being carefully pumped into India's veins to make it comfortably numb as it is wracked by economic ruin and disease, notes Sumit Bhattacharya.
Knight Frank and Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors in their report said that 10 million homes will be delivered by 2022 as targeted by the government.
'Investors need to diversify at least 30% to 50% of their liquid wealth across different markets, asset classes, and instruments across the world.' 'Do this with proper guidance and advice.' 'Global investing is complicated, but if done right, is extremely rewarding.'
In the past decade-and-a-half, sections of urban India have become much more liberal about accepting gay men and women than our colonial-era laws might have suggested, says Rahul Jacob.
Rediff Labs mapped the survey result of the cities based on the national rank secured in Swachh Survekshan 2017.
The conventional wisdom among political parties was while urban India makes noise, it is rural India that can make or break their chances to capture power. Not any more. Mayank Mishra reports
Obesity is one of India's greatest health problems. In a country where 50 per cent of its population is under 25 years of age, this can have serious repercussions.
Rather than going for a string of meaningless one night stands, popular in western countries, the youth in India seem to prefer the long-term stability of 'friends with benefits'.
Mercer, the human-resources consulting firm, recently analysed living conditions in cities according to 39 factors, worked out basically to compensate employees of multinational companies when they are located in different cities of the world.
Indian online shoppers spent an average of $224 in 2017, which was less than a tenth of what the average user spent online in the US at $2,237 in the same year
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat has sparked outrage with his statement that when he said rape is mainly prevalent in urban India due to western influence and that such crimes against women do not happen in rural areas of the country.The remark that came against the backdrop of the Delhi gangrape incident was slammed by the Congress, CPI-M and women's bodies while the BJP and RSS defended it saying the comment should be taken in proper perspective.
In urban India, the fall in rice consumption was 0.2 kg per person per month.
Slums in urban India symbolise both hope and despair.
'There appears to be no end to the errors that our leaders are willing to commit and no risk they are unwilling to run,' notes Mihir S Sharma.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat, who stoked a controversy a few days ago saying that rapes do not take place in rural but urban India, has created a fresh row now with remarks that a woman is bound by contract to husband to look after him.
Those who have been handed the pink slip shouldn't make too many loan queries, advises Raj Khosla.
Investment in infrastructure was necessary for the economy, as power shortages, inadequate transport and poor connectivity affect overall growth performance, as per the Economic Survey 2019-20 tabled in Parliament by Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. "To achieve GDP of USD 5 trillion by 2024-25, India needs to spend about USD 1.4 trillion (Rs 100 lakh crore) over these years on infrastructure so that a lack of infrastructure does not become a constraint to growth," it said.
