One of the major paradigm shifts one sees of late in India’s political economy is a focus on states. With terms like competitive and cooperative federalism floating around and becoming part of the political and economic lexicon, it is important to have an in-depth understanding of the factors that define these terms. The concept of […]
Stressing on the point that he was not a “VVIP or VIP”, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra on Saturday said he wanted his name to be removed from the “no-frisking” list at the country’s airports. Vadra also expressed doubts about “double standards” of the government as on the one hand it says his […]
By: Charu Bahri New Delhi: In January, the government asked for public opinion on tougher new laws to curb smoking: To raise the minimum smoking age to 21 from 18, and to ban the sale of single cigarettes, which account for 70 percent of nationwide cigarette sales. People responded enthusiastically; 45,000 emails and 100,000 […]
Vale Bart Cummings, a giant of Australian Racing. Born in South Australia, Bart dominated racing in Victoria and passed away peacefully in Sydney this morning. Bart’s record in Victoria is unlikely to be matched with a remarkable 12 Melbourne Cups. He also had success in NSW, winning four Golden Slippers amongst his 268 Group One […]
Nearly 75 percent of all cigarettes in India are sold as single sticks valued at close to 30 percent of the Rs.35,000 crore (over $5 billion) Indian market, an international journal says. The sale of single cigarettes, which is not in the interest of public health, is an important factor for early experimentation, initiation and […]
Did Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose die of third-degree burns on August 18, 1945, after his plane crashed in Formosa (now Taiwan) or did he survive and escape to Siberia? Or was the “‘crash”‘a mere hoax to help him flee to safety? The questions have been haunting, agitating and engaging Indians, in particular Bengalis, for 70 […]
Of the many freedom fighters who liberated India from the 200-year-long British rule, one was Gour Hari Das, whose struggle didn’t end even after independence. He says his 32 years of struggle to prove his status as a freedom fighter, “speaks for the fault line in our governance” where because of misuse of political power, […]
With the Indian tricolour fluttering everywhere from the Red Fort to the neighbourhood school to the bonnet of a swanky Mercedes to a hand-pulled rickshaw, patriotism seems to know no barrier. However, with vested interests trying to pit patriotism against religion and vice versa, the innate feeling of national pride will be under siege of […]
Hyderabad The Tirupati laddu, given away as ‘prasad’ at the hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara at Tirupati, has entered its 300th year. Temple officials say the sacred offering was introduced on August 2, 1715. No pilgrimage to the world’s richest Hindu temple is complete without the laddu, made from flour, sugar, ghee, oil, cardamom and […]
Chennai Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged movie stars, youths and others to use handloom products to give a much needed boost to the sector. “If movie actors decide to use only handloom and handicraft products in one out of their five movies, then those movies will automatically attract good viewership,” Modi said. Modi said film […]