General Election 2024: Jobs, allies key challenges for PM Modi’s re-election bid

As India prepares for its next general elections scheduled to be held in early 2024, all eyes are on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and whether he will secure a third consecutive term. Riding high on his continued popularity, Modi remains the frontrunner for 2024. However, he faces some emerging challenges that could complicate his re-election […]

L&T to build ministry offices under central vista project

Larsen & Toubro, India’s largest construction company, said it won a contract from the union government to build three 10-storeyed buildings that form part of the new central secretariat. The union government is current redeveloping the central vista — the hub of administration in India that houses most of the major ministries and departments of […]

Modi on China: World ready to fight expansionist powers

In his most direct attack against China’s encroachment on the Indian border, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said everyone should understand that the age of expansionism is over, and that the world today is determined and ready to fight any such power. “Friends, the age of expansionism is over,” Modi said, in a thinly veiled […]

RISING COVID-19 CASES: Is India’s lock-down a total failure?

The first case of COVID-19 in India was reported 67 days ago on January 30 in Kerala. It was only after 55 days that India imposed a countrywide lockdown to prevent the virus from spreading. In those 55 days, the Coronavirus infected around 500 people — at an average rate of 9 new infections per […]

Modi says violent protests ‘deeply distressing’

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed as ‘deeply distressing’ the violent protests taking place against his government’s move to lend a sympathetic ear to non-Muslims when evaluating whether to deport illegal immigrants to their Islamic homelands. The Citizenship Amendment Act passed last week allows non-Muslim illegal migrants from neighboring Islamic countries to remain in the […]

COLUMN: Why we should welcome a recession

Subramanian Swamy is often accused of propagating outlandish ideas and suggestions, but at least on the issue of addressing a slowdown in India’s GDP growth, he seems to be closer to the truth than India’s ruling establishment. Both Sitharaman and Swamy are united in recognizing the need for a ‘stimulus’ to nudge the economy from […]

Chidambaram’s Arrest: A Breakdown in Lutyen’s Consensus?

The arrest of former finance minister P Chidambaram has thrown many critics of the current administration into a quandary. On the one hand, they know that there may be some truth to the allegations of corruption made by the investigating agencies. They would, therefore, like nothing better than for corrupt politicians to be probed just […]

Milind Deora says businessmen scared, afraid of speaking out

Milind Deora, head of Congress Party’s Mumbai unit who is known to be close to the business community of the country, said businessmen in the country are feeling uneasy about the current climate, but not speaking out due to fear. Deora, who was speaking in the context of the suicide of entrepreneur and businessman VG […]

SpiceJet’s Ajay Singh blasts Govt’s approach towards aviation

Ajay Singh, Chairman of Spicejet and the man who came up with the slogan ‘Abki Bar Modi Sarkar’, today blasted the government’s approach towards the aviation sector. Speaking at the 12th International Conference-cum-Awards on Civil Aviation & Cargo by FICCI, Singh was unsparing in his criticism of government’s taxation policy towards his industry. “There is […]

COLUMN: What are Congress’ post-Rahul options?

Battered by the party’s second-worst defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi is most likely to submit his resignation at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Saturday. The Congress scion, who took ‘100 percent responsibility’ for the embarrassing loss in the polls, has insisted on resigning as the party boss. While […]

Masood Azhar’s terror tag more a diplomatic victory than a strategic win

In what is considered a major diplomatic victory for India and an extra push for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the middle of the general elections, the United Nations (UN) on Wednesday declared Masood Azhar, chief of Pakistan based terror group Jaish-e –Mohammad, a designated terrorist. The way was cleared for declaring the terror […]

Rahul Gandhi nixes Priyanka’s Varanasi plans – report

“I will leave you in suspense” is what Congress President Rahul Gandhi said eight days ago when asked about rumors of his sister’s candidature in Varanasi. Now, with just four days remaining to file nominations in Varanasi, it looks like Gandhi is willing to end the suspense According to reports of multiple TV channels, including […]

Ujjwala LPG scheme crosses 7 cr customers

The government’s ‘free LPG connection’ scheme, Ujjwala scheme has crossed the 7 crore-target, making it one of the most successful programs of the current government. The scheme launched on May 1, 2016 with a target of providing LPG connections to 5 crore low-income households, and achieved the target in a record of time of 28 […]

Mobile data prices down 96% under Modi

Prices of mobile data have crashed by 96% under Modi’s tenure, while those of voice services fell by 76%, according to data released by Department of Telecom. On average, 1 GB of mobile data used to cost Rs 254.95 in December 2014, DoT said, while its price has fallen to just Rs 10.91 for the […]

Modi govt schemes well-regarded in rural areas-Phillip Capital

Broking firm Phillip Capital said it saw “good execution” and “very positive feedback” on central government policies announced by Modi government over the last four years in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, and said a close fight — regardless of the outcome — would not have a significant impact on the stock markets. “We keep hearing […]