The Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government of India is ramping up defense cooperation with the United States, and will restart COPE INDIA, a mock combat exercise between the US and Indian Air Force. COPE INDIA was first conducted in 2004, and subsequently in 2005, 2006 and 2009, after which it was abandoned. The exercise […]
In the so-called ‘post truth’ politics, facts and ideology do not have a place – it is emotion and rhetoric that counts. When Nitish Kumar decided to part ways with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in late 2013 opposing the elevation of Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate of its alliance partner BJP, the reason […]
The Prime Minister’s office today said the government has not appointed a Lokpal at the center yet as there is no leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha. According to the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act passed in 2013, the center is supposed to appoint a Lokpal as an ombudsman for corruption related issues. “The […]
Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal took to his account to protest the deletion of several AAP accounts after the social media company changed its anti-abuse algorithm. Three days ago, Twitter had said that it was putting in more safeguards against abuse and manipulation on its platform — a very widespread complaint. “This week we’re […]
Private equity and venture capital firms are largely bullish on India in the context of big economic reforms, but are awaiting the results of the ongoing Uttar Pradesh elections to assess the level of popular support that such policies enjoy, according to a survey by VCCircle. VCCircle, which tracks private investment activity in India, said […]
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today denied that the withdrawal of high-value currency notes was a failure. Speaking in the lower house of Parliament today, Modi said demonetization has created a money trail that can be used to ‘bring everyone into the mainstream’ of taxation. [iframe src=”https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FBJP4India%2Fvideos%2F1516617298378788″] “You know how it used to be in the […]
Former Supreme Court judge and a keen observer of Indian politics, Markandey Katju has predicted a win for the Samajwadi Party led by Akhilesh Yadav in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. BJP, which is seen as a strong contender by many, would be negatively impacted due to the impact of demonetization and the clean […]
Narendra Modi announced several ‘prize schemes’ to promote cashless transactions. Under the schemes announced today, there will be two sets of prizes for consumers and another for small merchants. Under the first scheme, any customer who uses any electronic form of payment, including wallets and debit cards, will qualify for a ‘lucky draw’ of Rs […]
Opening a new front in the fight against black money, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said people who were forced or tricked into depositing other people’s money into their bank accounts may be allowed to keep the entire sum for themselves. “Do not touch that money,” Modi said, addressing a rally in UP. “I am […]
As part of the ongoing crackdown on tax evasion and illicit funds, the Bharatiya Janata Party has asked all its MPs and MLAs to submit the full details of their banking transactions from Nov 8 onwards. The central leadership of the party will examine the bank statements of these representatives to check for any illegal […]
For long, the Bharatiya Janata Party held the upper hand on Twitter — which — along with comment boards on news websites — forms the ‘wild west’ of political online campaigning in India with large-scale manipulation, ‘fake’ accounts, bullying and targeted attacks. Not to be outdone, the Aam Aadmi Party — or some of its […]
The government has banned over-the-counter exchange of old 500- and 1000-rupee notes due to suspected gaming of the system by those with black money. According to banking industry sources, the over-the-counter exchange system was being massively misused by hawala operators and others who had illegal funds to convert their old currency into new notes. “The system […]
Ratan Tata, one of the most respected business figures in India and the chairman of Tata Trusts, has drawn attention to the practical difficulties faced by ordinary citizens in dealing with the ongoing currency exchange program. Tata, who was one of the first business leaders to extend a hand of friendship to Narendra Modi when […]
Congress Party leader Pramod Tiwari caused a flutter today in the Rajya Sabha after he compared India’s prime minister Narendra Modi to Hitler, Mussolini and Gaddafi, saying that Modi has moved from the company of great leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru to that of well-known dictators with his demonetization drive. “When history is written, and a […]
Nationalist Congress Party leader Praful Patel said political parties are facing a lot of problems in fighting elections due to the ongoing crack-down on cash by Narendra Modi government. “You know what is going on with fighting elections.. you have also been a treasurer,” Patel said in the Rajya Sabha today, looking at a fellow […]
It’s a question that has plagued the best minds of the country and no one has yet been able to figure out why the government came up with a 2,000-rupee note when it had got rid of the Rs 1000 note to control black money. However, Mehul Shah, a chartered accountant from Surat has come […]
Former finance minister P Chidambaram said the previous Congress governments had also considered attacking black money by swapping currency notes, but decided against it as it was considered too costly. Talking to mediapersons, Chidambaram said the cost of swapping the notes would be between Rs 15,000-20,000 cr and the benefit should at least be equal […]
[polldaddy poll=9575194] Expect the unexpected is the case what we see in gold price today. The country saw a sudden hike in the gold price today as Rs 30,820 for 10 grams from yesterdays price of Rs 30,024. The price for 10 grams has rose by 796 rupees from yesterday in India. UPDATE: As of […]
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated three hydro-electric projects in Himachal Pradesh, representing 1,732 MW of generating capacity, to the nation today. The biggest of the three is NTPC’s Koldam, which has four generating units of 200 MW each. The second biggest was Parbati Stage-III, which comprises 4 units of 130 MW each and is operated […]
The Indian Cabinet today approved extending ‘permanent residency’ to foreign investors. So far, one had to be a citizen to be a permanent resident in the country. Others faced hassles such as regular attendance at foreigners registration offices and visa extensions if they were to continue to remain in the country. The present tenure of […]
