Trying times in Trumpland
By Arun Kumar Washington, Feb 11 (IANS) The thrice-married President didn’t get any time for his “political honeymoon”. But Donald Trump is all set for an extended “court-ship” of a different kind. “SEE YOU IN…
Commentary
Building tranquil homes in crowded cities
By Preeti Harit Development brings better facilities, improved lifestyles and economic growth. It also brings us crowding cities, noise and pollution. Villages turn into towns and towns into cities and cities can’t stop expanding. The…
Theatre of the absurd in Tamil Nadu
By Amulya Ganguli The tradition of hero worship has queered the pitch for the succession battle in Tamil Nadu. In normal circumstances, it should have been up to the MLAs to choose the next Chief…
If Kejriwal wins Punjab, it will alter course of politics
By Saeed Naqvi The emerging consensus that there is a wave in favour of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab is terrible news for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, not because…
Whither defence research? Navy’s rejection of Tejas is a lesson
By Admiral Arun Prakash (retd) The peremptory rejection of the shipborne variant of the Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA) by the Indian Navy seems to have surprised most navy-watching analysts. Their confusion has been compounded…
India’s defence budget: Trapped in a straitjacket
By C. Uday Bhaskar The annual budget was presented on February 1 and the allocation for the Defence Ministry offers some instructive insights about how India plans to nurture its military — that is, the…
Time to question relevance of personal income tax
By Amit Kapoor Finance Minister Arun Jaitley put the spotlight on the issue of tax evasion in his February 1 budget speech with some eye-opening statistics. Out of an employed population of approximately 300 million,…
The fairytale that launched India’s literary renaissance
By Vikas Datta A whirlwind tale of romance, adventure and magic, it is no ordinary fable — and not due to its genre. The first Indian prose fiction, or even the first novel, “Bagh-o-Bahaar” is…
Hints of new world order must await Tillerson-Lavrov meeting
By Saeed Naqvi Pundits in Washington are beginning to hope for continuity in US foreign policy under Donald Trump. For their optimism, they are falling back on hints from the new administration. Look, they say,…
UP polls: Key lies in Modi regaining the Muslim vote
By Amulya Ganguli A major reason why the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is believed to be finding it difficult to cross the finishing line with ease in the ensuing UP assembly elections is its loss…
Ideological fissures keep PDP-BJP alliance on edge
By Sheikh Qayoom Srinagar, Feb 2 (IANS) Running a coalition government with an ideologically opposed ally is an art, running it successfully would entail magic. As things stand today, it is seems Jammu and Kashmir…
Budget aimed at fulfilling heightened expectations post-demonetisation
By Amit Kapoor & Chirag Yadav The Union Budget for 2017-18 was easily the most anticipated one in recent times. The public was seeking the government’s policy stance after its bold attack on black money…
Capital expenditure alone can’t support Indian growth story
By Amit Kapoor & Chirag Yadav Unlike in most countries of the world, the Budget unusually holds widespread public interest in India. However, the Budget due on February 1 has an exceptionally heightened sense of…
Can Trump make the whole earth green again?
By Rajendra Shende In the barrage of criticism against US President Donald Trump for his utterances on refugees and Muslims, what has been missed is that he has an “open mind” on environmental issues. He…
#Elections2017: UP spends least on health, reflects in its ill-health
Oommen C Kurian With 200 million people, Uttar Pradesh (UP) has about the same population as Brazil; an economy the size of Qatars — which has 2.4 million people, the same as the UP town…
For pro-poor thrust, budget focus on housing, infrastructure must
By Vinod Behl Considering that the welfare of the poor and middle class is the priority area of the government and the assembly elections manifestos of all the major political parties centre around housing and…
Why India’s canals could help fast-forward its solar energy plans
By Mukta Patil Mehsana (Gujarat): As far as the eye can see, line after line of solar panels stretch out in the midday sun beating down on the village of Chandrasan here in this eastern…
Astana talks: Peace in Syria elusive unless political solution found
By K.P. Fabian The talks held on January 23-24, in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana, should be seen against the grim toll of the turmoil in Syria that began in February/March of 2011: More than half-a- million…
Legitimising animal sports will increase acts of cruelty
By Amulya Ganguli The description of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) as anti-India and anti-Hindu by saffron netizens is not surprising in a country which is patently regressing into the earlier centuries…
Will Trump era provide respite to destroyed countries?
By Saeed Naqvi The procession of breast-beating “liberals” doesn’t seem to end, not since Donald Trump eclipsed their most shining star — Hillary Clinton. True, Hillary would be graceful at the Inaugural Ball. “Favours to…