Maybe Modi could ask a patriarch of the stature of the late G D Birla to flesh out the details of a new company to manage government land privatisation.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) that lost 40 troopers in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack said on Sunday that the country 'did not forgive' and 'will not forget' the supreme sacrifice made by the personnel.

Eleven rounds of talks have been held over the contentious farm laws but the impasse continues as the farmer unions remain firm on their demands -- the repeal of the three laws and legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price.

During the meeting, the leadership of the India Caucus, which is the largest country-specific caucus in the House of Representatives, condemned the violence on January 26 in Delhi.

Ezra Moseley featured in two Tests against England in 1990 and also played nine ODIS between 1990 and 1991. He went to the rebel tour of South Africa back in 1982-83 and was banned.

The leadership of the powerful Congressional India Caucus has urged the Indian government to ensure that the norms of democracy are maintained.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a tweet said the rights to peaceful assembly and expression should be protected both offline and online.

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of the farmer unions protesting the three farm laws, said emergency and essential services such as ambulance and school bus will not be stopped during the 'chakka jam' that is proposed to be held between 12 pm and 3 pm.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said there is no alternative to the Trinamool Congress, and no other party can take its place in the state.

'They want (the ownership and management of PSU banks) to pass into the hands of a private sector entity.' 'Ownership of these banks will go from the public sector to private sector.'

The Centre on Monday earmarked a separate Rs 2,217 crore for 42 urban centres to tackle air pollution and announced the much-awaited voluntary vehicle scrapping policy to phase out old and polluting vehicles, even as it shrunk the budgetary allocation for the environment ministry from the last fiscal by nearly eight percent. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her budget speech for 2021-22, announced a total of Rs 2869.93 crore for the ministry, Rs 230 crore less than the last fiscal. Officials said the outlay has been lesser this time as the economy is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said American electric car major Tesla is set to start its operations in India next year and would also look at setting up of a manufacturing unit based on demand. The Road, Transport and Highways minister has been pushing for green fuel and electric vehicles for cutting India's huge Rs 8 lakh crore crude imports. Tesla Inc. co-founder and chief executive Elon Musk had in October said the company will enter the Indian market in 2021.

The central government has finalised GPS-based toll collection to ensure seamless movement of vehicles across the country.

As thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, braved water cannons and teargas to camp at the national capital's borders to demand a rollback of the laws and their representatives held talks with the government, the songs flowed, speaking of pride of the land, strength in unity and the rights of the people fighting a mighty establishment.

A 150-metre long underground tunnel suspected to be used by terrorists for infiltration was detected near International Border in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba sector on November 22.

The development came a day after the protesting farmers rejected the Centre's offer to start talks as soon as they move to Burari and continued to stay put Singhu and Tikri borders of the national capital.

Most of the farmers have brought at least two trolleys with each tractor with one of them carrying ration and other essentials and the other being used to accommodate the protesters.

Police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse the farmers who broke barricades in some places in Haryana.

The road accident took place late Thursday night when the victims were returning from a wedding function in the Nawabganj area of Pratapgarh, Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Awanish Awasthi said.

Today, the Ladakhis and Tibetans have been joined by the Sikhs, the Madrassis, the Garhwalis, the Rajputs, who are well trained psychologically and otherwise, to defend the nation, observes Claude Arpi.

But his nature, temperament, his skill to listen to others, and empathise with their pain and hardships will make him a far better president, a leader America has been longing for four years, notes Aseem Chhabra.

Asserting that India has full potential to emerge as a global hub for electric vehicles by 2025, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday asked automobile manufacturers to reduce cost and forego profit initially to capture market and fuel growth. Once the market picks up there will not be any looking back, Road Transport and Highways and MSMEs Minister Gadkari said, promising all support to manufacturers in the initiative aimed at cutting India's huge import costs of crude and arresting pollution. The minister said he is scheduled to make an hour-long presentation on EVs before the Chief Justice of India post-Diwali.

A total of 74,32,829 people have recuperated from COVID-19 so far, taking the national recovery rate to 91.34 per cent. The case fatality rate has dropped to 1.49 per cent.

The last three prime ministers who served full terms started out in their early 70s. Mr Modi is younger and fitter than all of them. But he needs to find it in him to change course if he is to beat the odds, notes T N Ninan.

Major General Sujan Singh Uban, a legendary veteran of the Second World War, was a natural choice to raise, train and command the Special Frontier Force and mould them into a well oiled fighting machine, recalls his son Inspector General Gurdip Singh Uban (retd), who led SFF troops during the Kargil War.

'We are a young nation. But I wanted to explore the conflict between the young and the old.' 'The cynicism of people who have lived it versus the optimism and naivete of the young.'

The seventh Tibet Work Forum was held in Beijing on August 28 and 29. Delhi should be deeply concerned, at a time India faces a precarious situation in Ladakh, because the TWF also defines China's western border policies, observes Claude Arpi.

The MEA spokesperson further said the actions and behaviour of the Chinese side since earlier this year along the LAC have been in "clear violation" of the bilateral agreements and protocols concluded between the two countries to ensure peace and tranquility on the border.

'What matters right now is what I am able to do in these times of distress for the people of J&K.'

India cannot afford to be complacent about a possible Pakistan resort to military options across the LoC, warns Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.

India has experienced hands and will emerge with flying colours, declares Inspector General Gurdip Singh Uban (retd).

'Ladakh is a tiny salami-slice issue.' 'The big one for China is Arunachal Pradesh, more than 83,000 sq km.' 'Do they imagine they can grab any of this by force?' 'In the 21st century, nursing those thoughts only means you need to get your heads examined.' 'It isn't going to happen,' declares Shekhar Gupta.

'Unlike the Chinese army that has been largely a peace time force, the Indian Army is a battle hardened force,' explains Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).

The number of recoveries stands at 6,12,814, while there are 3,31,146 active cases of coronavirus infection presently in the country. "Thus, around 63.25 per cent of patients have recovered so far," an official said.

The death toll climbed to 20,160 as 467 more people succumbed to the disease.

Addressing the party workers and people of Bihar through a virtual rally, he attacked the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal saying the growth rate of the state was just 3.9 per cent when the party was in power, but it rose to 11.3 per cent under the NDA.

Six migrant workers were killed and 95 others injured in separate road accidents in Uttar Pradesh when they were returning home during the ongoing lockdown to combat the coronavirus outbreak, the police said on Friday. The accidents have taken place in Barabanki, Jalaun, Bahraich and Mahoba districts since Thursday evening, they said.

The opposition has been critical of the Centre's handling of the situation, accusing it of not doing enough to ease the hardships of the migrant workers, many of whom have lost their jobs during the lockdown which started on March 25.

'We need to have the courage to take a rational look at known facts and act accordingly,' advises Mohan Guruswamy.

As the Centre's decision ahead of the end of the 40-day lockdown brought cheers to lakhs of migrant workers across the country, quarantine centres and shelter homes were also being readied for the returning migrants with Uttar Pradesh alone preparing to receive an estimated 10 lakh people.