'Today, let us reaffirm our commitment to strive to realise Gandhiji's dreams. His watchwords, truth and nonviolence, will continue to remain relevant for the whole world. He also taught us that rights and duties are but the two sides of the coin - indeed, the true source of rights is duty. Today we recall his lessons in compassion too - compassion not only for our human neighbours but also for our other neighbours, namely, flora and fauna, rivers and mountains.'
'We are going to need more technical people in government.' 'You can't expect a generalist to understand the complicated world of financial engineering.' 'I regret to say that most of our politicians have no competence to deal with these things. Nor is there a willingness to learn.'
Always interesting, DMK politics is going to get even more absorbing in the days to come, predicts Aditi Phadnis.
'Heavy rains are not the primary reason for landslides in Wayanad.' 'There are all sorts of (human) intervention going on in that area.'
'It was specifically mentioned in the Gadgil Committee report that this particular area where the colossal landside happened now should be in the Environmentally Sensitive Area under Zone 1.' 'Zone 1 is the most important and ecologically sensitive area, and that it has to be protected entirely.' 'At least 90% of the Wayanad disaster is man-made.'
Overburdening of hills with construction coupled with saturation of soil and seepage seem to be responsible for landslides in Shimla city, said Principal Scientific Officer, Himachal Pradesh Council for Science Technology and Environment (HIMCOSTE) S S Randhawa.
On Friday, Biden announced his intent to appoint 14 people to the advisory committee, which provides overall policy advice to the United States trade representative on matters of development, implementation, and administration of the US trade policy.
Mining magnate Anil Agarwal's conglomerate on Friday announced a major business shake-up, with flagship Vedanta Ltd approving a spin-off of its metals, power, aluminium and oil and gas businesses into separate listed entities and an overhaul of lucrative zinc unit planned as part of value creation and reducing debt load. Vedanta will issue one share of the five demerged businesses for every share held in the company, the firm said in a statement. The entire exercise, which would require shareholder and lender approval as well as a nod from the stock exchanges and courts, is expected to be completed in 12-15 months, its president for finance Ajay Agarwal said.
Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Tuesday said the State has an obligation to recognise unions entered into by queer couples and grant them benefit under the law.
Directing the Centre, states and Union Territories (UTs) to ensure the queer community is not discriminated against, the CJI, who is heading the constitution bench, said queer is a natural phenomenon known for ages and is neither urban nor elitist.
Within six months, outlets carrying Vicks jumped from 60,000 pharmacies to 750,000 general stores. The trade boycott collapsed. Consumers were happy, finding Vicks now at every street corner. A fascinating excerpt from Gurcharan Das's Another Sort of Freedom.
The US House of Representatives and the Senate on Tuesday passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included key components of Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi's resolution language urging the Chinese government to end its military aggression against India along the LAC.
Radioactive leaks have been reported in at least six underground nuclear waste tanks in one of the most contaminated nuclear site on earth -- in northwestern US state of Washington -- raising concerns about delays in emptying the ageing tanks.
Banks do extensive investigation before declaring an account fraud; they owe it to us as they deal with our money. Why would they try to fix an innocent borrower? asks Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
'Upper castes who complain against reservations are fighting only for their own castes.'
The nominees are Congresswoman Deb Haaland as Secretary of Interior, Jennifer Granholm as Energy Secretary, Michael Regan as administrator for Environmental Protection Agency and Brenda Mallory as Chair of the Council of the Council on Environmental Quality.
I said to myself, why should the player suffer if he was innocent while I went about settling scores with the Board? If I didn't finish the enquiry in time, Shami's career would be harmed and perhaps irretrievably so. I decided to complete the probe within the stipulated time and got going right away.
'Wherever in the world there is political instability, those countries are beset with severe crises today. But India is in a much better position than the rest of the world due to the decisions taken by my government in the national interest,' President Droupadi Murmu said in her address to both Houses of Parliament.
The Centre has constituted a five-member expert committee to study various alternatives available to it to decide on a new capital for Andhra Pradesh.
'Modi had not discussed demonetization with me prior to his announcement on 8 November 2016. 'I learnt of it along with the rest of the country. 'I was not surprised when he did not discuss the issue with me prior to making the public announcement. 'It fitted in with his style of making dramatic announcements.' A fascinating excerpt from Pranab Mukherjee's The Presidential Years: 2012-2017.
A new bill introduced into the US Congress would create the Apollo Lunar Landing Sites National Historical Park on the Moon.
The recent revelations come six years after another round of tapes stole the limelight.
Pakistan foreign ministry on Monday summoned the acting American envoy and lodged a "strong protest" over the tabling of a resolution in the United States Congress seeking the right to self-determination for the Baloch people which has emerged as the latest irritant in bilateral ties.
Pakistan's top leadership reacted angrily on Saturday to a resolution introduced in the United States Congress seeking the right to self-determination for Baloch people, with Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani describing the move as an attack on the country's sovereignty. Gilani condemned the resolution moved in the US House of Representatives by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher on Friday.
Obama has made combating global climate change a top priority of his presidency
The reforms will help FPOs procure directly from farmers, something that they have been pressing for long.
Fast tracking of corruption cases against public servants and amendment to the Constitution to provide for summary proceedings in cases of grave misdemeanour involving bureaucrats would form part of the terms of reference of the Group of Ministers formed to tackle the menace.
The government is introducing an ordinance to constitute an extraordinary anti-corruption mechanism in deference to a five-point agenda for its battle against corruption enunciated by Congress President Sonia Gandhi in her inaugural address to the All India Congress Committee plenary session in New Delhi on December 19, stressing that there should be no tolerance towards corruption or misconduct.
In an unusual remark, Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States Hussain Haqqani has said that one of the reasons for recent devastating floods in his country could be human activity on the heavily-militarised Siachen glacier.
The Rajya Sabha is all set to go digital to minimise the massive wastage of paper in the House, thanks to an initiative by Vice President and Chairman Hamid Ansari.As per the suggested changes, Parliamentarians will receive documents in hard copy only if they request for it and special incentives will be provided to MPs who opt for the digital format.Ansari, a retired Indian Foreign Service officer, wants Parliament to set an example.
Trilateral talks between India, Iran and Pakistan to discuss the project and framework agreement of their $7 billion transnational pipeline project would be held in Tehran next week.
Rao's son K T Rama Rao, a TRS leader said that they are open to a working relationship with the Congress. "Give us some time, and we will work out the modalities and take the next step," he said in this interview with rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa.
Senior United States lawmakers told a Capitol Hill conference that India was crucial for stability in Afghanistan and the region as US and North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces prepare to withdraw from that war ravaged country.
Economy has become a major cause of concern for the new government with GDP dropping to 5.8 per cent in the last quarter of the 2018-19.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has ruled out sacking of Reddy brothers from his cabinet over the illegal mining controversy, saying there was no proof against them. Yeddyurappa said he would act against the Reddy brothers if there was proof of illegal mining by them in the state.
The Budget session of Parliament concluded on Wednesday with passage of record official business in recent years but the government failed to ensure passage of the controversial Land Acquisition Bill as also key reform measure of GST amid stiff resistance from opposition.
The Pakistan People's Party, heading the coalition, decided to keep the ministerial portfolios, except for Finance, vacant hoping to bring around Nawaz Sharif's party which pulled out its ministers after the deadline for reinstating the judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf expired on Monday.
"Deora's ability to be a good listener, and his understanding of business, as he is an industrialist himself, helped the empowered group of ministers reach a decision that more or less has satisfied all parties," a senior official says.
Most of the parties supported 'one nation one election', says defence minister Rajnath Singh.
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