"India's historic leadership of the non-alignment movement and desire to maintain strategic autonomy somewhat constrain cooperation at a level USPACOM (US Pacific Command) desires," the US Pacific Command Commander Admiral Robert Willard said in his testimony before House Armed Services Committee.
Madam, the debate has been vigorous. Several issues have been raised which deserve the attention of the Government as well as all other entities.
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.
'The crossing of lines has dangerous implications for the credibility of the media -- its greatest asset. Already, many journalists have strayed from the profession's proper boundaries. It would be even worse, and ethically more repugnant, if journalists become political fixers or take instructions from corporate lobbyists.'
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 instant SLP is against the final order/judgment dated 25.05.2010 of Delhi High Court.
'Singh has two options. Either he asserts the authority of his office or makes way for someone who is not a proxy for the Family and can command the Congress Parliamentary Party's loyalty.'
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.
As the Pakistani Taliban demonstrated their ability to reach the US with the recent Times Square terror plot, key members of the 9/11 Commission have expressed frustration that more progress has not been made on their recommendations like sharing of vital intelligence.
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.
We cannot say that development-related issues are long term while the immediate task is to annihilate the Naxalites.
Here is the entire text of the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's Budget Speech:
One of the biggest myths being propagated is that nuclear cooperation with the US is the answer to India's energy crisis, which in any case would not see the light of the day before 2016. Also Indian Parliament and citizens have been kept in dark about the cost of electricity from foreign-built nuclear power reactors.
Indian animation and gaming training institutes are gearing to scale up their businesses and open up new avenues for professionals who are passionate about animation and gaming technologies.
India already has more than 100 fission weapons, each enough to kill up to two million people. This is deterrence enough, says Praful Bidwai.
The danger of a corporate capture of government isn't imaginary, and corporations represent narrow profit-seeking interests of businessmen whose forte is not Constitutional values, says Praful Bidwai.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the Budget for 2009-10 on July 6. Following is the Budget Speech of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee:
Nothing short of the death of old industrial policies of pre-climate crisis era and rebirth of enlightened policy making that takes into account intergenerational equity with regard to natural resources would be sufficient.
It seems to be the correct course for an economy which is officially slated to contract by over 2 per cent this year (though some economists are predicting a much harsher contraction of 10 per cent) with a budget deficit of 8 per cent.
Following is the trascript of President Pratibha Patil's address to the joint sittingof Parliament on Thursday.
'Under pressure from corporate houses, this government will certainly work faster, but Home Minister Chidambaram will have to ensure that intelligence gathering would form an integral part of the other inter-related operational and investigative functions of the agency.'
The government should immediately carry out tailor-made terrorism prevention and incident management drills for each metro city, clearly identifying who will be responsible for leadership and co-ordination. A similar drill should be prepared for the government of India. The drill should cover aspects such as incident management, media management, management of relatives, public management, co-ordination between the state affected and the Centre etc.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India, or Sebi, on Thursday said investors will not be allowed to exit close-ended mutual fund schemes before they mature and asked fund houses to list them on stock exchanges.
Expert on internal security B Raman offers a lit of things the government needs to do to prevent terror attacks
The election of Obama as President is bound to be a matter of rejoicing for the downtrodden sections of society everywhere in the world. Most of all, the immediate effect will naturally be on the black population of the US itself. There will be a surge in their self-esteem and sense of integration with the mainstream and this will be all to the good, says B S Raghavan
As it turns out, the number of small and marginal farmers is more than 30 million and it is estimated that the number is likely to be 36.90 million, while the number of other farmers is estimated about 5.97 million. These are verified but as yet unaudited figures. Initially, in the Budget, it was estimated that the cost of the scheme will be about Rs 60,000 crore (Rs 600 billion) to the central government.
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.
One hopes the big daddies of South Block and DRDO realise why radical reforms are so crucial.
IIAS offers fellowships in numerous fields.
Now comes another test in the coming days. As Benazir travels to the province of Punjab in the coming days, what will be her reception? Will it match another homecoming - no less fortuitous, no less breathtaking - two decades ago?
The Bush administration voted for the Canadian candidate instead of Chidambaram, who till end of September had been the front-runner to head the IMF's influential Monetary and Financial Committee.
"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.
Is there a well-concealed additional vision of an 'arc of democracy'? That is the nagging question in the Chinese mind. It will nag even more after they have read Dr Singh's positive reaction to the idea of closer co-operation among major democracies
An alternative to oil? Check. Completely green? Check. Economical? Check. So why has the entrepreneur been sued, pilloried, and lampooned?
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.
A consistent use of RTI will bring about a positive change.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram's speech.
Post-Moily, the debate is about how the IIMs' quality is likely to suffer. Yet, good US B-schools have a lot more students and a lot better research.
© 2024 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances