'Clearly, the depositors of cooperative banks need the maximum protection.'

'We can't have the best of both worlds -- large, efficient, world class government-owned banks, doing social banking and making profits. 'Why not set them free from the shackles of such obligations and run them as business units?' says Tamal Bandyopadhyay.

"Our government does not delay decisions. We neither nurse problems nor keep them pending," Modi said.

Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das tells Anup Roy, Raghu Mohan and Niraj Bhatt that it is time for banks to lower interest rates and start lending to cash-starved finance companies after due credit appraisal and proper risk assessment.

Tamal Bandyopadhyay offers some unsolicited advice for a government wh,ich came to power, with brute majority and the nation's pragmatic chief money man.

'We all wanted a strong Centre with a decisive mandate from the people, to allow them to take bold decisions.'

Some 1,100 years ago, Uthiramerur had an election system similar to what India has today.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India does not seem to have understood the enormity of what funds have been up to. If Sebi does not crack down on mutual funds using cooked-up credit ratings to hide behind promoter funding, this is bound to grow into a systemic menace, says Debashis Basu.But MFs decided to become lenders without the legal backing to secure themselves, or the skillset to assess lending risk. If Sebi does not crack down on mutual funds using cooked-up credit ratings to hide behind promoter funding, this is bound to grow into a systemic menace, says Debashis Basu.

Banking is a boring business but still the banker should enjoy it as fancy awards and cozy relationships with politicians, Bollywood stars and corporate honchos cannot save them if the job is not done properly. In the concluding part of the series Tamal Bandyopadhyay wonders how long Kochhar would need to wait for her redemption or downfall and atonement.

In the first of a two-part series, Tamal Bandyopadhyay explains why the ICICI Bank's board first rushed to deny all allegations against Kochhar and then took the extreme steps against her.

'Gandhi turned his life into a counter-intuitive experiment in old ideas like non-violence and swadeshi.' 'He offered numerous universal ideas that talk to the human condition.' 'His ability to take risks was outstanding,' says Sopan Joshi, explaining why the Mahatma's ideas are as relevant as ever.

'The government should refrain from 'adventurism' and 'megalomania'.' 'But this should be true of reckless government action against every Indian, whether or not they are wealthy or have access to the finance minister even when he is in hospital,' says Aakar Patel.

'I cannot conceive of any reason than my unsparing criticism of government policies that the government picked me to send a message to many who dare to take it on.'

CII suggested the policy measures required to ease the tight liquidity situation by cutting CRR by at least 50 basis points.

Central banking is a science, not an art, Tamal Bandyopadhyay tells RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that the states were free to announce farm loan waivers if they had the fiscal space and that there would be no shortfall this year in divestment and non-tax revenues.

If indeed we want the board to manage the RBI, probably the government should take a close look at the US Federal Reserve system which has a two-part structure - a central authority in Washington, DC, and a decentralised network of 12 Federal Reserve Banks located throughout the country, says Tamal Bandyopadhyay.

'Power is always transitory, and you should be the same person whether you have it or not,' the head of the number one law firm in India tells Pavan Lall.

'Visiting my friend in his affluent locality, I realised that the Delhi weather had become the great equaliser.' 'Pollution was always in the air, everywhere, and had become the primary subject of all conversations,' notes Ambassador B S Prakash.

Every day at 9 am, five 20-somethings who live in a 4-bedroom apartment in Bengaluru have a session with their physical trainer. After a workout, they spend the next 8 to 10 hours in their spacious living room, headphones in place and computer screens in front of them. Their salaried job: To play video games for the rest of the day.

'In being dismissive of Naveen, his colleagues showed incredible naivety.' 'On the few occasions that he put his foot down, the overconfident party leaders, who believed they were using him and not the other way around, failed to read the signs of what was to come.'

"The RSS is trying to change the nature of India. Other parties haven't tried to capture India's institutions," he said.

'The policy is to consolidate farming into the hands of a few and to take away the food security of the country.' 'Once food is in the hands of 15 chosen corporate houses, you will get food, but at a price that they determine.'

Can we make high speed 4G Internet available at 10 cents per GB, and make all voice calls free of cost -- that too in a large and diverse country like India? Can we make high-quality but simple breast cancer screening available to every woman, that too at the extremely affordable cost of $1 per scan? Can we make a portable, high-tech ECG machine which can provide reports immediately and that too at the cost of 8 cents a test? Can we make an eye imaging device that is portable, non-invasive and costs 3 times less that conventional devices? Can we make a robust test for mosquito-borne dengue, which can detect the disease on day 1, and that too at the cost of $2 per test? Amazingly, says Dr R A Mashelkar, the eminent scientist, all this has been achieved in India, not only by using technological innovation but also non-technological innovation.

Auroville just turned 50. Aurovilians who grew up in The experimental city speak of how their childhood was marked by a sense of openness and possibility.

These bloggers are adding fresh flavours to India's vibrant street-food scene.

Ahead of the assembly elections next year, the BJP has been wallowing in a welter of ideas that has resurrected the debate on populism versus pragmatism, as it has to pander to two important but incompatible constituencies, of the freebie consuming masses and Bengaluru's heavy hitters craving for even roads, pristine lakes and unbroken power supply, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.

'The 5.7% growth in the April-June period is an aberration because of GST.' 'Business activity in the last 15 days of the quarter was minimal or zero.'

'Much as I have been enjoying the anti-GST jokes on WhatsApp and also worrying about the economy in a tailspin in more serious moments, there is a tiny part of me that is thankful to Modi and Jaitley,' notes Keya Sarkar.

Contract finally given for Rs 2,400-cr project, with GIFT City-like features

'The animosity in the BJP against Swamy continued for a good more than thirty years.' 'It was only after herculean efforts by a reconstituted and more just RSS, that Swamy was finally inducted into the BJP in 2013.'

The strike call is over privatisation, mergers, and also due to write-off of corporate NPAs, criminalisation of willful default

Enormous debt isn't the only thing afflicting Air India. Its work culture is an equal culprit in its downfall.

The commercial vehicle business is one of the mainstays for the Tata group, highlighting the importance of Girish Wagh's appointment.

Will private firms really boost Make in India in the defence sector? Ajai Shukla seeks answers.

Discussion paper fixes Rs 1,000 cr as minimum capital for these specialised banks

White House said Trump strongly believed that protecting environment and 'promoting our economy are not mutually exclusive goals'.

'I can tell you, Mr Chairman, from personal experience that there is nothing sadder than witnessing a close one, a loved one with mental illness at close quarters.' 'I have lived with a victim of mental illness. Like many in that condition, very often such people are in a state of denial.'

US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, newly elected co-chair of the influential Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans, discusses her vision for US-India ties with Rediff.com's Monali Sarkar.

Government looking at cushioning slowdown due to demonetisation with sops and higher outlay for micro, small and medium enterprises, agriculture, and affordable housing.