US Congressman Ed Royce, a ranking Republican on the influential House Foreign Affairs Committee, has warned the Obama administration against undoing all the Bush administration's hard work in developing closer ties with India, by coveting China at the expense of New Delhi.

Zakia Nizami Soman, one of the founder members of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, speaks of her organisation and and reflects on the daunting challenges facing Muslim women in India today.

RBI Governor D Subbarao explains the rationale for the moves announced in the second quarter review of the monetary policy in an interview with Sidhartha. Excerpts:

In yet another trailblazing first, Iowa State Senator Swati Dandekar has been elected to serve in leadership for the nation's oldest organization addressing the needs of elected women at all levels of government. Dandekar, a Democrat, is the new president-elect of the National Order of Women Legislatorsthe membership arm of the National Foundation for Women Legislatorsand she will be formally installed at NFWL's next annual meeting.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India is now planning to enable investors to buy and sell mutual fund units through stock exchanges. Fund houses will also be allowed to sell new fund offers (NFOs) through exchanges, helping them to save on distribution costs.

India already has more than 100 fission weapons, each enough to kill up to two million people. This is deterrence enough, says Praful Bidwai.

Though the Indian caucus in the Obama administration is concerned over the recent reports concerning Pakistan's funds being used against India, it may be unable to bring any changes in the Kerry-Lugar bill that has assured Pakistan of USD 1.5 billion on an annual basis for five years.

There is no denying that Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram's three-day trip to the United States will advance the further institutionalisation of India-US counter-terrorism and intelligence-sharing cooperation.

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.

Shruti and young Indians talk about the new temple in Minnesota, US

'With the Chinese behemoth having revved up into a menacing juggernaut, with the US administration indulging Pakistan with billions to buy choicest weapons, our haemorrhaging armed forces are crying to be outfitted with lethal weaponry. Antony has to find ways to bridle red tape and to fast-track acquisitions and upgrades before it is too late.'

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the Budget for 2009-10 on July 6. Following is the Budget Speech of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee:

Salman Khurshid, who holds the portfolios of minority affairs and corporate affairs, tells Sreelatha Menon that he wants greater public participation in development programmes.

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.

US Senators Christopher Dodd, Connecticut Democrat and John Cornyn, Texas Republican have launched an attempt to revive the largely comatose US Senate India Caucus.

Vashu Bhagnani is ready to launch his son Jaccky in Kal Kissne Dekha, opposite another newcomer Vaishali Desai. He tells us about his journey to stardom.

The massive $7.5 billion aid legislation to Pakistan, authored by United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman John F Kerry and Republican Richard Lugar, would be approved without any difficulty in the coming weeks. The massive aid to Pakistan will be approved in spite of the serious doubts raised by some members of the committee, including a senior Democrat and a few Republicans, they said.

Holbrooke declared before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday, "We do not think that Pakistan is a failed State. We think it's a State under extreme test from the enemies who are also our enemies and who have the same common enemy -- the United States and Pakistan. It just isn't (a failed State). But it is a State under enormous social, political and economic pressure. And India is always a factor."

While interest rate cuts by banks have been comparatively faster in being implemented, largely through the consistent efforts of the Reserve Bank of India, the builder community has been reluctant to follow suit with ready price cuts, even when the uncomfortable truth remains that there is no choice in the matter.

'Already, the Taliban's malign influence is spreading unstoppably into society, and into the army and other vital organs of the State.'

Appearing before the US house financial services committee along with seven other top US CEOs of companies which received a bailout fund from the federal government, Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit said, "My compensation for the year 2008 was my salary, which is $ 1 million. I received no bonus. And as I stated earlier, I plan to take a $ 1 a year in salary and no bonus until we return to profitability."

What must India do, strategically and procedurally, to ensure that the nation does not ever again endure a brutality like the terrorism Mumbai encountered last fortnight? Readers suggest solutions

Lakhvi's reported arrest, if confirmed, speaks of the intense pressure on Pakistan from the US to act against the Lashkar. India, the US and the rest of the international community should ensure that this is not a cosmetic step like similar steps in 2002 and that the LeT infrastructure in Pakistan is dismantled and those involved in the Mumbai terrorist strike against Indians, Israelis, Americans and others are brought to justice.

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

US Congressman Jim McDermott, the Democratic co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, has urged President-elect Barack Obama that when he makes his first overseas trip as President that it be to India.

Yet another young Indian American Democratic Party activist has been named for United States President-elect Barack Obama's transition team.Parag Mehta, 31, has been named the deputy director of inter-governmental affairs and public liaison of the Obama-Biden transition team, charged with outreach to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other minority groups.His appointment follows close on the heels of the appointments of two Indian Americans.

From an economic summit to a Detroit bailout, Obama or McCain will have to jump right on the U.S. economic crisis

Sounds like Obama might need to reconvene his all-star economic brain trust sooner than expected.

The Centre could have set all speculation at rest if, with all the mighty and extensive intelligence and investigative machinery at its disposal, it had ascertained the truth behind the murders of the Swami and his associates and unhesitatingly named the desperadoes. Its own inability, or unwillingness, to expose the forces that were behind the killing should be taken to have contributed to the flare-up that followed in Khandamal

'India must be the very first large State in history that has consciously and voluntarily decided to dismantle itself.'

There's a strong sense inside the Democratic leadership that if you care about India, now is the time to stand up for it, says Graham Wisner, counsel at the top international lobbying firm Patton Boggs.

Why is the government in such enthusiasm to find a way out or to collect invalid data and offending propositions for just one purpose -- destroying the Ram Setu? Should that be the prime concern or motive of democratic governance that owns a responsibility to represent all people and their aspirations? Who are the people this government considers worth listening to, and who are the 'others' identified as expendables having discernibly worthless opinions?

Congressman Jim McDermott, who represents Washington state -- who incidentally voted against the enabling legislation also known as the Hyde Act two years ago -- said, "The likelihood of Congress taking up the nuclear issue again before the end of the year is, it will be very difficult."

It was one of the most tantalising days in Indian Parliament. Parties debated for and against the nuclear deal. MPs crossed swords, armed with allegations and statistics. As the nation kept glued to the happenings, rediff.com's Prem Panicker gave its readers a blow-by-blow account of what happened. Here is the transcript:

Senator Obama has the ability to unite our nation as no one has done in my lifetime. Perhaps you need more proof, and in the coming weeks I'm sure he and his talented team of campaign staffers will show us.

As common people grope for means to counter the ever-increasing prices of essential commodities, the economists and financial analysts fear that the recent hike in fuel prices would soon push inflation past 9 per cent. In an interview to rediff.com's special correspondent A Ganesh Nadar, Economic advisor to the Tata group Siddhartha Roy, shared his thoughts on the vexing issue of India's inflation.

The ultimate battle against Islamist terror has to be fought by the Muslims themselves, for they are its biggest potential victim.

'Food grain availability for India's poorest is now approaching levels that haven't been seen since the British left. This has everything, sadly, to do with the rapacity of India's elites,' says Raj Patel, author, Stuffed and Starved.

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.