Home minister Amit Shah’s remark on the need for a single national language has rightly sparked a debate, but the headlines missed much in his speech about language, culture, and identity. Giving away Rajbhasha Gaurav Puraska
When close to five lakh people are killed in road accidents every year in India, road transport minister Nitin Gadkari should have been complimented on his not-so-populist move to impose higher fines for traffic violations. Instead, many people ar
Traditional fishermen or Kolis; synonymous with feasting, song and dance; are the original inhabitants of Mumbai. For generations, they have loved their vocation and prided in it. But their work and lifestyle are facing threats from reclamation, l
Addressing the Conference of Parties (COP14) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday announced that India would raise its target of the total area that would be restored from its l
Scheduling irrigation, constructive use of water, proper crop selection and utilising modern irrigation technologies will help enhance water security while also ensuring a high agricultural productivity, says T. Mohapatra, director general of the
The rankings for Indian cities in the latest Global Liveability Index, prepared by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), should not have come as a surprise to us: the two cities that feature in the listing, New Delhi and Mumbai, have slipped from
India has expressed resounding commitment to finding long-term solutions for minimizing the impact of desertification and land degradation as it took over the presidency of the Conference of Parties (COP) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertifica
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced what is described as ‘Big Bank’ reforms, consolidating the public sector banking by merging 10 banks into four. This will make Punjab National Bank the second largest PSB in the country
Allaying fears of an economic slowdown, RS Sodhi, managing director of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF) which owns the brand Amul, has said there is no slowdown in the dairy industry which is growing at an average of 14 pe
The petroleum and energy sectors will play a vital role in making India a 5 trillion dollar economy, as envisaged by prime minister Narendra Modi. Addressing the 7th convocation of the Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU) t
Jairam Ramesh and Shashi Tharoor have stirred the hornet’s nest in the Congress. They have argued that the party should not “demonise” prime minister Narendra Modi. The two leaders believe constant criticism and negativity would
India has pledged to convert nearly 50 lakh hectares of degraded land into fertile land in 10 years, union minister for environment, forest and climate change Prakash Javadekar has said. He was addressing a curtain-raiser press meet
The central board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to transfer Rs 1,76,051 crore to the government, ending a long debate and opening new options for injecting fresh money into the economy. The RBI central board on Mon
Finance for Non-Finance People (Second Edition, 2019) By Sandeep Goel Published by Routledge Finance is not only the language of business anymore or limited to the function of the finance off
Sometime in 1999, I took Arun Jaitley out for meal for the column, “Lunch with Business Standard”. As is his wont, he chose his own place for lunch. It was at the Chambers at the Taj Mansingh hotel, an exclusive domain of the high and
The arrest of Palaniappan Chidambaram, former union minister of home & finance, by the CBI, albeit after his much dramatic disappearance and reappearance, has brought an end to his long run from the arms of law. As a finance min
An unintended consequence of the inversion of Article 370 and the division of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories is the curious revival of Pakistan’s interest in Indian history and sociology. For the fir
Prime minister Narendra Modi has told US president Donald Trump that Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan’s “incitement to anti-India violence” was not good for peace in south Asia. Modi and Trump had a telephonic co
As children are consuming more and more fast foods and sweetened beverages are becoming, leading to obesity and related non-communicable diseases (NCDs), the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) has come out with guidelines on such substances.
Contrast prime minister Narendra Modi’s first Independence Day speech in 2014 with his latest, the first in the second term, and you know the difference. His first speech was less about future and much about the basic needs like Swachch Bhar
