Mid-October Barcelona last year was brimming with tourists wishing to admire the architecture of Gaudi, the artwork of Picasso and the revelry of La Rambla. In spite of the heavy footfalls and occasional picketing by Catalonian separatists, there
Union minister for information and broadcasting Prakash Javadekar has said the ministry has allowed private FM stations to broadcast news provided by All India Radio (AIR). Emphasising that private radio channels should provide news capsules, the
Editor’s note: The author, editor (current affairs) at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS), an autonomous research institute at National University of Singapore, wrote this article for our print issue dated Sept
Former union minister Ajit Singh has not only refused to vacate his official bungalow, but also unleashed his supporters on the national capital region (NCR) in protest. Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has meanwhile
Thirty-one percent of India already lives in towns and cities. It is expected that 40 percent would be city dwellers in another 15 years. The country, according to the UN, already houses three of the world’s top 10 megacities. Yet the Indian
In Mamata Banerjee`s Bengal, it is becoming increasingly difficult for dissenting voices to be heard. A city known for taking to streets over the smallest injustice has suddenly turned dangerous for those who attempt to seek justice or speak on be
With a view to set ‘policy’ as an agenda for youth, a mock youth Parliament (MY Parliament) will be organised on September 27 and 28 to acquaint Indians between 18 and 30 years about functioning of the country`s representative institut
Former comptroller and auditor general (CAG) of India Vinod Rai has denied writing any letter to former finance minister P Chidambaram on audit of public-private partnership (PPP) projects coming under the CAG’s purview. In a
Rajnath Singh is not an extraordinary leader. Though he has been BJP chief twice over – a feat that puts him on a par with Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani – he is endowed with neither the seductive charm of oratory nor exception
A group of civil society activists and commentators have written to the chief justice of India (CJI), pointing out that instead of focusing on who gave the alleged log-book of visitors at CBI director Ranjit Sinha’s residence, a special inve
On April 4 this year, Amit Shah, then the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) election in-charge of Uttar Pradesh and then PM candidate Narendra Modi’s Man Friday, held meetings in Bijnor, Shamli and Muzaffarngar districts as the me
Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have emerged as the biggest contenders for the 2016 assembly elections in West Bengal. Both the parties, winning a seat each in the state by-polls, is the testament to this fact.
Prime minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Gujarat on Tuesday (September 16) afternoon. This will be his first visit after historic triumph of general elections, and it will also put Ahmedabad on the international map as Chinese president Xi Jinp
The ministry of urban development has received some useful suggestions about the selection criteria for smart cities scheme. In a conference on the flagship scheme of the NDA government, urban development ministers and secretaries from states and
Braving a storm over the logbook of visitors at his official residence, CBI director Ranjit Sinha is treading on thin ice. While he submitted on September 12 the affidavit as sought by the supreme court, he resisted demands to step down. But how l
If statistics tell a story, it is a grim one. In 2007, the ministry of women and child development (WCD) said there are over 3 million women sex workers in India, with over a third entering the trade before they
A rejig of the national informatics centre (NIC) is on the anvil. Under the `1,00,000 crore Digital India programme, which was approved by the cabinet in August, the department of electronics and IT (DeitY) has proposed to take away code writing f
After getting elected in the 2012 elections, attendance of Mumbai’s 227 councillors has dropped by 6.7 percent and proportion of questions asked as compared to civic complaints is a mere 26.9 percent according to Praj
The smart cities scheme of the government will require an investment of Rs 7 lakh crore over a period of 20 years. According to a draft concept note on the scheme released by the ministry of urban development (MoUD), a high power expert committee
It has been mora than 10 weeks since you took charge of the ministry. What have been the significant achievements of this short period? I think the most significant achievement would be that we got this ministry working. Fo
