The recently concluded cricket World Cup finals ended on a high note while keeping the fans on the edge. The spectacular tie game ended with super over being declared in favour of England with more number of boundaries after having yet another tied super over game. New Zealand conceded defeat on the verge of victory...

SEASONED former diplomat Mr. G. Parthasarathy, who was the High Commissioner of India in Islamabad when Pakistan launched the Kargil misadventure, has aptly put the psyche of the Pakistani rulers in proper perspective over the decades and contrasting the change taking place in India at the highest level over the last few years at the same time. As rightly said by Mr. Parthasarathy, there is a welcome and discernible change in Indian response to whatever the Pakistani rulers, the Armed forces particularly, ..

The grotesque inequality and poverty of 19th century Britain that was once thought of as banished to that dim and distant past is back with a vengeance...

INDIA, Australia and to some extent, South Africa, powerhouses of international cricket, having crashed out of the final race to the World Cup are now ruing over the spilt milk..

COMMUNIST Party of India national Council Secretary Binoy Viswam, MP, said that the children who died of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) were in fact unfortunate victims of poverty, malnutrition and poor healthcare facilities..

  THE image of a crestfallen Rohit Sharma looking at a dream going up in smoke more or less summed up India’s 2019 World Cup sojourn where the Men in Blue took a great flight, delivered incredibly on every quotient, carried burgeoning hopes with aplomb but faltered at a hurdle that was bound to spring up someday. India’s heartbreaking exit in the semi-final after a gallant fight against New Zealand yet again proved that there is always many a slip between the cup and the lip! ..

 IT IS not difficult to understand the sense of sadness in the tone of Mr. Antanio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), when he says that the world is still not putting in enough efforts to promote sustainable development by combat..

 By YASHWARDHAN JOSHI   This phenomenon of short burst of devastating rain after a long spell of dry patch is all a result of global warming. Scientists warn that erratic rainfall as well as extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods and heat waves, are going to occur more frequently in the future.   FOR YEARS scientists and experts have been warning of global warming and its impact on climate change. The subject has been heatedly debated on international fora time and ..

 Vijay Phanshikar;  There is some water in the Nag River, thanks to whatever rains the city received a few days ago. Of course, it is going through a dry spell, but the Nag has at least some water that is flowing. Despite the filth that the city dumps into its river -- officially and non-officially -- it is a good sight to see water actually flowing down there. This is one sight one is waiting to see all the year long. For when the rains come in torrent and the Nag flows in full stream, ..

 By BINOY VISWAM: According to the Composite Water Management Index (CWMI) report released by the NITI Aayog in 2018, 21 major cities (Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and others) are racing to reach zero groundwater levels by 2020, affecting access for 100 million people. The CWMI report also states that by 2030, the country’s water demand is projected to be twice the available supply, implying severe water scarcity for hundreds of millions of people and an eventual six per cent ..

 DESPITE a rap from the Supreme Court a decade ago, most States are still dragging their feet on initiating reforms in the police department. The conseqences are evident in the data released by the Home Ministry which pegs the police posts lying vacant in the country at 5,28,396. The number is huge and needs immediate course correction at the highest level. Policing is a critical factor for maintaining internal security. But Police Departments in most states, barring Nagaland, are struggling ..

 VICE President Mr. Venkaiah Naidu floated a truly great idea when he called for a national movement for promoting innovation as a way of life. This suggestion connotes a change in the overall current atmosphere in India where different ideas are bei..

   BY THE time India reached the semi-finals of the on-going One-Day International (ODI) World Cup in England, a new superstar has arisen on the cricketing horizon in Rohit Sharma. And how one wishes this sublime saga of batsmanship never eclips..

 THE sincere effort of the Central Government to expand the philosophy of inclusiveness in the economy is clearly visible in the Union Budget for 2019-20. Considering various components of the budget, it can be said safely that the Government has not..

ONE of the key sectors that acts as an engine of economic growth is the tourism industry, which still finds itself in the lower rung of priority. Tourism sector contributes significantly in terms of Gross Domestic Product, foreign exchange earnings and employment, yet efforts to make it a globally competitive industry are few and far between. Promotion of tourism can usher multipronged benefits to all the stakeholders, from the Central Government to the local populace, provided it is done in a systematic ..

FOR a first-timer as the country’s Finance Minister, it was a challenging task for Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman to prepare and present the annual budget and she appears to have passed the muster. She has proved that the trust and faith Prime Minister Mr. ..

  By Dr. Bharat Jhunjhunwala:  Presently, farmers overuse canal water. The increased cost of water will be an incentive for them to use irrigation judiciously. They can be compensated for this increase in cost by a corresponding increase in the Minimum Support Price.  THE recent water crisis in Tamil Nadu requires attention in the Budget. First let us consider how to increase the supply of water. The annual rainfall in India is 4000 Billion Cubic Meters (BCM). After accounting ..

 Vijay Phanshikar:  The raincoat often played a funny game with the little boy. Actually, he loved getting drenched in the rain, no matter that he was just three years old. But then came the time to start going to school. And the boy got ready -- complete with his new bag, new raincoat, new everything. And then holding his elder sister’s finger, he went to the school.   The first day. An eager day.An anxious day, too. No child smiled. And many kids actually cried the ..

 By AMIT KAPOOR :  Despite the new era of reforms that might soon be pushed, one question that largely remains ignored in this discussion is: Are we ready for change? The concept of literacy is expanding and is not confined to development of bas..

By Vijay PhanshikarRains beckonDrop by dropDrip by dripOn Earth the heaven! - Self  HEAVEN on Earth! -- after summer’s scorch ... Much before the rains come, the signals do. Very inviting. Very alluring. Very hospitable. They -- the rains -- come to you, as guests, so to say, but not as the outsiders! They are very much the insiders! For, much before they herald their coming, the rains are inside you -- in expectation, in hope, in assiduous longing of the endearing wetness, in the ..

 In rahul Dravid a right man has been placed in charge of the prestigious National Cricket Academy (NCA) at Bengaluru. Till recently in charge of grooming under-19 cricketers, Rahul Dravid, the legendary cricketer, who, along with Sachin Tendulkar, has been instrumental in taking Indian cricket to the top of the world, has been bestowed with greater responsibility of the (NCA). Under his tutelage India has seen several young players from the under-19 and India A teams making great impact on internatio..

   EVEN though the world threatens to get fragmented due to tensions on account of territory, trade, tradition and even triumphalism, Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi has come out with a creative contribution to global thought of building a harmonious international community. At the G-20 Summit, sharing his vision of 5-Is -- Inclusiveness, Indigenisation, Innovation, Investment in infrastructure, and International cooperation -- Mr. Modi has shown how all the tensions can be overcome to ..

  THE visit of Union Home Minister Mr. Amit Shah to Jammu and Kashmir has immense importance in the current situation, particularly against the backdrop of speculations that the Centre is getting geared up to scrap the Special Status that Jammu and Kashmir has been accorded for the past several decades. The widely held belief that Mr. Shah has already initiated a scrutiny of the gain-and-losses balance of Special Status to Kashmir has only got strengthened with the visit of the Home Minister ..

  WE WERE returning to Nagpur after offering prayers and obeisance to our family deity at Saptashrungi Garh, Nashik. The train was running at a cyclonic speed as if guarding the integrity of the prefix ‘super fast’ tagged to its name. Though it was horridly hot and humid outside, nothing could match the perfectly conditioned chill inside our coach. In the nippy momentum, I was eager to end the tiresome day with a quality sleep. Just then, I saw outside our compartment, a young ..

 THAT as many as 55 member-nations of the United Nations (UN) have supported India’s candidature as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) once again, is a happy endorsement of India’s growing international clout and acceptance of its global stature. In fact, India has been looking for an entry into the Security Council as a permanent member for the past several years as a matter of right in accordance with its growing importance on the global scene. ..

IT WAS the beginning of monsoon season and there were intermittent rainy spells. The countryside was looking bright with fresh green sprouts of leaves and grass. A lone aged farmer was painstakingly digging pits and planting mango saplings beside the road near his village.  The ruler of the province happened to pass by and observed the old man engaged singularly in the strenuous activity. He commented that the old man was indulging in futile activity, since it would take many years for the ..

  By Vijay Phanshikar: A silent ache enters the heart as one sees countless children milling up to their school gates on the first day after the long summer vacation. No matter which class you went, the first day of school reopening was full of excitement, full of energy, full of eagerness. New uniform, new bag, new water bottle, new shoes, and possibly a few new friends. Everything had a tinge of excitement whose parallel one hardly came across subsequently in life. The first ..

 By Amit Kapoor: In the on-going trade war with China, India can prove to be a useful ally.  THE trade war between US and China seemed like a distant conflict to most Indians. As the two largest economies in the world dished out threats and counter-threats of tariff hikes, India was largely a disinterested bystander with the only consequential fear of slower global trade. However, over the course of last few weeks, the US reservations with global trade have expanded across the Asian ..

 THE United States President Mr. Donald Trump is yet again on the trigger, hounding the Islamic Republic of Iran with threats of “cocked and loaded” US Military ready for a swoop. On the other hand, a belligerent Iran has got on with the act of securing itself in the process downing a US drone. As the world squirms at the prospect of a full-fledged armed conflict between the bitter adversaries, backchannel talks have begun with close allies in the Middle East and Gulf countries.  Thes..

 INDIA’s outright rejection of the nonsensical report by the State Department of the United States of America (USA) on minorities’ status in the country is perfectly in tune with the reality on the ground. The critical observations t..

  two top title contenders, India and England, received early shocks from unexpected quarters during the week gone by in the ongoing World Cup. While legendary Sri Lankan pace bowler Lasith Malinga broke the back of the famed English batting machine ..

  EVEN though he was speaking to a numerically limited audience at Ranchi to mark the fifth International Yog Day, Minister Mr. Narendra Modi was conscious of the indirect global audience he was addressing. Highlighting the philosophy behind promotion of Yog with a missionary zeal, Mr. Modi described it as a therapy of complete wellness for people in all economic strata across national boundaries. Poverty can lead to sickness and sickness can lead to poverty. To such people with limited ..

  IN a bid to save water, some IT companies have asked its employees to work from home in Tamil Nadu as the State is affected by one of the worst water crises in recent years. If less people turn out for work the water usage in bathrooms will be less as the compnies now end up paying a fortune for a tanker of water.  The situation is not confined to Tamil Nadu alone but even in States like Bihar, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh water crisis is looming large and the situation ..

 INDIA is justified in its concern over the Trump administration’s moves to strike an accord with a known terrorist organisation Taliban to end the strife in battle-ravaged Afghanistan. The battle-fatigued United States is in a hurry to strike a deal with the Taliban, an established global terrorist organisation, enjoying patronage of the Pakistan Army and the ISI with a safe haven in that country. It is an irony that for the last more than a decade, the US has been fighting the same ..

 THE Central Government has done well to continue with the process of removing inefficient or corrupt officers from all-India cadre. The step to retire 15 officers of Revenue and Tax Departments prematurely marks the second phase of the Centre’s ongoing programme of scrutinising and monitoring the performance of officers on a continuous basis. Some time ago, the Centre had sacked as many as 12 officers from the Administrative and Police Services, to make a no-nonsense beginning of a cleansing ..

 THE assurance in Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi’s words is satisfying that the Government values every word of the Opposition, no matter its numbers in the Parliament. On the second consecutive day, the Prime Minister reached out to the Opposition parties urging them to take the fullest possible part in the parliamentary process and voice their genuine concerns freely so as to further the cause of the people. The importance of this approach cannot be missed. Obviously, this seems to ..

  Trump stepped up his march toward war recently with claims by his Secretary of Defence, Mike Pompeo, that Iran was behind the explosions on two Japanese tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. A third of the world’s oil that is shipped over water goes through that passage.  FROM presidential hopefuls to peace groups to 86,125 people signing an anti-war petition – so far – the latest Iran war threat concocted by President Trump has ignited a firestorm of criticism and opposition. ..

 By Adv. R. S. Agrawal  The labour that was employed through contractors were performing identical duties as regular employees and that, therefore, without any evidence, it can be said that they were under the control, management and guidance of BHEL. But, BHEL has denied that the workmen were engaged by BHEL or that the workmen were BHEL’s workmen. From this to conclude that the transaction seems to be ‘sham’, is again wholly incorrect.  JUSTICE Rohinton Fali ..

  By ANSHUMAN BHARGAVA  “The war against terrorism is a joint responsibility of all civilised and democratic forces and they must bury their personal interests for the larger humanitarian cause.”    “Today there is nothing like their terrorism or terrorists of that or this country; India has long been crying hoarse, alerting countries to understand the problem.”  PRIME Minister Narendra Modi recently met Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena ..

  By Vijay Phanshikar: THE experience of most top-level organisational leaders across domains about working with youngsters offers a rather unhappy tinge. Most of them feel that despite their youth, large numbers of youngsters live on an ordinary plane of job-for-living, drag themselves to work every day, somehow finish their day’s tasks, and then head out of the workplace either back to their homes or to some places where they may find some relaxing activity to calm down their ..

 By Vijay phanshikarThe next five years will be Modi years, as were the previous five years. In this period, the Opposition parties may face a massive existential crisis whose solution they would not know or have. And the actual proof of this possibility came in the form of how the Congress party created a fake leadership crisis and thensorted it out.  New Delhi, June 13 (IANS): ... Talking to reporters, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said, “ Rahul Gandhi, is, ..

  I woke up with drool on my pillow this morning. I wouldn’t have minded except it wasn’t mine. The alarm clock rang, I reached over to turn it off, and then as I laid my face back down on the pillow I felt the wet, slimy drool on my pillow case. I opened my eyes and saw a smiling, panting, furry face gazing down at me. I tried to get up but she was too fast. My face was suddenly covered in kisses with one slurp going straight up my nostril and another right in my ear. I laughed, ..

  THE arrests of woman Maoist Narmadakka and her husband Kiran in Telangana and their subsequent handing over to Maharashtra Police, represents an important achievement for the cops as part of the national fight against Left Wing Extremism (LWE). No matter the few successful strikes the Maoists might have carried out in the past some time, the overall effectiveness of the Government’s drive against LWE has been good and welcome. The arrests of Narmadakka and Kiran, thus, mark reaching ..

  PRIME Minister Mr. Narendra Modi’s call for a global conference on terror received a welcome response from France whose Government said that fight against the menace was one of its key priority areas. In some more time, more and more countries will express their willingness to join the conference in order to create an atmosphere of unity against terrorism.   There is every reason to believe that whenever the meet takes place, there will be a surge of world opinion against ..

 A FIGHTER to the hilt is how one can describe Yuvraj Singh. For, his entire illustrious career in international cricket has tales full of amazing ability of overcoming disasters. Yet, the way this maverick ruled limited overs cricket for almost two decades will define Yuvraj Singh’s legacy. While the images of a blood-throwing southpaw on his haunches and springing up next moment to carve a memorable century will remain affixed in cricket fans’ memory, the biggest story that goes ..

 By ARJAVI INDRANEESH:  According to Election Commission estimates, the seizure of unaccounted cash, liquor, drugs and precious metals by law enforcement authorities had already crossed Rs. 3,166 crore as of April 25. This is over twice the total seizure value of Rs. 1,200 crore during the 2014 general elections.   THERE is a yet unexplored aspect of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and that relates to gold purchases during electioneering. Perhaps for the first time, purchases ..

  Given the brutal and barbaric manner of commission of the crime, the gravity of the offence itself, the abuse of the victims’ trust by the petitioner, and his tendency to commit such offences as is evident from his past conduct, it is extremely clear that the petitioner poses such a grave threat to society that he cannot be allowed to roam free at any point whatsoever.  A 3-JUDGE bench of the Supreme Court consisting of Justice N V Ramana, Justice Mohan M Shantanagouder and ..

  “Despite all the overtures we have not been able to have any stringent system in place to tackle vehicular pollution. India’s automobile density is still one of the lowest in the world and it is growing unprecedentedly.”   “This is thus just the beginning of the pollution era in India and we have already started choking. If we don’t take corrective measures in quick time, people will literally start dying of smoke on the streets.”  VEHICUL..

  TOPSY-TURVY events are shattering the calm on the education front. The past few years have seen a near-sudden change in the choice of the careers youngsters are making. There were times until of late when countless lakhs of youngsters were ready to waste themselves to secure an admission in any engineering college. Parents were willing to spend stunning sums of money for capitation fees for engineering admissions of their wards. It was truly a big business running engineering colleges. ..

A LEISURELY reading of one of the text messages aroused a quaint little feeling of ‘mock, ersatz (unreal), pseud’ emotion this Sunday morning: Do I really or am I really what I do or am I actually what I feel? Is it important to feel right or is it right to feel important? For both the situations, emotions will have to be wronged or righted (read corrected). So in effect, you sometimes have to fake the emotions to emote correctly even if introspection is a powerful faculty which enhances ..