Distinct View

The Indo-US trade deal is yet to be inked formally. Some pain-points still need tender handling. The deal was unilaterally announced by Trump through social media. A joint note is yet to come out about the modalities of the agreement. India has acknowledged the US initiative to take ahead the negotiations. PM Narendra Modi has also thanked Trump on behalf of Indians for lowering the tariffs. However, there is still no clear word about finalisation of a trade deal. The purposeful silence over the words ..

The point here is not about the behaviour of IndiGo’s management but the confidence about its ability to come out unpunished despite grave lapses. It is impossible to believe that the DGCA was not aware of the lapses and the airline’s reluctance to carry out system changes. Yet, the regulator adopted a slow-go approach in correcting the flaws, perhaps pressured by the monopoly IndiGo enjoys in Indian aviation. The regulator is at a bigger fault here...

The Bihar dole for women is totally different from the ‘Ladki Bahin’ scheme in Maharashtra. Nitish Kumar’s scheme highlights economic self-reliance for women while the MahaYuti aid of Rs 1,500 per month focuses only on monetary relief to women. The difference in the two schemes is of a psychological shift. One aims at making women realise their true potential as entrepreneurs while the other sends a feeling of entitlement without accountability...

 By Rahul Dixit :   Anthropologists believe that the Gen-Z has always been, for all good reasons, an impatient generation. This generation wants progress much faster. Their eagerness is reflected in boarding a trending hashtag in a jiffy o..

Violent attacks by stray dogs, especially targeting children and old people, is a reality that cannot be denied. Dog bites have caused several deaths around the country. Disturbing visuals and reams of news clippings about kids being mauled by packs of dogs are not a figment of imagination. It is a serious problem which needs immediate solution...

 BY RAHUL DIXIT : Cinema experts still search for that one speciality which sets the film apart. Frankly speaking, even Ramesh Sippy would not be able to pinpoint that exact spark which makes Sholay a cult classic. There are simply too many reas..

FROM terming Operation Sindoor as a ‘tamasha’ to repeatedly questioning about losses incurred during the military conflict with Pakistan, an appalling sadism has laced the Congress party’s behaviour in the Parliament’s Monsoon Session. Its leaders are seeking vicious pleasure in demeaning the country’s military prowess instead of projecting a coherent stance aligning with national interest. As an Opposition party, the Congress has a duty to scrutinise government action but by swaying to external narratives ..

The Marathi manoos, for whom Balasaheb’s Shiv Sena was a huge security, is clearly frustrated by the inconsistencies of Uddhav and Raj. Their shifting stands, short-term populism and ill-advised political alliances have exposed the decay in both SS (UBT) and MNS strategies. It is a hard truth the factions will have to confront. The Marathi manoos sentiment on which Sena built its foundation under Balasaheb is no longer potent enough to end the brothers’ political oblivion...

 By Rahul Dixit :   The White House call to Munir was not to discuss the gains or losses in the conflict with India but it encompassed ways to push US interests in the Asian region with the security and Intelligence cover of Pakistani troop..

The Centre deserves credit for taking the entire political community on board to send across India’s message on zero tolerance for terrorism. It is a wise move to show India’s unity in diversity and make a statement that national security is paramount for every party. The point of intrigue here is whether the show of unity has the power to transform the larger thinking on having a political consensus on national issues including security, economy and communal harmony...

The troll army, with its moronic view of the situation and driven by armchair-induced imbecility, attacked Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri’s personal X account with choicest abuses. They did not even spare his daughter by making her cell number public following which the Foreign Secretary had to lock his social media account. It was a distressing display of a toxic culture which has become a part of social media platforms for quite some time...

UNCERTAINTY and anxiety are the two major emotions that the world is displaying in the present times even as set norms are facing unseen challenges. Military conflicts are taking new shapes threatening to engulf wider regions, terrorism is peaking with new vengeance to disturb peace and prosperity, and Donald Trump is practicing shocking ambivalence to rock the international economy with his now-on-now-off tariff threats. It’s a topsy-turvy world, evoking panic and fear each passing day. Amid these ..

 By Rahul Dixit :  India’s diplomatic circles were anticipating a cold relation between Colombo and New Delhi. However, the MoU on defence cooperation, first of its kind, and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake reaffirming the co..

THE world continues to be an intriguing place as surprises and shocks flow unabated in international relations. War looms over some regions even as peace hovers above the dark clouds, awaiting a landing in conflict-zones that are full of negotiators and deal-makers. The geopolitical theatre has too many actors on the stage at this time, jostling for their spot under the limelight. Holding firm on the stage is India, practicing its commitment to strategic autonomy with a multi-vector foreign policy. ..

A LITANY of grievances keeps flooding the social media handles of insurance companies. Each complaint demonstrates a sense of frustration, extreme anger and helplessness of a policyholder seeking end to the ordeal of claim approval. Despite the rapid strides in technology, despite initiation of new schemes in healthcare programmes, many frustrating difficulties still persist in getting insurance claims processed in the country. The insured are always on the toes in case of an emergency, dealing with ..

There are some excellent shows bringing out supreme content in every domain. But there is also a growing breach of the line of decency that is expected to be adhered to by mass media platforms. Rampant use of cuss words, constant sneering, mockery of religious practices have become a part of on-line shows with no check on its spread. Lack of clear guidelines, absence of a rule-book and government’s reluctance to bring censorship for on-line content have combined into a space which runs on its own ..

Today’s India looks heavily inclined towards spending and consumption. The Centre, too, has insisted on it targetting more taxes. But consumption would not create savings as it is last in the chain of that particular economic cycle. The cycle starts with savings and gradually leads to investment which in turn promotes production which finally culminates into consumption...

JUST weeks before his inauguration as the President of the United States, Donald Trump’s tantrums are keeping the world guessing. His views are oscillating between surprise and shock, his threats are fluctuating from ridiculous to downright absurd, his decisions are swinging faster than his golf club. And the world is riding this pendulum on fear and prayer. From imposing tariffs to claiming ownership on countries, Trump has riled many with his strange ambitions. One particular issue that has become ..

The refusal to accept its defeat is the consequence of a false sense of entitlement that drives the Congress thinking. So, whenever the truth offends, the party leadership lies, and lies, and lies. Every lie the Grand Old Party tells incurs a debt to the truth. Racking up of this debt is set to prove ruinous in the future run for the Congress. Already, there are piling gripes over mismanagement by the Congress top brass among its I.N.D.I bloc partners. ..

THE Maharashtra Assembly elections are done and dusted. The MahaYuti, led by a resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party, has demolished the Maha Vikas Aghadi and also the perceptions around its slump with a scintillating show. The focus now shifts on Government formation with new equations and also on ushering in of new freebies promised to the voters. The spotlight, once again, thus comes back on the doles which the MahaYuti has pledged to hike for women. In fact, the entire spectacle of election in Maharashtra ..

J J UST like the Big Fat Weddings in India generate global interest for its lavishness and massive spread, the Presidential elections in the United States are also seen as some sort of festival, with no direct connection. Political pundits choose to describe the Indian people’s interest in the US elections as a case of “begani shaadi me Abdullah deewana” and yet the result is latched upon by all and sundry as a possible gamechanger in the Indo-American relations. The landslide victory by Donald Trump ..