In April’s first Monday, just hours after Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar steeply cut value-added tax (VAT) on petrol, price per litre dropped to Rs 54.96 from Rs 65, gas stations in the state ran dry. There were snaking queues at petrol pumps in the capital, Panjim, and elsewhere, and rumours that some operators were [...]

The first IITian to become the chief minister of a state in 2000, Manohar Parrikar’s entry into politics was a masterstroke in talent spotting by the late Pramod Mahajan. The IIT Bombay graduate in metallurgical engineering caught Mahajan’s eye while working on a project for the BJP.  After initial reluctance, Parrikar took the plunge and is [...]

Rahul Gandhi owned up to the Congress debacle in Uttar Pradesh but promised to stay the course in the state for the party’s revival. “I led the campaign from the front, I take the responsibility,” he said in a press appearance outside 10, Janpath on Tuesday evening. He stepped forward to take responsibility for the [...]

India shines in its malls but slips badly when it comes to ensuring the well- being of its millions. India may well be the world’s fastest growing “free market”economy, but it is no competition to its neighbours when it comes to the social wellbeing of its people. A comparison with the neighbouring nations shows that [...]

  Congress suffered a setback on Friday, with the Shiv Sena-BJP combine winning the prestigious municipal polls in Mumbai and adjoining Thane in a contest which consolidated the position of Sena rebel Raj Thackeray as an independent force in Maharashtra. Raj Thackeray’s MNS grabbed 28 seats in Mumbai – impeding the Sena’s effort to score [...]

Virtually launching his re-election campaign, President Barack Obama hit out at ”outsourcing” as he called keeping alive the American dream ”the defining issue of our time” and pledged to fight obstruction by opposition Republicans. “No, we will not go back to an economy weakened by outsourcing, bad debt, and phony financial profits,” Obama said as [...]

The prime minister’s lament at the 99th Indian Science Congress that China has overtaken India in the field of science should not surprise anyone. China has always been ahead of India in the spread and standards of science education, measured by the number of  scientific personnel and research  work force, institutions of education and research, [...]

The CBI’s stand on Mayawati and Mulayam was influenced by their changing equations with the ruling UPA govt. The Union government appears to have tied itself in knots trying to introduce a ‘credible’ Lokpal bill in Parliament. From all accounts, the autonomy or otherwise of the CBI appears to be the most contentious issue. The [...]

BETWEEN THE LINES The non-governance of rulers and the lack of cooperation of the Opposition have pushed the country into a mess.   There is not a shred of doubt that the Manmohan Singh government would have fallen last week if it had persisted in going ahead with Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail. The [...]