- India an attractive investment destination: Anurag Thakur (IANS Interview)(16:18)
By Navneet Mishra
New Delhi, May 25 (IANS) Union Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur has said that India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is successfully fighting the battle against Covid-19. He said the government has chalked out a roadmap to make India a destination for attractive investment. He exhorted India Inc to take advantage of the initiatives announced by the government to step up investment in the country.
- This startup aims to make massive supercomputers affordable for all(15:54)
Toronto, May 25 (IANS) Think about accessing a supercomputer at an affordable cost to process your massive computing needs. To make this happen, two Indian-origin researchers have come up with a plan and a model for making supercomputers available for scientists, engineers and designers to further their research in a jiffy.
- With expiry on Thursday, expect volatility to increase (Market Watch)(14:42)
By Arun Kejriwal
The week gone by began on a very ominous note and BSE SENSEX lost almost 1,000 points on Monday itself. The remaining days of the week were spent in trying to recover from there and it was an uphill struggle with markets making some recovery but not enough to close in positive territory. BSE SENSEX lost 425.14 points or 1.37 per cent to close at 30,672.59 points while NIFTY lost 97.60 points or 1.07 per cent to close at 9,039.25 points. The broader markets saw BSE100, BSE200 and BSE500 lose 1.13 per cent, 1.17 per cent and 1.21 per cent respectively. BSE MIDCAP was down two per cent while BSE SMALLCAP lost 1.54 per cent.
- Memories of being in a war zone (Comment)(10:11)
BY SAEED NAQVI
What does one make of it, this singular absence of even a column-inch worth of interest in this land of Vasudev Kutumbakam, when Nazism in its raw, naked form comes riding on the back of the Croatian Catholic Church to organize celebratory mass for Croatia's Nazi collaborators during WW-II. This, when the world is celebrating the 78th anniversary of Victory in Europe.
- Taxes, prices and restructurings: Moving ahead in the times of corona (Column: Behind Infra Lines)(09:33)
By TAPONEEL MUKHERJEE
As economies slowly open across the globe, the ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic on global trade and geopolitics are gradually playing out. Amid rapidly evolving global trade dynamics, India's focus on attracting manufacturing firms to India is a step in the right direction. That said, an area of even greater focus for India must be on freeing up capital flows in the economy. Essentially, while targetted focus on attracting manufacturing businesses to India is commendable, creating an environment that allows greater and smoother capital flow must form the core underpinning for India to generate economic growth not just in the near future but for the coming decade.
- Countering corona with 'smart' living (Column: Spy's Eye)(09:14)
BY D.C. PATHAK
A continuing problem with the handling of corona pandemic in India is that even after a long effective lockdown -- which did save the country from a surge of infections that would have totally overwhelmed our governance -- the logic of prevention through 'social distancing' and 'surface hygiene' has still not been put across to the common man here because of poor messaging.
- No umpire from the Indian cricket empire (Column: Close-in)(10:41)
By Yajurvindra Singh
Indian cricket has had a phenomenal growth, not only as one of the top cricket teams in the world but also in cricket administration, as well as a frontline innovator of cricket properties. Cricket in India is flourishing commercially because millions are watching the game and following it religiously.
- Painting a film, like Rima Das(08:27)
By Sukant Deepak
New Delhi, May 23 (IANS) Delicate lives at their most profound. No overt metaphysical questions, just rhythmic existence leaving enough room for interpretation. Stories, mostly wrapped under a thin disguise. What she manages to say loudly is always with the silences and abandon of her characters. With glimpses of tales and images unseen, left for the imaginations of viewers, National-award winning filmmaker Rima Das always convinces -- there is never just one story.
- COVID-19 virus 'does not spread easily' on surfaces, says US CDC(21:25)
New York, May 22 (IANS) While the virus that causes COVID-19 spreads easily between people, the risk of getting infected in other ways such by touching surfaces and objects may be relatively lower, suggests new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance.
- ARP in AC trains increased to 30 days, RAC tickets allowed(20:26)
New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) The Indin Railways on Friday decided to increase advance booking by passengers to 30 days from earlier seven days and also booking of waiting and reservation against cancellation tickets for 15 pairs of special air-conditioned trains.
- In hotspot Dharavi, top priority is to reduce crowding: Minister (IANS Interview)(16:10)
By Saiyed Moziz Imam Zaidi
New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) Maharashtras Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad is a 4-term MLA from Dharavi and a second time Cabinet minister in the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government. Her constituency Dharavi has emerged as a cluster of Covid-19 with the total number of cases crossing 1,400. She says the government is trying to reduce crowding in the area and enforce social distancing. Besides, the government is also facilitating migrants return to their native places.
- Path of Diminishing Marginal Utility: RBI Policy May 2020(14:18)
By Suyash Choudhary
The monetary policy committee (MPC), reflecting the sign of times, had yet another out of policy meeting and delivered a 40 bps repo rate cut with commensurate changes to the rest of the rates in the corridor. In its assessment, the committee noted the further deterioration in growth prospects. Even as food prices have reversed trend and spiked substantially recently (food inflation was 8.6% in April as per the partial CPI data release), the assessment is that CPI will fall over the second half the year and will fall below the 4% target over quarters 3 and 4 of the financial year. Importantly, the forward guidance is strong noting space for further easing will open up if CPI behaves as expected. The summary assessment hence is that risks to growth are acute while those to inflation may be temporary. And this is what has been expressed as action. Although the RBI hasnt provided an explicit growth forecast, it has now acknowledged a negative print for FY 21. The silver lining noted is that in agriculture where kharif sowing is robust.
- Chhattisgarh launches Nyay, to ensure direct benefit to farmers: Baghel (IANS Interview)(16:46)
New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) Chhattisgarh on Thursday became the first state to launch the Congress flagship programme of 'Nyay.' Christened as Rajiv Gandhi Nyay Yojna, The scheme was launched by party chief Sonia Gandhi through video conferencing. The Nyay scheme that the Congress promised to implement in its manifesto was aimed at ensuring minimum income availability to the poor through direct bank transfer. This will directly help 20 lakh farmers. For this, a provision of Rs 5,100 crore has been made in the budget.
- Perfect opportunity to change structure of Indian football: Stimac(14:40)
New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) The coronavirus pandemic has brought the world to a standstill and even though Bundesliga action started last week, it is still a long way before normalcy returns. And Indias national football coach Igor Stimac says that while it has halted plans, it is also the perfect opportunity to change the structure of Indian football.
- 'Human development on course to decline after 30 yrs'(09:51)
United Nations, May 21 (IANS) Global human development, which can be measured as a combination of the world's education, health and living standards, could decline this year for the first time since the concept was introduced in 1990, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) warned.
- Priyanka should look after her own states: UP BJP chief (IANS Interview)(19:46)
By Vivek Tripathi
Lucknow, May 20 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh has launched a scathing attack on the Congress party saying that while the Modi and Yogi governments are fighting the Covid-19 pandemic with full force, the opposition Congress is engaged in petty politics over the issue of migrants. He advised Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to take care of migrants in the party's own states, alleging that their condition is deplorable and the Rajasthan and Punjab governments did nothing to provide them with transportation.
- How does India's recent stimulus package compare with other countries? (Opinion)(17:26)
By Ashishkumar Chauhan
Over the last week, the only issue under discussion in Indian business circles is about how much more Government of India could have done for reviving the economy which has stalled due to Covid-19. Indian Prime Minister announced the size of the stimulus package as Rs 20 lakh crore â close to 10 per cent of the Indian GDP on May 12, 2020. The figure of Rs 20 lakh crore is also very similar to the entire tax receipts of the central government for FY 2020-21, if the year did not have Covid-19 related problems. Subsequently, India's Finance Minister provided details of the stimulus package over 5 days. The stimulus package is a mix of fiscal support, monetary support, ease of doing business processes, as well as some fundamental reforms.
- Post Covid India needs grand strategy for Asian century (Dealing with the Dragon - II)(12:54)
BY PRADIP BAIJAL
In most nations, massive economic changes take place every 70-100 years, changing the nations totally. Sometimes these changes destroy the nations, or they take them to the top. Industrial Revolutions 1.0 (1760-1860) and 2.0 (1850-1930) (and some other factors) multiplied US/UK and European economies 5, 6 times, while India/China went down 10 times (1820-1970) during a similar period. The US had an earlier phase of growth 7-10 times post civil war and American reforms, taking America to the top.
- Aarogya Setu safest app in India: MyGov CEO Abhishek Singh (IANS Interview)(05:41)
By Nikhila Natarajan
New York, May 20 (IANS) Pushing back against the steady hum of privacy concerns from critics of India's Aarogya Setu contact tracing app, MyGov CEO Abhishek Singh emphatically defended the app as the safest across all mobile apps that Indians currently use and a digital public good that Indians should be "proud" of.
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