Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s chances of getting re-elected in the 2019 elections have slipped from 99 per cent in 2017 to 50 per cent , says economic analyst Ruchir Sharma, noting that a fragmented opposition is showing signs of coming together. The BJP won with 31 per cent vote share in 2014 because the opposition was fragmented, seat share was disproportionate and its vote was concentrated, said the New York […]

An aggressive Rahul Gandhi on Thursday launched a two-pronged offensive against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on demonetisation and Rafale deal, terming them as huge scams which were committed to help his “crony capitalist friends”. In a no-holds-barred attack on Mr Modi, the Congress chief alleged that the noteban “scam” was deliberately inflicted on common people by the PM who owes an answer to the country on why he did so, […]

The National Conference president was attending Eid prayers at a shrine in Srinagar when members of the congregation started shouting slogans. Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference President Farooq Abdullah was heckled during Eid prayers at a shrine in Srinagar on Wednesday, Greater Kashmir reported. Dozens who had gathered at the Hazratbal shrine to offer prayers shouted slogans even before the imam could begin the sermon at […]

US President Donald Trump does not expect much progress from trade talks with China this week in Washington, he told Reuters on Monday. Trump said in an interview that he had “no time frame” for ending the trade dispute with China, which threatens to impose tariffs on virtually all goods traded between the world’s two largest economies. “I’m like them; I have a long horizon,” he added. The talks this […]

Australian Senator Fraser Anning on Wednesday compared Muslims with “poisonous jelly beans”, following his “racist” maiden speech in the Senate seeking immigration restrictions based on race. Anning, from the conservative Katter`s Australian Party, advocated a return to White Australia policy and called for migration bans on Muslims in his speech in Parliament on Tuesday. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull joined other politicians and community leaders in criticizing the Queensland Senator for […]

August 15, 2018 marked the 72nd Independence Day. We have come a long way from that rainy August day in 1947 when we managed to regained control of our Motherland. It is true that we are one of the world’s most thriving Democracy, a vibrant Economy and a Republic with deep roots. But how do we interpret Independence today. It is true the tryst and struggled of our forefathers are […]

The Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission aims to provide coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family annually, benefiting more than 10 crore poor families. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to annouoonce the launch of the Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Scheme (AB-NHPS) on a pilot basis in some states on the occasion of Independence Day, with the full-scale roll-out of his pet project expected in September end, sources […]

In Assam, the final draft of the National Registrar of Citizens was published on Monday, putting in doubt the citizenship status of more than 4 million people. While the exercise will obviously have a significant effect in Assam itself, the politics of the NRC has also spilled over into neighbouring West Bengal where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took it up as an issue of Bengali identity. The move will help […]

China on Friday accused the US of starting “the biggest trade war in economic history” as American tariffs took effect on Chinese goods worth $34 billion. “China is forced to strike back to safeguard core national interests and the interests of its people,” the country`s Commerce Ministry said in a statement after the tariffs kicked in. President Donald Trump`s administration’s 25 per cent tariffs are targeting Chinese products such as […]

After being marginalised in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra has emerged as the most important state for the Congress ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. And it looks like the grand old party is making efforts to get its act together in the premier state in order to make inroads into the newfound Bharatiya Janata Party bastion. As the ruling NDA in the state is rocked by the Shiv Sena’s revolt, […]