By Chandan Meshwa / Delhi
After GDP growth rate dipped to 4.8%, which is the lowest in a decade, the government has come up with an innovative solution to stop the negative sentiments that follow.
Taking a cue from the CBSE, the central government has decided that from now on, GDP growth rate will be “graded” and no percentage points will be announced.
By M H Ahssan / Hyderabad
The sacked health minister of Andhra Pradesh, Duggireddy Lakshmireddy Ravindra Reddy (DLR), who proudly uttered his full name in his mirth of being inducted into the State Cabinet by Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy two-and-a-half years ago, was kicked out.
Based on a recommendation of the Chief Minister, Governor ESL Narasimhan dismissed D L Ravindra Reddy from the State Cabinet. The Chief Minister’s camp sent a strong message that he could do away with the politically strong Reddy community too. Signals are available to the extent that two more ministers could also be shown the door. The axe could fall on Chiranjeevi loyalist minsiter C Ramachandraiah also. And there are remote chances that Deputy Chief Minister C Damodar Raja Narasimha may also be eased out of the Cabinet.
By Kajol Singh / New Delhi
The Congress Core Group met in the national capital to discuss the Telangana issue and sources tell INN that a decision is likely to be announced after the Assembly session of Andhra Pradesh gets over.
Sources say an all-party meet could be called on June 7 or June 8. The main Opposition the Bharatiya Janata Party has hit out at the Prime Minister and the UPA government with the leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj tweeting that the Opposition is more patient because the government is more corrupt than ever before. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had remarked that the Opposition played an "obstructionist role" in Parliament.
By Shankar Jaganathan (Guest Writer)
Corruption in India has attained humongous proportions despite continual but largely erratic movements since independence to tackle this menace. This Writer ponders on whether the recent betting scandal in cricket could catalyse an effective outcome in the fight against political corruption.
Spot fixing in cricket, sexual harassment in the political and corporate world, doctored investigation reports in politics and lucrative jobs sold for money are some of the recently leveled allegations against various individuals and institutions that are making headlines.
By Swati Lodh Kundu (Guest Writer)
When the Right To Education (RTE) Act was written into the Indian constitution in 2010, the country became 135th where government is responsible and legally bound to educate children between the ages of six and 14.
In other words, children are entitled to education as a fundamental right. The commendable Act, which was approved in April, had all the features required for nation building. As it gave a time frame of three years for implementation and this deadline has passed, it is time to take stock of the success of the Act.
The provisions of the act were strong. For example, if the children cannot reach school for whatever reasons, the school would reach them.
By Ramesh Reddy / Hyderabad
The Telangana cauldron has begun to boil again for the Congress, after simmering for a while. Senior leader Keshav Rao along with other party heavyweights from Andhra Pradesh is poised to dump the Congress and join the Telangana Rashtra Samithi. This was only to be expected, given that the Congress has been dragging its feet on the issue of creating a Telangana State. These leaders from the Telangana region have been finding it increasingly difficult to justify their party's prevarication for years, even though the Congress had assured the people that a separate Telangana State would be carved out of Andhra Pradesh at the earliest.
By Pagal Patrkaar / Delhi
Even as the nation was still to recover from the shock and amusement at the discovery of prized treasure from the underground vaults of a temple in Kerala, a new treasure trove is believed to have been found beneath the cells of Tihar jail.
Primary excavations since last night have already thrown up valuables worth rupees 2 lakh crores, more than double the worth of antiquities estimated to have been found at the ancient Shri Padmnabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram.
“Cash, contracts, licenses, share certificates, and precious commodities like gold, gems, petrol, and onions have been found beneath various cells,” Subramanian Swamy, a senior member of the excavation team spearheading the digging efforts informed.
By M H Ahssan / Hyderabad
The return of NR Narayana Murthy as Executive Chairman of Infosys Technologies is a high-risk strategy for the company’s board for the simple reason that the company’s problems are more structural than merely one of a dipping market image.
It is also a partial admission of failure by the Infosys board. That its current plan needs tweaking. That its current leadership need help. No one brings an old hand back from retirement if things are working to plan.
For the last several quarters, while Tata Consultancy Services, Cognizant Technologies and HCL Technologies have been speeding ahead despite the global slowdown, Infosys has been missing its quarterly guidance and dropping behind. And CEO SD Shibulal has been facing all the flak for this.
