IANS's blog

In 2010, during his first visit to India, President Barack Obama proclaimed: "I believe that India and America are indispensable partners in meeting the challenges of their times."

Kolkata, May 3, The massive hunt for undeclared cash launched across the country post demonetisation has revealed that these was either converted into gold or routed through shell companies to make it legal tender, IT sleuths have told IANS.

Taxing agricultural income has always been a politically sensitive topic. This was evident last week after NITI Aayog member Bibek Debroy spoke in favour of this above a certain threshold. Immediate clarifications followed that the official stance was not the same.

The April 13 Mother of All Bombs (MOAB) strike by the United States on ISIS terrorists in Afghanistan has triggered suggestions that a second round of the Cold War is set to begin. Particularly as the new US President, Donald Trump, seems to be brash, abrasive and capable of taking action without thinking of consequences.

South Asia is becoming one of the most interesting regions in the world economy, displaying unprecedented growth, averaging close to six per cent per annum since the 1990s. According to a new World Bank report, it has consolidated its position as the global leader in growth.

Just when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was hoping for success across the board from panchayats to parliament, the revival of the case against some of its leaders in the Babri Masjid demolition case of 1992 has raised the possibility of revealing the party's communal face which it has recently been trying to hide.

At Khan el Khalili, Cairo's main souk in the crowded Islamic district, shopowners seek out Indian tourists with friendly hails of "Amitabh Bachchan! Shah Rukh Khan! Welcome!!" These two actors are by far the most popular Indians in Egypt, a testament to the enormous soft power of Bollywood.

In 2014, Dolly Kumari, an outspoken 12th class passout, left her home in Jharkhand, journeying about 2,000 km south to a new job as a tailor at a garment factory in Bengaluru. Like most workers in this sector, when she first came, she did not think of staying beyond a few months. Today, over two years later, at 21, Kumari is one of two assistant line supervisors on the factory floor of Shahi Exports Pvt. Ltd., overseeing the work of 119 tailors. Her salary has risen 66 per cent, from Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,300 per month.

When pacing the cold, stone-lined corridors of South Block, former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar famously confessed to fantasising about Goan fish curry over butter chicken, the national capital's ubiquitous calorific treat.

Having failed to delineate a cogent and credible line on secularism, the Congress will have to articulate a new position to find its way back into political reckoning.

India has to do no more than let the Dalai Lama be the Dalai Lama in order to rile China from time to time.

The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) first monetary policy review of fiscal 2017-18 was presented last week amidst expectations of a status quo on the interest rates and speculation of action on a few irritants like the problem of excess liquidity. As expected, the repo rate was left untouched. Surprisingly, the reverse repo rate was increased by a quarter percentage point to six percent and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate was reduced by an equal amount to 6.5 percent.

Lucknow, April 9 (IANS) If Prime Minister Narendra Modi's most publicised statement over the years has been "na khaaonga, na khaane doonga (neither will I take bribes, nor will I allow anyone to either)", for the 21st Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the credo seems to be "na soounga, na sone doonga" (Neither will I sleep, nor will I allow anyone to). A bachelor and a workaholic, Yogi is working long hours every day, say his aides.

On March 30, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak arrived in Chennai for an official visit following an invitation from his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi.

Chicago, April 7, Almost precisely 20 years to the day since the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) came into force, the United States has launched a military strike against Syria for using them against its own civilian population.