Democracy is a strange leveller. In domestic politics it has a way of springing up surprises which few anticipate. Even in foreign relations, it can make crises disappear in the same manner in which it can create them. When most had assumed that a second term for Maldivian President Abdulla …

The recent outreach by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at Vigyan Bhavan in Delhi seems to have succeeded in its principal objective: an image makeover for a niche audience. Thanks to an obsequious media and a commentariat ever willing to suspend disbelief, the event has yielded the soft, liberal gloss …

As a commentator, he covered 9 Olympics & 6 Asian Games Renowned hindi commentator Jasdev Singh passed away on Tuesday after prolonged illness. Jasdev was 87 and is survived by a son and daughter. “It is with deep sadness that I note the demise of Sh. Jasdev Singh, one of …

Greenpeace activists on Tuesday scaled storage tanks at an Indonesian palm oil refinery along with a popular rock band which played pro-environment songs, protesting against a commodity found in everything from soap to biscuits. The green group said 30 activists and Indonesian metal group Boomerang had been “occupying” the site …

India ranks 158th in the world for its investments in education and health care, according to the first-ever scientific study ranking countries for their levels of investment in human capital. The nation is placed behind Sudan (ranked 157th) and ahead of Namibia (ranked 159th) in the list. The U.S. is …

Udalazhamtells the story of A. Raju who was born in a tribal settlement inside the Nilambur forest in Kerala While the country continues to debate social exclusion and marginalisation of the third gender, the life and struggles of Kerala’s only known tribal transgender, who died seven months ago, is now …

The Supreme Court wants the government to quickly fill the vacancies at the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), which is an important appellate body for filing appeals against orders passed by the capital market, insurance and pension regulators. While hearing an appeal filed by Quantum Securities, the apex court highlighted the …

Short-term power trading volumes for delivery, on Tuesday, hit an all-time high of 268.3 million units (MU) at the Indian Energy Exchange, in the wake of a surge in demand for electricity in the eastern, southern and western States mainly due to inadequate supply of coal and decrease in wind …

Concerns related to IL&FS has made investors turn wary of the whole sector The recent sell-off in the shares of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and housing finance companies (HFCs) has been so severe that some of the sector constituents are currently trading at a discount of over 50% when compared …

Infrastructure Finance & Leasing Services, which is facing a severe cash crunch, along with 40 other group companies, filed an application with the Mumbai Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), seeking relief under Section 230 of the Companies Act. By moving NCLT, IL&FS can get more time to …

Microsoft, Adobe Systems and SAP have formed an alliance to offer clients using their applications a unified view of data on their respective end-customers. “There is a big data opportunity. But we have a small data challenge,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at the annual Ignite conference of the IT …

The European Union (EU) said on Monday that its members would set up a payment system to allow oil companies and businesses to continue trading with Iran in a bid to evade U.S. sanctions. Iran and the European Union (EU) announced their defiance towards U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration after …

China on Tuesday signalled its expectation that the newly elected government in the Maldives will continue to back the Beijing-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as well as the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) reached with the outgoing administration of Abdulla Yameen. “China and the Maldives enjoy traditional friendship and in …

The Brexit spokesman of Britain’s main Opposition Labour Party on Tuesday raised the possibility of staying in the European Union (EU), more than two years after Britons voted to leave. Keir Starmer told the conference that another vote on Britain’s relationship with the EU should still be an option, in …

The new government in the Maldives will make resolving all recent issues with India a priority, and the problems of Indian job-holders awaiting work-visas will be a “key issue”, says a senior leader of the Maldivian Democratic Party and member of former President Mohammad Nasheed’s cabinet. While a decision is …

Sweden’s centre-right Opposition and the far right ousted Prime Minister Stefan Löfven in a vote of no-confidence on Tuesday, as the left and right blocs wrangle over who can form a new government after neither won a majority in September 9 elections. Mr. Löfven’s departure was widely anticipated. The head …

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe spoke to outgoing Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen and said he was always welcome in Colombo, official sources said on Tuesday. Mr. Wickremesinghe also met former President Mohamed Nasheed for lunch on Monday — after Ibrahim Mohamed Solih dislodged Mr. Yameen in the election — …

Even as controversy rages in India over the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets for the Air Force through an inter-governmental agreement, a French Admiral has made a pitch for the naval variant of the fighter to the Indian Navy. The Indian Navy is on the look out for 57 …

The Indian Armed Forces will observe ‘Parakram Parv’ from September 28 – 30 to mark the second anniversary of the surgical strikes against terror camps across the Line of Control (LoC) and to “showcase the courage, valour and sacrifice of Armed Forces”. “The Indian Army conducted surgical strikes in 2016 …

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said public sector banks were expecting stronger credit growth this financial year on the back of stronger growth in the economy. “We are passing through a phase of good growth in the economy,” the Minister said at a press briefing following the annual …