'Best Ramasamy', president of Tamil Nadu's newest party, says it is time that the state had a change in its leaders.

'People of this state have suffered for long. Hence, their patience level is very low at the moment. We have to act double quick to improve the state of life in Bengal,' says senior Congress leader Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury.

The fundamental reason for the lack of a substantive debate on important issues is that we, the public as well as the representatives, simply do now know what the real issues are. We have to fix that deficit in our democracy, says Rajesh Kasturirangan.

The reasons for the decline of Indian academia are more complex than just the influence of IT, however significant that might be, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.

A vicious cocktail of weak purchasing power among the hundreds of millions of poor people, and a systems failure in tackling supply side challenges is driving food prices beyond the reach of many, writes Sarosh Bana.

Rasika Dhavse summaries a study on bus transport systems from India's Auto Fuel Policy report of 2002.

Moments after a customer approaches this cart, the vendor pours tender coconut juice into a funnel-like part. Chilled juice comes out of a stainless steel tap below, filling a 250 ml glass, for Rs.10. Shree Padre reports about Fruit Hut Beverages, a Hyderabad-based firm that has launched the Coco Fresco brand.

The lack of economic activity in most SEZs leads to the suspicion that many were incapable of attracting economic production units in the first place. The rush to 'denotify' them only reinforces this, writes Kannan Kasturi.

As has been the historical trend, most of the budget announcements on agriculture this year, too, are geared towards benefitting agribusiness rather than augmenting farm income, writes Devinder Sharma.

India risks being sucked into the incipient global rivalry between a hegemon and a rising challenger. Keeping economic growth on track will be pivotal to retaining an independent stance, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The government's recent traditional knowledge digital library will send data to patent offices abroad, so that indigenous knowledge that India abundantly has is not patented overseas. Following India's example, other nations too are showing interest in similarly protecting their interests. Ramesh Menon reports.

Eleven young women in Maharashtra have chosen to become Foresters. These women Foresters are mostly from rural Maharashtra. From places such as Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, and Yavatmal and not from the big cities. P Sainath reports.

The Right to Information Bill tabled in Parliament raises expectations to new levels by proposing a dedicated Information Commission for enforcement. Except, the commission is crippled at conception, with no direct penalizing powers. Prakash Kardaley comments.

It has been more than nine months since a political crisis has snowballed into a battle between the tribals and the non-tribals of Manipur creating sharp divisions. Ramesh Menon surveys the fragile situation.

Days before Telangana goes to polls, Venugopalrao Nellutla examines the lack of exuberance and the dilemmas among people in the region, even as they look ahead to statehood and their own government in weeks from now.

On the streets in Guwahati, there are thousands of children outside the reach of the normal schooling system. Many have run away from their homes, and most must work to make ends meet. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports on the challenges of bringing them into the mainstream.

Dr Ilina Sen’s association with Chhattisgarh and her deep, empathetic understanding of its society and culture have come lyrically alive in Inside Chhattisgarh: A Political Memoir. Freny Manecksha reviews the book.

Are tax-payer funded programmes for the empowerment of the disabled working? Until very recently, New Delhi has not even had reliable data to plan its programmes. Himanshu Upadhyaya digs into the 2004 Comptroller and Auditor General report.

Since 1988, SANCHAR has worked to improve the lives of the disabled in rural West Bengal. And with the increasing resources available by law to assist the handicapped now, SANCHAR is working to make sure panchayats tap into these to help their community. Rina Mukherji reports.

24 June 2005 - Sanu Ghosh was around one and a half years old when a visit to SSKM Hospital in Kolkata to treat an attack of pneumonia saw him diagnosed as a patient of cerebral palsy. But then, his daily wage-earning parents from the rural outskirts of the city could hardly have been expected to arrange for the necessary rehabilitation of their little son. Fortunately for them, the Society for Appropriate Rehabilitation for the Disabled (SANCHAR) traced him out when he was four, and even detected a hip dislocation that nobody had noticed until then. Today, not only does Sanu attend school, but can manage to seat himself there, thanks to a chair designed by SANCHAR. A similar contraption for his home enables him to manage his daily domestic chores. At school, he uses his mouth to hold a pencil to write, and can read and write nearly as well as any child of his age.

Arup Sani was struck with polio at the age of three, resulting in the impairment of his left leg and right hand. The son of daily wage earning parents belonging to Krishnarampur village in South 24-Parganas, Arup was adopted by SANCHAR when seven years old. The provision of calipers and crutches under the government's scheme enabled Arup to attend the village primary school. Arup is now 19, and studying at the higher secondary level. He is not only getting educated, but also teaching three hearing impaired children from the neighbouring village. Besides, Arup is helping a visually challenged child, Mafijul, studying in the second grade, as a writer during the latter's exams.

Once again, a study by the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment found alarming levels of pesticide residues in soft drinks and stirred up a public debate. However, the larger issue of how pesticides have invaded the ground water and gotten into the food chain must not be missed, notes Ramesh Menon.

In July, 18 Nobel laureates met with over 500 young scientists from around the world in Germany. India sent 22 researchers. The meeting threw up many questions pertaining to the practice of scientific research in India. Varupi Jain has more.

Attention to international benchmarks, awareness of rights and proactive provision of basic facilities could make train journeys a less stressful experience for physically challenged passengers in the country, says Malini Shankar in the second part of her series.

The pressing need for direct participation of citizens in public oversight has always contrasted with the eagerness of political parties to penetrate virtually all public offices. In Karnataka, school development monitoring committees were the latest to fall victim to this imbalance. Subramaniam Vincent reports.

The area around the Nagavalli tank in Tumkur, Karnataka has been reeling under water scarcity for the past several years, with extensive sinking of bore wells not helping. But Jaya farm, owned by 75 year-old Jayanna and run by his middle-aged son Kumara Swamy, has become a ray of hope and self-help. Shree Padre reports.

When a teacher specially trained to handle children with special needs started work at a local government school in Bangalore, children were benefited and stopped dropping out. Padmalatha Ravi has more.

S Ganesh Mallya, a high school teacher cum Sunday farmer in Yedapadavu in Karnataka, has greened his plot without borewells. Using simple techniques to catch rainwater, he has managed to raise the water level in his open well and grow a bountiful farm. Shree Padre reports.

"Trying to measure the success of water harvesting only with increased water level is not fair. The vegetation improves, so does the soil moisture.” Shree Padre reports on an arecanut farming family's success.

Lack of clarity over legal requirements, shoddy implementation and selective approvals have made it extremely difficult for poorer communities to build or maintain their houses in coastal zones. Vinod Patgar describes the situation based on his experience in Karnataka.

In Pune, bureaucratic meddling and lack of vision are threatening a simple, cost-effective eco-technology which treats heavily polluted water and turns messed-up water bodies into clean ones, reports Surekha Sule.

फ्लिपकार्ट पर 3 दिन सस्ते में खरीदारी करने का मौका दिया जा रहा है. सेल का आखिरी दिन 3 मार्च यानी कि आज है. जानें बेस्ट डील के बारे में...

In a fun video posted by CSK, MS Dhoni can be seen pulling Suresh Raina's leg. In the video, Raina walks up to Dhoni and hugs him before Dhoni jokingly reminds the batsman that his beard has turned white. They break into a laughter after that. CSK took to Twitter to post the video which read: "Like the sky! @msdhoni @ImRaina #WhistlePodu."

After having raised the issue of whether the clubby and secretive collegiums system actually preserves the independence of the judiciary former Supreme Court judge, Justice Markandey Katju, has now trained his guns on India’s antiquated contempt of court law. He has made the valid point, in this newspaper, that judicial supremacy cannot be based on the law of kings in a democracy.

अमेरिका के गैरवरीय रीले ओपेलका ने वावरिंका को 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 8-6 से हराया.

अपना पहला ग्रैंड स्लैम खेल रही कोरी ग्राफ ने टूर्नामेंट के चौथे राउंड में प्रवेश कर लिया है जहां उनका सामना सिमोना हालेप से होगा

लिएंडर पेस के बाद रोहन बोपन्ना और दिविज शरण भी मिक्स्ड डबल्स में हराकर टूर्नामेंट से बाहर हो गए हैं

सेरेना ने गुरुवार को सेमीफाइनल में चेक गणराज्य की बारबोरा स्ट्रायकोवा को मात दी तो वहीं हालेप ने यूक्रेन की इलिना स्वितोलिना को हराया.

शुक्रवार को पहले सेमीफाइनल मुकाबले में जोकोविच स्पेन के रॉबर्ट बॉतिस्ता को हराकर छठी बार इस टूर्नामेंट के फाइनल में पहुंचने में कामयाब रहे.

रोजर फेडरर अब तक आठ बार विंबलडन जीत चुके हैं. वहीं, राफेल नडाल ने केवल दो बार खिताब जीता है.

Valmiki Rampersad had pleaded guilty to 26 offences including four counts of causing/inciting a girl, aged 13 to 15, to engage in sexual activity; 21 counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child; and, one count of making indecent photographs of a child.

An Indian-origin Singaporean, Jasvinder Singh Mehar Singh (52) was sentenced to two months' jail on Thursday for shouting "corona, corona" and spitting on a hotel floor at the Changi Airport, the first conviction of its kind in the country related to the coronavirus outbreak. Singh breached a remission order after his early release from prison in February.

An Indian-origin man has been sentenced to 52 weeks' imprisonment after pleading guilty to writing offensive graffiti at a number of locations across Leicester in central England, some of which was deemed to be racially or religiously aggravated. Amit Divecha admitted to being responsible for the graffiti, which was found outside a Hindu temple.

Sensex jumps 1,628 points led by rally in FMCG, IT stocks

दिल्ली की बिजली वितरण कंपनियों ने खुद से मीटर रीडिंग करने और समय पर बिल भुगतान करने वाले ग्राहकों को LED TV जैसे इनाम और बिल में छूट देने की पेशकश की है.

E-scooters, e-bus unveiled at Auto Expo 2020

Watch: 2020 Maruti Suzuki Ignis unveiled

India’s Covid-19 count is nearing 60,000 mark with 59,662 cases after new cases topped 3,000 for the third consecutive day. The overall death toll too was just short of 2,000 at 1,981. Overall, 3,294 fresh cases were reported from states in past 24-hour. Stay here for all live updates

At least five persons were killed and 10 others injured after a fire broke out at a chemical factory near the Bangladeshi capital, officials said on Sunday.

Just three days after its last order notifying containment zones, the district administration on Friday added 11 new containment zones in the Gurugram block. Most are in old Gurugram. The district now has 32 containment zones.