Ending point

The allegation by Opposition Congress members that the special debate in the Karnataka Assembly on the theme ‘one nation, one election’ was part the RSS agenda triggered heated exchange between Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and the protesting members. The Congress members, who resorted to protest in the well of the Assembly against the need for discussing such a theme in the ongoing session, alleged repeatedly that the topic of the debate was an “agenda of the RSS”. In a counter-attack, Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri said, “Why are you bringing the name of the RSS here? Talk about us who are in this House and not the RSS.” Mr. Yediyurappa lost his cool towards the end of the day’s session, when protests continued. He said, “What is that RSS agenda you are talking about? The Prime Minister of this country himself is from the RSS.” He told Congress members that they were “grounded throughout the country” because of such an attitude. “You are shouting here just because you have ... » Learn More about Sparks fly over charge that debate is RSS agenda

Bhutan's recognition of Bangladesh without waiting for Indian advice was a clever move. It was a calculated gamble to assert its independence, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan. T himphu, the capital of Bhutan had very few comforts in 1971. For us, who went to Bhutan from Tokyo, with a nine-month old baby 42 years ago, the feeling was that we had walked backwards in time by about half a century. The first motorable road was opened only in 1968 and there were no commercial flights into Bhutan. The drive from the border town of Phuntsholing in India to Thimphu took the whole day, with a lunch break at Chukha, a small rivulet at that time, but a gigantic hydro-electric project now. Electricity was a rarity and we had to huddle around a bukhari , which burns wood to provide a level of comfort in the bitter cold. Life did not, however, stand still in Thimphu. 1971 was an exciting year in Bhutan and as the only diplomatic mission in the country, India was very much a partner in ... » Learn More about Who recognised Bangladesh first?

#Republic Day Farmers Protest: Road connecting Ghaziabad via Ghazipur reopens for vehicular traffic #Republic Day Republic Day violence: Farmer leader from Jammu taken into custody by Delhi Police #Republic Day R Day violence accused calls public meeting next week in Bathinda #Republic Day Delhi Police releases photos of 20 more people in connection with R-Day violence at Red Fort #Republic Day Republic day violence was not due to intelligence failure, says Delhi Police chief #Republic Day Red Fort incident: Prime accused Maninder Singh arrested, swords seized For Quick Alerts Subscribe Now Actor Mithun Chakraborty may join BJP at PM Modi's Kolkata rally on Mar 7 View Sample For Quick Alerts ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS For Daily Alerts Just In 10 min ago Cong to move no-confidence against Haryana govt on March 10 20 min ago IndiGo passenger says ... » Learn More about Samyukta Kisan Morcha seeks judicial probe into Republic Day violence

Eckart Würzner, a mayor on a mission to make his city emission-free, is not terribly impressed by promises from General Motors, Ford and other big automakers to swear off fossil fuels. Not that Würzner, the mayor of Heidelberg , is against electric cars . The postcard-perfect city, in southern Germany, gives residents who buy a battery-powered vehicle a bonus of up to 1,000 euros, or $1,200. They get another 1,000 euros if they install a charging station. But electric cars are low on the list of tools that Würzner is using to try to cut Heidelberg’s impact on the climate, an effort that has given the city, home to Germany’s oldest university and an 800-year-old castle ruin, a reputation as a pioneer in environmentally conscious urban planning. Würzner’s goal is to reduce dependence on cars, no matter where they get their juice. Heidelberg is buying a fleet of hydrogen-powered buses, building a network of bicycle “superhighways” to the suburbs and designing neighborhoods ... » Learn More about The city where cars are not welcome

Venky Ananth SVP and global head of Healthcare at Infosys Remote areas usually have limited medical access. How do people handle emergency situations or for that matter even day to day sickness? Usually, they turn to quacks or self-medication or try to live through the pain before considering medical help. Travelling to a city to get the right help is expensive. And this is the situation in many areas in India. India has only 1 doctor for every 1457 citizens and 2 out of 3 doctors in rural areas are usually quacks. Even in cities where decent medical care is accessible, there are problems in accessing medical records, getting the right prognosis among many others. Can technology turn around the disappointing scenarios in Indian healthcare? The answer is an astounding yes. When visiting a health practitioner, we still lug paper files right from the time we were born to the current time to tabulate our medical history. Usually, we stick to one hospital because the data which we ... » Learn More about Solving the Myriad Challenges in Healthcare Through AI-Driven Analytics

The debate on Sardar Patel’s legacy is less about the Sardar and more about the acute sense of threat felt by the Delhi establishment at the rise of Narendra Modi and questions he has raised about the disproportionate share of credit given to a single family, says Colonel (retd) Anil Athale. T he recent fracas over Sardar Patel’s legacy and the unease amongst the defenders of the dynasty (themselves members of minor dynasties) triggered a childhood memory of a text book lesson on India’s first prime minister. The textbooks, to highlight the hardships suffered by Nehru in going to jail, informed us that the Nehru family was so rich that Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal’s father; used to send his laundry to Paris! Just to confirm, this author checked with contemporaries and even some younger generation persons and all of them remember this bit! One wonders if this genuine example of unadulterated sycophancy is still part of the NCERT text books! Readers of this column can help in this ... » Learn More about The legacy of Sardar Patel: History as a political football!