When the world's cheapest tablet gets a new version, especially one attached to a government tender expected to be in the millions, there's always excitement. "Aakash 4 to have 4G and voice calling" went the news headlines today.


Proposed Aakash 4 specs are a step back (Comment: Special to IANS)


IANS Automatic

In the financial markets, every trader has his own style, methodology and a favourite list of fundamental and technical indicators which is developed over time to be consistently profitable. But there is one golden rule subject to absolutely no modification: 'You don't fight the Fed'.


Reforms can help improve sentiments towards rupee (Comment: Special to IANS)


It is impossible to believe that the forced withdrawal of two Sri Lankan army officers from the Defence Service Staff College in Wellington in Tamil Nadu will not affect ties between New Delhi and Colombo.


It is time India corrects its Sri Lanka policy (Comment)


BlackBerry Thursday launched the Q10 in India -- the second of the two BB10 OS-based handsets that were first shown at the company's global BB 10 event in January this year. And it's priced at a staggering Rs 44,990 (around $820).


Why BlackBerry Q10's Rs.45,000 pricetag is a bad idea (Review)


On May 23, Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos took a leaf out of former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping's book. Host to the Pacific Alliance (Alianza del Pacifico) in the salubrious city of Cali, he inaugurated the VII summit with the words: ''The Asian Pacific is the new global pole for development and Latin America wants to be a partner. He spoke on behalf of his three partners in the Alliance - the Presidents of Mexico, Chile and Peru.


The elephant and the pumas: India and Pacific alliance (Comment)


Mark Twain once said that a gold miner is a liar standing next to a hole dug up in the ground. The time has come for financial market participants to stop looking at the world through the prism of a goldbug.


Return of US dollar, end of gold run (Comment)


To reconsider the legacy of Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) on his 152nd birth anniversary is to confront a maze of contradictions. What, for instance, inspired a school dropout without a college degree to establish an international university? Why did a member of the land-owning 'zamindar' class feel compelled to write about the lives of oppressed peasants, and to experiment with schemes for rural development? How could a man write so insightfully about the lives of women? What made him express religious devotion in erotic language, and love in the language of religion? Why did he yearn for fame, yet live in constant fear of it?


Tagore's legacy: Seeking out the man behind the mask (Comment - May 9 is Tagore's birth anniversary)


Followers of Islam, the second largest faith in the world with an estimated 1.7 billion believers, can now be surer when an Indian firm stands the pre-requisites for observant Muslims. The Shariah index launched by the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) is a new measure in town, assuring compliance with the Islamic canonical law.


Now a Shariah Index for financial inclusion of Indian Muslims (Comment)


I was in Lucknow when Sarabjit Singh died in Lahore. My purpose in visiting the city of my childhood was to address a much milder agenda: to attend a seminar organised by the local Urdu Media Guild on May Day. Since May Day this year coincided with celebration of Prophet Mohammads daughter Fatima Zehras birthday, the organisers made this coincidence the theme of the seminar.


Intemperate media hysteria setting political agenda (Comment)


India, a motive force behind the founding of BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - has shown the world the importance of the development of democracy. By focusing on cooperation rather than competition, these five emerging world powers have shown that they are capable of changing the paradigm of international relations and promoting the democracy of development.


BRICS: Changing the paradigm of international relations (Comment)


The problem confronting India is that at a very low level of per capita income and consumption compared to even developing countries, the pollution of rivers and air is among the worst in the world. Consequently, people are confronted with severe health-related problems caused by environmental degradation.


Consumption of the well-off is main cause of pollution (Comment)


The Chinese intrusion into Depsang Bulge in East Ladakh, approximately 19 km inside our perception of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on April 15, has raised temperatures both militarily and politically on either side. A series of border personnel meetings between the militaries of the two sides have not been able to resolve the issue so far and the standoff continues till date. It would not be incorrect to presume that this latest provocation from the Chinese side has been undertaken with the tacit approval of the highest levels in the Chinese hierarchy.


Chinese provocation: Is India prepared?  (Comment)


"Could we, the sons of India, ever be able to see Indian images on screen?," wondered Dhundiraj Govind Phalke as he saw a French film, "The Life of Christ". Gripped by nationalistic fervour, Phalke, better known as Dada Saheb Phalke, went on to make in his own words the country's first "swadeshi" (indigenous) feature-length film, "Raja Harishchandra", which was released in May 3, 1913.


Indian cinema: Projecting India's soft power


In the ongoing investigation of bribery and corruption in the VVIP helicopter deal, the Central Bureau of Investigation, or CBI, appears to have made up its mind that the then Indian Air Force (IAF) chief, Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi, was instrumental in swinging the deal in favour of AgustaWestland.


VVIP chopper deal: Singling out an individual is wrong (Comment) (With Image)


Rama Prasad Goenka (who died April 14) was decidedly the most remarkable man I have seen in my life's journey. The world need not be told that R.P. Goenka was a great businessman. What was more remarkable was that he was an extraordinary human being, rich not only in bank balances but richer in human values, always keen to understand the world and enjoy the company of the people around him.

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