President Kalam's vision for rural development is at odds with Ashutosh Gowariker's Swades where Shah Rukh Khan charts a simple location-specific path to village development. The two different routes to the same objective bring out the conflict in our understanding of the rural crisis, says Devinder Sharma.

How can 'drastic cuts' in trade subsidies lead to no reduction? Simple: fudge the language. Economic jugglery and clever wording cannot, however, conceal the horrible effects of US and EU subsidies on livelihoods and food security in the developing world. Devinder Sharma urges the G-20 to simplify the terms of trade.

For 40 years, nearly 17 million cotton growers have been subsidising the textile industry. If only these farmers had got the right price for the cotton they produced, the number of their suicides would have been far less. Instead, cotton prices have been on a steady decline thereby acerbating the farm crisis, writes Devinder Sharma.

With 60 per cent of India's population directly engaged in agriculture, and another 200 million landless workers indirectly banking on farming, the real stimulus to the economy can come only if the focus shifts to agriculture, says Devinder Sharma.

Business honchos are descending on the rural markets, expecting to make a killing from whatever is left in the pockets of India's poor, led by an NCAER forecast of robust sales growth here, writes Devinder Sharma.

Though FDI in retail is being projected as a cure-all for the ills in the agriculture and food sector, Devinder Sharma cites examples from the world over to argue why we should not be pinning our hopes on it.

Amidst this anomalous global pandemic, as the whole world wars against a sinuously strong, mutating virus what has metamorphosed is the human spirit. Whether it is a housewife who files her first writ petition to...

Mother is prowling around the house like an overzealous detective looking for clues of my ineptitude as a homemaker. This is an old habit. In the past, when I once asked her to babysit while...

Aaaah! Rejoice… love is in the air…and it is beating the virus! Let’s unashamedly swoon over the parallel ‘love tracks’ of these two ‘Lockdown relationships’ — one featuring a 51-year-old, world famous, London-based scientist, the...

India’s lockdown has been eased by dividing the country into red, orange and green zones, with high, medium and minimal infections so far, and correspondingly tough curbs on economic activity. This can at best be...

Pakistan has decided to lift lockdown to kick-start its tottering economy. The growth engine of Pakistan’s economic revival is powered by CPEC, flagship project of the Belt Road Initiative (BRI). It is tempting to conjure...

On 10 th of May, 1857 the Ghadar started. A group of Indian sepoys in employment of the ‘honourable’ British East India Company revolted in Meerut, killed its English officers and marched on Delhi. They...

The Uttar Pradesh government’s retributive approach to tackling the coronavirus outbreak is dangerously counterproductive. Its intention to firm up the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, merely needed a law to protect doctors, nurses and health workers...

Coronavirus lockdowns and travel restrictions have forced people around the world to delay their nuptials or adapt to the unusual times by celebrating via web link. But in China -- where livestreaming is extremely popular -- some young couples are allowing anyone to watch their big day and even send them gifts.

President Trump congratulated UFC for restarting the sports world Saturday night after a nearly two-month hiatus. Trump's taped message was played during ESPN's broadcast of the UFC 249 undercard from a fan-free arena in Jacksonville.

The US PGA Tour's Memorial Tournament will use radio frequency identification (RFID) chips in spectator badges to ensure fans maintain social distance at the July 16-19 event, Golf Digest reported Saturday.

During an interview with TOI, world No. 3 Thiem spoke about his comeback plans and how he is keeping himself ready for the season, as and when it restarts.

Virat Kohli is in a good frame of mind which gives him confidence of being able to pick up from where he left as and when cricket resumes in the post-Covid world. "... once I am in a good frame of mind and I am keeping myself positive and happy, whenever I return to the game, I know I will be in a good position to start again from where we left," Kohli said.

The absence of World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen took many by surprise. To clear the air, website promoters chess.com released a statement but ended up hurting none other than Carlsen.

French tennis chief Bernard Guidicelli admitted Sunday that Roland Garros, already controversially pushed back four months due to the coronavirus, could be staged behind closed doors.

Ferguson, who came into the fight on a 12-win streak, suffered damage as Gaethje chopped at his legs and landed thunderous hooks before referee Herb Dean stepped in to end the fight late in the fifth round.

Former Australia captain Ian Chappell has proposed radical changes in the LBW laws, stating that a batsman should be given out leg before as long as the ball is hitting the stumps irrespective of the spot of its landing and impact.

Umar Akmal, who was found guilty of two charges under the PCB Anti-Corruption Code has refused to divulge details of his two meetings with suspected bookies. According to the source, Akmal had a meeting with two unidentified men in Defence Housing Society in Lahore. The PCB source said Akmal also gave conflicting statements before the Disciplinary Panel hearing on April 27.

The Sports Ministry had banned spectators in stadiums for any events, including cricket matches, in one of its earliest advisories on the pandemic before all sporting events were brought to a halt altogether.

The camaraderie that players share during the Indian Premier League (IPL) is what makes the tournament special for India and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli. He would have been leading RCB in the 2020 edition of the T20 league at this time, had it not been for the coronavirus pandemic forcing the postponement of the IPL until further notice.

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir doesn't see major changes in the way cricket is played in the post COVID-19 scenario besides the ban on using saliva on the ball. The International Cricket Council is considering legalisation of the usage of artificial substances to shine the ball instead of saliva.

Though there is no avian flu outbreak in Tamil Nadu, poultry farmers across the state have taken precautionary measures.

Minister for Industries, mines and parliamentary affairs Prakash Mehta will attend the programmes regarding 26/11 on behalf of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Former Uttar Pradesh advocate general S M A Kazmi was today killed and three others were injured when the car they were travelling in rammed into a tree in Hatigawan area, a senior police officer said here.

The first loan of Rs 322.40 crore from IDBI was issued to Siva’s Finland-based company Win Wind Oy (WWO) in October 2010, which became a non-performing asset three years later.

Scientists are developing a predictive model to help Nasa anticipate conflicts and communication breakdowns among crew members and head off problems that could make or break the US space agency's future manned mission to Mars. Nasa has formalised plans to send a crewed spacecraft to Mars, a journey that could involve 250 million miles of travel.

Former Union minister G K Vasan, who quit the Congress recently, unveiled a tri-colour flag for his yet-to-be named party on Wednesday.

Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday arrested a former trustee of Lilavati hospital in connection with a foreign exchange violation case.

NCP today slammed chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for not paying homage to the martyrs of 26/11 terror attacks by visiting the memorial built for them.

Despite claims of strict safety measures taken post November 2nd Wagah , Pakistan, suicide bomb blast, the security officials here recovered 7.480 kilogram heroin from goods train that arrived from Pakistan on Wednesday.

Jet had last Friday said that the incident happened when their plane was trying to take off from the runway. But the preliminary probe by Saudi authorities has found that the lane was trying to take off from a taxiway parallel to the take off-designated runway at full power.

The ministry of Home Affairs has invited suggestions for proposed amendments in the Prevention of Damage to Public Property (PDPP) Act, 1984. The proposed amendments seek to deter the prospective violators from vandalizing and destroying public/private property during agitations and other forms of protests.

Malegaon blast accused and BJP's Lok Sabha candidate Pragya Singh Thakur went on a temple run on Thursday, a day after the Election Commission imposed a 72-hour campaigning ban on her. The EC ban followed complaints against Thakur for her offensive remark against 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks martyr Hemant Karkare

Unlike conventional universities in the state, students of Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) will not be promoted to the next level without examinations.