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The government wrapped up the first part of Parliament’s budget session claiming that it has salvaged a session that many feared would be a wash out. In the 17 days that Parliament worked before breaking for recess on Wednesday (March 16), the government managed to get a bunch of key legislations through, most of them pending for several years.

As fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya continues to be debated across corridors of power for his reach and influence in the political, bureaucratic and corporate circles, it now transpires that at least 10 aircraft of the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines are still languishing at Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi airports. Valued at over Rs 500 crore, these aircraft include his personal corporate jet Airbus A 319 and nine turboprop ATRs of the Airbus stable.

The Economic Survey 2015-16 is certainly a pointer to challenges that the Indian economy would face in the coming year 2016-17 in the face of global recession. But India is on a sweet spot and that's why the Economy is expected to clock 7.6 per cent GDP growth when all other countries were not doing well. There are however some challenges in the economy like slowing exports. It also sees sick public sector undertakings as among the challenges, which needed drastic steps like existing and privatization in some other cases.

Among the states that are going to polls this summer, Tamil Nadu is most fascinating as the future of leaders like M Karunanidhi (DMK), Jayalalithaa (AIADMK), Vijayakant (DMDK) and Ramdoss (PMK) will be decided on May 19 when the counting takes place. Stakes are high for each one of them. Without any major alliance the votes will be split in a multi cornered contest.

At a time when All India Kisan Sabha at its annual conference here recently rejected Modi government budget as anti-farmer, vice-president Hamid Ansari also expressed his concern over the problems being faces by farmers and farm sector in the country.

After getting huge tract of land at cheap rate in Gujarat, courtesy former chief minister Narendra Modi, the Adani group is now contemplating to acquire a sizeable portion of tribal land in Santhal Pargana of Jharkhand with the support and patronage of the chief minister, Raghubar Das.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Left Democratic Front cadres in general and the CPI(M)’s rank and file in particular have heaved a collective sigh of relief with the Kerala CPI(M) averting a pre-poll disaster.

Already under pressure from the Left Front (LF)-Congress alignment in West Bengal, the pre-Assembly poll campaign of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) suffered a body blow from a sting operation launched by the Narada news group: its videos (duration 23 minutes) showed no fewer than 11 TMC leaders calmly accepting bribes from persons claiming to represent a non-existent consultancy firm, promising future favours! They include five MPs, the Mayor of Kolkata and a senior state minister.

CHANDIGARH: Diversity of Indian civilization, saved from being collapsed like many Asian civilizations, is now under threat.

Until recently, the BJP was eyeing Assam as the only winnable among the five States that are going to the polls this summer. But the situation has changed in the last few weeks. Its exercise at striking an alliance with the Asom Gana Parishad has resulted in a vertical split in the regional party. Sunil Rajkonwar, the leader of the break-away faction which calls itself the AGP (Anchalik) has announced that the new party will contest 45 of the 126 Assembly seats.