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LUCKNOW: Irrespective of the Akhilesh Yadav government ban, VHP leaders Ashok Singhal and Swami Chinmayanand have announced that proposed 84-Kosi yatra would take place from August 25 to September 13 and sants from all over the country would participate in the yatra.

The Lok Sabha elections are still far off but a disclosure by AICC General Secretary, Digvijaya Singh, that he was prepared to contest against Leader of the Opposition, Sushma Swaraj, from Vidisha constituency in May 2014 Lok Sabha election, has all the elements of surprise. Vidisha has been a RSS stronghold and the constituency has been returning BJP candidates election after election. Such stalwarts as former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, newspaper baron, the late Ram Nath Goenka and the disgraced BJP minister Raghavji contested from there.

For a few years now, full-time faculty at government colleges and universities have been drawing salaries based on the recommendations of the sixth pay commission of UGC. This puts all these people from the rank of assistant professor and upwards in the top 5 per cent income bracket of the country, whose people they are supposed to serve. How is an academician whose salary is paid by the people supposed to serve the people?

What had changed of eminent economist turned administrator Kaushik Basu between April, 2012 and August, 2013? A lot, actually. Basu was then the chief economic advisor to the then union finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee. The official positions of both have changed. While Pranab Mukherjee is now the President of India, Basu had moved on, well before his mentor occupied Rashtrapati Bhavan, to take up a higher responsibility at the Washington-based World Bank head office as the chief economist cum vice-president for development economics.

New Delhi: India and Iraq signed four Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) on energy cooperation, water resources development and management, regular foreign office consultations and for cooperation between the Foreign Service Institute of India and the Iraqi foreign ministry.

New Delhi: Afghanistan has sought India’s help in conducting its fair and peaceful elections due in 2014.

Even as the political parties are gearing up to an election mode, will the sliding economy and the dipping rupee become a major poll issue in the ensuing Assembly and the Lok Sabha polls? Isn’t it time that the others learnt a lesson or two from US President Bill Clinton who rose to power on the ‘economy stupid’ slogan in 1992?

In an increasingly globalised world, businessmen realise the benefit of holding multiple nationalities, and are looking beyond their borders to obtain an alternative citizenship.

The worrisome trend in the country’s current account deficit (CAD) front with its deleterious impact on the balance of payments situation has made the Finance Ministry and the central bank to burn midnight oil in recent days to announce a series of measures.

The Rupee is falling. A moderate fall in the foreign exchange rate of Rupee is often considered to be a healthy sign of the economy facing adverse balance of payments, because its boosts the exports and foreign earnings correcting the balance of payment. But the present problem of Rupee is causing concern because of its chronic fall and continued instability. Still worse, the measures adopted by the regulator RBI have failed to support it.