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There is little business or commercial reason behind the government’s move to dismantle the age-old Kolkata-based raw materials division (RMD) of public sector Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). The move appears to be totally political and engineered by the national government. The division has done very well over the last three decades. In fact, it needs to be strengthened by linking to SAIL’s coking coal import. The country imports about 56 million tonnes of metallurgical (coking) coal, worth around Rs. 72,000 crore. SAIL is the largest single importer. Surprisingly, this is handled by SAIL’s commercial office in Delhi and not its RMD in Kolkata. Like Tata Steel, SAIL should also have its commercial office in Kolkata and not in Delhi. The SAIL board is unlikely to take such a crucial decision as shutting down the decades old RMD in Kolkata and distribute its function to its two steel plants, Rourkela and Bokaro, without the government support and provocation.

New Delhi: Sajan Prakash became the first Indian swimmer to make the 'A' qualifying time for the Tokyo Olympics recording the fastest time ever clocked by an Indian in 200m butterfly as he touched pads at 1:56.38 in Sette Colli, Rome - a FINA accredited meet. The 'qualifying standard was 1:56.48.

New Delhi: Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary lost to the Russian pair of Vitalina Batsarashkina and Artem Chernousov 12-16 to settle for a silver in the in 10M Air Pistol Mixed Team event at the Shooting World Cup medal in Osijek, Croatia.

New Delhi: Former captain Gurbux Singh feels that the current Indian hockey team is a potential podium finisher at the Tokyo Olympics.

The United Nations General Assembly on June 23 overwhelmingly approved a Cuban resolution condemning the U.S. economic, commercial, and financial blockade of Cuba, in place for 60 years. The Assembly has done precisely that every year since 1992, except for 2020, when the vote was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The vote this time was: 184 nations approving; two opposing, Israel and the United States; and three abstaining, Colombia, Ukraine, and Brazil.

Kashmiri leaders who till recently were identified as the Gupkar gang need not be euphoric at their June 24 meeting with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. An insight into the deliberations the Kashmiri leaders had with Modi makes it explicit that his design wrapped in the cliché of Naya Kashmir was primarily aimed to serving the interest of the international players and also to entrap the Kashmiri leaders.

Farmers’ sit-in protest against the three farm laws at Delhi borders completes seven months today. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), the umbrella organization of as many as 40 farmers’ unions leading the agitation, is knocking at Rajbhavans across the country in form of demonstration to mark the occasion as “Kheti Bachao, Loktantra Bachao Diwas” (Save Agriculture, Save Democracy Day). Under these events that meet the eyes is its immense political significance that may spill over even beyond the five states going to polls early next year, including Punjab and Uttar Pradesh where majority of the agitating farmers had come from, hundreds of them even lost their lives, thousands of them braved the biting cold, scorching sun, and heavy rains during the protests, and still staging the protest.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi looks less and less invincible, there is a political churning happening in the country and the Opposition parties are electric with possibilities, with several of them hoping to come together to mount a collective challenge to the Modi-Shah juggernaut. And it's at such times that there's a search for a viable alternative. It appears like the search will end at NCP supremo Sharad Govindrao Pawar's door.

On the face of it, Twitter blocking the accounts of Ravi Shankar Prasad, who as IT minister apparently considers himself to be the be-all and end-all of social media and the freedom of expression, and Shashi Tharoor, chairman of parliament’s standing committee on IT, would appear as poetic justice at work. Both have been at loggerheads with the microblogging giant, of course, for different reasons as they stand at the opposite of ends of political spectrum. But both have been in agreement over the need for social media platforms to play ball.

As India reeled under the second wave of Covid-19, one fact became evident — it would not be left to struggle alone. Aid poured into India from over 40 nations. Countries sent oxygen, medical equipment, ventilators, and antiviral drugs. Offers of help came not just from expected corners such as the United States (US) and Russia, but also from unexpected sources such as China and Uzbekistan.