The Times of India

Research shows frequent polls are bad for India, but democracies need checks and balances. One way out would be not-so-simultaneous polls Holding simultaneous central and state elections could raise GDP by as much as 1.5% (a whopping Rs 4.5 trillion) in the year after the election. So says an academic paper by former Finance Commission

A second term for Donald Trump could have dramatic consequences for foreign policy and other big changes for India. The US election is still eight months away. Opinion polls put Donald Trump ahead in five of the six swing states that will determine the outcome. Now, opinion polls are fallible. In last week’s Super Tuesday primaries in 15 states,

With very high debt/GDP ratio and land prices, it is losing out to states like Gujarat Readers, do not sympathise with powerful farmer unions of Punjab who are on the warpath again. Politicians, beware of the temptation of buying farm votes through surrender just before the general election. Ever-rising subsidies and props demanded by farmers have bankrupted Punjab. Giving

NDA adopted and improved on many UPA initiatives. So how can Congress criticise them? The White Paper on the economy “doth protest too much”, to borrow an oft-quoted Shakespearean phrase. It lashes out at the UPA government (2004-14) for gross mismanagement of the economy, while showering praise on the NDA era (2014-24). Doubtless, the UPA government committed many blunders

For Hindus, a tirth sthal is about seeking and fulfilling a search for one’s own salvation Prime Minister Narendra Modi succeeded in making the inauguration of the Ram temple at Ayodhya one of the most-watched events in the history of Indian television. Can he harness that religious fervour to convert Ayodhya from a town with a large temple into

Having served 14 years of a life term in jail, the convicts had asked for release on the ground of old age and ‘good behaviour’. How can ‘good conduct’ in jail compensate for the horrors wreaked on Bilkis and her family in 2002? Hurrah for the Supreme Court! Hurrah for Bilkis Bano! All those concerned with

Letting youngsters decide who they want to marry might have an unexpected benefit for the economy. I am currently holidaying in Bali. Many readers will know that 90% of Bali’s population is Hindu in a country that is overwhelmingly Muslim. I see women working everywhere in restaurants, shops, filling stations, and even taxis. My driver says — and