New Delhi, February 12 (IANS): Indian author, Ruskin Bond, and British spoken-word artist George the Poet e widely known for kicking off the Royal Wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry with his poem e are among the six prominent authors and poets to have created fifteen original positive short stories of love, friendship, community, work, hope and family, as a signal of love and optimism in these trying times. The stories were commissioned on behalf of Nokia phones and have been

By Major General S.B. Asthana IANS | February 12 China and India have announced the disengagement of troops along Line of Actual Control (LAC), at the southern and northern bank of the Pangong Tso Lake having commenced since February 10. It seems to be a positive step to mark the beginning of a possible end of one of the longest stand-offs, which had tremendous financial and human cost to bear, due to 'LOCisation' of the LAC, in harsh winters. A compulsion to get into some

By MAJ-GEN HARSHA KAKAR (RETD) IANS | February 11 As per reports, India and China have agreed to a monitored disengagement on both banks of the Pangong Tso. China had intruded into Indian territory north of the lake in May last year. The rapid deployment led to the Chinese being blocked in their tracks. Galwan displayed a strong Indian intent of not backing down. The award of war decorations to those who were involved in Galwan conveyed the message that India considered Chinese int

New Delhi, February 11 (IANS) :Virginia Woolf has written thus about the dilemma of being 'locked out' and 'locked in': "I thought how unpleasant it is to be locked out; and I thought how it is worse, perhaps, to be locked in" Naina, the protagonist of Shefali Tripathi Mehtas "People on Our Roof", feels very much akin to being locked in, as she spends her entire lifetime taking care of her family members - both elders and youngsters, at the cost of h

By Mrityunjoy Kumar Jha IANS | February 9 President Joe Biden has signalled he would seek to deepen the close relationship between the United States and India in his first conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he added climate change and "democratic values" to the agenda. Modi welcomed calls to collaborate on combating climate change and agreed to participate in a climate summit Biden will host in April, the White House said. The late Monday phone conver

Chandigarh, February 9 (IANS): Even as poetry and songs sung by several established and upcoming singers including, Jasbir Jassi, Kanwal Grewal, Jagjit Nikki, Harf Cheema, sisters Simrita and Ramneek and Ravi Inder Sheen, including many based on the poetry of Sant Ram Udasi, during the ongoing farmers' agitation, are fast eclipsing the almost repetitive Punjabi pop from car stereos and even pubs in the region, a group of seven researchers at the Institute for Development and Commun

New Delhi, February 8 (IANS): Award-winning author and journalist Meghna Pant says she can feel the pain of women who are single or childless as they approach midlife and feel the need to tell the stories of how they are coping with this reality. "I've seen the pressure young women face by family, friends and acquaintances to have children early. I know the hell I went through on my 35th birthday as I was childless and unmarried. That's why I wrote about the panic Ladoo

New Delhi, February 7 (PTI): Melting of Himalayan glaciers has doubled since the start of the 21st century due to rising temperatures, losing over a vertical foot and half of ice each year and potentially threatening water supply for hundreds of millions of people in countries, including India, according to a study published in 2019. The analysis, spanning 40 years of satellite observations across India, China, Nepal and Bhutan, indicates that climate change is eating the Himalayan

New Delhi, February 7 (IANS): Many a times, we find ourselves stuck with challenges which are detrimental to the peace of mind and harmony of our lives. On a daily basis we deal with many perceptional challenges like internal dialogues, misconceptions, limited or foveal vision, binary thinking, and classic dilemmas of "Should I do this or that? What is right or correct or true?" "Graceful Living: 50 Reflections for a Harmonious Life" (SAGE India) aims to stimulat

New Delhi, February 5 (IANSlife): With its adventurous atmosphere, stunning wildlife, vibrant culture, rich heritage and a varied bouquet of scenic surroundings spanning all geographical landforms, South Africa is easily one of the most multi-sensory countries on the planet. You will feel the heartbeat of nature, hear the call of the wild, experience the touch of warm hospitality and connect with the pulse of the motherland. The country provides a perfect symphony of sights, sounds, fl

New York, February 5 (IANS): In his agenda-setting foreign policy speech, US President Joe Biden has made China the principal adversary of America, but failed to make any mention of the Indo-Pacific region or of India in confronting it. The US will "take on directly the challenges posed" to "our prosperity, security, and democratic values by our most serious competitor, China", Biden said in his speech at the State Department on Thursday. Challenging Beijing,

New Delhi, February 4 (IANS): The world needs an urgent and radical change to the way economies operate to save nature and to avoid a catastrophic breakdown, a first-of-its-kind landmoark review for biodiversity by an Indian-British economist has concluded. The 600-page report has been commissioned by the UK Treasury, marking the first that time a national Finance Ministry has authorised a full assessment of the economic importance of nature. It acknowledges the world is losing n

By Atul Chaturvedi ÌANS | February 3  Indias journey from a milk deficit country to one of surplus has been momentous. Initiated in 1970, Operation Flood was arguably the worlds most ambitious dairy development programme that transformed India into one of the largest milk producers. India's milk production rate in the past few decades has, in many ways, been symbolic of the upward trajectory of the country's economy and influence. The per capita availability

By Sreejith Balasubramanian IANS | February 3 Most of us awaited Indias Union Budget 2021-22 for its fiscal policy strategy to support growth, as the economy slowly emerges from the pandemic. Given previous episodes of shortfalls in realized receipts and rising off-budget expenditure, one was also ready to calculate more likely receipts and the true fiscal deficit. As mentioned in our previous note (link), the budget was a pleasant surprise as it estimated tax revenue conservativel

By Raju Bista IANS | February 2 I congratulate Honble Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharamanji for this forward thinking, growth inducing budget, based on the six core pillars of development -- Health, Infrastructure, Inclusive Development, Human Capital, Innovation and Governance. Based on our civilizational philosophy of "Sarve Santu Niramaya" our Govt has allocated Rs 2.23 Lakh Crore of our citizens towards Health and Wellbeing in budget this year. Out of this Rs 64,18

New Delhi, January 31 (IANS): "It has been a blessed ride. Through the contrasting landscapes of experiences, I have learnt to see others better, to respect their otherness as we co-travel through this transition," says seasoned actress Susmita Mukherjee, the "Kitty" of the TV serial "Karamchand" of her second book "BAANJH - Incomplete Lives of Complete Women" (Readomania Publishing). These are 11 hard-hitting stories that take the readers on

New Delhi, January 31 (IANS): Amid the coronavirus pandemic when the pace of manufacturing and services sector came to a grinding halt, agriculture and allied sectors in India have picked up pace as the country saw the strength of the farm sector. The government also took care of a large population of the country related to agriculture and farming and enacted new laws to intensify the winds of improvement in the agricultural sector. The Budget 2021-22 is going to be presented in Par

New Delhi, January 30 (IANSlife): According to a recent UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report, green pandemic recovery could cut up to 25 per cent off predicted 2030 greenhouse gas emissions and bring the world closer to meeting the 2 degrees Celsius goal of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Environment experts also believe that there is a greater need to make lifestyles sustainable on a mass scale. Lifestyle emissions are linked to many sources and sectors. Foremost among the

New Delhi, January 30 (IANS): Forewarned is forearmed. This was exactly what China suppressed when it came to the breakout of the Covid-19 pandemic in Wuhan and other parts of its country. Bringing this crucial aspect of deliberate camouflage by her native country is the well-known Chinese director Nanfu Wangs latest documentary "In The Same Breath". The film goes on to add to the infinitely growing list of atrocities committed by China in the past including the Tiananmen Squ

New Delhi, January 29 (IANS): Can the 'one nation, one MSP' system help improve the economic condition of farmers across the country? The issue has gained importance as different farmers' unions protesting on the borders of Delhi for more than two months are demanding a law to guarantee MSP for various crops. Agricultural expert Devinder Sharma said that the 'one nation, one MSP' system will give "real freedom" to the country's farmers. "No