Rajesh Mahapatra

Modi, Putin meet ahead of BRICS Summit, likely to sign defence deals

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin have begun their annual talks that are expected to conclude with new defence deals and the smoothing over of recent irritants in their decades-long close relationship.

Terror from Pakistan to be on agenda of Modi-Putin meet ahead of BRICS

As India and Russia inch closer to signing a clutch of big-ticket defence deals, New Delhi hopes Kremlin will weigh in on the concerns it has raised over Pakistan.

Terror from Pakistan to be on agenda of PM, Putin Goa talks

China-India rift clouds BRICS meet

Talks on cross-border terror, India-China rift to be in focus at BRICS Summit

A summit of the world’s top five emerging economies begins in Goa on Saturday, but a fresh rift between the bloc’s leaders, China and India, could hamper New Delhi’s plans to highlight cross-border terrorism and isolate Pakistan.

Modi will have Pak, trade ties on mind as he hosts BRICS Summit

In the BRICS Summit 2016 in Goa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to stress the need for countries to deny sanctuaries to terrorists and take a relook at the way the UN designates terrorists.

India Inc must speak out after the JNU row. Here’s why

The JNU crisis will loudly ring through Parliament in the coming weeks with public money and time used up over what need not have become a contentious issue in the first place.

Budget 2014 sends a clear message: India is open to business

The finance minister appears to have made a good beginning, but the road ahead could be long. The real challenge for him and the NDA government will be to come up with a grander vision that does what the previous UPA, writes Rajesh Mahapatra.

Wine, women and a cheat fund

Sudipta Sen maintained an obscure style of functioning. Even the journalists who met him never got to know him much. Here is a look at the murky and mysterious world of Saradha group founder. Rajesh Mahapatra and Avijit Ghosal report.

Sensible election-year budget but...

To come out of a difficult economic situation what India needs is a big idea. That was missing in this year's budget. Rajesh Mahapatra writes.

Importance of being Narendra Modi

Meet Narendra Damodardas Modi, the 62-year-old Gujarat strongman who won a record third victory as chief minister, in a verdict of such national interest that few precedents match it in independent India’s political history. Rajesh Mahapatra and Mahesh Langa report.

Gujarat poll results: anxiety trumps hope as D-day nears

A record 10% upswing in voter turnout in this election has left everyone guessing, although several opinion polls have predicted a hat trick for Modi with a score that’s as good as, or better than, the last time’s 117 in the 182-seat assembly. RajeshMahapatra reports. Making sense of the results

Voice of the 'other' Gujarat

In poll-bound Gujarat, where chief minister Narendra Modi is seeking a record third term on the back of claims that the state developed the fastest under his tenure, the issue of relative deprivation is as much under the spotlight as is the challenge of alleviating absolute poverty. Rajesh Mahapatra writes. Gujarat vs India | Disparities galore

Moditva beyond 2012

Narendra Modi’s challenge is not winning the elections next week but winning them in a manner that positions him as a contender for the country’s top job. How will he fare? write Rajesh Mahapatra and Mahesh Langa.

Sonia slams Modi's claims on development

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, addressing voters at Mandvi and Keshod, listed what ails the regions under the BJP government and chief minister Narendra Modi.

Rebels run riot, upset poll math

It is not uncommon for politicians across India to switch parties or turn rebels during elections, but rebel politics has scaled a new peak in Gujarat this time, Rajesh Mahapatra and Mahesh Langa report.

‘He’s trying to push Hinduvta philosophy’

Narendra Modi invoked the Ramayan to stir up the Lohanas and provide a retort to the Congress -- which had once called him a monkey -- never mind how remote his candidate’s chances, Rajesh Mahapatra reports.

Neglected Patels moving away from Modi

Patels, who make up 14% of Gujarat’s electorate, can be decisive in at least 25-30 of the state’s 182 assembly seats and have mostly stood by the BJP since 1995, but are bitter about chief minister Narendra Modi, Rajesh Mahapatra and Mahesh Langa report.

Congress, BJP fight it out over housing for the poor

A day after Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi sought to better the opposition’s offer on housing for low-income groups, the Congress shot back on Tuesday, saying the BJP leader was “hoodwinking” people in the state, Rajesh Mahapatra reports.

Modi goes virtual, relies on hi-tech used by rock stars

The 62-year-old saffron leader has been long known for putting technology to its best use in political campaigns. This election, he has taken it to a new high -- becoming the first Indian politician to use the latest 3D holographic projection technology, Rajesh Mahapatra and Mahesh Langa report.

Apex court body smells rat in food-for-kids scheme

One of India’s biggest flagship programmes, the Rs. 8,000-crore-a-year Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP) to fight child malnutrition under the Integrated Child Development Scheme, suffers from gross violation and misuse of rules. Rajesh Mahapatra reports. Why the child goes hungry

Wave within SP in favour of Akhilesh as chief minister

The good news for Akhilesh Yadav is that his party has won enough seats to form the next government in Uttar Pradesh . What is better is that senior leaders of Samajwadi Party have now come around the heir apparent to acknowledge how he turned the verdict from the electorate of UP so decisive this time.

Look ahead in wonder

Extra-ordinary times call for extra-ordinary measures. It is time to look up from the bottom. It is time we search new faces for change, writes Rajesh Mahapatra.

20 years on, job half done

The economic liberalisation initiated in the 1990s has run its course. It's time we kick off a battle of ideas on the next wave of reforms, says Rajesh Mahapatra. Movers and shakers | Yesterday, today and tomorrow

Voting with a vengeance

Before dawn, the voters began to queue up. By the time the two polling booths adjoining each other opened, more than half of Netai had assembled to cast, perhaps, the vote of their lifetime. Rajesh Mahapatra reports.

Netai votes to punish killers

Before the break of dawn, they began to queue up. By the time the two polling booths, adjoining each other, opened, more than half of Netai had assembled to cast, perhaps, the vote of their lifetime. Rajesh Mahapatra reports.

In Bengal's red zone enemy's enemy is no longer a friend

For the ruling Left Front, he was a class enemy who had to be hunted down and put in the jail. For Mamata Banerjee, he is a friend-turned-foe and a party pooper in this outback of Bengal, where the Maoists rule and the Marxists win elections. Rajesh Mahapatra reports.

Deafening silence in battlefield Nandigram

An eerie calm greets you on arrival. The earthen roads meandering through swathes of farmland are mostly deserted. There are no street corner meetings, no loudspeakers, not much of canvassing. Rajesh Mahapatra and Ravik Bhattacharya report.

Bengal’s heartland votes

With 75 seats and 14.5 million voters, Thursday’s is the biggest round of polling in Bengal. But the spotlight is on three Left leaders and their not-so-political rivals, who may emerge giant killers. A snapshot by Rajesh Mahapatra.

Mamata’s winning mantra: Maa’s son, Mati and Matua

The importance of the Matua vote was evident when, in a rare gesture, leaders of the Left Front and Trinamool shared the same dais at a community meeting that Matua’s supreme leader, Binapani Devi addressed three months ago in Kolkata. Rajesh Mahapatra reports.