Telecom: From License-Permit Raj to License-to-Loot Raj

THE major private operators, along with the State run operators in the telecom sector, are currently reeling under a three year price war with Reliance Jio. This has hit their profitability, with Jio buying its entry into the market with very low call and data charges. This has been compounded – in the case of the private operators – by not honouring the obligations of paying their license fees as a percentage of their revenue. After the Supreme Court order to pay Rs 92,000 crore as license fees, it has created a crisis for these companies.

TAMIL NADU: People’s Struggle Compels Govt to Revoke Property Tax Hike

A YEAR-long, statewide struggle has compelled the Tamil Nadu government to revoke a steep hike in property tax implemented last year. The minister for municipal administration, S P Velumani, has announced that the existing property tax collection will be discontinued and the old rates levied before April 2018 will continue.

CPI(M) Releases Booklet on 100 Years of Formation of communist Party in India

“THERE is a commonality between the British rulers and the present Sangh Parivar ruling dispensation; both were/are inherently anti-communists and cannot digest their(communist’s) presence,” thus spoke Sitaram Yechury, while placing the first booklet on the hundred years of the formation of the Communist Party in India. Brinda Karat, Polit Bureau member of the CPI(M) was also present in the press conference, which was held on December 4 at Delhi. The booklet is titled, “Communist Party @ 100 with the People, for Freedom 1920-1947.”

The Week in Parliament

THE winter session of Parliament started on November 18, 2019. On the first day of the new session, CPI(M) and other opposition parties raised the issue of MP’s not being allowed to visit J&K after the removal of its special status under Article 370, while a delegation of European Union (EU) was allowed; and Farooq’s detention and the JNU’s students issues etc.

Electoral Bonds threat to Parliamentary Democracy

IT has been doing the rounds. The surreptitious strike, which transformed the funding of political parties by the corporates, was of such far-reaching consequence, that the controversy has already reached the hallowed portals of the Supreme Court.

TSRTC Employees’ 52-day Strike Ends

K Chandrasekhara Rao, chief minister of Telangana, after holding a cabinet meeting on November 28, gave orders to TSRTC management to allow all its workers, who called off a 52-day strike, to join duty from the morning of November 29. Earlier, he did not respond to the strike call off by RTC JAC causing distress to the workers and their families for three days. On November 30, he welcomed five employees from each depot and held talks with them directly. He cautioned them not to believe the union leaders and opposition leaders who he accused of misleading the workers.

TELANGANA: Outrage over Gang Rape-Murder of Woman Doctor

SEVEN years after Nirbhaya case which led to country wide outrage and condemnation, another such ghastly incident took place on the night of November 27, in the outskirts of Hyderabad, taking the nation by shock. A 26 year old woman veterinary doctor working in Kolluru village of Telangana was brutally gang raped and murdered by four youth.

Oil & Petroleum Workers Strike against Privatisation

WORKERS of public sector oil and petroleum companies, BPCL, HPCL and ONGC (MRPL) observed a nationwide strike on November 28, opposing Modi government’s suicidal move to completely sell out BPCL to private companies. The united strike was led successfully by the leadership of all the three national federations of oil and petroleum sector workers. Around 30,000 regular and contract workers led by around 25 grassroots level unions affiliated with these federations, took part in the strike.

Inching Towards Being a Cyber Colony of the US

THE rightwing nationalism is as cockeyed as its populism. At one end it talks about its indigenous moorings and claims to fight cultural imperialism imposed by English language and western values; on the other hand it is relentless in pursuing its deep seated desire to be a part of the Anglo-Saxon imperium.

State of Education in Bihar

EDUCATION plays an important role in enriching the lives of individuals and in the development of human capital of a nation. Educational investments have multiple benefits, as it’s a powerful tool for reducing poverty un-employment and inequality.

But in reality, today’s education system is reproducing poverty, unemployment and social inequalities instead of removing them. It’s the responsibility of the government to take the sector like education as its priority to make a country or state to progress.

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