The FCI’s Bizarre Logic

THE Karnataka government’s plan to launch its “Anna Bhagya” scheme on July 1 under which it was planning to provide 10 kg of free rice per month to each family below the poverty-line has run into problems because of the Food Corporation of India’s unwillingness to sell any rice to that state. Since the current central scheme provides 5 kg of free rice to each BPL family, the Karnataka scheme would have provided an additional 5 kg per month to about 1.19 crore BPL and Antyodaya card-holders.

TN: Conference Held on Protecting Secularism & Constitutional Values

A SPECIAL conference aimed at safeguarding secularism and upholding the constitutional values was recently organised by the Tamil Nadu Platform for People's Unity at Royapuram, Arivagam Mandapam in Chennai.

US-India Military Deals in PM’s US Visit

TWO major headline-grabbing defence equipment deals, the focus of this article, were signed during the PM’s recent State visit to the US.The US is to sell 31 unmanned armed Reaper MQ-9B drones to India, 15 for the navy and eight each for the army and air force. The drones, long sought by India, would provide a new and substantial intelligence-gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capability and, when necessary, the ability to strike at targets on land and on or under the sea-surface.

Increase in Train Accidents

While the Prime Minister Modi, in his usual style, has been flashing the programme of Japan made bullet trains, Vande Bharat Express etc; the Indian Railways has been suffering from lack of safety measures, cut in manpower even in safety operations in both - the installation and maintenance, large scale privatisation and outsourcing of work, and misuse of safety fund. About 26 works, related to Indian Railways including the maintenance of railway tracks, have been privatised and outsourced.

Smart Electricity Metering Project: A Deceptive Theft

THE Indian power sector has undergone a complex and challenging journey of anti-people, anti-national reforms in recent decades. . The Electricity Act of 2003 was introduced with the aim of reducing government intervention in the regulation of the electricity business, opening doors for potential privatisation.

Polit Bureau Communique

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met in New Delhi on June 24-25. It has issued the following statement on June 26PATNA MEETING 15 opposition parties met at Patna on June 23 at the invitation of Bihar CM Niteesh Kumar.

Modi Visit to US: Glorifying Subaltern Status

THE outcome of the Modi visit to the United States has made one thing clear – India has become more cemented to the United States in a strategic and military relationship.Whatever the rhetoric “of the partnership between two democracies” and shared values, the compulsions for a deeper and comprehensive relationship is motivated by the need of the United States to enlist India as a firm partner in its ongoing endeavours to economically and militarily contain China.This US approach to India was spelt out in 2002 in a study commissioned by the Pentagon, which viewed India as a countervailing f

A Curious Business Model!: India Will Pay $ 2 billion Micron Will Have Complete Ownership Investing Less than a Billion

THE deal with Micron during PM Modi's visit to the US has made headlines as a major technological breakthrough and a new dawn for India's electronics chip-making industry. Implicit in this hurrah for the Micron deal is that India has completely missed the bus on the key technologies involved in electronic chip making. And for those who know technology would realise that the Micron deal is only for packaging of the chips, their assembly and testing, a relatively low end of the electronics industry.

Maharashtra under Shinde-BJP Rule: A Land of Hate and Social Oppression

FAILING to win people’s confidence, the Shinde-BJP led state government in Maharashtra is proving to be the worst dispensation that Maharashtra has seen since its foundation in 1960. Lacking constitutional legitimacy as well as popular support, it has unleashed a reign of terror all across the state.Lawlessness and targeting the weak has been its hallmark. That Maharashtra has witnessed killing of dalits is no news.

Demonstrations across Karnataka as CPI(M) Opposes Union Government's Anti-Poor Policies

ON June 20, CPI(M) units across Karnataka organised protest demonstrations in opposition to the union government's directive to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) prohibiting the sale of rice to state governments. The union government's decision was widely seen as an effort to impede the expansion of the Anna Bhagya scheme, a key electoral promise made by the Congress party. Protests were held in numerous district centres throughout Karnataka, including Bangalore, Kalburgi, Mandya, Mysore, Ballari, Bagepalli, Kolar, Koppala, and Chitradurga.

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