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.Since the tax hike was announced last year, a series of protests have taken place across Tamil Nadu. The CPI(M) vehemently opposed the announcement. The Party insisted that the steep hike should be withdrawn.

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 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.T K Rangarajan spoke on the 250th session of the Rajya sabha in a special discussion on ”The role of Rajya Sabha in Indian Polity and the way forward”.

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.Three quick amendments to Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, the Finance Act of 2018 and amendments to the Companies Act had established a new instrument called the electoral bond by bulldozing them through the Lok Sabha and making the Rajya Sabha redundant by converting the key legislative proposal as a `Money Bill’.What was the sum and subst

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. It has been reported that the woman was returning to her house in Nagarkurnool district at 9.30 pm that night when her two-wheeler tyre got punctured on the way at Shamshabad in the outskirts of Hyderabad.

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.

Inching Towards Being a Cyber Colony of the US

THE rightwing nationalism is as cockeyed as its populism.

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.

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