A Dangerous Move on Banks

THE BJP government, it appears, cannot remain content without inflicting irreparable damage on the institutions of the Indian economy. Its latest move in this direction is the Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) Bill which was introduced in parliament on the last day of the winter session and is now with a select committee.

Implement RPD Act

RANI Rasmoni Avenue, one of the busiest roads in Kolkata, turned into a sea of yellow as more than 12,000 disabled persons gathered at the call of Paschimbanga Rajya Pratibandhi Sammilani, the West Bengal affiliate of National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD). This was in response to the call given by the NPRD at its second conference held at Virudhunagar in September 2017 for nationwide action on December 4 demanding the speedy implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disability Act, 2016.

Schedule of CPI(M) State Conferences

Schedule of CPI(M) State Conferences

Turmoil over Jerusalem

PRESIDENT Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has met with universal opposition and concern. All the major European allies of the United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom have spoken out. All Arab countries have opposed the step. In the United Nations Security Council, all the fourteen members apart from the US, deplored the decision.

Modi’s Malign Campaign

THE Gujarat election campaign has witnessed the lowest levels of vituperative communal rhetoric and scare-mongering targeting Muslims. The main culprit for this base campaign is Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself. The election speeches of Narendra Modi were marked by a string of allegations and canards which were meant to create a communal imagery of Muslims and link them to Pakistan. Rahul Gandhi becoming Congress president would usher in `Aurangzeb raj’; some obscure Kashmiri Muslim Congress worker is accused of casting a slur on Narendra Modi’s parentage; it was alleged that some ret

India‘s Strategic Extravagance to Bail-Out America

MODI’S foreign policy is in doldrums. It suffers from fixity syndrome. It refuses to jettison the Cold War mindset. As in the mid- 1950s, New Delhi’s only agenda is to counter China and present itself to the West as a credible competitor to Beijing. It has got into a rat race with China and is splurging money on overseas projects merely to offer a counter to Chinese investments.

Economic Recovery or a Statistical Illusion: Some Observations on Recent Estimates of GDP Growth

ON November 30, the Central Statistical Office (CSO) came out with quarterly estimates of GDP for the second quarter (June to September) of 2017. Predictably, analysts and spokespersons of the government spent the evening in newsrooms of various TV channels celebrating what they claimed was a sign of revival of the economy. Next morning, revival of economy was the front page news in almost every newspaper. If there was any adverse impact of demonetisation and GST, it was claimed, here was the evidence that such an impact was only short-term and had started to wane.

Reconsider Decision to Disqualify MPs

IN a statement issued on December 5, Sitaram Yechury, general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has said that it is indeed very unfortunate that the chairman of the Rajya Sabha has disqualified the membership of Sharad Yadav and Anwar Ali from the Rajya Sabha.

Sen Opposes ESIC Reorganisation Move

CITU general secretary and parliamentarian Tapan Sen has written to Union Labour and Employment Minister Santosh Gangwar, seeking his intervention to stop the proposed reorganisation of the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) through merger of sub-regional offices in different states. In a letter on November 30, Sen said that such a move would lead to “immense and unmanageable difficulties for insured persons to have their lawful benefit denied by lower-level offices/establishments”. It is surprising that the ESIC management has proposed to shut 18 of the 39 sub-regional offices (

Saudi Arabia: Crown Prince

IT had been a hectic couple of years for the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman or MBS as he is now popularly known, since he became the de facto ruler of the kingdom. He started by imposing a war on Yemen two years ago that has devastated the country, the poorest in the Arab world. Then he decided to do regime change in neighbouring Qatar. He has failed in achieving his goals in both Qatar and Yemen.

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