Iniquitous Taxes on Petrol and Diesel

IN the month of January alone, there have been three rounds of increase in excise duties by the central government on petrol and diesel. These increases amounted to Rs 2.12 per litre of petrol and Rs 5.5 per litre of diesel. So far there have been nine hikes in excise duties since November 2014, as a result of which the total excise duty of petrol went up by Rs 11.77 and diesel by Rs 13.37 per litre respectively.

North Korea's “Hydrogen Bomb”

THE North Korean government has claimed that it has successfully tested a “hydrogen bomb” on January 5. It was the fourth underground nuclear test conducted by the North Korean government and the first since 2013. Pyongyang has been threatening for some time that it would be testing a more potent nuclear device if political and economic concessions were not forthcoming from the West. The North Korean government has been feeling increasingly threatened as the US and its allies in the region have adopted an even more militarily bellicose attitude.

12th Congress of Communist Party of Vietnam ‘A Congress of Unity–Democracy–Discipline’

THE 12th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) convened from January 21 to 28, 2016 in Hanoi, concluded successfully.

Is It ‘Beti Bachao’ Or ‘Beti Hatao’, asks AIDWA

IN a statement issued on February 2, the All India Democratic Women’s Association has strongly condemned the proposal made by the women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi to make sex determination compulsory with a view to curb sex selection. As she has clearly stated herself it has been made in order to absolve doctors and the “fraternity involved in medical processes”, and shift the onus of responsibility to the pregnant woman.

Venezuela: Setback for the Government

IT was always going to be an uphill fight for the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) in the parliamentary polls that were held on December 6. With oil prices hitting historical lows in recent years, the oil dependent economy of the country has not been in a healthy state. Oil accounts for 96 percent of the country's export earnings. With the price of oil sliding from $108 a barrel in June 2014 to under $30 a barrel now, Venezuela's oil income has more than halved in the last two years.

Govt Must Take Over Peerless to Protect Interests of Employees, Depositors

THE Peerless General Finance and Investment Company Ltd, a renowned and reputed savings company, had been running its business under the directions of RBI. But its business was stopped by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from 1ST April, 2011.

AIKS Expresses Concern over GM Mustard

THE All India Kisan Sabha in a statement issued on February 4, notes with concern that the minister of environment and forests is pursuing aggressively for commercial release of GM mustard without carrying out stringent bio-safety tests. The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee is meeting on February 5 to take a decision on the matter. It is to be noted that there is no stringent fool-proof regulatory regime to look into transgenics and possible impact on bio-safety and bio-diversity.

AIKS Castigates Modi Govt for Increasing Agrarian Distress

THE Central Kisan Committee of the All India Kisan Sabha met in New Delhi on January 30-31, 2016. The meeting was presided over by Amra Ram, president, All India Kisan Sabha. Members from 15 states attended the meeting. The CKC discussed the agrarian situation in the country and noted with concern the increasing agrarian distress and farmers suicides. It also noted that the world economic crisis is leading to further burdens for the peasantry and toiling masses and the policies of different governments are leading to increasing inequalities of income and wealth.

AIAWU to Hold National Seminar on Govt’s Attack on Social Welfare

THE All India Agricultural Workers Union has decided to organise a national seminar highlighting the government attacks on social security apparatus in the country. The central working committee that met at Vijayawada on January 17-18 decided to launch a two month long campaign on social security related issues throughout the country. While placing the report before the CWC, Vijayaraghavan, general secretary, said that the Indian agriculture over the last one year is facing severe crisis which has impacted the employment opportunity for agricultural workers seriously.

Threat to Minority Culture

THE recent announcement by the Narendra Modi government that Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi established by an act of parliament, cannot be recognised as special “minority institutions’ because the secular constitution of India does not permit the government to establish and provide funds to institutions of higher learning, specifically for the promotion of education and culture of religious minority communities.

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