AN ironic but unsurprising coincidence marked the beginning of the winter session of Parliament. The Modi government decided to have a long discussion on ‘Vande Mataram’, which PM Modi, Amit Shah and others from the government side used to sing paeans of fulsome praise for the nationalism and sacrifice of freedom fighters inspired by the National Song, A few days later, the Modi Cabinet announced that 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) would be allowed in the insurance sector, up from the current 74 per cent.

THE Modi government's new Bill, the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, 2025 (passed by Lok Sabha on December 17 and under discussion in Rajya Sabha), effectively gives a free pass to the suppliers of nuclear plant and equipment.

ON 14 December, the predictable happened: José Antonio Kast, the candidate of the far-right Republican Party, prevailed in the presidential election over Jeannette Jara of the Communist Party of Chile by 58.16 per cent to 41.84 per cent. Kast ran as the candidate of the Cambio por Chile (Change for Chile) platform and was backed by all the parties of the traditional right and the centre-right.

The CPI(M) State Secretariat said in a statement that it will conduct a detailed review into the unexpected setback in the local body elections. The party has moved forward by conducting proper reviews at all stages and making necessary corrections. Through this, the party has a history of regaining more trust.

SOME time back, when Thomas Piketty, renowned for his work on inequality, had observed that inequality in India had surpassed the levels prevailing under the British Raj, all hell had broken loose. Now that the World Inequality Report, 2026 is out in the public domain, issues underlining Piketty’s observation are coming out with sharper relief.