The Week in Parliament

THE Budget Session of Parliament began on January 31 with President Droupadi Murmu's address to a joint sitting of both the Houses. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for 2025-26 on February 1. Overall, the budget was disappointing as people had high expectations from it. There is nothing in the budget for the general public. The expectation that the budget would strengthen the public sector and help generate more employment in the country has not materialised. There are no measures aimed at curbing price rise.

TN: CPI(M)-led Movement Defeats Corporate Mining in Madurai

IN a historic victory for people's movements, the Union Ministry of Mines announced on January 23, 2025, the complete cancellation of the tungsten mining project in Melur, Madurai. The decision followed a meeting between Union Minister G Kishan Reddy and a delegation of farmers, acknowledging the need to protect the Arittapatti Biodiversity Heritage Site and its cultural significance.

The Inhumanity Engendered by Capitalism

GEORG Lukacs, the renowned Marxist philosopher had once remarked that “even the worst socialism was better than the best capitalism”. That remark made in 1969 and repeated in 1971, no doubt on the basis of Lukacs’ perception of actually existing socialism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe with which he was familiar, had been treated sceptically even in Western Left circles at the time.

'Emperor' Trump and Imperial US Expansionism

TRUMP is back. His foreign policy announcements, or rather, interventions, clearly show his intentions. What were imagined as statements made by a maniac are now turning out to be pronouncements made with all due seriousness. The real meaning of making ‘America Great Again’ is now becoming crystal clear.Trump started his first day as president by signing many executive orders, one among them is renaming the Gulf of Mexico as Gulf of America. Innocuous it might seem, but it signals the imperial ambitions of the US. Historically, the US has occupied many territories belonging to Mexico.

Disabled People’s Assembly

THOUSANDS of disabled people from various parts of the country representing fourteen organisations met at Jantar in a Disabled People’s Assembly, on February 10.

Kerala Budget 2025-26: A Progressive Vision For a Sustainable and Inclusive Future

THE Kerala Budget for 2025-26, presented by Finance Minister KN Balagopal, unfolds a bold and comprehensive vision for the state’s future – a roadmap that combines progressive growth, social justice, and environmental responsibility. In the face of persistent fiscal challenges, the budget emphasizes the importance of people-centric policies, sustainable development, and the resilience of Kerala’s economy.

India’s Demographic Dividend and Economic Stagnation: A Structural Crisis

INDIA boasts the world's largest workforce, with 420 million young people making up 29 per cent of the population. The working-age population (15-65 years) accounts for approximately 68 per cent of the total population, a demographic advantage that began to emerge around 2005-06 and is expected to continue until 2055-56. Despite this, the Indian economy is showing signs of stagnation, with economic growth declining from 8.1 per cent to 6.4 per cent.

Kerala: Fishers Protest against Sea Mining

On February 9, hundreds of fishers in their boats attended the 'Kadal Samrakshana Sringhala,’ a campaign launched by Kerala Matysathozhilali Federation (Kerala Fishermen's Federation), off the Kollam coast in Kerala against the sea mining policy of the union government that permits private sector to loot marine resources. Enable GingerCannot connect to Ginger Check your internet connectionor reload the browserDisable GingerRephraseRephrase with Ginger (Ctrl+Alt+E) Disable Ginger in this text fieldDisable Ginger on this website×

The Delhi Election Results

THE BJP has won the Delhi assembly election with a tally of 48 seats, polling 45.6 per cent of the vote. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won 22 seats getting 43.6 per cent of the vote. The difference between the two was only 2 per cent but it translated into 40 seats more for the BJP.The Delhi assembly election results are being viewed and analysed from varying standpoints. There is no doubt that the BJP winning Delhi after 27 long years has given a boost to the party and to the Modi government.

DeepSeek's Deep Shock to the US AI Behemoths

THE tech world was shocked when a little-known Chinese company released an AI model called DeepSeek that appears to match the Open AI's most advanced models while spending a small fraction of its cost. The tech world has been buzzing for the last month with leading the US tech investors first following Nvidia's performance with bated breath and then bemoaning that the AI's Sputnik moment – DeepSeek's AI models – had wiped nearly a trillion dollars of leading tech companies.

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