Prashant Mavani, is an expert in current affairs analysis and holds a MSc in Management from University of Surrey (U.K.). Above all he is a passionate teacher.
2-phase polls on December 9 and 14 Gujarat wields a disproportionately high influence on national politics. Gujarat model of development Gujarat Assembly election of 2012 had a huge bearing on the parliamentary election that followed in less than two years will be no exaggeration. Gujarat 2017 carries an additional layer of importance: a win or a loss will cast a much longer shadow until the summer of 2019. Election schedule itself became a controversy: Chief Election Commissioner A.K. Joti faced criticism. Matters? BJP s performance over the last 5 years and also the Congress s ability to offer a viable alternative. Three years since Mr. Modi moved to the Centre have not been the best for Gujarat in terms of governance. Without presenting a cohesive programme, this nascent, loose alliance will have no game-changing impact.
Electing businessmen who claim to offer something better than the established order is not just an American temptation. Billionaire Andrej Babiš s party ANO won 30% of the vote, making the second richest man in the Czech Republic its most likely future Prime Minister. While ANO is part of the outgoing coalition, he established a political foothold on an anti-establishment and anti-corruption platform, promising to cut through cronyism and to run the state more like a business. Ironically, Mr. Babiš himself is embroiled in controversies. alleged misuse of EU subsidies ties with the StB the former communist regime s secret police. Given the fractured mandate, ANO will need at least two other parties to form a viable coalition. Immigration down to zero and ban propagation of Islam. Czech economy is doing reasonably well and there is low unemployment, candidates have played on fears around immigration. Mr. Babiš has indicated he is pro-eu and pro-nato but is against the bloc s migration policies, has ruled out joining the euro and seems to view the EU mostly through the prism of trade.
India s economic growth faltering in the last couple of years Demonetisation and GST: Short term pain long term gain A simpler, more effective remedy is at hand: recapitalising public sector banks (PSBs) and enhancing the flow of credit. Rs 2.11 lakh crore Regulation requires that banks hold assets only in proportion to the capital they have. Capital Adequacy: for a given balance sheet, there is a certain minimum of capital that banks must hold. The higher the capital is above the regulatory minimum, the greater the freedom banks have to make loans and vice-versa. When loans go bad and turn into NPAs, banks have to make provisions for potential losses. Stressed advances (which represent non-performing loans as well as restructured loans) have risen from a little over 10% in 2012-13 to 15% in 2016-17. The minimum capital required is 10.5%.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government should have recognised the problem when it assumed office in May 2014. Rs 2 lakh crore need but Indradhanush Plan provided only Rs 70k cr. Some observers ascribe the deceleration in credit growth to poor demand. Demand for investment finance may have decelerated but demand for working capital remains strong. GST: The introduction has increased small business demand for working capital. Low growth in credit is confined to PSBs. Private banks have seen loan growth of 15% this year. PSBs inability to lend for want of adequate capital. PSBs, unlike their private sector counterparts, had lent heavily to infrastructure and other related sectors of the economy. Following the global financial crisis of 2007, sectors to which PSBs were exposed came to be impacted in ways that could not have been entirely foreseen.
The tragic death of an 11-year old girl in Jharkhand allegedly died of starvation. While it has been accepted that she was excluded from having access to rations due to Aadhaar, the government has gone out of its way to assert that the child died due to other causes. Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, Mobile Unbridled, mandatory digitisation is causing immense pain and suffering to the poorest and most marginalised of this country. The social security pension system in Rajasthan is another critical welfare system being broken by this tidal wave of digital solutions. Social security pensions are a lifeline for the elderly poor. Take the case of Kanku Devi, Sita Devi and Dhaku Devi, pensioners who the government said were dead. A demand that beneficiaries have the option to choose a payment mode that is convenient to them has been assiduously ignored. The policies being pushed through appear to be more out of a concern for administrative convenience than the right to life.
Don t deny food items for lack of Aadhaar The Centre has instructed the States not to deny PDS benefits to any person who does not have Aadhaar or has not linked the ration card to the 12-digit biometric identifier, and warned them of strict action for violations. It also asked the States not to delete eligible households from the list of beneficiaries for non-possession of Aadhaar. The instruction was issued this week to all the States, after an 11-year-old Jharkhand girl allegedly died of starvation recently after she was denied PDS rations. In the directive, the Union Food Ministry clarified that deletion from the ration card database could happen only after a proper verification of the ration card holder establishes beyond reasonable doubt that an entry pertaining to the said ration card holder is not genuine. State field functionaries have been asked to ensure that beneficiaries are not turned away for non-possession of Aadhaar, and all exceptions in this regard are recorded in a separate logbook.
A short history of out of the box formulae to find a political solution in Jammu and Kashmir In September 1960, Jawaharlal Nehru travelled to Pakistan for a visit amid high expectations all around for the resolution of Kashmir. Indus waters former High Commissioner to Pakistan T.C.A. Raghavan recounts in his book The People Next Door, Nehru and Ayub Khan were going to give the impasse over Jammu and Kashmir a personal push. Status quo Forty years later, as Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and then Manmohan Singh started a similar conversation with Pakistan s Pervez Musharraf. In 2017, the landscape in Kashmir seems far removed from a decade ago and certainly from half a century ago. The appointment of an interlocutor, former Intelligence Bureau Director Dineshwar Sharma this week, it is clear that some things have not changed. solution of the problems in J&K lies in the realm of politics, and not security
Govt. working on tougher consumer protection law Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said a new consumer protection law is on the anvil to crack down on misleading advertisements and ensure that grievances are redressed in a time-bound and cost effective manner. Focus of government: Consumer empowerment & ensuring consumer faces no difficulties. Addressing an international conference on consumer protection in New Delhi, he said, the Government is committed to consumer interest protection. He said the new law will incorporate the revised 2015 UN guidelines on consumer protection. Mr Modi said, a Central Consumer Protection Authority with executive powers will be constituted for quick remedial action. Need of the hour: move ahead from only consumer protection towards best consumer practices and consumer prosperity. Effective grievance redressal systems are vital for a democracy and the government is integrating technology and ensuring stronger grievance redressal mechanisms.
PM addresses IAS Trainee The Prime Minister today held a wide-ranging interaction with officer trainees of the 92nd Foundation Course in Lal Bahadur Sashtri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand. During the interaction, which lasted nearly four hours, Mr Modi asked them to Develop a national vision. He urged them to convey their ideas and thoughts frankly and without fear. A variety of subjects, such as administration, governance, technology and policy-making came up for discussion. Mr. Modi also asked them to study and research governance issues in depth to understand them well. The Prime Minister also interacted with faculty members of the Academy and visited the state-of-the-art Gandhi Smriti Library.
Five arrested for attack on Swiss couple in Agra External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has sought a report from the Uttar Pradesh government over an attack on a young Swiss couple by a group of young men in Fatehpur Sikri on the outskirts of Agra. The Ministry officials today visited Apollo Hospital in New Delhi where the victims are admitted. Meanwhile, Tourism Minister K J Alphons has also written to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressing his concern over the incident. According to a report, a couple from Lausanne in Switzerland was chased and attacked by a group of young men on Sunday. The five youth, who harassed and assaulted the couple, had allegedly tried to strike up a conversation and insisted on clicking selfies with the woman. The External Affairs Minister said that Joint Secretary in the Ministry, S. Bhattacharjee and Indian Ambassador designate to Switzerland C.B.George today met the Swiss nationals. She said, Quentin Jeremy Clerc and Ms. Marie Droz were admitted in hospital this morning. She said, Ms. Droz has been discharged and Mr Clerc is improving. The Ministry is monitoring progress of his medical condition. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Police has arrested 5 persons in connection with the incident.
On visit to Taj, Yogi calls it a gem of India Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said the Taj Mahal has given a significant identity to the state on the world tourism map. Addressing a public meeting at GIC ground in Taj City, he said the monument has been built by the sweat and blood of Indian labourers. Mr. Yogi said his government is committed to conserving the rich cultural and historical identity of Agra.
Indonesia fireworks factory fire kills 47 In Indonesia, at least 47 people were killed and dozens injured in a fire that tore through a fireworks factory outside Jakarta today. Police said the fire broke out at an industrial complex in satellite city Tangerang. There were 103 workers in total at the factory, when the fire broke. A firefighter on the scene said the victims had been burned beyond recognition. The blaze has been brought under control and authorities were working to recover the victims bodies from the building.
Oil investments of $40 billion by 2022 Several global oil companies have evinced interest in investing in world s fastest growing market, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan told The Hindu. Cumulative estimated investments of $40 billion is expected in India s E&P [exploration and production] sector in the next 4-5 years. The government has come out with the HELP (Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy) framework with a vision to reduce India s import dependency in oil and gas by 10% by 2022.
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