Four years of Modi government: In the biggest election of India’s history, Narendra Modi, the three-term chief minister of Gujarat stormed to power with a thumping majority for his vision for a developed India. In his first major address to the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on August 15, 2014, Narendra Modi announced his flagship Jan-Dhan Yojana, which to date is one of the jewels in his crown. Others are the successful implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the introduction of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). With India expected to emerge as the fastest-growing major economy again this financial year, especially after slumping to as low as 5.7% due to disruptions from structural changes, this could be a big shot in the arm of Narendra Modi ahead of the 2019 polls. From Ujjwala Yojana to Saubhagya Yojana — Narendra Modi gets full marks for his efforts, even as some targets are expected to be missed.

As Modi completes 4 years, India Inc’s thumbs up to economy; CII says GST cyclone over, reforms on track: As the BJP-led NDA government completes four years in office, industry chamber CII today said India’s economy is robust with GST system having settled down and reforms firmly on the right path. In a statement, CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said over the last four years, the government has systematically addressed major pain points for the economy such as ease of doing business, non-performing assets of banks, foreign direct investment rules, infrastructure construction and exit of failing enterprises.

Achche din may be several years away, but PM must get full marks for trying : Achche din may be several years away, but the NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi must get full marks for trying. Four years into the government’s regime, the economy is not exactly rocking. GDP has clocked in at an average of 7.3% annually between FY15 and FY18, below the 7.5% notched up in the five years prior to that. Manufacturing is muddling along, but exports are in a shambles leaving private sector investment stagnant, and few jobs on offer. The damage from demonetisation and GST is slowly coming undone, but business sentiment remains subdued. However, the GST collections have started picking up and the impact of demonitization is gradually fading away. The effect of the two major policy decisions will improve the prospects of the Indian economy.

Sensex leaps 10,000 points! 4 winning feats that steered stock market to record highs: In the span of last four years, Indian stock markets have fared considerably well as compared to regional Asian peers and Wall Street — the world’s largest equity markets by turnover. The benchmark equity index BSE Sensex has added about 10,000 points in the last four years breaching the key levels of 30,000 for the first time under Narendra Modi-led NDA government. The S&P BSE Sensex has gained as much as 9,970 points to 34,663 from a level of 24,693 as on 23 May 2018, before swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi as PM.

Has India created enough jobs? Debate on, but this next challenge will be bigger: While formal jobs have indeed been created, muted household income and savings macro data suggest muted quality of jobs in aggregate. “Job quality is the real issue for Indian macro and markets, manifested in the slowing growth of the middle class,” Gautam Chhaochharia, Analyst and Sanjena Dadawala, Analysts at UBS said in the report. But the growing young population in India needs 2 crore fresh jobs annually. The sheer scale of the job market will challenge every elected government of India.

4 small reforms by Modi that went unnoticed: In 2016, the Lok Sabha repealed 1,175 of 1,827 laws that were identified as obsolete, and many other steps were taken to make lives of common people easier. From self-attestation to doing away with birth certificate for passport to Tatkal reforms to easing I-T filing, these reforms went unnoticed in the four years of Modi-led NDA government.

These 5 ministries get stellar score from people, and Finance is not among them : The top five ministries of the Modi government are Defence, External Affairs, New and Renewable Energy, Coal, and Road, Transport and Highways, a survey conducted by LocalCircles showed. Indians have given a stellar score to the Defence Ministry — 4.9 on the scale of 5. The government has been applauded for “taking some bold steps like the surgical strikes against Pakistan,” LocalCircles said.

Even after 4 years, Modi is winning hearts; Survey shows 57% Indians happy with his work :A total of 57% Indians say that the has “either met or exceeded” their expectations in the last four years, a survey said. A majority of Indians are particularly happy with Narendra Modi’s effort in improving India’s image globally, handling of Pakistan, fighting terrorism, infrastructure development and reducing tax harassment, a survey report by LocalCircles said.

Four ambitious targets NDA is poised to miss: After taking over the Prime Minister’s Office in 2014, Narendra Modi shared his vision to make India an investor-friendly destination, which would subsequently lead to job creation and development. However, despite ambitious plans like Make in India, Narendra Modi, four years later, is poised to miss some targets. Amit Shah says PM Modi works for 15-18 hours every day : BJP provided the most hardworking Prime Minister & the most popular leader in the world to the country, a PM who works for 1518 hours a day. We are proud that this Prime Minister is a leader of BJP, says Amit Shah.

Challenges: Pakistan and China are the major source of worry for Modi government. Kashmir policy persuaded by NDA government has yielded no results. In fact, the militancy in the state is on the rise. The hawkish approach has yielded no dividends. China has a pro Pakistan policy and Beijing is looking to mediate in the Kashmir matter. Doklam, POK, Burma, South China Sea, Dalai Lama and trade imbalance are the pending issues with practically no solution. China has practically expanded in India’s next door countries through infrastructure projects and defence cooperation; it is a great challenge for Modi led NDA government in respect to the nation security.

Social Harmony: The Modi government must focus on building confidence with the minority community and the SC/ST community in India. It may be a perception that the NDA government led by Narendra Modi has targeted minorities and socially deprived sections of the communities though in government defence, it is a collective effort of opposition to portray Modi sarkar to be anti minority and anti dalit to reap political benefits. The sooner this problem is addressed, the better it will be for the nation.

Foreign Policy

Modi’s international trips have always generated a buzz. In the past four years, the PM has travelled six continents: 36 foreign trips visiting 54 countries; India’s global presence is said to have become stronger ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came into power after 2014 general elections. At one point, he was also criticized for his international trips. However, it has been said that in the four years of Modi as PM, India’s bilateral ties with major economies have improved.

India and the big economies

The country most frequented by PM Modi was the United States, where he made five visits including the UN General Assembly meeting in 2014. IndoUS relations were tensed under the second UPA regime, but has certainly improved since the entry of Modi.

Defence, economic and political ties between India and the US have improved a lot since Modi. The two countries signed Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), the defence agreement pending since 2004. Pakistan remains a major policy discussion between the countries. Trump’s tough talk on Pakistan has aligned the US with India’s old frustration with the country.

On his trips to the United Kingdom, PM Modi met Queen Elizabeth twice, once in 2015 and recently in April this year as well as his British counterpart Theresa May. India is the third largest investor in UK, making their ties crucial. Modi recently signed memorandums for National Clean Ganga Mission, skill development and vocational programmes and an agreement between NITI Aayog and UK’s Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Modi also visited China, Germany and Russia four times in the past four years. Relations between India and China have been strained since the Doklam issue arose and these meetings have defined the two countries’ relationships with each other. Modi was one of the first to congratulate Xi Jinping when he was re-elected as the president of China.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Modi met recently in an informal summit in Sochi, where PM Modi said India-Russia ties have “stood the test of time”. Germany is India’s biggest trade partner in the European Union, and ties have strengthened with each visit Modi paid Chancellor Angela Merkel. PM Modi also made three visits of strategic importance to France in his four years.

India’s neighbors

Narendra Modi has stressed on relations with neighbouring countries ever since he took office. The prime minister paid three visits to Nepal since 2014. Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan are also on the list. Modi had stressed a lot on how South Asian countries must work together for better individual economic standings. Before relations went south, Modi had also visited Pakistan and held talks with then PM Nawaz Sharif. Unfortunately, PM Nawaz Sharif with whom PM Modi had developed personal relationship reigned and the clock went back to square one. The Kashmir issue and OROP remains the burning obstacles in securing better relationship between the two countries, the border tensions and limited hostilities are the regular feature at the LOC that Modi government has failed to reduce and eliminate from the source.

India’s relations with Middle Eastern countries have soared since Modi came to power. Summits with leaders of Israel, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Palestine and Afghanistan were held.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and PM Modi showcased a fast friendship during the former’s visit to India in January 2018. Modi asked Israeli companies to take advantage of the “liberalized FDI regime to make more in India”. Moreover, Netanyahu had described Israel’s relations with India as a “marriage made in heaven”! The Middle Eastern economies have been a priority of the Modi government since India is dependent on them for two-third of the oil imports. Many Indians migrate to the Middle East for jobs too.

Other countries PM Modi visited include Japan, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Fiji, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Mozambique, Netherlands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain and Sweden.

Domestic Politics

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has increased its electoral footprint from just eight states in 2014 to 20 in four years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership to emerge as the strongest political force in the country.

In fact, from just being a “formidable” force in the Hindi-heartland, the NDA is now in power across the North, with the only exception in Punjab, besides being part of ruling coalitions in seven of the eight states in the NorthEast.

The BJP is now looking to increase its electoral and social presence in the East and the South, where the NDA has marginal presence. Party leaders believe that Modi’s unwavering popularity will eventually help the NDA oust regional heavyweights, such as Mamata Banerjee and Naveen Patnaik, from their bastions, before it can increase its presence beyond the Vindhyas.

“The four years can be defined for BJP on the basis of expansion of the party both electorally and socially. Now, the BJP is the central force in national politics. The entire opposition, whether national or regional parties, is now coming together to oppose us.

This is the biggest influence of the BJP on national politics,” said a senior BJP leader, requesting anonymity.

The increasing dominance of the BJP in national politics can be established from the fact that it has wrestled away 12 states from the Congress in the last four years, while the NDA has had 14 electoral victories since Modi came to power. The emergence of the BJP as the political powerhouse took shape at the
cost of the Congress, which has not only faced a series of electoral losses, but has seen its support base shrinking even in key states. The trigger was the historic defeat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, wherein it recorded the lowest-ever tally with just 44 Lok Sabha members.

Apart from the recent success in Karnataka, where it formed a post-poll alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular), the Congress is left with just Punjab, Mizoram and Puducherry. “Ever since the Lok Sabha defeat, electorally it has been a difficult time for us, but the tide is turning in our favour now. All the recent Lok Sabha bypolls show that the BJP is losing its momentum and popular support,” a senior Congress parliamentarian said, requesting anonymity.
With less than a year left for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress is now looking to bring together all opposition parties to form an anti-BJP coalition. The presence of top leaders of more than 15 opposition parties during the swearing-in of H.D. Kumaraswamy as the Karnataka chief minister was seen as a show of strength.

In the last lap of its five-year term, the NDA is also facing a key electoral challenge with three states— Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh— currently ruled by the BJP going to polls later this year. It will also be a test for the Congress, which is attempting to rediscover itself ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

(Prakhar Misra: Writer is Political Editor of Opinion Express Group)

37 percent Indian companies who were researched to spend more on travel and entertainment this year; 40 percent feel Indian businesses are expected to invest more than last year in improving administrative process efficiency.

Travel and entertainment are the two segments which have been given a thumbs up by Indian finance executives as they are likely to increase spending. This is followed by investing in improving administrative process efficiencies and investing on mobile technology and hardware and infrastructure in 2018 to help meet their business priorities. According to the 11th Edition of the Global Business & Spending Outlook Survey, commissioned by American Express and conducted by Institutional Investor Thought Leadership Studio, 37 per cent of the CFOs surveyed that they are likely to spend more on T&E than last year, whereas 50 per cent maintained that they are likely to keep the spending same as last year.

The annual cross-industry survey conducted among 870 senior executives across 21 countries with worldwide revenue of more than US$500 million, states that 33 per cent of the Indian CFOs surveyed are likely to spend more on transportation/logistics and 53 per cent on hardware and infrastructure while half of the senior financial executives (50 per cent) aim to increase spending on mobile technology. About 40 per cent of the CFOs surveyed said that they are likely to invest more than last year in improving administrative process efficiency (e.g., streamlining financial, account payables, or procurement process) to help meet business objectives.

It is noteworthy that 90 per cent of the senior finance executives felt that improving cash and working-capital management (including payables, receivables, and inventories) is more important for their businesses this year as compared to last year. Over 60 per cent of the executives said that use of credit (e.g. revolving credit lines, corporate card, “float”) and ability to negotiate better payments terms on payables and receivables as well as volume discounts on purchases with suppliers and customers would yield substantial financial benefit to the company.

Sharing her views, Saru Kaushal, vice President and general manager, Global Commercial Services, American Express Banking Corp., India, said, “India is leading the way in terms of both business confidence and investments. Efficiency has become the keyword as companies take a back-to-basics approach and focusing on the fundamentals — better serving customers and meeting their needs, developing new products, entering new markets and prioritising business transformation and innovation. Businesses are reiterating the need for increasing spend on T&E, optimising cash flow and using it judiciously to grow and protect the business.”

Sharing economy is the name of the game

About 87 per cent of the respondents believes that commercial innovations of the so-called “sharing economy” (eg. those used by ride-sharing services like Uber or lodging services such as AirBnB will have a substantial impact on their industry in the next five years with 60 per cent executives agreeing that their company’s travel policy allows employees to use sharing economy services for lodging or transportation when traveling on business.

Meeting Customer Needs is Top Priority; Spending Plans Centre on Technology

Meeting customer needs better is a top priority for survey respondents in India (63 per cent). Companies are also most likely to focus on cyber-security and the protection of customer, supplier and employee data in the next two years.

Changing role of CFOs

Interestingly, the survey also reveals that 53 per cent senior finance executives see their function as that of a strategic advisor — not as a leader of strategy, nor as a mere supporter of it which in turn speaks of the significant evolution of the role of the finance executive.

Workforce increase anticipated, focus more on retaining top talent

Senior financial executives in India plan to increase their companies’ workforce in the year ahead. In the coming year 97 percent of survey respondents anticipate an uptick in their companies’ headcount. Last year, 20 per cent expected headcount to grow by 10 per cent or more. However, employee growth of 6 per cent or more rose to 77 per cent this year, up from 50 per cent last year. In an effort to attract and retain top talent, companies are also likely to improve the day-to-day working environment of their employees, offer more flexible work schedules and locations and expand career development programmes.

Writer: Team Viva

Courtesy: The Pioneer

The Church look as if they have led the media in helping build a Congress-Communist narrative that pulled the RSS into the Tuticorin protests.

The coverage by the national media of the protests in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, against Vedanta’s copper smelting plant has been injudicious, based on hearsay and without application of mind. A narrative has been parroted without critical examination.

It is true that protesters were killed in Tuticorin. But unfortunate and tragic as that is, did anyone bother to ask why police had to open fire? These protesters outnumbered the police force by a huge number at the collectorate; they assaulted police personnel physically, pelted them with stones, tore the clothes of female law enforcers and molested them, indulged in wanton acts of arson including setting fire to public property and indulged in an orgy of violence that threatened the safety of innocent people. Should it not be asked what forces were behind this extremely violent protest which is against every democratic norm? Was the protest sponsored or did it occur spontaneously? Who allowed the assault on police personnel and the burning of vehicles, buildings, ambulances and even setting the collectorate ablaze? Who made Tuticorin a battleground? Is death the only indicator of violence? Have we stopped condemning violence unless it results in deaths? Since when have we started celebrating protests indulge in acts of violence and destruction?

It is the absence of these questions being asked that the Opposition, led by the Congress and Communists, were quick to blame without any basis whatsoever the Narendra Modi-led Central Government rather than lay the responsibility for both the protests and the deaths of protesters in police firing at the door of the Tamil Nadu State Government which is in charge of law and order. But facts are of no consequence for those Opposition leaders who took to make wild, defamatory charges against Modi calling him a “murderer”. But then that is par for the course for the conspirators who pushed the Tuticorin protests into violence as it helped them in their goal of slinging mud at the Modi regime. Another motive could well have been to ensure the closure of the Sterlite Copper Smelting plant. But has anyone rationally thought about the negative effects of closing the plant? Is anyone worried about how this will affect our country’s economy and the thousands of employees who will be laid off?

The most provocative statement on the situation came from Congress chief Rahul Gandhi. Apropos of nothing in particular, he blamed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for the Tuticorin row, keeping in tune with his politics which begins and ends with RSS-baiting. When journalist Gauri Lankesh was murdered, Gandhi accused the Sangh of being behind the killing within half-an-hour of the shooting. When BS Yeddyurappa resigned as the Chief Minister of Karnataka because he couldn’t prove his majority on the floor of the House, Gandhi proclaimed he was supporting the rump JDS to “save the people from the RSS”. Rahul’s anti-Hindu bias is understandable but accusing the Sangh of being a terrorist organization is beyond the pale. In fact, the Congress-Communist cabal by baseless charges against the RSS instead of engaging in an ideological debate has ensured that the Sangh has come to represent Hindu sentiment nationwide. As a corollary, opposition to the RSS is considered ‘opposition to communalism’ and support of Islamic and Christian communalism and is termed ‘secularism’ by this cabal.

In the Tuticorin case, however, there seems to be more to it than just the reflexive blame-the-Sangh approach; a concerted attempt by the Church in those parts, supported by Gandhi and the so-called secular media, to drag the Sangh into the row is evident. The districts of Tirunelveli, Tuticorin and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu have the highest number of Christians and the Church has great influence on the public. It is not a coincidence that in the last two decades these districts have faced the greatest opposition to national development projects.

The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project in Tirunelveli, which was developed in collaboration with Russia, also saw a lot of protests. America’s disdain for this project was quite evident. The then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh publicly blamed US-funded institutions for the protests against Kudankulam. The then Union Minister V Narayanasamy alleged that Bishop Yvon Ambroise of Tuticorin received Rs 54 crore and was the key figure behind the protests. Many Christian institutions such as People’s Education for Action and Liberation, and Good Vision were on the Union Home Ministry’s radar as instigators. The Home Secretary had announced that bank accounts of four such NGOs were sealed, as money was transferred from overseas to fund national protests and incite disruption.

The Christian population in Tuticorin is close to 30 per cent and the Church has a deep impact on residents’ everyday life. The plan to expand the Sterlite copper plant was brought forward as a new addition to the scope of already ongoing disputes. Before the Sterlite plant was closed, it was producing four lakh tons of copper annually. Under the proposed expansion, which would have happened if not for the violent protests and subsequent deaths in police firing, Sterlite would have produced eight lakh tons of copper annually. If this project had gone through, almost all of India’s copper needs would have been met domestically.

According to official police reports, the Tuticorin protest has a clear foreign influence. Samarendra Das of the ‘Foil Vedanta Group’ flew in from London and secretly met Sterlite protesters and assured them that he would fully support the continuation of the protests, according to police. Is it a coincidence that after the Tuticorin violence John McDonnell, a prominent leader of the Opposition Labour Party in the UK, declared that Vedanta is a rogue company and demanded it be removed from the London Stock Exchange? The discussions regarding Sterlite were used to instigate the locals of Tuticorin. Brother Mohan C. Lazarus on a YouTube video said, without any scientific backing, that Sterlite is a toxic factory. He said that the Church is praying to shut down the factory. He further stated that a protest will be held on 24 March, 2018, at Rajaji Park in Tuticorin, where all Catholics, Pentecostals, Church of South India (CSI) would unite to participate against Sterlite. Scientists of the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) and the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had visited Sterlite and certified that emissions were within prescribed limits. Then what have these Churches achieved by provoking people against Sterlite, claiming that pollution levels are extremely hazardous? The Kudankulam protests saw the participation of Bishop Yvon Ambroise and SP Udayakumar, while the Sterlite protest had Brother Mohan C. Lazarus and other churches in the surrounding area as prime movers. Is the anti-development attitude of the Church not to be questioned? If the Manmohan Singh Government could take action against such disruptive elements then why can’t the Modi Government?

Police were portrayed as villains in Tuticorin. The media narrative was overwhelmingly of trigger-happy cops going berserk; did anyone try to figure out why the police was compelled to take last-resort action? Local journalist N. Rajesh’s report says the Deputy Inspector General of Police Kapil Kumar Saratkar made elaborate arrangements at the protest venue so that activists would not reach the collectorate. Even when senior police officers were talking to protest leaders and asking them to ensure a peaceful demonstration, radical activists broke the barricades and used iron pieces from them to assault police personnel. Police responded with a ‘lathi’ charge. Rajesh’s report says he and some other journalists climbed to the rooftop of a hotel opposite the collectorate to get a better sense of what was going down. At 11:30 am some protesters, who had forced their way into the collectorate, began burning vehicles. When the protestors saw that their photographs were being clicked and videos being recorded, they pelted journalists with stones. When journalists came down from the roof of the hotel some were assaulted and many had their cameras snatched.

The testimony of the collectorate employees supports Rajesh’s reportage. A female employee said that at 11.10 a.m., she was having tea in the canteen with her colleagues; about 20 minutes later they witnessed bruised and battered police personnel being chased by stone-pelting protesters. The employees were scared and didn’t know what to do, so they went back to their office for safety. Then there was a second wave of protests when an estimated 15,000-20,000 activists entered the collectorate office. They had weapons fashioned from iron rods, glass bottles, petrol bombs and lathis. They set about destroying the office and setting fire to government vehicles. There were about 100 policemen deployed for security who tried to control the protesters and prevent them from entering the collectorate. But the protesters outnumbered the policemen by thousands. They ruthlessly attacked the policemen who ran away in fear of their lives. They then set fire to all collectorate vehicles. The entire office was filled with smoke, suffocating the employees. The protesters didn’t even spare female police personnel. They tore their clothes and molested them. There are hundreds of eye-witnesses to what transpired and they all say the same thing.

Opportunistic politicians and parties who blame police for opening fire need to be more circumspect. Any loss of life is tragic and unfortunate, but what would they have done if faced with a life-threatening situation had they had been stationed at the Sterlite plant and tasked with ensuring its safety? Should violent mobs have been allowed to create havoc and decimate Tuticorin and the copper plant? Should physical assaults on cops and government officials have been allowed? Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad compared those who died in the police firing to the martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh. Azad should be asked if the martyrs of Jallianwala were armed with stones, iron rods, lathis, petrol bombs and glass bottles and whether they chased, assaulted and attempted to kill police officers and commit arson.

The public may have a short memory but they cannot be fooled. Prior to Rahul Gandhi blaming the Sangh, and Ghulam Nabi’s comparison to Jallianwala Bagh, back in 2007 the UPA government led by Manmohan Singh had allowed the extension of the Sterlite plant. The Congress party’s blue-eyed boy and former Home and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram was a Director in Sterlite’s parent company Vedanta before becoming a minister in the UPA government. Blinded by his intense hatred for the Sangh, Rahul Gandhi has also forgotten that law and order is a state subject. There is no BJP government in Tamil Nadu, so why indirectly or directly accuse the RSS?

It is about time that the BJP, the Central Government, and especially the Union Home Ministry learn from this incident. Asking for a report on the incident is not enough. The Home Ministry has failed to investigate the conspiracy, for which it needs to work in collaboration with State Government officials, to bring out the truth. During Manmohan Singh’s regime, there were some attempts to stop radical elements in the Church harming the national interest. What is stopping the Modi Government from following suit?

(The writer is Director, Nijhawan Group of Companies)

Writer: Lalita Nijhawan

Courtesy: The Pioneer

Even after 50 years of continuous rule by Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu, people belonging to SC/ST are suffering and remain oppressed, depressed. This has proved the total failure of the Dravidian Parties.

Governance by Dravidian parties which commenced in 1967 has improved a lot of intermediate castes but the Dalits in the State remain oppressed, depressed and subjugated, according to chroniclers of Tamil Nadu politics.

Incidents which took place in various districts of Tamil Nadu during the last three days underscore the statement made by Ramdas Athawale, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment. Speaking to reporters during his recent visit to Chennai, the Minister pointed out that Tamil Nadu was one of the 10 States in the country which has high cases of atrocities against Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe communities.

This Monday saw two Dalits, getting murdered allegedly by a section of people belonging to the intermediate caste at Manamadurai in the district of Sivaganga.

A Shanmughanathan (31) who held a MBA degree and K Thirupuvanam alias Arumugham (65) were murdered by the intermediate caste people for not showing respect to the latter when they went to the village temple.

A caste Hindu youth by name Suman got furious when the group of Dalit youths did not get up when they saw him and the murders were in retaliation of the disrespect, according to the villagers.

They also said though there were 15 persons in the group which attacked them, only five have been arrested so far.

The victims who bore the brunt of the caste persons included a retired soldier of the Indian Army as well as a serving policeman.

“The number of atrocities committed against SC/ST communities in Tamil Nadu is big when compared to other States. This has to be brought down,” minister Athawale had told the officials of the Tamil Nadu government.

“Each district in the State should have a special court exclusively to attend to the atrocities against the SC/ST community members. But in Tamil Nadu there are only six such courts,” the Minister had pointed out.

In yet another development, a social activist by name S Sivasubramaniam has come out with a disclosure of how conservancy workers belonging to the Scheduled Caste community are being taken for a ride by the private labour contractors Nilgiri district of the State.

Sivasubramaniam, who heads the Centre for Consumer, Human Resources and Environment Protection in Gudalur has told the National Commission for Scheduled Caste that 50 conservancy workers who have been hired by the contractor at a monthly salary of Rs 13,000/ — were paid only Rs 8,000/ per month for their works and the rest was pocketed by the contractor himself.

“When the workers who felt cheated questioned the contractor, he laid them off  and they are without any work,” said Sivasubramanian.

He said there was no provision in the local body rules to appoint conservancy workers on a permanent basis though they too were part of essential services wing.

According to S Manoharan, an activist working among the conservancy workers in Ootty, the incidence at Gudalur was not an isolated one as exploitation of this kind was happening in all local bodies in the State, irrespective of who is in power. “Dravidian rule has benefited certain castes but not the Dalits.

Their woes have only increased,” said Rameshan, veteran scribe who headed a news agency in the State for more than three decades.

Writer: Kumar Chellappan

Courtesy: The Pioneer

Distressed with the interruption of superstar turned politician Rajnikanth in the Cauvery water row, the KFCC (Karnataka Film Chambers of Commerce) has decided not to allow screening of his upcoming movie ‘Kaala’, which is due for release on June 7 as a mark of protest

According to Sa Ra Govindu President of KFCC the film industry is upset with Rajinikanth’s reported statement that whichever Government comes to power Karnataka should implement the Supreme Court order on Cauvery water sharing.

He said “A decision has been taken that Rajinikanth’s movie will neither be distributed nor screened anywhere in Karnataka.”

The KFCC president also said the ban on distribution and screening of Rajinikanth movies will continue. “The ban will remain because neither will he apologise for his statement nor are we going to pardon him,” Govindu said.

The superstar who hails from Karnataka has a great fan following in the State and the distributors for his film depend on Karnataka as a major revenue earning. Neta Rajinikanth has faced the wrath of pro Kannada outfits in the State and Chief Minister Kumaraswamy who is also a film producer has to deal with one more problem of resolving this crisis. The Government expects with the onset of early monsoon, the water from Cauvery can be released from the second week of June. Rajinikanth plays the role of a slumlord-turned-gangster in Kaala.

Theatre owners in Karnataka, too, have said that they will not screen the film in any theatre. Release of the Pa Ranjith directed Kaala was earlier deferred and was supposed to release on June 7 across Karnataka. However, as it is headed for a worldwide release, ‘Kaala’ may not see the light of the day in Karnataka.

Saurav Sharma, head of Goldie films that has acquired the distribution rights for ‘Kaala’ in Karnataka says considering the sentiments of the people of the State decided not to release the film.

Sa Ra Govindu said that the films of both Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth will not be released in the State.

“They have made statements related to Cauvery that are unacceptable to the people of Karnataka. We don’t need their films. Kannadigas are upset with the actor’s statements and so in the interest of the State we are not releasing Kaala,” he said.

The Karnataka film chamber called for a meeting on Tuesday after several Kannada groups called for boycott of the film.

Writer: Kestur Vasuki

Courtesy: The Pioneer

Two days after the inauguration of the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, the first half of an ‘outer-outer’ ring road which is intended to bypass the national capital, was propelled open. It was the time to give the road a thorough search to find out the faults and defects.

Turning onto the new road at Kundli, a few kilometres ahead of Delhi’s Singhu Border in the north of the city, the Eastern Peripheral Expressway sweeps eastward initially towards Meerut before heading southward towards Dadri through the heart of western Uttar Pradesh, behind Greater Noida, passing over the Taj Expressway until it eventually ends at Palwal, south of Faridabad. Eventually, the Western Peripheral Expressway that  passes through Haryana through the industrial hub of Manesar will connect to this road, creating an approximately 275-kilometre ring of six-eight lane highway that bypasses the national Capital.

The Expressway(s) three decades in the making got a push from the Supreme Court when they banned older diesel vehicles from entering the capital during the winter of 2016 due to the heavy pollution in the city. The Eastern Peripheral Expressway built in a record 17 months has been in no small part pushed by Union Roadways Minister Nitin Gadkari. And at first glance, the road is superb. An excellent, albeit concrete surface, the road quality is on par with the best expressways in the world. A posted speed limit of 120 kilometres per hour for cars for the most part puts this stretch of Expressway on par with global high-speed roads which have the same speed limit.

But there are some drawbacks. The first of course is that older vehicles and India’s lower-power smaller cars will find it difficult to keep up with the higher speed traffic. Unintentionally, the higher speed limits might actually drive sales of more modern vehicles as it sets a template for other such expressways in India such as the proposed Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway.

But, there is another problem with the road, it is clearly not ready. Detractors of the Prime Minister will claim that he should not have inaugurated the road so soon and that the timing of the opening was due to the recent bypolls in the seat of Kairana in Western Uttar Pradesh. But the fact is that following a Public Interest Litigation, the Supreme Court had ordered that the road should be opened by May 31.

There is much more to an Expressway than just the road surface, which it must be mentioned is complete the entire stretch. But the finishing work clearly is not. While on the initial stretch from Kundli till the Dasna exit is more or less complete with the exception of one carriageway on a bridge, work south of Dasna is relatively incomplete with huge gaps in the restraining guardrail and on some bridges.

While the road is open to vehicular traffic, there are hundreds of workers on the road completing the job, with construction trucks and tractors blissfully parked on the fast lane. At the same time as the access-control toll gates are not ready, Indian drivers very happy to take a ‘shortcut’ are driving down the wrong side.

This is not just a problem here but across Indian roads, including Delhi’s Barapullah elevated road. This is a danger and needs to be tackled immediately before there are major accidents on this road. Your writer drove in the middle of a clear day with over five kilometres of clear visibility, but a moments distraction, particularly in a time when people use mobile phones all the time can lead to tears for a few families.

On the face of it, this is a fabulous bit of infrastructure, one of the best roads built in India ever. Period. But it might have made a bit of sense to have opened the road after it was fully complete, with all the toll gates and access control ready and preventing slower moving vehicles on the road. While the speed limit is a great step forward, there appeared to be no infrastructure for speed and vehicle monitoring installed on the road as yet. That has to be built pronto. Frankly, after waiting three decades, surely the country could have waited two-three more weeks for a fully complete Expressway.  

Writer: Kushan Mitra

Courtesy: The Pioneer

Former PM Nawaz Sharif’s confessional interview has smashed the traditional deceitfulness of Pakistan’s official positions. The fact is that in Pakistan, every institution need enemies to withstand importance and relevance for itself.

The confessional interview of  former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif  has the Pakistani establishment in knots and squirming in its seat to cover up for the embarrassing candour and plain-speak by the three-time Prime Minister who has busted the traditional-duplicitousness of the official Pakistani positions. From confirming the Pakistani hand in terror infrastructure, facilitation process, dilly-dallying and specifically its nefarious role in 26/11, the rooster of honest self-goals by Nawaz Sharif was unprecedented in its admission.

The expected fallout included disruption in distribution of the concerned media house which initiated the interview, red-faced denials by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) spokespersons, including Nawaz Sharif’s own brother and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif who said, “The report has incorrectly attributed certain remarks to PML-N Quaid Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, which do not represent the party policy.” Above all, he hurriedly, called a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) to consider the situation arising from Nawaz Sharif’s damaging remarks.

Major General Asif Ghafoor, the official spokesperson of the Pakistan Army tweeted a cryptic: “NSC meeting suggested the Prime Minister to discuss recent misleading media statement regarding the Bombay incident.” However, the cat was out of the bag and for once, the entire spectrum of the Pakistani ‘establishment’ and Opposition leaders were united in slamming the obvious shame coming out of the spilling of sovereign beans — this time from the longest serving Prime Minister of Pakistan and the ‘Quaid for life’ (leader for life) of the ruling party, PML-N in Pakistan.

Sophistications of terror infrastructure aside, the concept of ‘non-state actors’ that Pakistan routinely pedals to rationalise terror that is invariably traced back to it, is riling the sub-continental neighbourhood and the global community committed to the ‘war on terror’.

The martyr-syndrome on terrorism that Pakistan has appropriated for itself in recent times has very few takers as the background and the continued involvement of the Pakistani establishment is well-documented. Calling the bluff on track of Pakistani victim-card, the Assistant to the US Secretary of Defence for Public Affairs, Dana White, clarified at a briefing held at the Pentagon that Pakistan was both a victim of terrorism and guilty of “sponsored terrorism”.

On Nawaz Sharif’s specific revelations, White agreed that Pakistan was now at an “inflexion point” of choices that it needs to make. Such disconcerting observation from the US Administration aside, almost daily accusations from both New Delhi and Kabul on Pakistan’s insincerity and complicity in terror is acquiring a global chorus that usually falls on deaf ears in Islamabad, which still attributes all wrongdoing to the convenience of ‘non-state actors’.

Earlier in February, it was not India but a combine of the US, the UK, France and Germany that co-sponsored a move to put Pakistan on the ‘grey list’ of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for international money-laundering and terror-financing.  The convenient charade of ‘non-state actors’ that seeks to absolve the state of Pakistan from the blame-game in all terror attacks from Mumbai, Pathankot, Uri among others, was fully exposed much before Nawaz Sharif’s soul-cleansing act of clever politics.

Deep down, the entire Pakistani establishment knows the deceitful logic of ‘non-state actors’. Following the Uri attack,  Pakistan Peoples Party leader Aitzaz Ahsan had slammed the Pakistani Government when he said, “The Government has been completely unsuccessful in imposing restrictions on non-state actors according to the National Action Plan.”

He further deplored the rote move to blame ‘non-state actors’ by saying that the standard position that Pakistan has no hand in the Uri attack is not a categorical denial. He added that the phrase implied: “We don’t know if our non-state actors are behind it.” Similarly, Awami National Party leader Asfandyar Wali Khan wondered at the establishment’s unexplained laxity by saying, “Why the Government is helpless before non-state actors?”

However, Pakistan’s only practical recourse to relevance in its so-called ‘jugular vein’ of Kashmir is through these home-grown and nurtured ‘non-state actors’. This tactic has offered the Pakistani state to claim plausible (though no longer believable) deniability for the violent acts of terrorism by these ostensible ‘non-state actors’ — this tact fits in perfectly with the previous dictator General Zia-ul-Haq’s infamous doctrine of “bleeding India through a thousand cuts.”

The more direct and head-on approach of the sort in 1965, 1971 and more recently ‘Kargil’, resulted in humiliating defeats for Pakistan and it is only through these covert  proxies or ‘non-state actors’ that the Pakistani establishment has been able to keep the violence and unrest brimming.

This practice was first deployed within days of Pakistan gaining independence when it slipped in tribal raiders and marauders into the Kashmir valley, in its first of the multiple failed attempts at taking Kashmir.

Even the precursor to the full-fledged 1965 Indo-Pak War had seen Pakistan sending jihadis in the mistaken belief that they would be able to instigate a local uprising. While this practice was fine-tuned to an art in the Afghan war of the 80’s, nurseries and infrastructure continue to bedevil both New Delhi and Kabul till date. Despite the unbelievable human price that the Frankenstein monster of Pakistani terror industry has afforded on the Pakistanis, the establishment still pursues running with the hare and hunting with the hound, on terrorism.

Afghan President unequivocally pointed fingers at Pakistan’s benevolence and hospitality to these ‘non-state actors’ when he said, “Some still provide sanctuary for terrorists. As a Taliban figure said recently that if they had no sanctuary in Pakistan, they wouldn’t last a month.”

The ‘non-state actors’ manifest in the form of the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network for Kabul and Delhi continue blaming Islamabad for propping the likes of Lashkar-e-Tayyeba, Jaish-e-Muhammad, Hizbul Mujahideen etc, and politically, even the Hurriyat parties.

In Pakistan, everyone from the revivalist clergy, the over-fed military to the opportunistic politicians needs an ‘enemy’ to sustain relevance for itself and that is the invaluable service provided by these ‘non-state actors’ who do the Pakistani establishment’s bidding even if occasionally the embarrassing truth spills out, like it did in the case of Nawaz Sharif.

(The writer, a military veteran, is a former Lt Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and Puducherry)

Writer: Bhopinder Singh

Courtesy: The Pioneer

The revolution by the Deve Gowda must have elevate the hackles of Mamata Banerjee. It doesn’t promised for her dream of being Prime Minister as she may be suspended if Mahagathbandhan wins in 2019. She could be ‘made to walk’ to the ‘swearing-in ceremony’ only to see a Mayawati or a Gowda take over.

The Gowdas cordially invited West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee to the swearing-in-ceremony of HD Kumaraswamy in Bengaluru. Then, they created a traffic jam and forced Didi to walk all the way to Vidhana Soudha. Banerjee, the future Prime Minister of India, had to walk. Who in the Front (if it is second or third is yet undecided) wanted to humiliate her? Was it the Gowdas? Should Mamatadi remain in the Front with visible signs of a coup emerging?

In the Lok Sabha, Mamata Banerjee’s TMC has 34 seats but Deve Gowda’s Janata Dal (Secular) has none. If this trend continues in 2019, and going by what happened in Karnataka, it is obvious that  JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda will be the Prime Minister because he will have fewer seats than Banerjee. As if to prove this premonition right (yeah it is scary), he has started renovating his House in Delhi.

The Congress is accused of bringing lakhs of Bangladeshis to Karnataka and spending money like water to allegedly get them fake voter-id cards besides jobs and homes. This helped it win many seats, it is said. Yet, Deve Gowda bulldozed the Congress’ 78 MLAs to install his son, Kumaraswamy, who had only 37 MLAs, on the Chief Minister’s chair.

Similarly, Didi is accused of bringing a huge illegal Bangaldeshi immigrant vote bank into West Bengal and pampering them like the Congress and the JD(S) did to their MLAs in 5-star resorts. Of course, instead of resorts, Banerjee gave them entire districts like Malda, Dhulagarh and Basirhat to play jihad. Will she be rewarded for her hard work? Not so sure because the Gowdas simply got National Conference chief  Farooq Abdullah and AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi to address the Bangladeshis, who morally belong to the Congress and grabbed an entire State for themselves.

The Congress Government in Karnataka very smartly turned a blind eye to the murder and attacks on BJP and RSS workers. They like their ideological opponents to be dead. But Banerjee has surpassed them, going by the ‘well-orchestrated’ violence unleashed on the locals before, after and during every election in West Bengal ever since she became the Chief Minister. But the Gowdas are smart. They engineered a bloodless coup and in a game of thrones, usurped one that was not even theirs. Very Gandhian, actually!

‘Games’ remind me of hobbies. We all know that Didi sells her ‘priceless’ paintings to fund her elections and win enough seats to become the Chief Minister. It was no mean achievement (if you have seen her paintings you would know) until the Gowdas started showing interest in the race tracks, except that they were the horses. They did not even have to fund or win the elections. All they had to do was loiter on the track after the elections and wait for Sonia Gandhi to come shopping. Has Sonia Gandhi ever bought Didi’s paintings? No, and that greatly reinforces the theory of a coup.

Then there is the ‘divine’ hand. Remember the Archbishop’s letter calling for prayers in churches ahead of 2019 elections in the face of a “turbulent political atmosphere threatening democracy and secularism?” Coincidentally, the call by the Archbishop was made two days before the Karnataka election results. A great and rare example of a secular Church, indeed! Wasn’t a similar letter written during the Gujarat election? Not to be left behind in the ‘secular’ race, Didi even strongly supported the call for prayer. All their congregations prayed and yet, the Congress was demoted from the king to a king-maker. In contrast, Deve Gowda and his family organised year-long prayers in several Hindu temples and the kingmaker became the king. This is such a bad omen for Didi who simply dislikes Hindu gods and goddesses. The Gowdas are so communal. How can Didi compete with that?

There also arises an issue of caste. Karnataka’s leaders love caste and religion more than the nation. There is a possibility that the Gowdas may object to Didi becoming the Prime Minister as she has a Brahmin surname. If she converts to a secular religion, the problem can be solved. Fair, socialist and secular politicians, who thrive on creating new religions, will find her to be a worthy aspirant to any post.

Well, coming back to the coup theory. As if to add salt to the freshly erupted blisters on Didi’s feet, Sonia Gandhi hugged Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati tight but displayed no such affection for Didi. After all, Mayawati has zero Lok Sabha seats which is 44 less than the Congress’. What if Sonia Gandhi installs her as the Prime Minister in 2019?

Firebrand Mamatadi should be worried. She can be sidelined after the Mahagathbandhan wins the 2019 election. And she could be made to walk to her oath-taking ceremony, only to arrive on the scene to see Deve Gowda or Mayawati take oath as the Prime Minister. The walk to Vidhana Soudha could even have been a rehearsal, cruelly planted by the Gowdas.

Such serious concerns… must be conveyed to Didi by her fans if they wish to see her become the Prime Minister. But the rest of us want to convey our support to Karnataka’s DGP Neelamani Raju, a dignified officer, who was reprimanded in public by an arrogant woman, who happens to be the Chief Minister of West Bengal, for having had to walk a few metres.

Banerjee cannot be our Prime Minister and neither can anyone else in the motley crowd that turned up on the dais at Vidhana Soudha to congratulate a man who has no mandate to be the Chief Minister of Karnataka.

Another day we shall talk about Naidu and KCR; and yet another about the Yadavs and Mayawati. We will need a few reams at least to discuss egos, ambitions, insecurities and political journeys of each one of the Prime Minister wannabes in the Mahagathbandhan. India surely has elected better and deserves better.

(The writer is with non-profit organization, Samartha Bharata, Bengaluru)

Writer: Aparna Pathwardhan

Courtesy: The Pioneer

FIFA World Cup, one of the world’s most popular sport, is starting in Russia in a couple of weeks. Though it will not top over the international games schedule decline but will still be enthralling on television.

Many countries will come to a stop later this summer as the 21st edition of the world’s largest sports tournament gets cracking in the world’s largest country, Russia. This is the first time that the country is hosting the World Cup. While the way in which Russia and the 2022 host, Qatar, were awarded the World Cup rights remain shrouded in controversy, the 2018 tournament is upon us, questions that need to be asked more important in the eyes of some than the corruption scandal or Russia’s brutal crackdown on dissent or even the crisis in the Eastern Ukraine and the annexation of the Crimean peninsula.

For 90 per cent of the sports watching population across the world, such questions can wait out the six weeks of the tournament, which is a pity because hosting the tournament usually can put a lot of pressure on the hosts to behave themselves, but other than forcing Russia to ‘suspend’ some homophobic laws for the duration of the tournament, FIFA and the world, particularly Western Europe, which misses no opportunity to hector their giant Eastern neighbour, have been quiet. In Germany and the United Kingdom, more pressing issues have emerged — that is how will their national men’s football teams perform in Russia, spy poisoning scandals be damned. Such is the hypocrisy of the Western media.

However, World Cup tournaments themselves during their durations have a way of altering the worldview and the world’s view of nations. Germany, for example, got a massive economic and social boost following the 2006 World Cup they hosted. The world’s image of the Germans as a stiff teutonic nation was irrevocably changed into one of a hip, modern and inclusive nation. The foundations of Germany’s 2014 World Cup win and their unquestioned leadership in Europe today were laid in 2006. However, the 2014 World Cup in Brazil had the opposite effect — it was the catalyst that laid bare the social strife at the heart of the nation that spent money they did not have to host the tournament. Today, Brazil is in political and social turmoil.

However, it was the deep-rooted corruption in the global football federation FIFA and the world body’s failure to spread the sport more successfully into China and India that is becoming a huge issue going forward. Even though the Indian Super League has had some commercial and viewership success, it pales in front of the runaway success that is the Indian Premier League in cricket. Indeed, football’s spread to several new territories will be challenged by cricket, as the IPL has demonstrated India’s soft power in neighbouring countries. But much like the IPL and other T20 leagues across the world have gnawed away at the core of the international game in cricket, overload and competitiveness of the club game, especially the European club game, is challenging international football.

Unlike international cricket, where players can play beside each other as much as a hundred days in a year, international football players barely spend a few weeks together in a year once their professional careers start. The European football season officially comes to a close on Sunday at the conclusion of the Champions League final between Spain’s Real Madrid and England’s Liverpool Football Club, which will be a highly competitive match between two clubs loaded with talent. But one reason the club game has become so popular is because of the mixture of talent and the fact club football is the only space for some of that talent to really shine through. Take Liverpool’s talismanic Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah. While he will play at the World Cup, it is unlikely that he can raise the rest of his team to the level they need to be to get into the second round. But when surrounded by talent from all over the world, he will win several trophies in Liverpool.

And Salah is not the only example, Leo Messi, who along with Cristiano Ronaldo is a superstar and one of the best to ever have stepped onto a football pitch, has not won a major international tournament. And this is where things have changed from the times of the previous Argentine football God, Diego Maradona. Messi is no less of a legendary player because he has won nothing in the blue and white of Argentina because he has won everything a club player can in the ‘Blaugrana’ of Barcelona. Maradona was defined by his performance at Mexico, 1986. Messi has been defined by his time at Camp Nou alongside other superstars like Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta.

Lack of frequency of international football matches, particularly compared to the fifty-plus games a year that some of the top clubs play, almost all of which are broadcast in high-definition into our homes have changed the game of football. That coupled with the rot inside the global football federation which spent, among other things, $25 million producing a movie about themselves ‘United Passions’ instead of promoting the game properly has been a problem, FIFA and for that matter the Indian football federation have not built on the back of the successful Under-17 World Cup hosted in india last year. If India is to be successful at the sport, much more money and coaching talent is needed from FIFA. However, it is almost certain that an Indian-born player will succeed at the top of the club game, it is almost certain that player has been born already. Because it is easier for one or two to succeed than a whole team.

FIFA plans to expand the World Cup Finals to a truly incredible 64 teams going forward, quite the opposite solution of the International Cricket Council which is reducing participation. This runs the risk of making the international game even more unrelatable and irrelevant. No country is particularly fond of failure in an international sporting event, so with more countries failing and it might turn people away from the sport. One could argue that a lot of Brazil’s current turmoil started after their horrendous 7-1 defeat by Germany. Smaller, tighter and highly competitive tournaments might be the best way for the international game to stay relevant at a time of the club game.

That said, I for one will certainly be enjoying this tournament, which on the face of it it seems the most open tournament since 2006. Despite all the controversy and the issues surrounding the federations and the hosts, the tournament ought to be a success. Here is wishing all the players, coaches and volunteers all the best for Russia, 2018.

(The writer is Managing Editor, The Pioneer)

Writer: Kushan Mitra

Courtesy: The Pioneer

The preceding ten years of the UPA rule had unquestionably witnessed the most corrupt Government since Independence. Prime Minister Narendra Modi created transparent systems through legislative and institutional changes which have given this country a scam-free governance. Unlike the UPA, the Prime Minister is the natural leader of both his party and the nation. We have witnessed a journey from indecisiveness to clarity and decisiveness. India has transformed from being a part of the “fragile five” to the “bright spot” on the global economic scene. A regime of policy paralysis has been transformed into one of decisions and actions. India, which was on the verge of becoming a “basket case” has today been transformed into the fastest growing major economy in the world and is likely to hold that position in the years to come. The country’s mood from despair has transformed into hope and aspirations. Good governance and good economics have been blended with good politics. The result of this has been that the BJP is more confident, its geographical base has become much bigger, its social base has expanded and its winnability has hugely increased. The Congress is in desperation without the perks of office. From the dominant party of Indian politics, it is moving towards the “fringe”, its political positions are not of a mainstream party but one usually adopted by “fringe” organisations. Fringe organisations can never hope to come in power. Its best hope lies in becoming a supporter of regional political parties. State level regional political parties have realised that the marginalised Congress can at best be either a junior partner or a marginal supporter. Karnataka had witnessed a telling example of this. A regional political party whose base at best is confined to a few districts was able to extract a Chief Ministership of the Congress to which the Congress meekly surrendered. It had even lost its bargaining capacity. It is today putting on a brave face in Karnataka where the losers are masquerading as a winner.

Scam-free Governance Prime Minister
Modi has institutionalised a system where discretions have been eliminated. Discretions lead to abuse of power because they can be misused. Allocations of contracts, natural resources, spectrum and other Government largesse which were being distributed through discretions, are now allocated through a market mechanism. Laws have been changed. Leaders of the industry are no longer seen repeatedly visiting the South Block, the North Block or the Udyog Bhawan. Environmental clearance files don’t pile up. FIPB has been abolished.

statutory mechanism.For cleaning up the economy, India has to transform from a tax non-compliant society to a tax-compliant society. The enactment and implementation of the Goods and Services Tax, the impact of demonetisation, effective tax compliance are all steps against black money, steps which are formalising the Indian economy. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code has changed the lender-creditor relationship. The creditors no longer have to chase the debtors. If you cannot pay your creditors, you have to exit through a statutory mechanism.

The Social Sector Priority
For the first time in history, the poor and the marginalised are holding bank accounts as part of the world’s largest financial inclusion programme. The MUDRA Yojana has made cheaper credit available to the weak and the marginalised. The biggest beneficiaries of this have been women, SC/ST, minorities and other weaker sections. Rural roads with a hugely increased expenditure are a success story. That every village must be connected with road and electricity, affordable rural housing, toilets and gas connections in all homes, are intended to change the quality of life in villages. The Crop Insurance Scheme and the Government’s decision that farmers must get 50 percent above cost are steps intended to eliminating agricultural distress. The UPA Government had sanctioned Rs.40,000 crores under MGNREGA but with budget cuts spent only Rs.29,000 crores. Today that expenditure has been doubled. Under Food Security Programme, the expenditure has been increased to Rs.1,70,000 crores to ensure cheaper food-grain availability to the eligible. On the healthcare front, the destiny of India’s poor will change when 40 percent families at the bottom of the ladder will get a treatment upto rupees five lakhs for hospitalisation at the cost of the Government scheme.

The Economic Management
During the UPA Government, India had fallen off the global radar. In its initial years when the world economy was booming, India grew on the strength of global tailwinds. When the global situation became challenging, the UPA’s decisiveness and performance collapsed. The last two years of the UPA had witnessed substantially lower growth rates. From the very first year of NDA, India is the world’s fastest growing major economy with the highest GDP growth rates. This is also the global projection for the next few years.

The Current Account Deficit (CAD) saw an unprecedented 6.7 percent deficit in the year 2012-13. The NDA has consistently maintained a CAD of under 2 percent on an annualised basis. The poor economic management was visible when under the UPA fiscal deficits remained alarmingly high. The Government was spending more and earning less. We witnessed fiscal deficits of 5.8 percent, 4.8 percent and 4.4 percent in the UPA’s last three years. Having inherited the mess, the NDA, year after year, has brought it down to 3.5 percent and shall, this year, try and deliver a 3.3 percent fiscal deficit. The UPA’s economic management was such that even when fiscal deficits were high, expenditure cuts of over rupees one lakh crores were done in order to make fiscal deficit optically look slightly better. Cut in expenditure means cut in growth. During the NDA years, Revised Estimates of expenditure were always been higher than Budget Estimates. The UPA provided India in its last years an inflation figure upto 9 percent and at one stage even crossed into double digits. The NDA has tried to contain inflation and on most occasions has remained within the target of 3 to 4 percent. The poor economic management of the UPA resulted in the high cost of borrowing for the Centre and the State Governments. The bond yields had touched an incredible 9.12 percent in April, 2014. We have been, on an average, able to contain it between 6 to 7 percent with a low of 6.3 percent on one occasion and rarely in the 7 percent range only when global factors impacted either the currency or the crude prices.

From the last year of the UPA, the infrastructure expenditure to this year has increased by 134 percent during the current year. The Congress President must remember that taxes don’t go into the pocket of the Government. They go back to the people for better infrastructure, better social sector expenditure and poverty reduction programmes. The social sector expenditure has seen a substantial increase by both the Central and the State Governments. The road sector programmes has witnessed a 189 percent increase between the last year of the UPA and the current year of the present Government. Resources are transferred to the States with 42 percent devolution of taxes, Finance Commission grants and assistance through the CSS schemes. Notwithstanding the perpetual grumbling, last year of the UPA witnessed Rs.5,15,302 being transferred to the States. This year the proposed transfer is 145 percent higher and will be at 12,62,935. crores. This is over and above what the States earn from the GST where they have been constitutionally protected with a 14 percent annual increase. The States independently levy their own taxes.

Institutional changes thus being enacted and implemented are putting the Indian economy on a far stronger wicket.

The Fifth Year Debate
As we enter the fifth year of the Government, the NDA’s priorities are clear. This will be our year of consolidation of the policies and programmes which we have implemented. In our Prime Minister, we have a strong leader with a mass appeal. His capacity to change India’s destiny is globally recognised. His insistence on integrity, his infatigable capacity to work, his clarity of policy and direction, his boldness in taking steps in larger national interest gives the NDA a natural political advantage. Clarity and credibility are hallmarks of the NDA Government.

The last few days have witnessed a discussion about a “fictional alternative”. A group of disparate political parties are promising to come together. Some of their leaders are temperamental, the others occasionally change ideological positions.

Writer & Courtesy: The Pioneer

Indonesia and India are the two major powers both on the sides of the Indian Ocean. Both the countries when come together, can play a balancing role in an unbalanced region during tensions regarding the South China Sea.

A public lecture by HE Luhut Pandjaitan, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia on ‘Indonesia’s Maritime Policy and Thinking of ways forward for India-Indonesia as Maritime Neighbours’ on May 17, organised by the Nehru Memorial Library and Museum, envisaged a plethora of strategic scenarios where India can choose to play a significant role in the region. In fact, the South China Sea (SCS) dispute has prompted a re-look at India as a balancing factor.

Besides drawing a wide canvas of India’s probable roles, Luhut  Pandjaitan substantiated all components of foreign policy of Indonesia, which provide congenial environment for India, to forge stronger economic and strategic ties. He also highlighted common issues such as poverty and terrorism faced by the two countries. His visit to India is important as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to make a three-day visit to Indonesia later this month in reciprocation to the recent visit by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

The Prime Minister’s upcoming visit will bring both the countries closer as a number of agreements are on the cards. Among the known agendas, as revealed by Luhut Pandjaitan, is that Modi will lay the foundation stone for a hospital at the Sabang port which is the westernmost coastal location of Sumatra Province and is strategically perceived to be important for both countries. Prime Minister Modi is also expected to announce several investments to strengthen the Sabang Port and its economic zone, which, with its deep harbour, is capable of hosting submarines along with other Naval vessels.

This development is seen to be accentuating India’s probable role as a balancer in the region amid brewing unstable situation in the SCS through which an annual trade of $5.3 trillion passes and where the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has continuously been installing several strategic bases in an attempt to build its war effort in the SCS.

The precedence of the Chinese establishment in SCS shows PRC’s adamant behaviour and closely echoes a popular Indian proverb: “If an elephant passes through a market, barking of dogs is natural.”

Indonesia is itself facing issues with its Natuna islands located in the southern part of SCS which were partially claimed by the PRC. China also had a tiff with the Indonesian Navy in 2016. Though, according to Luhut Pandjaitan, situation is now under control, it seems he is not fully convinced as the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), off the coast of Natuna, is partially within China’s SCS claim, which is indicated by the so-called “Nine-Dash Line.”  

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), whose basic agenda was to promote political and economic cooperation and regional stability, never achieved a consensus on any commonly perceived external security threat. This because each and every country in the region reels under different kinds of pressures, either economic or strategic, mounted by the PRC. In reality, they are reeling under diplomatic pressure, which the PRC has augmented in recent years by seriously engaging directly with individual countries in the region at different levels ie, bilateral trade, investments, political and domestic affairs as well.

Some global think-tanks term the formation of Asean as a security community since no significant war has taken place among themselves. The reason for the Asean being a peaceful place may be attributed to Indonesia, the largest country in the region which suffered for 32 years under the dictatorship of Suharto  who was rather an inward-looking person and depended mostly upon the US for its external security issues. The rest of Asean nations were concerned with domestic issues such as insurgency, political instability, economic stability and state-building. Another factor that has prevented Asean from becoming a security community is non-interference in each other’s internal affairs which is its sacred principle.

The second factor was proved by the experience of the two countries in the region viz  Philippines and Vietnam, who are major stakeholders in the SCS and are equally bullied by the PRC. However, they hardly found any shoulder from Asean to support their genuine claims. This was clear when the Hague Ruling (under Article 287, Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) debunked the PRC’s so-called historical claim on the SCS and the islands that it encompasses.

Silence on SCS issues, exhibited by the Asean, emboldens PRC’s claim and that’s the primary reason why China continues its belligerence, giving a signal that it was completely immune to all external factors, including world public opinion in this regard. It has increased its patrolling, construction and military installations with upgraded surveillance equipment in the SCS, created fierce geopolitical tensions among big powers and uncertainty among nations in the region.

The paradox is that all Southeast Asian (SEA) nations, even those who do not stake claim to the SCS, are directly or indirectly going to be impacted with the PRC standing vigilant just across its doorstep. On the outcome of the Hague verdict, Philippines, with its allies, was in a celebrating mood while other claimants seemed sceptical in displaying public cheer. The outcome, which was already feared by the countries of SEA before the Hague verdict, was visible in their statements from day one.

India’s swift handling of the Doklam issue with the PRC followed by Modi’s recent visit to PRC and his continuous efforts to balm the escalated injury exhibited by the Chinese military was taken as a role model for Asean countries. Their conviction towards India is getting stronger which is proved by an ever-increasing exchanges of leaders between India and Asean, especially with Indonesia. The change in India’s Look East Policy to Act East Policy seems to be placed at the right time.

Relationship between India and Indonesia is based upon deep shared culture and agama as Indonesian archipelago thrived under one umbrella of Indic fraternity, which is currently termed as the Indic Belt. However, post the formation of nation-states, both the countries got engaged in bigger power alliance politics, overlooking the power of cultural bonding between them. India could not take advantage of this opportunity to strengthen bilateral relations with Indonesia and other countries in the region. The foundation of Indian foreign policy under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru changed its course frequently and tilted more towards holding Western hands, post Chinese attack on India.

In order to counter aggressive, and assertive hegemony of PRC, India marginalised its approach to strengthen relationship with smaller but strategically powerful nations in SEA at the cost of building economic and strategic blocs. On the other hand, the PRC utilised its diasporic presence in the Asean countries only to exhaust its industrial products, flooding the market with mundane products which could have been easily produced and marketed among themselves.

Thus, leaving India far behind in terms of gross trade, PRC has emerged as a sole economic giant in the region.  India’s trade with Asean reached to $71 billion in 2017 while China’s bilateral trade with Asean stood over 500 billion in 2017. In contrast to China-Asean  trade relations, the Indian trade is not making any rapid growth.

Luhut Pandjaitan called for stronger and balanced bilateral ties between the two countries. Aaccording to him, both countries are very large and powerful and share common maritime boundaries. Indonesia’s westernmost Province, Aceh, is only 100 nautical miles, which translates into 45 miles away from India’s Andaman Nicobar islands. This itself gives a great prospect with an abundance of possibilities of building economic bridge between the two countries.  Sumatra islands of Indonesia seems to be flooded with huge deposits of coal, gas and minerals and India can tap the resources given its geographical proximity. To balance the trade deficit, Indonesia is expected to increase its import on pharma, IT, defence and meat products for which it is dependent on Australia and other Western countries as revealed by Luhut.

(The writer is Assistant Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi)

Writer: Gautam Kumar Jha

Courtesy: The Pioneer