By Dr. Gyan Pathak Prices of vehicles on-road vary vastly across the states in India, which not only encourages evasion of taxes but also makes the process of compliance cumbersome. Varied taxes imposed by the states is the main reason for this distortion and it must be replaced by...
By Ashis Biswas Despite four rounds of prolonged talks, unity eludes, even on basic issues, potential partners in the much-hyped opposition alliance – famously christened INDIA – in east and northeast India. Major opposition parties of Assam and Bihar have rejected two proposals, one on seat-sharing and the other...
By Rahil Nora Chopra The stage has been set for 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the fourth meeting of the INDIA Bloc saw high drama with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stating that Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge will be the bloc’s PM candidate. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal...
By Girish Linganna Prime Minister Narendra Modi renamed his official residence Lok Kalyan Marg in 2016. The new name reflected Modi’s populism and inclination to shed India’s colonial past. Beyond a strict security checkpoint, “Seven LKM” features peacocks and inner courtyards adorned with intricate flower arrangements. The premises itself...
By K R Sudhaman At a time when there is an emphasis on India going for more free trade agreements, expert studies of India’s FTAs indicate that they have been more beneficial to its FTA partners than India. The studies by former senior economic adviser, H A C Prasad...
By P. Sudhir An unprecedented 146 Opposition Members of Parliament of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were suspended before the Winter Session of Parliament was cut short on December 21. This after the Modi government ensured the passage of several Bills including the one to replace...
By Tirthankar Mitra CPI(M)’s West Bengal unit secretary Md. Salim’s assertion that the CPM will not campaign for INDIA bloc candidates in the 2024 general elections in West Bengal has landed state Congress leaders in more than a spot of bother for good reason. Having pitted what remains of...
By Dr. Gyan Pathak For the last few years, the Narendra Modi-led Government has been empowering itself through changes in various laws relating to crime and evidence to such an extent that it can arbitrarily apply certain laws to raid, arrest, seize, detain, prosecute – even pardon anyone it...
By P. Sudhir Governors in Opposition-ruled states are becoming tools for the ruling party at the Centre to advance its political agenda and to create difficulties for the concerned state government for implementing its welfare programmes and development schemes. The role of Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan is particularly...
By Krishna Jha Our democracy has lost each of its basics. From the recent crisis that proved to be an assault on not only federalism, but also its most relevant constitutional principles. The Supreme Court judgment on the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution and the dismantling of...
By K R Sudhaman After the G20 flagged off the Global South at its New Delhi Summit earlier this year, hunger and poverty eradication will be back on the global centre-stage at the 2024 G20 Summit in Brazil. “Brazil’s presidency offers something new: social issues, the fight against poverty...
By Arun Srivastava Khela Hobe! That is West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee taking a direct hit at the opponent’s goal post at the fourth INDIA meet in Delhi on December 19. Mamata pitted Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge against BJP’s public face Narendra Modi. With that, the 2024 Lok...
By Tirthankar Mitra No sooner than the Opposition found itself an opening, and the moral high-ground, after the suspension of 143 MPs of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and on the threshold of gaining voter-sympathy, it found itself down by a self-goal. This by a three-time Trinamool Congress ...
By Dr. Gyan Pathak AAP Convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s assertion in the December 19 INDIA Block Meet in Delhi about the need of either a Convener or PM face, and his impromptu support for TMC chief Mamata Banerjee’s proposal to make Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s name...
By Sushil Kutty There is political turmoil in India and American politics is coming to a boil. The fate of democracy, yeah? Should it bother us, common Indians, what happens in the USA? The excitement and the daily rumblings. If in India, it is theatrics on the steps of...
By Satyaki Chakraborty The Narendra Modi Government’s decision to freeze the accounts of the news portal NewsClick through the actions of the Income Tax Department is nothing but the continuation of the organized attack by the central agencies on this leading news portal to make it dysfunctional before the...
By Anjan Roy If you have a political bent opposed to the Prime Minister you might just as well sniff a sort of complicity between the Narendra Modi government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Particularly in the context of the parliament incidence involving some youth protestors, clamouring for...
By Girish Linganna When Myanmar’s military ousted the elected government in February 2021, China downplayed it as a “significant cabinet reshuffle.” Despite the ensuing civil war, causing numerous casualties and displacements with allegations of crimes against humanity by the military, China remained supportive of the generals. China criticized Western...