Opinion
Appeal
The legacy of IPA, founded by Nikhil Chakravartty, the doyen of journalism in India, to keep the flag of independent media flying high, is facing the threat of extinction due to the effect of the Covid pandemic. Only an emergency funding can avert such an eventuality. We appeal to all those who believe in the freedom of expression to contribute to this noble cause.What NITI Aayog’s Multidimensional Poverty Report Doesn’t Tell Us
By Arun Kumar Shrivastav On Saturday, NITI Aayog released Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) 2021 that loudly claimed that Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh are the poorest among all Indian states. Bihar, in particular, topped most of the indices that represent the state in a negative light such as malnourishment....
Paytm IPO Debacle May Be Signalling A Cycle Peak
By Matein Khalid Speculative manias in the financial markets invariably culminate in hysteria and greed run amok. So the 25 per cent fall in the $2.5 billion Paytm IPO, India’s celebrated fintech, could well be a cycle peak for the current zeitgeist, just as the busted IPO of Reliance...
British Study Reveals That Poverty Reduces Life Span By A Decade
By Andrew Kersley From conference speeches to multimillion-pound funds that have yet to materialize, we can’t stop hearing about “leveling up.” The British Conservative government’s flagship policy announced as part of its 2019 manifesto promised to redistribute wealth and jobs away from the capital and combat the widening level...
India Must Act Early To Escape Omicron Threat
By Dr. Gyan Pathak Though the third wave of COVID-19 in India is delayed and experts say its severity would be much reduced compared to the first and second, if at all it strikes, we cannot afford any slackness in guarding ourselves. Scientists have just discovered a new more...
Cryptos Integrate With Financial Markets Under RBI Nose
By K Raveendran Certain things grow on you without you even noticing it; it could be an emotion, an addiction or even a deadly disease like cancer. This has been the case with cryptocurrencies. Central banks, the very antithesis of cryptocurrencies, initially ignored its existence saying it was financial...
Farm Laws Repeal Prompted By More Than Electoral Calculations
By Harihar Swarup The repeal of contentious farm laws is a significant moment and a major political defeat for the Prime Minister and his government. The government’s turnaround is all the more remarkable as it is unusual for the PM to backtrack from major policy decisions, even for instrumental...
Desi Dynasties And The One With Sophistication And Poise
By Sushil Kutty When Mamata Banerjee made nephew Abhishek Banerjee TMC’s general secretary in June of this year, they said she was following in the footsteps of ‘Behan’ Mayawati, who had appointed her brother to an important post in the Bahujan Samaj Party. Mayawati, a spinster like Mamata, clarified...
Mamata Banerjee Going The Wholehog In Emerging As Main Challenger To Modi
By Rahil Nora Chopra In a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on Wednesday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee demanded that the decision to extend BSF’s jurisdiction in the state be withdrawn but the real game plan of Mamata is to unite the opposition parties and...
Killer Virus Does What Biden Could Not Do With His Strategic Release
By Matein Khalid Brent crude is now down 11% to 73 and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is now down a shocking 13% at 68. President Biden may wish to remember the old Persian proverb “do not wish for anything too badly. You may just get it”. Biden had green...
Cuba’s Covid Vaccine Could End Up Saving Millions Of Lives In Poor Countries
By Branko Marcetic Much of the press coverage of Cuba last week focused on the anti-government protests that didn’t eventuate. Less covered has been something of potentially greater global significance: its vaccination drive. After a dire twelve months, when a too hasty reopening sent the pandemic surging, deaths peaking,...
Farmers Forced A Change In Contours Of Indian Politics
By Dr. Gyan Pathak Today, November 26, marks the one year of farmers’ historic struggle, with their numerous protests and rallies across the country that forced Prime Minister Narendra Modi to strategically retreat and announce the repeal of his three controversial farm laws on November 19, which he seemed...
Mumbai Terror Attack Anniversary: Are We Any Safer Today?
By Sushil Kutty Ten gunmen, members of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, carrying AK-47s and grenades, backpacks straining with dry-fruit. The 10 made a maritime entry into Mumbai, walking right through a waterfront village—pictures of curious villagers looking on surfaced later. At that time, on 26/11, the ’10’ were smiling and grinning,...
Success Of Farmers Struggle For Repealing Three Farm Laws Has Been Unique
By Prabhat Patnaik Particular battles often have a significance that goes beyond the immediate context, of which even the combatants may not be fully aware at the time. One such was the Battle of Plassey, which was not even a battle since one side’s general had already been bribed...
Few Takers For PLI Scheme Meant To Energise ‘Make In India’
By Subrata Majumder Make in India has lost steam. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flaunted success stories from the rampart of Red Fort in the Independence Speech in 2019. Several attempts were made to rejuvenate Make in India, invoking major reforms like reduction in corporate taxes, land reforms at state...
BJP, SP Forge Alliance With Smaller Parties And Caste Groups
By Pradeep Kapoor LUCKNOW: Since caste is dominant factor in forthcoming assembly polls, both the ruling BJP and its main rival Samajwadi Party are making alliances with small regional parties and various caste group to expand their social base. BJP is working very hard to get support from non-Yadav...
Pinarayi Vijayan Rebuts CAG’s Criticism Against KIIFB
By P. Sreekumaran THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The war of words between the Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government and the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) over the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Board (KIIFB) has taken a new turn. The confrontation began when the CAG criticized KIIFB in its report placed on the table...
Rich Countries Are Hypocritical On Providing A Path To Net-Zero Carbon Emission
By Prabir Purkayastha Fighting global warming is not just providing a path to net-zero carbon emissions for all countries. It is also about how to meet the energy needs of the people while doing so. If fossil fuels are to be given up as they need to be,...
UAE Chalks Up Significant Diplomatic Success With Pay-Offs
By James M Dorsey Headline-grabbing, fast-paced moves reinforce the UAE’s position as a regional power. They highlight the UAE’s willingness to chart a course that increasingly competes with Saudi Arabia, the Gulf’s regional behemoth; is at times at odds with US policy; and scoffs at assertions of human rights...
