2020

The Union Government’s inflexible and resolute NPR-NRC initiative is causing country-wide unrest, testing the credibility of statements made by top politicians. With the date for starting the NPR registration being April 1, 2020, some issues need to be addressed and understood.
NPR and NRC are Connected
The Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 (CAA-2019), passed on 10.12.2019, caused a public uproar because of fears that it could be used for religious discrimination, and that the NPR was the (…)

EDITORIAL
As we go to press, news has come of a major crisis having hit another bank, the Yes Bank. The RBI Governor has disclosed that those having accounts in the bank would be able to withdraw a maximum of Rs 50,000 at present. He has also assured the public that prompt steps were being taken to tackle the crisis which would be overcome within thirty days. However, after the experience with the PMC Bank these promises carry virtually no weight whatsoever. In the midst of this (…)

The “historic” agreement between the Taliban and United States was signed, as scheduled, on February 29 in Doha, in the presence of Pakistan, Qatar (the host and a major facilitator), India (anxious to avoid any association in the beginning but, following the talks between US President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India, was present at a higher level than originally planned), Indonesia (the largest Muslim nation), Uzbekistan and Tajikistan (both regional players and intimately (…)

by Mahendra Ved
History may or may not repeat in Afghanistan. But past and present damages to its people are unlikely to be repaired anytime soon. They may even persist and multiply, after the ‘historic’ peace deal signed by the USA and the Taliban at Doha, Qatar, on February 29, envisaging phased withdrawal of American troops over the next 14 months.
The deal does not envisage any presence of American boots on the Afghan soil, which is different from what the US had mooted earlier. The (…)

From N.C.’s Writings
A situation of unprecedented confusion synchronising with the onset of serious crisis for the entire constitutional structure of the Indian state presents before the nation today.
On the one side is the outright challenge of the BJP, the most aggressive of political parties, threatening to defy the entire administration in a manner never seen before; and on the other, the ruling party at the Centre presents a picture of utter disunity with factions not only (…)

by Arun Srivastava
This article was sent sometime ago but could not be used earlier due to space constraints.
Some people are trying to provide a cover to the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, by putting the blame for the mayhem that rocked Delhi for four days and claimed the lives of nearly 45 innocent people on some unknown persons and forces. It is nothing but a deft strategic move to protect the powerful persons who have master-minded the genocide.
Some people are attributing the (…)

From a geopolitical perspective, India and the US essentially reaffirmed in the joint statement issued after the visit of President Trump—Vision and Principles for India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership—what they have been saying through the past decade or so. It is an open secret that shared concerns over China’s rise is the leitmotif of the US-Indian strategic partnership.
The Modi-Trump joint statement is largely predicated on the belief in India that there has been a (…)

Some people will jump at the word “genocide” in connection with the recent Delhi violence. They will also jump at the word “pogrom”. They will react with equal vehemence to the phrase “communal riot”. What happened in northeast Delhi for the better part of a week, they would have us believe, was nothing but a clash between supporters of the CAA and their misguided opponents.
The first question that should be put to them is: pray, tell us gentlemen, how many killings will qualify for being (…)

by V. Mathew Kurian
1. Introduction
The Indian economy is currently in a grave slowdown. According to the new IMF Director, Christalina Georgieva, the world is presently in a ‘Synchronised slowdown’. But the ‘slowdown’ is more pronounced in India. The intensity of the slowdown is metaphorically expressed by Arvind Subramaniyan, the former Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India, that the economy is now in the ‘Intensive Care Unit’ (ICU). For the last seven years, the economy (…)

by S.S. Sangwan
The Budget 2020-21 has been presented by the Finance Minister (FM), Government of India (GOI), under the prevailing conditions of slowdown in the economy, stagnant GST collections, widening trade deficit, increasing committed expenditure for salaries, pensions and subsidies. Above all, the FM is bounded by Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Regulations of keeping the fiscal deficit at 3.3 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The general perception (…)