2024

March 10, 2024
India’s famed basmati rice variety is among the commodities hit by supply chain disruption caused by the Houthi attacks on the Red Sea.
India’s lucrative rice trade is at risk after repeated attacks on its ships on the Red Sea. Since mid-November 2023, Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been striking cargo vessels — even some bound for Iran — as part of a wider strategy to disrupt global supply chains.
New Delhi is worried its exports of basmati rice, worth USD$3.97 billion (…)

Recent offer of Central Government ministers to agitating Punjab farmers where they sought to link minimum support price (MSP) guarantee with crop diversification has opened a new debate on the link between these two issues. The proposal says that if paddy and wheat farmers shift to cultivation of five crops namely maize, cotton, masoor, urd and tur then the central food procurement agencies, NAFED (National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation of India), NCCF (National (…)

If one has to build his own image, he or she has to work very hard, have resources and also need to indulge in some kind of gimmicks if necessary. For an ordinary citizen it takes many years of hard labour even if he has some extraordinary talents and resources. But if you are a powerful politician and if you have total control of State power in your hands and all the resources readily available to you, it takes very little time and efforts to achieve it even if you have no talents to build (…)

14 March 2024
Women’s Day come and gone! Women surviving how they were! Promises of their well-being, safe and sound upkeep confined to the stale political speeches of the rulers of the day. Nothing concrete can be expected to take place in a situation, where reported cases of targeted assaults and attacks against them are on the rise.
I don’t attend Women’s Day functions, for no specific reason except for the basic fact that in spite of all the hyped propaganda the condition of our (…)

Philanthropy is generally associated with rich people, but some of the best work for the poor can be done with the help of small donations given by ordinary people. One reason for this is that unlike extremely rich people, ordinary people are much more likely to identify with issues of justice and equality. Secondly, as they have to really squeeze their personal expenses to find the money for giving, they are likely to take much more interest in trying to ensure that their precious donation (…)

Violence in Myanmar is spreading with armed ethnic groups now confronting the Tatmadaw across different regions. 2023 saw victories by the Three Brotherhood Alliance in Shan State, the Karen National Liberation Army in the northeast and the Karen National Union in the south. Recently, the Arakan Army defeated Tatmadaw forces in the west, forcing hundreds of state security forces to flee into India.
The spread of anti-junta fighting and battlefield successes has spooked many in ASEAN. (…)

[fond noir][blanc]TRIBUTEblanc]fond noir]
[marron] [Aziz Qureshi (24 April 1941 – 1 March 2024) marron] [marron]The power of one, fearless and focused is formidable.’; ‘Honesty and Courage are the foundation stones of forthright straightforwardness.’—These quotes reflect the character and personality of Aziz Qureshi. Qureshi was a lifelong member of the Congress Party; he did a lot of ground-level work for his party and strongly endorsed the principles of ‘Unity in diversity’, he taught (…)

Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP)
The Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP) expresses its deepest sense of sadness at the demise of one of its tallest founding members, Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas who passed away this morning at the Military Hospital in Secunderabad.
Admiral Ramdas, together with his dear wife and comrade Lalita Ramdas, remained intimately and intensely engaged with the affairs of the CNDP — in its relentless campaign for regional and global (…)

March 13, 2024
India has kept a close watch on China’s activities and responded strongly where its security was directly affected.
Under a new defence cooperation agreement with the Maldives, China is set to offer free military assistance to the island nation.
Coming soon after the presidential order to remove Indian naval personnel from the Maldives and after a so-called Chinese research vessel visited Malé, the agreement is no doubt a provocation to India.
Whatever the domestic (…)

Over the past two decades, our world has undergone profound changes, driven by a confluence of factors ranging from technological innovations to the rise of social media, climate change awareness, the surge of e-commerce, and the increasing interconnectedness of nations. These transformations have reshaped our daily lives, impacting individuals differently based on geographical location, socioeconomic status, and personal preferences. As we stand at the intersection of these changes, it is (…)