Opinion

A Curious take in India’s trade balance

04 Mar 2023 09:29 AM IST

Introduction There are certain interesting observations regarding the recent trade balance data of India. Whereas there is a trade deficit in goods transactions (“merchandise trade deficit”) of around $17.75 billion, interestingly, there is a surplus of $16.48 billion in the “Services” transactions, as imports are much less in this category.

Supreme Court lays down ground rules for CEC, EC appointments

04 Mar 2023 09:26 AM IST

In what is being described by some legal luminaries as a case of judicial overreach and by some others as a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court on Thursday laid down some basic ground rules for the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and the two Election Commissioners. The process is

VICTORY IN NORTH EAST: A SHOT IN THE ARM FOR BJP BEFORE MAJOR STATE POLLS

03 Mar 2023 00:33 AM IST

The victory of BJP in north east states– Tripura and Nagaland – is a shot in the arm for the saffron party ahead of elections in the big states such as Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Telangana. While Karnataka will go to polls in May this year, the other

Is fixation with the past an obstacle for India’s future?

03 Mar 2023 00:32 AM IST

Fixation with the past is one of the greatest obstacles in the process of constructive change in the country. There could be no better time to decide priorities. The cue has come from the Apex court of the country. The question is should Indians delve into their past, recreate the

NPS could be made as good as OPS

03 Mar 2023 00:30 AM IST

The central and the state government employees and their brethren and sisters working in their autonomous institutions have been unhappy with the New Pension Scheme of the National Pension System (NPS). They want the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) that has been in vogue since Independence to be restored. Chhattisgarh, Himachal

Ukraine should not overshadow G20 ministerial

02 Mar 2023 00:27 AM IST

The Group of 20 is a global platform for economic cooperation among governments. It was born out of the need to overcome a series of economic crises. The purpose was to stabilize the world against economic problems, which required cooperation between the economically powerful G-7 countries and the middle income

Opposition’s self-goal on Adani row exposes political agenda

02 Mar 2023 00:26 AM IST

It is a month now since the massive controversy over Gautam Adani’s business empire following the damning allegations by the Hindenburg Research broke out. Now, there are two major aspects to the entire development that needs to be looked into. The dimensions of the controversy are political and economic. Despite

SCO summit and power of India’s growing influence

02 Mar 2023 00:25 AM IST

As India assumes the Presidency of the G20 Summit in 2023, it has also obtained the presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization this year. The SCO final Summit will be taking place in India in September 2023. 2023 is going to be a very critical year for India in terms

ALL THAT DID NOT HAPPEN AT THE CONGRESS PLENARY SESSION

01 Mar 2023 00:35 AM IST

The Congress Plenary at Raipur will be known more for what did not happen than for what took place. The key non-event being the absence of the Congress Working Committee elections. Most Congress leaders were expecting this as a logical extension of elections to the post of the party President.

Legal protection of detainee from handcuffing and police brutality in India

01 Mar 2023 00:34 AM IST

One of the most common misconceptions among the general public is that when a person is arrested, the police will place handcuffs around his wrist. Arresting a person doesn’t mean that the police have to put them in handcuffs. This is one of the most common violations of the fundamental

Fiscal imbalances: Decoding the Centre-states’ dynamics

01 Mar 2023 00:33 AM IST

One topic of discussion that often gets limited focus is how fiscal federalism, or the Centre-state relationship on resource sharing is evolving. The premise of fiscal federalism derives from the idea of efficient resource allocation and reducing fiscal vertical imbalances of Centre, states and local bodies. The dramatic shift in

Russia should not join hands with China to spoil India’s G20 moment

28 Feb 2023 00:43 AM IST

Every “friendship” has certain limits that “friends” should not try to cross. Take the case of Russia and India. India has been receiving a lot of flak from the West for refusing to endorse the sanctions on Russia and for abstaining from voting on the anti-Russia resolutions pushed by the