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Like in so many other industries, China dwarfs all other cement producing countries in capacity and production. And that is not going to change any time in future either. The other Asian nation India endowed with rich limestone deposits spread in various parts of the country may be trailing China by a long margin in capacity, number of manufacturers and output, but it remains the most attractive destination for cement makers.

Indian Railways Budget 2024-25 has clearly shifted its priority from addressing the needs of the poor and common people as a means of mass transport system at affordable travel cost to fulfilling the demands of the aspirational class of the country who can afford the high-cost of railway travel as it is reflected in the focus on Vande Bharat flagship trains apart from developing Amrit Bharat trains and Vande Metro.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It is once again an unremitting tale of wilful neglect and political bias. The first Union Budget of the Modi Government 3, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, has once again given short shrift to Kerala’s wish list.

Two decisions by Narendra Modi granting big financial bonanza to Bihar denying the special category status to the state which was the main demand of the chief minister Nitish Kumar and the withdrawal of the ban on the RSS members to work in government services, are aimed at diluting the importance of Nitish Kumar in both central and Bihar politics.

KOLKATA: The skies had opened when Uttam Kumar, an icon to Bengalis in every part of the globe passed away on July 24, 1980. Cutting across the generation gap, his fans poured into the streets on that day as the news of his being summoned to the land of the shadows spread like a wildfire.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's ongoing feud with the BJP is well-documented. Over time, their rivalry has escalated from verbal sparring to impactful policy decisions. Recently, the West Bengal government's directive to restrict the movement of potatoes out of the state had immediate consequences for BJP-ruled Assam. A few days back, approximately 100 trucks laden with potatoes were stranded at the West Bengal-Assam border, risking spoilage due to what was deemed a sudden and poorly communicated decision.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stepped up to her budget rostrum in the Lok Sabha with a resolute demeanour, a symbolic gesture marking the unveiling of what many had anticipated as a transformative federal budget for the fiscal year 2024-25. Yet, what unfolded before the nation on July 23 was not a conventional economic blueprint but rather a delicate coalition budget, meticulously crafted to appease disparate political alliances. In a strategic manoeuvre reflecting the exigencies of governing with a precarious mandate, Sitharaman presented what could be characterised as a political budget, a document attuned more to the exigencies of coalition politics than the traditional imperatives of economic stewardship.

The United States could elect its first female President in 248 years. As America celebrated its birthday on July 4, it's important to note that the country has never had a woman as its head of state. Hillary Clinton almost won the Presidency but ultimately failed.

Taking lessons from the outcome of Lok Sabha Election 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government has made a clever move for the next generation of economic reforms in the Union Budget 2024-25, which forms the core of the budget though mentioned as the last of the nine priority areas it enumerated. It has been camouflaged among the other 8 priority areas beginning with the three related to antagonized farmers, unemployed, and the people suffered exclusion in the development model of the last one decade of the Modi rule, who voted to clip the wings of PM Narendra Modi and the BJP, and limited their strength in the Lok Sabha to only 240 seats.

Nirmala Sitharaman’s budget presented to Parliament on July 23 is a deeply political statement post the polls, containing though sound economic logic as well. As it is by now amply clear to the public, the Union finance minister, has laid out a development budget for Bihar and partly for Andhra Pradesh, while incidentally she presented as the union budget for the 2024-25 as well.