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The problem which an authoritarian regime faces in a democracy is that it cannot keep a lid on dissent indefinitely. It isn’t only that the assertions before the judiciary that criticism of the government is not an anti-national activity become public knowledge in an open society, thereby raising doubts about official crackdowns on critics, those in detention also cannot be kept behind bars for long.

Few can really explain India’s unusual economic trends where markets — from retail consumer to share market — prices are shooting up despite massive depression in the job market, heavy contraction in industrial production and consumption, near absence of large parts of the services sector, comprising travel and entertainment, and big loss of general public income. The pandemic has impacted the world economy. Markets are down almost everywhere, except probably India. Few have enough money to spend even on daily dire necessities.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have great potential but remains untapped in most developing countries including India. Most Indian SMEs having a lower share of foreign goods and services to produced exports, have been facing greater export and import barriers, and certain risks in global value chain (CVC) participation due to weaker bargaining power vis-à-vis larger firms. In the COVID-19 era, when both demand and supply chains are disrupted, they need robust policies to address these and the other issues, rather than a mere package of their revival in form of loans to them, as has been announced by the Narendra Modi government.

The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the fragile threads holding together the way labour and industries function within the country. The relationship between workmen and management are notoriously lopsided in the manner in which the latter can wield power over the former. While it is indisputable that production of goods cannot be done without labour, industrialists are the ones vested with all the bargaining power in any interaction with workers, often leading to exploitative and inhumane working conditions for workers.

If it is viewed as a duel, activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan has won hands down. Even as a contempt of court case, where he is awaiting sentence, he has not done too badly.

Nobody wants to court death. And only few would willingly agree to go to jail. Not when the crime’s neither stealing nor thieving. Or murder! And if the person, whose conduct and behaviour you have questioned, is in a position to be judge, jury and executioner combined, he could charge you with a crime, try you in his head and sentence you to an Indian-style toilet for six months. That’s when, if you refuse to apologise, you’ll become Mahatma or Nelson.

Pending legislation to establish a $4 trillion National Infrastructure Bank would rebuild the nation’s rusting bridges, roads, and power grid and create 25 million union jobs desperately needed as the nation sinks into the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. That was the message from building trades union leaders, economists, and community activists, speaking at a Zoom webinar during the virtual Democratic National Convention (DNC).

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Centre’s decision to hand over the management of the Thiruvananthapuram airport to the Adani group has set the stage for a confrontation with the Kerala Government.

BHOPAL: With the announcement of guidelines by Election Commission it is certain that by elections in Madhya Pradesh will be held soon. Holding elections is essential to save the ministerial berths of those non-BJP ex-MLAs who were inducted in the ministry. If they are not elected soon they will lose ministerial post.

If the Election Commission (EC) decides to conduct the 2020 Bihar assembly elections in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the exercise will be a watershed event for several reasons.