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A humongous problem that is being brushed under the carpet in India is the grave sickness in the banking industry, particularly the public sector banks. In fact, the banking scam is far bigger and widespread than coal scam or 2G spectrum scam. Diamond merchant Nirav Modi banking fraud case and the Vijay Mallya Kingfisher airlines case are only the tip of the iceberg and the rot in the Indian public sector banks is far greater and unfathomable. Gajendra Haldea, a retired erstwhile Planning Commission official and former IAS officer, believes corruption in Indian banking is huge and perhaps much worse than China when banks there had huge non-performing assets.

NITI Aayog’s warning that India should rethink about joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) forum could not have come at a more appropriate time. The government’s key think-tank had reportedly argued, in a note on free trade agreements (FTAs) and their costs to highly import-dependent India, that such a partnership could be disastrous to the country. India is one of the world’s biggest import-driven, deficient-balance-of-trade economies. Significantly, India’s joining RCEP would mean a huge market access to China — the key player in the grouping. And, that threatens to unsettle India’s economy and its domestic manufacturing programmes.

Conclusions of a global survey on jobs by Gallup are set to further embarrass the Modi government in the ‘pakoda’ debate. And the timing of the report provides least comfort to the government as its record in creating new jobs is facing scrutiny in an election year. Modi’s suggestion recently that people selling pakodas and earning Rs 200 a day must also be counted as gainfully employed had created a storm, with former finance minister P Chidambaram butting in with his caustic remark that by the same logic begging could also be considered as employment. Modi’s comment, which many considered outrageous, led to a barrage of protests.

‘Electrification’ of India was completed on April 28, 2018, according to a tweet by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which claimed the government has ‘fulfilled a commitment’. However, the subsequent government clarifications revealed that there were several villages ‘not-electrified’ and electrification work was in progress. As for the fulfillment of election promise, he must remember that he had promised ‘24-hour electricity in every village and street’ on January 23rd 2014 in an election rally in Gorakhpur, while boasting about his achievements in Gujarat, and making taunts at Mulayam Singh Yadav. He had added further that it required a ’56-inch chest’ to do that.

The campaign in Karnataka Assembly elections has touched a new low with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress President Rahul Gandhi descending to personal level. Such a low level of campaign has never been before seen. In no-holds-barred attack on each other, neither Modi nor Rahul talked of policies and programmes and what they proposed to do if their party comes to power.

Chinese President for life Xi Jinping has given thumbs up to Marxism in China. But even he will admit that if the Chinese people don’t get their individual material needs, Marx will be out the window of Chinese history. And so shall Xi be. The ‘life’ in the title apart, there isn’t much of a difference between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping. Or, for that matter, between Xi Jinping and B S Yedyurappa or Siddaramaiah.

Every year 6.3 crore people of our country are pushed below poverty line because of out of pocket expenditure on health. This fact is admitted by the National Health Policy document 2017. Nearly 67% of this expenditure is incurred on drugs. Therefore, it is important that prices of drugs should be brought under control. To regulate the pharmaceutical companies, a Uniform Code of Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP) was prepared by the department of pharmaceuticals, Government of India in 2011. But it was said to be voluntary for some time. A letter of the ministry of chemicals and fertilizers, department of pharmaceuticals dated 12 December 2014, had mentioned that this will be voluntary for a period of six months with effect from 1st January 2015 and will be reviewed thereafter.

Ignoring Washington’s frown, India has decided to turn to old and time-tested friend Russia to acquire state-of-the-art S-400 Triumf missile air defence system at a cost of about Rs. 40,000 crore. Washington is against the deal not only because it has imposed a sanction on Russia and does not want Moscow to conclude such a huge deal but also because it wants India to be solely dependent for its defence needs on the United States and its allies and Israel. Some hard bargaining is now going on between the Russian and Indian sides over pricing. India, apparently, is unwilling to pay as much as the Russians are demanding.

One dare invites another. That is the order of dares. And the gods were no different. What, the challenge set to win the hands of Sita and Draupadi were itself dares! Then again, everybody worth a tongue and a slight to complain dares. Yellow-bellies walk away from a dare. Those with fire in the belly follow through. ‘You just wait…’ are the most famous three words associated with dares and counter-dares.

BHOPAL: Kamal Nath’s visit to Bhopal and the mammoth reception he got opened a new chapter in the politics of Madhya Pradesh. The mature way he behaved has forced the ruling BJP to realise that the challenge was real and it can’t afford to be complacent.