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At last, Brexit heads for reality on March 29, amidst big haggling for benefits over two years. A new dawn will break over UK’s sovereignty. It will prop up a new dynamism in India-UK economic relations. Emerging as a new single market, UK portends for a new important economic partner for India.

In an unprecedentedly bizarre way, the Union NDA Government has spent more than 56 percent of the cumulative funds allocated for the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (Save Girl Child Educate Girl Child) scheme, launched with big fanfare by the Prime Minister in 2014-’15, on paid advertisement and publicity . The scheme intends to correct the skewed child sex-ratio to ensure parity between men and women and other issues of empowerment of women. A major portion of money was allocated to paid advertising in both print and electronic media, i.e., visual publicity, including hoardings, promoting the Prime Minister as the messiah for all round development and prosperity of women, whereas the Minister for Woman and Child Development was nowhere in the picture, which bodes ill for Indian democracy.

Weekly Round-Up of Major Decisions of the Courts in India as also Legal Policy Developments

The issue of the operation of dance bars in Maharashtra has been in the news again, wherein the Supreme Court struck down some of the conditions of license to run dance bars as arbitrary and violative of the fundamental freedom of trade guaranteed under Articles 14 and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution. It may be noted that in 2005, the Maharashtra Government introduced Sections 33A and 33B, vide the Bombay Police Amendment Act, in the Bombay Police Act, 1951, which prohibited any kind of dance performance in an eating house, permit room or beer bar, subject to the exception in Section 33B if the dance performances was held in a theatre, or a members only restricted club. This was held to be unconstitutional by the Bombay High Court for being vague, arbitrary and violating the right to carry on business, which was then affirmed by the Supreme Court in 2013 in State of Maharahtra & Anr. V. Indian Hotel & Restaurant Association (2013) 8 SCC 519.

India’s electoral democracy is a spectacle. A political circus. What goes on under the big-top is quite literally a display worth the presentation: A visually striking performance, decibel-rich. Parade. Pageant, Extravaganza! Amidst all this, a five-year-long display of barely concealed hate spewed on Social Media. It’s not just bots and trolls in the hire of political parties who vomit virtual bile, but also fast and Facebook ‘friends’; divorced and deserted 'handles'.

Labour’s relentless focus on forcing a general election to break the Brexit deadlock has been paying off. Revelations last week that nine government ministers had instructed their constituency associations to prepare for an early election — four of them naming February 28 as the day — show that Labour’s strategy has been working.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi shows no hesitation in using abusive language and making accusations against those who criticise him. His description of mahagathbandhan as a collective of the rich and corrupt people can be seen only as part of this strategy.

Comptroller and Auditor General has pulled up the government for doing away with revenue deficit targets from this financial year, which did not augur well for macro-economic stability and fiscal situation as it could lead to revenue expenditure like subsidies being met through debt.

The labour arena in India has suddenly become a happening place. After a successful telecom strike by 2 lakh BSNL workers on 3 December 2018 and two successive bank strikes on 21 and 26 December 2018 involving a million bank employees, 4 lakh defence sector civilian workers are now on a 3-day strike on 23–25 January 2019.

Can the Opposition unite and pose a challenge to the BJP in the coming months? There are so many ifs and buts. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had organised a mammoth rally in Kolkata’s Brigade grounds on Saturday. A who’s who of the opposition had gathered to prepare a roadmap for a coalition against the ruling BJP. Addressing the ‘United India rally’, Mamata predicted that BJP’s days are numbered and that the “expiry date” of the Modi-led government is over.