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On 30th July, 2018, the second draft of the National Register of Citizens (‘NRC’), which was touted as the proof of citizenship, was released. Out of 3.29 crore applicants in Assam, around 2.89 crore people found their names in the list, thereby leaving out around 40 lakhs of people from NRC, wherein more than 37 lakhs been rejected, and around 2.5 lakhs claims been kept on hold. The entire exercise of NRC was meant to include the names of all Indian citizens who were residing in India from before 24th March, 1971, which has thrown open questions about ancestry, citizenship, and historical developments, amongst others. Though described as a draft list, with further opportunities given to those left out of the list to submit documents to prove their citizenship claims, the NRC, in one stroke, has wrecked havoc in the lives of 40 lakhs individuals who have known no other country, except India, leaving them stateless and rootless.

The latest reports about the resignations of two leading respected journalists of a national TV channel ABP News following the high pressure from the BJP ministers and the party bosses on the company management, only indicate that the ruling party leadership is becoming more and more desperate to muzzle whatever has remained of the independent press through its strong arm tactics and this will be stepped up more in the coming months preceding the crucial Lok Sabha polls in April/May 2019.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been caught in his own trap. On Friday, when he confessed to being ashamed for by the gruesome incident of rape of 34 little girls at the state government-funded shelter home in Muzaffarpur, he did not imagine his remark would put him in a tight spot.

Political breeze in Islamabad stinks as the foul smell of many a compromise takes away fragrance from the hitherto street-smart Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf president Imran Khan Niazi as he had to compromise unethically to ensure a stable government. If all goes well, the formal announcement of Prime Minister (obviously ‘King Khan himself) will coincide with finalised results of National Assembly and provincial assemblies. The PTI chief will swear in at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, the residence of President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain on 11 August. The initial plan to have it celebrated glamorously at the accessible D-Chowk, junction of Jinnah Avenue and Constitution Avenue, had to be dropped Both Khan and ‘miltablishment’ concur with the imperative of austerity from the very beginning. Which is why invitations to heads of states abroad too are withdrawn. Right now Pakistan’s forex reserves are below 17.07 billion — barely able to cover less than two months of imports. The new Premier will in probability live in a simpler residence to avoid incurring of an exorbitant sum of Pakistani Rs 1.85 billion annually.

Poverty is no crime, because a poor man does not commit a crime by not being able to overcome his poverty. He is rather a victim of the complex socio-political system that makes him poor, keeps him so, and exact penalty for not being able to overcome his poverty. The banks in India under the present dispensation is precisely doing the same. They have raised about Rs 5,000 crores in penalty from the poor account holders in the financial year ending March 31, 2018 for their failure to maintain sufficient bank balance. On the other hand, the same banks have been giving billions of rupees to the rich under the legal protection of ‘action taken in good faith’ that they can never get back. They seem to follow the rule ‘you will be given if you have; and if you don’t have, whatever you have will be taken away.’ The predicament of the poor does not end here, because there are numerous decisions of the government working against them. They are at the receiving end in almost all matters.

The Supreme Court of India has ‘reserved’ its judgement on the petition seeking entry of women of all ages to Sabarimala. It is gender-equality versus religious privilege/isolation. So far, there is no constitutional right for women of certain ages to enter Sabarimala. The Supreme Court has been requested to make it into a couple of articles.

Guess governments start to get more and more influenced by the party that forms the government as general elections approach. Witness the BJP-led Modi government. It has become more party-focused than country-concerned these last several months.

India may be the world’s largest producer of milk, but when it comes to per capita consumption, it is still far below the countries such as the US, EU members, Russia and even Brazil. Moreover, much of India’s milk is used for sweetmeat production. According to market researchers, India’s annual per capita milk consumption is still well below 100litres, compared to the US (nearly 300ltrs.), EU (over 280ltrs), Russia (220ltrs) and Brazil (156ltrs).Therefore, the recent statement in Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Agriculture Krishna Raj seeking to raise the country’s milk production to 254.5 million tonnes by 2021-22 makes sense. The minister said: "Milk production in the country was 165.4 million tonnes during 2016-17 and 176.35 million tonnes (provisional) during 2017-18.”

Donald Trump is the key to the treasury for the US media. Circulation and viewership. TRP. Advertisement revenue. Zoom. Vroom. The remote is never far from a hand. New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC. All rolling in hay! No guesses on ‘why?’

The Drug Technical Advisory Board’s (DTAB) sub-committee’s report and recommendations to ban 343 of the Fixed dose Drug Combinations (FDCs) have been welcomed by the medical professionals in general. Several organizations have been demanding ban on these combinations on the basis of evidence produced by several studies.