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BHOPAL: Ujjain, one of the most ancient cities of India, is ready to welcome around two crore pilgrims from various parts of the country and abroad. It is claimed that Lord Krishna’s schooling was done in Ujjain. Kalidas, the world-famous Sanskrit poet, is said to have composed his famous poetry works in the city.

What does ongoing elections in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Union territory of Puducherry portend? The outcome of poll may set the tone of general elections in 2019. Of course, the stakes are high both for the Congress and the BJP; but not so much for the BJP because, except Assam, the party has virtually no stake in four election-bound states.

Assamese politics is at a crossroad. While Assam’s assembly elections typically doesn't matter in the Indian Union’s ‘national scene’, for Assam's people, it means the world. For the first time, a non-Congress Delhi headquartered party has positioned itself as the primary voice of Assamese Hindus. After its spectacular success in Assam at the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP is aiming to be the primary ruling party of Assam after the upcoming election. That'll be a political earthquake.

India and European Union have had prolonged negotiations on a Free Trade agreement, which had been going on since 2007. India-EU bilateral trade is close to $100 billion annually and it is therefore in the interest of both sides to speedily conclude a free trade agreement that would help in boosting bilateral trade and investment manifold, particularly at a time when global economy and trade are going through a rough patch.

India is yet to ratify the UN Convention Against Torture, adopted on December 10, 1984, and enforced on June 26, 1987. As a result, June 26 is now recognized International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. Since its enforcement, the absolute prohibition against torture and other acts of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment has been accepted as a principle of customary international law.

LUCKNOW: The 125th birth anniversary of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar on April 14 is being used by all political parties to mobilize support from scheduled castes and scheduled tribes to garner support for Mission 2017, or the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

Stakes are high for the national parties like the Congress, BJP and the Left as well as the regional satraps in the ongoing Assembly elections to five states – Kerala, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and West Bengal. The BJP has never been in power in any of these five states. Opinion polls conducted by various poll agencies have predicted a big win for the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, lead for the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, win or lead for the BJP-AGP alliance in Assam and a clear victory for the CPM-led LDF in Kerala.

The Congress High Command, that is, the party president and vice-president, seems to have learnt its lesson after being stung by party rebels in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. In both the States, the Congress lost power. The rebel legislators put the blame squarely on the high command which, they alleged, had been quite unresponsive to their repeated complaints against their respective State party bosses.

In a major move to attract foreign investment in the electronic commerce (e-commerce), India allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the market place format of e-commerce retailing under the automatic route. The market place model is a legitimate channel of doing e-commerce, one that genuinely promotes the interests of both the consumers and producers to save on the huge cost of holding inventory and stocks. Marketplaces mainly act as a conduit connecting sellers and buyers. In a sector which has already witnessed over 10 billion dollars in investments and one on which the large swathe of people depend on their livelihood, the latest move has lent policy clarity and also how e-commerce would forge ahead by drawing the distinction between market place model and the inventory model.

India will be hosting the eighth summit of BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa in Goa in October this year and as the Chairman of the BRICS group, the Indian Government has been entrusted with a major responsibility to contribute to the process of easing the global economic crisis by identifying the areas where immediate action is needed to correct the distortions. The five members of BRICS represent more than two-fifth of the world population and a combined GDP of over US$ 16 trillion. As a multilateral organization, BRICS has a crucial role to play in the global economy apart from expanding the scope of cooperation between the members of the grouping. India has to impart an innovative leadership to the BRICS summit this year by focusing on the issues which have been ailing the global economy due to the partisan policies of the rich nations led by the United States.