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The truth about the total stressed asset of the state-run public sector banks may never be known. Rating agency ICRA estimates for the first half of this financial year put banks’ gross stressed assets at Rs.9 lakh crore. If they are wholly reliable, business gamesman Vijay Mallya, accused of payment default to the tune of Rs.9,000 crore, may account for only one per cent of the gross bad debts of the banking sector. Other official estimates of the Indian banking industry’s bad debts vary from Rs. 4 lakh to Rs. 8 lakh crore. The question is: why are those banks not moving against other ‘wilful’ defaulters to attach their assets and book those, who used fraudulent means to overstate value of mortgaged assets or even pledged non-existent assets? How dependable are annual reports of bank auditors? What is the responsibility of the bank management for ‘creation’ of large non-refundable debts to those dubious businessmen?

What used to be a tenuous, undercover tie between the BJP and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living (AoL) organization, blossomed into an openly flaunted friendship when Narendra Modi graced the spiritual guru’s vaudeville on the flood plains of the Yamuna in Delhi last Friday.

A flutter in Tamil Nadu political circles in Tamil Nadu over the surprise move of DMDK leader Mr Vijaykant to lead his party singly in the May 16 Assembly poll, upsetting electoral calculations of non-AIADMK parties, chiefly Mr Karunanidhi's DMK, which was banking on coaxing him into the DMK-Congress alliance.

Poll bugle has been sounded. Upcoming round of assembly elections are a big test for the BJP and the Congress. Much is at stake in the four states—Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala—and one union territory, Puducherry, that go to poll between April 4 and May 16.

The hiatus between India and Nepal seems to have been resolved with the recent visit of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to New Delhi with the latter getting assurance that it would not remain as a land-locked country but would be transformed into a land-linked country. Earlier, there was s signing of motor vehicular movement agreement amongst Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) and now with PM Oli’s visit there were exchanges of letters on transit routes that would simplify the modalities for traffic of goods through Kakarbhitta (Nepal)-Banglabandha (Bangladesh) Corridor via India. Further down south the Nepali goods will get transit facility at Vishakhapatnam port. Rail transport facility through Singabad in India for Nepal’s trade with and through Bangladesh will be operationalised and the rail transport facility would extend down south to Vishakhapatnam port.

LUCKNOW: Nobody seems to be satisfied with Justice Vishnu Sahai commission report on Muzaffarnagar riots tabled in Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha recently.

While the USA and its allies, especially the Nato countries, have already been spreading canards and indulging in disinformation campaign against Russia, in their latest design have come out with the allegation that Putin is attempting to stir up anti-immigrant sentiment in Germany in an attempt to topple Chancellor Angela Merkel. Little doubt Merkel has been an ardent advocate of continuing sanction against Russia, imposed in the wake of Ukraine and Crimean crisis, but the fact also remains that in the war against ISIL and Islamic state, she has been on the Russian side. Obviously at this crucial juncture, Putin would not cherish the idea of losing a supporter and admirer.

The demand for the revival of the jinxed Women’s Reservation Bill is raising its head once again. The chorus is now led by none other than the Congress president Sonia Gandhi who had revived it on Tuesday in Parliament. It was she who was instrumental in getting the bill passed in Rajya Sabha six years ago but could not get it through the Lok Sabha. Ironically, the Bill providing for one-third quota for women in legislatures has broad support from all political parties, yet the same parties have stalled the passage of this Bill in Parliament for the past 19 years.

Union Government’s media outreach programme, worked out recently following recommendations of a Committee of Secretaries, followed up by Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to implement that and approved by the Prime Minister’s Office, is not new at all. At its best, media outreach strategy is repackaged as altogether a new programme, which has been tried by successive Governments since the globalization of Indian economy commenced in July 1991. In all such cases, it has come a cropper. Nevertheless, prompted by the negative sentiments generated by the media against the previous UPA Government that changed adversely public perception against it, this exercise of the NDA Government appears to be well intended. But how far will it improve and enlarge media outreach favourable to the Government, only the time will spell! Till then the people concerned will watch with bated breadth.

The young Avani Chaturvedi yearned as a child to fly like a bird. She could not be a bird but she will certainly fly, on wings of the Indian Air Force, carrying in her fighter plane enough lethal power to rain havoc with mere touch of her finger tips. She is chosen along with two other girls to start training from this June as fighter pilots. Avani is fortunate enough to have been born in a city and in a house of well to do parents who strived hard for her education at best school. The band of teachers helped her to climb and her parents allowed her to walk on her chosen path leading to the Indian Air Force.