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Debaters wade in row over Indian economic growth and its impact on employment generation, after GDP growth slashed to 5.7 percent in the first quarter of 2017-18. Before election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi committed one crore (10 million) jobs a year. Despite economic growth in full strength during the forty month period of Modi regime, green shoots of job opportunities are not visible. According to Labour Bureau statistics, job creation for 2015 and 2016 (April-December) were at much lower level than committed - 15.5 million and 23.1 million respectively.

Pretense of a perfect camaraderie and bonhomie between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was shattered on the campus of the Patna University. The citizens of Bihar were made to believe that the visit of Modi to Patna University would usher the state into a new dawn of academic excellence that would change the dynamics as well as the dimension of the educational horizon in the state.

In two interesting decisions, earlier this month, the government, on the one hand, exempted the rich from submitting personal documents such as Aadhaar and PAN, for investing over Rs. 50,000 in gold jewellery. On the other, it made the unique identification number (UID) compulsory even for small postal savings in Public Provident Fund (PPF), National Savings Certificate and Kisan Vikas Patra schemes.

English Daily National Herald established in Lucknow on December 9, 1938 with Jawaharlal Nehru as its first editor had carried on its masthead “FREEDOM IS IN PERIL, DEFEND IT WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT”. Had the legendary cartoonist Jimmy Friell been alive today, he would have re-captioned his cartoon “INDIA’S DEMOCRACY AND ECONOMY ARE IN PERIL, DEFEND THEM WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT”.

Buying gold and jewellery during Diwali is supposed to be auspicious as it is believed to bring luck for an entire year ahead. So jewellers line up their best deals and promotions in the run-up to the festival season. A leading jeweller, accounting for some of the highest sales turnovers both in India and outside, has deemed that the best lure for gold during this Diwali is not any fanciful offer of discounts or goodies that go with seasonal purchases but a government notification exempting gold and jewellery purchases of values exceeding Rs 50,000 from the requirement of PAN card, Aadhaar or other proofs of identity and anti-money laundering provisions.

When French President Emmanuel Macron secured his sweeping victory of the Élysée Palace in May and a majority in parliament in June, it was said that only the unions had a chance of checking his power. So this week’s show of unity and strength by public-sector unions—after months of squabbling—will have him worried.

Is the idea of holding Lok Sabha and assembly elections simultaneously possible? Presuming it is possible, will it be practical and will all opposition parties support it? The RSS-BJP combine that sets the agenda for governance of the country has floated the idea of simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and 29 states and seven union territories. Their contention is that simultaneous elections will save money and time and the elected representatives—MPs and MLAs—will be able to devote more time and energy for the task of governance.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Will the Congress High Command summon the nerve to undertake a thorough cleansing of its Kerala unit in the wake of the serious crisis which has overtaken the party?

The shocking stories of infants dying in hospitals in our country even after 70 years of Independence should ideally have shaken the ‘collective conscience’ of the society. These deaths are reflective of the pathetic state of affairs of healthcare in the country. The tragedy is that we have been quite tolerant and have accepted it to be a fate accompli. Worse is that, instead of debating the ways to improve the state of affairs, those responsible for such state of affairs are busy in a blame game.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s comment “anti-national forces can't appreciate economic trends” betrays the acute compulsion of survival in the BJP. It also signifies a desperate attempt to distance himself from the remarks of his senior leader Yashwant Sinha. The use of the term anti-national for Sinha is indeed shocking.