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The INDIA alliance meeting in Delhi is broadly an effort at political resuscitation. For three months, the opposition formation had virtually suspended such strategic level dialogue, as the Congress prioritised the assembly elections. Talk of crucial loss of momentum. INDIA’s leading partner Congress stands devastated after losing in three states to the BJP, reinforcing perception of BJP’s dominance of the crucial Hindi belt. The scale of the mountain the opposition is forced to climb appears quite forbidding. So let’s start with a few points of consolidation for the opposition.

It is election year for the Indian economy and the footnote to the robust economic performance would pinpoint the risks of freebies and subsidy politics impacting growth. The pressures are expected to pinch hard from mid-year onwards as the drivers of growth would shift gears down by at least a couple of levels. Increased allocation for food support programmes, cooking gas subsidy and rural employment plans has already been indicated.

The catchline “Phir Aayega Modi” of the saffron ecosystem needs correction. It portrays him as a visionary who will return to usher India to a new and affluent ecosphere — purely as a device to strengthen the perception that Modi is the only saviour. Therefore, people must elect him. But scratch a little more and out pops reality, the catchline is nothing other than perception management, it’s got nothing to do with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s skills-set.

Number of Bank frauds in 2022-23 in India reached 13,576 as against just 4306 in 2013-14, and has even broken the record of the last year in only first six months of the current financial year 2023-24 when the fraud cases have already risen to 14,483. Obviously, UPA government was no match to the NDA government led by PM Narendra Modi in banking frauds, though PM Narendra Modi has promised during his election campaigns that he would give a corruption free India.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The central investigating agency, the enforcement Directorate (ED), which is on a rampage against the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government in Kerala, suffered a highly embarrassing double defeat in the Kerala High Court.

The Indian defence manufacturing sector has advanced significantly, largely due to the government’s ‘Make in India’ policy and emphasis on self-sufficiency. But difficulties that can hinder development in 2024 need to be addressed. So like all significant nations, India has an Army, Navy and Air Force and these wings need among other essentials, ground vehicles, naval vessels, C4ISR, fixed-wing aircraft, rotary-wing aircraft, weapons and ammunition, protection and training and unmanned systems.

India has one of the largest defence industrial bases (DIB) on the planet; an extensive network of research and development (R&D); as well as, production entities. The DIBs employ scientists, engineers and other professionals. But the dominance of the public sector has resulted in lacklustre performance. Therefore, India’s continued reliance on external sources, a dependence that remains a cause of concern. India, in times of crisis, has found itself reaching out to friendly nations for emergency procurements.

The trade union movement in India may be heading for a year of reckoning in 2024. The first half of the year will see much intensified, aggressive, and confrontational protests against the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led ruling establishment, especially till the Lok Sabha General elections conclude by May end. The course of the movement in the second half of the year would depend on the decision of the elected government on implementation of the four controversial labour codes, hitherto deferred by the Centre due to stiff resistance from the workers’ unions.

Imperialist hegemony over the third world is exercised not just through arms and economic might but also through the hegemony of ideas, by making the victims see the world the way imperialism wants them to see it. A prerequisite for freedom in the third world therefore is to shake off this colonisation of the mind, and to seek truth beyond the distortions of imperialism. The anti-colonial struggle was aware of this; in fact the struggle began with the dawning of this awareness. And since the imperialist project does not come to an end with formal political decolonisation, the education system in the newly independent ex-colonies must continuously aim to go beyond the falsehoods of imperialism.

Never having led a sporting side to a playing field, no eyebrows were raised among the fans of actor-turned-politician Vijaykanth when he became better known as “Captain” in the worlds of films and politics in Tamil Nadu. The honorific has stuck to him since 1991 on the release of his 100th film, 'Captain Prabhakaran'.