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Performance of government, its outreach and initiatives matters but what is most important is the peoples’ perception of the government. It was perception of the Nitish led Mahagathbandhan, of being peoples’ friendly and concerned of their aspirations that people voted it to power. But ironically after assuming power the grand alliance government has not made a serious move to consolidate it and make it the USP of the government.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced from the ramparts of Red Fort on the Independence Day that the two mantras of his government's economic strategy would be job creation and to tackle farmers' woes. In a country, where 10-12 million enter job market every year, no government can ignore this fact and rightly Modi from the day he assumed office in May 2014, has been laying emphasis on job creation. This is all the more important as 65 per cent of the vast 1.25 billion population in the country are below the age of 35.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Will the formation of a political party by the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SDNDP), the powerful organization of the dominant Ezhava community, catalyse the emergence of a third front in the State?

French President François Hollande entering into an alliance with the Russian President Vladimir Putin with the objective to build a global military coalition to defeat Islamic State following the Paris attacks has unnerved the USA. This is yet another major setback for the USA. The two leaders agreeing to share intelligence information and cooperate on selecting targets in the fight against ISIS has turned the Obama administration scared of losing its authority and policy of hegemony.

Notwithstanding the GDP growth projection of 7.5 per cent for the current fiscal, India’s $350-billion export manufacturing is fast shrinking. The export downtrend continued for 11 months in a row toll October. There is no immediate sign of improvement. Making in India does not seem to make much sense at least for Indian exporters at this moment. With export orders shrunk and prices falling in the global market, India’s export manufacturers are in a quandary. The loss of exports during this financial year could be close to $80-90billion. The export earnings could at best reach $270 billion. This could mean a massive loss of production and jobs in the export sector. The country would be lucky if it ends 2015-16 with a 20 per cent loss of export earnings compared to the last year.

Nero played the fiddle while Rome burned. The Modi government’s critics play too harsh by using the phrase for our tough-lately-turned-conciliator “NRI” prime minister’s directionless policy on Jammu and Kashmir and flip-flop on India-Pakistan relations.

The latest example of the original reformer Manmohan Singh’s acquiescence in Sonia Gandhi-Rahul Gandhi’s socialism was at an INTUC conclave where he echoed the heir-apparent’s opposition to the government’s proposed labour reforms.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After former finance minister, K. M. Mani and Excise Minister K. Babu, it is the turn of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to be in the eye of a political storm triggered by allegations of corruption and sleaze.

Soon after the dreaded 13/11 terrorist attack, Paris has become another chess board for the fight between the developed and the developing world over climate justice. A new legally binding protocol is likely to replace Kyoto Protocol by 2020. As the battle lines are already drawn between the two warring camps, four issues have become contentious namely, continuing with the common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) as per respective capabilities in the new regime, equity in global carbon space, transfer of technology and innovation and transfer of finance to the developing world for mitigation and adaptation.

BHOPAL: The residents of Bhopal, including the victims of the gas tragedy, observed 31st anniversary of what is claimed to be biggest industrial disaster of the world on December 3.