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THIRUVNANTHAPURAM: The scent of change is very much in the air. That is the unmistakable message emanating from the result of the keenly-contested local bodies elections in Kerala.

It was indeed a landslide victory of the Grand Alliance, comprising, Nitish, Lalu and Congress. Nitish’s victory appeared a strong possibility but that the Alliance would totally rout the BJP was least expected. This indicates that the days of coalitions politics and hung house are over; elections over past years have demonstrated that the people vote for a combination or a single party in full measure. Electorate voted Narendra Modi-led-BJP in the Lok Sabha elections wholeheartedly enabling it to get an absolute majority and routing the Congress.

If the Narendra Modi government hadn’t followed the path of “prudent gradualism”, as the well-known economist, Jagdish Bhagwati, described its path of economic reforms, then the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) might have been able to sustain the “wave” based on the promise of development in Bihar.

BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha created a history when it unanimously passed special supplementary budget meant to give relief to drought hit farmers of the state. It was also for the first time again in the history of Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha when a one day session was held to approve special supplementary budget. Though the debate on the drought was marked with heated exchanges between the opposition and the ruling party, members cutting across party lines, accepted that farmers of the state were in deep distress.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Coming events cast their shadows. So goes the saying. And there are enough signs that the Congress is heading for trouble over the party’s continued support to the beleaguered Finance Minister and Kerala Congress(M) chief, K M Mani who is in the eye of the bar bribery case storm. Incidentally, Mani has suffered two legal setbacks within a week, making his position as the Finance Minister totally untenable.

Months before the scheduled Assembly polls in 2016, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already launched a carefully nuanced pre-poll campaign.

Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) have always been in the forefront in helping the government in achieving its agenda concerning inclusive growth. Latest in the series is Government’s Flagship Skilling India. PSEs are gearing up their efforts by initiating a slew of measures for skilling unemployed youths in rural areas. More and more PSEs are signing MoU with Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MoSDE) for making Skill India Mission successful. Coal India Limited, NTPC Limited, Rural Electrification Corporation and Powergrid have already signed MoUs.

Hectic preparation has begun for 2016 rail budget, whose mantra will be to declog railways by decongesting overworked trunk routes. It will also shun populism like announcement of new trains in view of choked railway network.

Creation of a non-lapsable North East Region Rail Development Fund (NERRDF), duly approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) and incorporated in the Rail Budget 2014-15, is yet to take off although we are in the second half of the financial year 2015-16. Under the NERRDF, 25 per cent of yearly requirement were to be provided by the Railways through General Budgetary Support (GBS) from the General Public Exchequer and 75 per cent from the Ministry of Finance dividend-free, as additionality to GBS.

Election of fifty-four year Bidya Devi Bhandari, deputy leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) , as the President of Nepal ,denotes not only the termination of a 240-year Hindu monarchy and ushering in a new era of secular democracy but triggers also a new aspiration around her spotless record . Kathmandu-based correspondent of Independent of London Binaj Gurubacharya poignantly suggests that her election to the post of head of the Himalayan state is an inspiration to the struggle for converting “a male-dominated society, “where women are mostly limited to working at homes or on farms” to one where women will have equal opportunities and legal rights. True, the Presidency is a titular head, but a woman head of state is more than symbolically assertive as one-third of Nepal’s Parliament consists of female members. And as per the new statute either the President or Vice-President is to be from the fairer sex.