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What was expected is happening. The latest developments leave no doubt that it is the RSS, claiming to be a non-political cultural and social organization that is subtly ruling India. Available indications are that decision-taking which is the prerogative of an elected government has passed into the hands of the Nagpur-based coterie with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi working as its front man.

KOLKATA: West Bengal remains the most vulnerable Indian State when it comes to checking illegal infiltration from Bangladesh, far more so than Assam or other Northeastern States. The present situation is the outcome of efforts of a powerful pro-immigration lobby that has been active within most political parties, including the Congress, the CPI(M), the Forward Bloc and the Trinamool Congress(TMC).

Recent events have underlined Narendra Modi’s emergence in his true, ruthless colours. He had kept this side of his persona under wraps probably because he was taking his time to get used to the ways of Lutyens Delhi. As a newcomer to the national capital, he evidently did not want to rock the boat too hard right from the start. But two years have been sufficient time for him to begin cracking the whip.

Finance Minister Mr Arun Jaitley has hit upon a great idea of garnering resources, primarily to help the corporate sector revive stalled investments, by cutting down the already lowered deposit rates in banks. Logically, he would seek a policy lending rate (repo) cut by RBI, which is due to present its next monetary policy review, likely to be the last one through Governor Raghuram Rajan, on August 9. Overall, Mr Jaitley follows a flawed approach in resource mobilisation in general.

KOLKATA: Recent discussions between Central and West Bengal Government officials over the increasing activities of suspected Islamic extremists in West Bengal have revealed several areas where security needs tightening up urgently. State Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is expected to discuss these and related matters when she meets the Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi during her forthcoming visit to Delhi.

Getting the country’s carefully built trillion-dollar-plus parallel economy by dauntless tax evaders, often with the help of direct and indirect tax collectors, busted merely through tough warnings from the government, has achieved little over the last 65 years. There is no genuine reason to believe that these crafty Indian big black money hoarders parking unaccounted wealth in the country and across the world’s 26 safe tax havens will come clean by September 30 in response to the wishes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Every government in the past had used strong warnings as also announced seemingly attractive voluntary disclosure schemes and amnesty programmes to entrap big tax evaders and black money hoarders. However, they failed to yield. Big black money hoarders are habitually strong risk takers. Their profile is generally very impressive. Many of them are well-known politicians and their family members, senior judges, bureaucrats, businessmen, legal professionals, doctors, actors, policemen and taxmen. They come from almost every section and profession of the society.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A determined attempt by the dominant A and I groups in the State against Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president, V. M. Sudheeran has been thwarted by the Congress High Command. The immediate upshot of the High Command’s decision has been that Sudheeran will remain the KPCC president.

The persistence of financial flows routed through offshore financial hubs such as Panama and Mauritius with the concomitant upshot of fiscal losses stemming from “the disconnect between income generation and productive investment” have been deftly dealt with by the UN Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD). The latest flagship annual publication, World Investment Report (WIR), 2016 pertinently underscores the urgent need to create “greater coherence among tax and investment policies at the global level.

Even though post-Brexit anarchy vibrates UK, panic has tamed in India and Asian countries. Green shoots are visible. After an initial jerk, stock market bounced back to the original upsurge trajectory within a week. BSE Sensex of 30 companies leaped to 27,145 on 1st July, after crashing by 700 points to 26,398 within a day of referendum. Rupee returned to its stability. According to Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian, the whirlwind of Brexit ended and India turned a “safe heaven” for investors. India was the third or fourth least affected country, he said.

Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani has an uphill task running an airline beseiged with problems not of his own making. Last month-end, he had to quit an ongoing meeting at the CII headquarters in upscale New Delhi to rush to his minister to explain a delayed flight from Delhi to Hyderabad which caused powerful union minister of urban development Venkaiah Naidu to cancel an important meeting in the Andhra capital.