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Crash landing of an ambulance aircraft more than 20 years old in the outskirts of Delhi city on May 24 following engine failure has once again highlighted the issue of air safety and maintenance. While aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered an enquiry into the accident, it is time the crucial issue of aircraft maintenance in overall air safety is revisited in earnest.

The forthcoming summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) at Tashkent in June this year has big significance since for the first time in the last fifteen years, the SCO is being expanded with the proposal to admit India and Pakistan as full members, apart from the existing six member countries-Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. But this big opportunity seems to be not properly utilized as simmering differences among the permanent members are slowing the process of implementation of the developmental programmes and China, as the major country driving SCO, is putting some obstacle into the process of India’s immediate admission. China is still delaying the transfer of obligations draft to India and if this is not solved immediately, the admission of new members may not be possible next month.

The signing of the Indo-Iranian agreement on Chabahar port during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Iran this month is a major success of Indian diplomacy, in the backdrop of the growing rivalry between India and China for control of the oceans and sea-routes and extending their influence on the littoral countries in their neighbourhood.

After the excitement of the five state assembly elections this year, focus is already shifting towards the 2017 Assembly polls. Next year Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur, and Goa will be going for polls. Stakes are high for all the players including the BJP, Congress, SP, BSP, AAP and Akali Dal. There is bound to be some political realignment before that.

New Delhi: Parliamentary Standing Committee Chairman attached to the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Hukumdeo Narayan Yadav, has urged state governments to extend full cooperation to Narendra Modi Government’s all round development plans for the country so that people reap full benefit of various schemes launched by the NDA government at the Centre.

It is a classic case of intolerance of the first order being practised by the ruling BJP. Manifestation of the BJP’s resentment and petty-mindedness has come in the wake of the spectacular election victory scored by the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front(LDF) in Kerala.

The United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), the third largest party in the National Assembly of Nepal, has once again rechristened itself following its merger with the split-away section of Communist Party of Nepal - Revolutionary Maoist. The other party is CPN(Maoist), the mother party of Nepali Maoists, led by its chairman Matrika Yadav. The new party is Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Center, which came into being last week.

The outcome of the five assembly elections raises issues which will impact the future course of Indian politics. These include the form the divisive saffron agenda is likely to take and whether the Congress will be able to regain its lost political ground which has been further eroded by the party’s demoralizing performance in the five elections.

It is no fault of the Modi Government that, on the economic front, its overall performance in the first two years have remained less productive, given far too many challenges for stabilising the fundamentals for growth and jobs, no matter the beguiling assertions from its economic chieftain, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

BHOPAL: The month long Simhastha has ended on May 21. The Chief Minister and high officials who were directly involved heaved a sigh of relief that the mega event ended without any major mishap. It was a huge task to handle the event, specially crowd management, which was very difficult on the shahi snan days when crores of pilgrims want to take a dip in the sipra, which is considered to be one of the holiest rivers of India.