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The Modi Government heading into its second year, sees some signs of economic revival, with a boost from timely onset of monsoon, though its further course is unpredictable. While inflation may appear to remain stabilised, thanks to continuing low oil prices, what would tilt the balance is food inflation, with linkages to monsoon and supply-side management.

It was not expected it would start happening so soon. New regimes usually take time to lose their goodwill. But if a government which comes to power with euphoric popular support, even though with a meagre 31 percent vote share, starts losing its goodwill within its first year in power, something is grossly wrong with its functioning and the leader who heads it. This is happening in the case of the BJP-led NDA government and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Interest rates in the rich world have been extraordinarily low for an exceptionally long phase with “the international monetary and financial system spreading easy money and financial conditions from the core economies to other economies through exchange rate and capital flow pressures, furthering the build- up of financial vulnerabilities”. This crucial message from this year’s Annual Report of the Basel-based (Switzerland) Bank for International Settlements (BIS) released on Sunday is undoubtedly a timely wake-up call not only to its 60 odd central bank members including India but also to every economy in the world.

The BJP may have partially succeeded in maintaining internal peace by supporting Sushma Swaraj and Vasundhara Raje in l’affaire Lalit Modi, but the party cannot be unaware that it has lost the moral high ground in the process, as the current bee in its bonnet, L.K. Advani, has pointed out.

After a brief lull the Chanakya of Bihar politics is back in action but this time with more vengeance. Till a fortnight back an element of uncertainly loomed and none was sure of Nitish Kumar staging a comeback notwithstanding forging an alliance with Lalu Yadav. But the Wednesday incident, arrest of the Don Anant Singh made these people concede that Nitish Kumar would triumph. Through his action, ordering arrest of his close political aide, he has made the people of Bihar to acknowledge that he really intends to provide good governance.

“Emergency as I have seen” was the topic of debate on many TV channels; newspapers also published the account of the 21-month-long Emergency as seen by those journalists who had gone through those traumatic days. I am the one, who has seen emergency days from close quarters and covered the events of those times for the PTI for which I was working. It was night before the Emergency was imposed that well-known Jat leader Chaudhary Charan Singh could feel it in his bones; Indira Gandhi was poised to pounce on the opposition. He was sitting with his supports in the first-floor room of UP Niwas in Delhi diplomatic area—Chanakayapuri.

In West Bengal, the law and order situation has hit rock bottom, with over 100 people killed in armed clashes among rival Trinamool Congress (TMC) groups in recent months.

The recent launch of India’s first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the nuclear-capable Agni V, from Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast signaled the country’s capability to build and launch sophisticated long range nuclear missiles. This was for long an exclusive preserve zealously guarded by an “elite club” of countries— including the US, Russia, China, and France. In its remarkable proving flight, Agni V was launched from a hermetically-sealed canister mounted on a launcher truck in what the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) described as 'a deliverable configuration'.

Contrary to popular perception that Sanjay Gandhi and his caucus were behind the decision to impose Emergency, the fact is that they wanted Indira Gandhi to take over as President and by virtue of being President become Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed forces. Sanjay Gandhi was also against Mrs. Gandhi’s 23 January 1977 decision to go in for general elections. He wanted elections to be delayed for five years through one-year extensions.

If the AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa Jayaram thought that troubles had come to an end with her acquittal by the Karnataka High Court last month on her disproportionate assets case, she must be in for a shock as the Damocles sword is hanging over her head once again. The Karnataka government has gone to the Supreme Court challenging the High Court verdict this week putting a question mark on her political career. If the apex court quashes the high court ruling she would be back to square one. The Congress ruled state government had come under pressure from different quarters and ultimately decided to file the appeal. Leading the demand for an appeal was the DMK and PMK from Tamil Nadu. Also the original complainant and the BJP leader Subramaniam Swamy had been threatening to go on appeal.