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Bernie Sanders is a phenomenon now in the United States of America’s Presidential elections campaign. Like the UK’s Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, Sanders has emerged all of a sudden from obscurity and has now taken the centre stage in the US presidential campaign as a Democratic Party candidate fighting primaries against formidable Hillary Clinton. To the seasoned observers of the US presidential elections through the years, Sanders has brought about a real political revolution in the mindset of the ordinary Americans and never before the issue of inequality was so forcefully put in the election agenda by any presidential candidate. Sanders has declared himself as a socialist- a democratic socialist but his economic and social agenda fully reflects the concerns of a genuine leftist which he is. Like his British counterpart Jeremy Corbyn, Sanders is unscathing in his attacks on money power, against the bankers and the billionaires who have been ruling the USA for decades.

Indian banking industry particularly the predominantly public sector banks (PSBs) are at the crossroads with their flanks exposed to market mayhem in the wake of their worst third quarter results. Bank after bank—be it the big ones or the relatively mid-sized ones vied with one anothr in presenting a gloomy balance sheet that rattled their registered scrips in the country’s major bourses. In a sense, the third quarter of 2015-16 marks a morose chapter in their post-nationalization annals, bringing down the curtain on their complacent business-as-usual approach as being the sovereign arm of the government.

The national budget preparation for 2016-17 is appearing to be a daunting task before Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in view of somewhat unprecedented ensemble of pre-budget economic and political turn of events. Few finance ministers in the past have faced a situation as difficult and tricky as the current one with economic positives being heavily overshadowed by a host of negatives on which the present government seems to have little control. The massive bad loans on the books of public sector banks; stock market collapse; poor performance of the core, manufacturing and infrastructure sectors; falling exports for 14 months in a row; high retail inflation; steadily sliding Rupee; rising gold import; unemployment and growing political campaign against the government – from the president’s rule in Arunachal Pradesh to the police action at Delhi’s JNU — by the opposition seems to have overtaken some good work done by the Centre on the opening up of economy, ease of doing business, financial inclusion and transparency in policy making and execution.

Only someone like the Union human resource development minister, Smriti Irani, who has read up to Class XII can believe that the answer to the pretentious antics of a tiny group of adolescents is to hoist the national flag. The decision of the minister and the vice-chancellors of central universities to respond to the student unrest in New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and the Hyderabad central university by flying a large tricolour in these and other universities suggests that they haven’t a clue as to how to deal with disaffected youths.

BHOPAL: The massive Sherpur rally held by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has added few feathers in the cap of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan. The BJP's win in the Maihar Assembly by-poll just on the eve of the rally helped in boosting the morale of Chauhan which was adversely affected after the BJP lost Ratlam-Jhabua Lok Sabha seat. Sherpur is located in the rural areas of Sehore district about 40 KMs from Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh. Predominantly rural area was chosen to project Modi's pro-farmer image.

From 'maximum governance' and 'minimum government' - the Modi brand - India in no time has descended into a disturbing phase of social and caste tensions, triggered by sectarian outfits asserting majoritarian power and indulging in assaults on liberal-minded university students allegedly “anti-national”.

Nationalism has been the most expedient weapon to browbeat the political opponents. This has been used in the past by the Congress. But what makes the present machination of the RSS and BJP in the case of JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar different is blending nationalism with sedition.

Poll scenario has been changing fast as elections in the five states draw nearer. Elections in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry are scheduled to be completed by May this year. In a fresh development the Congress and the Left Front are close to sealing a “tactical alliance” in West Bengal. The Congress leadership is veering toward the decision after coming to the conclusion that it has little option other than tying with the Left. The party’s state unit is vehemently against an alliance with Mamata Banerjee and has been under tremendous pressure for an alliance with the Left led by CPI-M.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the State is in a blue mood these days. The reason: the party’s much-hyped efforts for an alliance to fight the crucial Assembly elections have yet to fructify.

NEW DELHI: United Arab Emirate’s flag-ship carrier Emirates Airways has emerged as India’s darling given its popularity both among passengers as well as the Government. It is another matter that national carrier Air India and other Gulf carrier Qatar Airways continue to cry hoarse over what they call “extra-special” treatment to the Emirates by India’s civil aviation ministry.