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Despite the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clarion call his urban middle class audience did not turn up at the polling booths in large numbers. They have been vocal supporters of Modi but when it came to use their right to vote for bringing about a change as envisaged and emphasized by Modi they were relaxing at their homes. Patna registered a poor turnout of 51 per cent. This was certainly disappointing for the BJP and Modi.

The reformist late Prime Minister Narshima Rao made a rhetoric shift in India’s foreign policy from west to Look East policy in 1991. Now, Prime Minster Narendra Modi made a paradigm shift to Look Africa policy as a new foreign policy vision of India.

As the economy moved into the third quarter and pre-budget exercises got under way for fiscal 2017, Finance Minister Mr Arun Jaitley has sighted a few hopeful signs but still tough hurdles are there to cross before growth can begin to edge toward 8 per cent, a target set for the current year, which has proved elusive.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) Government in Kerala suffered a serious setback with the Thiruvananthapuram Vigilance Court ordering a fresh investigation into the bar bribery scam case in which Finance Minister and Kerala Congress (M) president, K. M. Mani is in the eye of the storm.

Senior Congress leader Makhan Lal Fotedar’s forthcoming book Chinar Leaves has brought to the fore once again the discomfort between the old and the new guard in the 130-year-old Congress party. Fotedar is only voicing the desperation among sections of the Congress that Rahul Gandhi is not inspiring and he is not a natural or a 24X7 politician.

BHOPAL: There was a time when Madhya Pradesh was known as 'Soya Pradesh'. But from this year Madhya Pradesh will cease to be so.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has unequivocally told its member community recently that the more extensive and the speedier the implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), the greater will be the gains. WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo was more forthright in contending that the implementation of “the TFA could have a bigger impact on international trade than the elimination of all remaining tariffs” in a foreword to the World Trade Report, 2015 the Geneva-based world trade monitoring body released on October 26. TFA contains provisions for expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit. It also sets out measures for effective cooperation between customs and other appropriate authorities on trade facilitation and customs compliance issues. It further contains provisions for technical assistance and capacity building for developing and least developed countries to bolster their trade facilitation works in tune with global standards. It is small wonder that Azevedo characterized the TFA as “global trade’s equivalent of the shift from dial-up internet access to broadband” and it will have an effect akin to that.

The dialectic of Nitish Kumar’s sushasan, good governance and his forging alliance with Lalu Yadav, who symbolized the rule of jungle raj, has mystified the election scenario in Bihar after the third round of polls on October 28.

A proposal of Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India), which owns All India Radio (AIR) and Door Darshan (DD), the two public broadcasters, for monetization or commercial utilization of its huge land resources is still pending with the Central Government in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I & B) for almost three years. The result has been lack of resources for development of popular technologies for FMisation, Digital TV transmission and still better programmes for the people. In other words, Prasar Bharati is bleeding amidst stiff competition from private broadcasters.

CHANDIGARH: What was feared is happening. Within 17 months of the Modi-led government’s coming into power, India has been communally polarized, notwithstanding the claims to the contrary. Three major factors are responsible for creating the worrisome situation. First: RSS’s Hindutva agenda which the BJP and the Modi government are zealously implementing. Second: Divisive and inflammable utterances of some of the ministers, chief ministers, MPs and MLAs against whom the prime minister has not taken any action. The third and the most important factor is misuse of religion for achieving political and electoral goals.