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After the revelry of summits and dreamy scenarios and the forthcoming Republic Day festivity with a unique visit of an American President on the occasion, the Modi Government would be hard at work with down-to-earth issues - economic and social - in the run-up to what is billed to be a landmark budget of universal appeal.

NEW DELHI: Behind the beautiful, there is usually the hidden ugly. In order to support every drive for cleanliness, we need to construct dump yards for the waste. Does India have enough dump yards in its length and breadth, other than the surface water bodies, which are open to all?

There is a curious sentence in a recent resolution adopted by the Congress. It says that the party’s president and vice-president have “enormous credibility and emotional contact with people, and the party must harness this political capital and protect it assiduously. The Congress VP is a natural icon to rally progressive and liberal forces.”

The latest turmoil regarding the film PK, its said onslaught on religious beliefs, its supposed ‘selective picking’ on Hinduism, its complete disregard of the ‘religious sentiment’ of the majority: everything created a rather unexpected whirlwind. In the life of India, Bollywood movies are like drunken brawls, so removed from consciousness and so mired with wasteful titillating frolic, that the conscientious India often remains oblivious to its existence. The far remove of mainstream film from the socio-political consciousness is a phenomenon in itself and demands to be addressed in a different discussion. For our present purpose, suffice it to say, that even the most subversive intellectual would have halted in surprise to see that the ready-to-be enraged Indian state and its organs were angered, not by an obscure book written by some foreign intellectuals, neither was their ire directed against a common miscreant of the likes of Arundhati Roy; rather the centre of the whirlwind was occupied by a prominent Bollywood star with his mega-million budget film!

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The tenuous truce effected between the two dominant groups in the Congress in the state led by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala has come under severe strain, giving groupism a fresh lease of life.

Now that the bugle has been sounded for the Delhi 2015 Assembly elections, three possible scenarios might emerge in the post-poll period. Most widely speculated is that the poll may again throw up a hung house. The second scenario is that the AAP may get majority. The third is the BJP may get majority on its own. Judging by the present trend, the possibility of either the BJP or the AAP getting absolute majority appears remote. Many questions arise in the event of a hung assembly; as former chief minister, Sheila Dikshit, has already indicated the Congress may support the AAP. It is yet premature to say if it would be outside support or the Congress may join Arvind Kejriwal-led government?

Recent political developments in Sri Lanka have not only drawn the attention of South Asian countries, but also of the world. The credit rightly goes to the people and the political spectrum of Sri Lanka for dislodging Mahinda Rajapaksa from the seat of power in what can be termed as a bloodless coup managed through ballot box. Rajapksa’s exit is expected to usher in process of further democratic reforms in the island country.

In a pleasant surprise to markets and Government on Thursday, RBI Governor Dr Raghuram Rajan cut the repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.75 per cent with immediate effect, on a reading of significant reduction in the momentum of inflation. What is more, he has left open the path for further easing in 2015, linked to how Government moves on the fiscal front as well as on alleviating supply constraints for output.

Reserve Bank seems to have surprised the markets and cut policy rates marginally. But some resetting of RBI‘s monetary policy stance seemed because of three reasons in order.

Almost after a year of President’s Rule, the 7th February Elections to Delhi Assembly is crucial for various reasons. Delhi has always been important even though it is waiting to get the status of a full statehood.