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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Stunning disclosures by a member of the Bar Owners’ Association against State Finance Minister and Kerala Congress (M) president, K. M. Mani, has left the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government in dire straits.

In a situation where economies are seeking integration with neighbours in the form of institutional grouping, India has made attempts for engagement with the ASEAN bloc primarily for trade and integration of the economy, more particularly to derive benefit for its remote north-eastern region. But this has not been realised in full potential due to poor land route connectivity despite inking of free trade agreements in goods and services with ASEAN.

It is heartening to note that out of the world’s 2000 largest companies, figured in Forbes Global 2000, and their 3,30,000 subsidiaries worldwide characterizing their influence in the global market, as many as 30 are India’s much neglected and criticized State-owned enterprises (SOEs). India’s SOE numbers are only next to the People’s Republic of China’s. The People’s Republic of China had 70 of its SOEs in the Forbes Global 2000 list. The Forbes study makes a stunning exposure of the SOEs, which are often characterized in India as ‘incompetent’ and ‘uncompetitive’, that over 10 per cent (204) of the world’s top 2,000 companies are state run. They came from 37 countries and accounted for a combined sales income of $3.6 trillion in 2011 – more than the GDP of such super-rich G-7 countries as Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

With the Prime Minister Narendra Modi having broken ice with the national media, he kept at arm’s length for more than a decade, in his Diwali Milan on October 25, 2014, where he mixed up with all media persons in a spirit of bonhomie and camaraderie, immense media goodwill has been generated to enlist their (media) cooperation in the national development agenda of the NDA Government. Assuaging the disenchanted national media over restricted media access to the Government functioning so long since he formed the Government on May 26, 2014, the Prime Minister assured them “to look for a way to deepen and broaden his relationship with the media. Some way will be found to make judicious way to use his time with them. It’s important to interact with the media directly rather than (only) through reportage and articles,” he added. While this has undoubtedly helped in improving media relations of the Government, under such façade the access to multi-dimensional functioning of the Government by the national (private) media, as has been the case so far, has been restricted. The media has viewed this as an ominous sign to curb the press freedom.

Republicans, whose obstructionist role for six years, made life too tough for President Obama to push ahead with a liberal inclusive agenda and reshape the economic system, have now gained full control of the Congress, with a decisive majority in the powerful 100-member Senate while reinforcing their dominant strength in the 435-member House of Representatives.

The Congress split in Tamil Nadu spells trouble for the 129 year old Congress party. Although the Congress high command has described it as a result of factional fight, there is more to it than meets the eye as it has far reaching impact on the state as well as national politics.

KOLKATA: In the end, the outcome of the high level Trinamool Congress (TMC) meeting last month was disappointing.

One might not have expected the Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to be so quick in responding to the hospitality he received in India last month. In fact the G20 summit slated in Brisbane middle of next month has given this opportunity. Abbott is preparing to lay the red carpet for the Indian Prime Minister Narendrabhai Damodardass Modi.

When Bharatiya Janata Party leader LK Advani famously said of the media during the Emergency that “when asked to bend, they crawled”, he received widespread praise from the intelligentsia and even from people opposed to the BJP’s ideology—because he spoke the truth about the loss of independence and professional integrity on the part of the Fourth Estate and other institutions.

The history of communism in India is one of strategic miscalculations at the national level as a result of blinkered tactical manoeuvres in the states. The outcome is that while the comrades have remained a marginal force at the centre, their main ideological adversary, viz. the BJP, has made major gains.