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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The covert and not-so-covert attempts to delay the preliminary investigation report by the Vigilance Department into the allegations of bribery against State Finance Minister and Kerala Congress (M) president, K. M. Mani, have suffered a severe setback with the Kerala High Court directing the department to submit the report within a week.

As the Modi Government completes its first six months with a record of hesitant, incremental moves on the economic front, growth recovery has at last become visible and looks to gain momentum to hit the targeted 5.5 per cent or slightly above, in fiscal ’15. Business sentiment is being bolstered by falling inflation and output modestly growing by 2.8 per cent in the first half (April-September), though investment pick-up is awaited.

The 25-year-old Shiv Sena-BJP break up in Maharashtra confirms the long-term plan of the BJP to go beyond the allies and emerge a dominant national party eclipsing others. In election rallies in both Maharashtra and Haryana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed the end of the coalition era in Indian politics to stress this point.

It is no doubt the flavor of the season to wrest the best benefits by domestic export constituencies with the new five-year Foreign Trade Policy for 2014-19 continuing to be work in progress even a few months past its due date of announcement. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the BJP can bolster India’s leather industry both for its export potentials in general and the untapped and unmet demand from domestic users of leather products ranging from finished leather, footwear, leather garments, leather goods and saddler and harness items to footwear components in particular.

The emergence of Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister and a national leader has changed the contours of Indian politics and it is a time of repositioning for the leaders of other parties to maintain their clout and relevance in the changed political scenario. Leaders of Hindi heartland of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Haryana are among those, who find themselves to be in wilderness after 2014 Lok Sabha elections. They were rejoicing at the reverses of BJP in by- elections, which were held in Uttarakhand, Bihar and UP just after the Lok Sabha elections. Most of the seats had fallen vacant because of the victory of BJP MLAs in Lok Sabha elections and in subsequent by elections, BJP failed to retain most of those seats. This gave cheers to the leaders like Lalu, Nitish and Mulayam. But after the assembly elections of Haryana and Maharashtra, the picture turned gloomy again for them and they are now convinced that this Modi phenomenon is to stay for now.

A Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), by no means a new concept, was successfully pushed by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the APEC Summit in Beijing on November 11, projecting it as ‘historic’, in a move aimed at countering US-dominant trade moves in the region.

China is riding the crest of its economic success currently. It has taken one more step to make its currency globally traded and thus acceptable. China has announced what is known as the Hong Kong-Shanghai Stocks Connect from November 17. This in effect means off shore trading in the Chinese currency for purchase of stocks in Hong Kong and Shanghai exchanges.

The grim battle waged by a small but well=meaning section in Pakistan for a sustaining and evolving democratic order has suffered a setback as some pseudo-democratic interests are working against the struggle for democracy. Needless to say, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its chief Imran Khan serve as catalyst in favour of the unholy combine of a section of army, the ISI and other powerful groups whose roots are in the military-bureaucratic-feudal traditions. The PTI too is in the service of pseudo-democratic politicians and retired bureaucrats. The ace cricketer-turned-politician’s collaborator is Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT), led by Dr Tahirul Qadri.

BHOPAL: More than three thousand persons will reach Bhopal on December 4, 2014. They will be part of a 'Nation-wide Yatra', which has commenced from November 2. These yatras have started from states in the north-east, south, east, west and north parts of the country. After passing through various states, they will reach Bhopal on December 4 to coincide with the 30th anniversary of gas leakage from the Union Carbide factory.

KOLKATA: If one takes the trouble of rummaging through the archives relating to that part of India which is now called Arunachal Pradesh, one will stumble on a shocking document titled “Regulation 2 of 1880. The Assam Frontier Tracts Regulation, 1880.” It begins with the Preamble: “Whereas it is expedient to provide for the removal of certain frontier tracts in Assam inhabited or frequented by barbarous or semi-civilized tribes from the operation of enactments in force therein; it is hereby enacted as follows:”