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In September every year, leaders of more than 190 states across the world, whether big or small, get a chance to make long speeches at the United Nations General Assembly’s inaugural session, which are usually attended by nobody except their own countries’ diplomats and journalists (typically flown in and hosted by the domestic taxpayer). They use lofty rhetoric about improving the international climate while scoring points against their adversaries—their speeches’ real target.

The world economy is yet to make a full exit of the 2008 financial crisis and its recessionary aftermath, so that growth prospects for 2014, the sixth year, have had to be revised down, with the disappointing and uneven recovery, mainly among advanced nations. And geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, with limited impact so far, may hold greater risks going forward.

Even as the secular – sorry, “sickular” – brigade is upset over the live telecast of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s speech on Doordarshan, they seem to have missed a few tell-tale omissions in his address to the Hindu nation. For instance, there was no mention of the Ram temple or love jehad or conversions – issues that have agitated the saffronites for years and have enabled them to mobilize the communal-minded Hindus by arousing anti-minority feelings.

Engulfed with scams and scandals in the functioning of the government, the Odisha Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik is finding himself difficult to manage the growing dissatisfaction within his own party. There is no other option left for him but to expel anyone who raises voice against him.

Few persons have seen so many ups and downs in politics and personal life as Jayalalithaa. She touches the lowest ebb and yet bounces back with renewed vigor. She has enormous capacity to turn an adversarial situation to her advantage. Recall the March 1989 episode in Tamil Nadu assembly where she was manhandled and even attempt was made to disrobe her by some DMK legislators. She portrayed the event as Draupadi versus Duryodhana (Karunanidhi) fight and won wide sympathy. Finally she emerged victorious to become the chief minister in 1991.

The Union Government has set up 21 Counter Insurgency and Anti-Terrorist (CIAT) Schools across the country to train police and other security personnel for combating terrorism and left-wing extremism known as Maoism. Established during 2013-14, all the CIAT Schools have become functional.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The cohesion of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) has been severely dented with the Kerala Congress (M) openly hinting at the possibility of the party having tie-ups with ‘like-minded’ parties outside the UDF.

At the time when India unveiled its much hyped “Make in India” dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, China silently unleashed its “Made in China” programme to re-build its manufacturing hub. “Make in India” and “Made in China” sound similar in their perspectives. But, conceptually they are different. While “Make in India” was a call to establish world’s biggest manufacturing hub and increase share of manufacturing in GDP from 15 per cent to 25 per cent, “Made in China” was to rebuild China’s manufacturing sector into a qualitative workshop with production of more Hi-tech products. So far China’s manufacturing sector served as turf for volume production. While India made attempts to woo both domestic and foreign investors to make the manufacturing hub, China reposed the responsibility on foreign investors.

While there could be debate about the success of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s five day visit to the US this week, there can be no doubt that he had conquered the 3 million strong Indian American community. The Madison square garden rock show on Sunday was a shining example to prove this. Although his meeting with the US President Obama was spent on substantive issues like the bilateral relations, economy and trade as well as military cooperation, Modi built up the right environment in a calculated move, armed himself with the overwhelming support of the Indian American community.

The Reserve Bank of India's Fourth Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement on September 30 does not offer any hint of monetary easing in the near future, again citing risks to lowering at present the policy lending repo rate from 8 per cent it has maintained since April, in the current fiscal year.