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Will the past few years’ relative stability in the Jammu and Kashmir situation prove lasting or will the state again get destabilised, even if partially, in the foreseeable future? An answer to the question can be attempted by analysing the possible implications of the happenings that have lately been taking place in the state. First, the cross LoC infiltrations.

Have you ever felt that there are too few banks around for meeting the banking requirements? Most people will not have. But policy makers, including the Reserve Bank of India, think otherwise. Hence, there is a move afoot to create more banks in India and a new banking licence policy will be announced by the central bank in a couple of weeks.

Controversies in the literary world always gladden me and the past year had doled out quite a handful of them as a way to remind us that our writers, poets, novelists, playwrights, memoirists and literary journalists still put their reputations at stake in defence of the written word, or to challenge long-held beliefs. Literary spats are actually heady exchange of ideas, albeit in a ferociously public and theatrical manner, much to the consternation of some people, while raging delight for the others.

NEW DELHI: The 45th Session of the Standing Labour Committee (SLC), held in Delhi, on January 3, 2013, set the Agenda for the Indian Labour Conference (ILC) – the apex labour tripartite in the country.

The border clash in which two Indian soldiers were killed could not have come at a worse time when a Indo-Pak peace initiative was making steady progress in Lahore. As the SAFMA (South Asian Free Media Association) conference was pledging opening borders, opening minds, came the report of the clash. Ironically, viewed from Pakistan side, one gets the impression, as if, the Indian side was at fault, while seen from the Indian side, it appears, the fault was that of Pakistani troops. The people in general were thoroughly confused. Neither Islamabad nor New Delhi want to escalate the tension and keen to defuse the volatile situation by back channel diplomacy. It is a welcome sign.

Gujarat governor Kamla Beniwal has appointed RA Mehta as the Lokayukta of Gujarat, in spite of protests of the state government. The appointment had been challenged in court. On January 2, the Supreme Court upheld the appointment. Predictably, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has reacted strongly to the verdict. Kamla Beniwal is a former member of the Rajasthan unit of the Congress(I).

LUCKNOW: Ming He Group of China has evinced keen interest in setting up a big lead acid battery manufacturing unit in Uttar Pradesh.