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Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee may be struggling to prepare the annual union government budget for 2011-12 to soar up the spirit of a vast section of the population, who are otherwise demoralized, if not incensed, with the recent exposures of massive financial frauds involving the government, business and bureaucracy and the absence of governance.

Our rulers have found a new vocation or cause—maligning environmentalists and questioning the very idea of regulating industry against pollution. Thus, faced with criticism of the Lavasa city project, in which his family has invested crores, agriculture minister Sharad Pawar lashed out at activist Medha Patkar and other “vested interests” for obstructing this “pioneering” project.

The ULFA is the second rebel outfit after the Mizo National Front which has given up its insurgency. The NSCN (Isak Swu-Muivah) is also observing a cease-fire, but it hasn’t yet formally abandoned its revolutionary goal. Of the others, the Khalistanis have disintegrated while the Kashmiri separatists seem uncertain of their objective despite the occasional cries of azadi, presumably because their front organization, the Hurriyat Conference, is half-in and half-out of mainstream politics.

It must have been a unique experience for the eight top ULFA leaders to enter the Home Ministry office for talks with the centre last week after spending the past three decades in jungles and prisons as hunted terrorists. The real question is whether the talks will lead Assam to peace after 30 years of violence?

Executive Directors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have noted that Nigeria’s strong external position and low debt helped mitigate the impact of the global financial crisis. However, a pro-cyclical fiscal stance and an accommodative monetary policy have resulted in high inflation and a loss in international reserves.

The 2011 Article IV consultation discussions took place between International Monetary Fund and Mongolia against the backdrop of a strong economic recovery in the country and signs that the economy is overheating. Inflation is already too high and the large increase in fiscal spending underway will make matters worse.

New Delhi: The Indian Defence Minister AK Antony has called upon the Armed Forces to be vigilant against emerging cyber threats.

New Delhi: Soon the country’s weathermen will be equipped with the facility for fast processing of data which would lead to accuracy and precision in forecast.

New Delhi: “We recognize that mental health is a neglected area where awareness is low even among the health professionals. In recent years, we have given a lot of attention to the issue of mental health in India and have increased the allocation of resources for the programme more than 6 times for our current five year plan.” With these words, Hon’ble Minister of Health & Family Welfare Sh. Ghulam Nabi Azad today declared open the 3-day International Conference Cum Workshop of the Asia Pacific Community Mental Health Development Project.

New Delhi: Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has decided to annul the Antrix-Devas deal. It was announced by the Union Law Minister, Shri M. Veerappa Moily after the decision was taken by the CCS which met in New Delhi today.