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New Delhi: Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee overwhelmed Japanese pair of Miyuu Kihara and Miwa Harimoto 3-1 to win the WTT Contender Tunis women's doubles title at the Sports Hall of Rades in Tunisia on Sunday. The pair thus became the first Indian table tennis players to clinch a WTT Contender title this year.

New Delhi: Ace raider Arjun Deshwal will spearhead defending champion India's campaign at the six-nation Asian Kabaddi Championship to be held in Busan, Korea, from June 27 to 30.

The G20 Presidency to India has given ample opportunities to highlight the health problems facing the developing world in general and India in particular. This is also time to set the direction for global equity in health care. The Third Health Working Group (HWG) meeting of the G20 was held in Hyderabad in the first week of June 2023. Dr Ranga Reddy, President Infection Control Academy and Honorary Professor University of Hyderabad who was deeply involved in organizing this meeting pointed out that the Third HWG (Health Working Group) meeting had its focus on Health Emergencies, Prevention, Preparedness and Response. Also under serious debate is strengthening cooperation in Pharmaceutical sector with focus on Access and Availability to Safe, Effective, Quality and Affordable Medical Countermeasures.

Given India’s stance as neutral and non-party to sanctions on Russia in the wake of Ukraine war, global critics raised eyebrows over India as protagonist for non-alignment movement and suspicion as strong supporter to the sovereignty of a nation. It demonstrated that India’s long standing original foreign policy was tampered in a great deal to keep pace with global political dynamism and inched towards need based partnership policy.

Nearly seven weeks have passed since clashes began in Manipur on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, after tribals took out a march against a move to grant the majority Meitei community ST status. Hundreds of homes, temples, churches and vehicles were vandalized or were the target of arson. But still not a word from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, no reassurance, no remonstrance against the perpetrators that would assuage the inflamed passions that have been aroused! And the embers are still smouldering.

In the US there is a concept of measuring the consumer feel-good factor through inflation expectation. If the consumer feels that the inflation is likely to ease, they feel good about it and do not mind paying higher prices in the short run. In fact, the consumer settles for a higher price, and the business settles for a higher nominal wage. The forward-looking business managers do not mind paying higher wages to the workers, as they realize higher profits. This process of wage-price spiral continues for a while and eventually settles down to an inflation level within the comfort zone of the central bank.

Even before the strategy session of the opposition meet makes public its common minimum programme and broader paradigm of their electoral policy at Shimla on July 12 the opposition leaders have decided to accord a distinct ideological character to their endeavour and identify it as Patriotic Democratic Alliance. What is really significant is the proposal surfaced just within 48 hours of the formal announcement that the second conclave will be held at Shimla to give their effort a definite organisation character.

The increasing import of cheaper Russian crude oil during the current fiscal may not necessarily lead to an encouraging economic growth for India this year. Cheaper oil imports from Russia are not helping to energise the economy. This is because the lower oil import cost benefits are not being passed on to the consumers who are continuously made to pay artificially inflated prices of petroleum products, including diesel and petrol. It is stifling the growth of an allround demand for goods and services in the country.

For some reasons, railway connectivity projects to improve Northeast India’s linkages with Bangladesh and the Indian mainland have been plagued by major delays. The situation spells concern for Tripura Government authorities, who have referred the matter to the Railway Ministry and the Prime Minister himself in recent months. Unfortunately, there has been no improvement in the situation.

Summarily dismissing the Aam Aadmi Party’s appeal that the opposition parties start their campaign with a show of unity on the issue of the Delhi ordinance is not good for the Opposition. More so because Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a massive hit on how democracy has fared under his watch during his US visit. And the Delhi ordinance is a direct hit on democracy; also a perfect example of “undeclared emergency”, which came in for scrutiny on yet another anniversary of the Emergency declared in 1975.