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Neither the government nor the gas companies have explained why the LPG prices for commercial cylinders have been increased, a decision that has caused widespread concern on its effect on the slowly recovering economy. Both seem to believe that they don’t owe an explanation anyway as their approach has been arbitrary and inconsiderate: a kind of like it or lump it attitude. The public at large is at a loss to understand why prices have been hiked even as petroleum prices have been on a downward trajectory, further aided by Omicron concerns, the depth of which still remains unclear.

Though COVID-19 is almost under control in India, the emergence of Omicron variant should be considered as early warning for the challenges ahead. Gearing up for the Omicron challenge must also include scaling up of health infrastructure for making the country fully prepared for any eventuality.

‘Gentlemen, I am late because we are at war. Pakistan has attacked India on the western front and we have retaliated. We are officially at war now’. That was what the Information & Broadcasting Secretary of the Government of India R C Dutt, belonging to ICS, told impatient newsmen at the Press Information Bureau (PIB) conference hall at Shastri Bhavan, New Delhi in the evening of December 3, 1971.

On a visit to Mumbai on Wednesday, Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made two politically significant statements. She said it would be easy to defeat the BJP, should all regional parties come together. And after a meeting with NCP chief Sharad Pawar, she said: “What is UPA? There is no UPA.”

Bhubneshwar: Displaying awesome firepower six-time champion Germany overwhelmed hosts India 4-2 here Friday night to set up a title clash with 2005 winner Argentina in the Junior Hockey World Cup.

Pune: Chandigarh’s Abhijit Singh Chadha carded bogey-free six-under 64 to take a one-shot lead over Gurugram-based Kartik Sharma to emerge third-round leader as the rest of the field were another eight shots behind in the Rs. 40 lakh Pune Open Golf Championship here on Friday.

Two days after his departure from Twitter as its CEO, Jack Dorsey has announced the change in the name of his other company Square that he founded in 2009 and has been its CEO since 2015 when the company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Square at current market prices is valued at $96 billion in contrast to Twitter’s $34 billion and is the 160th most valuable company in the world.

Delayed by a year, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections on December 19 will be dominated by two somewhat negative features: first, parties opposing the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) are at their weakest and secondly, no party has designated any contestant as the next city Mayor.

Our western neighbour Pakistan has never prided itself as a beacon of democracy, and first coup was staged there on October 7, 1958, within 11 years of its coming into existence. This coup was effected by President Iskandar Mirza who abrogated the Constitution and declared martial law. It is another matter that he didn’t last a month even and on October 27, Pakistan Army Chief General Ayub Khan deposed him! The first democratic elections were held there in December 1970 and by December 1971, Pakistan had broken into two nations, so fragile was democracy there.

Job creation in India is critical for economic revival in the post covid era. This is more so as about 11 million people enter job market every year and, according to CMIE, an additional 121 million people have lost jobs in view of the pandemic. They too need to get back their jobs. That apart several million people move out of agriculture in search of jobs outside faming every year. This is a grim situation but global economic and geo-political situation has opened the door to convert this challenge into opportunity.