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The President of India Ram Nath Kovind and the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman sang the praise of MSME sector in India, but struck different notes on performance of the government which indicates a grave faultline lying within that does not meet the eyes. Several provisions have been announced in the Union Budget 2022-23, but they cannot be relied upon on their face value, since the Modi government does not deliver on their promises on the one hand, while have a record on sabotaging the sector on the other.

As the decision dates close in, there is a scramble among parties in Uttar Pradesh to get social formula right in the selection of candidates. The last few days have seen major political players like BSP, Samajwadi Party and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen announcing a significant number of Muslim candidates. The NDA, too, has announced one Muslim candidate. The Muslim Majority districts of UP are expected to play an important part in the first phase of elections, the results of which may hold the key to power.

Crude is climbing above 7-year highs and inching towards the $100-mark, which is no good news for importing countries like India. Although there are downside risks, such as Omicron and gathering clouds over Ukraine, the situation is weighed more in favour of tight supplies. Adding to the worries are disappointing January production estimates from key producers Iraq and Russia.

The stakes of the Bharatiya Janata Party are much higher than its opponents in the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls. The ruling party is not battling for only regaining power in the state but also for its future as the fight is more internal to prove that it can survive even without the full throttled support from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. NaMo has avoided campaigning for the party. The chief Minister Aditya Nath Yogi is his battle under the belief as if the Kshatriya community alone constituted the state electorate. His enthusiasm is based on his mistaken belief as was his ruling style for five years. The experts do not share either his enthusiasm or claims, or of union home minister Amit Shah for easy victory to the ruling party in the state.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, issued a joint demand Thursday that NATO halt its plans for further expansion and end their continued push to whip up a “Cold War mentality.” The joint call in the wake of NATO’s preparations for intervening in Ukraine, has imparted a new dimension to the crisis involving the three super powers.

The fight by the central trade unions of the country against the implementation of the central labour codes has been extended to Parliament as Member of Rajya Sabha, Elaram Kareem, introduced on Friday, a Private Member’s Bill [PMB] seeking the repeal of the Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 in their entirety. Titled, ‘The Labour Codes (Repeal) Bill, 2021. Its preamble says it seeks to ‘repeal certain enactments related to labour sector’.

Thiruvananthapuram: Applications have been invited for the Accelerated Blockchain Competency Development (ABCD) course, offered online by the ICT Academy and Kerala Blockchain Academy in association with the Kerala Development and Innovation Strategic Council (K-DISC). Under the course, two certification programmes in Full Stack Development and Blockchain are being offered.

Pune: On a day of upsets , Emil Ruusuvuori (Finland) stunned defending champion Jiri Vesely and Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak shocked second seed Lorenzo Musetti (Italy) to setup semi-final clash at the Tata Open Maharashtra at the Balewadi Stadium here on Friday.

Chennai: Bengaluru-based Anish Damodara Shetty (Race Concepts), astride a KTM 390, shrugged off a hip injury, to win a thrilling race in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc category in the fifth and final round of the Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship at the MMRT, here on Friday.

Controversy over the opening of Southeast Asia’s first Holocaust museum highlights differences in the Muslim world over the limits of religious tolerance and Muslims’ ability to debate those limits.