Archives for April 2023

NEW DELHI: As the saffron party celebrates its 44th foundation day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the party workers virtually, here today. 

Addressing the party workers, PM Modi said that the party stands against dynastic politics. He added that BJP works with the spirits of ‘social justice’ for ‘Sab Ka Vikas with ‘Sab ke saath’ while other parties like Congress and like-minded have an identity of ‘parivarbad, vanshvaad’ and ‘Jaativad’ in politics (dynasty, nepotism and casteist political parties).

Over 80 crore people get free benefits under PM Anna Yojana, Jan Dhan Yojana & other govt schemes, he added

Applauding democracy PM Modi said, BJP has taken birth from the womb of Democracy, has been nourished and nurtured with the ‘Amrit’ of the Democracy, and has been deeply consecrated to strengthen the Constitution and Democracy.

Modi drew parallels between Lord Hanuman and the BJP and asserted that the party believed in the ideals of selfless service. He said India was realising its potential just like Lord Hanuman after eliminating self-doubt.

“If we see the whole life of Lord Hanuman, he had a ‘can-do’ attitude that helped him achieve big successes,” PM Modi said.

He alleged that the opposition parties could not think big, set small goals and were satisfied with small achievements while BJP believes in dreaming big and achieving even bigger goals.

He said: “The people of the country in 2014 had not only changed the government but also heralded a new journey of India’s renaissance after coming out of the slavery of more than 800 years. Now, India as a nation has risen again to regain its lost glory”.

Modi said even though the British has left in 1947, they left the mentality of keeping people as slaves here. “After independence, such a class flourished in the country which considered as its birthright”, he remarked, adding that the people of class with imperial mentality have always treated the people of the country as their slaves.

“Today, they have become so desperate that they have openly started saying ‘Modi teri kabar khudegi’ (Modi your grave would be dug),” PM Modi said.

The prime minister stressed on forming new intellectual cells, and youth cells using technology-driven initiatives to bring changes in society. He also advised the party to train the workers in using social media for sharing government performances. He motivated the party workers to keep interacting with the people not only to win the elections but also to serve them by redressing the people’s problems.

MYSURU: Karnataka has seen a sharp rise in atrocities against the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the last five years despite the ST/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and other initiatives in place to prevent offences against members of these communities.

According to data from Karnataka State Police, the state has seen 41% increase in cases of crime against SCs and STs (by non-SCs and STs) over the last five years. In 2018, the state reported 1,536 cases and 1,585 in 2019. The increasing trend continued for the next three years, with the state reporting 1,691 cases in 2020 (despite Covid 19), 1,744 in 2021 and 2167 in 2022.

The increase in the number of cases from 1,536 in 2018 to 2,167 in 2022, which is nearly 41%, can be attributed to various factors. One of them is that the conviction rate in such cases is low.

Because of this, perpetrators commit similar crimes, according to a former member of the state-level vigilance and monitoring committee under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The former member pointed out that while most of the offenses are related to the attack, attempt to murder and rioting, there are cases of murder, rape, and molestation of SC/ST women. As far as rape cases are concerned, 130 were reported in 2018. The number of cases increased to 210 in 2019, came down to 153 in 2020, and went up to 188 in 2021 and 222 in 2022.  Twenty-eight rape cases have been reported till February 28 this year. Other cases against members of these communities stood at 299 till February end.

RANCHI: Jharkhand Education Minister and senior JMM firebrand leader Jagarnath Mahto, 56, passed away during treatment at a Chennai Hospital on Thursday morning.

He was airlifted to MGM Chennai after his health condition suddenly deteriorated and he did not show any sign of improvement at Paras Hospital in the Jharkhand capital on March 14. Mahto had been suffering from lung problems after he underwent lung transplantation after being infected by COVID-19. His health has not been stable since then.

Mahto, a matriculate, came into the limelight when he enrolled in a school in Bokaro, which was set up by him in 2006, to complete his studies. Mahto said he has taken admission as an Inter-Arts student to remove the blot of being termed an ‘under-qualified’ education minister.

“I would like to tell people that there is no age for learning and one can get an education at any point of time as it only requires willpower,” said Mahto. Taking admission in the institution is purely his own decision as he felt like pursuing his studies further, he added.

In a first-of-its-kind initiative to boost the morale of the students performing well in their exams, Mahto handed over Alto cars to state toppers of Class 10th and 12th in Jharkhand. A provision had been made by the state government to give prize money of Rs 3 lakh, 2 lakh and 1 lakh respectively to the first, second and third toppers respectively in each of the three streams — science, arts and commerce — of the Intermediate course.

The RBI’s inflation-axing sword is back in its sheathe, with the central bank at 6.5 per cent on Thursday.

But rate hikes aren’t completely off the table with Governor Shaktikanta Das explicitly announcing, twice, that Thursday’s decision to pause was limited to the April meeting alone.

It means, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is simply taking five after a breathless run of seven consecutive rate hikes. Its suit of armour to engage in a battle against inflation remains intact and as Das stressed, the central bank’s job was not yet finished until we see a durable decline in inflation closer to the 4 per cent target. For emphasis, he invoked Kautilya, quoting: Be not slack before the whole job is finished.

The surprise decision to pause was also accompanied by a status quo on policy stance to remain with ‘withdrawal of accommodation,’ as against market expectations of shifting to a neutral stance. Such a move would have confirmed a decisive pause on rate hikes, but that’s not the case for now. 

Since the monetary policy tightening cycle began last May, RBI has cumulatively raised the repo rate by 250 bps from 4 per cent to 6.5 per cent, a level last seen in 2019. Along with the February 2022’s standing deposit facility rate of 40 bps above the repo rate, the effective rate hike stands at 290 bps, implying that the real rates are well above 1.5 per cent, considering the one-year forward inflation forecast as the anchor.

Usually, a rate hike confirms rising inflation, while a pause indicates likely moderation in price rise. But Thursday’s ‘hawkish pause’ sends no such clear signals, because no one seems to be sure if inflation is coming or going.

As Das noted, global inflation is moderating, but he quickly reminded us about the volatile times. The recent, unexpected decision by OPEC on production output cuts spurred oil prices only complicated the inflation outlook, adding to prevailing uncertainties.

Back home, headline inflation has softened, but disinflation is likely to be gradual and protracted, given the rigidity in core or underlying inflation pressures. For FY23, RBI projects headline inflation to moderate to 5.2 per cent,  with Q1 at 5.1 per cent, Q2 at 5.4 per cent, Q3 at 5.4 per cent, and Q4 at 5.2 per cent.

That said, the central bank will likely miss its Q4, FY23 inflation forecast of 5.6 per cent. Official numbers for January and February stood at 6.52 per cent and 6.44 per cent respectively and March print must come under 5 per cent for RBI’s forecast to stand. But analysts expect it to be around or under 6 per cent and not 5 per cent. The MPC even missed its December quarter CPI estimates with Q3 headline inflation printing at 6.1 per cent as against the central bank’s estimate of 6.6 per cent. So in all likelihood, RBI will likely miss the full fiscal FY23 inflation estimate of 6.5 per cent as well.  

As for growth, it pegged FY24 real GDP growth at 6.5 per cent, with Q1 at 7.8 per cent, Q2 at 6.2 per cent, Q3 at 6.1 per cent, and Q4 at 5.9 per cent with risks evenly balanced.

Given real policy rates of upwards 1 per cent, any further rate hikes coupled with elevated prices could potentially dampen the purchasing power of consumers and curtail demand. Over the past three quarters, interest rate on home loans have shot up to over 9 per cent, representing a 40-50 per cent increase from the historical low of 6.5 per cent per annum. Borrowers are feeling the impact and any further hikes could push the home loan interest rate beyond the psychological barrier of 10 per cent, which could have a substantial impact on buyer sentiments and affordability.

Towards the end of 2023, global central banks rate hike race seemingly reached the last lap. Ironically, the finish line is nowhere to be seen and the so-called pivot, when central banks’ reverse their rate hike decisions to rate cuts (and vice versa), continues to live its life as a teaser for over two quarters now. If Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo termed “this is a time of sleepless nights,’ Bank of England’s chief economist Huw Pill believes inflation as a manifestation of ‘bad luck.’

And as Das channeled Alan Greenspan, ‘Uncertainty is the defining characteristic of the monetary policy landscape,’ the evolution of monetary policy from hereon will be keenly watched.

PATNA: The situation in Bihar’s Sasaram and Biharsharif towns remained volatile for the fourth consecutive day on Monday even as the Assembly witnessed acrimonious scenes over the government’s “failure to ensure normalcy in affected areas”. 

Amid the tense situation in violence-hit areas, the verbal duel between the main Opposition and the ruling grand alliance escalated.  A day after the Union Home Minister Amit Shah blamed the Nitish Kumar government for communal flare-ups in Bihar, the ruling grand alliance denounced the BJP and the RSS and asserted that the state government would take stern action against “trouble-makers”.

RJD leader and deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav in a tweet said, “The Bihar government is keeping a close vigil on ‘sanghi’ attempt to disturb communal harmony. BJP is desperate in states where it is weak. The sternest possible action is being taken by identifying each and every troublemaker. We have always given a befitting reply to the BJP’s experiment intended at driving a wedge between two communities and will continue to do so.”

JD(U) national president Lalan Singh sarcastically said that Shah should make Rajbhavan his permanent dwelling till the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He said that people would give a befitting answer to the saffron party in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

“BJP’s tally in poll results of the general election to be held next year will be zero. The saffron party will not be able to open its account in the election. It will be routed from Bihar as people of the state are very conscious,” he added.

KUMTA (UTTARA KANNADA): In a lesson to those who lack civic sense, the general public at the Kumta bus stand made a paan-chewing passenger clean the platform after he spat on it. The incident occurred on Sunday when a person travelling in a bus to Karwar splattered the platform with paan-filled spittle. ADVERTISEMENTAds by 

A passenger asked him, “How can you be so uncivilised?” While another came up with the idea that the paan-chewer should be made to clean the spot. 

Before the perpetrator could react, everyone assembled there demanded that he should wipe the place with the cloth he had.

Just then, the bus started honking, signalling that it was about to leave. Giving this as an excuse, and refusing to give out his name, the paan-chewer said it was time for him to go. But others were adamant, “Where will the bus go? We will stop it. Get a piece of cloth and clean it.”

The cornered man then got down from the bus, brought out a piece of cloth and water and cleaned the paan stain on the floor all by himself. The entire incident, recorded on a mobile phone, has gone viral.