(The Sunday Express, New Delhi, November 20, 2011)
1) “Judges, Mind Your Words” is the exhortation given by Soli Sorabjee in his soli ‘Loquies’ referring to the language used by a Bench of Kerala High Court against the contemnor in a case. He referred to the Supreme Court’s (in 1986) direction to the judges while expressing their anger and annoyance over the actions of litigants in their judgments.
As pleaded correctly by Soli Sorabjee, the judges (sometimes emotionally surcharged and vexed) can use the polite language in condemning the actions of some devils operating and spoiling the peaceful atmosphere of the society.
2) Tavleen Singh’s “Governance Please” (Fifth Column) in the context of the agenda for urgent reforms that eminent businessmen have come up with is a part in the series of people raising voices one after the other in the country on the head of the Indian Government.
3) “Over-emotion cannot prosper a state” by Shombit Sengupta in his ‘from the discomfort Zone’ talks of how emotionally surcharged are the Bengalis in general and explains how the Intel Kolkata elite doesn’t represent the entire Bengal. About 70 – 80 per cent of Bengalis don’t understand Tagore and Roy, the intellectual giants through whom the outside world perceives Bengal. He rightly advocates the need for encouraging industrialization for improving the status of small farmers (unable to earn much for generations) in the countryside. Some bold thinking not based on vote-politics is required at the moment. Let us wait and see how the state moves in the next decade for its economic development.
4) “Egypt: Protestors, cops clash, 507 hurt”
Cairo’s Tahrir Square is once again flooded with agitators for quicker execution of reforms and the return of civilian rule inasmuch as there is an apprehension in their minds that the ruling generals want to retain power over the future civilian government even after the parliamentary elections which are due next week as per the schedule.
5) China Trade Surplus on the Decline:
As indicated by Li Daokui, an advisor and member of the monetary policy committee of the People’s Bank of China, the China’s trade surplus may drop to zero or even fall into negative in the next two years in view of the declining exports and surging imports. It is expected to reduce further to $ 150 billion this year , dropping to 1.5 per cent of the GDP from 8 per cent over the past few years. One silver-lining of course is that the contribution of household consumption to GDP growth has followed an upward trend since 2008.
6) Govt. to provide adequate capital to PSU banks: Pranab
It seems a sum of Rs 20157 crore was provided as capital support during 2010-11 to Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, Oriental Bank of Commerce and UCO Bank. In addition to Rs 6000 crore already provided in the current budget the Finance Minister has promised much more sums as and when demanded by the banks.
Hope the deserving banks only get the support and the international bankers don’t exploit our well-monitored banks in the process.
7) Chie Economic Advisor to the Finance Ministry Kaushik Basu has predicted that the inflation will start declining from December and come down to 7 per ecnt by the end of the financial year in March as expected by the Reserve Bank of India.
This is one more prediction by a government agency as was done several times in the past one year. Unless supply side economics is strengthened in time and propelled properly such a wishful expectation may remain a dream once again.
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