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Is Electoral Bond Scheme Unconstitutional? What Supreme Court Has To Say

Snehashish RoyFebruary 15, 20240

On February 15, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court declared the electoral bonds scheme unconstitutional. The scheme allowed individuals and corporations to donate money to political parties anonymously by purchasing electoral bonds from the State Bank of India (SBI). The SBI had sole access to the details of those who purchased electoral bonds, and any unencashed bonds were to be deposited in the Prime Minister Relief Fund. The scheme was introduced in 2017 by then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as a solution to the issue of opacity in political parties’ funding. However, it was challenged in court by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and NGOs Common Cause and ADR. The court raised several issues in its verdict. Firstly, it held that the electoral bond scheme violated t...

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ArticleBusinessFoodIndiaNews

Farmers’ Protest 2.0: Why Is MSP A Major Demand And How Will It Help In Agriculture Sector?

Snehashish RoyFebruary 13, 20240

Farmers often operate in a buyer's market which can lead to sudden supply increases relative to demand, putting downward pressure on prices. This means that they are price takers, lacking the market power to influence the prices of their produce. Farmers sell at prevailing supply-and-demand determined rates while paying retail prices for everything from seeds, pesticides, diesel, and tractors to cement, medicines, toothpaste, and soap. Farmers sometimes demand minimum support prices (MSP) for their crops, and there could be a clamour for political parties to include a “legal guarantee for MSP” in their manifestos as the Lok Sabha elections approach. While most economists oppose government-fixed MSPs based on cost-plus pricing, sans any consideration to market demand, they largely...

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ArticleBusinessIndiaNews

White Paper On India’s Economy: NDA Govt’s Comparison To UPA Was Informative, Though Not Complete

Snehashish RoyFebruary 10, 20240

The Union Ministry of Finance recently released a report called 'White Paper on the Indian Economy' which aims to highlight economic issues leading up to the Lok Sabha elections. Although the report is not factually incorrect, it selectively chooses data to showcase the failures of the previous government and the successes of the current government while neglecting the opposite scenarios. For instance, the report mentions that in 2013, Morgan Stanley assessed India as one of the "fragile five" global economies, which is true. However, it fails to mention that India was not among the "fragile five" during the UPA's 10-year rule from 2004 to 2014. India saw the fastest period of growth rate between 2004 and 2009, despite the Global Financial Crisis. Additionally, while the report i...

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ArticleElectionsInternationalLatest NewsPolitics

Pakistan Election: What Is Military’s Role In Country’s Politics? A Look At Its History

Snehashish RoyFebruary 10, 20240

Pakistan held national elections on February 8, with many predicting that Nawaz Sharif will be re-elected as Prime Minister. However, his predicted victory is not necessarily due to overwhelming popular support for his party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). In fact, the most popular party in Pakistan at the moment is the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), led by Imran Khan, who is currently in jail and not able to run in the election. Like Imran, Nawaz has faced allegations of corruption in the past and resigned from the Prime Minister's post in 2017 before leaving the country. Despite this, Nawaz is predicted to win thanks to the influence of the Pakistani military, which has been a major player in the country's politics since its formation in 1947. The military has...

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ArticleFinanceIndiaPolitics

Kerala Govt Protests Against Centre: What’s The Tussle Over Fund Distribution To States? What The Law Says

Snehashish RoyFebruary 8, 20240

The Kerala government, led by the CPI(M), is staging a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. This comes after the Karnataka government held a similar protest over the distribution of central funds. Kerala alleges that the fiscal policies of the BJP-led government at the Centre are financially stifling the state. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his cabinet colleagues, LDF MPs and legislators are likely to participate in the protest. Here is a look at the issues. Kerala claims that COVID-19 has made a curtailment of Rs 57,400 crore in the State Receipts in the current fiscal, and it is not getting its due share from the tax collected by the Centre. According to an RBI report on state finances, the Centre is to provide Rs 35 for every Rs 65 collected by the states on average. ...

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ArticleFeaturesIndiaPolitics

Country’s First UCC Bill Tabled: To Live-In Or Not To Live-In? Understanding Its Constitutional Challenge

Snehashish RoyFebruary 7, 20240

The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill was introduced in the Uttarakhand Assembly on Tuesday, which has raised concerns about privacy and personal liberty. The Bill looks to equate heterosexual live-in relationships to the status of marriage. The proposed Code defines live-in relationships as a “relationship between a man and a woman” who “cohabit in a shared household through a relationship like marriage, provided that such relations are not prohibited.” The Bill requires partners to notify the “Registrar” within a month of entering into a live-in relationship or terminating one. A jail term of up to three months is prescribed for not registering a live-in relationship. In case of failing to produce a certificate of live-in relationship, a term of six months is prescribed on conviction....

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ArticleBJPIndiaNewsPolitics

Lal Krishna Advani’s Road To Bharat Ratna: From Gandhian Socialism To Rath Yatra; A Look Back

Snehashish RoyFebruary 5, 20240

On February 3, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that L K Advani, a veteran BJP leader, would be conferred with the Bharat Ratna, which is India’s highest civilian honour. PM Modi shared the news on his social media account and praised Advani for his monumental contribution to the development of India. Advani played a crucial role in transforming the Bharatiya Janata Party into a national political force in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The BJP emerged in 1980 after the Janata Party dissolved. In its first national conference, party president Atal Bihari Vajpayee underscored that the BJP was not a new incarnation of Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Instead, Vajpayee claimed the legacy of Jayprakash Narayan and declared Gandhian Socialism to be the party’s ...

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ArticleBusinessElectionsIndia

Interim Budget 2024: 6 Key Takeaways From Nirmala Sitharaman’s Speech; What Should You Know

Snehashish RoyFebruary 1, 20240

India's interim Budget speech for 2024 was completed by FM Nirmala Sithatraman within an hour. Here are the six key takeaways from the Budget 2024-25 documents based on the revised estimates for the current year and the Budget Estimates for the coming financial year. 1. The government expects the nominal GDP to grow for the coming financial year (2024-25), projecting India's nominal GDP to be Rs 3,27,71,808 crore, assuming 10.5% growth over the estimated nominal GDP of Rs 2,96,57,745 crore in the current financial year (2023-24). 2. The fiscal deficit has been reduced to a 5.8% level and the FM announced similarly ambitious targets for the FY25 — at 5.1% of GDP— and FY26 — at 4.5% of GDP. While this is welcome news, it leads to questions about how fiscal consolidation is being ac...

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Nitish Kumar’s Split From INDIA Bloc Dampens Opposition’s Caste Pitch, Revamps ‘Hindutva’ Tone

Snehashish RoyJanuary 29, 20240

Nitish Kumar's return to the NDA just before the Lok Sabha elections has significant implications for the BJP. As the mastermind behind Bihar's caste survey, he provided the blueprint for the Opposition's caste census call and social justice pitch against the BJP in 2024. Nitish also chaired the first meeting of the Opposition (INDIA) bloc in Patna in June 2023. This move not only gives the NDA a possible bump in Bihar's tally but also challenges the Opposition's strategy of countering Hindutva with social justice. This strategy has been the political commonsense of the Opposition since the early 1990s when an alliance of Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati prevented the BJP from coming to power in 1993 in UP. Nitish's crossing comes soon after Karpoori Thakur was awarded the Bharat Ratna,...

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ArticleIndiaLatest NewsPolitics

Tracking Bihar’s Political Pulse: Nitish Kumar Set To Shun RJD, Re-Join Old Ally BJP

Snehashish RoyJanuary 26, 20240

As the BJP signals its intention to join forces with the Janata Dal (United) once again, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is expected to keep his position in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government with two BJP leaders as his deputies, following the 2020 Assembly elections outcome. The BJP may choose a leader from an Extremely Backward Class (EBC) as one of the Deputy CMs, possibly former Deputy CM Renu Devi who belongs to the Nonia community. Renu Devi made history in 2020 as Bihar’s first woman Deputy CM, but she lost her post in August 2022 when Nitish switched sides to Mahagathbandhan and toppled the NDA government. The party insiders say there is no consensus yet on the second Deputy CM. Some of the contenders are former Deputy CM and Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Kumar Modi, cu...

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ArticleIndiaPolitics

On 75th Year Of Republic Day, Let’s Take A Look Back At Its First: The Journey So Far

Snehashish RoyJanuary 26, 20240

The Republic of India came into existence on January 26, 1950. It was the culmination of more than a hundred years of nationalist struggle, and more than two years after Independence from British rule. India was now a sovereign, democratic republic, free to shape its destiny. As we celebrate the 75th Republic Day, we look back at the cold January morning in 1950 when India became a republic. From dominion to republic India’s Independence on August 15, 1947, did not mean a complete break from the British Empire. For over two years, India remained a British dominion, governed by the Government of India Act of 1935, and still loyal to the Crown. This changed on January 26, 1950. On that day, the Constitution of India, which had been drafted by the Constituent Assembly over nearly ...

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ArticleForce MajeureInternationalNewsPolitics

Turkey Clears Major Roadblock For Sweden’s NATO Bid: Why Was It Opposed Earlier?

Snehashish RoyJanuary 25, 20240

After Turkey’s parliament endorsed its membership on Tuesday (January 23), Sweden moved closer to joining NATO. All the current members have to agree for a new country to become part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Turkey and Hungary had been blocking Sweden’s entry for nearly two years. Why does Sweden want to join NATO? Sweden has maintained its neutrality for two hundred years, avoiding involvement in the two World Wars and the Cold War. In recent times, it became a member of the European Union and cooperated with NATO, but it did not show any interest in joining the military alliance that is opposed by its powerful neighbour, Russia. However, this neutrality was compromised after Russia invaded Ukraine. As public opinion shifted in favour of joining NAT...

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