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Increased voting by women and a comparatively lower turnout of the Muslims for the Maharashtra assembly elections are likely to be the two major factors which can tilt the outcome of the crucial battle that will conclude on Saturday evening. These two trends have been commented upon repeatedly by several analysts while making a comparison with the Lok Sabha election’s voting pattern. As the turnout for this election has been the highest at more than 66% over the past three decades, both sides are claiming that it will benefit their candidates. For instance, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has suggested that the Laadki Bahin Yojana was one reason for the handsome response of women, who would support the Mahayuti nominees. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) failed to gauge the potency of the scheme whereby eligible women receive Rs 1500 per month from the state. Both sides have promised to enhance the provision after watching the unprecedented welcome it has received. Similarly, the lack of enthusiasm of Muslim voters as compared with the Lok Sabha voting complexion has emerged as another important factor for the final outcome. At least a dozen Lok Sabha seats went to MVA owing to en bloc minority voting. In Dhule, while the other five assembly segments supported the Mahayuti, voting in the Malegaon assembly changed the picture and the seat went to MVA. In view of such aspects, the results are awaited eagerly.
As the term of the present Maharashtra assembly ends on 26 November, the political calculations to capture power will have to be finalised within just 48 hours once the results are out. This has heightened the suspense about the outcome of the election since the richest state of India will play a crucial role in shaping the national political future. A mandate in Maharashtra will strengthen the prospects of both the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The state saw a brief spell of President’s Rule in 2019 as none of the claimants was ready to form a government within the deadline. Making preparations to avert any such eventuality, Mahayuti and MVA planners have booked dozens of rooms in five star hotels in Mumbai for the possible winners. Moreover, chartered planes and helicopters have also been booked in readiness to ensure the availability of the future MLAs. Another precaution is to keep them under watch so that sides are not changed at the eleventh hour. But the Lok Sabha results changed the picture as MVA won 30 out of the 48 seats. The exit polls for the assembly election have predicted a keen race, making it imperative for both sides to count on each vote. Therefore, the 48 hours after the results will become the game changer.
Alliance politics, an eternal feature of the Tamil Nadu political scene, has turned sharper with the advent of actor Vijay on the electoral stage. All the parties save the ruling DMK are running helter-skelter in their bid to stitch up an alliance before the 2026 Assembly polls. DMK is content to wait out the drama with parties rejecting each other as potential allies since this helps the ruling party to stay ahead in poll percentages. The arithmetic is simple. If the votes split three ways as they did in the Lok Sabha polls, the DMK stands to gain the most, or sweep everything as it did with 39 of 39 seats. If the votes are going to split four ways after Vijay’s entry, the DMK will be laughing all the way to Raj Bhavan for the swearing-in ceremony. The AIADMK, a shrewd player of alliance politics in the time of J Jayalalithaa, has not only split on her demise but also stands isolated in the alliance race. They don’t want to join the BJP again after the stinging 2021 experiment. Vijay does not want to join the AIADMK though the party would very much want the youthful politico on his side. The BJP is keeping the door open for AIADMK provided those shunted out are part of a united package. The DMK is only keen to keep VCK and its current allies on board. The more divided the opposition is, the better for MK Stalin and family.
In the wake of escalating face-off between the Chennai-based Tractors and Farm Equipment (TAFE) and its American partner AGCO over the ownership rights of Massey Ferguson in India, a two-member bench of the Madras High Court has stepped in to direct the warring parties to “maintain status quo until the original applications are heard and disposed of by the learned single judge. “For avoidance of doubt, we hasten to add that the observations made herein are tentative and solely intended for the purpose of disposing of these appeals. We have not delved much into the various rival submissions. All rights and contentions are kept open,” the two-member bench said in its order on Monday. The relationship between TAFE, an Amalgamation group company, and AGCO Corporation of the U.S. hit a nasty bump in April last when the AGCO management terminated commercial agreements -– including the one on licensing the Massey Ferguson brand — with TAFE. The Chennai firm quickly got a stay on this from a commercial court. When AGCO subsequently confirmed the termination, TAFE filed a contempt petition in the Chennai commercial court. Separately, TAFE also moved the Madras High Court, asserting its ownership right to Massey Ferguson brand. TAFE had got a favourable interim order from the Madras High Court. TAFE had filed a civil suit before the Madras High Court against Massey Ferguson Corporation, a subsidiary of AGCO, claiming that the said trademarks are distinctive of TAFE in India and exclusively owned by it. It had sought the Madras High Court to declare that TAFE owns the Massey Ferguson brand/trademarks in India. With the HC bench asking both parties to maintain status quo, all eyes are on the upcoming proceeding before the single judge. It is “advantage TAFE” at the moment, however.
With only 12 days remaining for the BCCI Secretary Jay Shah to take charge as independent chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), clarity has not emerged as to who would perform the duties of the Secretary from December 1, 2024. First and foremost, election has not been called for the post, and this could be because the BCCI Constitution has adequate provisions for its Joint Secretary to perform the Secretary’s duties. The BCCI Constitution says: “The President shall, in the event of a vacancy or indisposition of an office bearer, delegate the functions to another office-bearer until the vacancy is duly filled up, or the indisposition ceases.” In this case the BCCI President Roger Binny has the right to assign duties to any other office-bearer. Shah who has been the Secretary from 2019 may be allowed a grace period to hand over the work to someone else. Next week is going to be hectic for the ICC to take a call on the format and venues of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 (Feb-Mar) because the BCCI has conveyed to the ICC that India will not travel to Pakistan. The BCCI, nay Jay Shah, would like to see a finality to the Champions Trophy issue, in particular where India will play before he takes charge of the ICC. If the Champions Trophy has to take place, the Pakistan Cricket Board has to accept a hybrid model with one group (with India in it) playing league matches, most likely in Dubai and keeping the venue of the semi-finals and final, open. The PCB may not be in a position to lose the hosting rights and thereby with it a fee of around $ 70 million!
The ‘Satta Bazaar’ is betting down (dampened market sentiments) over Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) forming Maharashtra’s next government. A market player says, “Punters have never been wrong before. Dampened stock market spirits indicate the Mahayuti Alliance is unlikely to win notwithstanding sops galore unleashed by CM Eknath Shinde.” Differing with market pundits, BJP says, “Markets crashed after Foreign Portfolio Investors withdrew Rs 1.25 lakh crore in October (out of total Rs 71 lakh crore total stock investments in India) seeking better pastures after China announced stimulus. FPIs sold Rs 8700 crore stocks in April, Rs 25,600 crore in May then bought Rs 26,600 crore worth in June, Rs 32, 400 crore in July, Rs 7300 crore in August and Rs 57,700 crore in September before the big sell off in October. Already overleveraged NSE slumped, the subdued corporate sector quarterly results after much hype triggered a profit-booking mindset among investors.” Donald Trump’s ascendancy as the next U.S. president (previous tenure witnessed negative bias towards precious metals) bodes badly setting price corrections of gold and silver even as the U.S. dollar firms up, adding to Indian stock market woes. The BJP leader adds, “Maharashtra contributes around 14% to India’s GDP but even when MVA ruled for 2.5 years Modi-nomics ensured high buoyancy on Indian bourses despite stalling of bullet train project, Rs 14,000 crore cost escalation of Metro project.” The market punter, however, cites India’s financial capital Mumbai in Maharashtra that ensures most Indian business gravitates around the state while explaining the gloomy market mood over MVA’s likely win. November 23 will reveal the truth when the political bets are finally called out.
In a massive setback to AAP, Delhi’s transport minister and Jat leader Kailash Gahlot resigned from the party, citing “grave challenges” and “awkward” controversies in a letter to AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal months ahead of Delhi Assembly polls. He has joined the BJP. Gahlot’s exit is well timed in the sense that it comes days before Maharashtra goes to polls. AAP, an INDIA Bloc partner that has no stake in the state polls. But it must be said Gahlot’s exit was something that was in the works for some time now. It is believed that the seeds of discord between Gahlot and the AAP leadership were sown on August 15 over unfurling the national flag during the Delhi Govt’s I-Day celebrations. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, who was in jail on charges linked to the alleged liquor policy scam, had wanted Education Minister Atishi to unfurl the flag. Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena however felt Gahlot was more suitable for the job as he held the Home Department. Meanwhile, Kejriwal indicated that Gahlot had quit as he was under pressure from the ED and IT. In his resignation letter, Gahlot pointed to how “Political ambitions have overtaken our commitment towards people, leaving many promises unfulfilled”. In an apparent swipe at Kejriwal, he referred to “many embarrassing and awkward controversies like the “Sheeshmahal” — a term used by the BJP to refer to the CM’s residence renovated during Kejriwal’s term costing the exchequer Rs 45 crore.
A major controversy has erupted in Tollywood as over 233 directors from films, TV and independent media have filed a defamation suit against Swarup Biswas, president of the Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India. The Rs 23-crore lawsuit follows Biswas’s contentious remarks alleging rampant sexual harassment in the film industry, with 60% of complaints purportedly against directors and producer-directors. The hearing will take place on January 10. Swarup, the younger brother of Aroop Biswas, Bengal’s Power and Housing Minister and a close aide of chief minister Mamata Banerjee, finds himself at the centre of an unprecedented protest by Tollywood’s creative community. This is, perhaps, the first time that Tollywood has publicly challenged the Federation. Directors and producers have also criticized what they call “red-tapism” and “arbitrary demands” imposed by the Federation, including its control over unit sizes, pay scales, working hours, and technician selection. At the Eastern India Motion Picture Association’s (EIMPA) recent AGM, Swarup Biswas proposed that producers deposit Rs 5 lakh each as security to ensure timely technician payments, citing Rs 50 lakh in pending dues. Producers have outright rejected the demand, questioning the Federation’s accountability and EIMPA’s silence on the matter. Veteran actor-director Aparna Sen has publicly questioned Swarup Biswas’s credentials, asking for proof of his contributions to the industry. Biswas holds an assistant director’s card, which is reportedly issued only to those involved in at least two films. Actor-politician Roopa Ganguly also criticized the Federation, accusing it of politicizing the industry and questioning why filmmakers often seek the CM’s intervention during crises.
If rising onion prices decided the election outcome in many states some decades ago, falling soybean prices could impact the outcome in around 70 assembly constituencies in Maharashtra. Hence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, representing two ends of the political spectrum, are found promising farmers of much higher rates, but only after they are elected on 20 November. The sensitive constituencies are spread in Marathwada and Vidarbha regions, where cotton and soybean are the main cash crops. The current market rate of Rs 4000 per quintal is unacceptable to the growers though they have no choice but to sell the produce as it can’t be stored for long. The MSP is Rs 4800 but not enough stocks are lifted by the machinery. The ruling saffron alliance has been promising better tariffs. The government hiked the soybean import duty in a bid to jack up the prices but the hike was of only around Rs 400, still leaving a gap of the same amount. Sensing the distress and the government’s inability to make any major announcement, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has promised Rs 6000 per quintal of the legume. To go a step further, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has pledged to pay Rs 7000. Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray has also joined the chorus. The two regions had by and large supported the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi during the Lok Sabha election. Hence, Mahayuti leaders are wary of saying anything that can dampen their prospects.
Are the re-runs slowly becoming a revenue model both for producers and exhibitors who have been grappling to bring back the audiences to cinema halls? Diwali turned out to be decent but then again we are gone back to re-release of films. Shah Rukh Khan’s Veer Zara re-release has been appreciated. Rakesh Roshan plans a re-release of Karan Arjun with a huge number of screens after 30 years of its release. This again has Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan coming together for the first time on screen. SRK’s Kal Ho Naa Ho and Pardes too are re-releasing in cinemas. Those in the trade feel that re-release of Tumbbad, Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein and Laila Majnu have given courage to producers to cash on re-runs. The re-runs have stirred both excitement and curiosity. Traditionally, re-releases were reserved for timeless classics, but now more recent films are being revived, prompting questions: Is this trend purely nostalgic, or is there a deeper strategy at play? According to Trade Analyst Saurabh Varma, the re-release phenomenon is benefiting the cinema industry in multiple ways. For producers, re-releasing films is a cost-effective option. The marketing and distribution expenses are far lower than for new releases. Re-releases tap into the large fan bases of iconic films, giving long-time fans a chance to relive their favourite stories on the big screen. Furthermore, these revivals provide a unique opportunity for younger viewers who may have missed these films during their initial release. The combination of nostalgia and iconic music resonates deeply with audiences.
In some ways the complete rout of the Congress in the five assembly elections seems to be doing some good to the party. It has got the party leadership back to the drawing board. Sonia Gandhi has taken charge of the situation and reached out to all those who worked with her in the past. She has essentially got in touch with her core personal staff, the people acquainted with the Congress culture and its core leaders. She is relying on inputs of Vincent George, PP Madhavan and SV Pillai to help her navigate through these troubled times. Former Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijay Singh, with whom Sonia held meetings, may be given a key organisational role. Singh, a two- term CM, is a good bet as he likes to interact with people. Sonia is falling back on Singh after Kamal Nath refused to shoulder any AICC responsibility as he prefers to focus on MP. Sonia also exposed the hollowness of rebellion of the G-23 leaders. She exposed them by showing the petty and narrow aspirations of some of these leaders. Most of them became quiet after meeting her. If Bhupinder Hooda’s limited interest was to ensure control of Haryana PCC, another G-23 signatory Anand Sharma wanted to be projected as Himachal CM; he even lobbied among Himachal MLAs without much success.
UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak, once considered a replacement for Prime Minister Boris Johnson if, Partygate had hit his party, is under fire now over his wife’s Rs 430 crore stake in the company her father Narayana Murthy founded. Infosys still runs its Moscow office and delivery office though the company is at pains explaining that its office serves global clients locally in Russia sans any active relationships with Russian companies. Having advised British companies to cut ties with Russia, the Chancellor is facing the challenge of his wife Akshata’s fortune that is facing calls for full disclosure in the UK. He had said, “We must collectively go further in our mission to inflict maximum economic pain and to stop further bloodshed,” Rishi is under pressure to explain his family wealth through his wife’s holding in India’s second biggest IT company. Rishi was pointedly asked whether he was giving advice to others that he was not following in his own home and he replied – “I’m an elected politician, and I’m here to talk to you about what I am responsible for. My wife is not.” Regardless of how the Ukraine situation goes while raising such questions, one thing is clear and that is Rishi Sunak may have already lost out in the race to the British Prime Ministership.
Star Sports’ five-season all-encompassing global television media and digital rights over the glamorous Indian Premier League (IPL) will end at the conclusion of the Tata IPL Season-15 starting on March 26 at the Wankhede Stadium. There is no denying the fact that the IPL has become the money making machine for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after the Rs 93 lakh deficit it posted in mid-nineties. From a whopping Rs 8200 crore that SONY Pictures Network paid for the first 10 years from 2008 to 2017, Star India almost doubled it — Rs 16,347.50 crore — for TV (Star Sports) and digital (Hotstar) platforms for five seasons (2018-22). The mastermind, the then Chairman and CEO of Star India, Uday Shankar, averred that the price his company successfully bid was “not outrageous” and that the per match fee of Rs 54 crore was “not exorbitant” reasoning that after 10 years, the IPL had become a tried and tested and a premium product. SONY itself had put in a sum of Rs 11050 crore. Experts reckon that the IPL media rights (TV and Digital) for 2023-2027 will definitely touch Rs 35000 crore plus for five seasons and the e-auction could make the desperate, more desperate to own IPL, the most sought after hot property in the world of cricket. Five years ago there were 13 bidders, including five for digital.
Kerala’s hottest topic these days regards the proposed 530 km K-Rail project between north and south Kerala. Also called the Silverline Rail Project, it promises a time save of eight hours in travel time between Trivandrum and Kasaragod, currently taking 12 hours. The Rs 67,000 crore project cost has the Kerala government swearing by a five-year timeline to project completion, though it has taken 15 to 20 years to build simpler by-passes and flyovers in the state. The promise appears too difficult to keep like the 25 km Cochin Metro project that took six years to complete @ 4.7 km per year notwithstanding Metro-man, E Sreedharan at the helm. By this yardstick the Silverline project will need 37 years, says economist KP Kannan. But why the clamour for a project none wants? KPCC Chief K Sudhakaran has alleged a 10% kickback accruing to the Kerala Government. Japanese agency JICA will loan Rs 50,000 crore at 0.25% interest if, the Government of India stands guarantor. Sources say the Union Government won’t oblige till it gets its pound of flesh. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan’s meeting with the PM Narendra Modi is also being seen in this light. Either way, the railway project is not expecting completion anytime soon!
Supreme Court directions to CBI to take over investigations into criminal complaints lodged in Maharashtra against suspended state Home Guards Chief, Param Bir Singh, has unfolded into a classic study on criminal investigative science. The CBI will need exemplary skills to unravel one side of its brief, probe complaints registered against Maharashtra minister Anil Deshmukh, Anil Parab and others (by complainant Singh), while also establishing criminality in over seven FIRs registered against Singh himself who is accused of corruption in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. One notion that the central investigative agency was going soft on Parambir Singh, will likely dissipate following Singh’s impending arrest by CBI. Importantly, he is a complainant in ongoing CBI investigations on corruption in Maharashtra but now, Singh’s statements as accused in fresh FIRs to be probed, will likely open a can of worms in the coming days. “The CBI will need to demonstrably show extreme efficiency, professionalism to clinically cover investigations into apparently opposite ended criminal complaints in these FIRs, where a former complainant is now an accused,” an intelligence source tells shortpost.in. Now BMC Chief Iqbal Chahal has received summons to appear before the I-T department in a probe against BMC Standing Committee Chairman Yaswanth Kamalakar Jadhav. Meanwhile, former Mumbai police commissioner Hemant Nagrale, mysteriously relegated as Director, Maharashtra State Security Guards Board from his high-profile role as Mumbai police commissioner, is yet to take charge nearly a month since his transfer.
Sharad Pawar is sitting pretty with the Shiv Sena and Congress parties. With BMC elections in Mumbai deferred for six months, an imminent face-off between erstwhile alliance partners in Maharashtra — BJP and Shiv Sena — stands temporarily averted. Maharashtra’s MVA government will fight the BMC polls, Thane civic elections and other pending local body elections in alliance, single-mindedly to defeat BJP, with Congress also fully on board now. A BJP leader says, “While the MVA alliance may prove a daunting challenge for us, the Sena will lose out on absolute power it enjoys in BMC to the Congress and NCP. They would have won and yet lost.” The NCP with a single digit representation in BMC will improve its tally on the back of the minority vote bank (that holds significant influence in 52 seats) it stirred up over L’affaire Nawab Malik while Congress will seek to ensure its current tally of 37 corporators rises to over 50. The BJP elected 83 party corporators in 2017 BMC polls when in direct contest against the Sena (85), even as Congress and NCP fought each other, and is still hoping to get over 70 corporators elected this time around. Meanwhile, the political slugfest has intensified with cases registered against MVA stakeholders and kin, just as shortpost.in had predicted, even as counter cases against BJP stakeholders have also been preferred.
Do you need a chairman for a company? You may not. But you need someone to chair shareholders’ meetings and to conduct the proceedings. Any board member may preside over and conduct such meetings. Nothing amiss about this. There are dime-a-dozen organisations where the top slot has remained unfilled for several reasons and, they are running quite well and this is not peculiar to any specific field. For instance, the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) is sans a president at this very moment. Since Amit Shah, the Home Minister of India, stepped down as its president in September 2019, the position at GCA has not been filled. As it is often said, life has simply moved on. And, the game of cricket has not stopped either! After all, cricket is bigger than individuals. There are no two views on that, however, the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) affiliated to the Board of Control for Cricket in India is the parent body governing the game of Cricket in the State of Tamil Nadu. In December 2021 Rupa Gurunath, daughter of N Srinivasan of India Cements stepped down as president of TNCA after holding the reins for over two years. The heavens did not fall on TNCA because it is without a president. It’s business as usual. If GCA can run smoothly as before, why won’t the TNCA?
Six-time Member of Parliament, senior DMK leader T R Baalu is personally inviting leaders across political parties for the grand opening ceremony of the party’s spanking new office and memorial centre, Anna Kalaignar Arivalayam, to be inaugurated by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on April 2, 2022. Eyebrows were raised when the 81-year-old Baalu went to invite Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Was he trying to cross sides or was DMK trying to buy peace with the Modi Government? Ever since RN Ravi’s appointment as Governor of TN, Stalin and he have been unable to see eye-to-eye on a number of governance issues, including NEET. A peeved Stalin was rallying opposition leaders to stop the BJP juggernaut in the 2024 general elections. But, with the BJP recently winning four out of the five state assembly elections in March, Stalin may have decided to recalibrate his strategy. This also comes in the backdrop of a strong whisper campaign around the flight of capital amounting to Rs 5000 crore to Dubai. The DMK machinery, on its part, while dismissing the rumour, is at pains to elucidate further on the four-day Dubai visit by Stalin along with wife Durga for the inauguration of the TN Pavilion and to woo investors into the state for an economic transformation.
Should a film on genocide be exempted from state entertainment tax? Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s brazen attack on The Kashmir Files – a defining movie on genocidal horrors and forced exodus suffered by Kashmiri Pandits – not only killed the tax-free debate but also resurrected a new low, “You (BJP) don’t look good putting Jhoothi picture.” The genocide denial has led to a tide of opprobrium. Sikh social worker Manjinder Singh Sirsa tweeted, “Laughing at #TheKashmirFiles and calling it a lie!! Sorry to say @ArvindKejriwal you don’t deserve to be called a human being.” Earlier, came scathing remarks from BJP’s Amit Malviya: “Only an inhuman, cruel and depraved mind can laugh at and deny the genocide of Kashmiri Hindus. Kejriwal has ripped open the wounds of the Hindu community, who have been forced to live as refugees in their own country, for 32 long years, by calling #KashmirFiles a jhoothi film.” Aditya Raj Kaul, a veteran journalist, pointed out, “Denying persecution, forced exodus and genocide of a minority community is a criminal act. I hope you will apologise to the victims of terrorism, Mr Arvind Kejriwal. Hate for Modi, BJP and filmmaker is one thing but to deny a historic reality is absolutely shocking.” Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film Schindler’s List suffered the same genocide denial mindset and was banned from screening in many Islamic countries, including Pakistan.
TRENDS & VIEWS
Editor’s Note: Big Punch In Small Pack
It is the Third Anniversary of Short Post and as a news media startup launched during the Covid-19 pandemic it certainly feels better than good to find ourselves where we are today. Here, I must cite the unstinted support of our seasoned contributors, all senior editors in the country, who brought a great degree of maturity and sagacity to the Short Post newsroom. But for them, our tagline “Authentic Gossip”, an Oxymoron, would not have matured viably. Our user numbers may be small but our stories have created the desired impact among people who matter — decision makers and influencers. We offer a big punch in a small pack and Short Post with its 225-word stories has been punching above its weight category. Having posted close to 3,000 stories in the last 36 months, Short Post, I feel, is an idea whose time has come.
And this is vindicated by our two marquee advertisers – IDFC FIRST Bank and ICICI Lombard. Both believed in our story and have supported us from Day one. A big thank you to both.
If you look at the media landscape – print, TV and digital — it is a mixed bag. There are job losses as some outfits have closed down while a lucky few were bailed out by large corporate houses. Yes, there is a lot of action in the digital space. However, the entry of corporate houses has raised the question of independence of news media outfits. Sadly, there are just a handful of independent media outfits in the country that are highly respected for their neutrality. At Short Post, our credo is not to take sides, prejudge issues or be biased but, informing readers of behind-the-scenes happenings. In essence, Short Post strives to be a neutral editorial platform — neither anti-establishment nor pro-establishment.
As I said last year, disruptions in the media world are moving at a fast and furious pace. Technology is playing a very big role in how content is generated and consumed. But, we are neither alarmed nor perturbed as it is all a part of the evolution process. What gives us comfort is that AI is unable to create original gossipy content. And that is the news arena where we have achieved a distinction.