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In his reply to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address in the Lok Sabha, PM Narendra Modi was at his aggressive best as he savaged LoP Rahul Gandhi. From mocking the Congress leader and two members of his family for becoming MPs — mother Sonia and sister Priyanka — at the same time to turning “certain spaces into personal museums”. He was referring to the manner in which the Gandhi family maintains control over Indira Gandhi Memorial and had refused to share documents pertaining to the Rajiv Gandhi era with the Prime Ministers’ Museum. The PM said we have established the Prime Ministers’ Museum, where the legacy of every Prime Minister—from the first to my predecessors—has been honoured. “I urge their family members to visit it.” Taking a swipe at the three Gandhis who are all MPs, Modi said, “I pose an important question to the citizens through this House — have there even been three MPs simultaneously from the same family of SC community? I also ask, tell me if there ever were three MPs simultaneously from the same family belonging to the ST community…” There is a vast difference between their words and actions. However, the harshest jab was when Modi felt leaders have compulsions to raise questions on foreign policy to be taken seriously — he was referring to questions raised by both Rahul and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on tensions with China. He asked them to read Bruce Riedel’s book JFK’s Forgotten Crisis— as it details discussions between India’s Nehru and the U.S. President John F Kennedy, revealing how foreign policy was handled during challenging times and the games played in its name. Congress leaders are apparently not amused by this suggestion.
Congress bossman Rahul Gandhi told Parliament that External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar’s USA visit only sought an invite for PM Narendra Modi for the U.S. President Donald Trump’s oath ceremony. Jaishankar refuted RaGa’s averments, without revealing the true purpose after having accomplished never before witnessed outcomes. Highly placed sources reveal, “India’s MEA secured distinction of only nation’s representative holding bilateral discussions with the newly installed U.S. government both, before and after, official transition of power.” Dr Jaishankar didn’t elucidate beyond dismissing Gandhi’s tall tales to the Lok Sabha, but actually established grounds for PM Modi to ink U.S. deal for technology transfer regarding fifth/sixth generation fighter engines deliberately kept in abeyance over two years by erstwhile Biden administration. India will be on par though F35 fighter was doled out to Pakistan and, even poised to counter Chinese aviation capabilities with next generation fighters. Dr Jaishankar also held discussions with newly installed FBI director Kash Patel, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard over sensitive issues regarding Indian nationals targeted by earlier dispensation. Another positive outcome: Funding cut off for Gurpatwant Singh Panun, separatist pro-Khalistani rebel, creating aviation scares in India through threats of blowing up Indian commercial airliners. More covert results were achieved to become apparent sooner than later even as Rahul Gandhi termed Dr Jaishankar’s international statesmanship as mere kow-towing to U.S. hegemony.
Ever since mid-January when Bihar CM Nitish Kumar was accompanied by his son Nishant Kumar at a political function in Bakhtiyarpur, there has been a buzz that the JD(U)leader’s son would be taking a political plunge. The event was to pay tributes to freedom fighters, including Nitish’s father Ram Lakhan Singh, who too had participated in the freedom movement. Soon after the function, 50-year old Nishant, the only child of Nitish and his late wife Manju Sinha, told the local gathering that his father had put Bihar on the fast track of development and appealed to them to make him CM again. Nishant’s appeal came in the midst of reports that he was keeping indifferent health and had reduced public interaction. An engineer by training, Nishant had so far kept away from public glare. Raised by his mother, he is known to have spent time away from his father and dabbled in spiritualism. He came to live with his father only after his mother passed away in 2007. Those who have known the JD (U) supremo personally as well as politically feel with an indifferent health Nitish may no longer be in a position to even oppose entry of his son into politics much as he has always opposed dynastic politics. A section of JD(U) dominated by Kurmis is reportedly rooting for Nishant’s entry to perpetuate Nitish Kumar’s legacy; this section doesn’t care if it fits with Nitish Kumar’s vision of politics. It is being argued that JD(U) can’t survive without Nitish’s legacy. As for those competing against the towering stature of Nitish Kumar in Bihar — both the BJP and RJD — are also keen that a bumbling newbie and dynast Nishant does take the plunge and salvage JD(U). Ahead of assembly polls, JD(U) is likely to witness a churn.
What goes out seems to return to the same place. Well, how else could one view the unfolding scenario. Reports suggest that Aditya Birla Group-owned UltraTech Cement is in advanced talks to acquire Heidelberg Cement India. Heidelberg Cement India is the subsidiary of HeidelbergCement Group, Germany. It entered India in 2006 with the acquisition of erstwhile Mysore Cement, Cochin Cement and a JV with Indorama Cement. The company has plants at Damoh (MP), Jhansi (UP), and Ammasandra (Karnataka). If this acquisition happens, UltraTech may get Zuari Cements as well, which is a part of the Heidelberg Group. In such an eventuality, the Sitapuram plant of Zuari will also come under UltraTech. The Sitapuram plant was once with The India Cements (ICL). The India Cements got the Sitapuram plant as a bonus when it acquired Raasi Cement many years ago. Subsequently, India Cements sold the Sitapuram plant to Zuari to raise funds. The Parli grinding unit of India Cements, it may be recalled, was acquired by UltraTech. Since UltraTech has taken over India Cements, the Parli grinding unit has technically returned to its original place (since India Cements has now become a subsidiary of UltraTech). Well, the world is small after all. And, the world is indeed round!
An estimated 30% of the IAS administered Indian bureaucracy actively considers the VRS option. According to well-placed sources, “Last three years registered a spurt in the number of pending applications to exercise the VRS option, most officers still having over five years of service left. The handsome pension amount appears lucrative to many, including those put on notice by the Union government (and respective state governments like Maharashtra) for low productivity, efficiency and delinquent public service.” Majority of the pending applications seek the cushy handshake option, while those who fell foul of GOI evaluation parameters were told to consider exit plans sooner than resignation options later. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 1.0 and 2.0 tenures (between 2014 and 2024) had witnessed not only weeding out of senior officials through shortening of tenures under government service but also witnessed the lateral entry of professionals and industry domain specialists into government service. Similarly, several officials continue to perform government service notwithstanding their respective retirement from service due to their diligent and outstanding performance till retirement to include Pravin Pardeshi (CEO of MITRA). Others like former Chief Secretary of Maharashtra Dr Nitin Kareer are also expected to be tapped for active post-retirement service to the nation, sources reveal. As pen-pushing, non-productive Babus opt for early retirement the Maharashtra IAS fraternity anticipates similar cleansing of Maharashtra’s state secretariat that may be on the cards once again.
After all the hype over the low-cost DeepSeek artificial intelligence from China that seemed to be threatening the earlier model, doubts have begun to surface, at least in India, about its ability to continue posing a challenge to ChatGPT in the long term. The new app, which became the most-downloaded free app on the iOS App Store in the U.S. a fortnight after its launch on 10 January 2025, resulted in a steep fall in the share price of the more established Nvidia. While various users and reviewers have hailed it as a harbinger of the “global AI space race”, experts here are raising the old question of the longevity and reliability of anything made in China, especially when it is priced at a fraction of others in the same space. Says one leading infotech player, expressing the opinion of many in the field: “Like any data from China, nobody knows the real cost — it may be a whole lot higher than those incurred by Open AI.” Drawing a parallel with renewable energy, this expert points to a record 11 Gw of wind turbines commissioned years ago with turbines in almost all remote areas but no connection to the grid. “Renowned global consultants based in China whom I have met, always take any data from the Chinese government or otherwise from China with a pound of salt,” he adds. “It is perhaps disruptive news to pull the U.S. down. Let’s wait and see.” The Chinese company, established in Hangzhou, Zhejiang in 2023, is owned and funded by Chinese hedge fund High-Flyer, which develops open-source large language models (LLMs).
In recent times, Bollywood has seen a noticeable shift, with many newcomers struggling to leave a lasting impression on audiences. This decline can be traced back to a variety of factors, including the selection of projects that fail to resonate with viewers. Gone are the days when iconic films like Betaab, which introduced Sunny Deol or Rocky which launched Sanjay Dutt, captivated audiences and launched the careers of these stars. So too Jackie Shroff with Hero. In contrast, today’s newcomers like Suraj Pancholi, Siddhant Kapoor and Sasha Agha find themselves lost in films that do not provide them with the platform to showcase their talents effectively. The recent film Azaad featuring Aaman Devgan and Rasha Thadani serves as a case in point. Aaman Devgn, nephew of Ajay Devgn has struggled to make a significant impact, while Raveena Tandon’s daughter Rasha Thadani managed to capture some attention with her performance. Many of the films do not offer the newcomers a fair opportunity to shine; often focusing more on star power than on storytelling. For instance, in Azaad, the narrative centres around the titular horse rather than the lead pair, which diminishes the impact of the human characters. This misalignment can lead to a lack of engagement from the audience, making it difficult for the actors to connect with viewers. Aaman’s performance, despite being camera-friendly, lacks the emotional depth and histrionics that are often necessary to truly engage the audience. In contrast, Rasha stands out with her strong screen presence and impressive dance moves, showcasing a talent that could potentially elevate her career. Ultimately, even when a film does not resonate with audiences, a standout performance can create opportunities for newcomers to prove themselves.
The England captain Jos Buttler did not mince words on the matter of fast bowler Harshit Rana replacing Shivam Dube as the like-for-like “concussion substitute” in the fourth Twenty20 international in Pune. The scoreboard will show left-hander Dube having scored 53 off 34 balls with 7x 4s and 2x6s – a fine performance that went a long way in India posting a stiff 181 in 20 overs after being rocked by Saqib Mahmood’s three-wicket burst in his first over. It was Dube’s first international match in eight months. Rana, who replaced Dube after India chose to use the “Concussion substitute” rule at the innings break, ended up with flattering figures of 3 for 33, sending down his full quota of four overs. Rana took the wickets of Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell and Jamie Overton – all capable of giving the ball a solid whack. A pertinent question that cropped up was whether “Rana was a like-for-like’’ replacement for Dube, particularly as a fast bowler. In his previous 33 matches, Dube had sent down 45.3 overs and taken 11 wickets with a 3 for 30 as his best against Bangladesh in Nagpur in 2019. He did not bowl in 11 matches and went wicket-less in 15. Buttler disagreed with “Rana coming in for Dube” and wondered if Dube’s bowling speed had shot up by 25 miles per hour or if Rana’s batting had improved. On the face of it, Rana was a far from like-for-like replacement for Dube. India’s bowling coach, Morne Morkel, explained that the team forwarded Rana’s name and the match referee, Javagal Srinath approved it. The unsavoury event will compel the ICC to mull over the “Concussion substitute” rule.
Armed with a landslide majority in Maharashtra, the BJP, it is learnt, is now strongly pushing its coalition partners up against the wall. Not only has it launched a strong attack against Ajit Pawar’ party deputy leader Dhananjay Munde but it is keeping Eknath Shinde on the edge too. While the knives have been sharpened against controversial minister Dhananjay Munde demanding his resignation for the alleged involvement of his aide in the murder of Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. Munde and his party have been resisting and fighting it against all odds. While Ajit Pawar may have strongly backed Munde for now, he realises that the BJP may not stop at him and could launch fresh salvo against his other deputies. Hence, Pawar has directed his men to maintain a clean slate and even demanded that freshers be vetted before giving entry in his party. His contemporary, Eknath Shinde too is not having it easy with BJP ministers like Ganesh Naik eyeing his Thane stronghold and launching a worker engagement campaign clearly with an eye on the forthcoming local body polls. While Shinde chose to brush aside concerns, his workers have threatened to do a quid pro quo by launching similar exercises in BJP’s constituencies. Shinde did not attend the cabinet meeting last week, while Munde is believed to have left mid-way. The BJP strategy seems to be to keep the coalition partners constantly on the edge.
The year 1952 saw the release of a cult movie and a classic coming together of two names that shaped Dravidian cinema indelibly. A talented writer from Thirukkuvalai …the indomitable M Karunanidhi (DMK founder) and a firebrand actor who set the template for Tamil cinema…Sivaji Ganesan. These two cinema debutants made Parasakthi, an evergreen movie still remembered by connoisseurs of this powerful medium. Suddenly, Parasakthi is in the news. Two Kollywood producers are claiming the title Parasakthi. Vijay Antony (actor-producer-director-music director) claims that his 25th movie under production, Sakti Thirumagan has been already registered as Parasakthi for its Telugu version in July 2024. His posters were splashed on X. Imagine the shock that Town Pictures and avant garde director Sudha Kongara got on hearing that their Sivakarthikeyan’s 25th film Parasakthi has an ostensible me too. This was no filmi coincidence. A high decibel legal battle is being averted by Akash Bhaskaran, emissary of Kongara who met Antony to resolve the issue. AVM Pictures also endorsed that the title was given to Kongara’s team and all concerned were just heaving a sigh of relief. Then for Kongara trouble came from an entirely unexpected quarter. The legal heirs of Perumal Mudaliar, National Pictures, original Parasakthi producers decided to digitalise the 1952 hit and re-release it. This claims that the Krishnan Panju directed original has allotted only distribution rights to AVN for a few areas, that no other house could use the title. Avowedly, the Sivaji craze and the Kalaignar charisma guarantee big crowds.
After many twists and turns, the name of BJP sympathiser Amol Kale has been finalised by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and BJP leader Ashish Shelar for presidentship of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). Kale will be fighting against cricketer Sandip Patil. The election has been full of continuous suspense since several bigwigs are involved in the MCA which controls huge finances. The election will take place on 20 October. Initially, Pawar was said to be supporting Patil. However, following meetings between him and Shelar, the last day of filing of nominations witnessed a totally changed picture. Pawar and Shelar were together, isolating Patil. It appeared that Shelar and Patil will face each other. But even that scene changed. Shelar had filed nomination for the post of treasurer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). As his is the sole candidature, he has been considered elected unopposed. Shelar persuaded Pawar to support Amol Kale, who has been vice president of MCA. Kale is said to be close to deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. Another prominent name is that of Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray’s trusted associate Milind Narvekar, who is with the Pawar-Shelar group. MCA elections have always been laced with political manoeuvrings. Party differences are obliterated to help each other. It has happened again.
It was sort of deja vu. The Election Commission’s decision to put off announcing Gujarat poll schedule while declaring elections time-table for Himachal Pradesh has evoked predictable response from the Congress. While CEC Rajiv Kumar defended scheduling Himachal elections on November 12 and December 8 as result day, he said Gujarat poll dates would come later; he pointed to a 40 day gap of tenure of two assemblies (Himachal & Gujarat). Ideally, Congress should have cheered Himachal dates considering it has not even bothered to start its campaign in Gujarat and is largely relying on a proxy like AAP. The EC said it was scheduling an early poll in Himachal because of snowing in the upper reaches. In 2017 too the.EC had given separate dates for Gujarat and Himachal. At that time Gujarat poll dates were delayed to put off imposing the model code of conduct in the state as it was felt it would disrupt flood relief operations. Then CEC AK Jyoti had cited how in 2001 the law ministry and the EC had reached an understanding following that there would not be a gap of more than 21 days between the announcement of polls and the date of the notification of elections. That means the model code will be in place for 46 days. When elections to Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh were announced together in 2012, the model code remained enforced for 86 days.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sunil Tatkare’s nephew Avdhoot Tatkare has joined the BJP, snapping his ties with the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray. A Sena MLA for 2014-19, Avdhoot is the son of Tatkare’s brother Anil. Avdhoot’s decision is considered politically crucial since his action to enter the BJP is looked at as a double blow, to the NCP and the Sena under Uddhav. NCP has recently appointed Sunil Tatkare as its national general secretary. His daughter Aditi is presently MLA and was a minister of state in the previous ministry led by Uddhav as chief minister. Sunil Tatkare himself is a confidant of NCP leader Sharad Pawar. In view of the stature of Sunil, the step taken by Avdhoot is considered significant against the backdrop of future electoral calculations. Avdhoot was welcomed by BJP state unit president Chandrakant Bawankule. After his formal entry, Avdhoot told the media that he had not joined the BJP for any post or with any precondition. However, it is felt that Avdhoot falling out with uncle Sunil happened since his claim was ignored in favour of Aditi. The BJP has been struggling to find a firm footing in the Konkan region of Maharashtra. Avdhoot is considered a prize catch by the BJP since he is considered capable to take on the heavyweight Tatkare in Konkan.
The much-anticipated Indo-UK trade deal is a non-starter. A Diwali deadline had been put on its signing by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former British PM Boris Johnson. But the deal is on a back burner now despite Liz Truss wanting to move things along. In fact, it was suggested that PM Modi take a flying trip to the UK to meet Truss and speed up the deal, but that idea was shot down after Suella Braverman, Britain’s Home Secretary, swam into the picture to cloud up the waters with her gripe against Indians. An Indian-origin migrant born to Indian parents, Suella targeted Indians as the worst kind of visa over stayers in the UK. While statistically that may be true, there was little need for her to take off on a rant above Indian migrants at this juncture. The Indian foreign office is miffed with Suella’s tirade, which they see as a spoke in the wheel of the trade deal. Tending to the visa regime and laying down guidelines favouring India in visas was part of the deal. But the Tory government is on such shaky ground regarding the British economy and the mini-Budget that Kwarteng presented under Truss’ tutelage that the India trade deal has taken a back seat. The Diwali deadline is set to run out in 10 days from now.
Freebies are the inventions of political parties to win elections. More often than not, the poll promises of political parties across the spectrum contain liberal freebies. Once in power, they are, however, faced with the reality of the financial situation: How do we fund the freebies? One is reminded of the proverb `robbing Peter to pay Paul’. This is not a sound strategy. Parties – especially the ruling ones – are discovering this. Well, the Tamil Nadu Government has now decided to mandate the use of Aadhaar identification service in Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation, which gives free power to hut-consumers and farmers. Select categories of power users are given free supply to a limited extent. These are funded by the government of Tamil Nadu, and involve expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of the State. A government order issued by the Energy Department of Tamil Nadu Government on October 6 now makes it mandatory for all those using or desirous of using the freebies’ schemes to provide proof of the possession of Aadhaar numbers. If they don’t, they have to undergo an Aadhaar identification process. Freebies are indeed a necessary tool to bring about social justice. But the state must know if they really reach the needy. Well, the Aadhaar linkage is inevitable to plug the holes in the power distribution system.
She is one unique actress who was called as woman of change but these days we have been seeing her making reels on Instagram and not really doing the kind of work we would want to see from Vidya Balan. Not that she is not doing a good job in the reels in fact she is putting in as much effort as one would working in a commercial film. But those in the trade feel that Vidya Balan is one actress who does not believe in racing for the top actress spot but is focusing on what she likes doing. Vidya was last seen in Jalsa with Shefali Shah and her performance was appreciated. Currently, she has two films in the pipeline. The 43-year old actress who made her mark in a popular TV serial Hum Paanch entered Bollywood in 2005 with Parineeta. It was a hit. Since then she has worked in films that are female-led or has done path breaking roles in movies like Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, The Dirty Picture No One Killed Jessica, Shakuntala Devi and Kahaani. Vidya who always got bad Press for her dressing sense did try to do a glamorous role in Kismat Konnection but that was not well received. Those in the trade feel that OTT is an ideal platform for her. Is that the reason why she is focusing on social media?
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Editor’s Note: Short Post Noticed By People Who Matter
Four years have zipped by and we are crossing another milestone on 31st January 2025 – it’s our 4th Anniversary. It feels good.
Looking back at the 1460 days, I must say Short Post has made its mark with people who matter via 4000 stories published in the areas of politics, business, entertainment and sports. All made possible by the unflinching commitment and dedication of our senior editors, most of whom have been part of this journey from Day One.
Small pack, big impact is in essence the story of Short Post which was launched at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. It shows our conviction. In all humility, I can say, we have created a new niche in the news segment space like Hindustan Unilever which created a new segment, when it launched CloseUp Gel.
Yes, we have created a brand (in a limited sense), created demand (readers) and created supply (senior journalists). But we are facing teething problems like all start-ups. What makes us happy and confident is the recognition of our efforts. For instance, we have an arrangement with the OPEN Magazine, part of the $4.5 billion Kolkata-based Sanjiv Goenka-RPG Group. This arrangement sees around 10 Short Post stories posted on OPEN Magazine website every week. This arrangement is testimony that our content has been well received! Also, I may add that the Maharashtra government has recognised Short Post and has allowed our senior editor to cover the Assembly sessions. Ditto: Odisha.
Our goal is to ensure that Short Post becomes a habit. I would like people to keep checking their smartphones to know the latest Authentic Gossip. As regards AI and the fear of it disrupting all businesses including media. On that, personally, I have no such fear as I am confident AI cannot smell news particularly Authentic Gossip. That’s the place we are well entrenched.