In a surprise move, the former RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das was appointed Principal Secretary to PM Narendra Modi. The appointments committee of the cabinet said Das’ appointment will be co-terminus with the term of the PM or until further orders, whichever is earlier. Das was RBI chief for six years beginning December 2018 and had been hoping for a second term. It did not materialise because of bureaucratic issues–top babus in the government had apparently opposed an extension. As principal secretary in the PMO, Das will bring his vast experience of over decades in various areas of governance. Das’s appointment will give economic thrust to the PMO. More so, because Das has held several important positions in the Central and state governments in the areas of finance, taxation, industries and infrastructure. As the RBI Governor during the Covid-19 pandemic, he spearheaded a series of measures to support growth and strengthen India’s financial stability. His appointment in the PMO clearly surprised political circles as he was always perceived to be close to Congress leader P Chidambaram. Though he has been designated as Principal Secretary (2), he will be working with PK Mishra, both incidentally belonging to Odisha. Ahead of his appointment, Das was spotted attending the School of Ultimate Leadership conclave addressed by PM Modi at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi over the weekend. At the time of his exit from Mint Street, Das had even talked about writing a book. That project will now have to be shelved at least for now. PM Modi has also opted for continuity in the tenure of the government think tank NITI Aayog extending CEO BVR Subrahmanyam’s term by a year, beginning February 24.

Change is the only constant in the world. It also signals a move forward. In this instance, however, this change has ushered in a complete break from the past. No doubt, the ownership of Kothari Industrial Corporation (KICL), a company founded very many summers ago by the late DC Kothari, has moved on to Rafiq Ahmed a while ago. But there was a sense of continuity with Pradip D Kothari, son of DC, remaining as the Chairman of KICL. A few days ago, however, he stepped down to pave the way for Rafiq Ahmed to become the Executive Chairman of the company. With this, the break is complete. From now onwards, KICL will run on its own sans the DC Kothari family members. Indeed, KICL has padded up for a new innings. Having given a new lease of life to KICL, Rafiq Ahmed is focussing on the way forward. He continues to carry on the legacy of the late DC Kothari. At the same time, he is charting out his own plan to bring the glory of former times back to the Kothari, a celebrated brand once upon a time. The DC Kothari Group, in fact, had grown with the blessings of illustrious names such as R Venkatraman (former President of India), K Kamaraj (chief minister of Tamil Nadu) and the like. Not surprisingly, Rafiq Ahmed has chosen to continue the legacy of the vision envisioned by DC Kothari. Well, the newly-anointed Executive Chairman is on a mission mode. He has put on a blinker to push brand Kothari to its original glory.

The longstanding cultural tradition between India and Bangladesh surrounding International Mother Language Day faced an unexpected disruption this year due to political tensions. Just a year ago, the Vice-Chancellors of Dhaka University and St Xavier’s University, Kolkata were seen together at the historic Shaheed Minar in Dhaka, joined by students from both institutions. However, this year, the event had to be cancelled amid a charged political atmosphere in Bangladesh. The tradition dates back to 2011, during the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Rabindranath Tagore. That same year, St. Xavier’s University introduced its Bengali Honors course. Since then, a torch, symbolizing linguistic unity, would be lit at Dhaka University’s Shaheed Minar days before February 21st and then carried across various universities in West Bengal, including St. Xavier’s campuses in Raghabpur, Siliguri, and New Town. The final ceremony used to take place at St Xavier’s University in Park Street on February 21st. However, this year, the torch was absent from Kolkata’s observance of the day. Ferdousul Hasan, honorary secretary of St Xavier’s alumni association confirmed the decision not to bring the torch from Dhaka this year due to political tensions. Hasan said the torch lit in Dhaka was taken to various institutions like Loyola College in Chennai, St. Joseph’s in Bengaluru among others. This interruption has underscored the impact of changing political landscapes on the cultural unity between the two Bengals. Even the Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh in Kolkata opted for a low-key, closed-door observance of February 21st this year, reportedly to avoid controversy. Meanwhile, West Bengal government-led celebrations took place at Deshapriya Park.

The labour impasse at the Samsung’s Sriperumbudur facility in Tamil Nadu is attracting increasing attention as both sides aren’t ready to yield from their stated positions. The trigger for the latest industrial dispute was the suspension of three workers of the union which was registered under a court order but has not been recognised by the Samsung management. As the fracas continues, the union leader has alleged that the management has suspended more workers. The suspension of the three union workers, the management claims, was forced as a section of the workers led by these three assembled unannounced and gate crashed to have an audience with officials of the company. The union leader — an outsider belonging to CPI(M)-affiliated CITU, wanted the suspension removed and demanded the management to forthwith stop using contracts labour. This sounds funny. If Samsung can’t use contract labour, how can the union have an outsider as its leader! An oxymoron position by the union leader, it appears! As the stalemate prolongs at Samsung facility, questions have risen over its fallout on the effort of the DMK government in attracting global investment. In the emerging era of artificial intelligence one is unable to fathom the larger implications of such strident position articulated by an outsider-leader.

The moment Shiv Sena (UBT) dismissed its spokesman Kishore Tiwari from the responsibility, he launched a tirade against the manner in which the party is being run. While going soft on leader Uddhav Thackeray, he has held some top leaders responsible for the Sena’s debacle.  The Sena is receiving one jolt after another almost daily due to desertions by its loyal workers and Tiwari’s unbridled outburst is bound to make its challenge graver for the coming local body elections. While Uddhav has tried to inject vigour into the rank and file by declaring his resolve to administer one mega blow to the ruling saffron alliance, Tiwari’s disclosures will force the party to defend its decisions, especially of distributing tickets for the 2024 assembly election. Tiwari has alleged that many of the tickets were ‘sold’ and certain party leaders had amassed a fortune. His main target is party MP Sanjay Raut, whose continuous controversial statements Tiwari has found very objectionable and damaging. Tiwari has criticized other leaders like Subhash Desai, Vinayak Raut and Milind Narvekar, who are closest to Uddhav. He told a news channel that he has revealed just one percent and will expose more and more misdeeds of the party and its leaders. Tiwari has been the Sena protagonist on various Marathi and national news channels. He has vowed to continue to work for the Sena ‘until I am expelled from the party.’ 

Controversial Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde has been down with Bell’s Palsy, which has incapacitated him. But the clamour for his resignation is not likely to subside. Munde has been the bone of contention within the ruling NDA regime due to the several serious allegations levelled against him. Some of his closest aides are behind bars and even his own future is bleak. A staunch supporter of deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, the nephew of late Gopinath Munde, he has emerged as a formidable OBC leader in the state. Therefore, demands for his removal from the cabinet have been ignored by Pawar. However, the series of exposures with Munde’s alleged connection have landed the Fadnavis government into a tight situation. Munde’s ironclad hold over his home district, Beed, is said to have culminated into various scams and acts of violence. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has declared that Pawar will take a decision about Munde, whose illness has complicated the situation. Bell’s palsy is a condition that causes sudden weakness in the muscles on one side of the face. The weakness makes half of the face appear to droop. It can occur at any age though the exact cause for its occurrence is not known. Munde’s absence from the cabinet meetings and from public events had started rumours that he had resigned or had been asked to quit. He himself has so far stoutly denied any such decision. His affliction has temporarily stopped his critics but many of them have declared to continue the campaign against Munde by wishing him a speedy recovery.

The intitial turn out for India’s opening ICC Champions Trophy match at the Dubai International Stadium (DIS) was a far cry from the spectators who showed up for India’s home series matches against England  recently. It was full house in Nagpur and Cuttack, and around 60000 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad for the third ODI. The men in blue are a big draw anywhere in the world but on Thursday — which is not a holiday here — there were not many takers, most of them having saved Dirhams for the India-Pakistan group match on Sunday, which is a weekend holiday. The DIS can hold between 25000 and 30000 people and by the time Mohammed Shami and Harshit Rana struck blows in the first 10 balls of the match — after Bangladesh chose to bat  winning the toss — one could  see empty seats  at the Stadium. The venue which has a canopy like roof and gives a ring of fire like visual as  dusk settles in, has become a popular venue in the UAE — the other two being the Sharjah Cricket Stadium and the Shaikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Tickets are priced as low as 250 AED and it goes up to a high of 12500 AED for the Grand Lounge at the DIS. The ticketing arrangements have been done by the host Pakistan Cricket Board  and Emirates Cricket Board and much of the gate receipts should be going to Pakistan’s kitty. Wickets were falling in a heap in the first hour of the match as India gained the upperhand and the only disappointing aspect was skipper Rohit Sharma spilling a catch at slip to deny left arm spinner Axar Patel, a hat-trick.

In a week’s time, that’s next Sunday on February 23, the world of cricket would swing to the passions reflected across India and Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy. The clash between the arch rivals in cricket will be a sell out with every seat at the Dubai International Stadium, where the expatriates will shell out thousands of Dirhams and create an electrifying atmosphere. Seventeen months ago, a near full house at the Narendra Modi Stadium rooted for the Rohit Sharma-led Indian team against Pakistan in the ICC World Cup. India which won that match was the host of the World Cup and Pakistan travelled to Ahmedabad for the marquee event. The Pakistan Cricket board (PCB) being the host of the ICC Champions Trophy, believed India would travel across the border to give the local fans — either in Lahore or Karachi — a real experience of a high-octane tension filled match, but the BCCI, not allowed by the government of India, refused to send its team to Pakistan — citing security concerns — and India’s group matches were scheduled in Dubai.  An India-Pakistan contest in any sport is an extraordinary event by itself, but one between the cricketers of the two countries is truly uplifting to the millions of fans of the country that wins the contest. Eight years ago Pakistan downed India by 180 runs in the Champions Trophy final at ‘The Oval’ in London. Pakistan holds a 3-2 edge in the Champions Trophy and 73-57 edge overall in ODIs, but it’s 2-0 for India in Dubai with Rohit Sharma totalling 317 runs in five matches with a high of an unbeaten 111 against Pakistan in the 2018 Asia Cup. 

Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district seems to be on the radar of corporate India. Two big projects, an iron ore, and a steel plant, involving huge investment is expected to transform this naxal-infested belt forever. Sajjan Jindal promoted JSW Group is setting up a 25 million tonne steel plant – world’s largest — by investing Rs 1 trillion over next seven to eight years. Helping the steel plant with regular supply of iron ore is B Prabhakaran-promoted Thriveni Sainik Mining. This company is a prominent player in the coal mining sector with a capacity to deliver 15 MTPA of coal. Coming to iron ore, Thriveni has entered into an agreement with Mukesh Gupta-promoted Lloyds Metals and Energy as Lloyds was granted a 50-year iron ore mining lease in 2007 for 348 hectares at Surajgarh Village. This area is known to have a major iron ore reserve. It may be recalled that Gupta was a high-profile businessman in the nineties running a clutch of companies from steel to real estate to pharma. Thriveni which got into play in 2021 after being appointed MDO or Mine Developer and Operator has already produced over 3 MTPA and plans to produce 25 MTPA iron ore. Sometimes back, Thriveni Group was in the news not because its promoter Prabhakaran was arrested over his role in a mining scam but, because the Union minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw before entering politics was a director in Prabhakaran-promoted iron ore company Thriveni Pellets Pvt Ltd set up in 2019. 

Nine years after the Left Democratic Front (LDF) headed by Pinarayi Vijayan blocked the then ruling UDF’s plan to allow private universities into Kerala, the LDF has had a change of heart. “The government’s latest decision is in sync with changing times,” says Higher Education Minister, R Bindu. Any agency which has experience and credibility can apply to set up a University provided it deposits Rs 25 crore as corpus money and also has the requisite land as per regulatory agency. In case the proposed Private University is a multi-campus varsity, then at least 10 acres of land is required. The government’s move is to ensure that Malayali students remain in Kerala. As per a joint study by Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation (GIFT) and Centre for Development Studies (CDS), nearly 50.8% of Malayali students migrate to neighbouring Karnataka alone for higher studies. Though the government has indicated that the new policy has attracted many institutions/universities, it is too early to predict how things will play out due to certain stiff parameters included in the proposal.  They include 40% seat reservation for permanent residents of Kerala and that SC/ST students have to be provided scholarships and fee concessions. The LDF government has also indicated that its nominees — Higher Education Secretary and another Department Secretary should be nominated in the Private University’s governing council. And if this is not enough intervention, the state government will have a nominee as member of the University’s executive council and three nominees in the academic council. It will also comply with directions of regulatory agencies regarding appointment of Vice Chancellors and faculty members. Initial indications are that the Azim Premji University and another Gulf-based institution with the blessings of the promoter of Lulu hyper-market chain, M A Yusuff Ali, have indicated their interest.