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Good news for footwear enthusiasts in Chennai. The city will host the first Kickers store. Following a 30-year licensing deal with Royer Group of France, Kothari Industrial Corporation Ltd (KICL) is gearing up to set up its maiden Kickers store in Chennai tomorrow. The timing could not have been better for KICL, which has come under a new owner in Rafiq Ahmed and got relisted on the bourses. The opening of the Kickers store in Chennai comes within days of a significant development in the annals of KICL. A Qatar company belonging to the Royal family has just been cleared by the board of KICL to pick up a 10% stake in the Chennai company. Qatar-based F J Global Investment is owned by Falah Jassim J.M.AL-Thani, who is a director of Doha Bank and was also the founder of Qatar Airways. He was also a minister in the Qatar Government. This is a significant boost to KICL under Rafiq Ahmend, who has gone on a mission to revive the KICL and bring the iconic Kothari brand back to yester-year glory. The investment from a company owned by Qatar Royal family is seen positively by industry circles in Tamil Nadu, which is going the extra mile to woo foreign investment into the state. Significantly enough, KICL has also embarked on a consolidation move with the board approving a proposal to buy 30% stake held by Rafiq Ahmed in Phoenix Kothari Footwear Ltd, a joint venture that is setting up a non-leather footwear park in backward Perambalur district of Tamil Nadu. Well, things appear to fall in place for KICL as it seeks to make a strong comeback and regain its past glory.
It was something that the Congress couldn’t stomach easily. Perhaps the party was surprised that the Raj Kapoor family had chosen to interact with PM Modi. A day after the social media and TV channels were awash with PM Modi’s interaction with members of the Kapoor family, a very senior Congress leader ventured to put out a snarky social media post questioning the meeting. For some odd reason he completely chose to ignore the context of the meeting. “We have been asking PM Modi to visit Manipur. But he has instead found time to meet with Kareena Kapoor.” Soon good sense prevailed and he deleted his crude post. Guess he must have realised that his post was outright offensive. The Kapoor family had called on PM Modi on December 10 to invite him to the legendary actor-filmmaker’s Film Festival. The festival is to commemorate Raj Kapoor’s 100th birth anniversary, an iconic figure in Indian cinema who passed away in 1988. Ten Raj Kapoor films are going to be showcased across 40 cities in 135 cinemas .The Kapoor family, including actors Ranbir Kapoor, Riddhima Kapoor Sahni, Neetu Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Alia Bhat and Saif Ali Khan met the PM. “This is a special day for us. We enjoyed the conversation. He spoke to us in a friendly manner. He made all of us feel very comfortable,” said actor Ranbir Kapoor. His cousin actor Kareena Kapoor Khan said that it was her dream to sit next to PM Modi and talk to him. “His energy is so positive and he is truly a global leader.” PM Modi inquired about the third generation of Kapoors — and autographed for Kareena’s children Tim and Jeh. December 14 marks the 100th birth anniversary of Raj Kapoor.
It couldn’t have come at a more inappropriate time than this. The day when the entire national media was riveted on the Parliament debates commemorating 75 years of Constitution of India and newly-elected Wayanad MP Priyanka Vadra Gandhi was making her debut speech in the House. For some odd reason the Telangana Police chose to arrest Telugu star Allu Arjun, protagonist in the Rs 1000-crore plus grosser Pushpa 2: The Rule. He was arrested in connection with the stampede incident at Hyderabad’s Sandhya Theatre, which resulted in the death of a woman. On December 4, a massive crowd gathered at Sandhya Theatre to see Allu Arjun, resulting in a tragic stampede. Revathi, a 39-year-old woman, died due to asphyxiation, and her 8-year-old son was hospitalised. While granting interim bail to Allu Arjun, the Telangana High Court affirmed Arjun’s right to life and liberty, stating that he cannot be deprived of these fundamental rights. While leaders cutting across the political spectrum came out in support of the actor, Telangana BJP leader and Union Minister Bandi Sanjay described the arrest of a National Award-winning actor as having been done to steal the spotlight. “Drama over delivery, diversion over governance — that’s the Telangana Congress government for you!” Arjun’s uncle and Andhra deputy CM Pawan Kalyan rushed to rally support for him. In the meanwhile, it will be interesting to see how Priyanka Vadra herself responds to the ham-handed manner CM Revanth Reddy handled the situation. He had after all managed to divert attention from her debut performance in the Lok Sabha to an avoidable law & order incident in Hyderabad.
To ensure the social welfare schemes reach the intended target group, West Bengal chief West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has rolled out a robust mechanism to ensure the effective implementation of socio-welfare schemes. This initiative aims to hold government officials accountable for supervising these projects and addressing inefficiencies that have marred progress in recent years. The state finance ministry has issued a notification, followed by the establishment of a dedicated help desk at Navanna to oversee information flow from block and sub-division levels. This initiative, aimed at curbing inefficiency and fraud, will require officials to physically visit project sites instead of submitting progress reports from office desks. The app will feature automatic geo-tagging, ensuring accurate location tracking of officials during field visits. During multiple administrative meetings chaired by CM, officials repeatedly failed to provide accurate updates on the status of ongoing schemes. This incomplete information has not only slowed down critical projects but also caused dissatisfaction among citizens. Officials, from BDOs to District Magistrates, must register using their mobile numbers. Reports will require OTP authentication and must include photographs of on-ground work. The app mandates regular updates, such as reporting issues in road construction, cleanliness, drinking water, and electricity services, along with distinguishing between simple and complex problems. The model draws inspiration from private sector practices, where geo-tagging apps track employee performance. The state’s new app is expected to enforce accountability among officials, address bureaucratic delays, and improve public service delivery.
In a move that may have surprised the Opposition BJP, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee appointed Radharamn Das, vice president of ISKCON Kolkata,to a 13-member board of trustees for the upcoming Jagannath Dham project in Digha. The temple, set to be a cultural and religious landmark on the shores of the Bay of Bengal, will be inaugurated on Akshay Tritiya on April 30, 2025. The Jagannath Dham Sanskriti Kendra, spanning 20 acres, is being developed under the supervision of HIDCO, an urban planning body under the state government. With an investment of Rs 250 crore, the project aims to replicate the grandeur of the Puri Jagannath Temple and serve as a significant pilgrimage and tourist attraction. This development comes amid ongoing political friction between Didi and BJP’s Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari. It may be recalled that Nandigram where the temple is being built was the place where he had defeated Didi in the 2021 Assembly elections. Adhikari who is opposing the project on the ground that using public funds to construct religious structures is unconstitutional. He accused Mamata of attempting to win the Hindu vote bank as her minority appeasement has alienated Hindus. Mamata’s decision to include an ISKCON leader is seen as a strategic move, in light of recent attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh and the arrest of an ISKCON monk. Political analysts believe Didi is sending a message of solidarity to the Hindu community while subtly addressing concerns raised by the BJP over her government’s alleged minority appeasement policies.
Devajit Saikia is the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) representative in the International Cricket Council (ICC) as its Director. Saikia, who is the question that is being asked by those not acquainted with the BCCI’s governance structure, especially after the Justice Lodha Committee’s Reforms in Cricket report was accepted by the Supreme Court in 2016 and its Constitution was rewritten thereafter. The ICC Board is the all-powerful body in its Governance structure, and as a convention, the 12 full members of the ICC nominate its Presidents as Directors. Many stalwarts of the BCCI, like Jagmohan Dalmiya, Sharad Pawar, N Srinivasan and Shashank Manohar were on the ICC Board, and after the 2019 election, post the reforms, former India captain and BCCI President Sourav Ganguly was on the ICC Board. Ganguly was succeeded by the BCCI Secretary Jay Shah with the BCCI President Roger Binny as the alternate director in 2022, the same year when the former Assam Ranji Trophy cricketer and legal practitioner Saikia was elected as Jt. Secretary of the BCCI. People in the know attribute Saikia’s rise on the administration side of the game to his association and rapport with Assam’s BJP chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Once it was announced that Jay Shah would take charge as Chair (Independent Director) of the ICC from December 1, 2024, quite a handful of names like Arun Singh Dhumal (former BCCI Treasurer and currently chairman, IPL) and Ashish Shelar (BJP President, Mumbai and BCCI Treasurer) emerged as a potential successor to Shah as BCCI Secretary. Saikia, will remain the BCCI Joint Secretary and perform the duties of the Secretary. But his nomination to the ICC Board has surprised many people.
Veteran leader Sharad Pawar has once again monopolised the centre stage following reports that a top leader of his party has held talks with a prominent BJP Union minister in Delhi. The political grapevine is buzzing with different versions since the meeting is believed to have occurred at industrialist Gautam Adani’s Delhi residence. In fact, Pawar started hitting the headlines on Thursday (Dec 12) morning as the news that his nephew Ajit Pawar and a couple of other NCP (Ajit) leaders had reached the patriarch’s residence. Ajit later said that being a family member, he had greeted his uncle on his birthday and nothing unusual should be read in the visit. Ajit was accompanied by Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare, both very close to Sharad Pawar till the recent split in the NCP. The name of Adani added grist to the gossip since the industrialist had visited Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis just a couple of days ago in Mumbai. The Adani group continues to BE target of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Shiv Sena party chief Uddhav Thackeray. In the past too, Adani has been meeting Pawar off and on. The presence of Fadnavis in Delhi on Thursday proved to be another trigger to speculate that the political scene of Maharashtra was likely to undergo another overhaul. Pawar’s hot and cold relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always remained an intrigue. Hence, his followers are unable to predict which way he can turn.
The Raj Kapoor family has finally come out together to celebrate the centenary year — 1924-2024 — of the showman of the film industry. Forty two year old Ranbir Kapoor who has been in the film industry for nearly two decades has taken the lead along with his cousin Kunal Kapoor to celebrate Raj Kapoor through his cinema. But was it too late to celebrate RK? Is the newer generation enthusiastic to watch his films? Ranbir Kapoor said, like his wife Alia, the young generation needs to know about the cinema of Raj Kapoor and one hopes he is successful through his stardom and initiative to keep RK’s legacy alive. But, is the film industry or the government really care about saving our heritage or culture, considering the government is calling the film industry as soft power? The hard truth is: why are our studios and banners not surviving be it Filmalaya Studio, Kamalistan Studio and Raj Kamal Studio which has limited work space. Raj Kapoor’s RK Studio, a famous landmark in Chembur along with his bungalow has been sold to Godrej Properties for constructing residential properties. It may be recalled that RK Studio was working on the rentals till the fire destroyed the entire heritage. Luckily film lovers are lucky his films were in the safe custody of NFAI. It is learnt that Ranbir Kapoor who is already a producer wants to turn director. So will he revive the RK Banner? As a part of the centenary celebration the entire RK clan met the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and conspicuous by his absence was Randhir Kapoor as he was not keeping well. In the end one only hopes that Ranbir Kapoor carries the great showman’s legacy forward.
This maverick and marauding scam tainted politician was once the acolyte of Lok Nayak Jayprakash Narayan. Former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav has burnt many bridges in his meteoric rise in politics. A stormy petrel, indicted for five scams, served jail term and is now out on a bail. He is once again in the news for his below-the-belt remark against his bete noire, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar who recently announced a Mahila Samvad Yatra to interact directly with women and evaluate the impact of his government’s programme targeted for women. When the media quizzed the RJD supremo Lalu about Nitish Kumar’s Mahila Yatra and his goal of winning all 225 seats in the forthcoming Assembly elections, the unstoppable motor mouth said, “Pahle unko aankh sekhne do” (let them get an eyeful of the women). Lalu is famous for double entendres and pithy talk. This chintzy, low end hit at both Nitish’s party and the women electorate set off a storm. Bihar deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha said, “It seems Lalu Prasad has lost his ability to comprehend, doesn’t know what he is saying “. JDU MP from Munger, Rajiv Ranjan Singh said, “Lalu is master of buffoonery”. Public discourse is an amalgam of many such talents. But certainly hitting below the belt and indulging in such loose talk shows the lack of grace and polish.
Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray’s plans to attend the Winter Session of the Maharashtra legislature beginning from December 16 at Nagpur will prove to be a game changer, his followers feel. Thackeray’s continued distance from the state legislative council proceedings over the past year are discussed by his party members in hushed tones since the aggressive direction needed to corner the BJP-led three-party government somehow lacks as far as his Sena is concerned. Council’s leader of the Opposition Ambadas Danve (of the Sena UBT) lacks the image and articulation which are vital for any LoP to humble the ruling side. Now that the new government led by Devendra Fadnavis has decided to appoint former CM Eknath Shinde as leader of the upper house, Danve’s limitations will be felt more vividly. Thackeray’s intermittent presence in the council ever since he resigned as chief minister in 2022 has been noted more due to his statements outside the house. He has hardly made any worthwhile speech on the floor. Therefore, his plans to remain present for the Winter Session have revived the hopes of his followers, who wish to witness his attacks against the BJP and the Sena led by Shinde. It is being recalled that Thackeray did not attend the recent three-day session of the legislature in Mumbai, held after the assembly elections. According to present indications, Thackeray will reach Nagpur well in time for the week-long session, which will be a stormy affair, focussing on settling political scores.
Cement is not just what we all perceive. For a long time, it has been viewed as a commodity. This perception has changed. In the world of intense competition, cement has now become a crucial component of building solutions. So much so, branding has become an inevitable part of cement marketing. After consolidation of cement capacity, top players are shifting focus to position their brands strongly by roping in celebrities and sports stars. Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan is the brand ambassador for industry leader, Ultratech. Not to be outdone, Damia Cement signed up another Bollywood star, Ranveer Singh, as its brand ambassador. A few years ago, JSW Cement brought on board former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly and captain of India’s national football team Sunil Chhetri as its brand ambassadors. The India Cements, headed by industry veteran N Srinivasan, launched conkrete super king (CSK) as a game-changing cement. It was endorsed and powered by CSK’s iconic captain M S Dhoni’s Power of 7. Dhoni cement, as is called by dealers and influencers, CSK cement has become a hit in the last one year. With the construction activity at its peak on the eve of Lok Sabha elections, there is bound to be intense competition among top cement players to garner more volume and market share . Not just the power of the brands but also the ability of the ambassadors to pull business will be under test now.
Even as farmers in Punjab and elsewhere are flexing their muscles to force the government to fulfil their various demands, their counterparts in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh are seeing a tenfold increase in their mean annual income per acre, thanks to the interventions of a Parli, Marathwada-based NGO working in agricultural development. An independent impact assessment study by the Centre for Excellence in CSR of the Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) has found that 1248 surveyed farmers’ average income had jumped from Rs 38,723 to Rs3,93,986 because of the initiatives of the Global Vikas Trust (GVT). The comprehensive report has been prepared by TISS based on a meticulous survey of these farmers, who represent 15% of a total of 8299 farmers in eight clusters within GVT’s operational domains in the two states. The focal point of the analysis was to assess the tangible effects of the NGO’s work among the farmers. Nearly two in every three of these farmers — 63.9% — had incomes below Rs 25,000, far lower than the average. Covering the project locations of Palghar, Nanded, Beed, Solapur, Osmanabad (Dharashiv) and Jalgaon in Maharashtra and Burhanpur and Dhar/Barwani in Madhya Pradesh, the study was conducted with the specific objective of evaluating the impact of agriculture development initiatives on the rural communities, analysing the stakeholders’ engagement with communities in the areas, and suggesting measures for the effective implementation of GVT’s activities in the focus areas. As the GVT tagline says: “India can wait no more!”
Decision of the Siddaramaiah Government in Karnataka to disburse Rs 15 lakhs in “compensation” to a deceased individual from Rahul Gandhi’s Wayanad constituency in Kerala, attributing his death to elephant trampling, claiming that the wild animal belonged to Karnataka has raised political storm of sorts in the southern state. Opposition BJP has questioned how could the state government divert funds “amidst severe drought and distress in Karnataka with over 600 farmers ending their own lives”. It wanted to know how the Congress government, facing severe fiscal deficits and resource shortages for vital development, was diverting “taxpayer’s money” to appease Rahul Gandhi. All the tell-tale signs to this controversy was contained in Karnataka’s Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre’s letter to Rahul Gandhi where he acknowledged that as per Rahul Gandhi’s advice to AICC leader KC Venugopal and the phone conversation he had with the Kerala leader, his government had announced compensation to the person killed by the tusker Makna. Khandre admits that Makna was captured near Belur, radio collared and released into Bandipora Tiger reserve in November 2023. “Two months later he was sighted in Wayanad area of Kerala and attacked Mr Ajeesh, leading to his death, which is an unfortunate incident.” Khandre also put on record how his state had the highest number of elephants — 6395 — in the country and declining forest cover was posing threat to the tuskers in the region.
Skipper Rohit Sharma held back his assessment of Yashasvi Jaiswal’s spectacular display with the bat in the third Test against England at Rajkot. “I won’t say anything on Jaiswal. Everyone is talking about him. Let him play. He is playing well, it’s good for us and he is in good form. I am not going to say much more than that. Itna bas hai abhi ke liye (this should be enough for now). Seven Test matches is only a small sample to pass judgment on a player, but Jaiswal has played seven Test matches without a break and has already won admirers from the cricket world. The Mumbai left-hander Jaiswal began with a century on debut against the West Indies in last July, was put through the wringer in South Africa by its fast bowlers and in the home series, he has taken apart the English bowling. It’s not the question of hitting the World’s greatest swing and seam bowler Jimmy Anderson for three sixes in an over and much more, it’s the manner of his batting that has seen him take the centre stage. A natural striker of the ball, Jaiswal has flayed England’s top pacers Anderson and Mark Wood and the inexperienced spinners. A double century each in the Visakhapatnam Test and another one in Rajkot has earned him kudos, but the skipper who has seen Jaiswal score 171, 209 and 214, chose to be guarded.
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Coming to power after a 10-year hiatus has taught the DMK about unique, multiple dimensions of appealing to the electorate. Poll strategist Prashant Kishor has imprinted his distinctive stamp on the DMK’s playbook. So before finalising the party’s election manifesto, teams led by party leaders have undertaken surveys to find out what people want in the DMK manifesto. Party supremo MK Stalin is dinning into his party generals, “Fixing your targets firmly is the first step to victory”. Kanimozhi’s team has already completed the survey. What is overtly and covertly evident is the master stroke of involving her…leaving no room for doubt …backroom gripe is ruled out. Her team has surveyed 20 districts, 10,000 direct responders, received 4000 responses, apart from harvesting suggestions and demands from 18,000 phone calls and social media responses. February 25 is the deadline for such suggestions to reach the DMK citadel, Arivalayam. The dovetailing of the TN budget presented by Thangam Thennarasu is an amazing alchemy of populist schemes poured into a shiny chalice of Tamil rhetoric …it covers education, healthcare, roads improvement…in fact it showcases the Ram Rajya golden orb in a Dravidian gift wrap. And Stalin’s Assembly motivation speech left its imprint. “A budget in Tamil is Nidhi arikkai…but we have made it a Needhi Arikkai. Social justice to all, with speed in implementation. TN is second in GDP with a growth rate of 8.19%.” The bugle has sounded …it’s left for the cadres and leaders to drum up a resounding victory.
Indian arthouse filmmaker Anurag Kashyap criticised present-day Bengali cinema content citing that remakes of South Indian movies led to this downfall. In a one-on-one conversation with Kashyap during the inauguration of maiden French Film Festival in Kolkata and screening of his movie Kennedy, he was categorical in stating that Bengali content doesn’t attract him anymore. His last watched Bengali movie remains cerebral filmmaker Mrinal Sen’s Padatik. According to him, deterioration in Bollywood is not as evident as in Bengali cinema since it used to be class apart because of the maestros like Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Ritwick Ghatak. Kashyap mentioned that he could only recollect quality work from Bengali filmmaker Srijit Mukherji’s Autograph and Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s Antaheen which was essayed by actor Radhika Apte and Rahul Bose. Talking about the ongoing controversy of director Sandeep Vanga Reddy’s film Animal, Kashyap mentioned misogynistic themes, and glorification of toxic masculinity had always been there in Bollywood — but viewers were less aware. Commenting on being targeted by a section of film as well as the political sphere for his provocative works, Kashyap said that everyone in today’s world is provoking in some way or other including the media. Citing the example of Ray who was targeted as selling poverty like porn in his films, he added that it does not affect him anymore.
The vexed reservation of the Maratha community, which the Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde was hoping to capitalise on, doesn’t seem to have gone well. Not only did it fail to halt the fast by Maratha leader Manoj Jarange Patil, it further upset him and he stated that the community had felt let down by the CM. “It clearly shows that the government doesn’t care much for the demands of the Maratha community,” he rued before announcing further intensification of his hunger strike and refusing treatment. The reservation issue has already been creating much unrest in the Marathwada region with bandhs and protests being part of the agitations playing out there. Analysts view the Maratha reservation issue as a box of false promises brought out before every election to woo the 28% Maratha electorate that is spread across all political parties. This was the third attempt by the Maharashtra government to promise reservations for the Maratha community, with earlier attempts being made by the Devendra Fadnavis government in 2018 and the Prithviraj Chauhan government in 2014. Each time the decisions were stuck down by the courts. Even Shinde is aware of this challenge and kept emphasising that this time, it should stand legal scrutiny, backed up as it was with data from an empirical survey from 1,58,20,264 households using computer assisted personal interviews. Even Jarange Patil is not convinced if it will stand in courts, and this fear could actually boomerang in the Lok Sabha polls.
The Maharashtra government has decided to cross the 50% reservation ceiling by granting 10% educational and governmental job reservation to the Maratha community. Already, the state’s total reservation is around 52%. Chief minister Eknath Shinde has said that 22 states in the country have crossed the ceiling so far. While moving a resolution to grant Maratha reservation, Shinde said the quota in Tamil Nadu was 69% whereas it was 75% in Bihar. The Maratha reservation demand was first raised in 1980. It was first granted in 2014 and then in 2018. While the first reservation was struck down by the Mumbai High Court, the second was rejected by the Supreme Court. Explaining this history, Shinde claimed that this time, the provision has been structured in such a manner that it will survive judicial scrutiny. He said nearly six lakh objections and suggestions have been received over the draft of the resolution, made public earlier. The Maratha reservation quantum, however, has been reducing in the state. While the 2014 reservation quota was recommended to be 16%, it was suggested by the High Court that the educational quota should be 12% and governmental job quota could be 13%. The reservation now will be 10%, if allowed by the court of law.
The idyllic village of Sandeshkhali in West Bengal has been in the news recently due to demonstrations by several women who claim that Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Shajahan Sheikh and his associates had grabbed their land and sexually assaulted several. Shajahan notoriety came to the fore following his followers attacking Enforcement Directorate officers who had gone to raid his property on January 5 in connection to a ration scam. With Lok Sabha Elections around the corner, Opposition leaders claim they were denied permission to visit Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district, later getting permission from the court. However, TMC supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee refuted these accusations blaming the BJP and RSS by terming it as a sinister design at play. Didi even promised to send her officials to clear the dues of the locals and set up special police teams to address any criminal issues. Incidentally, Sandeshkhali falls under Basirhat Lok Sabha seat which is predominantly a Muslim belt and Nusrat Jahan is the outgoing MP. It may be recalled that Mamata gained maximum votes from women through her pro-women policies and benefits. Political analysts are citing this as a massive personal betrayal along with a political controversy. This is all because Didi’s image as the supporter of the oppressed and women is fundamentally threatened by this controversy. Many also view that Shahjahan’s arrest can open up a can of worms and lead to an anti-Didi movement just like the Nandigram and Singur which overthrew the Left-led government.
The farmers’ stir 2.0, has flummoxed Prime Minister Narendra Modi who withdrew his three farm bills (under protest) following the last uprising by agriculturists in 2021, who refused to settle unless he backtracked. Modi expressed disappointment back then that the triple laws, aimed at doubling agriculturists’ revenues by migrating agricultural produce to open market rates over minimum support price (MSP) valuations, had to be withdrawn. A senior BJP leader tells shortpost.in, “Please consider the ironic fact that the price of wheat was Rs 570 when the three revolutionary farm laws were withdrawn over political orchestrations and large scale violence. Subsequently prices of wheat skyrocketed to over Rs 1000 in 2022, in the wake of the Ukraine war. Migration to market valuations based on demand and supply and open market rates would literally have made Indian farmers richer, almost doubly. But Indian agriculturists lost out on the opportunity thanks to the anti CAA Shaheen Baug protests, followed by farmers 1.0 amplified nationally, politically.” The BJP leader added that the Ukraine conflict saw demand for wheat grow manifold and it was India that stepped in to fill the global void in the Gulf region, Ukraine, Russia, Afghanistan and other markets impacted by wheat scarcity. Ongoing news media narratives over 2.0 protests scaling up and demanding MSP for 23 foodgrains, on pain of unleashing anarchy once again, fail to factor in the lost commercial value that farmers suffered after 1.0 and will likely hurt farmers doubly once again.
The rumours are flying thick and fast about the future of Biju Janata Dal’s (BJD) four term Lok Sabha MP Pinaki Misra. The MP from Puri since 2009 has been seen as the political face of Naveen Patnaik in Delhi. Misra, a successful senior advocate in the Supreme Court was accused by the Odisha BJP unit a few months ago for helping Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra in the cash-for-query controversy. And BJP has conveyed its displeasure to Patnaik. Also, Misra who had defeated BJP’s Sambit Patra in 2019 from Puri constituency by a slender margin, is in no mood to fight a direct election. He was hoping for a Rajya Sabha nomination but that did not happen. Instead Patnaik nominated BJD’s Debashis Samantaray, Subhashish Khuntia and BJP’s Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union minister for Railways. Sources within BJD say that erstwhile student leader Arun Kumar Sahoo, MLA from Nayagarh may be given Puri ticket. Puri residents say they want a full time MP who will look into their concerns and challenges of everyday life and not an occasional visitor politician.
When out of power and in the Opposition, political parties talk differently from when they are in power. This is a given and a glaring example of this popped up at the time the Tamil Nadu Budget was presented by the ruling DMK government for 2024-25. Having spent with a great deal of profligacy in having to keep up poll promises like free bus rides for all women, etc, the State is now expected to bear a debt burden well past Rs 8 lakh crore, with the outstanding Tamil Nadu debt by March 31, 2025 projected to be Rs 8,33,361.80 crore. The government is planning to borrow Rs 1,55,584.48 crore during 2024-25 and make a repayment of Rs 49,638.82 crore. “The amount to be borrowed constitutes 26.41% of GSDP in 2024-25. The Outstanding Debt as a percentage of GSDP is expected to be 25.75% in 2025-26 and 25% in 2026-27, which are well within the norms 107 prescribed by the Fifteenth Finance Commission,” was the finance minister Thangam Thennarasu’s statement in the Assembly. When the debt of each Tamil was measured to be around Rs 2.5 lakh, the DMK made a song and dance about it before the 2021 polls. Now that figure will pass Rs 3.5 lakh. Tamil Nadu has the highest outstanding debt in the country.
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.