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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.
Mythologist-author-speaker Devdutt Pattanaik courted controversy, even before he spoke, as invitee of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports at the Two-Day National Youth Festival virtual conference, Puducherry. This may also have led to his live telecast over Doordarshan being blanked out. Pattanaik’s session was not televised live by DD due to “unforeseen technical issues”, said Kanchan Gupta, senior advisor to the I&B Ministry. Union Minister Anurag Thakur also faced flak from his own party and women’s pressure groups asking why the mythologist was chosen to inspire youth through his lessons from Bhagavad Gita? Sexist, misogynist and sexual abuses frequently hurled across social media by Pattnaik went viral on social media. The chorus for his removal from the event gained shrill currency even as author and columnist Shefali Vaidya (among several women) tweeted, “The problem with Devdutt Pattnaik is not just that he is a mediocre person, who completely distorts our scriptures without even basic knowledge of Sanskrit. He is an absolute filth who loves abusing people’s mothers. To hail this man as a ‘great mind’ is truly sickening!”. The fallout: of the huge banner of revolt and repulsion was that one of the backroom boys for the event decided on the “unforeseen technical issues” as a better option than facing the further wrath of the scorned women.
The sports broadcaster SuperSport of South Africa is in the crosshairs after an “impossible” replay reprieved skipper Dean Elgar when he seemed plumb in front to off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in the Cape Town Test. Visiting teams are accustomed to facing hostility from various quarters but a telecaster is an additional one on tours of South Africa. Known for commentators who are cheerleaders for the home team, SuperSport is, however, not in charge of the technology of replays that is outsourced to a technical company and whose feed is made available to the match referee and TV. On an early tour of South Africa, Kepler Wessels shocked the cricket world by swiping his bat across Kapil Dev’s shins after taking his first run. There was a huge brouhaha about it and conveniently, the host broadcaster said it had no replays to show because the cameras had been on the blink. As excuses went, that was the weakest one but the South Africans, rabid supporters of their own, were quite smug about it. It is moot whether the host broadcaster can influence the replays which have predictive elements to them but the Indians let the world know what they thought of it by using the stump microphones strategically. And KL Rahul went the farthest with his cutting comment – “Whole country is playing against 11 guys.” The occasion probably deserved it.
The political party that swears by the ideology it preaches in India — the CPM — has failed the test of practice. By ideological standards, Communist leaders should head to Cuba, China for their medical treatment. Only, the preaching stops at the level of party members and the public without applying to the top leadership. At least three topnotch leaders, VS Achuthanadan, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan flew to the USA for medical treatment at the John Hopkins Hospital. Ironically, the same trio had scuttled John Hopkins University’s plans to set up its first University outside the USA in the 1990s, its Asian Institute of Public Health costing Rs 700 crore in Kerala’s picturesque hill station of Munnar. The Congress government headed by AK Antony then, had offered 150 acres of land free of cost as also the promise of local infrastructure. When the John Hopkins team landed in Kerala, however, they were red flagged by the CPM and, on the forefront were Achuthanadan, Kodiyeri and Vijayan. Seizing the opportunity, Singapore’s Li Kuan Yu, sent a chartered plane to fly out the John Hopkins officials from Kerala. The кряк для фотошопа cs5 result: John Hopkins Singapore International Medical Centre, a premier institute in Asia and the World came up in the Island nation instead seriales de activación malwarebytes anti malware 2018 of India
True to his style, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi returned from his two-week foreign trip on January 9 night and plunged straight away to take stock of Goa. He had a meeting with AICC observers for the state P Chidambaram and AICC General Secretary (organization) KC Venugopal. Much to Gandhi’s annoyance, PC has been advocating an alliance with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and, speaking about a secular alliance in the western state to take on the BJP might. PC is also known to have personally written to Rahul for forging a tie-up with the TMC. Apparently, TMC strategist Prashant Kishor was sending feelers to the Congress for a tie-up. However, in a setback to the TMC in a late-night tweet on January 10, Gandhi through his close aide Venugopal clarified that the rumour in circulation that about “A possible alliance with the TMC was discussed by Rahul Gandhi in today’s meeting and is completely baseless and untrue.” Rahul is piqued that the TMC wants to do business with Congress after poaching its MLAs like Luizinho Faliero and Alexio Reginaldo Lourenco in Goa. TMC has reportedly spread the word in South Goa that it got the FCRA account of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charities restored. But does Mamata Banerjee really have a friendly equation with the Centre to have secured anything for her home state?
For journalists, even authors, high prestige also follows penning the Biography of a national icon. If that doyen is Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of the Tata Group, it is most certainly a reiteration that one has arrived. Many wannabe authors had vied to write Tata’s biography but, being introverted, Tata felt the moment was not opportune then. Now, comes the news of Tata’s authorized biography to be published by Harper & Collins, will be penned by retired IAS officer Dr Thomas Mathew who was additional secretary to the late Indian President, Pranab Mukherjee. Dr Mathew has already written two books – The Winged Wonders Of Rashtrapati Bhavan and Abode Under Dome. But, his nomination to write Tata’s life account surprised many corporate watchers and equally upset at least two hopefuls. Well-known in the national capital’s politico-corporate circles neither got the endorsements for the prestigious writing assignment of a lifetime. The two highly networked Page 3 personalities, in their own rights, have been closely associated with the Tata group in various capacities as advisors and strategists for long. Clearly, one man’s gain is two men’s lost recognition.
The Bengaluru-headquartered MTR Foods has fired the first salvo in its battle with fellow Bengalurite iD Fresh through an advertisement announcing its distinctive batters for idlis, dosas and even its ‘signature dosa’. “Idli and dosa are not the same. Why is your batter alike?” the advert questions. “Shots fired! How would iD react/respond?” asked a Twitter user. Others are quick to take up cudgels on behalf of one or the other of the two and say “Those who make it at home know there’s no major difference” or, even point out that the real competition for both MTR and iD is from mothers who make batter by themselves at home. One self-proclaimed ‘Delhi-Malayali’ says the convenience and taste of iD is “good enough to keep me loyal” while another asserts that those who love idli and dosa but don’t make it at home wouldn’t be too bothered. Musthafa PC, Co-Founder & CEO of iD Fresh, is unruffled: “We had tried it (separate products). Consumers prefer the same batter for both.” Meanwhile Musthafa has announced that the company has received Rs 507 crore in a Series D round of funding, led by NewQuest Capital Partners, in one of the largest deals in the food start-up space. Clearly, with such big funding the battle for batter could intensify in the coming days.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s deep involvement with the Kashi Vishwanath Dham is quite well known. He keeps track of all related issues and developments in the pilgrim town and, recently found most people working at the Vishwanath Dham had to perform their duties bare-feet due to the bar on leather footwear, even made of rubber, within the temple premises. The bar covers priests, people performing Seva, security guards, sanitation workers, and other temple staffers. He immediately procured 100 pairs of jute footwear and sent them across to the Vishwanath Dham so that those performing their duties don’t have to remain bare feet in the chill winter months. Needless to say, people working at the Vishwanath Dham were elated. Not that this is the first time that the PM has shown concern for workers at the Kashi Vishwanath Dham. After all, it was their efforts that helped complete the corridor work in a record time of two years. That’s why at the time of the inauguration in December 2021, Modi had showered flower petals on construction workers and honored them for their role in bringing the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project to life and even had lunch with them. At the time of inauguration, Modi had acknowledged their contribution despite the difficult period imposed by the Covid pandemic when they did not allow the work to stop here.
Tamil Nadu’s Finance Minister, Dr P Thiaga Rajan (PTR) had many credits to his name when Chief Minister MK Stalin hand-picked him. His exalted background (Harvard, Wall Street, Bespoke political DNA, American wife, the yearning to serve his state). But, his quick temper, sometimes acerbic repartees, and not-so-friendly relations with other party colleagues have come under media focus. The latest news wafting through from the DMK HQ is that PTR has resigned as DMK’s IT Wing Secretary, an important party post, citing his (increased) workload as Finance Minister as well as a member of the GST Council. It may be recalled that a few months back, Dr Mahendran, who quit Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Manram party, was appointed as Deputy to Rajan in DMK’s IT wing by Stalin himself. The DMK ‘s IT arm, though set up as late as 2018, did a commendable job during the 2021 Assembly elections under the guidance of poll strategist Prashant Kishor. But, post-election, there has been a lull in the IT cell since. Now Rajan is being blamed for his touch-me-not attitude. Of course, the first family’s meddling is quite evident with Udhayanidhi Stalin strongly rooting for TRB Rajaa, his candidate from the delta region to take control of the IT wing. Clearly, whoever runs this new platform, social media and optics are crucial for the DMK. Is this a signal for the FM?
Mithali Raj has been the ubiquitous face of Indian women’s cricket for near about two and half decades. She made her one-day international debut against England in Milton Keynes in 1999 and became captain against the West Indies at Lucknow in March 2004. And into her 40th year, she is the captain, although her success rate in 143 matches (as captain) is 59.44. She has led India in 21 matches in three World Cups (2005, 2013 and 2017) won 13 for a success percentage of 61.90. These numbers indicate that women’s cricket in the context of leadership has not advanced, owing to, as the discerning believe, the selectors being bereft of dynamic thinking. The present selection committee has also refused to look at Harmanpreet Kaur (playing for India since March 2009) or Smriti Mandhana (playing for India since April 2013). Indian cricket ought to have gone for Harmanpreet after her splendid unbeaten 171 against Australia in the World Cup semis of 2017. Smriti is the fourth-highest run getter post the 2017 World Cup in England after England’s Tamsin Beaumont, Australia’s Alyssa Healy and South Africa’s Lizelle Lee. But the Mithali Raj rule continues; hopefully she will be lucky the fourth time as captain in the quadrennial event. Incidentally, Jhulan Goswami led India in the 2009 World Cup in Australia and won five matches!
The England Test cricket captain Joe Root has decided to stay in the job beyond the Ashes series till he can groom a successor, it is learnt. His resignation was thought likely after his team lost the Ashes 3-0 in double quick time halfway during the third Test. But he has thought it through and believes he has to put up his hand to ensure he passes on the baton to the right player. Ben Stokes, who was being groomed for the captaincy, does not want the burden. He is a multi-format cricketer who is in great demand in IPL. He is also just back from a break to tend to his mental stress problems and would much rather be the star all-rounder contributing to the team cause rather than bearing the additional responsibility of leading the team. Root, like Virat Kohli, is a committed Test cricketer who had an extraordinary year of success in 2021 when he became Test cricket’s third highest scorer in a calendar year after Mohammad Yousuff (1,788) and Viv Richards (1,710) with 1,708 runs. He also had reason to somewhat celebrate his team’s escape in Sydney when they were nine down while managing to draw. He has declared his intention to keep facing the challenge of Test captaincy after the final Ashes Test in Hobart this week.
Prime minister, Narendra Modi, states ad nauseam that he wants India Inc to prosper and, therefore, the all-out efforts by his government on the ease-of-doing-business front. For the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) though, it was business-as-usual when it recently “forced” RBL Bank’s renowned boss, Vishwavir Ahuja, to go on leave without citing what went wrong at the private sector bank. This comes in the wake of fiscal imprudence causing upheavals at several banking institutions over the last five years including Punjab National Bank, the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services, Dewan Housing Finance Corporation, YES Bank, and Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative Bank. These incidents led to considerable financial instability at huge cost to the exchequer. It also distracted the ruling government which had to expend both time and political capital to salvage and set right the mess. This has been the case since the early 1990s — remember Harshad Mehta scam, CRB Capital, Ketan Parekh-Bank of India and Madhavpura Co-operative Bank. Successive Union governments were compelled to launch into respective cleansing acts after the RBI was caught flat-footed on the supervisory front. Surprisingly, no one at RBI was asked to go on leave or lost their jobs because of supervisory lapses. Can India Inc afford regulatory complacency anymore?
Even as an entire nation was outraged over the breach of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security, with non-BJP CMs like Naveen Patnaik condemning it, a day later it made for quite a spectacle watching Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi across TV channels. Channi downplayed the “inconvenience that may have been caused to Modi” whose entourage was stuck on the Ferozepur flyover for 15-20 minutes as a “small matter”. What compelled the Congress CM to conduct himself in such a bizarre fashion? Did Channi go overboard in order to score brownie points with PCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu? Or, was he under pressure to compete against Sidhu to demonstrably prove his higher loyalty standards towards the Gandhi family? After all, Sidhu has been pressurizing the Congress high command to declare a CM face ahead of the assembly elections. Also, why else would a sensible Channi skip receiving Modi at Bathinda airport on the pretext that one of his staffers had tested positive for Covid and then follow it up, the very next day with a public interaction with people and the media, without any qualms whatsoever? Meanwhile, Punjab Congress campaign committee chief Sunil Jhakhar who flayed the way Channi handled the Modi visit has gone off to Sweden to attend to his ailing wife. As for the assembly tickets, sources say the screening panel had already finalized 82 of the 117 seats before Jakhar left. The remaining 35 seats will be finalized on January 8.
The perennial pan India cash cow, the cinema business, with its jingling cash registers is sending out distress signals right now! After two long Covid-19 pandemic hit (locked down) years, just as the film industry started seeing rosy dreams of making up for heart-breaking business losses, come Pongal Festival, a sudden downturn is now predicted. For years now, the Tamil calendar’s annual Pongal week always meant family indulgences with anything cinematic. That may not happen this time round, as Omicron and its tsunami wave hits the solar plexus of exhibitors and industry big guns alike. Three big budget films, RRR (directed by India’s Cecil B DeMille aka Bahubali SS Rajamouli), Boney Kapoor’s Ajith Kumar starrer Valimai and Prabhas-Pooja Hegde love anthem, Radhe Shyam were lined up for the Pongal sweepstakes. Then came government orders about total Sunday curfews, lockdown daily between 10 pm and 5 am and 50% seating in cinemas. The trade had estimated Rs 600 crore collections from these three films released worldwide and overseas. They had probably structured all their debt and business plans on Pongal to rake in big moolah. But, Omicron seems to have played spoilsport. Big disappointment for fans of Ajith, Prabhas NT Rama Rao Jr, and Ram Charan. But, it’s a question of a month or two before these movies hit theatres near you soon.
An advertisement in a newspaper, issued by the Credit Recovery and Legal Service Department of the public-sector Union Bank of India, announces an e-auction of immovable property at Mahalunge in Pune district to recover loans totalling Rs 52.74 crore. The property, around 1.27 hectare, is being auctioned because of borrowings by Viorica (sic) Hotels, which operated the erstwhile Hotel Holiday Inn — now Hotel Ramada – at Hinjewadi on the city’s outskirts. The ad names four personal (which the bank spells ‘personnel’) guarantors and, five corporate guarantors, headed by Vascon Engineers. “We will not be affected by this,” says Vascon founder chairman R Vasudevan, whose son Siddharth is among those named in the notice. “I don’t know why they are still dragging us into it. We got out of the hotel business five years ago, when we sold the property to Maruti Navale, formerly of Singhgad Institutes.” Navale and his Neemco Traders are also named in the notice. Vascon, which got into the hospitality sector in 2006-07, exited it because, as Vasudevan had explained then, this was a specialised job which did not fit into their specialisation of construction. The company held stakes in three hotels in Pune — Holiday Inn, Hyatt Regency and Golden Suites — and two in Goa, Galaxy Resort and Vista Do Ria.
Trust Punjab PCC president Navjot Singh Sidhu to give a weird spin to Rahul Gandhi’s prolonged absence from the country — he claimed his party leader has gone for a “secret meeting abroad”. He even told a TV channel it was quite possible that the Gandhi scion was indulging in ‘secret meetings’ with karyakartas. “When others go on vacation or take trips abroad, nobody questions them. Today, wherever Rahul Gandhi has gone, he is probably meeting with Congress workers or holding a secret meeting to present his personal views. That’s his right,” said Sidhu. Sidhu’s claims regarding Gandhi’s sudden vacations did not go uncontested. The BJP wanted to know if he had gone to meet his Chinese handlers. Between Congress General Secretary Randeep Surjewala, who said Rahul Gandhi was on “a brief personal visit” and Sidhu’s claims of secret meetings with karyakartas, the party seems left in this year of elections looking leaderless. It is likely that the Wayanad MP may play a limited role in the assembly elections in the five states that go to the polls. Meanwhile, there was a lot of trepidation in the party after reports emerged that 125 of 179 passengers who arrived at Amritsar international airport by a chartered flight from Rome had tested positive for Covid. Will this impact Rahul’s return? This is a speculation that no one in the party is willing to hazard a guess about.
The world’s greatest tennis player Novak Djokovic is holed up in an immigration detention hotel in Melbourne that is famous for serving maggot-infested food and mouldy bread. The experience of being hauled through the coals for his beliefs may not, however, knock any sense into the Serbian who has been susceptible to all kinds of quackery in his life. He believes that his breathing trouble from gluten intolerance was solved by a quack who held slices of bread on his stomach and used kinesiological arm testing as a diagnostic tool. A great believer in alternative medicine, he once copied a page from Chinese traditional medicine that said – “Each organ in our bodies is undergoing repair in roughly this order: Lungs 3-5 am, Large intestine 5-7 am, Stomach 7-9 am…” The lover of nature and seeker after truth considers a Brazilian fig tree in the Fitzroy Park near Tennis Australia as his best friend in Australia. He once supported a quack on his Instagram Live Channel selling bottles of Advanced Brain Nutrients for $50 a bottle. It is curious that a professional athlete of his standing would believe in such mumbo-jumbo but not trust science enough to take a Covid vaccine that is doing so much for public health around a world beset by a coronavirus pandemic for more than two years now. “No vax, no entry” might be the verdict in his case.
There is now a call on Odisha’s Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to consider transforming public administration by hiring corporate talent from the private sector. The idea, mooted by BJD’s Rajya Sabha MP Dr Amar Patnaik, has urged the Odisha Government to consider lateral entry of young and brilliant minds from the private sector to be inducted into the state bureaucracy in the rank of Special Secretary and below, percolating down to the district level. The whole exercise will be routed through OPSC giving the candidates a fixed term of 3-5 years, similar to what the Government of Karnataka has initiated through a collaboration with a non-profit organization — the Nudge Foundation. Knowing Patnaik’s progressive mindset, he is likely to be receptive to such ideas. It may be recalled that two years ago, it was Naveen babu who had asked his bureaucrats to share “transforming game changing ideas” so as to improve governance, speed of action and delivery of public service in the state. Should the Odisha government decide to recruit professionals from the private sector it will be touted as another major reform initiative by Naveen Patnaik’s government!
Dean Elgar, the mean opening batter may not fit into the “elegant left-hander” category. But, yet again, on the rain-marred fourth day of the second Test at The Wanderers, Johannesburg, the South African led the national team for the 12th time in four-and-a-half years and delivered the southpaw punch to the Indians; in cricketing parlance, a typical captain’s knock of an unconquered 96. Into his 10th year of international cricket, Elgar showed his body to defend and a lot of pluck while facing up to the Indian fast bowlers for five hours and nine minutes helping his team to level the three-Test match Freedom series 1-1 and, go to Newlands, Cape Town with their heads held high. The stodgy-looking batter has scored 4559 runs in 71 Tests — 4323 as an opener with 12 centuries and 19 half-centuries, almost 50% aiding in his team’s winning cause. Applauding Elgar’s unyielding undertaking, former captain and the man who worked hard for South Africa’s acceptance into the international fraternity in the early 1990s, Dr. Ali Bacher texted this correspondent saying: “Elgar showed what can be achieved by guts and determination. His performance is particularly praiseworthy because the pitch favoured the Indian fast bowlers.” Elgar is all set to become South Africa’s third left-hander opener to score 5000 runs after Graeme Smith, 9018 runs, and Gary Kirsten, 5726.
The reasons for Rupa Gurunath’s resignation as President of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) run deeper than the BCCI resolution citing a conflict of interest. This is one of the battles former BCCI and ICC chief honcho N Srinivasan is fighting to retain control over his billion-dollar brand — CSK. Earlier, Radhakishan Damania of DMart fame picked up a nearly 20% stake in India Cements. Was it to wrest control? Currently held by Indian Cements Shareholders Group Trust, CSK would become vulnerable if Srini is unable to ward off raids on India Cements. His plan is to move daughter Rupa to a key post in CSK after restructuring its ownership so that the IPL franchise stays in the family, regardless of developments in India Cements’ shareholding pattern. There is still a lot of fight left in the old cricket lover and corporate czar who once fought a pitched battle to wrest back control of the cement company with the help of Murasoli Maran. But if the tide turns against him, Srini would rather keep CSK in the family and leave the TNCA presidency to the DMK first family. V Sabareesan, the son-in-law of Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, is one of the frontrunners for the post after it was found that son Udhayanidhi was ineligible as he holds public office as an MLA.
A proliferation of the newfound Covid virus or the Omicron Effect is rippling through the Bollywood taking in A listers into its embrace. It began with Kareena Kapoor Khan and friends – Amrita Arora and Seema Khan – admitting to their positive status with Covid after attending a party that was high on the celebrities’ quotient. Then came news of the other Kapoors. While Anil Kapoor was negative, daughter Rhea and her husband Karan and cousins Anshula and Arjun Kapoor tested positive. Curiously, none of these celebrities took to social media to apprise their daily contacts and connections about their Covid status, ignoring commonly followed protocol. Why these stars failed to warn people they came in contact with is perplexing. Others like Ekta Kapoor, who also tested positive, immediately posted their Corona status on social media. John Abraham and wife Priya also tested positive, while Pooja Bedi’s daughter Alaya F who was covid positive finally tested negative. Some crew members of the film Geheriyaanhave also tested positive. Despite infections reported rampantly, shooting for films and TV serials continues unabated just as before. However, two big films RRR and Jersey releases have been postponed as cinema halls are being shut in some states or occupancy reduced to 50% levels. Looks like Bollywood has thrown caution to the wind.
During a recent year-end TV event, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami revealed how Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s post-midnight visit to Varanasi Railway Station actually came about. The visit followed immediately after the PM concluded his meeting with 12 BJP Chief Ministers and two deputy CMs that had gone on way past midnight. After the meeting ended around 12.30 am, Modi told the CMs that he had one more engagement before he called it a day. They were collectively taken aback! “What engagement could the PM possibly have at such a late hour?” they wondered. The PM ended the suspense by stating that he would be checking the progress of development works in Varanasi city. He added that he did not want to do it during the day as his formal visit would disturb normalcy. So he preferred the wee hours of the night to inspect Varanasi railway station and other infra projects with UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in tow. By 6.30 am the Prime Minister had launched into his next day’s official tasks without having slept a wink. Modi takes immense pride in his Lok Sabha constituency, particularly on remaking the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, and has asked party MPs to visit the pilgrim city, considered sacred by Hindus. Party leaders were also given booklets regarding the reshaping of Kashi under Modi.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has mastered the art of saying ‘No’ tactfully, without acrimony, notwithstanding his bonhomie with the BJP. So, when the Ministry Of Home Affairs refused to renew the registration of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act leading to a fund crunch and threatening a possible collapse of its charitable activities in the state, Patnaik stepped in with relief supplies. Acting quickly and, instead of indulging in empty political rhetoric, Patnaik directed all District Collectors (DCs) to ensure that no inmates would miss a meal or suffer health-related issues at any of Mother Teresa’s homes due to food shortage or lack of medical supplies. The Odisha CM opened up the coffers of the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. While doing so Patnaik was not cocking-a-snook at the Centre over the blockade imposed on foreign funding but ensuring that people in Mother Teresa’s homes in Odisha did not suffer hunger or sickness. Some political analysts say that Patnaik, unlike other opposition leaders, did not whine or go to the media about the Centre’s action but took decisions in the best interest of his state. Once again, Patnaik has reiterated that he is the boss of Odisha and his governance style is to talk less and do more public service.
The Indian pharmaceutical industry witnessed many learning curves and has come a long way since the days of controls. Today, the industry wears an entirely transformed look. In the rough and tumble of the modern-day business world, which has to contend with intense competition, only an honourable few have managed to ensure the longevity of their respective businesses. Take the case of Chennai-based company Tablets (India), one of the early pharmaceutical ventures in the country. It was founded in 1938 by Sri Krishna Jhaver, who ventured into the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry and acquired the British-owned Oakley & Bowden Company based out of Chennai. While primarily set up to serve the healthcare needs of British Colonials, it was renamed Tablets (India). It boasts of some well-documented products in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical segments and is recognized as a pioneer in amino acids and probiotic therapy. A flagship company of the closely-held Jhaver Group, it is managed by accomplished professionals across various functions in the organization. It has five business divisions and three manufacturing facilities. How long could it have remained a family-owned enterprise? Not just that. The owners too, want to unlock value, thereby monetizing a part of their holdings. And what better way than to tap into the capital markets even as IPOs seem to be the flavour of the season.
There is no way the zoom media interaction at god’s own and sparkling wine country, Cape Town, can become “Dhoom, dham”; that’s the way Head Coach Rahul Dravid, uttering a line or two with gusto before the second Test, wanted Virat Kohli’s chat about with the media to be before his 100th Test at Newlands on January 11. Kohli, who has missed 13 Tests so far after his debut, because of injuries and personal, complained of a flare up of his upper back and is not playing the second Test at The New Wanderers in Johannesburg, and so the third Test at Cape Town, should he be declared fit, will be his 99th. This eventuality will make the first Test (from February 25) against Sri Lanka at Bengaluru his 100th. Kohli’s injury and absence from the second Test, enabled the selectors to name KL Rahul as India’s 19th captain in Test cricket and Jasprit Bumrah as vice-captain. It would be interesting to see the way the selectors go about looking at Rohit Sharma’s fitness. With two World Cups of the Twenty20 and 50 over variety to happen from October- November this year, the selectors would want a captain without injury baggage or concern. By close of the tour in South Africa, Rahul would have led India in two formats. All said and done a terrific jigsaw puzzle taking shape in Indian cricket!
Will Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who turns 50 this year, contest elections in the forthcoming assemblies? Conventionally, UP Chief Ministerial candidates are known to prefer the legislative council route, as Yogi himself did in 2017. Things may change in 2022, however, and there is a strong buzz that he will definitely seek to enter the UP Vidhan Sabha, although Yogi has left the decision to the BJP’s top leadership. Will he opt for Ayodhya or his home turf of Gorakhpur which elected him 5 times as Lok Sabha MP? Yogi could also choose Mathura, where efforts to reclaim Krishna’s janmabhoomi are ongoing. Party MP Harnath Singh Yadav even dashed off a letter to BJP chief JP Nadda proposing Yogi’s name from Mathura, even claiming it was the ‘wish of Lord Krishna, who had communicated with him (Yogi)’. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav countered Yogi’s Mathura plans claiming that Lord Krishna had visited him in a dream also and told him that SP would form the next government! A year younger than Yogi, Akhilesh is the sitting Lok Sabha MP from Azamgarh. Picking an assembly seat, however, won’t be easy after Yogi launched a no-holds-barred pitch of ‘Garv Se Kaho hum Hindu hai’ in Amethi. Akhilesh may not even find it easy going to contest from Yadav strong-holds like Kannauj and Mainpuri.
Former AIADMK minister KT Rajendra Balaji, who embarrassed his party by a public reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he said, “Modi is our Daddy”, has been on the lam for over a fortnight now. The Tamil Nadu police are on the lookout to arrest Balaji for alleged involvement in a Rs 3 crore recruitment scam reported during his ministerial stint at the helm of the Tamil Nadu Co-operative Milk Producers’ Federation, which markets products under the brand name Aavin. The fugitive ex-minister, who was hopeful of securing anticipatory bail, was last seen addressing a public meeting in his Virudhunagar constituency. The moment police reached the spot he did a Houdini act and vanished much to their consternation. The TN police formed six special squads to nab him and have gone into overdrive, viewed by many as vendetta politics of the MK Stalin government. The underlying objective of the ruling DMK government is to tarnish the image and name of the AIADMK. Balaji is known to sport a red tilak prominently on his forehead and, mostly attired in bright mustard yellow shirt, is equally colorful in his choice of words. He served as Tamil Nadu’s Milk & Dairy Development Minister between 2016 and 2021. During the last Assembly elections, he tried his best to jump onto the BJP bandwagon but found no takers.
Before he flew to Europe over the year-end, Wayanad (Kerala) MP Rahul Gandhi thrust a futile debate upon his own unsuspecting Congress party — Hinduism versus Hindutva-vadi. At an anti-price rise Congress rally in Jaipur held on December 12 to launch the party’s campaign in poll-bound states in north India, Rahul had inexplicably veered off-course while mid-speech. A needless debate was kicked off by the Gandhi scion and has now been capped by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on January 3. In his counter Yogi made clear that the Congress leader was lecturing people about the differences between Hinduism and Hindutva even though he had once sat on his knees in a temple instead of sitting cross-legged. “Gandhi’s ancestors called themselves accidental Hindus”;Yogi said, referring to Hindu Mahasabha leader NB Khare’s assertion about Nehru in 1950. Yogi asserted that he had never hesitated to refer to himself as a Hindu. “We don’t hide..We said it when I was not a chief minister, we keep saying it when I am the chief minister, and will continue saying in future too — Garv se kaho hum Hindu hain. It’s interesting that Yogi made the remarks in Amethi where Rahul had further sharpened his Hindu versus Hindutva postulation against the BJP. It was during his, now very rare and, infrequent visits to Amethi that Rahul had also taken a swipe at PM Narendra Modi for taking a solo dip in the Ganges while inaugurating the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor.
Some of the sharpest questions are being asked by one of their own but the BJP will not move against Varun Gandhi unless and until the big two take it up. To have a Gandhi name in the party was seen as a prized trophy when Maneka Gandhi, the estranged daughter-in-law of Sonia Gandhi, moved over to the saffron camp. While she has taken to staying off the limelight her son is making up for various insults to his mother by speaking up boldly on issues. His question on the paradox of polls in pandemic times contains such logic as to defy retorts. He asks if it is not ridiculous to impose curfew at night in Uttar Pradesh, one of five States heading to the polls in 2022, while rallies comprising thousands of cadre, party workers and the general public are attending poll rallies by day. With Covid cases going up in the State which has the most impact on who may get to rule in New Delhi after the general elections of 2024, UP has hit upon curfews to try and stop its fragile healthcare system from being overwhelmed. The EC is to take a call soon on polls in 2022 but word is it will only ask for a special vaccination drive in the poll-bound states where Omicron cases are still in very low numbers. Meanwhile a young BJP Gandhi is proving to be a cat among the pigeons.
From a rank outsider, Jacqueline Fernandez’s rise and rise in Bollywood was meteoric. The 36-year old Sri Lankan model-turned actor, who entered Bollywood in 2006, has acted in over 25 films already. In 15 years she has starred opposite top heroes including Salman Khan and Akshay Khanna. Even as her northbound career graph scaled new heights came news of her involvement with conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar, who was arrested for extortion and money laundering. She claims Sukesh lured her with Bollywood offers even as he showered her with costly gifts, even a high end car. Though Jacqueline tries hard to distance herself from Sukesh, the Enforcement Directorate is yet to give her a clean chit. Does this mean curtains for her Bollywood career? Not really, say Bollywood producers. “Film makers are not judgemental. We are a very forgiving industry and, have given second chances to Sanjay Dutt, Armaan Kohli, Shiney Ahuja.” On the ground, Jacqueline’s Dabangg live tour could not begin as the ED prevented her leaving the country but she is shooting for films within the country. As of now, she has Ram Setu, Circkus, Vikrant Rana, Bachchan Pandey and Attack on hand. The ED case may slow her down for a while but, there is little doubt she is among the most liked stars of Bollywood.
All eyes will be on Governor R N Ravi at his first address to the Tamil Nadu State Assembly when the legislative session commences next week — January 5, 2022. The customary Governor’s address will be delivered after a gap of two years and delivered at Fort St George. During the pandemic, assembly proceedings were held at a state government auditorium ‘Kalaivanar Arangam’ in Chennai. It was in March 2020, when AIADMK was in power that the assembly proceedings were held in the British era Fort St George. Governors usually read the text prepared by the state government in the address to the legislative assembly. However, there is much speculation that Ravi, like his predecessor Banwari Lal Purohit, will depart from the prepared text and even conclude his speech with “Jai Hind”. Apparently, Tamil Nadu’s babudom refrains from incorporating “Jai Hind” in official texts. In his address, Governor Ravi, a Kerala IPS cadre officer hailing from Bihar, has planned to include a few lines in Tamil also. He is likely to meander a bit more than to restricting to the “Jai Hind” deviation alone. The buzz going around is that he has sent the official text, prepared by the state law department, to the Union Home Ministry for suggestions.
Avantha Group promoter Gautam Thapar’s fall, currently lodged at Delhi’s Tihar jail, was swifter than his meteoric rise. A series of events dislodged the 61-year-old industrialist from his pedestal, the latest being a special CBI court denying him bail in an alleged fraud case. Thapar was arrested in August 2021 by the Enforcement Directorate for money laundering following a sale of property in Delhi. The property, mortgaged to Yes Bank against a loan by the Avantha Group, was purchased by another firm at much lower than prevailing market rates. Coincidentally, Yes Bank’s founder Rana Kapoor’s wife was a director on the board of the said firm. What led to Thapar’s fall from grace? A Doon School and, US-based Pratt Institute alumni, he joined the family business Thapar Group in 1980 and is credited with turning around many of the group’s ailing businesses. In 2007, he bought over the family enterprise, rechristening it as the Avantha Group. An over-ambitious Thapar launched into aggressive global acquisitions under Crompton Greaves and the BILT brands, even foraying into the power sector in 2008. All these ventures, however, bombed with accusations of financial fraud and corporate governance issues abounding thereafter. The group companies were taken over by lenders, and the ‘rainmaker’ turned into an economic offender even having “criminal antecedents”.
A scandalous cash haul of Rs 257 crore and, gold and silver bars were recovered from the premises of perfume trader Piyush Jain at Kanpur and Kannauj after raids by the I-T officials and the GST Intelligence unit. This has led to speculation that he was “punished” for financing the Samajwadi Party (SP). Post raid, SP became defensive. Initially, it protested the raids that coincided with similar action on Akhilesh Yadav’s close aide Rajeev Rai, also a party spokesman. Soon the party distanced itself from perfume man Piyush Jain. While the party had launched a Samajwadi Perfume in November with much fanfare, it was at pains to explain that its perfume maker was an MLC from Kannauj, Pumpi Jain, with no ties with the Kanpur-trader. Piyush Jain was arrested for GST evasion and taken to Gujarat for further probe. Taking advantage of the raids, the BJP UP unit tweeted, “People of SP, the smell of your sins will not be washed away by the ‘perfume of corruption’. The entire UP knows that SP means corruption.” SP spokesperson Udaiveer Singh says Piyush Jain’s own son has denied his father had links with the SP. But is that nearly enough? As of now, Akhilesh Yadav prefers to stay put on his home turf Saifai these days.
The late Kalaignar’s favourite child among the large brood and DMK MP, K Kanimozhi had to cut through a swathe of family animosity while jockeying for power. Kanimozhi, which means sweet language, has been put to test by nephew Udhayanidhi Stalin. When the DMK Women’s Wing Secretary Kanimozhi issued an advisory, claiming sole and “exclusive right to enrol young women cadres into DMK”, the emergency fire alert was sounded. Stalin Junior, the party’s Youth Wing Secretary, MLA, and almost certain political successor of his father, announced a drive in Coimbatore to enroll 2,000 young women to his youth wing. Did his daddy dear tacitly clear the drive? So far, Kani has reacted to the turf violation sweetly in a civil way, as an aunt of the young scion. Some insiders are busy fanning the fire. Does Kanimozhi have exclusive rights to rope in women of all ages? Is Udhayanidhi’s gambit of recruiting young women for his Youth Wing, just a dog fight over a bone? Cleverly, the name was changed to Young Women’s Youth Wing implying that Kani and cohorts were over-the-hill, much older women! Calling a woman of any age old is akin to asking for a full on cat fight. This aunt and nephew tussle is being watched with salacious interest. After all, who can resist a hot family fight?
Anyone in Mumbai wanting to sell a vehicle is now digitally enabled to exchange his or her vehicle registered in, say, Nagaland but parked on the outskirts of Delhi with a buyer from Bengaluru. This, according to Shriram Automall India Ltd (SAMIL), is thanks to a new cutting-edge system of ‘Phygital’ (Physical plus Digital) solutions, which helps to connect buyers and sellers all over India to exchange their pre-owned vehicles and equipment. The company, which is India’s largest platform for such transactions, used the same system for its latest strategic partner, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, and exchanged and delivered the first batch of 10 BharatBenz trucks in Manesar (close to Delhi). Such transactions, of over 160,000 vehicles and items of equipment, with more than 4,000 physical events and over 25,000 online events conducted across the platforms, brought SAMIL business worth more than ₹3,000 crore last year – at an average selling price that was 10% higher than in the earlier year. In addition to all this, what Chief Executive Officer Sameer Malhotra is really excited about is that the company is now also certified as a “Great Place to Work”. “This reiterates SAMIL’s focus on achieving business goals while managing work-life balance and building what the Great Place to Work Institute has recognised as a High-Trust & High-Performance Culture,” he says. “This is a proud moment for us.”
The Biju Janata Dal’s 25th Foundation Day on December 26, 2021, saw Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik telling party workers, “The party has evolved into a social movement and represents aspirations of 4.5 crore people of Odisha”. Patnaik, an accidental leader, faced a veritable trial by fire throughout his political career. His vision, determination and conviction has led Odisha on the path of real transformation. The state’s growth trajectory stands at 7.1%, higher than the national average growth rate of 6.6%, overshadowing 13 states of India. But for the Covid-19 pandemic, growth parameters would have further accelerated. Patnaik’s ‘talk less, deliver more’ motto has consistently worked for Odisha. An ambitious goal of plunging the state’s poverty rate from the existing 33% to 10% over the next five years is Patnaik’s next goal and people trust he will achieve the target objective. The no nonsense CM transformed, reshaped the state with his clean image and governance delivery bestowing the unique status of being irreplaceable upon him. However, the 75-year old CM, facing some health issues, has gone on record about succession plans. “People will choose their leader and it is not necessary to groom one,” he said and also putting to rest speculation by stating that, “There is no one from the family” who aspires to succeed him.
South Africa was far from hostile on the first day of the first Test against India at the Centurion, a venue where the home team has gone down only twice in 26 matches; in fact South Africa has won 21 Tests. But the inability of fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Wiaan Mulder and debutant Marco Jansen ought not to take away anything from KL Rahul’s superb century. It can be said that the doughty and elegant opener has made it a habit of achieving the magic three figure on foreign soil, six times so far; 110 against Australia at Sydney in 2015, 108 against Sri Lanka at Colombo in August 2015, 158 against the West Indies at Kingston in July 2016, 149 against England at The Oval in September 2018, 129 against England at Lord’s in August 2021 and 123 against South Africa at the Centurion in December 2021. His only home century in 81 Test match innings is the 199 against England at the Chepauk in December 2016. His seven centuries, including the overseas have all been as an opener. The trick of the trade, as exhibited by Rahul, is to demonstrate judgment to know where his off stump is, leave the ball and see it go to the wicket keeper. As an opener Rahul who plays with calm demeanour, has been par excellence.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached out to Ludhiana after last week’s bomb blast in a court’s premises. He rushed Law Minister Kiren Rijiju to ground zero to convey empathy and support of the Centre for victims of the explosion and people of Punjab. Rijiju, a young BJP leader from Arunachal, provided some sanity even as Congress leaders in the state, Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and PCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, were seen making contradictory statements, post blast that claimed the life of one person. The idea of rushing Rijiju to Ludhiana was to underscore that safety and security of judicial complexes and judiciary was top priority of the Centre. As the minister himself pointed out, many review committees were already in place and it was only a matter of discussing it with the Chief Justice of India. Rijiju stuck to his brief in the Punjab, refusing to wade into politics and muddying waters. He simply emphasized how the “Centre and the state” would work together to take strong action against elements trying to spoil the peace and harmony of the state and, in the country. The minister also interacted with district and session courts judges and lawyers and had a word of praise for their resilience in the aftermath of the blast.
Nothing much has happened in the year since Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to the Indian toy industry to ‘make in India’ instead of relying on imports, especially from China. After his appeal in February 2021, the industry has been waiting for incentives, but in vain. The only positive development was a month earlier: the introduction of compulsory BIS certification, for both domestically-manufactured and imported toys, with effect from 01 January. This has cut down official imports – but CKD is still permitted – which, say industry spokespersons, allows traders to bring in the entire item in collusion with customs officers who are content to look the other way for a consideration. “We need more positive action”, says Vikram Goel, CEO of the Mumbai-based Infotech Resources, a manufacturer, exporter, supplier and retailer of hand puppets and soft toys. First, he says, the Government should give them free land to set up manufacturing facilities. It should also provide free space in Indian toy exhibitions and sponsor those abroad. A stall in a Mumbai or Delhi event puts an exhibitor back by Rs11,000 while a trip to Nuremberg for the biggest global exhibition costs about Rs11 lakh plus the fares. “Which small manufacturer can afford that?” he asks.
Ever since Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has been recuperating from a cervical surgery he underwent on November 12, intense speculation has abounded regarding his health status. Reason: he has avoided public appearances and preferred to operate from his official residence Varsha. He did privately visit the Vidhan Bhawan, participated in a cabinet meeting and tea party for legislators on the eve of the winter session via video conference. BJP, which was trying to topple the two-year old Maha Vikas Aghadi government went into overdrive saying, if the CM’s health condition is not good he must distribute his official work among cabinet colleagues. Setting speculation to rest, a senior Shiv Sena minister’s aide told Short Post, “The CM is reluctant to assume full charge of office till he is a 100% fighting fit. No new cardiac challenges have come up now either (Thackeray had stents implanted a few years ago).” He dismissed the story doing the rounds of the CM’s son and minister Aadtiya Thackeray holding proxy charge as bumkum. He further said “If Uddhavji took a break, as per protocol in the Sena, senior most cabinet minister and industries minister Subhash Desai would take charge for the interim period.” It may be noted that right now Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar from NCP is holding the fort.
The Indian cricket team is just two days away from sending its legion of followers in a tizzy as it girds up its loins for another brush with the South Africans at the Valhalla based venues, Centurion and The Wanderers, Johannesburg, both falling in the Omicron hit province of Gauteng. Come Boxing Day (December 26), when the Yuletide mood is at its zenith, Virat Kohli’s team, will come out of its bio-secured life at a resort to engage in a Test series that will be India ‘s eighth in South Africa since 1992, when blessed by Madiba Nelson Mandela, the two countries founded cricketing ties. The time is also upon Kohli, in the radar now following his disagreement with BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on the India Twenty20 captaincy matter, to focus on cricket for the first time under Head Coach Rahul Dravid. India has played 20 Tests in South Africa and lost 10 and so it will try to unleash Jasprit Bumrah and company to win a first Test series there for the first time. Kohli would be the fulcrum around whom India will strive to put match winning totals on the board; should he not, it would be interesting to see the response from the Chetan Sharma led Selection Committee, nay, BCCI. The third Test at Cape Town will be his 100th. Remarkable feat indeed!
It’s nostalgia time as the splendidly made movie 83 starring Ranveer Singh recaptures the spirit of India’s greatest cricketing achievement, which was to dethrone the two-time World Cup winners West Indies at Lord’s. The 83 World Cup team members, with only the departed Yashpal Sharma absent, gathered to celebrate the great moment again ahead of the film’s release on December 24. The one unanswered question that remains about the morning of the match against Zimbabwe in Tunbridge Wells is about why Kapil Dev chose to bat. Recalling the day, journalist R Mohan who was the only reporter from India who watched all the India matches in that World Cup, said he was the most nervous person at the picturesque Tunbridge Wells ground in Kent because he had spoken to Kapil before the toss and may have unwittingly prompted the decision to bat by speaking of how the Net Run Rate might improve if India got in and put up a 300-run total. Kapil, who said the wicket was wet – “thoda geela hai” – still chose to bat and soon was in with the scoreboard reading 9-4. It was soon 17-5 and he went on to craft one of the greatest fightback innings in limited-overs cricket history with his 175*, India’s first ever ODI century. That innings transformed the team into believing it could achieve anything and it went on to beat the world champs within a week beating Australia, England and the mighty West Indies.
Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s casual approach to the Ludhiana blast as not a “big gal” or deal in a state that has seen major terrorist acts has not gone down well within his own party. Matters turned worse when PCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu added that a series of events were planned by vested interests to create a law and order situation to polarize communities, promote vote bank politics. From acts of sacrilege to terror, everything is being viewed as an attempt to intimidate minority Hindus that would benefit the Akalis and, may be to some extent Capt Amarinder Singh’s Punjab Lok Congress. Party sources point out that Channi’s statement was outright irresponsible; he has been encouraging Dalit identity politics much to the Congress’s worry as Jats already feel excluded. As for Sidhu he seems more anxious to give his friends from across the border a clean chit than winning support within the state. Which is why former PCC chief Sunil Jakhar felt the Government needs to assure people of Punjab about its commitment and ability to maintain peace and harmony. “The CM can’t afford to be seen floundering on this account”. It is in times such as these when one misses a sturdy, wise man like Capt Amarinder Singh, say Congress leaders.
With an eviscerated Congress, those opposed to the BJP in Goa feel it is better to back AAP than go with the TMC. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s party is emerging a favourite among Catholics in South Goa because they would rather go with AAP than a rank outsider like TMC Chief Mamata Banerjee, who has ventured into the state for the first time. According to political analysts, what has put off Goans about TMC is Mamata’s aggressive campaign style during her frequent trips to Panaji. It has completely unnerved locals. Used to interacting with Bengal’s working class, who land up in the state for casual work, Goans find it hard to believe that the TMC supremo has anything more to offer. TMC has been bringing in trainloads of Bengali volunteers into the state and many fear that these volunteers could double up as voters and capture booths as they do back home. On the other hand, Kejriwal they feel is disarming and approachable and could be the better alternative to fight the BJP; he has after all made forays in the state in past elections. Many feel a vote for the TMC would be a waste as Mamata may not get any support from the Centre unlike Kejriwal, who has learnt his political lessons well and mended his relations with the Centre.
Former Uttrakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat has been sulking and showing it too. First, he felt the Congress had not been caring for his efforts. However, now summoned to Delhi by the AICC brass to meet with Rahul Gandhi, he says he is surprised that rivals were reading too much into his tweets about “non-cooperation” from his organisation. So what actually was bothering the Congress campaign chief in poll-bound Uttrakhand? Well, party sources point out that it is the manner in which everyone from Delhi who made a trip to Dehradun gave a pep talk about “collective” leadership in the state. Rawat could not understand why the Congress was not projecting a single leader (read him) to take on BJP CM face Pushkar Singh Dhami? Far from picking him as the CM candidate, he found too much importance being given to former PCC chief and Congress Legislature Party leader Pritam Singh. Worse, Rawat found he was put almost on par with Pritam Singh. This hugely upset him. While Rawat is the only mass leader within the Congress and hails from Kumaon region, Pritam Singh and PCC chief Ganesh Godiyal both belong to Garhwal region. AICC sources, however, are confident that 73-year-old Rawat would mellow down after a pep talk with Rahul Gandhi.
It was just waiting to happen: The decoupling of the Indian couple who vowed to stay together for life! Netflix’s original show Decoupled, themed on global Indian marriages, has hit pure gold. Women finding their voices even as a couple’s marriages hurtles through marital discord and yet, both working hard at co-parenting while aspiring for their career fulfilment. Marriages are (rarely) made in heaven, but remain permanently earthed. R Madhavan at 51 plays an over-the-hill writer, Arya Iyer and, is a Maddy to scream and root for. He is sensitive yet, sexy if such a combination exists, with whacky comic timing too. Arya refuses to shake hands with young boys. “Boys are busy with their hands…they don’t wash later” his firm tongue-in-cheek refrain. Two Jharkandis brought fame and GPS to Ranchi –one, a cricket legend and the other, “ice cream won’t melt in my mouth” the wholesome Tambram, code jock clone Surveen Sacred Games Chawla, the Punjabi ultra slick kudi. A huge plus that Decoupled is in English…Coupertino to Cochin, most couples will identify with the everyday nuke edge moments that are thrown up in a high wattage marriage. Maddy fans have much to drool about and rejoice to see their footloose heartthrob take his OTT steps towards global stardom.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin who waited 10 years to come back to power is leaving nothing to chance this time on the governance front. He recently unveiled the ‘CM Dashboard’ for real time tracking of progress of welfare schemes and effective governance. PWC Davidar, a retired IAS officer, recently appointed as Adviser to TN E-Governance Agency designed the dashboard for real time information on every aspect of the state, from vegetable prices to inflation. By putting in place this kind of system, Stalin wants to ensure his party never loses again. TN’s electorate is probably one of the country’s most savvy, articulate and quick to reward or punish a party that rides on catchy slogans, and fizzles out on results. Tamil Nadu, when compared to other states like Uttar Pradesh or Bihar, has risen steadily on the development index, even though it’s polarised Dravidian parties have often failed to meet Tamilian aspirations. The late chief minister J Jayalalithaa had to mend her authoritarian ways. And Stalin too, learnt to rewrite responsibility, the hard way. A clutch of pro people measures announced in quick succession has made him the people’s CM of choice, a hard act to follow.
Forty-seven year old Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is having sleepless nights as the state tethers on the brink of financial bankruptcy. With no special status being conferred on AP, and no industries being set up the state is getting deeper and deeper into the debt trap, primarily caused by unviable freebies promised by Jagan to win the elections. As a result, it is surviving a hand-to-mouth existence through borrowings from public sector banks. Even public sector banking finance is drying out with the Union Finance Ministry questioning the banks over such lending to AP. Every year AP has to pay over Rs 43,000 crore as interest alone, says a government source. As per CAG report the fiscal deficit for Andhra was Rs 68,538 crore in FY 2020-2021. Jagan’s anxiety to provide 3 million homes to the poor as part of his election promise is also adding to the financial burden. Responding to a recent Gazette notification by AP Government, realtors are up in arms as builders are expected to hand over 5% land voluntarily for public housing or give matching cost compensation to accommodate free housing accommodation for the poor. For now, welfare measures are negatively impacting the state’s finances with no real investment going in for revenue generation.
Fearing Backlash Political Parties In Maharashtra Likely To Field OBC Candidates In General Category
Does political will in India care about OBCs enough to update the last census, conducted in 1931-32, by the British government on their perception of Indian caste parameters? The fate of the 27% OBC reserved constituencies in Maharashtra will go to polls in January as general category seats. The OBC community’s population based political reservation was set aside by the SC. Only Prime Minister Narendra Modi via Ordinance or, the SC may revert back to the 27% political representation for OBC people, around 54% of the population now in Maharashtra. The PM’s avowed emphasis on meritocracy apart, the OBC issue in MP and UP has now prompted the BJP to seek a stay on the apex court order till a fresh census is completed, says former Union planning Commission member Hari Narke. The only way to appease the OBCs and circumvent SC’s diktat is for political parties to field OBC candidates for the re-designated public representative posts in general category. Tall ask at short notice, for want of winnable candidates that political parties may face. But, the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s political constituents have officially decided to give individual percentage wise representation for OBC as the 450 Maha OBC communities enjoy in the education and social sector while, this is consolidated at 27% for political representation, which may find limited success?
Even as the corporate world rolls up its sleeves and prepares to get back to offices and tables, not everyone will be able to resume the daily commute. Some companies, including large multinationals, have cut their overheads by giving up their plush leased offices soon after work from home (WFH) became the norm (prevalent). So, the many who have got used to working while lounging comfortably in their pyjamas cannot, even if they – or their families – want to, as they no longer have a workplace to go back to (which they can start going) again. The Bengaluru-headquartered Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), which has its manufacturing facilities at Bidadi on the outskirts of the city, gave up the lease on its corporate office in the city’s posh Vasanth Nagar soon after the pandemic made it impossible for people to get to it. “We have decided to stick to WFH,” said the India-Japan joint venture’s vice chairman and managing director Vikram S Kirloskar. “When we need to have meetings, we can have them in a hotel instead of our own conference room. Anyway, people who need to come in from our other offices stay in a hotel.” Surely, the company is making huge savings by way of rents but are the employees really happy to WFH?
Is Priyanka Gandhi Vadra playing the ‘ladki hoon, lad sakti hoon’ card to empower women across the country or, is it more about just herself? Is she pushing the ladki issue merely to enlarge her own canvas within the Congress party? Why else would Priyanka be travelling outside Uttar Pradesh (UP) in the midst of heated poll campaigning and conducting herself like a super Mahila Congress president to spread the message about her Pink manifesto? This is a question party leaders are asking. In early December, within days of launching her Pink Manifesto for women in UP, promising 40% reservation for women candidates alongside tax sops for organisations represented by women as 50% of their workforce, Priyanka suddenly headed off to another poll-bound state of Goa. She spent an entire day there pitching her women’s agenda extensively. While many in the party believe Priyanka Vadra is looking to expand beyond her limited charge of Uttar Pradesh as AICC General Secretary, some party sources say Priyanka may strongly be competing with brother Rahul Gandhi to provide a new leadership to the Congress. Significantly, at the Mehangai Hatao Rally in Jaipur she addressed the crowd jointly with Rahul. With the Congress likely to fare poorly in the upcoming polls, Priyanka is perhaps already recalibrating for the aftershocks.
TMC chief Mamata Banerjee has made acquiring Goa’s 40 assembly seats almost a prestige issue. She has apparently poured money to acquire political assets — namely three sitting MLAs, two belonging to the Congress — Luizinho Faliero and Alexio Reginaldo Lourenco, and one from the NCP, Churchil Alemao, ahead of the Goa assembly elections slated next year. With Alexio’s exit, only two of the 17 MLAs elected in 2017 are left with the party. Going against its grain of procrastination, the Congress for the first time decided to go ahead with finalizing candidates and released the first list of eight candidates last week, just to prevent TMC from poaching its leaders. It was apparently former Union Minister P Chidambaram’s idea to halt the erosion of rank and file. Sources say the TMC was so livid with the Congress’ first list that poll strategist Prashant Kishor even boasted to a Goa leader that he would poach a candidate even after the list was finalised by Rahul Gandhi. He did it with Alexio joining TMC. AICC in charge Dinesh Gundurao was aware of this development. Well, If you want to know why no effort was made to stop this MLA from Curtorim from leaving the party, it was because the AICC made no offer to finance the elections.
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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.