Naidu Joins Cong Chorus for United Opposition

Hit by multiple troubles in Andhra, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu publicly dropped his pet theme of a ‘non-Congress third front’ and eagerly joined the Rahul Gandhi-led Congress’ pitch for a united opposition fight against the Modi-led BJP for the Lok Sabha polls.

Seasoned Congress leaders are relishing the fact that Naidu, after his exercise to project himself as kingmaker, has fallen in line. He had been working for several months to create a ‘non-Congress third front’ while he was in the NDA and even after estrangement with the BJP under pressure from the YSRCP over AP special package.

After a meeting with Rahul Gandhi, Naidu told the media that opposition parties’ primary task would be to unite against the BJP “to save democracy and the nation” and added that he met Gandhi as Congress was the largest opposition party. A visibly happy Gandhi too underlined the need for opposition unity.

Political circles attributed three reasons for Naidu’s ‘new-found love’ for the Congress and the pitch for a united front: The TDP, facing acute incumbency burden, is wary of YSR Congress and its perceived ‘indirect tango’ with the BJP. Naidu, therefore, is desperate for an alliance with the Congress in AP. The Congress knows the plot and will play along, but the AP unit is divided on gifting him an easy alliance to save his party in the electoral battles. Yet Gandhi and his AICC team can showcase that another traditional anti-Congress regional party is lowering its anti-Congress plank.

Secondly, there have been a series of I-T raids on many TDP leaders close to Naidu. There is a buzz in Delhi that Naidu could soon face a corruption case. His recent pronouncements about the Centre’s ‘plot’ to dismiss his government betrays this anxiety.

Thirdly, most regional parties TDP has courted have told Naidu that they have compulsions to align with the Congress or/and pitch for a united opposition. The TDP has no use for anti-Congress parties such as the BJD, TRS or AAP, as unlike the Congress, none of them have votes in AP to aid TDP in its fight against the YSRCP. The recent decision of the TDP’s Telangana unit to align with the Congress against the TRS was more out of regional compulsion, Congress leaders said.

While making a united opposition pitch, Naidu would like to hide the fact that even during the May line-up in Bengaluru for Kumaraswamy’s oathtaking ceremony, the TDP chief had held backdoor meetings with some regional leaders, pitching for a ‘anti-Congress and anti-BJP’ front. Naidu coming closer to the Congress is bound to be a turn off for certain quarters who had banked on dividing the opposition in the name of a ‘third front’ or ‘regional front.’

GST revenue crosses ₹1L-crore mark in October 2018

The gross GST revenue collected in October crossed the Rs 1-lakh-crore mark, which analysts attributed to the impact of festival demand and improving compliance, bringing relief for the government.

Data showed receipts in October totalled Rs.1,00,710 crore, of which CGST is Rs.16,464 crore, SGST is Rs.22,826 crore, IGST is Rs.53,419 crore (including Rs.26,908 crore collected on imports) and cess is Rs.8,000 crore (including Rs.955 crore collected on imports). This is the second month after April when revenues have inched past the Rs.1-lakh-crore mark.

Officials have been predicting that revenues will start picking up around September-–November period, the festival season, and were hopeful that they will settle down at a comfortable level as compliance improves.

“It appears that GST collections have turned the tide and the increased collections would be on account of the stabilisation of GST processes and the anti-evasion measures taken,” tax experts said.

India tops world in internet shutdowns

India topped the world with the highest number of internet shutdowns by government authorities with reportedly 121 instances to date in 2018, revealed data compiled by Delhi-based Software Freedom Law Centre’s ‘internet shutdown tracker’.

Taken with ‘Freedom on The Net 2018’, where India scored 43 — down two places from its score of 41 last year — the data shows how government controls have impacted freedom on the internet. India has slipped in the ‘partially free’ category. Higher the score, lesser the freedom on the Net. So, 0 is full freedom, and 100 is none.

In India, governments have shut down the internet purportedly to prevent riots, incidents of hate crime, even to prevent cheating in exams. Citing instances of shutdowns, the report states: “In Tamil Nadu, a video showing a child being kidnapped went viral on WhatsApp with a warning of child kidnappers on the prowl. The video is originally an announcement against child kidnapping from Pakistan,” it stated.

The report observed that while the Supreme Court judgment making privacy a fundamental right in August 2017 was a victory for internet freedom, it has been “plagued by security breaches”. The report cited researchers who exposed security lapses in Aaadhar, noting that Indian authorities are “poor custodians of citizen’s information”.

Core sector growth slows: September 2018

Growth of eight infrastructure sectors slowed down to 4.3% in September, the lowest in the last four months, as production of crude oil and natural gas declined.

Eight infrastructure sectors of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity had grown by 4.7% in September 2017.

The output of crude oil and natural gas dipped by 4.2% and 1.8% respectively in the month under review. Fertiliser, cement and electricity output grew by 2.5%, 11.8%, and 8.2%, respectively.

However, the growth of coal, refinery products, and steel sectors declined to 6.4%, 2.5% and 3.2% respectively in September. 

Modi unveils world’s tallest statue

The tribal hamlet of Kevadiya, nestled amid Satpura and Vindhya ranges, got etched in history as PM Modi dedicated to the nation ‘Statue of Unity’, the world’s tallest statue, built as a tribute to India’s Iron Man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

The 182-metre-tall statue built on Sadhu Beyt near Sardar Sarovar Dam was conceptualised by Modi in 2010 when he was Gujarat CM as acknowledgement of Sardar’s painstaking yet ‘uncelebrated’ contribution in unifying India by merging over 550 princely states. “The world’s tallest statue will remind the entire world, the future generations about the courage, capabilities and determination of the person who did this holy work of vanquishing the conspiracy to disintegrate India into pieces,” he said as the nation celebrated India’s first home minister’s 143rd birth anniversary.

Modi also exhorted people to rise above caste, class and religion and imbibe the sole feeling of ‘being Indian’ to realise the dream of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (Unified India, Superior India)’.

Modi also blasted his critics and said his government’s efforts of bringing to life the contribution of India’s iconic freedom fighters are being seen as political gimmick. “We are criticised for praising the contributions of national heroes like Sardar Patel... Is it a crime to commemorate them?”

Maharashtra declares drought in 42% of state

The Maharashtra government declared a drought in 151 of the state’s 358 talukas, or 42% of the state. The affected talukas are located in 26 of the state’s 36 districts and as many as 112 face severe drought.

This is the third drought in the state—after 2014-15 and 2015 -16—in the last five years. The state will now send the Centre a memorandum asking for assistance under the National Disaster Relief Fund.

The dry belt of Marathwada is the worst hit, with as many as 44 talukas facing severe drought and three a moderate one. North Maharashtra is also badly affected, with 33 talukas facing a severe drought and six a moderate version. In both these regions, every district is drought -hit. Vidarbha and Western Maharashtra have also been hit. In the Konkan, only one district has been impacted.

At the end of the monsoon, the state had reported 77% of normal rainfall between June and September. Besides rainfall and ground water level, the lowered moisture content in the soil as a result of a dry spell of 21-28 days, extent of sowing, vegetation cover and crop loss were among the parameters used to assess the drought according to the Centre’s drought manual for 2016.

State’s drought-hit farmers entitled to monetary relief

To qualify for “trigger 1” drought assessment, the talukas had to report a rainfall deficit of below 75% of normal rain and a dry spell of 21 to 28 days. The “trigger 2” level examined the impact of water deficiency on soil moisture and vegetation cover. For the third stage, the state conducted “ground truthing” or an eye survey of five major crops in 10% of the affected area, to assess if 33% or more of the crop has been impacted.

To qualify for severe drought, three of four key impact indicators have to apply. For a moderate drought, two impact indicators have to apply.

Drought-affected areas are also entitled to relief under the NDRF. This entitles farmers to Rs.6,800 per acre for unirrigated crops and Rs.13,000 per hectare for irrigated crops.

With dry conditions taking grip, the state had on October 23 declared relief for 180 talukas that reported trigger 2 level drought assessment. They are entitled to relief from the state, including exemption from land taxes, school/college fee waiver, restructuring of cooperative loans and exemption from the repayment of agriculture loans. Also, electricity connections cut over non-payment of bill are reinstated and a waiver of 33.5% on electricity bills is offered for agricultural pumps.

India surges 23 places on ease of doing biz rankings

India has leapfrogged 23 places to the 77th rank in the World Bank’s global Ease of Doing Business rankings, a feat which is likely to boost the government’s reform credentials and raise the country’s attractiveness for investors.

The report released lists India and China as the two large economies which are among the 10 biggest reformers among 190 countries. New Zealand, Singapore and Denmark were on top of the list.

Among the BRICS countries, Russia and China were ranked higher. The sharp jump in India’s ranking is largely driven by feedback from stakeholders who say it is now significantly simpler to get construction permits and ship goods across the country’s borders as well as reforms in other regulatory and process approvals.

The latest rankings will bolster the BJP government’s reform record and comes at a time when the government has been battling criticism on the economic front amidst a weak currency, widening current account deficit and choppy financial markets. “We are unwavering in our commitment towards economic reforms, which will ensure an environment that fosters industry, investment and opportunities,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted. India improved its ranking on six of the 10 parameters and has jumped 53 places in two years.

At a press conference, finance minister Arun Jaitley identified property registration and starting businesses, where India is still ranked low, as focus areas in coming years. He said that steps such as the launch of GST , the new insolvency law and setting up of commercial courts would help India move up further.

“If we do focused improvement, breaking into the top 50 is not out of reach,” the minister said.