India Today

editor-in-chief

Exactly six months ago, India imposed one of the world’s harshest lockdowns to arrest the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. The measure did temporarily stall the growth of the novel coronavirus but triggered an economic crisis that has spread as rapidly as the virus itself. Two business quarters later, we are not just the second-worst-affected country in the world with 5.6 million cases and 90,000 deaths but also the worst hit among the G20 economies. The International Monetary Fund has estimated that India’s growth for the entire fiscal year will be -4.5 per cent. 2020 is clearly annus horribilis, a year unlike any we’ve seen in recent history, with its impact being felt across sectors. Three significant drivers of growth—domestic consumption, government expenditure and private investment—have taken a beating. In order…

short-circuiting parliament

On September 20, Parliament passed two contentious farm bills—Farmers’ Produce Trade & Commerce (Promotion & Facilitation) Bill and the Farmers’ (Empowerment & Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance & Farm Services Bill. The Rajya Sabha cleared both by voice vote; the Lok Sabha had passed them three days earlier. While farmers and Opposition parties protested the ‘anti-farmer’ provisions in the bills, the unseemly haste on display in rushing the bills through Parliament, without further reference, discussion or debate, have raised unsettling questions on this government’s commitment to upholding parliamentary democracy. The business advisory committee of the Rajya Sabha had set aside four hours to debate and pass the bills. Besides seven amendments to the bills, including one to send them to a select committee, the opposition leaders had also moved two statutory…

glasshouse

FRIENDS TO FRENEMIES? W hen Jyotiraditya Scindia left the Congress for the BJP earlier this year, his friend and Congress leader Sachin Pilot termed his defection as merely “unfortunate”. Scindia, in turn, tweeted in support of Pilot’s rebellion of the past few months, accusing the Congress of ignoring talent. Pilot’s revolt against Ashok Gehlot’s government in Rajasthan ended a bit tamely, though. He will now be campaigning for the Congress in the upcoming byelections in Madhya Pradesh to bring in Gurjar votes—Pilot’s community and one that makes up a substantial voter base in at least half of the 28 seats going to poll. The buzz now is that Pilot and Scindia could soon be butting heads since the Gwalior-Chambal region is also where Scindia is fighting a do-or-die political battle. A…

how to break the impasse

The gridlock in eastern Ladakh is total, and the border crisis between India and China seems to have hit a cul-de-sac. In analysing the current situation, four critical issues merit attention. To begin with, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has not vacated its areas of intrusions in eastern Ladakh despite the protracted parleys. There is intransigence in the PLA’s attitude, as evident in the latest round of talks held after the foreign ministers had arrived at a consensus to “quickly disengage”. In the absence of any breakthrough in the negotiations, the PLA will make their positions permanent, thereby completing the unilateral alteration to the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Then, there is a clear failure of the existing agreements, protocols and confidence-building measures. A weakening of the agreements was visible in…

the politics of msp

Three highly contentious farm bills made their way through the Rajya Sabha between September 20 and 22, amid vociferous political opposition and farmer protests in the country. Two of these bills—the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill and the Farmers’ (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill—were passed by voice vote on Sunday, September 20, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill on September 22, when the Opposition parties had decided to boycott proceedings in Parliament. In an apparent attempt to stem the tide of farmer protests across the country, especially in the northern states of Punjab and Haryana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted his reassurances just hours after the first two bills were cleared by the Rajya Sabha. Defending the “historic new laws”, the…

shooting blues

Actress Ashalata Wabgaonkar, 79, was shooting Sony Marathi’s mythological daily Aai Majhi Kalubai in Satara, Maharashtra, when she tested positive for Covid along with 20-plus members on the show. While most were home quarantined, Ashalata was admitted to a private hospital. A week later, on September 22, she succumbed to the virus. A dance group called in from Mumbai for a song sequence to be featured in the show is reported to have passed on the virus to the crew. The actress’s demise was a worrying reminder of the dangers the elderly face as they resume work in an atmosphere where even adhering to recommended precautions is proving to be an inadequate shield against the virus. In July, the Indian Motion Pictures Producers’ Association (IMPPA) had filed a petition in the…