By K Raveendran It was vintage Modi on Tuesday night all the way. The prime minister’s victory speech after the BJP success in Haryana sounded as if he had won a convincing national election. And he said everything he had apparently planned to say after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, but could not due to […]
By K Raveendran The outcome of the much-anticipated SEBI board meeting on Monday showed beyond doubt that the board has become a captive in the hands of chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, who is facing serious allegations of misconduct. The toxic work culture and unprofessionalism that the SEBI employees have been complaining about have now engulfed […]
By K Raveendran SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch has revealed her mantra: regulatory humility. “Markets today are so complex; any arrogant regulator is doomed to fail,” she said addressing an event in Mumbai, held by the Association of Mutual Funds of India this week. Obviously, she has seen how a ‘friendly neighbourhood regulator’ is the […]
By K Raveendran SEBI would be a nice name for a new range of washing machines. The brand name is short, sweet and has good connect with its namesake market regulator, which has by far excelled in the act of cleaning. Additionally, the new range may not require a detergent, as the machine by itself […]
By K Raveendran The Supreme Court of India is finds itself at the threshold of a unique opportunity to create history when a bench headed by chief justice D Y Chandrachud takes up next month a clutch of petitions seeking a review of the 2022 verdict concerning the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Seldom […]
By K Raveendran Narendra Modi’s administration, since its rise to power, has been actively distancing itself from the tradition of naming state-sponsored initiatives after members of the Nehru-Gandhi family. This practice has long been a hallmark of the Congress era, but the trend of eliminating or renaming these projects took on a new momentum after […]
By K Raveendran Narendra Modi is not a friend of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud; nor is he a family member of the CJI. Had Modi fulfilled either of the conditions, his presence at the Ganesh Pooja organized by the Chief Justice would have been fine. Considering that the CJI is also a private person, […]
By K Raveendran India’s economic aspirations have long been anchored in the expansion of its manufacturing sector, a goal that has become increasingly critical as the country seeks to position itself as a global economic powerhouse. It is widely believed that the realisation of this goal would be impossible without Chinese investments, which however, come […]
By K Raveendran The allegations of misconduct and irregularities surrounding SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch’s tenure have cast a long shadow over the institution, shaking public confidence and raising questions about the integrity of India’s financial regulatory system. This development gains even more significance in the light of the Supreme Court’s 2018 observation on institutional […]
By K Raveendran The drop in crude oil prices below the $75 per barrel threshold has raised significant concerns within the oil market, particularly for the OPEC+ cartel, which has been striving to maintain prices near the desired $100 mark. The decline, influenced by a potential resolution of the Libyan political crisis and underlying economic […]
By K Raveendran The Supreme Court’s recent judgments granting bail to Delhi minister Manish Sisodia and others in the Delhi excise and similar cases mark a significant shift in how the judiciary approaches money laundering charges, particularly those pressed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The rulings not only highlight the evolving judicial perspective but also […]
By K Raveendran The squabble between Rahul Gandhi and Union minister Kiren Rijiju over the lack of representation of backward classes and tribals in beauty pageants has accorded a bit of glamour to the debate surrounding castes. Rahul’s remark, might seem trivial at first glance, but on closer scrutiny, it turns out to be a […]
By K Raveendran The Centre’s abrupt reversal on its proposal to permit lateral entry into senior government and public sector positions can be traced back to a complex interplay of political dynamics, strategic manoeuvring and to a large extent pragmatism. The change is widely attributed to the formidable pressure applied by Chirag Paswan’s Lok […]
AFFORDABILITY ISSUES FORCE CHANGE IN CUSTOMER BEHAVIOUR, DESIGN TRENDS K Raveendran Gold has touched $2,500 an ounce for the first time ever, marking a historic milestone in the precious metals market, a development with profound implications both globally and particularly for India, where gold holds significant cultural and economic importance. The unprecedented surge […]
By K Raveendran By suggesting that the alleged Hindenburg offensive against the Adani group is an attack against India, the ruling party is, though inadvertently, acknowledging the sway the group has on the Modi government. This assertion not only underscores the influence wielded by Adani but also serves to validate Rahul Gandhi’s persistent criticism that […]
K Raveendran It was clear to everyone that SEBI was stonewalling a proper investigation into the charges levelled by the Hindenburg report, except those who had other reasons to pretend otherwise. But there was no clarity as to why SEBI was doing so. Now that Hindenburg has disclosed SEBI chairperson’s and her husband’s investment in […]
By K Raveendran When the Supreme Court Chief Justice of Supreme Chandrachud says people are fed up with the way our courts function, there cannot be a more serious indictment of the judicial system. His assertion that the judiciary should not be an institution run solely by judges for judges is a significant critique that […]
By K Raveendran Vinesh Phogat’s Olympics debacle is the ultimate manifestation of the uncertainty in sports, where triumph and tragedy often converge in a moment’s breath. Phogat, a wrestler whose athletic prowess as well as her struggle against sports bureaucracy has made her a beacon of hope and defiance in Indian sports, found her aspirations […]
By K Raveendran The Union government’s decision to issue a fresh draft notification for nearly 56,825 sq km of the Western Ghats as an Eco-Sensitive Area (ESA) in the wake of the catastrophic landslides that ravaged Wayanad, flattening entire swathes of settlements, markets, and public spaces can only be seen a knee-jerk reaction, rather than […]
By K Raveendran Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s response to the opposition’s critique of the budget, coupled with Rahul Gandhi’s performance, has turned out to be the highlight of the debate on the budget in the Lok Sabha. The crux of the opposition’s argument was that the budget disproportionately favoured Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, states of […]
By K Raveendran Rahul Gandhi and a host of Congress leaders have criticised Nirmala Sitharaman and the Modi government for copy-pasting from the Congress manifesto while formulating the new budget. Looking at the issue from another perspective, they must be happy that the finance minister has given Congress their best campaign point for the coming […]
By K Raveendran Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has provided a theoretical framework, explained in the acronym EMPLOYMENT, for her budget formulation: E for Employment and Education, M for MSMEs, P for Productivity, L for Land, O for Opportunity, Y for Youth, M for Middle Class, E for Energy Security, N for New Generation Reforms, and […]
By K Raveendran Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stepped up to her budget rostrum in the Lok Sabha with a resolute demeanour, a symbolic gesture marking the unveiling of what many had anticipated as a transformative federal budget for the fiscal year 2024-25. Yet, what unfolded before the nation on July 23 was not a conventional […]
By K Raveendran Come July 23, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be presenting the first-year budget of Prime Minister Modi’s third term. Finding herself at a pivotal juncture, she is tasked with crafting a budget that appeases coalition partners, addresses public discontent, and sustains economic growth, and her role assumes unprecedented complexity as she navigates […]
By K Raveendran If Aadhaar is a money matter, anything can be interpreted to mean anything else. This will be one of the key dilemmas that the seven-member constitutional bench will consider when it begins deliberations on the petitions against the use of money bill route by the Modi government to overcome legislative hurdles in […]K Raveendran The scene at the Central Committee meeting of the CPI-M the other day in Delhi ran like this: the committee members are huddled together, pens poised, brows furrowed and looking askance at how and why the sand under the feet of their party got washed away in the Lok Sabha elections in the only remaining backyard of the Marxist party. Mash the Great, the intellectual […]
By K Raveendran Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s use of ‘balak budhi’ to describe Rahul Gandhi during the debate on the President’s address to parliament may be seen may be seen as an NDA-complaint derivative of the derisive ‘Pappu’ jibe used by BJP leaders in the early phases of the Gandhi scion’s political career. The new […]
