tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34456040885533007142024-03-07T09:04:09.254+05:30BJ's nocabbagesKeep Learning!Bharat C. Jainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10575760947599357075noreply@blogger.comBlogger673125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3445604088553300714.post-17340083736094725512024-02-14T19:02:00.000+05:302024-02-14T19:02:08.633+05:30The Explainer - The Citizenship Amendment Act<p> <b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">T</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">he Citizenship
Amendment Act will be implemented before the Lok Sabha elections take place in
May this year.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Ever since it was
brought out in 2019, the CAA has become a become a rallying point for the BJP's
detractors across the political and non-political spectrum. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">The liberal cabal, also called the ‘secular brigade’, has accused the Modi
Government of seeking to disenfranchise the Indian Muslims through the
CAA. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Is this accusation
true?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.7pt; margin-bottom: 5.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 5.0pt; mso-outline-level: 2; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><br />
</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><b>Highlights of the CAA</b></span></span><span style="font-size: 24px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><div style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: left;">I have compiled the
most important provisions of the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, which is an
act further to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955. </span></div><p></p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Persons belonging to the <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">religious
minorities</span></b> of Hinduism (Hindu), Jainism (Jain), Sikhism (Sikh),
Buddhism (Buddhist), Zoroastrianism (Parsi), and Christianity (Christian)
in the <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Islamic nations of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh</span></b>
and who entered India on or before 31 December 2014 will not be
treated as illegal migrants.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Such persons shall be <b>deemed
to be citizens of India</b> from the date of their entry into India.<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Under the Citizenship Act,
1955, the most important requirement for citizenship by naturalization is
that the <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">applicant must have resided in India during the last 12
months</span></b>, and for 11 years of the previous 14 years. The <b style="color: black;">CAA
relaxes this 11-year requirement to six years</b> for persons
belonging to the above-mentioned religions and the three countries.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">As you see, there is
nothing anti-Muslim here. Also, it has <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">nothing to do with Indian
citizens</span></b>.<b style="color: black;"><br />
</b><br />
A Muslim from any country, including from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, <i style="color: black;">can </i>apply for Indian citizenship. However, she
will have to come through the normal process, and not through the expedited
process that will be available to non-Muslims from these countries.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">The three countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan have been
explicitly mentioned because they are avowedly Muslim, with Islam as the state
religion. It is an open secret that the persons from the religious minorities
(Hindu, Christian, Jain, Buddhist, and Parsi) are greatly discriminated
against, persecuted in every way possible, and denied basic freedoms.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">In these three Islamic nations, forced conversions to Islam are an ugly fact of
life while blasphemy laws are routinely used to harass and intimidate religious
minorities in these countries.<br />
<br />
At the time the CAA was passed, the BJP has been greatly lacking in ‘communication’.
The party has several effective public speakers, yet they failed miserably in
communicating to the Indian public, especially Muslims, that the CAA has
nothing to do with Indian citizens.<br />
<br />
This time around, the BJP has mounted an aggressive campaign to drive home the
precise point that Indian Muslims have nothing to fear from the CAA. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p>Bharat C. Jainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10575760947599357075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3445604088553300714.post-78051952629717992882024-01-26T12:04:00.001+05:302024-01-26T12:04:46.088+05:30The Yom Kippur War of 1973 - A Quick Note<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>T</b>he fourth and last Quick Note focuses on the Yom Kippur War of 1973 (the Fourth Arab-Israeli War). As mentioned earlier, the Quick Notes series reflects, for the sake of brevity, an 'overview' of this most significant West Asian conflict.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">When: </span></b><span lang="EN-US">6–25 October 1973</span></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-size: large;">What happened: </span></span></b>Coalition of Arab
Muslim nations, led by Egypt & Syria launched attack on Israel on the Yom
Kippur holy day (6 October); Israel beat back the invasion. Israel reached
within 100 km of Egyptian capital, Cairo, and within 32 km of Syrian capital,
Damascus.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Outcomes: <br /></b></span></span></span></span>(a) Israel, though
victorious, chose to take the diplomacy route to build lasting peace with the
Arab Muslim states in its neighbourhood.</span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(b) Israel and Egypt
signed the <b>Camp David Accords</b> in 1978 and later the 1979 Egyptian–Israeli peace
treaty, which led to significant outcomes: Egypt became the <b>first Muslim nation
to recognize the State of Israel</b> while Israel relinquished its occupation of
the Sinai Peninsula which it taken in the 1967 Six–Day War.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p>
<b><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Bharat C. Jainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10575760947599357075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3445604088553300714.post-25920045734205453972024-01-26T12:04:00.000+05:302024-01-26T12:04:12.470+05:30The Six-Day War (Third Arab–Israeli War) - A Quick Note<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>T</b>he third Quick Note focuses on the Six-Day War, also called the Third Arab–Israeli War. As mentioned earlier, the Quick Notes series reflects, for the sake of brevity, an 'overview' of this most significant West Asian conflict.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9-Ja0rY0g5oZfijs_6y3Z1i4nLjVvVZPTknUEGiWX17IMEOXGwyvJxrbLkZ12Zhf88PNjfc_LtPSDaM3zNdS4S25_4ppS-W-0EMK6pGHjAaDMHB4JSJwqOZDDd2AVw_vWKeOwXdC7E4OjlLRc5iQAUI89lhMbyZXHDQFu1BkO2xnIEnFL5KcQJb2F5-c/s640/1967%20War.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="607" data-original-width="640" height="449" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9-Ja0rY0g5oZfijs_6y3Z1i4nLjVvVZPTknUEGiWX17IMEOXGwyvJxrbLkZ12Zhf88PNjfc_LtPSDaM3zNdS4S25_4ppS-W-0EMK6pGHjAaDMHB4JSJwqOZDDd2AVw_vWKeOwXdC7E4OjlLRc5iQAUI89lhMbyZXHDQFu1BkO2xnIEnFL5KcQJb2F5-c/w473-h449/1967%20War.png" width="473" /></a></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">When: </span></b><span>5–10 June 1967</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-size: large;">What happened: </span></span></b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Coalition of Arab
Muslim nations, comprising Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Iraq attacked Israel;
however, Israel trounced the Arab Muslim nations by occupying the following:
Golan Heights (from Syria), West Bank & East Jerusalem (from Jordan), Gaza
Strip and Sinai Peninsula (from Egypt).</span></p><p><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Outcomes: <br /></b></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(a) The myth of the
Arab Muslim unity was forever broken.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(b) Around 21,000 Arab
Muslims and 1,000 Israelis were killed in the war.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(c) Egypt closed the
Suez Canal till 1975. This blockade led to a disruption in oil and gas supply,
leading to the energy crisis, including the Oil Shock of 1973.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Map from <b><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-39960461" target="_blank">here</a>)</b></span><p></p>Bharat C. Jainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10575760947599357075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3445604088553300714.post-43767088745003782782023-11-26T07:58:00.000+05:302023-11-26T07:58:35.133+05:30The Second Arab–Israeli War (Suez Crisis) - A Quick Note<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZDBzRuHQWeiidi-jcWjeAiwQhtLrVwGx2VhisCnSWPLioB7rGM_unq8JT0A5H6X7oVXHeqSLR2AHfBhESpUTRkBf5-IyNtrVHZNgfzYQq0R4ICwQFUb8aMK2tESEvFtmxjCIZrR3rS6NiQRN1ZutIBuMZH6YDzWN42BAQxabcUDJ7ADVw10-FMSqxoWE/s1264/Strait_tiran_83.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1264" data-original-width="996" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZDBzRuHQWeiidi-jcWjeAiwQhtLrVwGx2VhisCnSWPLioB7rGM_unq8JT0A5H6X7oVXHeqSLR2AHfBhESpUTRkBf5-IyNtrVHZNgfzYQq0R4ICwQFUb8aMK2tESEvFtmxjCIZrR3rS6NiQRN1ZutIBuMZH6YDzWN42BAQxabcUDJ7ADVw10-FMSqxoWE/w372-h472/Strait_tiran_83.jpg" width="372"></a></span><b>T</b>he second Quick Note focuses on the Second Arab–Israeli War (also called the Suez Crisis). As mentioned earlier, the Quick Notes series reflects, for the sake of brevity, an 'overview' of this most significant West Asian conflict.</span></p><p>(Strait is a narrow channel of water that separates two land bodies; example: Palk Strait separates India and Sri Lanka.)</p><p><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;">When: </span></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">29 October 1956–7 November 1956</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-size: large;">What happened: </span></span></b>Egypt nationalized the
Suez Canal in 1956; the United Kingdom and France encouraged Israel to attack
Egypt to regain control of the important waterway. Israel’s main goal was to
reopen the blocked Straits of Tiran, which was strategically important for it.
Israel attacked and occupied the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula, both belonging
to Egypt.<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br></span></span></p><p><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Outcomes: <br></b></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(a) Under intense
pressure from the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Nations, the
United Kingdom and France retreated from the war.</span></p><p><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: verdana; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">
</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(b) Israel scored an
important strategic victory as it lifted the blockade to the Straits of Tiran. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Map from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straits_of_Tiran#/media/File:Strait_tiran_83.jpg" style="font-weight: bold;">here</a>)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br></span></span></p><br></span><p></p>Bharat C. Jainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10575760947599357075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3445604088553300714.post-68050730396932064812023-11-20T07:07:00.006+05:302023-11-25T21:06:07.345+05:30The First Arab–Israeli War of 1948 - A Quick Note<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In a series of <b>four Quick Notes</b>, I will bring to you the major wars fought between Israel and the Arab Muslim World. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is always difficult to simplify very complex issues like the Israel</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">–</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Palestine conflict. However, the Quick Notes series reflects, for the sake of brevity, an 'overview' of this most significant West Asian conflict. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib0R4SYvqEijGrI3FChlGJ4KAprYEOlfpnXZYbi0cqOWTp8yCpDA1F2M3GTBj7HS30UxW8XbaB4I2tGRvHblqzTY7Vy88v9TWLW3dT1Jqlv_3trVkp2PdIyobhwkkxRfJKz_PTTiJVs9DQmZJhIm-PVNhxL3Gt-n8PR3EtQhtx4d_MJ70ujXEETpyggVI/s2002/1947%20UN%20PP%20and%20Armstice.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Source: UN" border="0" data-original-height="2002" data-original-width="1111" height="934" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib0R4SYvqEijGrI3FChlGJ4KAprYEOlfpnXZYbi0cqOWTp8yCpDA1F2M3GTBj7HS30UxW8XbaB4I2tGRvHblqzTY7Vy88v9TWLW3dT1Jqlv_3trVkp2PdIyobhwkkxRfJKz_PTTiJVs9DQmZJhIm-PVNhxL3Gt-n8PR3EtQhtx4d_MJ70ujXEETpyggVI/w518-h934/1947%20UN%20PP%20and%20Armstice.gif" title="Source: UN" width="518" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">In 1947, the UN Partition Plan delineated the </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">formation of two states: </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">an independent Arab State and a separate Jewish State. </span><p></p><p><b style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;">When: </span></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">15 May 1948–10
March 1949</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-size: large;">What happened:</span></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <br />Israel declared the formation of the world's first Jewish State on 14 May 1948.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The next day, a coalition of Arab Muslim nations, comprising Egypt, Palestinian Protectorate, Syria,
Iraq, Lebanon, Transjordan, and Yemen invaded the newly formed Jewish State
with the avowed aim of expelling the Jews and destroying the State of Israel.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Outcomes:<br /></b></span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(a) Israel defeated the coalition of Arab
Muslim nations, </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">expanded its territory by 60% </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">by capturing the territory given
to Palestine under the 1947 UN Partition Plan.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">(b) The </span><span style="background: white; color: black; line-height: 107%;">1949 Armistice Agreements</span><span style="background: white; color: #202122; line-height: 107%;">, which established the </span><span style="background: white; color: black; line-height: 107%;">armistice</span><span style="background: white; color: #202122; line-height: 107%;"> lines between Israel and its neighbours, also known as
the Green Line<i>, </i>was signed (see the map).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #202122; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(c)
Egypt occupied the Gaza Strip while Jordan occupied the West Bank and East
Jerusalem. </span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #202122; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The <b>Arab Muslim nations failed utterly in achieving their goals.</b> To their misery, they lost 60% of the land allotted to Palestine under the UN Partition Plan to Israel.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #202122; font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white;">The reader should note that this massive defeat did help bring the Arab Muslim nations together under the banner of<b> Pan-Arabism</b>. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: verdana;">Also, it was the <b>Arab Muslim nations which occupied the three territories</b> (Egypt, West Bank, and East Jerusalem) which make up today's Palestine.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #202122; font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white;">(Map from <u><a href="https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-208958/">here</a></u>)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p>Bharat C. Jainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10575760947599357075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3445604088553300714.post-5162607779433735722023-10-24T11:10:00.002+05:302023-10-24T11:10:52.727+05:30If Hamas Goes, Iran will be the 'Biggest Loser'<span style="font-family: verdana;">Israel's aerial blitzkrieg against Hamas is unrelenting even as it is getting ready to launch a full-scale ground assault in Gaza with a single goal: put Hamas out of existence by taking out its top leadership and destroying its massive arms and ammunition. </span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><b>If Hamas Goes, Iran will Lose Big Time<br /></b>I believe that the biggest loser in the current West Asian situation
is Iran. The daily threats and warnings emanating from Tehran mean nothing; the
Clerics in Tehran may threaten Israel with doomsday rhetoric – but it is just
that.</span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Tehran will not participate directly in the ongoing Israel–Hamas
War. Tehran is beset by several handicaps: an economy in doldrums, widespread prevalence
of unemployment, especially among the youth, rising domestic dissent for
funding various actors in Syria (President Bashar Al-Assad), Iraq (a Shia
dominant country and purportedly a playground for Iran’s strategic play), Lebanon
(Hezbollah), Yemen (Houthi), and Palestine (Hamas).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Iran hates Israel more than it loves Hamas. For Tehran,
Hamas is just a shoulder from which it fires at its archenemy Israel. However, if
Israel takes down the top leadership of Hamas and destroys its sizeable weapons
arsenal in the Gaza Strip, Iran may lose its political and military influence in
Palestine and its voice in advocating the Palestinian cause in the wider
Islamic world. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Tehran’s most powerful external militia arm is Hezbollah.
Though militarily powerful, Hezbollah’s home country, Lebanon, is in political
and economic ruin. If Hezbollah launches a full-scale attack against Israel, it
may stretch the Israeli military on two fronts—along the Gaza Strip and the Lebanese
border—but this will invite a heavy reprisal from Israel. There is a great deal
of anger among the beleaguered Lebanese against any military action by
Hezbollah against Israel. To me, two things confirm the idea that Hezbollah looks
like it is paying attention to the ground situation in its home country: it has
launched very few rockets against Israeli targets and the top leadership of
Hezbollah, led by Hassan Nasrallah, has been eerily silent ever since the
Israel–Hamas war broke out. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(To be concluded.)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><br /></div>Bharat C. Jainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10575760947599357075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3445604088553300714.post-36200893143911022852021-02-04T20:03:00.001+05:302021-02-04T20:03:49.273+05:30Eco Basics: Dangerous Effects of High Fiscal Deficit<p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p><b style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">T</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">his post will focus on the negative consequences of a high Fiscal Deficit.</span></p><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Before that, let me address a pertinent question: <b><span style="color: #38761d;">Where does the Government of India borrow from?</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The <b>three major sources of borrowing</b> for the Government of India are <i>(a) RBI</i>, <i>(b) foreign lenders </i>(sovereign governments and international organizations like IMF and World Bank), and <i>(c) from the general public of our country.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Contrary to popular perception, the Government of India borrows most from the general public, through the issue of bonds (pretty much like fixed deposits).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><h3 style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #38761d;">What are the adverse consequences of Fiscal Deficit?</span></span></b></h3><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>A</b> high Fiscal Deficit is bad for the general state of the economy, foreign trade balance, and currency exchange rate.</span></div><h4 style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></b><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">Rising Interest Rates</span></b></h4><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>A</b> high Fiscal Deficit means the Government of India’s (GOI, or just government) borrowings are high. When the government borrows money from the general public, it creates demand for money. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Lending to government carries zero risk, as the government would not default on repayment (it has not defaulted till date!). However, greater government borrowing would mean less money is available for lending to industrial and other sectors of the economy. This would push up interest rates for the borrowers from the industry and other sectors of the economy.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></b></div><h3 style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">Reduced Business & Economic Activity</span></b></h3><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>H</b>igher interest rates would add to overall cost of production, thereby increasing the cost of operations. This in turn would render business activity, like increased production and expanding operations, unviable. Hence, a lot of businesspersons would opt out of such economic activity as they no longer find it profitable.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></b></div><h3 style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; position: relative;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">Reduced Income & Employment Generation</span></b></h3><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>I</b>f due to higher interest rates businesspersons opt out of economic activity (or close down plants), it would lead to reduction in employment generation. This would in turn mean that the retrenched (those thrown out of jobs) and the unemployed do not earn income, thus reducing their purchasing power.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">If purchasing power goes down, then their aggregate demand for goods and services would also go down. This in turn would also reduce industrial activity, thereby <b>depressing overall economic scenario.</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></b></div><h3 style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; position: relative;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">Lowers Exchange Rate & Increases Trade Deficit</span></b></h3><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sometimes the government of India would borrow from foreign sources. When the government is lent money, foreign exchange comes into the economy. This would increase the supply of the foreign currency, which in turn would be exchanged for the Indian rupee.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>The rise in demand for the Indian currency would increase its value</b>. Simply put, as foreign entities begin to exchange their currency for Indian rupee, the value of the Indian rupee will also increase.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For example, the exchange value of the Indian rupee for each U.S. dollar is </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">₹</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">72. In this scenario, let’s say, when a foreign entity is exchanging its currency for Indian rupee in large volumes, the exchange value may fall to </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">₹</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">7</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">0 per U.S. dollar.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This means that while earlier one U.S. dollar would have fetched </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">₹</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">7</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">2, now it would fetch only </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">₹</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">7</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">0. This would hurt exports and encourage imports. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">How?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As an importer, in the past, you were paying </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">₹</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">7</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">2 per U.S dollar of import while now you are paying only </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">₹</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">7</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">0. This means that your cost of operations would also fall.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">However, if you are an exporter, then this would mean that you would earn less from your exports; like earlier you were earning </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">₹</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">7</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">2 for every U.S. dollar of export, it is only </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">₹</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">7</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">0!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">If exports go down and imports go up, the country's trade deficit would rise. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Also, high borrowings now would mean that the country's financial position becomes precarious as it <b>piles higher debt and interest burden on future generations. </b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In short, a high Fiscal Deficit is dangerous in every way possible: for general economic activity, employment generation, exchange rate, and trade balance.</span></div>Bharat C. Jainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10575760947599357075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3445604088553300714.post-32398631218485083432021-02-02T11:22:00.002+05:302021-02-12T11:33:00.693+05:30Eco Basics: Understanding Fiscal Deficit<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>T</b>oday's article focuses on Fiscal Deficit.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">What types of receipts are non-debt creating?</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Revenue Receipts, Recoveries of Loans, and Other Receipts are all non-debt creating. This means that the government does not have to borrow to generate these sources of income.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />Now, look at the accompanying table: Fiscal Deficit is numbered 22, Revenue Receipts is 1, Recoveries of Loans is 5 and Other Receipts is numbered 6.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />Hence,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(22) Fiscal Deficit = (16) Total Expenditure – [(1) Revenue receipts + (5) Recoveries of loans + (6) Other Receipts]</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /><span style="color: #b45f06;">Revenue Receipts</span></b><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span>would include both tax and non-tax revenue of the Government of India (GoI).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">What is tax revenue?</span></b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This refers to revenue that the GoI gets by way of collecting taxes, like Personal Income Tax, Corporate Tax (charged on incomes of companies), Central Sales Tax and Service Tax.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">What is Non-tax revenue? </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This would include Stamp Duty and Dividends earned from Public Sector Units (PSUs). Dividend is the return on capital invested by the government in PSUs.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />Sometimes the Government of India receives money that it would have lent to some country/organization in the past. When such money is received, it is recorded under the ‘Recoveries of Loans’ head.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 21.56px;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana; line-height: 18.4px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-size: large;">When does Fiscal Deficit arise?</span><o:p style="font-size: 12pt;"></o:p></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Fiscal Deficit arises when the government has expenditure higher than the revenue it generates. To bridge this expenditure-revenue deficit, the government resorts to borrowing. This borrowing is called Fiscal Deficit.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>In short, fiscal Deficit is the total borrowing of the Government of India to fund the allocations and expenditures listed in the Union Budget.</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQo2s9Et4ZphiomKJM2976WLIDVoLt-0DzlEIQrfwI9Q6YmyBieVL4G9FpZ0UW99Zg3LTjI2dUDA7nD8Tuc97b_z5wrs-J05GKMSU00jXqQShq16m0G285ab70kGiQrWSsuJNJlbLmMYs/s1280/Slide1.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQo2s9Et4ZphiomKJM2976WLIDVoLt-0DzlEIQrfwI9Q6YmyBieVL4G9FpZ0UW99Zg3LTjI2dUDA7nD8Tuc97b_z5wrs-J05GKMSU00jXqQShq16m0G285ab70kGiQrWSsuJNJlbLmMYs/w480-h640/Slide1.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 15.4px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">In the table above, the Budget Estimate for Fiscal Deficit for 2020-21 (total borrowing) was projected at Rs7,96,337 crore. But the economic ravage brought about by the Covid pandemic destroyed major sources of tax and non-tax revenues. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif"><br /></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">The shortfall in Gross Tax Revenue (includes GST, Income Tax, Corporation Tax and other taxes) was Rs5,22,740 crore. The projected figure for </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Gross Tax Revenue in 2020-21 was Rs24,23,020 crore, but the Central Government could collect only Rs19,00,280 crore. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">So, the Revised Estimates for 2020</span></b></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">–</span></b></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">21 show a Fiscal Deficit of Rs18,48,655 crore</span></b><span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">. </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">In other words, what this figure means is that the Government of India is borrowing this huge amount of money in 2020-21! Yes, you got it right: a total borrowing of mind-numbing Rs18.48 lakh crore in one year!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Fiscal Deficit is usually expressed in terms of percentage of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Now, go to the bottom of the table. It is mentioned that India’s GDP in 2020-21 will be Rs194,81,975 crore (Rs194.8 lakh crore).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Taking India’s GDP to be Rs194,81,975 crore in 2020-21, the Fiscal Deficit of Rs18,48,655 crore works out to 9.5% of GDP.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">So, to say that we are living way beyond our means would be an understatement. However, given the Covid pandemic-induced shutdown there was little elbow room for the Central Government to raise revenue and hence, it had to resort to very heavy borrowings to fund its welfare schemes. like providing free food grains and direct cash transfer to millions of heavily impacted vulnerable sections of the society. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif"><br /></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">In the next post, I will write on how a high Fiscal Deficit could spell doom for the economic growth of the country. </span></span></div></div>Bharat C. Jainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10575760947599357075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3445604088553300714.post-59242114921581879562021-01-31T17:01:00.000+05:302021-01-31T17:01:38.755+05:30Eco Basics: What is the Economic Survey?<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.4px;"><br></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.4px;">I</b><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.4px;">n India, there is hardly any economic event that captures popular imagination as much as the Union Budget. In this Budget series, The Explainer will focus on the complex budget jargon that puts off even 'interested-in-budget' souls.</span></span></p><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><br></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana; line-height: 17.71px;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">What is a Fiscal Year?</span><o:p style="font-size: 15.4px;"></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; line-height: 17.71px;">Any twelve-month period that is used for submission of accounts, taxation purposes and to state financial reporting by private and public sector companies is called a Fiscal Year.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; line-height: 17.71px;"><br></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; line-height: 17.71px;">In India, the Government has laid down the provision that the 12<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">–</span>month starting on April 1 and ending on March 31 of next year will be treated as a Fiscal Year.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; line-height: 17.71px;"><br></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="line-height: 17.71px;">To put it in perspective, this article is being written on 31 January 2021, i.e., in Financial Year 2020<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">–</span>21 </span>(FY21). This is also called Fiscal Year ’21.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; line-height: 17.71px;"><br></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; line-height: 17.71px;">In the same way, the financial year for 2021<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">–</span>22 will start on 1 April 2021 and will end on 31 March 2022. So on 1 April 2021, we will enter Fiscal Year ’22. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><br></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px;"><b><span style="line-height: 17.71px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">What is the Economic Survey?</span><span style="color: #b45f06;"><o:p style="font-size: 15.4px; font-size: 15.4px;"></o:p></span></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;">The Finance Minister's Budget Speech contains two major components: Part A and Part B.<br><br>Part A of the Speech contains the Economic Survey while Part B comprises the Union Budget Speech.<br><br>The <span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>Economic Survey is an assessment of the performance of the Indian economy in the financial year going by</b>. </span>For example, the Economic Survey 2020<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">–2</span>1 presents an assessment of the performance of the Indian economy in that financial year (i.e., 2020<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">–2</span>1). </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><br></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;">The Economic Survey 2020</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14.6667px;">–21 was tabled on 29 January 2020. You can access it <b><a href="https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/economicsurvey/" target="_blank">here</a></b>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><br></span></div><h3 style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.56px; text-align: left;"><b><span style="line-height: 17.71px;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">What is the Budget?</span></span></b></h3><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;">The <span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>Union Budget is a statement of revenues and expenditures for the coming financial year</b>,</span> i.e., the one that starts on April 1 of this year.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><br></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 21.56px;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana; line-height: 17.71px;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">Why is the Union Budget presented in February?</span><o:p style="font-size: 15.4px;"></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">The Finance Minister of India presented the annual Union Budget for 2021</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px;">–22</span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">in the Parliament of India </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">on February 1. It is typically presented in February (and not in March) for the following reasons: </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">(a)</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span></b><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">After its presentation, the Budget is tabled in the Parliament so that MPs can, over the next few days, discuss and debate the various provisions listed in the Budget. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b>(b)</b> After the parliamentary debate, any amendment to the original provision (like increasing or decreasing the allocation for a said ministry/program and rolling back any budget proposal) will have to be tabled, discussed, passed, and brought into law by the Parliament. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b>(c)</b> Also, the administrative system, especially in case of tax administration, would need to be geared up to reflect any change in the financial, taxation or any other system.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-indent: -0.25in;">I hope this is good! Please leave feedback in the comments section.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 21.56px;"><br></div></div>Bharat C. Jainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10575760947599357075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3445604088553300714.post-1243796975034428032021-01-22T16:55:00.005+05:302021-01-22T17:09:22.543+05:30Indian Economy's Vital Stats Infographic<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Here's a snapshot of the Indian Economy's Vital Statistics.</b></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWe03Ejn7ASV-RXyqCI6lwxSACREFsewKnVPooRZEJJccyd8w-5l6ILFVgrLzqTUqoZBIBmehjb9kQ5Rcgnf_80g0_mk9oSE0Pu6_l6IzXYIkaITY6vv-HmmqvwhMK5s2RJLH93WsxnhQ/s1280/Indian+Economy%2527s+Latest+Stats.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWe03Ejn7ASV-RXyqCI6lwxSACREFsewKnVPooRZEJJccyd8w-5l6ILFVgrLzqTUqoZBIBmehjb9kQ5Rcgnf_80g0_mk9oSE0Pu6_l6IzXYIkaITY6vv-HmmqvwhMK5s2RJLH93WsxnhQ/w640-h480/Indian+Economy%2527s+Latest+Stats.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieAuWcd7JDJGnlaQkloe2eJV1tf9pTCcSYXmoOadDsVndgGCDq0eqzegXZGEiKwkXNILsCg-8hZtl8Z280ggMnxT-QrjdVQ3UxYBoCKoBq8uOctfwzSRVUF6PPnzv-FfNWs3gtvkwY3mc/s711/India+EXIM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="711" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieAuWcd7JDJGnlaQkloe2eJV1tf9pTCcSYXmoOadDsVndgGCDq0eqzegXZGEiKwkXNILsCg-8hZtl8Z280ggMnxT-QrjdVQ3UxYBoCKoBq8uOctfwzSRVUF6PPnzv-FfNWs3gtvkwY3mc/s16000/India+EXIM.png" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p>Bharat C. Jainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10575760947599357075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3445604088553300714.post-41513728777455579562021-01-18T09:41:00.002+05:302021-01-18T09:41:54.751+05:30The MbS Phenomenon<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In this Explainer,
I will focus on the ambitious Mohammed Bin Salman, the Crown </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Prince of Saudi
Arabia. MbS, as he is usually referred to, has, in a very short time, come to
dominate the tangled political landscape of West Asia (I prefer this term to the
usual Middle East).</span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">An aside on the name:
In Saudi society (and generally in the Arabian Peninsula), a man’s name
includes the name of his father (pretty much like in large parts of India). Bin
means ‘son of’; so, Mohammed bin Salman means son of Salman. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Also, in this
article you would find ‘Mohammed’ spelt in two different ways; I have taken the
Saudi government accepted spellings of the names of the leaders. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Who is Mohammed bin Salman? </span><br />
</span></b><span style="line-height: 107%;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibSrswOlScoUXejhPxbpuTEgi-MLXVsS9gc2cwAmUWq7KldRpiynWKLiPZwhF1V2o9ZCQbAxFfxohY0SNhdAhsbQskjTBVoeMze3vjOiruwb3JA7i7o1_mC9YOMtwzDjN8aRubw4LWSGA/s1296/MbS+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="920" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibSrswOlScoUXejhPxbpuTEgi-MLXVsS9gc2cwAmUWq7KldRpiynWKLiPZwhF1V2o9ZCQbAxFfxohY0SNhdAhsbQskjTBVoeMze3vjOiruwb3JA7i7o1_mC9YOMtwzDjN8aRubw4LWSGA/w284-h400/MbS+3.jpg" width="284" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mohammed bin Salman is the
Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As the Crown Prince, he is next in
line to succeed his father and King, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. (Understanding
the name of the King: Salman, son of Abdulaziz; Al Saud is the name of the
ruling house/dynasty.)<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Virtually unknown
in the corridors of power before his meteoric rise, MbS was appointed the Crown
Prince in June 2017. Soon after his father became the King, MbS was appointed the
Deputy Crown Prince; his cousin and the son of King Salman’s brother Mohammad
bin Nayef, was forcibly relieved of his office by MbS. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Today he is also
the kingdom’s Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, Chairman of the
Council for Economic and Development Affairs, and Chairman of the Council of
Political and Security Affairs. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">MbS is the most
powerful person in today’s Saudi Arabia. The King, his father, trusts him
blindly and has stood by him even as the calls for the Crown Prince’s removal
for his involvement in the botched Yemen War and the Jamal Khashoggi murder
saga grow louder. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">MbS is seen as an
ardent reformer by his supporters, while his detractors describe him as
megalomaniacal and impetuous. His supporters point to the several reforms he
has ushered in the deeply conservative country: lifting the ban on women
drivers, allowing cinemas and music concerts, and introducing a spate of
economic reforms. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">MbS’ detractors,
and there are many, cite his campaign in Yemen and the ill-planned embargo
against Qatar as examples of his whimsical behaviour. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">They also describe
him as power-hungry who cannot tolerate dissent; the jailing of thousands of
political dissidents, including women activists is a case in point. It is
interesting to know here that the women activists were jailed for demanding
driving rights for women. Ironically, MbS lifted the ban on women drivers and
yet the women activists were jailed for calling for the same reform! Now, you
may find this behaviour difficult to decipher. Well, it is easy if you
understand the purport of MbS’ game plan: you cannot demand rights and get
them; you will get rights ONLY if the King or the Crown Prince decide to give
you rights – in other words, so it is the top-down approach that’s at work
here. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Another example is
his treatment of the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Saad Hariri. When Hariri arrived
in the Kingdom to meet King Salman, he was bundled to an unknown location; there
was a complete blackout of the news concerning Hariri, a leader of a sovereign
nation. One week later, Hariri was forced to tender his resignation from the
prime minister’s post of his country from the soil of a foreign nation. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A Luxury Prison</span><br />
</span></b><span style="line-height: 107%;">The incident that shook the ground
beneath the feet of elite Saudis took place in November 2017. Around 200
prominent Saudis, including the former Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef and Bakr
bin Laden, the head of Saudi Binladin Group (a construction giant), were
rounded up and detained for several months at the Ritz-Carlton Palace Hotel on the orders of MbS. The entire
operation was described as a campaign against corruption and embezzlement; the
detained were accused of enriching themselves at the cost of the Saudi State.
It is believed that a few of those detained were tortured and forced into
giving up their wealth. Bakr bin Laden and his two brothers were forced to
transfer their 36 per cent shareholding in Saudi Binladin Group to a
state-controlled company, overseen by MbS. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Jamal Khashoggi Saga</span><br />
</span></b>Jamal Khashoggi was a
Saudi Arabian journalist and an insider in the Saudi royal court. He fled to
the U.S after running afoul of the current royal administration in Saudi Arabia.
A vociferous critic of the Saudi Arabian royal house, especially the Crown
Prince Mohammad bin Salman, he was a columnist for the Washington Post
newspaper and head of an Arab news channel. MbS had accused Khashoggi of
working with the Kingdom’s rivals like Iran and Qatar.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">On 2 October
2018, he visited the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul to collect documents
pertaining to the dissolution of his marriage to a Saudi Arabian woman; the
documents were necessary for him to get married to his Turkish fiancée. He was
murdered inside the consulate by Saudi Arabian intelligence officials. Till
date, no trace of his body has been found. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The murder of
Jamal Khashoggi has since thrown West Asia into turmoil. The Khashoggi saga has
embroiled Saudi Arabia and Turkey in a war of words, with the U.S. squeezed
between its two important allies. The following are the major players in the
Khashoggi saga: Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United States, Iran, Qatar, and the
Muslim Brotherhood.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Erdogan's Wicked Glee<br /></span></b>Turkey directly
implicated Saudi Arabia of carrying out the murder on its soil, even pointing a
finger at MbS for his involvement. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed
the possession of unimpeachable evidence of the involvement of the Saudi Crown
Prince, suggesting that the order for the murder “came from the highest
authorities in the Saudi administration”. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Why did the Turkish President get so
worked up about the murder of a Saudi dissident?</i> The answer to this seemingly
distasteful question lies in the ‘great power’ ambitions of the two countries. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We know that Saudi
Arabia is the de facto leader of the Muslim World; however, Turkey, under Erdogan,
wants to become the centre of the Muslim World, just like the Ottoman empire
was before its eventual collapse in 1922. Erdogan, an Islamist, has a grand
vision of becoming the voice of the Muslim World, and he has made no effort to
conceal his ambitions. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Erdogan is a
firm supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Egyptian extremist Islamist
organization with a wide support base in the Muslim World. The Muslim
Brotherhood is an anti-monarchy, pro-Sharia group. The Muslim Brotherhood came
to power after its newly floated political party won the Egyptian elections in
2012, a development that rang loud alarm bells in the capitals of the
monarchies in the Muslim World. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The
anti-monarchy, pro-Sharia core ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood raised the
hackles of the Saudi monarchy who felt threatened by the hardcore Islamist who
was now the president of Egypt, a neighbouring country. Alarmed by the spectre
of the spread of the Muslim Brotherhood’s ideology in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi
Arabia royal house instigated the Egyptian army to oust the Muslim Brotherhood
from power and take over the country. Thus, in July 2013, barely a few months after
coming to power, the Islamist President of Egypt was ousted and jailed on
charges of terrorism. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Saudi
Arabian involvement in the ousting of the democratically elected government in
Egypt angered Erdogan, a die-hard supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood. The
murder of Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, came as a blessing
to put the Saudis on the mat. He leaked evidence of the involvement of the Saudi
Crown Prince in the Khashoggi murder case in a calibrated manner; in fact, the
method was so effective that it has been called “death by a thousand leaks”. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Saudi Arabia
botched its response to the Khashoggi murder saga; from firmly denying its
involvement to calling it a rogue intelligence operation without concurrence of
the royal house, the Saudi Arabian government came across as confused and
unprepared for the massive backlash from the international community. <span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To begin
with, the United States called on the Saudi Arabian royal house to come clean
on its role in the Jamal Khashoggi murder. Since then, the U.S. has spoken in
multiple tongues; this is because the Donald Trump White House stood by MbS,
even while the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the U.S. premier external spy
agency, pointed to the direct involvement of the Crown Prince in the murder of
the journalist. It is well known that there is no love lost between Trump and
the country’s numerous spy and security agencies. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So, why did the U.S. stand
by Mohammed bin Salman?</span> </i></b>The
most important reason for this is Washington’s Iran policy. The U.S. policy in
West Asia is centred around Iran; Washington has been categorical in stating
that it will do all to stop Iran’s “wave of regional destruction and global
campaign of terror”. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">An enemy’s
enemy is a friend. This truism defines the relationship between the U.S. and the
Sunni nations in West Asia. The Sunni Muslim nations, like Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates, deeply distrust Shia Iran, accusing it of fomenting
terrorism in their nations. So, to counter Iran, the U.S. needs Saudi Arabia,
the region’s most powerful nation and the fulcrum of the Sunni Muslim World. Saudi
Arabia, under MbS, is at the forefront of the anti-Iran brigade; the Saudis see
Iran as an existential threat. In fact, Saudi Arabia even backs Israel (Saudi
Arabia and Israel do not have diplomatic relations, owing to the Palestinian
issue) in the latter’s covert and overt operations against Iran, spread across
the region, especially in Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What about the U.S.’ professed love
for the protection of rights of freedom of expression, right to dissent, and
religious freedom?</i> Well,
in international politics, respect for democracy, human rights, morality, ideology
are matters of convenience; they can be expended at the altar of national
interest. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>Bharat C. Jainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10575760947599357075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3445604088553300714.post-43118443848769892022021-01-17T17:33:00.004+05:302021-01-17T17:41:57.565+05:30GK Topics for Interviews at B-Schools, Banks, & Civil Services<p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><b>T</b>his is my first post in almost a year. From today I will make it a norm to blog. </span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">This post is for those who are preparing for Interviews at India's leading b-schools. An interview is, usually, a free-ranging conversation. I am sharing my list of important GK areas to have a better crack at b-school interviews. </span></h2><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><br /></span><b style="text-indent: 21.3pt;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-large;">International Issues – Politics, Economics, & Social</span></b></h2><div><ul><li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><b>U.S.: </b>American elections, politics and policies of Donald Trump, violence at U.S. Capitol, names of members of Joe Biden administration. </span></li></ul><ul><li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><b>China: </b>Belt & Road Initiative (BRI), militarization of South China Sea, political & military muscle-flexing, economic problems in China, aging, repression at home (like crushing of dissent - Jack Ma), Coronavirus related issues. <br /></span></span></li><li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><b>West Asia:</b> Recognition of Israel by leading Arab powers; nuclear ambitions of Iran; normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Qatar; Yemen conflict.</span></span></li></ul><ul><li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><b>Korean Peninsula: </b>Political contrasts between North </span>Korea and South Korea; North Korean nuclear & missile games; South Korea K-Pop culture.</span></li></ul><ul><li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><b>Assorted Issues: </b>Brexit and its impact on the UK, elections in Uganda, Swedish strategy in handling COVID, and Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.<br /><br /></span></li></ul><h2><b style="text-indent: 21.3pt;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-large;">National Issues – Politics, Economics, & Social</span></b></h2><div style="text-indent: -24px;"><ul style="text-indent: 0px;"><li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><b>Indian Economy: </b>GDP growth pangs, problems facing the Indian economy, important facts and figures.</span></li></ul><ul style="text-indent: 0px;"><li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><b>Farm bills: </b>Highlights and controversial issues.</span></li></ul><ul style="text-indent: 0px;"><li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><b>Stimulus packages: </b>Highlights and various measures, especially concerning MSMEs.</span></li></ul><ul style="text-indent: 0px;"><li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><b>COVID: </b>Spread and impact on people, healthcare, governance, and economy (with focus on Mumbai and Kerala models)</span></li></ul><ul style="text-indent: 0px;"><li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><b>Assorted Issues: </b>West Bengal politics, environmental issues, and infrastructure problems.</span></li></ul><div style="text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><br />This is not an exhaustive list, but I am sure this will provide you with basic preparation issues for interviews at b-schools. </span></div></div></div>Bharat C. Jainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10575760947599357075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3445604088553300714.post-78672075336764108322020-01-21T16:34:00.001+05:302020-01-21T16:37:15.145+05:30A Basic Understanding of NRC and the Assam Accord<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><b>A</b> month back I wrote an <b><a href="http://www.bjnocabbages.com/2019/12/the-caa-demographics-identity.html" target="_blank">article on the Citizenship Amendment Act</a></b>. Today's article is on the NRC and the Assam Accord<br /><br /><b>What is the National Register of Citizens (NRC)</b><br />
</span><span style="line-height: 107%;"><b>T</b>he
National Register of Citizens (NRC) has become another political football. The
BJP’s decades-old stand on the NRC has remained the same. From the party’s
manifesto in the 1996 general election to the 2019 general election, the BJP
has remained firm on completing an NRC to curb illegal migration into India,
especially in the north-eastern states from Bangladesh. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">In the 1996 manifesto, the party articulated <b>three
Ds: detection, deletion, and deportation</b> – detection of illegal immigrants,
deletion of their names from the electoral rolls, and deportation to the
country of their origin. <br />
<br />
In the 2019 manifesto, the party declared that: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“There has been a huge change in the cultural and linguistic identity
of some areas due to illegal immigration, resulting in an adverse impact on
local people’s livelihood and employment. We will complete the National
Register of Citizens process in these areas on priority. In future we will
implement the NRC in a phased manner in other parts of the country. We will
continue to undertake effective steps to prevent illegal immigration in the
north-eastern states. For this we will further strengthen our border security.”<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--></i></span><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: black;">What is the Assam Accord?</span></b><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>T</b>he reader must note that the NRC idea is not the
BJP’s baby. The NRC idea, first proposed in 1951, took root in the 1970s when
the All Assam Students Union (AASU) launched a mass movement after its scrutiny
of the local electoral rolls revealed names of a large number of illegal
Bangladeshis. The AASU protested vehemently with its ‘Ds’ demand: detection,
deletion, and deportation – detection of illegal immigrants, deletion of their
names from the electoral rolls, and deportation to Bangladesh. The protest
gained popular traction as it touched a raw nerve of the locals: they had been impacted
adversely, especially demographically and economically, by the presence of illegal
Bangladeshis. <br />
<br />
However, it was only in August 1985 when the Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress
Government and the AASU signed the Assam Accord. The central feature of the
Assam Accord were the 3 Ds: detection, deletion, and deportation – detection of
illegal immigrants, deletion of their names from the electoral rolls, and
deportation to Bangladesh.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Under the Assam Accord, the Citizenship Act was
amended to include clause 6A that provided for the classification of immigrants
in Assam: </span></span></div>
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</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">those who came before 1966 (including Hindu refugees who fled East
Pakistan during the 1965 war); </span></span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">those who came between 1966 and 24 March 1971 (when war with Pakistan
officially commenced); and </span></span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">those who came after 25 March 1971 (war refugees and later illegal
immigrants). </span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />Citizenship was to be given to all those who migrated before 1966 from
east Bengal and east Pakistan. Those who came between 1966 and 1971 were to be
disenfranchised and granted citizenship after due process. Those who came after
24 March 1971 were to be detected and deported.</span><br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Subsequent governments at both the Centre and in
Assam failed to complete the NRC. Fed up with the indifferent attitude of the
state government, the AASU knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court, which ruled
that the NRC, promised under the Assam Accord, must be completed under its
supervision. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><br />
</span><span style="line-height: 107%;">Now, it is clear that the NRC in Assam was (i) a
provision of the Assam Accord, to which the Congress was a party; (ii) held in
the state after the Supreme Court of India called for its implementation and
(iii) the central </span><span style="line-height: 107%;">government has had no role in its completion.
<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The draft NRC in Assam registered 2,89,83,677 out of the
state’s 3.3 crore population (census-based). The rest were left out; in other
words, they could be classified as ‘illegal immigrants’. It is here that the
Bangladesh Government comes in; in case, Bangladesh refuses to acknowledge these
four million as its own citizens, they run the risk of being labelled ‘stateless’.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">For now, t<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>he BJP’s flip-flop has
only muddled the NRC debate. Things get murky when the ruling party does not lend
clarity on its current stance, especially considering the several misgivings
about documentation and proof of citizenship. <br />
<br />
</span><b><span style="line-height: 107%;">Identifying illegal foreigners – whose job is it? <br />
</span></b><span style="line-height: 107%;"><b>T</b>he
Central Government is vested with powers to deport a foreign national under
section 3(2)(c) of the Foreigners Act, 1946. These powers to identify and
deport illegally staying foreign nationals have also been
delegated to the State Governments/ Union Territory Administrations and the
Bureau of Immigration under the Foreigners Act, 1946. Detection and
deportation of such illegal immigrants is a continuous process. Statistical data of cases regarding illegal immigrants is not centrally
maintained.<br /><br />I think the BJP should run a better PR machine with focus on three central aspects of the CAA: </span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(a) that the CAA is an amendment to the existing Citizenship Act, 1955,
(b) that it only speeds up the process of granting citizenship to members of
certain communities, and (c) that it does not relate to the citizens of India.</span></span><br />
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<br /></div>
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Bharat C. Jainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10575760947599357075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3445604088553300714.post-32405123188362978312020-01-04T15:13:00.001+05:302020-01-04T15:13:28.678+05:30Can Iran risk a war against the U.S.?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In this short note, I will focus on two important questions
on the fluid situation in West Asia following the killing of Qosem Soleimani, arguably
the second most powerful person in Iran and the head of its Quds Force, a
special branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The global media is screaming from the roof-top about an
impending World War III. Well, I have a contrarian viewpoint. Here it is. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Can Iran risk a full-fledged war?</b></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No. <br />
<br />
Iran cannot risk a full-scale war against the United States. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />Its economy is tottering, especially in light of the economic sanctions imposed by the U.S.; here's a short note.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(a) Iran's GDP is likely to
contract by 9.5 per cent, i.e., produce a tenth less than the previous year. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(b) Sanctions,
imposed by the U.S. for Iran’s pursuit of nuke weapons, have <br />dragged the
budget revenue down, which has squeezed the money available for welfare schemes;
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />(c) oil production has fallen by nearly 90 per cent; <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(d) exchange value of the currency (Rial) has dropped
significantly (one American dollar gets you 1,40,000 rials at the current exchange
value); and<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />(d) the country is rationing petrol at 60 litres per person at
15,000 rials per litre (anything above is sold at 30,000 rials).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />It is true that Iran has developed a large arsenal of
missiles and other weapons despite being under the burden of debilitating
sanctions. Its missiles can reach Israel, an arch-foe. However, Iran may not
enjoy a first-strike capability as Israel has the highly effective Iron Dome anti-missile
interceptor. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />Even if Iran does strike Israel with a missile first, it
would have to bear the brunt of a sustained barrage of missile strikes from
Israel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />Iran knows that it does not have the military capability to
engage in direct confrontation with the U.S.; its conventional decades-old military
machine is no match for the world’s most advanced weapons system of the U.S.. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />Also, almost all of the oil and gas plants of Iran are on
its coast in the Gulf. In the event of a full-scale war, it is likely that the
U.S. will seek to destroy these strategic assets, which are at the heart of the
Iranian economy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />Once destroyed, there is precious little the Iranians can do
fuel their war effort; no money will flow from the destroyed energy assets.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>What is the most likely way for Iran to respond?</b></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As Iran cannot risk a full-scale direct military confrontation against
the U.S. and Israel, it will most likely resort to ‘asymmetric warfare’, an
idea pioneered and built by Qosem Soleimani. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />In the last two decades or so, Soleimani raised, nurtured,
armed, funded and guided several Shia militia groups across Iraq, Syria, and
Lebanon. The most popular of these militias is the Lebanon-based Hezbollah. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />It is most likely that Iran will attack the U.S. and Israel using
these militias as proxies to advance its interests. Considering that most of
the militias are disparate groups, it may become greatly difficult for the
Americans and the Israelis to defeat them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />In the fast-developing scenario enveloping West Asia, Iran might
scream itself hoarse, but it knows that its best bet to hurt its biggest enemies
is by using asymmetric warfare through its proxies.</span></div>
</div>
Bharat C. Jainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10575760947599357075noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3445604088553300714.post-88789932350320047892019-12-22T11:18:00.001+05:302019-12-26T19:10:31.129+05:30The CAA, Demographics, & Identity<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Note: Dear Reader, please ignore the alignment and other issues related to this post; with great difficulty I could publish this post.<br><br><br>T</b>he Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 has become a new rallying point for the detractors – both in the political and non-political fields. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br>The liberal cabal, also called the ‘secular brigade’, were<span> </span><b>stunned</b><span> </span>with the abrogation of Article 370 and the Supreme Court’s judgment on the Ram Mandir issue. The BJP-led NDA has been accused of anti-Muslim bias. Now they are frothing at the mouth, again.</span></div>
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<br></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><h2 class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 13.7pt; margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 5pt; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
Highlights of the CAA<b><br></b></h2>
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The below listed important provisions are excerpted from the ‘The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, which is an act further to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955. <o:p></o:p></div>
</span><ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Persons belonging to the faiths of Hinduism (Hindus), Jainism (Jains), Sikhism (Sikhs), Buddhism (Buddhists), Zoroastrianism (Parsis), and Christianity (Christian) who entered India on or before 31 December 2014 will not be treated as illegal migrant.<br><br><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Such person shall be deemed to be a citizen of India from the date of their entry into India.<br> <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Under the Citizenship Act, 1955, the most important requirement for citizenship by naturalization is that the applicant must have resided in India during the last 12 months, and for 11 years of the previous 14 years. The CAA relaxes this 11-year requirement to six years for persons belonging to the above-mentioned religions and three countries.<br><br><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nothing in this section shall apply to tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram or Tripura as included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution and the area covered under 'The Inner Line' notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873.<br><br><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Inner Line Permit allows an Indian citizen to visit or stay in a state that is protected under the ILP system. The system is in force today in the north-eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya (notification issues recently), Nagaland and Mizoram; no Indian citizen can visit any of these states without an ILP unless he or she belongs to that state, nor can he or she (over)stay beyond the period specified in the ILP.<br></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br>As you see, there is nothing anti-Muslim here. Also, it has <u>nothing to do with Indian citizens</u>.<br><br>A Muslim from any country, including from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, <i>can </i>apply for Indian citizenship. However, she will have to come through the normal process, and not through the expedited process that will be available to non-Muslims from these countries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br>The three countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan have been explicitly mentioned because they are avowedly Muslim, with Islam as a state religion. It is an open secret that religious minorities of Hindus, Christians, Jains, Buddhists, and Parsis are greatly discriminated against, persecuted in every way possible, and denied basic freedoms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br>Forced conversions to Islam are an ugly fact of life while blasphemy laws are routinely used to harass and intimidate religious minorities in these countries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><h2 class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 13.7pt; margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 5pt; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
Tamil Hindus of Sri Lanka<b><br></b></h2>
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<b>A</b> moot question that many people have raised relates to the Hindu Tamils of Sri Lanka. Why haven’t they been included in the CAA?<o:p></o:p></div>
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br>It is true that the Tamil speaking Hindus in Sri Lanka were, for decades, severely discriminated against, on the basis of their ethnicity, by the majority community of Sinhala-speaking Buddhists. In fact, such discrimination was the fundamental reason behind the rise of Tamil separatism, spearheaded by the dreaded Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br>However, ever since the end of the war that effectively smashed the LTTE out of existence, the Sri Lankan government has ended decades-old discriminatory practices against the Tamil Hindus. Today, Hindus are not discriminated against in Sri Lanka like they were in the past.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
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NE India: Identity Crisis & Changing Demographics<b><br></b></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b>A </b>social group may fear that its identity and culture would be swamped, whether within a state or in the country at large. Smaller groups within a state or province may have legitimate fears of being overridden by larger or more powerful groups.<br></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br>T</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">he idea of difference, or strangeness, dominates the human psyche. As a species, we believe that we are ‘different’ from animals (though science would classify us as mammals, and therefore an animal species). Even as individuals, we believe that we are different from ‘the others’. This belief, the outcome of social, cultural, and religious moorings, shapes our identity. It also develops our perspective, shapes our attitude, and defines our understanding of the world around us.<br><br></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">I</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">n a multi-cultural and multi-religious country like India, the interests of various groups tend to diverge, which, unfortunately, has engendered a divisive nature in us. Concerns, arising from threats to one’s distinct identity, often precipitate the process of transformation of a religious or ethnic or linguistic or cultural identity into a political movement designed to ‘protect’ the so-called distinct identity.<br><br></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">India’s NE states are characterized by great religious, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversity. Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland are Christian majority states; Sikkim has a Buddhist majority; Tripura has a Hindu majority; Arunachal Pradesh has a Buddhist and Christian majority, while Manipur has a Christian and Hindu majority (in equal measure).</span></div>
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The 'Outsiders' in NE<b><br></b></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>T</b>he native people of Assam have, for long, resented the presence of outsiders amidst them. By ‘outsiders’, we mean the illegal migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh who have poured into Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya, and Tripura.<br></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Assamese accuse the Bangla-speaking illegal Muslim migrants of grabbing the local economic resources, grabbing land, and imposing their way of life on the hapless natives. In some parts of Assam, illegal Bangladeshi migrants constitute nearly 40 per cent of the population.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br>In her incisive monograph titled, <i>‘Illegal Migration from Bangladesh’</i>, for the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, Pushpita Das, writes that:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The unrelenting migration from East Bengal/East Pakistan (later Bangladesh) into Assam, Tripura and West Bengal was clearly brought out in the census data on population growth of these bordering states. For example, in the first three decades after independence, Assam registered an overall population growth of around 35–36 per cent, way ahead of the national average of around 21–25 per cent, indicating a rise of population through migration.<br></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">The Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 triggered yet another massive inflow of refugees into India. It was estimated that close to 10 million people from East Pakistan had entered India.<br></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">To make matters worse, most of the migrants who were deported from Assam in the 1960s re-entered the country. The steady rise of Muslim population in the state from 24.68 per cent in 1951 to 28.43 per cent in 1991 to 34.2 per cent in 2011 is also taken as an indication of large-scale migration from Bangladesh, an assertion further reinforced by the increase of Muslim population in the bordering districts of Goalpara, Nowgong and Cachar, from 42.94 per cent, 34.18 per cent and 38.49 per cent in 1951 to 51.31 per cent, 38.42 per cent and 45.47 per cent respectively in 2001.<br></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Post-independence, Tripura also witnessed massive inflow of people from East Pakistan, a majority of whom were Hindus. As a result, in the first decade after independence, the state’s population increased by 78.71 per cent, which was highest in the country. In the subsequent three decades, the population growth rate continued to hover around 30–35 per cent. The share of tribal population in the state, on the other hand, decreased from 53.16 per cent in 1941 to 31.50 per cent in 1961, which further decreased to 28 per cent in 1981. (end of excerpt)<br></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br>In this context it is pertinent to know that perhaps the bloodiest fight over resources between the natives and the illegal migrants took place in Nellie in Assam’s Nagaon district in 1983, when over 2,000 migrant Muslims, including women and children, were killed in attacks by local tribals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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An Aside on Demographics of Bengali Speakers in NE India</h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>T</b>he total number of Bengali speakers in India, as per Census 2011, is 9,72,37,669 (9.72 crore approx.). Of these 7,86,98,852 (7.86 crore approx.) reside in West Bengal. A total of 1,85,38,817 (1.85 crore approx.) Bengali speakers reside outside WB.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br>Where does most of the 1.85 crore Bengali speakers reside? The table below lists the absolute number of Bengali speakers in NE states, most of which are predominantly tribal. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="about:invalid#zClosurez"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration-line: none;"></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 6px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2MA8pILq0pRrUYhgYW5TZOHvr2oG0uaRbZkW4zm8fchIKJrhbtRSFZJWug_iP9WBYPcZXU3N3_40tCCmKg6qNSiiT62dyvCrXGHAckpLOUha5iUyaDjOIdMMopXSo_n7-JYK-Mql6ypg/s1600/Bengali+speakers+in+NE+India+-+newest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="960" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2MA8pILq0pRrUYhgYW5TZOHvr2oG0uaRbZkW4zm8fchIKJrhbtRSFZJWug_iP9WBYPcZXU3N3_40tCCmKg6qNSiiT62dyvCrXGHAckpLOUha5iUyaDjOIdMMopXSo_n7-JYK-Mql6ypg/s640/Bengali+speakers+in+NE+India+-+newest.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: right;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Source: Census 2011</span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Most importantly, large-scale illegal migration into West Bengal and NE states has led to a sharp fall in the availability of land for cultivation and great scrambling for mostly unskilled jobs. The native folks residing in various NE states deeply resented (and continue to resent) the presence of illegal migrants who were not taking away their sources of livelihood but were also, in some places, imposing their way of life on the natives.<br></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br>As you can see, the people of Assam and NE states are protesting not just against people of a particular religion, but against all ‘outsiders’ who they accuse of nibbling away at economic opportunities and swamping their way of life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As for the CAA in general, all it has done is to reduce the window of waiting period for the persecuted minorities in three countries to get Indian citizenship from 11 years to five years.</span></div>
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Last Word<span><b><br></b></span></h2>
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<b>A</b><span>s you must have observed, most of the ‘violent’ anti-CAA protests are taking place in BJP-ruled states. In states ruled by the Congress or where the Congress is in power via coalition, no violent protests have taken place. Even in Hyderabad’s Old City area, a stronghold of the AIMIM, a staunch Muslim party, there have been no violent protests.<span> </span><br></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.12px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What this tells us is that the protests by the Muslim community in BJP-ruled states are politically sponsored by anti-BJP forces.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.12px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br>I think a great failing of the BJP has been ‘communication’. The party has several effective public speakers, yet they have failed miserably in communicating to the public, especially Muslims, that the CAA has nothing to do with Indian citizens.<br><br><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.12px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is pertinent that the Central Government carefully manages the aspirations of distinct groups, as this is critical to ensuring social stability and maintenance of peace and order. Also, it would be great if the BJP runs an effective information campaign about the CAA to counter the misinformation and malacious propaganda about the CAA.</span></span></div>
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Bharat C. Jainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10575760947599357075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3445604088553300714.post-67352163691730216882019-11-28T19:20:00.002+05:302019-11-28T19:20:49.211+05:30$543 Billion!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>A</b>ccording to India’s
Ministry of Finance’s report on external debt, India's external debt was at
around $543 billion as at end-March 2019. In terms of external debt ranking,
India ranks 24th in the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">External debt of
India is the money owed by India to foreign creditors. In simple words, it is
the money we have borrowed which we have to pay back (along with the interest
on it).<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">World’s Most Indebted
Nations<br />
</span></b><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">With a debt of $20,263
billion, the United States is the world’s most indebted country, i.e., it has
the highest external debt. In fact, the U.S.’ external debt is a tad lower than
the combined external debt of the three next ranked countries: the United
Kingdom (second rank at $8,491 billion), France ($6,470 billion), and Germany
($5,800 billion).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6prA3x-4LeZP-owvWXjTnda-UCpQiTjwX6WpM2i6wP6FAJZWY4Ii4ektxnoXSe-WNAkbl1BNADdOh2wfn7ud9RZ5IUpfJaR67EeGJvwyER3HqZ56DYEcmEJPAsa_vwP_iCawNhkcE37I/s1600/Slide1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6prA3x-4LeZP-owvWXjTnda-UCpQiTjwX6WpM2i6wP6FAJZWY4Ii4ektxnoXSe-WNAkbl1BNADdOh2wfn7ud9RZ5IUpfJaR67EeGJvwyER3HqZ56DYEcmEJPAsa_vwP_iCawNhkcE37I/s640/Slide1.JPG" width="480" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Types of Debts<br />
</span></b><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">As you know,
based on maturity (when it becomes due for payment), there are two kinds of
debts: long-term and short-term. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A loan with a
maturity period of more than one year is termed <b>long-term debt</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A loan with a
maturity period of less than one year, i.e., this debt would become due for
repayment in the next twelve months, is called <b>short-term debt</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Short-term debt
includes both the principal and the interest on such loans. In other words,
short term external debt includes short term debt by original maturity as well
as long term debt (that has become due for maturity).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A government
(just about any authority) prefers long-term debt for a fundamental reason: the
longer the maturity period of the debt the lower the pressure on repayment. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In this context, it
is pertinent to cite the breakdown of India’s external debt by maturity: about 80
per cent of the total external debt is long-term (i.e., about $434 bn of $543
bn). It is a no-brainer to say that the lower short-term debt works in the
country’s favour. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Components of
External Debt<br />
</span></b><span style="color: black; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">There
are several components of India’s external debt. However, for the common person
to understand something as complex as external debt, the following are the main
components of India’s external debt:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">•
</span><b><span style="color: #b45f06; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Multilateral credit</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> – borrowed by the Government of India from
institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">•
</span><b><span style="color: #b45f06; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Bilateral credit</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> – borrowed by the Government of India from
other countries (like Japan);<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">•
</span><b><span style="color: #b45f06; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">External commercial borrowings (ECBs)</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> – these are the
borrowings of companies like Bharti Airtel from abroad;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">•
</span><b><span style="color: #b45f06; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Deposits of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs)</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. NRI
deposits are treated as liabilities as they have to be repaid to the
depositors, and<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">•
</span><b><span style="color: #b45f06; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Foreign Institutional Investment (FII)</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> – investment by
foreign fund houses (like mutual funds) in India’s stock markets and government
securities.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
Sources of the external debt of $543 bn <br />
</span></b><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Reserve Bank
of India has a lowdown on the debt mix of the Government of India. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVKsufz7zmafqwXxA9KGptvaH6nAGhyuJaFrYOPJSQYkDf9Z2LJ3QCgxHEcfyNApsGBNOB2ZM16atdZ0OkV-R2u-I8zyvpMMGKBNT9G9jR6XNy8EtPvfaTRuNUy5tF7y7O0OkFZHPGSBc/s1600/Slide1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVKsufz7zmafqwXxA9KGptvaH6nAGhyuJaFrYOPJSQYkDf9Z2LJ3QCgxHEcfyNApsGBNOB2ZM16atdZ0OkV-R2u-I8zyvpMMGKBNT9G9jR6XNy8EtPvfaTRuNUy5tF7y7O0OkFZHPGSBc/s640/Slide1.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As you deduce
from the source mix, just about 19 per cent of the total external debt is owed
by the Government of India. This government debt is also called ‘Sovereign’
debt. The remaining part of the external debt is non-government debt. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Vulnerability of
the Indian economy<br />
</span></b><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">India is not
vulnerable to any major or minor problem arising on the external debt front.
The World Bank’s SDDS says that there is no vulnerability of the Indian economy
to external shocks on the debt front. India’s foreign exchange reserves (of around
$447 billion in November 2019) to external debt is around 82 per cent is within
manageable limits. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">That's all folks!</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
Bharat C. Jainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10575760947599357075noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3445604088553300714.post-40843330663676025302019-11-25T19:47:00.000+05:302019-11-25T19:49:15.654+05:30Rising Unemployment in India<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>T</b>he latest data on unemployment in India points to a significant surge. In fact, at 7.5%, the latest unemployment rate is the highest in 38 months, <a href="https://www.cmie.com/" target="_blank">reveals</a> the CMIE data. For calculation of this rate, the base is October–December 2015.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>So, what is unemployment rate? </b></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Unemployment rate is the ratio of the unemployed to the working age population that is willing to work. If therefore considers only a part of the working age population – the part that is willing to work. </span></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In other words, the ratio of the employed to the working age population is called the employment rate.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">India has a total labour force of about 52 crore. A low labour participation rate means fewer people are willing to work. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In January 2016, the labour participation rate was 47%; it is down to 43% in October 2019, which effectively means that fewer people in the labour force are looking for and participating in work. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There is a problem here: even though the labour participation rate is down to 43% (i.e., fewer people are participating in work),</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> even these fewer people are not finding jobs (unlike in 2016). </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">To put in perspective, of the 43% of the working age population willing to work, 7.5% are unable to find any work.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In light of the global slowdown and the deceleration in the Indian economy, the employment situation is unlikely to improve in the near future. </span></div>
</div>
Bharat C. Jainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10575760947599357075noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3445604088553300714.post-13054825333745710982019-03-06T19:44:00.000+05:302019-03-06T19:44:02.337+05:30U.S.-China Trade War: A Lowdown<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>A </b>short explainer on the trade war between the U.S. and China. </span></o:p></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">U.S. trade in goods with China </b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(latest
info, as of November 2018, sourced from </span><a href="http://www.census.gov/" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">www.census.gov</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">,
a U.S. government website)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Imports
from China</i>: U.S.$493.49 billion </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Exports
to China</i>: U.S.$111.16 billion</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Trade
Balance</i>: minus (–)U.S.$382 billion</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #404040;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The U.S. accuses China of high tariffs (taxes) on
American products, which make them expensive for the Chinese to buy. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #404040;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Also, Washington has accused Beijing of doing
nothing to prevent theft of intellectual property rights (like counterfeit
goods and pirated software) and stealing of trade secrets (including through corporate
espionage or by breaking into computer systems of American companies to gain
access to cutting-edge technologies). The U.S. estimates the damages from China’s
bad behaviour at around $600 billion.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tariffs & Impact</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To
punish China for its bad behaviour and inaction, the U.S. imposed high tariffs
on around Chinese goods (like handbags and heavy machinery) with $250 billion.
Tariff increases ranged between 10% and 25%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">China
hit back with $110 billion in tariffs on American goods. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The
U.S. has postponed imposing another of tariffs on Chinese goods (worth $200
billion) as negotiations are underway to broker a better trade deal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As
of today, the Chinese have agreed to buy more American goods, especially agricultural
products (like soybean). Farmers are among the major vote banks of Donald
Trump. However, to push Trump to buckle down, China has imposed higher tariffs
on goods (like coal and chemicals) made in Republican strongholds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Beijing
has also agreed to reduce tariffs on some American products to help those products
gain wider market access. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tariffs
(taxes) on Chinese goods would make American products cheaper (comparatively)
in the home market. This would induce Americans to buy more American goods (and
not expensive Chinese goods). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">China’s
exports to the U.S. make for nearly 25% of its total exports. A drop in its exports
to the U.S. could harm Beijing a lot more than it is willing to admit; of
course, bragging aside, Beijing knows that a drop in exports to the U.S., especially
amid a slowdown in its economic growth, could lead to industrial contraction, higher
unemployment, and social unrest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Status today</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Both
the U.S. and China have dug in their heels, though both countries cannot afford
to do that for a long haul. Washington and Beijing are waiting for the other to
blink, though both parties are staring at each other. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
Bharat C. Jainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10575760947599357075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3445604088553300714.post-88470956863340674762019-03-04T21:18:00.000+05:302019-03-04T21:18:04.304+05:30Venezuela Crisis in a Nutshell<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In this short explainer on the crisis enveloping Venezuela, I have tried to be brief and to the point.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6JIlE1OtT5UCg7CIIUAQuQ2LKOzpl3qnxuf9O5827dVZwxX2ZGQjviqSjwPO13e-90XugOJ8XeDddWiTR7cCZ3Yv5aPQHlBTjZyuBn3F3pBnyP-aJ-GiMiVzlVii1u8j3yAvta7ffGmI/s1600/V+final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="775" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6JIlE1OtT5UCg7CIIUAQuQ2LKOzpl3qnxuf9O5827dVZwxX2ZGQjviqSjwPO13e-90XugOJ8XeDddWiTR7cCZ3Yv5aPQHlBTjZyuBn3F3pBnyP-aJ-GiMiVzlVii1u8j3yAvta7ffGmI/s640/V+final.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl43phwX9gBPAKF-YnsFp5PbGBoFGA6fj_yIuHm7ArCvEdVdNYISjl8RV5Cpb2kfdoigneau1GfMOFEpVEhPN28LAh3pas6edFFn_Ux_h6uMyaxj9gptHLZgEnu0OzTtZtdnX8AGH2Cxo/s1600/Juan+Guaido+and+Nicolas+Maduro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="590" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl43phwX9gBPAKF-YnsFp5PbGBoFGA6fj_yIuHm7ArCvEdVdNYISjl8RV5Cpb2kfdoigneau1GfMOFEpVEhPN28LAh3pas6edFFn_Ux_h6uMyaxj9gptHLZgEnu0OzTtZtdnX8AGH2Cxo/s640/Juan+Guaido+and+Nicolas+Maduro.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Nicolas Maduro Juan Guaido</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Gabriola; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br />Who’s Who in Venezuela</span></span></b></h3>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">
<br />
</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">President</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">:</span></b><span style="line-height: 107%;"> Nicolas Maduro, a hardcore
socialist, anti-U.S., leader of United Socialist Party of Venezuela.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><b><i><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><b><i><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Who
supports Nicolas Maduro:<br /></span></span></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"> (a) </span><span style="line-height: 107%;"><i>Within
Venezuela</i>:<i> </i>Supreme Court of Venezuela, Defence Forces of Venezuela, PDVSA
(state-owned oil company); <i><br /></i></span><span style="line-height: 107%; text-indent: -18pt;"><br />(b)<i> </i></span><span style="line-height: 107%; text-indent: -18pt;"><i>Outside
Venezuela</i>: China, Russia, Turkey, Iran, Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua (last three
are in the Americas).</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><br />Who
does Maduro blame for the current crisis</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">:</span></b><span style="line-height: 107%;">
United States of America.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Challenger</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">:</span></b><span style="line-height: 107%;"> Juan Guaido, self-declared
Interim President since January 2019 and leader of Popular Will, a centrist
party.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><br />Who
supports Juan Guaido</span></i></b><span style="line-height: 107%;"><b>:<br /><i><br /></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN4259zI0d9g8BWDXgsKLf9I-Th1CFvv_e7IKirZCKled15wlwHwk4FfgGJNYR26MuzQ_UbaRBGNItvVkSi8shZkQpFqdlloVfctmZfTwgFYLeu-IEACdtY3PcQBCyJ8dUBumU8hUraoo/s1600/Americas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="837" data-original-width="673" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN4259zI0d9g8BWDXgsKLf9I-Th1CFvv_e7IKirZCKled15wlwHwk4FfgGJNYR26MuzQ_UbaRBGNItvVkSi8shZkQpFqdlloVfctmZfTwgFYLeu-IEACdtY3PcQBCyJ8dUBumU8hUraoo/s320/Americas.jpg" width="257" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 107%; text-indent: -18pt;">(a) </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><i>Within Venezuela</i>:</span></span><span style="line-height: 107%; text-indent: -18pt;"> Low-ranking
military officials and huge popular support.<br /></span><span style="line-height: 107%; text-indent: -18pt;">(b)<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><i>Outside Venezuela</i>:</span></span><span style="line-height: 107%; text-indent: -18pt;"> U.S.,
UK, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, Costa Rica,
Guatemala, and Honduras.<br /><b><i><span style="color: #0070c0; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></i></b></span></span><h4 style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Gabriola; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Role of Oil in Venezuelan
Economy</span></span></b></h4>
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oil reserves in Venezuela are said to be among the top 3 in the world.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oil
accounts for 98% of export earnings. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oil
accounts for 50% of GDP</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">High
global oil supply, falling crude prices, and poor extraction technology have
led to a big decline in oil production – all of which have drastically reduced the
government’s export earnings, thereby widening revenue deficit. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 107%; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 107%; text-indent: -18pt;">In
2018, GDP shrunk by double digits for the third consecutive year. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Government
does not have foreign exchange reserves to pay for imports and loans. <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Venezuela
has been in default since 2017 – meaning, it has not paid back foreign loans
and not paid for imports. <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">U.S.
and other countries have a long-running embargo against Venezuela; this has
shrunk market for Venezuelan products and reduced avenues for borrowings.<br /></span></span></li>
</ul>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<b style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Gabriola;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Major Problems</span></b></h4>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Great political and economic instability </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mostly,
a result of catastrophic humanitarian emergency. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">S<span style="line-height: 107%; text-indent: -18pt;">evere
shortage of food, medicine, & other essentials – mostly because of
hoarding, embargo, and hyperinflation. </span></span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 107%; text-indent: -108pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hyperinflation, meaning very, very high rate
of inflation, is leading to doubling of prices of essential goods every 19 days
on average. Current inflation is around 85,000%. Thousands of health
professionals have left the country, leading to medical emergency. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 107%; text-indent: -108pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lack of access to food and healthcare have pushed
90% of people below the poverty line. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 107%; text-indent: -108pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On average, a Venezuelan has lost around 12
kg of body weight since 2017. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 107%; text-indent: -108pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is believed that some 3 million have
already fled Venezuela; the number is likely to rise to 5 million by the end of
2019.<br /></span></span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />In a nutshell, years of economic mismanagement, misdirected welfare policies (subsidizing
almost everything through high revenue earned by oil exports), huge debt,
massive shortage of essential stuff, hyperinflation, political instability –
have all led to the current catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Venezuela.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<br /></div>
Bharat C. Jainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10575760947599357075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3445604088553300714.post-89280691919531374042019-02-01T16:54:00.001+05:302019-02-01T21:05:24.948+05:30The Explainer: Budget at a Glance<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><b>I</b>n India, there is hardly any economic
event that captures popular imagination as much as the Union Budget. This
Explainer will focus on the complex budget jargon that puts off even 'interested–in–budget'
souls.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">What
is a Vote on Account? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The
Central Government must seek approval of the Parliament to withdraw money from the
Consolidated Fund of India to meet expenses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;">A full budget goes through a
long process; with elections due soon and without parliamentary approval, the Central
Government may run out of cash to meet expenses. This may paralyze the
functioning of the government (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a la</i>
the shutdown in the U.S.).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 35.75pt;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 35.75pt;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Tell
me more about Vote on Account (VoA).</span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 35.75pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">VoA is generally undertaken for only two months and can’t exceed six
months.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 35.75pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 35.75pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">VoA is taken in two cases:</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; tab-stops: 35.75pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Government is </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">unable to pass a full Budget by 31 March;</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; tab-stops: 35.75pt 71.75pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Term of the current government ends close to 31 March.</span><b><span style="color: white; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 28.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-themecolor: background1;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 35.75pt 71.75pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 35.75pt 71.75pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">VoA is different from Interim Budget in one major aspect:
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; tab-stops: 35.75pt 71.75pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Interim Budget focuses on both revenue & expenditure whereas the VoA
focuses ONLY on expenses. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
What is a Fiscal Year?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Any twelve–month period that is used for
submission of accounts, taxation purposes and to state financial reporting by
private and public sector companies is called a Fiscal Year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">In India, the Government has laid down
the provision that the 12–month starting on April 1 and ending on March 31 of
next year will be treated as a Fiscal Year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">To put it in perspective, this article
is being written on 1 February 2019, i.e., in Financial Year 2018</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">–</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">19. This is also called Fiscal Year
’19.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">In the same way, the financial year for
2019</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">–</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">20
will start on 1 April 2019 and will end on 31 March 2020. So, on 1 April 2019,
we will enter Fiscal Year ’20.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
Define Budget.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">The Budget is a statement of revenues
and expenditures for the coming fiscal year, i.e., the one that starts on April
1 of this year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
What does the Budget consist of?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Look at the table graphic below. This
document titled, Budget at a Glance, is the best document to understand the
components of the various types of figures in the Budget. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">The
Union Budget 2019</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">–</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">20 consists of the
following:<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">(a)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Actuals for 2017</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">–</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">18,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">(b)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Budget Estimates for 2018</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">–</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">19,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">(c)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Revised Estimates for 2018</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">–</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">19,
and <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">(d)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Budget Estimates for 2019</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">–</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">20.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
The Actuals for 2017–18 may be represented as such but they STILL would be
PROVISIONAL only. This means that these figures are NOT the final figures for
2017</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">–</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">18
but are subject to further revision. In fact, the final figures for 2017</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">–</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">18 will only be available toward
the end of Financial Year 2018</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">–</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">19
(or Fiscal Year ’19).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Budget Estimates (BE) relate to the
figures set out by the Finance Minister in his Budget Speech last year (i.e., in
February 2018) for the Financial Year 2018</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">–</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">19.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">However, all figures </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">–</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"> related to revenue collection,
expenditure, other allocations – are subject to change. These numbers are mere
ESTIMATES and not actuals. As the year progresses, such figures may sometimes
need to be revised. For example, if there is low industrial and agricultural
activity (meaning lower economic output), tax collections may dip. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">This, in
turn, will reduce the government’s Revenue Receipts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">In such case, the Government may revise
the Budget Estimates (made in the Budget). Such altered figures are labeled
Revised Estimates (RE). These RE are listed in the third column.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">In the fourth and last column, you will
find Budget Estimates for the coming Financial Year 2019</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">–</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">20. These figures reflect the
various estimates made by the Government in terms of Receipts (including tax
collections) and Expenditures (including interest payments and salary payments
to government employees).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Bharat C. Jainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10575760947599357075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3445604088553300714.post-39214129429360986472019-01-27T11:25:00.000+05:302019-01-27T12:00:20.702+05:30Datagraphic: India's Top 5 Export & Import Partners<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCw6RYElIgr3Qjzf3DWj7AoWd7704zIE0nq6oW1m_X2JejAPRYCfqnslctODuGjPOeTH43aqXW-LnhagX62DmTMYsSgolJk00KHFroOUp_WWwazjFz1sOOXzAvAZEdCvJTmNugTCpCkCE/s1600/Slide2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="888" data-original-width="1436" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCw6RYElIgr3Qjzf3DWj7AoWd7704zIE0nq6oW1m_X2JejAPRYCfqnslctODuGjPOeTH43aqXW-LnhagX62DmTMYsSgolJk00KHFroOUp_WWwazjFz1sOOXzAvAZEdCvJTmNugTCpCkCE/s640/Slide2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Bharat C. Jainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10575760947599357075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3445604088553300714.post-65166499985596975852019-01-24T18:54:00.000+05:302019-01-24T18:54:53.121+05:30Datagraphic: Top 5 Highest Per Capita GDP<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Bharat C. Jainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10575760947599357075noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3445604088553300714.post-21217172131646470492019-01-23T18:45:00.001+05:302019-01-23T18:45:26.710+05:30Datagraphic: Top 7 Economies by GDP (Nominal)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>I</b>ndia was ranked the sixth biggest economy by GDP in 2017; however, it is back to being the seventh biggest economy. </span></div>
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Bharat C. Jainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10575760947599357075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3445604088553300714.post-10772914881645188312019-01-20T09:05:00.000+05:302019-01-20T09:05:07.594+05:30The Explainer: Erdogan, Khashoggi, Gulen, & MbS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>T</b>he murder of Jamal Khashoggi has brought intense focus on Turkish leader Recep T. Erdogan's campaign against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. I will explore a couple of major reasons behind the purpoted angst of the Turkish leader.</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Who was
Jamal Khashoggi?</span></b><span style="line-height: 107%;"> </span>Jamal Khashoggi was a Saudi Arabian journalist
and an insider in the Saudi royal court. He fled to the U.S after running afoul
of <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV6dbI7pdodnpTpktMjZzvbXIqbozIJGn4QNN3HojsM0UWluKoPq_SXtgubKLFQmhFHp6wLLyubUgIJNQEHt7oB8sOs-GMgJYK3fhr7hKDirdxGx-7fRDsbxy9pXJEGXIpv3e81k_ql1A/s1600/Jamal+Khashoggi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="263" data-original-width="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV6dbI7pdodnpTpktMjZzvbXIqbozIJGn4QNN3HojsM0UWluKoPq_SXtgubKLFQmhFHp6wLLyubUgIJNQEHt7oB8sOs-GMgJYK3fhr7hKDirdxGx-7fRDsbxy9pXJEGXIpv3e81k_ql1A/s1600/Jamal+Khashoggi.jpg" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Jamal Khashoggi</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
the current royal administration in Saudi Arabia. A vociferous critic of the
Saudi Arabian royal house, especially the Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, he
was a columnist for the Washington Post newspaper and head of an Arab news
channel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On 2 October 2018, he visited the Saudi Arabian consulate in
Istanbul to collect documents pertaining to the dissolution of his marriage to
a Saudi Arabian woman; the documents were necessary for him to get married to
his Turkish fiancée. He was murdered inside the consulate by Saudi Arabian
intelligence officials. Till date, no trace of his body has been found. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Read </span><a href="http://www.bjnocabbages.com/2019/01/the-explainer-who-is-mohammad-bin-salman.html" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Who is Mohammad bin Salman?</a><br style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" /><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The murder of Jamal Khashoggi has since thrown West Asia
into turmoil. The Khashoggi saga has embroiled Saudi Arabia and Turkey in a war
of words, with the U.S. squeezed between its two important allies. The
following are the major players in the Khashoggi saga: Saudi Arabia, Turkey,
the United States, Iran, Qatar, and the Muslim Brotherhood.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Turkey directly implicated Saudi Arabia of carrying out the
murder on its soil, even pointing a finger at the Crown Prince Mohammad bin
Salman for his involvement. Turkish President Recep T. Erdogan claimed the
possession of <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuva-SEAOskq31xyvdn36M0jxh5Y0pnzTF8UEUFTJgegs_7Ew2aGj-44wQg-RTGahBXIkBi4nc_FKeGiMaLVsIf-CUdQ-mbR8i1qlGGYkj1657kZUNVAWqx_8G9dEgjqt5yUJf6l2wU9Y/s1600/Recep_Tayyip_Erdogan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="323" data-original-width="220" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuva-SEAOskq31xyvdn36M0jxh5Y0pnzTF8UEUFTJgegs_7Ew2aGj-44wQg-RTGahBXIkBi4nc_FKeGiMaLVsIf-CUdQ-mbR8i1qlGGYkj1657kZUNVAWqx_8G9dEgjqt5yUJf6l2wU9Y/s320/Recep_Tayyip_Erdogan.jpg" width="217" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Recep T. Erdogan </b></span>(Source: from Wikipedia)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
unimpeachable evidence of the involvement of the Saudi Crown
Prince, suggesting that the order for the murder “came from the highest
authorities in the Saudi administration”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Why did the Turkish President
get so worked up about the murder of a Saudi dissident?</i> </b>The answer to this
seemingly distasteful question lies in the ‘great power’ ambitions of the two countries.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We know that Saudi Arabia is the de facto leader of the
Muslim World; however, Turkey, under Recep T. Erdogan, wants to become the
centre of the Muslim World, just like the Ottoman empire was before its
eventual collapse in 1922. Erdogan, an Islamist, has a grand vision of becoming
the voice of the Muslim World, and he has made no effort to conceal his
ambitions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Erdogan is a firm supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Egyptian
extremist organization with a </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">wide support base in the Muslim World. The Muslim
Brotherhood is an anti-monarchy, pro-Sharia group. The Muslim Brotherhood came
to power in Egypt through its political party in 2012, a development that rang
alarm bells in the capitals of the monarchies in the Muslim World.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The anti-monarchy, pro-Sharia core ideology of the Muslim
Brotherhood raised the hackles of the Saudi monarchy who felt threatened by the
hardcore Islamist who was now the president of Egypt, a neighbouring country. Alarmed
by the spectre of the spread of the Muslim Brotherhood’s ideology in Saudi
Arabia, the Saudi Arabia royal house instigated the Egyptian army to oust the
Muslim Brotherhood from power and take over the country. Thus, in July 2013,
barely a few months after coming to power, the Islamist President of Egypt was
ousted and jailed on charges of terrorism. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Saudi Arabian involvement in the ousting of the
democratically elected government in Egypt angered Erdogan, a die-hard
supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood. The murder of Jamal Khashoggi came in a
blessing for him to put the Saudis on the mat. He leaked evidence of the involvement
of the Saudi Crown Prince in the Khashoggi murder case in a calibrated manner;
in fact, the method was so effective that it has been called “death by a
thousand leaks”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Saudi Arabia botched its response to the Khashoggi murder
saga; from firmly denying its involvement to calling it a rogue intelligence
operation without concurrence of the royal house, the Saudi Arabian government came
across as confused and unprepared for the massive backlash from the
international community. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">There is another reason
behind Turkey’s shrill campaign against Saudi </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Arabia: Fethullah Gulen</b>. Gulen,
a friend-turned-foe of Erdogan, lives in self-imposed exile in the United
States. He runs a social and charity organization </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">engaged mostly in education activities.
His organization is widely popular across Turkey, with millions of members,
with thousands of them in influential positions in the administration.<br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Erdogan accused Gulen of instigating the July 2016 military
coup. Thousands of </span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUUxgtjrqFzbX7Q5GczfjMlNMSMogLAQLTPQhhBcH1NwwWqdubgWHJ08rR7dxF9xb7GhxtD-15uWLS6NsGbNAnxoaHIPArS1NHc0CXZ41lYyN4mgBkOk_i_MgJQA8gqsas-1xstRVyyJY/s1600/Fethullah+Gulen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="714" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUUxgtjrqFzbX7Q5GczfjMlNMSMogLAQLTPQhhBcH1NwwWqdubgWHJ08rR7dxF9xb7GhxtD-15uWLS6NsGbNAnxoaHIPArS1NHc0CXZ41lYyN4mgBkOk_i_MgJQA8gqsas-1xstRVyyJY/s320/Fethullah+Gulen.jpg" width="320" /></span></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Fethullah Gulen</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">his followers were arrested while another 1.5 lakh were
fired from their jobs in the administration, including in the military. Turkish
jails are full of Gulen’s followers with allegations of vendetta flying thick.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Erdogan has demanded the extradition of Gulen from the U.S.,
a request Washington has repeatedly turned down, citing lack of credible
evidence from the Turkish government.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is believed that Erdogan is using the Jamal Khashoggi
issue as a bargaining chip: Erdogan will stop badgering the Saudi Royal House (i.e.,
Crown Prince MbS) if the U.S. hands over Gulen to Turkey. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i>Why will the U.S. agree to this arrangement? </i></b>A major reason
could be the extraordinary pressure from Saudi Arabia on Donald Trump; Trump
sees MbS as an important cog in the U.S. policy in the region. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you have been following the Jamal Khashoggi saga, you
would have noticed that the noise from Turkey against MbS has subsided
considerably; maybe the Gulen factor is at play. We do not yet know.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<b></b></div>
Bharat C. Jainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10575760947599357075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3445604088553300714.post-67432002174378126092019-01-19T07:55:00.000+05:302019-01-19T07:55:16.867+05:30The Explainer: Who is Mohammad bin Salman?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>M</b>uhammad bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi
Arabia, has come to dominate the politics of his country and the region. His policies
and action (both domestic and foreign) are changing the political landscape in
West Asia.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIk4JS4D7csgCSLI_eJ-YpC71t1oKpQYqiaiP8w75YB6xKC7Luhlj0RtjepylGx1gINLHZLrWlt128rlGXBCPkwi_LBMlbAN20wRxiMXYoS4Ycg3Zfns-FMIeXMzhPCPJ5bQcq5CnoSQ4/s1600/Mohammad+bin+Salman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="618" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIk4JS4D7csgCSLI_eJ-YpC71t1oKpQYqiaiP8w75YB6xKC7Luhlj0RtjepylGx1gINLHZLrWlt128rlGXBCPkwi_LBMlbAN20wRxiMXYoS4Ycg3Zfns-FMIeXMzhPCPJ5bQcq5CnoSQ4/s400/Mohammad+bin+Salman.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 107%;">Who is Mohammad bin Salman?<br />
</span></b><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Mohammad bin Salman is the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As
the Crown Prince, he is next in line to succeed his father and King, Salman bin
Abdulaziz Al Saud (who is also the Prime Minister of the kingdom). </span><b><span style="line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Virtually unknown in the corridors of power before
his meteoric rise, MbS, as he is popularly called, was appointed the Crown
Prince in June 2017. Today, he is also the kingdom’s Deputy Prime Minister, Minister
of Defence, Chairman of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs, and Chairman
of the Council of Political and Security Affairs. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">MbS is the most powerful person in today’s Saudi
Arabia. The King, his father, trusts him blindly and has stood by him even as
the calls for the Crown Prince’s removal for his involvement in the botched
Yemen War and the Jamal Khashoggi murder saga grow louder. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Reformer.
</span></b><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">MbS is seen as an ardent reformer by his supporters. They point to the several
reforms he has ushered in the deeply conservative country: lifting the ban on
women drivers, allowing cinemas and music concerts, and introducing a spate of
economic reforms. The once all-powerful religious police have now been restricted
to the barracks. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Megalomaniac.
</span></b><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">MbS’ detractors, and there are many, describe him as megalomaniacal and
impetuous. They cite his catastrophic war campaign in Yemen and the ill-planned
embargo against Qatar as examples of his whimsical behaviour. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">They also describe him as power-hungry, someone who
cannot tolerate dissent; the jailing of hundreds of political dissidents,
including women activists, is a case in point. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2mHajZa7YpM3ooZkRpzycdGw1Hi7w6hwjAd12_TU2NKXWH5DTT41cCr4J0TRIMsNHVD7TLMix3EAmn6VtGQwdhMDv3LppPrDZJC7AyN9TtKjE0tIc2aAqiACisqsy8BbAOboTBy2W6nA/s1600/Saad+Hariri.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2mHajZa7YpM3ooZkRpzycdGw1Hi7w6hwjAd12_TU2NKXWH5DTT41cCr4J0TRIMsNHVD7TLMix3EAmn6VtGQwdhMDv3LppPrDZJC7AyN9TtKjE0tIc2aAqiACisqsy8BbAOboTBy2W6nA/s200/Saad+Hariri.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Saad Hariri</span></td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The Saad Hariri Incident. </b>Another example is his treatment of the Prime
Minister of Lebanon, Saad Hariri. When Hariri arrived in the Kingdom to meet
King Salman, he was bundled to an unknown location; there was a complete blackout
of the news concerning Hariri, a leader of a sovereign nation. One week later,
Hariri was forced to tender his resignation from the prime minister’s post of
his country from the soil of a foreign nation. His freedom from the clutches of
the Saudi Arabian government came only after the French President Emmanuel Macron
went to Riyadh to negotiate his release. Once back home, Hariri <b><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42239355">withdrew his
resignation</a></b>. Analysts believe that he paid the price due to his inability
to stem the growing influence of Iran and its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, a Shia
militant group. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicA_D1Z3x0g9zoGkeIJ5wQLQIsXnLwt-_2ct6Hv6o9kPOMOqRTYVIfhHZyJ1sI2KFi-EQyKDWtSNvjenKqfPdweIpaqLyYK0BBxSK0jtSLUm5P33-Di8FCKjxMTjJSbW9sQvJuFbWbFl0/s1600/Bakr+bin+Laden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="1200" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicA_D1Z3x0g9zoGkeIJ5wQLQIsXnLwt-_2ct6Hv6o9kPOMOqRTYVIfhHZyJ1sI2KFi-EQyKDWtSNvjenKqfPdweIpaqLyYK0BBxSK0jtSLUm5P33-Di8FCKjxMTjJSbW9sQvJuFbWbFl0/s320/Bakr+bin+Laden.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Bakr bin Laden</span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 107%;">Whipping the Cream of the Saudi Society. </span></b><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">The
incident that jolted the elite Saudis most took place in November 2017. Around
200 prominent Saudis, including the former Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef and
Bakr bin Laden, the head of Saudi Binladin Group (a construction giant), were
rounded up and detained for several months on the orders of MbS. The entire
operation was described as a campaign against corruption and embezzlement; the
detained were accused of enriching themselves at the cost of the Saudi State.
It is believed that a few of those detained were tortured and forced into
giving up their wealth. Bakr bin Laden and his two brothers were <b><a href="https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/how-the-saudi-crown-prince-s-rise-led-to-the-fall-of-the-bin-laden-empire-1.6512403">forced
to transfer their 36 per cent shareholding</a></b> in Saudi Binladin Group to a
state-controlled company, overseen by MbS. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The second part of this article will appear tomorrow.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Bharat C. Jainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10575760947599357075noreply@blogger.com0