Indian politics reverted to type last week. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) announced that it would begin an investigation into the business dealings of Karti Chidambaram, son of the former Congress finance minister P Chidambaram. Similar proceedings would be initiated against Laloo Prasad Yadav, like Chidambaram, once a member of the Manmohan Singh government. Chidambaram Senior cried foul, accusing the government of conducting a vendetta against him. Nothing of the sort, replied Arun Jaitley, the present Finance Minister in the BJP government. It was simply the law taking it own course in the pursuit of justice against corruption.
It all sounded familiar, this common refrain when the party in office was in opposition and the opposition was the government. For the CBI to stand above suspicion, its autonomy must be ensured. Otherwise, rightly or wrongly, its every move will be perceived as government inspired. (Times of India, Hindu, Telegraph May 17).
Malala of Malda
More significant for India’s social well-being was the recent case of a 13 rear-old girl in the Malda district of West Bengal who, at a wedding ceremony in her village well understood that the bride, like herself, was under age. She promptly alerted the authorities, who with equal dispatch arrived at the ceremony and put an end to the purported marriage. Beauty Khatum paid for her moral courage as whistle blower. She has been harassed and threatened by the local youth and Muslim clergy. The district Child Welfare Committee in a prompt rejoinder assured Beauty Khatum of every protection against such bullying and intimidation. Under age marriage is prohibited by law and schooling for the young of either sex is upheld by the law (Times of India May 17).
Rajnath warning against Radicalization
Home Minister Rajnath Singh, addressing a meeting in New Delhi issued a warning against radicalization of vulnerable youth in India’s North East region. Among those at the meeting were the Minister of State at the Home Ministry Kiren Rijiiu and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
Rajnath Singh warned of the menace of jihadi infiltration from Bangladesh into Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram. These operatives, he said, were targeting vulnerable Muslim youth, hoping to convert them to the ways of violence, sabotage and targeted assassinations in line with the principles of the Hizbul Mujahideen and the Islamic State (Times of India May 17).
Kashmiri youths apply for police jobs
Four days after the murder of Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz by Hizbut terrorists, 2000 Kashmiri youths came to Srinagar’s Bakshi Stadium for physical fitness tests in order to qualify for vacancies in the State police. In so doing they defied threats issued by jihadi groups that their lives would be in peril. Dozens of Kashmiri girls broke the shackles of a conservative society and participated in the recruitment drive to join the police,’ said Director General Police, S.P.Vaid (Times of India May 14).
Major Army deal for Larsen & Toubro
Private sector engineering giant Larsen & Toubro has been awarded a Rs 4,500 crore order by the Ministry of Defence for the supply of 100 artillery gun systems to the Indian Army, the largest such contract for a private sector company. L&T will manufacture the 155mm/52 caibre self-propelled gun systems named K-9 Vajra in partnership with South Korea’s Samsung Techwin. ‘The basic armament of the gun as well as the engine will be imported as it is not possible to manufacture it in large numbers in India. But a lot of value additions as well as indigenously developed value-adds are made in India,’ said Jayant Patel, Vice President & Head Defence & Aerospace, Heavy Engineering (Business Line May 13).
Israel-Palestine Co-existence
Welcoming Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas to India at the start of a four-day visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated India’s support for a two-state solution of peaceful co-existence between Israel and Arab Palestine. India hoped for an early resumption of talks between the two sides towards this end.
Appeal for Indian participation
Talking to the media, President Abbas expressed a desire for Indian involvement in the peace process. He thanked India for contributing to capacity-building in information technology in the territory of the Palestine Authority. The peace process, he said, had received a boost from Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump. The basis of a territorial settlement should be based on the territorial alignment prior to the Six day war of 1967. The reference to greater Indian involvement assumes significance in the light of Prime Minister Modi’s forthcoming visit to Israel. (Hindu May 17)
Curtain-raiser to PM’s Israeli visit
Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar and Vijai Chauthalwale, head of the BJP’s foreign policy cell are visiting Israel this week to prepare the ground for Prime Minister Modi’s landmark trip to the country – the first by an Indian prime minister. Among the public events, the Indian Premier will address the Indian diaspora in Israel, just as he did on his visits to the US and UK. He is also expected to a wreath at the memorial in Haifa to the Indian soldiers who liberated the port city in a memorable action against the Ottoman army in the First World War. His talks with Israeli Prime Minister Beniamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem and his meeting with innovators and founders of technology firms will occupy the centre-stage, but the entire exercise is expected to be a game changer in bilateral ties and a significant factor in the regional security architecture (Hindu May 18).
Suzuki to double Gujarat capacity
Maruti Suzuki has pledged to invest Rs 6000 crore in its Gujarat plant and double its capacity by setting up a facility for the manufacture of engines. This fresh funding - to be made within two years – will ramp up the investment to Rs 9000 crore. This will bring Maruti Suzuki’s entire India production to reach beyond 2 million cars annually. According to Kenichi Ayukawa, Maruti Suzuki Managing Director and CEO, the buoyant Indian economy had led to an exponential increase in the company’s car sales across all categories. ‘Models like Brezza and mini SUV and the Balero hatchback will lead the charge,’ he said (Times of India May 17).
Mercedes holds its own
Mercedes India said it was confident of its top position in the luxury car segment in the country despite intense competition from rival brands. ‘;We are always checking where we stand,’ said Roland Folger, Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes Benz India. ‘Frankly speaking we can keep the pace with our existing customers and, why should be afraid of competition?’ Mercedes Benz has held onto its market share for the past two years againt German rivals Audi and BMW. In the initial stages Mercedes did lose ground, but having learned its lesson from that, it has recovered and now maintains a leadership position. (Hindu May 18).
Ten home-built nuclear reactors
Government has approved the construction of 10 India-made pressurized heavy water nuclear reactors with a total capacity of 7000MW. Briefing the media, Power Minister Piyush Goyal said: ‘We already have 6,780MW of operational nuclear power and about 6,700MW plants under implementation, which will be set up by 2021-22.’ This comes against the troubles affecting the US Westinghouse Company which had contracted to construct six 6000 power plants but had now applied for bankruptcy. Meanwhile talks with the French company Ariva, which had undertaken to construct a nuclear power plant at Jaitapir, are mired in costing differences – a recurrent problem with French suppliers of aircraft and submarines.
Confidence in Indian science
‘The approval also shows our strong belief in the capability of India’s scientific community to build our technological capacities,’ declared an official statement (Hindu May 18).
Teenager builds lightest satellite
Born in a small town in Tamil Nadu, Chennai-based teenager Rifath Shaarook has designed and built the world’s lightest satellite, to be launched by NASA in June. The 64 gramme device, made from 3D printed carbon fibre, was the winning entry in Cubes in Space, a design contest for young inventors organized by education company idoodle with backing from US space agency NASA and the Colorado Space Grant Consortium. Shaarook’s invention, Kalamsat, is named after India’s late President and rocket scientist, Dr Abdul Kalam.
Rifath, a lead scientist at Chennai’s Space Kidz India, said: ‘The main challenge was to design an experiment… which would fit into a four-metre cube weighing 64g.’
Indore India’s cleanest city
Placed 149 in a cleanliness rating in 2014, Indore Municipal Corporation climbed to 25th position in 2016 and to the top in 2017. It has truly been an astonishing ascent from disgrace to heady triumph. The basis of the achievement was the determination of the city fathers to drastically improve garbage collection, with spectacular results. Rural Indore has made significant advances in public health and toilet construction. URBAN Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu presented a trophy to Indore’s municipal officials. Since the Swachi Bharat Mission became operational, sanitation and public health programmes have made significant strides (Mint May 8).
