The US elections are a little more than ten days away. The possibility of a change of leadership is indicated in the opinion polls, but things still remain uncertain. The frequently asked questions at this point and their answers are the following. 1. How are the US elections 2020 different…

The latest NCAER’s (National Council of Applied Economic Research) forecast has indicated that YoY growth will remain negative through Q2, Q3 and Q4 at -12.7%, -8.6% and -6.2% respectively. For the year as a whole 2020-21, GDP will decline by -12.6%. It is postulated that conventional fiscal and monetary policies…

Quo Vadis? (Whither goest thou?) was the question on every body’s lips as the Foreign Ministers of four significant countries, Australia, India, Japan and the United States, known as Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) filed out of a conference room in Japan with their designer masks hiding their true emotions. Their…

Dear Sanjukta, At the outset, let me confess that I have contemplated deeply about the need to write this letter because I have in the past admired your courage and guts to stand for the right many times in public and in private as well. Today, however, I find myself…

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a chargesheet against eight people in connection with incitement of violence in Bhima Koregaon near Pune on 01 January 2018. Those mentioned in the chargesheet include Father Stan Swamy, an 83-year-old Jesuit priest who had been involved with social activism in Ranchi, Jharkhand.…

By his most recent antics, US President Donald Trump has become suicidal not only for himself but also for his nation and the world. He was reckless throughout the period of the pandemic, dismissing it as inconsequential, providing medical misinformation and exhorting the public not to wear masks and violating…

On the evening of October 04, while clearing the social media notifications on my phone, I found a thumb stopper tweet from Saudi Arabia’s Human Rights Council (HRC) that reports directly to Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia. The tweet read – #SaudiArabia is committed to strengthening…

“The whole world is fighting the global pandemic of Corona for the last 8-9 months. Where is the United Nations in this joint fight against the pandemic? Where is its effective response?” This poignant question by Prime Minister Narendra Modi against an organisation, which was meant “to save the succeeding…

As farmer protests across the country intensify, The Lede reached out to the author of a definitive study on Bihar’s agricultural sector liberalisation policy. Professor Sanjib Pohit led the team that conducted research into Bihar’s agro-economics. It was published in November 2019 by the National Council for Applied Economics Research…

The BJP-led Central government has pushed through what they call, long pending reforms in agriculture, in the form of three Farm Acts. These legislations are as follows: (a) The Farmers’ Produce Trade And Commerce (Promotion And Facilitation) Act, 2020 (b) The Farmers (Empowerment And Protection) Agreement On Price Assurance And…