Crude oil may hit $200 per barrel
Crude oil may hit the gigantic mark of $200 per barrel. Global countries had refrained themselves from sanctioning Russia’s energy sector so far but with US and UK slapping sanctions on Oil, it’s going to be a economically pathetic situation for countries like India. India is one of the major exporters of crude oil in the world, with more sanctions on Russia, India’s Rupee will fall and India will have to pay hugely to buy oil.
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India will be caught between a rock and a hard place, if India buys expensive oil, it will be truly awful for India’s economy and if India decides to buy from at discounted price, India will bear the brunt of sanctions. Before taking any step, India must look before it leaps.
Yashi Bairagi, Panjim
European security at stake
As Russia keeps pounding Ukraine, palpably the world has entered a more dangerous phase. The mayhem unleashed in Ukraine has transformed the landscape of European security that is sure to have its repercussions far and wide. What started as a smart game of diplomatic subterfuge by Vladimir Putin, has now turned into an urban siege. Regardless of the Russian leader achieving his desire or not on the battlefield, it will result in him losing his image significantly at the global level, and his success is likely to yield very little strategic gain for Russia.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has won the hearts of the people world over for his perseverance and tenacity amidst the raging war. Not only has he emerged as a charismatic leader at a time of national crisis, but he has also galvanised a large part of the world in his support.
With his speeches and social media posts, challenging Russia, Zelenskyy has ignited a renewed sense of nationalism amongst Ukrainians that will make Russia find it difficult to forcefully occupy or place a pliant government in Kyiv.
Ranganathan Sivakumar, Chennai
For the common man
With the Russian war on Ukraine and the resultant skyrocketing of crude prices, all analysts are talking of the expected increase in petrol prices. As they say public memory is short.
For the past couple of years, while crude prices were falling, the central and State governments jumped at the opportunity to add on taxes on petrol and did not pass on the cost reductions to the common man, but were filling their coffers. It is high time that both State and central government, lift these tax levies on petrol to cushion the increase in price of crude.
Failure to do so will severely impact the economy and crush the common man, already reeling under the effects of inflation.
Paul Pereira, Velim
Is medical education become a business?
The medical profession and education have become a business and now the regulation of medical education has also gone that way which is the nation’s tragedy. Ukraine had gained its place as a major educational hub in the Eastern Europe. The low fees and hassle-free admission process are the factors that attract Indian students to Ukrainian universities. The fee to complete MBBS in Ukrainian medical colleges is just half of what the private medical colleges in India charge.
Education has been commercialised during Congress regime and today it has become so expensive and non-affordable to middleclass and poor in India. Many students who cannot find a seat in the government medical colleges fly to foreign countries to pursue MBBS courses. The exams in the third and the sixth years are important in the Ukrainian medical education system. The future of thousands of medical students who have been pursuing MBBS course in Ukraine seems bleak following the ongoing war with Russia. Students who have availed hefty sums as loan to fund the education are anxious due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine has jeopardised their education.
K G Vilop, Chorao
Market mayhem and global turmoil
Global crude oil prices rocketed to a 13-year-old high as talk of the US and its European allies exploring a ban on Russian oil and tightening of sanctions on Moscow for its invasion on Ukraine sent shock waves around the world .Brent crude touched @$139 a barrel for a brief period of time, the highest since July 2008 and all indications point to a $150 per barrel scenario. Financial markets the world over are in turmoil with the Sensex, Dow Jones and the Nikkei index in free fall and the rupee has buckled to Rs 77 against the US dollar making it the worst performing Asian currency, thereby making India’s imports extremely expensive.
In an increasingly networked world, conflict zones have a deleterious impact on the economies of most nations plugged into the global world order, there is no escaping that. It is also not certain how long will the Russian invasion persist, this would result in double jeopardy for many third world countries who do not have the economic stability.
There is already talk of petrol and diesel prices being jacked by Rs 6-12 a litre, this will have a domino effect on household budgets and stoke massive downsides. Gold, that repository of wealth for most Indians has also breached Rs 53,000 per 10 grams.
Vinay Dwivedi, Benaulim
Will the winner be ‘fair play’ or ‘principles’?
The power-game result on March 10 between the main contestants will be, not merely “Breaking News” but path-breaking, a historic event, which Goans in Goa, rest of the country and even abroad, are awaiting with bated breath.
This power-game is like the favourite game of Goans, football. Will this power-game be fair or foul? One team believes in winning, by hook or by crook. The other team believes in winning by fair-play and good principles. But remember a Gaelic proverb: A cat in mittens won’t catch mice. Meaning: Being careful and polite doesn’t always get things done.
For one team, the end justifies the means and match-fixing is their forte! Their manager, the goal-keeper, key-players and for good measure, the referee! But remember-when it is slippery, ground doesn’t recognise a king.
This time, prior to the match, to foil match-fixing, the team manager and the entire team have been quarantined by the party, which was once bitten and has now become twice shy! Who will have the last laugh, when the results start pouring in?
Irineu Gonsalves
Observe women’s day for whole year
It is celebrated on March 8 every year, wherein women are praised and applauded for all their achievements, this year’s theme is #breakthebias, which means no specific job should be restricted to a gender and responsibilities should be shared equally. Let’s not celebrate and practice this just for one day but for the entire year.
Elroy Lopes, Chinchinim
Felling trees for erecting towers
The people who want to build a house in own property are being harassed by the range forest official, forest department by sending notice. Around 500 trees are being marked by the forest department Mollem to cut them so that towers are installed for laying of electricity cable to the railway at Kullem railway station.
The trees that are marked for cutting falls in proposed reserved forest, unclassified forest and eco sensitive zone. The forest department is fully responsible for allowing cutting of trees in different zones and should be stopped.
Elvis Colaco, Collem
