PM must clear the air on Adani issue
Prime Minister Narendra Modi whilst delivering his 90-minute speech in reply to a debate on a motion thanking the President for her address to a joint sitting of the Parliament in Rajya Sabha on Thursday, aggressively attacked the opposition leaders for accusing him of favouring his blue-eyed boy Gautam Adani from 2014 by helping him get some huge contracts from some western countries during his own official foreign trips.
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Modi was also heard saying that the more opposition leaders will fling “keechad” (dirt) on him, the bigger “kamal” (lotus) will bloom and will strengthen the future of India.
Well, all that ‘blah-blah’ is fine. But if Modi is so confident of himself and thinks that he’s a big brand of India, then why is his government still hesitating/refusing to set up a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) (as demanded by the opposition) to investigate the allegations against Adani group levelled in the Hindenburg report?
I think that if PM Modi is really a honest leader who thinks that he’s serving this nation with conviction, then he should dare to hold just one open live press conference with some genuine media persons of our country (including with those from around the world) and directly clear the air on various issues, including the Adani-Hindenburg saga.
Jerry Fernandes, Saligao
Hug your loved
ones first
A cow is just an animal like any other. Even snakes and rats are animals, reptiles or rodents. Can we hug them too?
Many people including able bodied youth have tried to hug the cows and bulls in Tamil Nadu sometimes with tragic consequences.
Instead of coming up with foolhardy ideas, first start hugging your own family members including your parents, brothers, sisters, spouse, children, relatives, friends and also those who have no one to hug them. Charity begins at home, so let’s spread love among our own brothers and sisters and then think about the welfare of the animals.
Matias Lobo, Tivim
Global recession 2023 and emerging India
It is still early 2023 and we are already witnessing global recession shaking the world. World Bank has predicted that the global economy may fall into a recession this year, the reports are shared frequently giving broad assessment of the global economy. Though the fears of global recession are not new, the latest assessment is sounding like an alarm.
The global economy is facing a steep slowdown creating a series of problems like high inflation, supply chain problem, tight market wherein investment have slowed down.
The USA, China and Europe’s economies are dragging down in particular thus impacting the rest of the world. All commenced with a pandemic when the world went into lockdown.
The major challenge is to bring down the inflation and find a right balance. The World Bank also predicted an increase by 2%, which means the growth rate will slow down further. Investors aren’t taking any chances.
On the other hand, according to top UN economists, India is a bright spot in the world economy and is in a better position to deal with the recession compared to other countries.
Agencies like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank endorse India in contrast with the rest of the world. The global economy is in slump, the war in Ukraine is feeling fears of recession, China is unable to shake off the covid-19 virus, UK is facing the worst recession amongst G7 nations while the Japanese economy shrank last year.
The World Bank says the Indian economy has demonstrated resilience despite a challenging environment ahead of the budget session. What worked for India? Firstly, after the strong pandemic recovery, there were no major lockdowns last year, economic activity resumed and remained largely uninterrupted.
For the West, war in Ukraine dealt a huge blow, but India was able to absorb the shock. Private and household consumption makes about 60% of India’s GDP. The GST collection is 15% over year helping India’s economy.
Manufacturing of iPhones in India is the best example of diversification of business, which is helping us. Chip makers in Taiwan are looking to work with India. Also, the semiconductor manufacturers are eyeing manufacturing in India. India is emerging as a destination for global businesses.
Sarvashi Naik, Curchorem
Panjim heading for
a tragedy
With Panaji’s Patto Plaza already witnessing incessant and perennial flooding, the government needed to conduct a proper professional research and ecological study before venturing in its lofty mission to set up Goa’s tallest building on this eco-sensitive reclaimed land. Lack of proper planning while cluttering environmentally incompatible new constructions all over without the much needed infrastructure has landed Goa in its current State of chaos.
Given what we have been witnessing in an already congested Patto Plaza, was it the right location for the government to set up its mammoth 75m tall administrative block?
Patto Plaza has come up on marshy, swampy, acidic and highly corrosive silty subsoil and experts have opined that no construction there will survive for long as the stress, fractures, fissures and corrosion in standing buildings indicate.
Authorities should have threaded very cautiously on such a mega project as it would waste hundreds of crores of taxpayers’ money and end up being another sinking white elephant.
For a project of this magnitude a proper environmental impact assessment was imperative. Decision to erect this project should not have been a political one but strictly guided by experts. Nature’s fury knows no bounds.
You cannot build a great building on a weak foundation as we need a solid foundation to have a strong superstructure. t.
Aires Rodrigues, Ribandar
Kudos to R Ashwin
No praise is too much for Ravichandran Ashwin on getting to the milestone of 450 Test wickets. En route, the off-spinner became the second-fastest bowler to achieve the feat after Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan and the quickest Indian. Ashwin’s three-wicket haul and a fiver from Ravindra Jadeja helped India skittle out the Aussies for a paltry 177 and put Rohit and company in the driver’s seat.
N J Ravi Chander, Bengaluru
