In a not-so-surprising rejection, Russia has refused to sell its crude oil to Pakistan at a discounted rate. Russia rejected Pakistan’s request to give crude oil at a 30-40% discount, saying that it will not be able to offer anything at present as all volumes are committed.
During talks in Moscow, a Pakistan delegation led by State Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik, a joint secretary, and officials from the Pakistan Embassy in Moscow requested a discount, as per Pakistani media.
The talks ended without a clear conclusion, but the Russian state assured that they will consider Pakistan’s plea and share its decision later via diplomatic channels.
According to media reports, Russia can offer crude at the same rates it offers to its large client countries, which have reliable and sound economies, at a suitable time. They stated that all volumes are currently committed with big buyers.
Notably, the Russian side urged Pakistan to honour its commitment to the Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline, which will run from Karachi to Lahore and Punjab.
During the talks, the Pakistani side desired to alter the PSGP project’s model. According to the Russian side, the project model under the GtG arrangement has already been finalised, with only a few clauses of the shareholding agreement remaining to be finalised.
On November 29, a representative delegation from Pakistan flew to Moscow for a three-day visit with Russian officials to discuss the possibility of importing crude oil at a reduced price and discussing payment options and shipping costs.
While Pakistan is requesting Russia to consider its demand for discounted crude oil supplies, India has been increasing its oil imports from Russia significantly in recent months.
India’s imports from the Middle East fell 16.2% to about 2.2 million bpd in August, while imports from Russia increased 4.6% to about 896,000 bpd in September.
China and India now account for two-thirds of all Russian crude exports by sea, with China receiving at least half of all Russian crude exports through pipelines too.
India typically imports just 2 to 5% of its crude from Russia, which is about the same amount as the United States did prior to its announcement of a complete ban on Russian energy products. In 2021, India imported only 12 million barrels of Russian crude, with the vast majority of its oil coming from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Nigeria.
“Today, the Indian government’s motivations are economic rather than political.” In their oil import strategy, India will always look for a bargain. “It’s difficult not to take a 20% discount on crude when you import 80-85% of your oil, especially in the aftermath of the pandemic and the global slowdown,” Samir N. Kapadia, head of trade at government relations consulting firm Vogel Group, told CNBC.
It is pertinent to note here that India has saved 35,000 crores after it began purchasing discounted Russian crude.
Recently, the European Union failed to draw a consensus on approving a price cap on Russian oil. EU governments have disagreed over the price level at which the cap should be set. The price cap is the West’s effort to wipe out Russia’s oil revenues as retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine while maintaining global oil supplies and mitigating an increase in global energy prices. Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, the bloc’s easternmost members, objected that the proposed $60-$70 per barrel for Russian crude is too modest and far above the rates at which Russia currently sells crude. The EU officials have sought time to design a better deal.
With volumes of crude committed to buyers such as India and China, as well as the looming threat of the West’s attempts to ‘punish’ Russia for invading Ukraine, it will be interesting to see if Russia agrees to provide discounted crude to Pakistan in the near future.
On November 30, a video of a young man washing utensils at a wedding in Bhopal went viral on social media. Once the video went viral, the young man who washed the dishes has come forward and asked Police Commissioner Makrand Devaskar that strict action should be taken against those who made the video viral.
According to a report by Patrika, the young man is a resident of Jabalpur and had gone to eat food at a wedding without being invited and when caught there, he was forced to wash utensils.
MP : शादी में बिना बुलाए खाना खाने पहुंचा MBA का छात्र, लोगों ने युवक से धुलाए बर्तन pic.twitter.com/mAmkrDpvKi
At a wedding held in a garden in Bhopal, the MBA student from Jabalpur had gatecrashed the wedding, but he was caught by the people for being an uninvited guest and was made to wash utensils after eating free food. The video of the incident went viral on social media on Wednesday. In the video, the youth is seen cleaning utensils at the wedding and another young man is also talking to him.
In the video, the person making the video is heard asking questions, and the young man who ate food as an uninvited guest is seen washing the plates as he answered those questions. The person making the video is also taking information from him about his studies, work, and where he lives.
The person who made the video is asking ‘how does it feel to wash the plates’. The MBA student from Jabalpur answers, “If I have eaten for free, I have to do something.” The conversation in the video shows that the young man had gone to a wedding going on in a garden in Bhopal for the food, but he was caught by the hosts. The video of his “punishment” has since gone viral.
On November 30, in a remand report submitted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the agency named ruling TRS party MLC K Kavitha who is the daughter of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, in the ongoing probe over the Liquor Policy Scam. The remand note was submitted in court by the investigation agency following the arrest of one of the accused, Amit Arora.
K Kavitha, Sharath Reddy, Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy – termed as “South Group” named in Remand Report of Amit Arora in #DelhiLiquorScam Vijay Nair on behalf of AAP got kickbacks of ₹100cr from “South Group” by various persons including Amit Arora. This was disclosed by Amit Arora pic.twitter.com/gbFfFCJE6U
Arora was apprehended and presented before the court on Wednesday. Apart from Kavitha, YSRC MP Mahunta Srinivasulu Reddy and his son Raghava were also mentioned by the agency. ED said that Kavitha changed her phone’s International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) six times after the case was handed over to the agency. Furthermore, the agency said the accused destroyed digital evidence in an attempt to hamper the ongoing investigation into the matter.
Notably, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have said earlier that Kavitha’s role in the alleged liquor policy scam would come out anytime. BJP leaders Parvesh Varma and Manjinder Singh Sirsa had alleged in August that Kavitha was involved in facilitating the Delhi Liquor Policy. Kavitha had denied the allegations and said she would file a defamation case against them.
ED officials noted that their investigation revealed one of the accused, Vijay Nair received kickbacks worth Rs 100 crores on behalf of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders. The kickbacks came from a company named ‘South Group’. Sharath Chandra Reddy, K. Kavitha, Mahunta Srinivasulu Reddy, and Amit Arora control the said company. ED sources were quoted by Deccan Chronicle saying that Arora confirmed the same in his statement to the investigation agency.
ED said, “The 12% profit margin to the wholesalers was devised to extract half of it as a kickback to the AAP leaders. As per the investigation carried out so far, Sh Vijay Nair, on behalf of leaders of AAP, has at least received kickbacks to the tune of Rs. 100 Cr from a group called South Group (controlled by Sh Sarath Reddy, Ms K Kavitha, and Sh Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy) by various persons, including Amit Arora. The same has been disclosed by the arrestee Sh Amit Arora in his statements.”
Kavitha accused BJP of using ED for politics
In a statement, Kavitha accused BJP of using ED for politics in light of upcoming state assembly elections in Telangana. She said, “Modi govt came 8 yrs ago & in these 8 yrs, democratically elected govt in 9 states were toppled while BJP formed its govts in an inappropriate way. Every child in the country knows ED arrives before PM Modi in poll-bound states. This has happened in Telangana.”
Furthermore, she said, “Same thing is happening in Telangana as we’ve elections next year ED has arrived before PM Modi in the state. We’ve welcomed them and will be cooperating with them. Still, BJP is playing cheap tricks.”
She added, “PM Modi can put us behind bars, but we will still be working for the people & expose the failures of the BJP. TRS govt is running smoothly in Telangana. We have exposed their conspiracy to topple the state govt & Telangana’s people have witnessed it.”
Recently, after Kavitha’s statement that BJP leader Arvind Dharampuri should be beaten up with slippers, TRS workers attacked his house.
ED also mentioned in its report that after the case was handed over to the agency, all the accused, including Delhi’s deputy CM Manish Sisodia changed their phones multiple times, allegedly to destroy evidence and hamper the investigation.
OpIndia has reached out to the BJP leaders in Telangana for comments. We will update the report accordingly.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has aggressively choked financing to non-state entities it views as not aligned with the party’s economic or political goals in its quest to intimidate large-scale businesses and technocrats, media reports claim. According to a report by Financial Post titled “CCP’s Intimidating Tactics Against Technocrats and Big Businesses in China,” the “party-cum-state has begun its long-awaited crackdown on big businesses that refused to endorse the party’s repressive policies.”
According to the report, Alibaba founder Jack Ma’s case demonstrates the CCP’s intimidation through coercion tactics, which has instilled fear in other business owners who have earlier expressed similar concerns.
Notably, according to a Financial Times report, Jack Ma, the founder of the e-commerce company Alibaba, has shifted to Japan, and he is living in Central Tokyo for the last six months.
Jack Ma has reportedly become an enthusiastic collector as several people involved in Japan’s modern art scene said. Ma spends most of his time painting to pass time. Others claim that Ma has been working to expand his business beyond Alibaba and Ant. He has handed over the reins of his e-commerce giant Alibaba and Ant, to new generation leaders.
In 2020, Ma suddenly disappeared from public view after accusing Beijing Chinese regulators of having a “pawnshop mentality.” He even advocated for the introduction of daring new players capable of extending China’s credit to collateral-poor people.
Right after Ma’s criticism of the regulators, Ma’s Ant Group and the e-commerce behemoth Alibaba were hit with a slew of regulatory issues. According to the report, Chinese regulators cancelled Ant’s USD 37 billion initial public offering (IPO) last year and fined Alibaba a record USD 2.8 billion for alleged antitrust violations.
According to the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), under Xi Jinping, “China’s financial regulators have also aggressively choked off financing to non-state entities they as unaligned with CCP’s political and economic goals.” “The CCP leadership also engaged in several targeted measures to enforce political unity and preempt criticism from individuals and groups within the Party-state,” the USCC report read.
According to USCC, “Further inclusion of Leninist political institutions in China’s private firms increases top-down control and drives companies to meet political rather than market objectives.” This approach views the market as a tool for allocating resources toward CCP-determined ends, and it is skeptical of any market activity that goes beyond serving political objectives.
Among the many great stories of heroic bravery for India on the frontline, the Battle of Rezang La figures prominently. The Indian Army’s gallantry and fortitude at the battle of Rezang La during the 1962 war with China is a goosebump-raising story of unimaginable bravery. Major Shaitan Singh, Param Vir Chakra, of the 13 Kumaon regiment, a great Indian hero and the sheer embodiment of valour and patriotism, perished in the battle, but his legacy lives on in the hearts of Indians who will be eternally grateful for his bravery.
60 years after the battle, the story, the truth, and the permanence of unfathomable sacrifice, where the Indian men in uniform were confronted with overwhelming odds, continues to inspire us. It is scarcely believable that such brave men were ever born and lived amongst us.
When we talk about the Rezang La battle, the name of Major Shaitan Singh PVC, who symbolised bravery and courage, is the first name that comes to mind. Today is Major Shaitan Singh’s 98th birthday and a good time to remember this great son of India.
Birth and early years
Shaitan Singh Bhati was born on December 1, 1924, in Banasar village of Jodhpur district in Rajasthan to a Rajput family of the Bhati clan. His father was Lieutenant Colonel Hem Singh. Singh completed his secondary education at Jodhpur’s Chopasni Senior Secondary School. He was well-known in school for his football prowess. Singh attended Jaswant College after finishing high school in 1943, and graduated in 1947.
Shaitan Singh joined the Jodhpur State Forces as an officer on August 1, 1949. He was assigned to the Kumaon Regiment when Jodhpur was merged into India after independence. On November 25, 1955, he was promoted to the rank of captain and participated in operations in Naga Hills as well as the Indian takeover of Goa in 1961. He was subsequently elevated to the rank of major on June 11, 1962.
Indo-China war 1962
On October 20, 1962, China launched a full-fledged military attack on India. India sustained substantial losses along the Ladakh border in the days that followed. The Chinese had overrun border checkpoints from Daulat Beg Oldie to Damchok in their initial attack on Indian forces in October.
Indian forces were preventing the Chinese from crossing the Spanggur Gap, a 2-kilometre-long opening in the Kailash Range, south of Pangong Lake, and moving into Chushul. Rezang La is located around 11 kilometres south of the Spanggur Gap. The formation, which guards the southern gates to the Chushul Valley, is situated at an elevation of around 5,500 metres.
Image: Wikiwand
The Chinese might would have cut off the route that connected Chushul and the areas south of it to Leh if they took control of Rezang La, a road that was finished just before the war. Chushul’s defence was under the command of the Indian Army’s 114 Infantry Brigade, which was operating without a battalion. An infantry brigade typically consists of three battalions, however, the 114 Brigade only had the 1/8 Gurkha Rifles and the 5 Jat Regiment.
The 13 Kumaon regiment was moved from Baramulla to support the 114 Brigade when the threat to Chushul was ascertained. The 13 Kumaon Battalion, which reached Leh on October 2, 1962, and was undergoing acclimatisation, was given the task of defending the area south of the Spanggur Gap by the 114 Infantry Brigade.
Charlie Company 13 Kumaon Regiment. (Source: Reddit)
The weather was perilous, with a chilly and piercing wind and rough terrain. Another disadvantage India had was that it was inaccessible to Indian artillery owing to an intervening feature, requiring soldiers to go without the protective cover of the artillery cannons. The other 13 Kumaon companies held Gun Hill, Gurung Hill, and Mugger Hill. Rezang La, a 19-kilometre pass on the southern approach to Chushul, was assigned to Charlie Company under Major Shaitan Singh. Rezang La was all rock, terribly cold with bone-chilling winds, and the men did not have time to acclimatise to the conditions.
Chinese attack Rezang La post
Charlie Company was unprotected, unsupported, and all on its own. The Chinese Army attacked the 7th and 8th platoons in the early hours of November 18. The Indians responded with a fierce response to the Chinese aggression at 05:00 hrs. The reaction was so fierce that hundreds of Chinese were killed. and the Chinese Army’s initial wave was crushed.
At 05:40 hrs, Charlie Company came under heavy artillery and mortar shelling, and 350 Chinese attacked the 9th platoon under cover of this fire. True to their instruction, the platoon delayed its fire until the very end. The 9th platoon opened fire with all their guns when the Chinese were only 90 metres away. Hundreds of Chinese perished in the face of this onslaught from India.
For the next round of strikes, the Chinese deployed recoilless (RCL) guns to the Charlie Company’s wings and began relentlessly hitting Indian positions with 75 mm and 57 mm bombs, as well as 132 mm rockets. As visibility increased after dawn, the Chinese were also spotted deploying a Medium Machine Gun (MMG) and putting it 600 yards away from the Indian position. Chinese soldiers quickly began hitting Indian positions in the area with mortars and RCL guns.
Recoil Less Gun (RCL)
Major Shaitan Singh moved from platoon to platoon, shooting at the enemy and encouraging his troops. He continued to fight despite the significant threat to his life. He battled like a man possessed, utterly unconcerned about his own safety.
The incredibly high rate of casualties could not be sustained by the Chinese and they altered their strategy. The 9th platoon was placed under MMG fire, while 400 Chinese attacked the 8th platoon from behind. The platoon’s barbed wire fence halted the onslaught. At the same time, a highly equipped assault party of 120 Chinese struck the 7th platoon from behind. The 7th platoon fired mortars and rifles in response. Both sides suffered a high number of casualties in the subsequent battle.
The strength of the 7th and 8th platoons had been badly diminished by this point. When the Chinese attacked the 7th platoon again, Indian men jumped out and confronted the Chinese in a hand-to-hand battle. The Chinese arrived with reinforcements and Charlie Company’s entire 7th and 8th platoons were decimated with no survivors. The strength of the 9th platoon was also badly reduced and ran out of supplies. As a result, the survivors used their bare hands to fight the fully armed Chinese.
Major Shaitan Singh moved from bunker to bunker, motivating his soldiers and leading from the front. During the conflict, he was seriously wounded by MMG fire. During the evacuation, the Chinese opened fire on him and the two men escorting him. He ordered his men to leave with his weapon and go to battalion headquarters since he did not want them to be killed in this situation.
“I want you to leave me here and go to the battalion headquarters. Report to the CO how bravely our company fought. Go fast, save yourselves. The enemy can come here any time,” he said, according to Kuldeep Yadav in the book ‘The Battle of Rezang La.’
“Finally, after helping their company commander to rest against a boulder, the jawans reluctantly left. By now, Maj. Shaitan Singh had given his personal pistol to Sepoy Mamchand of platoon 9 who was with them, to deposit it with the battalion quartermaster so that it would not fall into the enemy’s hands,” Yadav writes.
The benchmark of valour
Charlie Company, 13 Kumaon, withstood seven Chinese attacks until every man of the company sacrificed their life in battle. The frozen remains of Indian troops were discovered in February 1963 by a Ladakhi shepherd who arrived at Rezang La. The Indian Army spotted Shaitan Singh’s body three months later at the exact location where the soldiers had left him.
Major Shaitan Singh’s frozen body was discovered against a boulder, where his troops had left him. Many of the troops had perished while holding their rifles. There was no undamaged bunker in the Charlie Company area. The search party of the Indian Army which went to the location discovered 759 bullet holes in the shield of one of the bunkers. One of the soldiers was shot 47 times.
In the attempt to seize Rezang La, 1300 Chinese soldiers were killed. 114 Indian troops died out of a total of 120. Major Shaitan Singh’s body was transported to Jodhpur the next day after it was discovered at Rezang La. He was posthumously bestowed India’s highest gallantry medal, the Param Veer Chakra, for exceptional valour and heroism beyond the line of duty. In addition, the company received eight Veer Chakras and four Sena Medals for extraordinary courage. The Charlie Company was afterward renamed “Rezang La Company.”
Today, a memorial honours the soldiers of Charlie Company who fell in the battle. It reads, “And how can man die better, than facing fearful odds, from the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of the gods.”
Rezang La Memorial. (Image: Indian Observer Post)
Major-General Ian Cardozo writes in his book Param Vir, Our Heroes in Battle, “When Rezang La was later revisited, dead jawans were found in the trenches still holding on to their weapons… every single man of this company was found dead in his trench with several bullets or splinter wounds. The 2-inch mortar man died with a bomb still in his hand. The medical orderly had a syringe and bandage in his hands when the Chinese bullet hit him… Of the thousand mortar bombs with the defenders, all but seven had been fired and the rest were ready to be fired when the (mortar) section was overrun.”
The phrase ‘Last Man, Last Round’ finds its manifestation in the battle of Rezang La. As Major Gaurav Arya writes, “At minus 30 degrees Celsius, Ahirs from Haryana, headed by Major Shaitan Singh Bhati of Jodhpur, fought for Naam, Namak, Nishan.”
It would be fair to say that the rugged mountains never witnessed such tenacity and such bravery before, and since. On this very first day of December in 1924, was born Shaitan Singh, the man who never learned to surrender, to give up for mother India, as he knew sacrifice, not defeat.
On Thursday, the Jharkhand High Court referred to the Muslim Personal Law and ruled that a Muslim girl who has attained 15 years of age or above has the liberty to marry the person of her choice without any interference from their guardians. The Court said this while it was hearing a criminal case lodged against a Muslim person who married a 15-year-old girl from within the community.
According to the reports, the Court dismissed the proceeding and ordered the cancellation of the FIR which was filed by the girl’s father. The father in the FIR had accused Mohammed Sonu (24) of persuading his daughter to marry him. The girl belongs to the Jugsalai area of Jharkhand’s Jamshedpur. Sonu then challenged the FIR and approached the Jharkhand High Court.
However, during the hearing, the father of the girl stated that he was no more opposed to the marriage. He also thanked Almighty for arranging a suitable match for his daughter and said that he had filed FIR against Mohammed Sonu due to some misunderstanding. He added that his daughter had found the right match by the grace of Allah and that there was no other perfect match than the petitioner.
“In view of this judgment, is clear that the marriage of a Muslim girl is governed by Muslim Personal Law. As per Article 195 from the book ‘Principles of Mohammedan Law by Sir Dinshah Fardunji Mulla’, the girl is approximately 15 years of age and was competent to enter into a contract of marriage with a person of her choice,” the Court said in its order.
“The petitioner is stated to be more than 24 years of age. Thus, both the petitioner and the girl attained marriageable age as defined by Muslim Personal Law. Article 21 of the Constitution of India provides for the protection of life and personal liberty and further lays down that no person shall be deprived of his or her life and personal liberty except as per the procedure established by law,” Justice Dwivedi added.
The Court referred to Yunus Khan v. State of Haryana & Ors., 2014 (3) RCR (Criminal) 518, wherein it was held that the marriage of a Muslim girl is governed by personal law.
This comes after a similar judgment was passed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court reaffirming that a Muslim girl who reaches the age of 15 can marry whoever she wants, and such a marriage would not violate the Prohibition of Child Marriage (PCM) Act. Notably, according to the personal laws in Islam (Sharia), the age of attaining puberty is 15. The High Court also reassured that Muslim girls would continue to be governed by Islamic personal laws. Several other High Courts have passed the same verdict in several other cases earlier.
However, two contrasting verdicts were delivered by two high courts, ruling that having sex with minors is still an offence under POCSO. Last month, Karnataka High Court ruled that POCSO Act overrides Personal Law, and declared the marriage of a minor Muslim girl invalid as it violates the POCSO act. The High Court said that POCSO is a Special Act and it overrides the personal law which is based on Sharia Law.
Just three weeks later, Kerala High Court passed a similar judgement, saying that a marriage between Muslims under personal law cannot be excluded from the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The court said that if one of the partners in the marriage is a minor, offences under POCSO Act will apply. The validity of the marriage would not be considered in such cases.
We have yet another reason to thank our stars that social media and alternative sources of information have sprung up and grown stronger over the past few years. In the Indian context, that gives us freedom from the monopoly of Palazzo and Politburo narratives fed as “independent journalism” by the corrupt MSM elites. The freedom they recent every single moment of their wretched lives and try to subvert in every way possible. Even as they tried to recruit the likes of Cambridge Analytica to swing things in their favour.
I am talking about the recent wave of protests in China over the zero COVID policy of “our” Chairman. If not for social media, it would be blacked out. Total blackout is now impossible, precisely because we have alternatives, but then our comrade journalists do their best playing it down. As I write, the wave of protests appears to have simmered down.
Those of us old enough will remember the events of August 1991 when it appeared the hard-line Soviet communist group would oust Gorbachev and go back to its glory days. Stalinists and Moscow’s servants in India were celebrating with wild parties in Kolkata. And then Yeltsin happened. Rest is history.
Today similar celebrations must be breaking out in Lutyens and Mount Road as it appears Xi has won this round. One hopes that too would be short-lived. Although I am sceptical as the regime may survive for foreseeable future.
Be that as it may, the purpose of this article is not to predict events in China or discuss the obedience of our comrade left to despot demigods but to what India and Modi Sarkar can do to make sure the brief window of opportunity is used well. I am not claiming any credit for bringing up this topic as several have already spoken about it and written about it.
But here is my list of eleven things Modi government can do. Pun intended.
1. Fly under the radar
Make things happen at the state level. BJP rules enough states. Plus, there are non-hostile ones like Odisha. Get them to move. Modi should not underestimate the power of the left ecosystem to sabotage. They could survive Moscow’s fall although weakened. If Beijing falls, they are finished, they know it. It is much easier to do small bang than big bang that will see leftists hollering all the way from Lutyens to NYT Op-Ed pages. Remember land reforms? It is far easier to bring in 500 small factories than waste 30 years fighting for one POSCO.
2. Go East, young man!
Our media, both right and left, is obsessed with the West and what they say or write about us. We pop the champagne bottles when they praise and wring out hands and lash out when they critique. Third-rate academics are given star billing, whether they praise Modi or Aurangzeb. But all the action is to our East. The investments we need are in manufacturing that can get our farm labour productive and earn far more. Decisions about the next factory are taken in Hong Kong or Singapore, not Germany or Finland, even in Western companies. Because that’s where key executives and competition is. The dollars and jobs that don’t come here go to Vietnam or Indonesia, not Poland or Mexico. GOI should appoint business-savvy, eloquent babus, not file pushers and form fillers, as highly visible, dedicated Investment promotion officers in every embassy in the East. And hold them accountable for results. And praise, and reward them when they deliver.
3. Simplify tax and corporate compliance laws
This sounds like a clique, and many would say that is being done. Too little and too late. In fact, compared to 2014, in the name of cracking down on fraud, we have regressed. MCA, among others, has introduced form after form that serves no useful purpose. Electronic filing means nothing if that is simply an excuse to introduce more and more compliance. The nonsensical “COVID Compliance” form that was thankfully withdrawn after outcry is a symptom of the disease. This kills small businesses and disgusts big overseas investors. Many run a mile in tight shoes to Vietnam just to escape our babus. Believe me, I have not only seen this myself but heard this from responsible executives. Some have directly asked me – “Why is this so Mr Ganesh?”. They KNOW. Because they do the exact same business across the region and benchmark all the time. We must benchmark ourselves with ASEAN and get rid of forms, returns, paperwork and complexity that they don’t and we have.
4. Get rid of IAS, at least in economic, business related decision-making areas
Obviously I am not saying every babu is worthless. Many are stars. But it is fair to say on an overall basis, they have destroyed a lot more than they have created. We have talked for too long about outside talent etc. Our babus must run after industrialists and beg for job-creating investments, not the other way around, sit in Delhi and expect to be carried in palanquins. Because that is exactly what Chinese babus do. For that, we need people that have been there and done that, not lived their entire career in some dingy office doing unproductive paperwork.
5. Facilitate gig work – the world is the playground for our talented youth
Not everyone needs to work for Infosys or IBM. There’s enormous scope for gig work, be it design, IT development or even things like repairing costly watches or tailoring. Today compliance and tax navigation, customs and procedures are nightmares if you operate in India, especially if small. Our laws must make things simple and reward the ones bringing in money – not treat them like thieves and cheats. Why not say the first $50,000 of self-earned overseas income is tax-free? That will keep the Mallyas in check but help thousands of youth.
6. Watch the digital nomad space
Many countries, such as Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia etc., are offering great incentives for high-tech digital nomads to move in. They offer long terms visas, cheap rentals, a great entertainment scene and cuisine, a beach lifestyle, safety and peace. Not medieval Talibanic prohibition and tax raids. I know it is much harder for India to mimic them. But watch the space and at least make sure we don’t lose even more tax, skills and revenue. This, in fact, reinforces what I said earlier – our competition is to our East.
7. Continue with PLI in even more areas
Forget what Raghuram Rajan says. Key factors of production – reliable power, logistics, land, and even labour in some cases, are super expensive in India. Fixing that is a multi-decade problem. In the meantime, we need incentives. When the jobs are here, factories are here, things will sort out and solutions will emerge. Until then PLI helps. Yes, we need more skilled labour, faster ports, engineers that are employable etc., but nothing stops us from working on that simultaneously.
8. We need #MakeInIndia for intellectual property
Software and the like. What have we done to help the likes of Zoho? Probably nothing. The next Google or Facebook can be from here. This takes time but we need baby steps. Embracing open source for government work, a free mobile operating system challenge (Elon wants it, China is doing it!), promoting capacity building and many other things can be done with small budgets. That will break the backs of monopolies like Google and Apple and force them to be reasonable. Plus make India a lightning rod for global talent, mindshare and venture capital. I know a lot is already being done but ye dil mange more. We can do it. We have the size and market that the Philippines or Indonesia lacks.
9. Ten forms or you are out
Every minister should ask each senior bureaucrat under him or her to come out with ten forms, returns or filings that they can abolish TODAY. Not after another commission studies it for another ten years. If they can’t find it, fire them. When the first ten is done, rinse and repeat. We have thousands, so it should keep them busy for months. For heaven’s sake don’t compare with the USA. They can build walls and people will jump over them. We need welcome mats for the industry.
10. Crowdsource law drafting
I am not talking about passing laws, that is Parliament’s privilege. But writing new laws. Our laws are written in horrible 19th-century English in the most complicated language imaginable. Our notifications and “clarifications” are worse. They create litigation, harassment, and corruption almost from day 1. Just a simple example: Do we need 3 pages of sections, sub-sections, proviso, “notwithstanding anything contained hereins” to decide who’s tax resident?! And our lordships write 600-page judgements in equally archaic language. We should write laws that are easy to understand. Why not have an open competition for a new Companies Act or IT Act in under 100 sections? I am sure Indians can do it much better than Singapore or Vietnam!
11. Vastly simplify GST
No, I am not repeating Rahul Gandhi’s nonsensical one-rate for Mercedes and milk idea. But rate slabs must reduce, and nothing needs to be outside of it. Compliance is still tough. I remember filling out the newly introduced Singapore GST form in the early 90s. Just three or four figures to fill out and that’s it! I know reforms are being attempted but giving it a big push will help. We must find ways to empower states in the taxation arena even as they surrender some level of control by signing up for GST. This will also create competition that spurs everyone on.
Let us hope we can ride this wave and not miss the boat like we did in 70s, 80s and even 90s.
Propagandist-in-chief of NDTV and the face of their Hindi channel – Ravish Kumar – has finally resigned from the channel after it was acquired by the Adani Group. Following his resignation, Ravish Kumar posted a video on his YouTube channel for his “Saathis” and followers. The video was heavily garnished with melodramatic spices and toppings of self-praise. For someone observing it neutrally, it is no better than “Meri Ek Tang Nakli Hai” moment of Ravish Kumar.
For those who are unaware of this often-used meme, it is a dialogue from the Akshay Kumar starrer ‘Welcome’ in which Mushtaq Khan’s character constantly keeps talking about his boss, Nana Patekar, through the story of his fractured leg as he repeats “One of my legs is artificial, otherwise I used to be a great hockey player in the past”. Let’s directly dive into the sea of verbal tears Ravish Kumar shed after resigning from NDTV.
Ravish Kumar started with a gloomy face
Ravish Kumar started with his introduction, “Namaskar, I am Ravish Kumar” as if it was more of a Prime Time episode rather than his post-resignation rant. He said, “There was no golden age in India’s journalism. But it was never an age of ashes like today when every good thing about this profession is being burnt to ashes very quickly. This day was bound to come. There are so many channels in this country but every one of them is a “Godi Media”. The environment, ecosystem, and surroundings of journalism – all of them have been finished. At the same time, everyone claims that what they do is journalism, including those who are seen at as a part of the power center, journalism is being crushed in this country every day.”
Taking aim at the government, Ravish said, “Godi Media and the government want to impose on you what they mean by journalism. So you may get fooled again.”
Ravish thanked his ‘comrades’ and not the channel that employed him for so many years
Ravish Kumar claimed that he did not want to say much about his ex-organization NDTV, and he stuck to his word. He said, “I don’t want to say much about my organization because when you are emotional, you cannot be neutral. I spent 26 to 27 years in NDTV in a journey full of ups and downs with so many seniors and juniors and contemporary “Saathis”. There are so many memories. I can’t talk about this experience objectively, at least not today. Because, in so many instances, facts and emotions get mixed up and facts get lost in the storm of emotions.”
Ravish Kumar indirectly and unwillingly gave a cross-sectional view of his propagandist career in the last statement in this section where he talked about mixing up facts with emotions. Ravish Kumar avoided naming any of his colleagues in NDTV and said that it would be an injustice to others if he named just a few, because everyone enriched his life with their experience. However, he did not shed any light on how his experiences were enriched when he was with NDTV. However, he did spend time telling everyone what is real journalism as per him, even if he never found an issue worth talking about in states ruled by Congress, a party on whose ticket his brother fought elections.
Ravish Kumar feels his departure from NDTV is like ‘Beti ki Bidai’
Getting really melodramatic, Ravish Kumar compared his departure from NDTV with “Beti ki Bidai”, a farewell to a newly-wed bride from her parents’ home. Ravish Kumar said, “When a bride departs from her parents’ home, she turns back, again and again, to look at her home. I am feeling the same right now. So let me just turn back and see everything again. Talking about NDTV in detail is for some other time when I will not be emotional about getting separated from NDTV.”
Ravish Kumar, after this section, started detailing his career with NDTV. He said, “I joined NDTV in August 1996 as a translator before which I used to sort out letters by viewers. I worked on daily wages there and got money on per day basis, I still do the same. I reply to many of the comments and messages by the viewers. Nowadays I have reduced replying because I have pain in my fingers.”
Melodrama continues as Ravish Kumar compares himself with Narendra Modi
Getting even more melodramatic, Ravish Kumar said, “Today is a different evening. Today, the sparrow is not able to see its nest. Someone else has taken away its nest. But in front of the sparrow, there is an open sky which it can explore till it gets tired.”
He explained how he went on to become a reporter and then became a chief editor at NDTV. He said that it is possible only in NDTV that a person who works in translation and sorting out letters can become a reporter and go on to become a chief editor. In this part. he sounded exactly like Narendra Modi who often says that “it is possible only in the BJP that a Chaiwala like me, a simple party worker like me can become a Prime Minister candidate.” In this way, Ravish Kumar compared himself with Narendra Modi and used the words often used by PM Modi, ironically, a person Ravish keeps criticising every day even if he has done nothing wrong.
Realizing this contradiction, he quickly attempted to damage control where he said, “But never keep in mind while talking about me, that I once did letter-sorting and translations. I am not like those who talk of selling tea as they land from an airplane. I don’t want to do this for getting sympathy or to call my struggle one of the greatest.”
Fooling people in the guise of crediting them
Next, Ravish went on to talk about his thoughts on viewers and common people while reporting, and how when institutions were collapsing, his viewers and followers built a new institution of people. Of course, he thought it helped save and revive democracy in the country.
Ravish Kumar thanked students, Indians, and NRIs for becoming journalists themselves and helping him save the small island of journalism. He thanked people who contributed to his shows through different modes. As he resigned from NDTV, Ravish Kumar said that there is no journalism left in any media institution. This essentially underlines how he was considering himself to be the only real journalist left in the only real media house. Crediting viewers for watching and supporting his responsible journalism, he put on the shoulders of the common people the moral burden of supporting such activities in the future to save democracy.
Adding Chane ka Sattu, Honey, and Roses to the recipe
As Ravish Kumar realized that he is reducing melodrama, he again resorted to touching the sentiments as he said, “You trusted a journalist in this difficult era. You loved him so much.” He addressed himself in the third person like a true Narcissist. Then he quickly came back to his case as he said, “So many elderly women caressed my hair with love, many of them touched my cheeks and many others planted roses in my flowerpot. Someone sent “Chane ka Sattu” so that I get good health. Someone else sent honey for me. Somebody looked at me standing in scorching heat and he held an umbrella above me for shade. Someone else put an expensive pen in my pocket. So, today, I want to remember you, viewers, more and the NDTV less. I could do nothing without you and I am proud of you. I got unrestricted freedom in my organization but I used it only for you.”
Adding cricket flavor for better reach and attacking Adani Group
Just after saying that he did not have any ego, Ravish Kumar said, “I witnessed how time has changed. But I stood firm as a test match player. But now, someone has changed the entire nature of the game. Someone has made it like a T20 cricket match. Rich people consider the common public as inferior and like every other country, our country too has a few such rich people.”
This was essentially a jibe he took against Gautam Adani who recently batted for the possibility of a global Indian media that will back the stand of the Indian government when it is necessary to back the national interests internationally. Ravish Kumar said, “They will put a dollar in their pockets and leave a penny for you common viewers when they will claim that they want to convey the proper information to you through the news. They will file cases against real journalists and meet you in some religious talks where they will preach that they are doing this for the sake of journalism.”
Underlining societal differences even in the middle of a farewell speech
After underlining the rich-poor divide, Ravish Kumar tried to highlight linguistic differences as has been his leftist agenda of finding fault lines first and then crediting oneself for building a unified picture through those differences. Ravish Kumar said, “Hindi is not my mother tongue. Bhojpuri is my mother tongue. It is my village. Hindi is the first city where I reached. Many people from regional languages helped me by translating the content from their regional languages to Hindi so that I could make my shows more authentic. There was a time when only English journalist was considered to be journalists. In fact, the politics in the Hindi belt was responsible for this miserable condition of Hindi journalism. I know many Hindi journalists who did not get what they actually deserved. I thank all my supporters including those from the English language for what they did for me. They treated me equally. I don’t cry for those who did not.”
Ravish Kumar confirmed whom he batted for
Ravish Kumar further said, “I covered many protests. I saw how you trust a journalist. A state should listen to the people and what could be a better medium than a journalist? I felt that I am taking your voices to the government as I looked at the government from your point of view.” Ravish Kumar essentially addressed the protesters from this point on in the video. He said, “I see the light of the Sun in the protests like Shaheen Bagh and farmers’ protests. I have seen you become people. They can remove the tantra but they cannot finish Jan. One day this Jan will definitely make a better tantra. One day people will rise above hatred and search for a new place. They will remember a journalist at that time.”
Concluding with “Darr Ka Mahaul”
Warning newcomers about the “Darr ka Mahaul” in media, he said, “Many aspirants study journalism spending lakhs of rupees but they should know that there is no institution of journalism left in the Indian media now and they will be forced to work like agents. A scared journalist gives birth to a dead citizen. Therefore, say that you are not afraid. You are the citizen of a country that barefooted brought the British Raj to its knees. One day you will come out of the slavery of this Godi media and I have no reason not to trust you. Understand the gravity of the situation, you are the slave of a Godi media in an independent country. I will be seen only on YouTube for now and not on NDTV where you will never hear this again – Namaskar I am Ravish Kumar.”
What is being a Ravish Kumar?
For Ravish Kumar, journalism for all practical purposes can be propaganda against India, the Indian state, society, and government put together. He says so because he wants people to know that someone was fighting the battle even if the battle is lost. But while glorifying his own martyrdom, he cleverly conceals what he is actually fighting against. He, and many other journalists who are essentially off-shoots of the NDTV group, claim that they are the voices of the people who stand against discrimination while they are the ones who actually propel and peddle divides on Prime Time.
Ravish Kumar is a propagandist-in-chief leading the convoy of self-revering intellectual faces in the TV media, who claim to show the truth when they peddle their own agenda but weep for the “post-truth” era when they see people electing a government that doesn’t support their ideological biases. With Adani Group buying NDTV, maybe Ravish realised he can no longer push his agenda through his journalism, and knew now he can find his ultimate broadcasting place only where he himself had once said – a bathroom.
Delhi Police has approached the Delhi High Court challenging the clean chit given to Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in the case of the death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar. This comes more than a year after a Sessions Court in Delhi discharged Tharoor from the case.
Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma of the Delhi High Court heard the plea of the Delhi Police on Thursday. The court issued notice to the police on the application seeking condonation of delay in filing the petition. The court fixed February 7, 2023, as the next day of the hearing in the case.
Shashi Tharoor is accused of abetting the death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar, with the death being labelled as suicide. The Delhi Police had initially filed the case under murder charges, but after investigation, it was termed as suicide in the charge sheet. Shashi Tharoor was accused of marital cruelty (Section 498A) and abetment of suicide (Section 306) by the Police in its charge sheet.
However, the Congress leader was discharged by Special Judge Geetanjali Goel in August 2021, saying that there was no evidence to prove that Tharoor had acted in a manner which provoked, encouraged or incited Pushkar to die by suicide. The court had observed that without sufficient material, Tharoor can’t be compelled to face trial.
When the plea of Delhi Police came up for hearing on Thursday, Senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa appearing for Tharoor said in the court that a copy of the plea has not been served on him. He alleged that police sent the copy of the plea to an email ID which was suspended by police.
He also urged that the records of the case should be not shared with anyone not related to the case, including the media, citing Chapter 17 of the Delhi High Court Rules. The counsel of the police said that there was no objection. Accordingly, the Court ruled that copy of the petition and document can’t be given to any person not a party to the case.
Sunanda Pushkar was found dead on 17 January 2014 under mysterious circumstances at a hotel in Delhi. The cause of the death was determined to be ‘Alprazolam poisoning’ after post-mortem. While the police charge sheet says that she took an excessive amount of Alprazolam tablets, there are many who believe that the drug was fed or injected forcefully.
On November 30, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) told the court that the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, who is accused of a Delhi liquor policy scam, used 14 phones. All the accused, including Sisodia, Kalvakuntla Kavitha and Kailash Gahlot, changed phones multiple times. As per the ED, Amit Arora, a businessman from Delhi who was arrested on Wednesday, also changed phones 11 times. The agency further accused Arora and Sisodia, among others, of allegedly destroying evidence.
The ED informed Rouse Avenue court, “The magnitude of the destruction is such that most suspects, liquor barons, senior government officials, Excise Minister of Delhi (Manish Sisodia) and other suspects have changed their phones multiple times, where the approximate value of the devices used and destroyed comes to the whooping sum of Rs. 1.38 crores approx.”
ED said, “An attempt was also made to see that the evidence pertaining to the commission of this scam running into thousands of crores were either destroyed which would contain valuable digital data and material to prove further kickbacks. It is pertinent to note that major evidence with respect to the subject liquor scam was stored in digital formats both on mobile phones and laptops, however, as soon as the scam was unearthed and the case was surfaced/handed over to investigating agency, a large number of digital devices were found to be destroyed/changed by the persons involved/suspected to be involved in this case.”
#ExcisePolicyScam में 36 आरोपियों/संदिग्धों ने 170 मोबाइल फ़ोन इस्तेमाल किये जिसमें से 17 मोबाइल फोन ED बरामद कर पायी है। मनीष सिसोदिया ने 14 फ़ोन इस्तेमाल किये, कैलाश गहलोत ने तीन मोबाइल फोन और गिरफ़्तार अमित अरोड़ा ने 11 मोबाइल फोन। https://t.co/gL0pDe2W1Bpic.twitter.com/8zJepT3u9w
ED noted that 170 phones were destroyed/used during the period which was evident by the IMEI analysis. The agency managed to recover 17 out of these 170 phones. The agency said, “At least, 36 accused/suspects involved in the Excise scam have destroyed/used 170 phones (as per IMEI analysis given in the below table). Fortunately, the ED has been able to recover 17 out of 170 phones, otherwise, the kickbacks could have been much more and the involvement of other important persons would have surfaced more clearly. But in even in these phones data was found to be deleted/formatted. It is in this background and hardship that the ED had to investigate. Despite this, incriminating material has been unearthed by the ED through the arduous process of extraction and examination of numerous devices.”
The court granted 7-day custody of businessman Amit Arora to the ED on November 30. Notably, Arora is a close associate of Sisodia. Following Arora’s arrest, he was presented in court, where ED sought his custody to interrogate him in connection to the Delhi liquor policy scam. In the remand application, the agency said Arora collected a bribe of Rs 2.5 cr from an L1 wholesaler. It was a collection in collusion with Dinesh Arora, and the amount was part of the kickback money. It was alleged to be paid to Vijay Nair, an AAP leader.
As per the agency, Arora “arm twisted” Mahadev Liquor in April-May this year with the help of the Punjab State Government and Delhi Government to surrender their companies. Later, the company was allegedly pushed to surrender their license as it did not agree to pay the kickbacks clocking to 6 per cent.
Arora allegedly threatened Mahadev Liquor that if they refused to pay the kickback (from the wholesale margin), their factories in Punjab would be closed by the Punjab Excise Department. Notably, the factories were shut down by the officials of Punjab Excise via a verbal order.
The agency noted that Arora played a crucial role in using Punjab Government’s pressure in April and May to get undue benefits by forcing the players in the liquor business to surrender their licenses as they did not agree to pay kickbacks and extortion.
ED said Arora’s role in the scam was evident from the fact that he got one L1 and two L7 licenses. Further, he was associated with other affairs linked to implementing the new Excise Policy. The agency noted he used to tell other players in the business that “Hum hi government hain (We are the government)”.
The agency accused Arora of using Sisodia’s influence to get approval to shift one of his shops. Sisodia allegedly intervenes directly to get the job done. It was admitted by both Dinesh Arora and Amit Arora in their statements. ED said Arora was the H4 bidder in the Airport L7 zone. Still, he was granted the license for the location. On his instructions, Rs 90 lakhs and Rs 10 lakhs were paid to the Excise officials for opening the retail shops.
Vijay Nair lived in Government Bungalow
As per the ED’s statement in the court, Vijay Nair resided in a Government bungalow allotted to Cabinet Minister of Delhi Government Kailash Gehlot who was part of Excise Policy 2021-22. Interestingly, Gehlot was living in his private residence located in Najafgarh.
सोचिये। #ExcisePolicyScam में गिरफ़्तार आरोपी विजय नायर दिल्ली सरकार में मंत्री @kgahlot को अलॉट किये गये सरकारी बंगले में रहता था और काम करता था मुख्यमंत्री केजरीवाल के कैम्प कार्यालय से। मंत्री कैलाश गहलोत नजफगढ में प्राइवेट घर में रहते थे। pic.twitter.com/AuMZ6B3Zic
ED said, “Sh Vijay Nair is not an ordinary worker of the AAP but a close associate of Sh Arvind Kejriwal, the CM of Delhi. Sh Vijay Nair, as per his statement under section 50 of PMLA, 2002, functions from the camp office of Sh Arvind Kejriwal, CM, Delhi. Further, Sh Vijay Nair, since 2020, has been residing in the Govt bungalow allotted to a Cabinet Minister of Delhi Govt, Sh Kailash Gehlot, part of GoM of Excise Policy 2021-22. Sh Vijay Nair, does not have any other residence in Delhi. Irony being, Sh Gehlot lives at another private residence in Najafgarh.”
