Daily Hindu Editorials

💥 Daily Word Bytes - 1  from editorial  - Pre-emptive strike: on RBI's repo rate hike 💥 pre-emptive (adjective) – preventive, precautionary, protective. Hindu Editorial usage  :  Pre-emptive strike: on RBI's repo rate hike inflationary (adjective) – tending to cause monetary inflation. Hindu Editorial usage  :   As inflationary trends harden, the RBI’s rate hike will quell uncertainty in the markets inflation (noun) – increase of price level of goods & services & vice versa decrease of currency value. Hindu Editorial usage  :   This hike, the first during this NDA government’s tenure, was approved unanimously by the six-member committee, citing worries about hardening inflation trends and a firming up of growth recovery at home.   repo rate (noun) – it is the rate at which the central bank of a country (RBI in case of India) lends money to commercial banks in the event of any shortfall of funds. Hindu Editorial ...

👉With India recalibrating its relations with other powers, the India-U.S. equation is not quite balancing out👈 At his speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore last week, billed as a major foreign policy statement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke of India and the U.S.’s “shared vision” of an open and secure Indo-Pacific region. Yet his words differed so much from those of U.S. Defence Secretary James Mattis, who spoke at the same event, that it seemed clear that New Delhi and Washington no longer see eye-to-eye on this issue, and several others as well. 👉Oceanic gulf To begin with, Mr. Modi referred to the Indo-Pacific, a term coined by the U.S. for the Indian and Pacific Oceans region, as a natural geographical region, not a strategic one, while Mr. Mattis called the Indo-Pacific a “priority theatre” and a “subset of [America’s] broader security strategy” for his military command, now renamed the Indo-Pacific Command. While Mr. Modi referred to India’s good relati...

👉As inflationary trends harden, the RBI’s rate hike will quell uncertainty in the markets👈 At the end of an unusually long three-day meeting, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank of India opted for a hike in key interest rates by 25 basis points — the first such increase in four and a half years. This hike, the first during this NDA government’s tenure, was approved unanimously by the six-member committee, citing worries about hardening inflation trends and a firming up of growth recovery at home. Global uncertainties affecting emerging markets in particular have played a role as well — be it rising tensions over trade wars initiated by the Donald Trump administration or the strengthening dollar or further rate hikes by the Federal Reserve that could strengthen the exodus of global capital from emerging markets such as India. Already, between January and May, outflows from foreign portfolio investors have reached their highest level in 10 years, and by June 4, $6.7 b...

👉Iran should cooperate with Europe and China to work around U.S. sanctions👈 Iran’s notification to the UN that it would launch a plan to increase its uranium enrichment capacity illustrates the risks associated with the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal last month. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, reached among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, besides Germany, the European Union and Iran, in 2015, curtailed Tehran’s nuclear programme in return for the lifting of international sanctions. But after President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the agreement and threatened to impose new sanctions on Iran, its survival is in question. For now, the other signatories say they remain committed to the agreement. But almost a month after Mr. Trump announced his decision, they are yet to come up with a framework to salvage the deal. The latest Iranian announcement is perhaps aimed at turning the heat up on European powers to come up with guarantees that the...

👦We need more data before making easy correlations to explain popular verdicts👈 Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducted a roadshow while inaugurating an Expressway and made an indirect campaign speech at a rally in a neighbouring district just a day before the Lok Sabha by-election in Kairana, Uttar Pradesh, on May 28. The Bharatiya Janata Party lost Kairana. In the Modi era, a BJP victory in any Assembly election is attributed to the “Modi magic”. This is due to the unprecedented time Mr. Modi devotes to campaigning in State elections. For example, Mr. Modi participated in 34 rallies in Gujarat, 31 in Bihar, 24 in U.P., and 21 in the Karnataka Assembly elections. After the BJP secured 104 seats in Karnataka, commentators again lauded the “Modi magic” and “wave” for taking the BJP past 100 seats. 👉Complex realities Problematically, these are anecdotal conjectures, unfounded on systematic post-poll surveys probing the effect of a Modi rally on last-minute voter decisions...

👉It is unwise to suggest people-to-people contact as the way to resolve the Cauvery dispute👈 Makkal Needhi Maiam founder Kamal Haasan’s joint press interaction on June 4 with Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has triggered a huge controversy. What did Mr. Haasan say that was so provocative? He said that the court should be the last resort for dispute resolution and that people-to-people contact should be promoted to find the way forward. Various political leaders have asked: “What is Mr. Haasan’s locus standi? Won’t it weaken Tamil Nadu’s case, particularly in a situation where there is a stiff resistance towards the formation of the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) from the Karnataka Chief Minister?” 👉Since the judgment Ever since the Supreme Court delivered its final judgment on February 16, the situation in both States has been broiling. Although the final judgment brought some initial celebration in Karnataka, it was accompanied by apprehension that co...

👉The Congress should not oppose Pranab Mukherjee’s RSS visit but encourage more efforts to ideologically combat opponents👈 It was 1985 in Punjab, a politically charged State where nothing seemed to be going right. The last one year in particular had been terrible with the Army charging into the Golden Temple, Indira Gandhi being assassinated and the anti-Sikh riots echoing through time. The mood was clearly against the Congress. Despite this, the new Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, signed with Harcharan Singh Longowal the Punjab Accord that would largely bring peace and economic stability in Punjab. Today, the Congress is in power in Punjab. 👉Engage different viewpoints It is this ethos of engaging with everyone, even with those whom we vehemently disagree with, that has ensured the survival of the Congress and India through testing times. The Congress has always nurtured religious, economic and social inclusivity within the organisation. The party’s culture encourages diffe...

CENTRE NOT TO FILE COUNTER-AFFIDAVIT ON ARTICLE 35A (POLITY) The Centre has decided not to file any “counter-affidavit” on Article 35A, which has been challenged in the Supreme Court through a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition. The Central Government has maintained before the Supreme Court that it is ready to discuss on scrapping of Article 35A which does not allow people from outside the state of Jammu & Kashmir to work, settle or own property in the state. The State government has filed an affidavit opposing any such move. What is article 35 A? Article 35A was incorporated into the Constitution by an order of the then President Rajendra Prasad on the advice of the Jawaharlal Nehru Cabinet in 1954. It grants a special status to Jammu and Kashmir and allows the Jammu and Kashmir legislature to decide the “permanent residents” of the State, prohibits a non-State resident from buying property in the State and ensures reservation in employment for residents. Th...

💥 Daily Word Bytes - 2  from editorial  - Familiar moorings: on foreign policy re-orientation  💥 moorings (noun) – stabilizing influence/power. Hindu Editorial usage  :  Familiar moorings: on foreign policy re-orientation sanctions (noun) – action taken, or an order given to force a country to obey international laws by limiting or stopping trade with that country, by not allowing economic aid for that country, etc  Hindu Editorial usage  :   The fact that these visits have taken place at a time the U.S. administration has sharpened its aim at China and Russia with sanctions and threats of a trade war suggests Mr. Modi is also attempting to moderate India’s strategic posturing on the global stage trade war (noun) – a condition in which a country increase tariffs on foreign goods and impose quota restrictions to restrict other countries’ trade. Hindu Editorial usage  :   The fact that these visits have taken place at a ...