Inequalities in Incomes and wealth declined since independence due to the socialist policies adopted by successive Congress-led governments till mid-1980s. The land re-distribution laws enacted by the state governments, especially in the communist ruled states contributed most. In Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh staunch socialists like Devaraj Urs and PV Narasimha Rao enacted Land Reforms Acts. Thus, by redistribution of agricultural land to the landless tillers by state intervention of the state, farm outputs rose and they were lifted from extreme poverty...[By Philip Mudartha]
At the markets in Navi Mumbai where I shop for groceries, vegetables and fruits, young women and girl-children accost me and implore to buy garbage bags for a few tens of rupees. I wonder if they earn enough for two square meals a day. Then there are Swiggy, Zomato and other platforms whose delivery boys arrive at our door-steps with freshly cooked food from restaurants, daily essentials like fresh milk, eggs and bread etc. Have you wondered what they must be earning per day?...[By Philip Mudartha]
After the hiatus of two months, I resume the series of exclusive articles. There wasn’t a dearth of news stories relevant to you. However, I must admit that my readers have been less than enthusiastic to express their views on these exclusives. Which, of course, affected my motivation
Philip
In April 1920, the World War-I Allies divided the former territories of the defeated Ottoman Empire. Syria and Lebanon went to France. Great Britain got Palestine. However, the Palestinian Arabs wanted an..
Philip
During the last decade of 19th century, a minority of Eastern European Jews rejected assimilation as minorities. Some others developed the modern European notion of nationalism. The emergence of nationalism deepened the Jewish existential crisis and Jews were forced to
Philip
In my previous article, I referred to Fred Jerome’s book “Einstein on Israel and Zionism”. I read it with my subscription to internet archive which gave me the accurate picture of Einstein as a human-being of very high moral calibre though irreligious. The full texts of Einstein’s letter to Nehru
Philip
Einstein was not an ardent supporter of Zionism, the Jewish Homeland project by the European Jews. He felt that the waves of arriving Jews could live alongside existing Arabs in Palestine. In 1938, he predicted that the Zionist project would be threatened by “fanatical Arab
Philip
The Hamas cross-border terrorist attack on Israel in the early hours of Saturday, the 7th October was unprecedented. Over 5,000 rockets were fired at Israeli cities, and villages. Under the cover of rocket fire, over 2,500 armed men poured into Southern Israel using either para-gliders or SUVs, trucks and motor-cycles.
Philip
Speaking in the Parliament on 10th August 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit out at the governance and policies of the Congress in the North-East. He recalled an episode from 1966 when the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out an attack in Aizawl on the orders of Indira
Philip
I will begin this chapter on our banking system, with former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan. He demitted office on 4th September 2016, upon serving his tenure of three years. After Modi-led NDA government came into office on 26th May 2014, RSS hotheads and “loose cannon” BJP members began their tirade
Philip
During the virtual Rozgar Mela event on 24th July, PM Modi said that the previous UPA government “destroyed” the banking sector with scams. His government has restored its good financial health, with India now known for the sector’s strength. According to him, "phone banking"
Philip
Only nine months to go for the 2024 general election. PM Modi and BJP have dusted off their divisive plan to enact a common set of personal laws for us irrespective of religion. Labelled as Uniform Civil Code (UCC), BJP had promised it in its 2019 LS Election manifesto. Speaking in Bhopal to his party cadre, Modi
Philip
In Namo’ste America, I wrote: “Ever since Modi came to power in 2014, India has attracted global attention on a range of concerns that indicate that some of its goings on are inherently undemocratic. Modi has regularly fuelled majoritarian sentiments in the country and has maintained silence
Philip
Our PM Modi was accorded the honour of addressing the joint session of US Congress for the second time. Before him, Manmohan Singh, Atal Behari Vajpayee, Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, and Jawaharlal Nehru had addressed the US Congress once during their terms. Modi’s..
Philip
BJP may find solace that their vote share is marginally lower (-0.35%). Its core constituents have remained loyal. That is not really solace because not only BJP has lost power but the chance for its “Plan B” (of Operation Kamala) has very little chance of success. JDS has lost 4.91% vote share and INC has gained 4.74%. The gap between INC and BJP has widened to 6.88%. It may seem that vote transfer from JDS to INC has happened. But, that may not be entirely true. Parties and political pundits will analyze region-wise..[By Philip Mudartha]
The tenure of Karnataka Legislative Assembly ends on 24th May 2023. The previous elections were held in May 2018 which threw up a hung assembly. BJP secured 104 seats, Congress 80 and JDS 37. The state-wide vote share was 36.35% for BJP, 38.14% for Congress and 18.2%
Philip
The secular and left-liberal media described “The Kerala Story” as a propaganda film that uses art as a tool to propagate hate and crate division among communities. For the liberals like the communist rulers of Kerala, the movie presents distorted narrative of conversions of
Philip
According to the UN data, India surpassed China as the world’s most populous nation on Wednesday, the 26th April 2023. By the end of this month, India’s population is projected to cross 142 crore. China’s population had peaked at 142 crore in 2022 and has been
Philip
Supreme Court has done what successive governments shied away from. Selection of CEC and ECs by government was problematic. With weighty decisions on conducting elections and adjudicating disputes between parties to be made by this high constitutional
Philip
he Indian Chemical Industry is an integral part of the Economy. In all different ways it’s a part of our lives. We are inextricably linked to the industry- be it be the furniture we use, cars we drive, garments we put on or the drugs we consume. Indian Chemical Industry is both capital as
Philip
Union Budget announced on 1 Feb 2023 was devoid of any big negatives, barring the cigarettes industry. It was continuation of the past. Government stuck to its script of being fiscally prudent. No major populist steps were announced. Budget tried to achieve a fine balance between growth of manufacturing
Philip
Today, 26 January 2023, we celebrate the 74th Republic Day. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is the chief guest. The 68 year-old is one of most influential Arab leaders with a reputation as a moderate autocrat. As defense minister during Hosni Mubarak’s sunset
Philip
The IT sector is one of the most crucial sectors of the Indian industry. It is one of the largest drivers of export revenue for the country. The industry currently contributes about 8% of GDP and is expected to contribute to about 10% by 2025. India is currently the largest IT services provider in the world. India has an edge
Philip
There have been sixteen governments since independence. The 17th government is in office since May 2019. The next general elections are due before May in 2024. These are the main political events during seventy-five years of our independence. ndian National Congress
Philip
It has become a habit for Arvind Kejriwal, the IIT engineer turned social activist turned politician, the CM of NCT and AAP national convener to bemoan that the past governments for seventy-five years since our independence have done nothing but loot to enrich themselves
Philip
Try googling “The debate on revdis culture”. I just did and found links to my previous two articles published last month by this website. I was pleasantly surprised. Hence, I was motivated to pen the final part on “corporate freebies”. I will follow a different approach to tell the
Philip
There are so many central schemes like provision of piped potable water to every household by 2024, financial inclusion of every citizen through the zero balance Jan Dhan Yojana, the PM Awaas Yojana, the Skill India mission, the Make in India mission, the Swachh Bharat Mission, the Sansad Adarsh Grama Yojana, the Beti
Philip
Delhi is home to the second highest number of billionaires and millionaires of any city in India. Delhi ranks fifth among the Indian states and union territories in human development index. Delhi has the second-highest GDP per capita in India (after Goa). Although a union territory, the political administration of the National Capital
Philip
“Many state borrow and spend on unproductive projects which will send them into debt trap. Many politicians’ aim is to spend more in order to get more kick-backs or spend on popular dole out to get more votes. At least, Kerala is in trap; to give salary of government employees
Philip
As of June 2022, India’s installed power capacity is 403.76GW. In India, electricity generation primarily depends on thermal sources, coal, lignite, gas, and diesel. Thermal power generation accounts for 58.5% of the total installed power generation capacity. Of which, coal accounts
Philip
Following the alarming economic melt-down in neighboring Sri Lanka, there are voices in India predicting gloom and doom scenario for our economy. What is the reality on the ground? Because Sri Lanka is caught up in a debt-trap and a man-made economic crisis, should we worry about our own national debt? This essay
Philip
An eight-year-old high inflation, soaring energy and commodity prices due to the Russia-Ukraine war are threatening to squeeze the Indian economy. The only silver lining is that the monsoon has arrived. Good rains will not only help the agriculture sector but help cool off the soaring
Philip
Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi returned to New Delhi early morning on Wednesday after participating in the Quad Leaders’ Summit as part of his two-day tour in Japan and immediately held a Cabinet meeting. At this week’s meetings of Quad, Japan and Australia were
Philip
The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) is the primary church in Russia. Legally known as the Moscow Patriarchate, it is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The title of primate of the ROC is the Patriarch of Moscow..
Philip
The wait is finally over for the investors who were eagerly waiting for India’s biggest public issue, the Life Insurance Company (LIC) initial public offering (IPO). It hits primary markets on Wednesday, 4th May 2022. Government of India (GoI) is offering for sale 3.5% of its equity stake, totaling 22.1crore shares of face
Philip
n his speech declaring war on Ukraine, Putin said the goal of his “special military operation” was the demilitarization and de-Nazification of Ukraine and ridding it of drug addicts. He also said that it his moral and spiritual duty to protect the Russian speaking “brothers” in Ukraine from the
Philip
The so-called hijab row is brewing in Karnataka for several weeks now. In late December last year, six female students of Udupi Government Junior College were denied entry into their classrooms for wearing the hijab. Hijab is headscarf worn by many Muslim women and girls in public
Philip
The FY23 budget estimates an expenditure of Rupees 39,44,909 crore. Of which, largest share of Rupees 9,40,651crore is the interest burden on its outstanding debt. Unfazed, the GoI aims to borrow more by a whopping Rupees 16,61,196 crore during the year. The outstanding debt and other liabilities of the
Philip
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday, the January 15th attacked the BJP central government with an online Twitter poll. He asked his followers to vote on what they think are its biggest shortcomings. Rahul Gandhi posed the question "What has been the biggest
Philip
There is no official data but estimates are that there are about 20 million crypto investors in India, with total crypto holdings of around Rs. 40,000 crores. Bitcoin, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency, is trading at around $60,000. Its price has more than doubled since the start of this year because hordes of new
Philip
Unpredictable that he is, Prime Minister Modi surprised the nation when he announced hat his government will repeal the farm laws in the Winter Session of Parliament. What were the farm laws that have been repealed? The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 which is
Philip
n Thursday, Oct 21st, India marked the one billion mark of total COVID-19 vaccination jabs. The most populous nation China had reached this milestone earlier in June 2021 but they had begun several months earlier. India began its vaccination program only in March 2021...
Philip
National General Secretary of BJP and Chikmagaluru MLA, CT Ravi recently called for a population control policy in Karnataka on the lines of two other states ruled by his party, Assam and Uttar Pradesh. "It is high time Karnataka brought in a new population policy on the lines of
Philip
Sonia Gandhi does not need an introduction. So too, her transformation from a young grieving widow to the centre-stage of our national politics. However, a briefing on her core beliefs and values will not hurt. Born in a small village in Italy, she was raised as a Roman
Philip
Less than three months ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi credited the spirit of Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) for two victories, on the cricket field against Australia and in the COVID-19 pandemic. “A positive mindset always leads to positive results,” he declared. A month later, on Feb. 21, Modi’s ruling BJP passed
Philip
Petroleum Fuel prices in India are hitting fresh highs on a daily basis. PM Modi is blaming “previous” governments for our imported oil dependence but doesn’t seem to care for facts available in the public domain. To unmask his false his narrative, here is official data on the cost factors making up the pump price of petrol
Philip
Last Monday, the 1st February 2021, Finance Minister (FM), Nirmala Sitharaman, presented to the Lok Sabha the Union Budget for FY 2021-22. Since then, a bevy of economists and policy analysts have assayed and passed their expert verdicts. In fact, the stock brokers were the first to react as the FM was speaking
Philip
Farmers mostly led by Punjab based kisan unions that are dominated by Sikhs, naturally, have laid a siege to Delhi. They have camped at several key border approaches to the national Capital. Men, women and children are camping in make-shift tents braving the extreme
philip
It is Tuesday morning, January 11th in US Capital, Washington D.C, as I pen these lines. The members of the House of Representatives have taken their seats in the legislative chamber within the Capitol. Their business for the day is to debate and pass a resolution calling upon Vice
Philip
The recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) press release on Gross National Product (GDP) numbers of member countries shocked many Indians. Egos were hurt, especially of our government supporters, according to whom Modi is doing a good job of running the country and managing its national economy..
philip
Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna are the first two women to share the prize, which honors their work on the technology of genome editing. Their discovery, known as Crispr-Cas9 "genetic scissors", is a way of making specific and precise changes to the DNA contained in living cells. With this tool
Philip
The Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare, on its website, states that three bills aimed at transformation of agriculture and raising farmers’ income were introduced in the Lok Sabha to replace ordinances promulgated on 5th June, 2020. Legislations will
Philip
Yes, unemployment looms large. I called and spoke to one of my protégés who returned from Qatar to his hometown in Malabar. Since coming back, he has been assisting his father in running the family grocery store. His father is fit and healthy in his upper sixties; he can run the
Philip
The following chart depicts the monthly average price of Brent grade Crude Oil for the previous five years. The price crashed to zero, beginning in March in the aftermath of global lockdowns announced to control the spread of the Novel Corona Pandemic. The unplanned lockdowns
Philip
On Wednesday, 29th July 2020, the Indian Union Cabinet cleared a new National Education Policy (NEP) which proposed sweeping changes in school and higher education. Independent India followed the colonial education policy till 1968, when the parliament passed the first education policy drafted by the..
Philip
In part-1 of this essay, we have dealt with the prelude to this war. Here, we deal with the actual war in which our military suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of PLA in both theatres. In the western theatre of Aksai Chin in Eastern Ladakh, the PLA advanced to their 1960 Claim
Philip
On the night of June 15/16, scuffles broke out between an Indian forward post patrolling party and their Chinese counterparts in the Galvan Valley in Eastern Ladakh which is a household news story as I write this article on 2nd July 2020. This was by far the worst skirmish
Philip
It has been nearly three months of self-isolation for me in distant land of the United States of America (USA) where I had arrived to visit my son. Because India enforced nation-wide lockdown since March 24 and kept extending it in phases and closed all airports for international flights till an unknown future date..
Philip
It is March 6, 2020 and the time is 4:00PM, when the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has closed its trades for today. Today’s top story is the tanking of shares of YES Bank on the bourse, which began yesterday when the RBI superseded the Board of Directors of the stressed
Philip
In the elections held in Delhi on 8 February 2020 to elect 70 members of the Delhi Legislative Assembly, the voters resoundingly gave a huge mandate to Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party. AAP won 62 seats. This was an endorsement of the exemplary performance of AAP government installed in February
Philip
On the 9th of November 2019, a five member panel led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) of the Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgment in the Ayodhya land dispute case. The bench unanimously ruled in favor of the Ram Janmabhoomi. It rested the title to the 2.77 acre plot of contested land with the deity Ram Lalla (Infant Ram) and vested its guardianship with a trust to be set up within three months by the central government. The Hindus can now build their much coveted Ram Mandir on the site. The judges instructed the central and UP state government to give a 5 acre...[By Philip Mudartha]
Philip
After a month or two of living in denial, the Modi government seems to have grudgingly accepted that our national economy has slowed down. Our Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitaraman has held, at the behest of tough taskmaster and No.2 in the government packing order, Home
Philip
Every so often one comes across a child who displays such brashness and disregard for others’ feelings that one cannot but think: “that kid is a spoilt brat!” The numbers of such spoilt brats are steadily on the rise. Parents are unsure how to raise them and let them grow like wild
philip
If you had heard about my ill-health, you had heard correctly. I was suffering from hard breathing, and breathlessness while walking daily in the morning in the nearby garden. I could not climb stairs at all. I was worried that I may die soon. Driven by worry, my fasting blood sugar
philip
After the three basic commandments concerning the just relationship to honor one’s father and mother, the Decalogue contemplates at once the whole gamut of filial relations. It captures concisely the spirit of filial relation and obligations in that single phrase: Honor thy father and mother.
philip
Every human being is born in a family. Traditionally, a family meant husband and wife, at least, besides parents, in-laws, siblings, children and so on. Now-a-days, even though the traditional sense is retained to a certain extent, situations like single parents and separations have
philip
The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government on Monday presented a "zero-tax" Budget which slashed the value added tax (VAT) on a wide range of goods to bring down prices of consumer products such as green vehicles, watches, readymade garments, shoes
philip
We have been using solar radiation for generations, mainly as day-light during the day; provide heat to ourselves and living organisms and sunshine for drying our laundry, various food items and agro-products on household scale. Just imagine the amount of electricity we saved due to
Philip
On 14th February 2015, Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) stormed the Assembly election to win 67 seats and to form the government in Delhi-NCT state. On Sunday, the AAP government completes one year in office. Its anniversary celebrations include public Q&A
Philip
The promise was that the state will get uninterrupted power from 1 January 2016. But, households in the coastal districts, especially in villages the power situation is grim, despite mild weather during this winter. It would get only worse during the summer as refrigerators and air-conditioners kick in. The reported
Philip
Yettinahole is ridgeline in Sakleshpur Taluka of Hassan district, where several western flowing streams drain the monsoon rainwaters into Netravati River, which is the main lifeline of Dakshina Kannada district. Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Ltd (KNNL) envisaged a project to divert a major portion of the rainwater through a system of canals, man-made reservoirs, pumping stations, and piping networks to east flowing streams in order to increase..[By Philip Mudartha]
Greece is a member state of European Economic Community (EEC) since 1981. In 1993, member states of ECC formally became European Union (EU). But, EU did not have a common currency. Greece, like other member states, had its own national currency drachma and central bank. In 1999, EU implemented.. [By Philip Mudartha]
Philip
BJP is not INC. No doubt, INC had been the refuge of ruling classes. Indira Gandhi was an aberration. Rajiv Gandhi onwards, all Congress-led governments have compromised. The result is a phenomenon called crony capitalism. The scourge is corruption scandals... [By Philip Mudartha]
Philip
The link between pesticides and cancer has long been a concern. Expert and public opinion is divided. There are convincing presentations by both sides of the argument. A study report released in 2010 by US President’s Cancer Panel found that the true.. [By Philip Mudartha]
Philip
Gold is our national obsession. Gold is a fashion and fascinating to us. We are obsessed with gold since generations. Gold makes and mars our most intimate relationships too. The god price has risen sharply in the decade up to mid-2011. Its popularity has risen.. [By Philip Mudartha]
Philip
Julie and I are married for thirty-four years. It took that many years to start a family, raise the kids and let go of them. Dekhtedekhte, my hair turned grey (not to mention my mustache). I turned sixty, sufficient reason to retire and take sanyas from Qatar. A month into.. [By Philip Mudartha]
Philip, Travelogue
In this chapter 5 of education series, I will begin with a self-appraisal. What makes me think that I can advise teachers? I have never been a professional teacher, but for a short stint of coaxing teenager girls to study Physics, Chemistry and Math at a Bombay high school. My predicament is akin to that of Catholic Clergy, who in their celibate bliss, double as marriage counselors. Ignorance is bliss, especially in consulting and advising business.. [By Philip Mudartha]
This is a standard job description for hiring school teachers: To impart knowledge and learning skills to the students in his/her assigned class in a manner that meets the professional standards of the school. Most importantly, the teacher should have the.. [By Philip Mudartha]
Philip
The primary schools enroll students in Class 1 and pass them out at Class 5. Small and even remote villages have them. It is no longer necessary for children aged 6 to 11 to travel far from their homes. Enrolment in government and aided private schools.. [By Philip Mudartha]
Philip
With increasing recognition that education should help students to develop a well-rounded personality, the bodies and officials administering the education systems have rolled out an overhaul of school syllabi across the nation. Education in India.. [By Philip Mudartha]
Philip
I was planning for a long time to write a few articles to Bellevision viewers with guidelines to students as well teachers in order to enhance their knowledge in selection of courses for higher studies, scope for jobs, etc. However due my extensive travels to south [By Philip Mudartha]
Philip
“Philip, imagine traveling around the world, Rose and me holding hands and doing what we always wanted to do since our sweetheart days at college. How beautiful, romantic and awe-inspiring. I look forward to my retirement by Christmas”. It was full moon [By Philip Mudartha]
PhilipArtcle
“Life is good”, so said my young friend who turned 40 last week. Married for just over a decade, two kids, two jobs, two cars, and a live-in maid, it is a ‘no regrets’ success story for him. Only four years have passed; when, [By Philip Mudartha]
PhilipArticle
At 60, I divide my years into three neat stages. The early twenty years consisted of care-free childhood, rebellious teens and coming of age. The luxury of suckling at mother’s breasts for milk even as I joined primary school is a God-given gift,seldom received by elder
Philip
Br. Philip Noronha of the Holy Cross School, Whitefield was assaulted by a bunch of hooligans on Saturday, 23rd October 2010 by forcing him out from a public transport bus and taking him back to his school with a pre-planned programme. This act was also aimed at
In what can be termed as a gross violation of human rights, Holy Cross Brother and Vice Principal of Holy Cross School Whitefild, Bangalore, was manhandled and assaulted by miscreants belonging to Jaya Karnataka Vedike in front of TV cameras here on Saturday
At least six Chinese hostages on Monday survived the hijacking of a tourist bus in the Philippines that ended after the hostage—taker was shot dead by police.
A dismissed policeman armed with an automatic rifle has seized a bus in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, in a bid to demand his reinstatement, police said.
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