The Supreme Court passed an order last week placing a fine of ₹1 lakh on an officer of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), to be deducted from his salary, for filing an appeal in the apex court against the bail granted by the Allahabad High Court to a cancer patient in a money laundering case. This is a most welcome development.
There is much fretting about the depreciation of the rupee vis-à-vis the dollar. It is commonplace to equate a strong currency with a strong economy. But that is not true, especially in an emerging economy. Rupee depreciation is nothing to worry about as long as there isn't too much volatility and sufficient foreign exchange reserves.
In the vast majority of low-income and middle-income countries (LICs/MICs), most students at the secondary/higher secondary level are engaged in general academic education, not vocational education or training. For such students, the transition to work is usually traumatic. Most end up working in informal enterprises where they acquire some vocational skill informally, with no certification. The global average for the share of informal employment in total employment is 61%; in India, it is 91%, with nearly as high a share of unorganised enterprises.
Pakistani establishment must be happy at the Diwali gift when they were moved out of the so-called ‘Grey List’ of the FATF ( Financial Action Task Force) to the so-called white List after four years or so when the onus of proof for terror financing and money laundering rested on their ill-gotten laurels. Islamabad has had that unique distinction couple of times before. But this was the longest and perhaps more painful as the economy of Pakistan has continued to deteriorate both due to natural and man-made causes.
India was probably the first country that not only supported the decolonization of Africa and Asia but established defence training institutes in several countries while providing them with requisite logistical and instructional material and assistance, creating defence cooperation Moreover, India has always stood for Africa with its 'Share and Care' approach and has collaborated in bilateral, regional, and sub-regional formats while becoming its voice at the UN, WTO, and WHO.
The frequency of extreme weather events has been increasing. Ferocious cyclones, severe droughts and floods, wildfires, melting glaciers, and polar ice caps are reported too frequently. The world needs to consider an alternative development path, and Gandhi can be one starting point.