So Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s economic management team has entered 2015 with all guns blazing.

The process of auctioning 204 coal blocks has gotten under way. The constitutional amendment bill to usher in goods and services tax is all ready to be tabled in Parliament. Acquiring land for industry has become easier. The insurance sector looks all set to get a big infusion of funds.
So will all this, along with the several other measures taken earlier (liberalising foreign investment in various sectors, speedier environmental clearances, cutting down of red tape for businesses, scything the harassment potential of labour inspectors) put the zing back in the economy? Will 2015 be the Year of Revival?

It certainly could, but then there are wild cards lurking around that could crash the party.

– What could be a bigger wild card than Indian politics itself? The big bang reforms of end-2014 all involved legislative action. Bills weren’t passed, so the government brought in ordinances. But the ordinances will have to be regularised and get legislative sanction.

The government may fret and fume and call it irresponsible, but the opposition is unlikely to make things easy for the government. And investors are unlikely to bite the bait, without being assured that the steps taken will not be reversed or diluted in any way.

The government’s best bet would be to ensure that the Congress continues to genuflect to Rahul Gandhi and he continues in his clueless manner.

– Even if the government is able to manage the opposition, will it be able to duck friendly fire from within its ranks?

The fringe elements of the Sangh Parivar have shown no signs that they have even a modicum of concern for the development agenda of the government. But their antics could seriously derail it – investors and the business community will ignore things like ghar wapsi programmes and insisting on bans only so far as they do not lead to communal conflagrations or provoke the opposition into opposing much needed legislative changes.

If either of these two things happen, we can kiss goodbye to any economic resurgence.

– The world economy is getting back on track but things are still a bit subdued. Though the recovery in the United States appears broad-based, some doubts have been raised about its sustainability.

The European Central Bank has reduced the growth forecast for Europe from 1.6 percent to 1 percent. This could dampen the performance of Indian exports, which has just about started recovering. And of course, there is always the uncertainty of when the US Fed will announce its rate hike.

– Illogical as it may sound, declining oil prices can prove a spoiler. Falling oil prices are a huge boon to India, which imports close to 80 percent of its petroleum requirements. But it could throw the economies of the oil exporting countries into a tailspin.

Part of the crisis in Russia has been due to falling oil prices. If the declining prices affect shale oil production in the United States and if this hurts growth in that country in a big way, that could be bad news for India as well.
– Two commission reports could throw the Modi government’s calculations – and the state of public finances – completely out of kilter.
In the case of one, the uncertainty won’t continue very long – the report of the Fourteenth Finance Commission will be tabled in the budget session of Parliament. Successive Finance Commissions have hiked states’ share in tax revenues (it now stands at 32 percent) and it will be interesting to see the extent of the increase which this Commission has recommended. Technically, the extent of devolution should not matter much for the economy – money should get spent productively, whether in the Centre or in the states – but if the central government’s coffers are strained, then that has a host of related implications.

Far more worrisome will be the report of the Seventh Pay Commission, scheduled to be submitted in August. Earlier Pay Commission reports have wreaked havoc in the finances of central and state governments.

Of course, the biggest wild card, however, will be how the government deals with these wild cards as and when they appear.

Three weeks after approving probe into graft charges against senior NCP leaders, the BJP-led government in Maharashtra has now shifted its attention on allegations of graft against State Congress leaders.

The Home department, headed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, has asked the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) to probe the role of former Congress Minister Harshwardhan Patil and Legislative Council member Amrish Patel in an alleged cooperative bank scam.

The file recommending an “open inquiry” into the matter has been forwarded to Chief Secretary Swadhin Kshatriya. After his approval, the proposal will be placed before Fadnavis for final clearance.

“We sent the file to the Chief Secretary two days ago. From there, it will go to the CM office,” Additional Chief Secretary Amitabh Rajan told PTI today.

However, the senior bureaucrat declined to disclose if the file contains names of Harshwardhan Patil and others.

The Chief Minister had earlier this month allowed ACB to launch probe into allegations of graft against former NCP ministers Ajit Pawar, Sunil Tatkare, and Chhagan Bhujbal.

Fadnavis had also cleared proposals placed before him for open inquiries against senior civil servants.

The ACB had sought permission for an open inquiry in the alleged cooperative bank scam in September after its preliminary investigations found merit in allegations of corruption raised on the issue.

Mumbai: BJP MP from Akola Sanjay Dhotre kicked up a controversy on Sunday when, addressing a conference, he said “…let the farmers die.”

The BJP MP, however, defended his comments and said the statement from his speech at an event was shown by television channels out of context.

The controversial remark came at a time when 12 farmers from Vidarbha have committed suicide in 72 hours.

Speaking at an agriculture exhibition and conference of farmers in Akola on Sunday morning where revenue minister Eknath Khadse was present Mr Dhotre said, “The farmers are in trouble due to our wrong policies. Sometimes I say angrily say, ‘Let the farmers die, do not pay attention. Those who can afford farming will do it, others will not do it.’”

The comment immediately sparked outrage.

Criticising Mr Dhotre, Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said it showed the ruling alliance’s “perverted mentality”.

“If the BJP leadership is heading in this direction then we condemn it. The comment by Mr Dhotre shows their perverted mentality. It is sad that the comment was made on a public forum and in presence of senior leaders (sic),” he said.

AAP Leader Anjali Daminia has strongly spoken against such irresponsible statement made by a representative elected by the people.

Alleging BJP of indulging in spreading false propaganda against the party by painting it anti-Hindu, Karnataka Congress chief G Parameshwara today called on the Congressmen to raise their voice against such wrong information.

“BJP people are unnecessarily talking about the Congress,they are trying to project Congress as anti-Hindu, but the truth is Congress looks at all religions equally,” he said.
Speaking at the Congress Party’s 130th Foundation Day programme here, he called on the party workers to become the ambassadors of the party.

“We speak very little, we should all start speaking out because BJP is trying to convert lies into truth by repeatedly spreading such wrong information,” he said, adding, Congressmen have to raise their voice against any such disinformation campaign against the party.

Criticising BJP, Parameshwara said the government at the Centre has failed in taking steps that is development oriented and towards improving economic situation in the country.

“After seven months in power, Modi government’s achievements are zero,” he said.
On the BJP’s ongoing membership drive in the state, Parameshwara said, “BJP has claimed to make one crore memberships in the state, our party should make more membership than theirs.”

Calling the party workers across the ranks to work towards the success of the membership drive, he warned action against those who will not involve themselves in this activity.

On being asked about the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments (Amendment) Bill-2014 which was introduced in the just concluded legislature session at Belagavi, he said “Congress has nothing to do with this bill.”

New Delhi: After lunch and dinner, the AAP has organised a “Tea with Kejriwal”, to collect donations for the party ahead of the state Assembly polls.

The event has been organised by former Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti this Saturday.

“This High Tea is a fund-raising event to collect donations ahead of elections where attendees will be charged Rs 20,000 each,” Bharti said who also shared a video on social media appealing people to donate for AAP.

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal has already attended fund-raising dinners at Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru in the recent past.

PTI

New Delhi, Dec. 22 — Celina Jaitley, who became popular with her roles in films like No Entry (2005) and Golmaal Returns (2008) is now enjoying her role as mother to twin boys.
Having experienced the various phases of womanhood, she has seen how one’s wardrobe evolves over time. From her modelling days and the acting phase to her pregnancy, Celina has seen it all. She says, “My wardrobe is an integral part of my identity. I have a planned wardrobe – a melange of various shades of my moods and roles as a woman.”
However, wardrobe makeovers are often difficult for Celina as she gets attached to her clothes. She explains, “Earlier, I used to be a victim of the exploding wardrobe syndrome. But I now realise that hanging on to clothes and other items is psychologically equivalent to not letting go.”
And now, she has found that charity is actually an opportunity to revamp her style with changing season. She says, “Hence I make a very strong effort to evolve every season, and I do give away everything twice a year.”
However, in a city plagued with the issue of space crunch, Celina is lucky enough to have a walk-in wardrobe. She says, “It is huge and has customised space for everything from gowns and saris to swim wear. It’s has a special walk-in area for my 800 plus shoes too.”

Demolition of houses and slums are a regular feature in Mumbai. In this context a slum area located at Kalina was recently demolished. Among them tenants lived a lady with her two children aged six months and four years. With no support from any concerned bodies she was compelled to live a life in the streets with her two children. The cold winter played hell with her and her children.

Some member of AAP from Kalina could not see the plight of the women and her children. They arranged a room her, paid her deposit for the room and now she has a decent living. She now with a shelter for her children is confident enough to earn a living and pay her monthly rent.

In another incident an AAP member Kumud had witnessed a lady on the streets whose son had recently died. Kumud thought of doing something for the lady. He started tweeting around seeking for help. Among those tweets he happened to get his attention a reporter of NDTV Saurabh Gupta. He covered the news and help started pouring in from all corners. Apart from the help what touched everyone’s heart is when Sourabh paid towards the meal for the street children and the lady. It showed a soft corner of a media man which is of course rare amongst this profession.

New Delhi, December 23 Elated over BJP’s good showing in Assembly polls, Home Minister Rajnath Singh today expressed confidence that his party would form government in both Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand. “We will form government in both the states,” the senior BJP leader told reporters outside Parliament House on queries over election results. Early trends of counting of votes show that BJP was leading in more than 20 seats in Jammu and Kashmir and the party is emerging as a clear winner in Jharkhand, leading in more than 35 seats. — PTI

Opposition lawmakers in India have shut down parliament in protest against alleged forced conversions of Muslims to Hinduism, with the disarray threatening to disrupt the premier’s legislative agenda.

Furious lawmakers stormed the well of parliament’s upper house on Tuesday, demanding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi address reports that groups linked to his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coerced poor Muslims into converting to India’s majority religion.

“The house will not run until the prime minister comes for discussion over the communal incidents and forced conversions issue,” said Derek O’Brien, from the regional opposition All India Trinamool Congress.

An associate group linked to Modi has allegedly bribed some 50 poor Muslim families into converting to Hinduism in the Taj Mahal in the city of Agra last week.

One of the converts said the families were promised financial incentives and ration cards if they went ahead with the conversions.

Meanwhile, a BJP lawmaker has since announced that a bigger conversion event was planned in the northern town of Aligarh on Christmas Day, in hopes of converting more Christians and Muslims.

In May, the BJP, led by Modi, won 274 seats in the 543-seat lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha.

However, the BJP lacks a majority in the upper house, where Congress and regional lawmakers routinely protest a range of issues.

Currently at stake are Modi’s plans to pass a series of major economic reforms through parliament, with just four days of the current session remaining.