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Showing posts from February, 2022

The Problems with Westphalian Nation-State System

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We all associate ourselves with various identities such as Indians, Chinese, Pakistani, Americans, Canadians, French, British and much more. Why do you think we all associate with all these more? Are there any other identities which people associate with?  The identities which I mentioned before are relatively new compared to other identities such as religion, language, caste, and various other identities. It is not to say that people never had such feelings towards nations or the state. But the idea of loyalty and love for the motherland was very important which offset various other identities. The question we are arriving at is what is the motherland, who made and how it formed.  What we refer to today as a Nation or Country refers to what we know in political science as a Nation-State. Today almost all the countries we know are categorised Nation-States and some even as State-Nations. International Relations and Political Science suggest that states are the most important a...

UP Elections 2022- A Podcast

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  Greetings to all listeners and readers!! UP Politics  is the most important state politics in India. UP Politics stands apart from the rest of the world's domestic politics for multiple reasons. Five Indian states are going to elections namely- UP, Punjab, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand. For obvious reasons, UP is the most important of them all. All eyes are now on UP elections now, which spans over 7 phases and results awaited on 10th march.  This episode will take you to how UP Politics reached this particular situation and decode the politics and various electoral issues and the way forward. We will understand more about geography, socio-politics, demographics, voting patterns, and its national-level impact.   The mic that was used for recording.   About the Guest We have a guest for the podcast- Rahul Ramachandran Menon.  The panellist is proficient in Indian Politics and policy. He has been closely following the contemporary issues, news, leg...

India's Success Against the Third Wave and Curious Case of Kerala

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India has successfully fought and won against the third wave. On 31st January, PM Narendra Modi announced that India's fight against the third wave is a success. This will prompt us to have a question in our mind, what did India do remarkably, how did India deal with the issue much better than the US which saw over 1 million cases being reported every day.  India's peak in the third wave was 317,000 while during the second wave was 450,000 around. This is also at a time when Omicron which has caused the third wave, has higher transmissibility and infection rate. The chances of asymptomatic cases may also be true. India in the same period had started unveiling booster doses, even if it was late. It is also possible that a very large population is not getting tested and ignore the infection. Another big achievement for India is the emergency approval of the Covaxin vaccine to be used for children 15-17 age group. India also surpassed the goal of 75% vaccination which indeed is a ...

News Capsule for the Month January 2022

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Following are the top news for the month.   If you wish to follow and get notifications of future articles, you can signup using the email on the left sidebar.  READ OUR BUDGET 2022 COVERAGE ARTICLE.  Kerala  Operation Kaval was initiated by Kerala Police against Thugs and Goonda gangs a grand success.  Weekend curfew initiated to curb the third wave to stop the spread Omicron. Digital Survey in the state began from Ernakulam. K-Rail DPR out, Central Govt. says incomplete. Railway upholds land acquisition procedures. Opposition calls for survey blocks to be thrown out as a mark of protest.  Kochi Metro to extend services till 10.30pm. CM visits the US for treatment. Then leaves for UAE for expo and meeting investors.  Four Keralites killed in Bengaluru road accident. National Water Awards-2020: Thiruvananthapuram awarded as 'Best District' in South zone. CM talks to Industrialists in Telangana to invest here.  Former CM Oommen Chandy urg...

Takeaways from Indian Financial Budget 2022

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On February 1st 2022, the Finance Minister of India, Mrs Nirmala Sitharaman presented the financial budget for the financial year 2021-2022. It was a well-sought-after budget this time as the world is recovering from the biggest pandemic of the century as well we had seen a terrible second wave as well as the upcoming state assembly elections. On 31st January, the minister had submitted the Economic Survey for the year  2021-2022.   LINK TO 2021 Budget Review.  The entire budget was paperless and was readout out from a tablet PC. The theme was the  Economic blueprint for the next 25 years— India at 75 to India at 100. Check this latest budget guide.  Major announcements from the Budget Speech  Fiscal Deficit target- 6.4% Error correction in Income Tax fillings to be allowed Tax deduction limit raised for State govt employees for NPS fund to be increased to 14% Digital Assets will be taxed 30%  SEZ Act to be replaced with new legislation for investment ...