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Showing posts from April, 2025

Your simple guide to Elections to five Indian states in 2026: Elections to Kerala, TN, WB, Assam and Puducherry Explained

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In 2026, we have an interesting election season with four states and one Union Territory heading to the polls. It has been quite some time since we discussed national-level politics. That is why we are here to remove your confusion regarding these elections in the national picture.  Before you proceed with the topic, do read our previous article for a better understanding! West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and the Union Territory of Puducherry are going to elect their respective governments. The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced dates for assembly polls.  In Kerala, Assam, and Puducherry, polls will be held in a single phase on April 9. Tamil Nadu will vote in a single phase on April 23. In West Bengal, polls will be held in two phases on April 23 and 29. The counting across all the states will be held on May 4. Nationwide significance of these elections  All the states mentioned here, besides Assam, are opposition-ruled states with a marginal presence of...

Free-Trade is (not) just about economics

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The Trump Administration's new tariff policy has been in discussion for some time now. Starting from his campaign season, he has been harshly talking about imposing reciprocal tariffs with the US's major trading partners. Well, everything that Trump has been talking about tariffs only since last year, right? Not so. Trump made tariffs a central policy even in his 2016 election campaign, and the US entered a trade war with China, which lasted even during the Biden Administration. To our shock, Biden didn't remove most of the tariffs that were imposed by the Trump administration. In addition, Biden continued to keep them as well as continue to impose tariffs on aluminium, steel and 200% on Chinese EVs. Now, you can see there is a small affinity for tariffs not only in the US but around the world.  Let us not deny the fact that we are all beneficiaries of free trade. We are taught pure economics in school but not international political economy. Hence, our understanding of eco...

News Capsule For The Month of March 2025

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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 sign up using the email on the left sidebar.  Article of the month Kerala  Kerala state budget presented in the state assembly.  CPIM's state meeting ends in Kollam with a strict change of ideology.  An elephant goes on a rampage in a temple festival.  CASA says it will enter electoral politics in Kerala.  Six were arrested in an Aluva drug bust. Kochi Metro has yet to fix the Kaloor Stadium glitch. A Kerala cop was caught red-handed while taking a bribe for passport verification.  Rites Ltd emerges as the sole bidder for Phase III Kochi metro line.  Director of Empuraan film 📽 Prithviraj says he'll be making 17 voluntary edits to the film after the backlash.  BJP has nominated former minister and technocrat Rajeev Chandrashekhar for the post of State President ahead of local elections this year and State elect...