Congress will need to reach out to friends and foes to make a contest of the presidential poll

That opposition parties have begun talks on putting up a common candidate in the presidential election suggests they think they may be able to pressure the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to settle for a consensus candidate asIndia’s next President. Over the last three years, the Narendra Modi government has shown no inclination to be accommodative of the opposition’s views, either in formulating legislation or in framing policies. A reflection of this is the strategy of bypassing the Rajya Sabha, where the BJP-led coalition is in a minority, by disguising important pieces of legislation as money bills. Thus, rather than wait in the possibly false hope that the BJP may opt for a consensus candidate for President, the Congress has decided to initiate talks with other parties on fielding a common candidate. After the election of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in 2002, when major parties barring the Left were agreed on the choice, India has not had an apolitical presidential candidate acceptable to both the Congress and the BJP. Mr. Kalam, while accepting the BJP’s nomination, had wanted to be an all-party candidate, and the then Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had spoken to Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the ruling combine’s choice. Both Pratibha Patil and Pranab Mukherjee were Congress politicians and the BJP fielded candidates against them. In all likelihood, the BJP will have its own candidate without following Mr. Vajpayee’s consensus-building approach. Of course, unlike in 2002, when it had less than 200 MPs in the Lok Sabha and was out of power in a large number of States, the BJP is now in an enviable position. The election is for it to lose.

Although the odds are heavily stacked against an opposition victory, the BJP is slightly short of a majority, leaving a small window of opportunity for the former. Ms. Gandhi has already begun talks with leaders of parties such as the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the CPI, the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, and the Nationalist Congress Party, all of which have fought with the Congress as an ally in past Assembly elections. Parties such as the Biju Janata Dal may not feel compelled to join the opposition bandwagon, but the Congress might have better luck with the Trinamool Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party, though they too are not allies. In Tamil Nadu, the ruling AIADMK faction is ill-disposed toward the BJP, and the Congress might stand a chance in enlisting its support; the opposition DMK is in any case a staunch ally at this point, and is likely to back its choice. Clearly, the onus is on the Congress to find a candidate who is acceptable to such a wide spectrum of parties. The name of Vice-President Hamid Ansari would have suggested itself, but the Congress will be forced to do what the BJP is unlikely to do: build a consensus with an open mind.

The ordinance enabling the RBI to act on bad loans must be accompanied by wider reform

The Centre has empowered the Reserve Bank of India to get banks to take tougher steps, including insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings against defaulters, to address the growing volume of bad loans on their books. An ordinance to amend the Banking Regulation Act of 1949 has been issued to quell doubts whether the existing provisions allowed the RBI to direct banks to deal with specific stressed assets. The RBI has also been vested with the power to form oversight committees wherever it deems fit. Currently such committees exist only for loans brought into a scheme for sustainable structuring of stressed assets, also known as S4A. Now the RBI can bring in such panels to monitor the alphabet soup of other mechanisms for tackling non-performing assets (NPAs) such as SDR (strategic debt restructuring) through the JLFs, or joint lenders’ forums. The hope is that this will let bankers take decisive calls on loan accounts that have turned bad, as an independent oversight committee’s approval could keep investigative agencies off their backs. Bankers may not always have the sectoral expertise to monetise or leverage assets underlying bad loans in the best possible way. Yet, their paralysis on the NPA front, with its collateral impact being the worst bank credit growth recorded in decades, is driven by the fear that they could get themselves implicated for poor lending and monitoring decisions. The success of this latest salvo against bad loans will depend on the fine print on how the ultimate decision — whether to take a haircut on a loan and restructure it or invoke bankruptcy clauses — is arrived at.

Perhaps of equal significance is the reshuffle of certain public sector bank officials announced on Friday. This is a clear signal that the NDA government is losing its patience with bankers persisting with a status quoist approach. The ordinance is the latest attempt to resolve the twin balance sheet problem (of indebted borrowers and NPA-burdened lenders) plaguing India’s domestic investment cycle. In 2015, the Prime Minister launched a Gyan Sangam conclave with bankers, and an Indradhanush road map to revitalise public sector banks. Last year, a Banks Board Bureau was set up to recommend the appointment of top bosses at banks and help them develop strategies and plan raising of capital. If the government wants to see a spurt in investment and job-creation, it needs to do more than just pin its hopes on new oversight committees. It must amend the anti-corruption law as has been promised for a while now, and accept the need to fix the policy-level stress affecting sectors such as telecom, power and highways. Above all, the government cannot in the same breath argue that the political cost of reforms is dissipating, but that the ‘re-privatisation’ of banks as mooted by the RBI recently is still a holy cow for the Indian polity.

A law against torture should enable ratification of the Convention barring custodial excesses

Tho decades after signing the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, India is yet to ratify it. There can be little justification for such a prolonged delay in passing legislation to give effect to the convention. In recent times there is a fresh note of urgency attached to the need for early ratification, as the country has pending requests for the extradition of its nationals from other countries. For, as pointed out by the Supreme Court, the absence of a stand-alone law prohibiting torture may prevent many countries from agreeing to India’s extradition requests. Such a law may be in the national interest, the Chief Justice of India observed during the course of a hearing on a public interest petition seeking the enactment of an anti-torture law in accordance with the country’s commitment. The court also noted that India was subjected to close questioning during the Universal Periodic Review of its human rights obligations at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. It cannot be forgotten that an extradition request relating to Purulia arms drop case suspect Kim Davy failed owing to the apprehension that he may be ill-treated in India. In an era of increasing international cooperation on criminal matters, India will be better served if it is seen as adhering to international treaties, especially its obligations under the Convention Against Torture, which it signed in 1997.

There may be some doubt whether India needs a fresh law to prevent and punish torture. Provisions relating to causing hurt or grievous hurt, especially with a view to extracting a confession, criminal intimidation and wrongful confinement already exist in the Indian Penal Code. However, the idea of a stand-alone law ought to be ultimately seen as a more tangible way of expressing commitment to eliminating torture. A concrete step towards enacting a law was made when the Prevention of Torture Bill, 2010, was passed by the Lok Sabha in 2010, but it was referred to a Select Committee in the Rajya Sabha. In its report submitted in the same year, the committee recommended exhaustive amendments to the Bill to make it consistent with the language and intent of the Convention. Thereafter the Bill lapsed. The government now says it has referred the matter to the Law Commission for an authoritative view. Given the pervasive nature of custodial violence and its complex policing requirements, the present legislative and administrative framework is obviously inadequate to prevent torture in a country of India’s size. It is imperative that a strong law that criminalises torture, imposes stringent punishment for it and contains liberal provisions for those suffering torture to complain against their perpetrators, prosecute them and be compensated and rehabilitated, is passed at the earliest.

Emmanuel Macron's victory in the French presidential election: The centre holds........

Mr. Macron’s victory is remarkable in many ways. It was his first election. His party was founded just last year and, barring a brief stint as Economy Minister in outgoing President François Hollande’s Cabinet, he doesn’t have any administrative experience. Yet it is a sign of the crisis of mainstream politics that this apparent weakness became his greatest strength in a tumultuous campaign marked by sharp divisions in French society. His “outsider” tag helped him appeal to the anti-establishment segments of voters, while his status quoist proposals, be it economic or labour policy reforms or continuity in foreign policy, made him acceptable to supporters of the traditional parties. But he has only won the battle, the war lies ahead of him. Mr. Macron takes over the reins from Mr. Hollande at an extremely uncertain time. It is still not clear how many seats his political start-up En Marche! may get in next month’s parliamentary elections, which are traditionally dominated by the mainstream left and right parties. If he doesn’t get a majority, he will have to depend on other parties to push his legislative agenda through the National Assembly. And it can’t be overlooked that Ms. Le Pen’s National Front has come a long way since 2002 when her father won only 18% of the vote in the presidential run-off. The French far right is no more a fringe party, and commands considerable support among sections of the working class. Mr. Macron has to find a way of tackling this growing unrest among sections that feel marginalised; at the same time, he will have to take tough decisions to fix the economy. Failure is not an option, as the far right still has its powder dry.

showed the world that the anti-establishment momentum that powered the victories of the Brexit camp in the U.K. and Donald Trump in the U.S. can be broken. From the far-right perspective, France was ripe for their rise to power. There was widespread discontent among voters, particularly among the youth, with the mainstream political elite; the economy has been struggling for years; joblessness is high; there is deepening insecurity among the citizens in general in the wake of multiple terror attacks. Marine Le Pen, Mr. Macron’s rival, tried to turn this economic and social insecurity into votes for her virulent brand of politics. She attacked the Paris establishment, the European Union, economic globalisation and France’s open border policy, while being seen to be making common cause with Mr. Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the end, she was defeated on a huge margin, polling roughly 34% of the vote compared to Mr. Macron’s 66%.

manuel Macron’s decisive victory in the French presidential election has elicited a sigh of relief not just in his country, but in others as well. A centrist independent, the 39-year-old will be France’s youngest President, a man who not only stopped his country from sliding into the hands of far-right populists but 

My New Rhythm,Poem, imaginary.....

LBSNAA 

                                              

                                  "  My Progenitor "

                                                                       By Sir Rikomht

My initiator,my dean,my  introducer ,

To the world,I bid salute and obeisance,

Bow down to your feet bend down my head,

Burst out estimation,adoration honor glad.

In sparkling unbeaten blessed,delight.

gleeful mind surrender to his infinite polite.

At problematic arduous,difficile, toilful,

unsparing severe,operose,rigorious,effortful.

Moment remember joystickk,energetic dialect,

narrated in polite soft hearted vocal conflict.

Allocation and appeal for modest pretend,

to achieve aim,vision,and operation errand.

Father is ecstasy heaven eternity fairlyland,

He is likely belief in divinity orthodoxy creed,

prayer to God,Doctrine,Myth piety rites,

he likely supreme contemplation meditation.

Deep thought ,deliberation,speculating version.

musing,pondering imagining,impression.

Palate of mine to natch the fear,tension,

and responsible,of home ,incline,disposition.

My affection my concern,sensitivity tenderness,

felt me for arise,and struggle in the bitterness.

in the time of detrauded, beguiled bunned fate.

the world of swindled,overcharged swindled.

Tears moisture the eyes and bawl lament face,

pray for God to create a good,a truthful grace.

shed tears comes out the moment of purely,

disobedient work and denizen donot suffer.

My New Poem......"A deep Frozen Thirst " written on 28/04/17

           

                                   LBSNAA

    A Deep Frozen Thirst 

                                          Sir Riko Mahato(Rkmht

At he end of my destiny to work, 

a narrow sick old lady pleasantly ask,

for food earnestly ,humble in tears,

put on display ;hidden horrible despair,

Urging,pleasing,weeping mewl fear,

that shake,her trembled quake container.

Not abundant dominion to steady raise,                                              

 Seldom put vessel down to ground edge.

 At peak moment of procession to work, 
almost all depart,pass,her hungry mare, 
when clock stuck nine,her fully wish vision,
looks for abrupt ,huge men of lenient,
compassionate to her empty inchoate,
container,a tiny sound emerge sickle thirst,

incline more notes and coins for his trust.

  More procession more men raise her crave,     hunger fur many days nutriment grub.
 Gradually sparse the worker crowd,

revealing ,her expects,plunging happy mode. 

           It was seldom to me observe ravenous,
           empty stomach ,hollow,faint,unconscious,
           In glitter,flashed sunlight shine illuminate,
           the black mouth turn colorless,damned attack.

In Bare footed and shaken hands woman,
Raise her container in front of compassion,
Of me,which tender my concord zest,
My mind spirit and soul ,demand for support.
Balm compensate a amount of coin;
Which overflow mine banishment mourn.

       

Blubbering my eyes,drops of water,
wetting my face,moisture,the lips.
Realized nourishment ,remedy,assist,
is the supreme power to raise purity.

With a little aspiration endurance and wish,

shaken hands wraps torn turmoil with tender,

convoke stick container,slaved shawl,

standing up,with a fearful flashed face,

with little invocation for next beautiful morn,                                                              
                                                      with a new expect ,hope ,a new ray of thirst......

 Dedicated to my wish of respected Father,Mother,Brother

       

        
         

The IMF could turn irrelevant unless it reforms to keep up with rival global institutions. ..

nance Minister Arun Jaitley has demanded reforms to the International Monetary Fund’s controversial quota system, shedding light on the problems facing the Bretton Woods institution in today’s global economy. Quotas determine the size of contingency funds at the disposal of the IMF to lend to countries in need of help, as well as the power of individual countries to influence lending decisions and tap into the funds themselves. Though developing countries hold less than half the overall quota at the moment, with their rapidly increasing economic heft they have demanded a greater share — with limited success. In this context, speaking at the spring meetings of the IMF, Mr. Jaitley reiterated the need to reform the quota system further. Else, he warned, the legitimacy and credibility of the IMF could be eroded. The 15th General Review of Quotas (GRQ), the most recent attempt to revise the size and composition of the system, was to be completed by October 2017, but the deadline has now been extended to 2019. The delay was not unexpected, given the poor precedent set by the long delay in adoption in 2016 of the previous GRQ (originally approved in 2010). That had doubled the overall size of the quotas to $659 billion (from $329 billion) while allotting an additional 6% of quotas to the developing world. But with the rise of competing global institutions ready to meet the capital needs of the developing world, the patience of countries such as India may be tested more easily.

Also at stake is the potency of the IMF in keeping up with the changed fundamental needs of developing economies. The developing world is looking beyond the short-term crisis management tools that the IMF, as the sole international lender of last resort, has traditionally offered them for decades now — albeit in an unsatisfactory and politically biased way. China, for instance, with its steadily rising influence on the global economy, has grown to be the focal point for economies seeking alternative sources of capital to fund their long-term growth needs. This month, Mr. Jaitley announced that India is seeking $2 billion from the New Development Bank, set up by the BRICS countries in 2015 with a more equitable power structure, to fund infrastructure projects. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched in 2014, could be an even bigger threat to the IMF’s influence given its larger membership, lending capacity and international reach. In this environment of competition, the IMF will have to do more than just superficially tinker with its asymmetric power structure and outdated quota system. Else, it could be slowly but steadily pushed into irrelevance. Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether India will continue to push for reforms at the IMF even as it simultaneously seeks to diversify its funding base, or whether it will assume a bolder stance in openly favouring one over the other.