As the Kejriwal empire spreads, will he be able to keep the momentum going? And will it be at the cost of greater centralisation of authority in the party, asks Aditi Phadnis.
Gold import from the UAE at a lower rate of duty -- in terms of an agreement -- has posed a survival challenge for the Indian refining industry while hurting the price discovery of the metal, with the India International Bullion Exchange starting operations at GIFT City. The problem has arisen after the government signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the UAE. Under it, Indian jewellery manufacturers have been allowed to import gold at a concessional rate of 14 per cent against 15 per cent, which is normal.
The BJP's massive victory will make it hard for the party to derive a criterion for selecting ministers, as the claimants will be many and the berths, few.
The system of 'selecting' an election commissioner, which is before the Supreme Court, must be institutionalised.
'AAP is more acceptable to sections of the middle class because it has pragmatically tried to accommodate Hindu sensibilities.'
Bhupendra Patel can never really break free of intervention from New Delhi. But if he can win over the Gujaratis and improve the BJP's tally substantially, he will have proved that he should be taken seriously.
AAP could make its presence felt. But Gadhvi may have to wait for a chance to get the top job.
Sniping at the BJP senior leadership has reached a new high in Karnataka. For the moment, there is a truce, but the party knows the damage it could do ahead of the polls.
Maharashtra is the BRS' first target.
With his appointment as AG, the many constitutional law matters that are pending before the Supreme Court will receive specialised attention.
Several exchanges are facing a cash crunch with committed investment not coming from venture capital funds and trading activity seeing a sharp decline, reports Rajesh Bhayani.
'Ladakh too is politically paralysed and in limbo, as Rafale jets roar above Leh and Israeli arms dealers prowl the town.'
'When the gold price rises rapidly, India's physical gold market remains on standby.'
While Modi had a party and an organisation that supported him, all Mulayam, a self-made man with no inheritance in politics, had was a set of (fairly flexible) beliefs.
Thanks to an ambiguous law on the import of platinum alloys, some bullion importers are making big profits. A handful of them are importing refined gold cloaked as platinum alloy. Gold attracts 15 per cent import duty, as opposed to platinum alloy that invites a duty of 10.75 per cent. Industry sources say this is a case of mis-declaration and duty violation.
Today, a friendship forged by common ideals behind prison walls has become a transactional understanding, notes Aditi Phadnis.
The ministry-making exercise took so long because many factors needed to be balanced. But now that it is in place, not everyone is happy with the resultant equation.
Some of the Congress's new-found enthusiasm for hitting the streets will show its result in the Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, and Karnataka elections. That is when we will know if the Congress will go to the regional parties or the parties will come to the Congress.
As vice president and ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Jagdeep Dhankar is inheriting a troubled legacy. Although the government faces no real numerical challenges in the Upper House, political and legal challenges are there aplenty.
Nitish Kumar has to make an existential choice: Between governance and politics, argues Aditi Phadnis.
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