After a tumultuous past few days that almost halved value of the Adani group, embattled tycoon Gautam Adani-led conglomerate had some pressure eased on Friday as two global rating firms stuck with their calls on its credit profile and its French partner backed its investments in the group firms. Also for the first time since January 24, shares of the group's flagship firm Adani Enterprises ended in positive territory after erasing an intraday loss of 35 per cent. Adani Ports and SEZ also ended 8 per cent higher. This is after a over $100-billion rout in value of group stock since the US short seller Hindenburg Research accused Adani group of stock manipulation and accounting fraud.
The stocks could tank more than what it did after the United Progressive Alliance-1 came to power in 2004, as the market has not yet priced in a Bharatiya Janata Party defeat, says Raj Bhatt.
Nothing is going to dramatically open up on May 3. There will be too many ifs and buts and terms and conditions and guidelines in leading one's life in various zones, reveals Sheela Bhatt.
Talking corporate heads are a barometer of the business community's engagement with the economy. If they have nothing to say now there should be cause for concern.
'...by directing these draconian provisions against political and ideological opponents of the ruling group, minorities, and those who dare to dissent through and selective prosecution and prolonged incarceration as undertrials.'
'There will be political opposition, and this monetisation will require continued political will.'
'You have to be a total anti-national bozo to shut down the Nokia plant in Sriperumbudur, which was the first large manufacturing plant for mobile phones in India.' 'Why was the unit shut down? Because of somebody's ego.'
Narendra Modi is squandering a mandate for change on feeble, unimaginative incrementalism.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday and discussed issues related to the Maratha reservation, pending GST compensation and the proposed Metro car shed in Kanjur.
'Modi has not lacked courage in the political sphere. It is time he showed it in the economic sphere as well.' 'To do this, he needs to shed the simple-minded nostrums about economic growth and swadeshi that he learnt in the Sangh Parivar,' suggests Virendra Kapoor.
Wayanad will continue to support Rahul but not to the same extent as in 2019, when his margin of victory had been enormous. Articulate, to the point and speaking in fluent Malayalam, CPI's Annie Raja, had the people who gathered to see her, listening in rapt attention, notes Shyam G Menon.
Even a 6 percent vote-share would make AAP an important player on the national scene. The key lies in strategically concentrating AAP's vote, especially in the cities, so that it can break Narendra Modi's momentum, besides defeating an already weak Congress, says Praful Bidwai.
If Mr Modi and his team expect to win the 2019 elections, groundwork for improved performance in their second term should be done now.
Modi govt has a unique style of working, say experts.
'Modi wants to reverse everything Nehru did, but is shy of touching his daughter's most unwise policies.' 'There is no example of this more stark than bank nationalisation,' says Shekhar Gupta.
Following is the Facebook post of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on one-year of the BJP-led NDA government.
If Kerala wants to sustain its room for independent thinking and talk back to Delhi when needed, it should put its finances in order. Or - if one takes the North East example - Kerala's political posturing may end up commensurate with its financial dependence on others, suggests Shyam G Menon.
Though the NDA government had been trying to privatise 20 companies, a decision for which was taken in 2017, and included national carrier Air India, the investor community evinced little enthusiasm for any of them. Now, with an in-principle approval for privatisation of BPCL, CCI and SCI, the government has taken the plunge again.
Budget for 2022-2023 has returned to its agenda for protectionism in the name of creating a self-reliant India, points out A K Bhattacharya.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's convoy was on Thursday stopped by the Manipur police at Bishnupur, about 20 kilometres from Imphal, officials said.
'Modi is a master of convergence. By his ability to converge and add new features to a non-star idea, he is able to sell it. Like how he has turned Kutch into a tourist destination by selling the salt desert of the Rann as a flat snow desert of the night and roping in Amitabh Bachchan to sell it. In one stroke this has ensured economic returns to the people and on the other hand it has taken care of the national security angle in the sense that the border population in the Rann, which is almost entirely Muslim, is feeling better as now they are much more connected with the mainstream.' Ahead of the launch of his book on the much-debated Modi model of governance, journalist Uday Mahurkar speaks to Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
'What's sad today is that there are so many people who cannot find work, not because the country is devoid of that opportunity, but because we are not doing enough in the country.'
'What will this supposedly more business-friendly government do if it gets a second term?' 'Important labour law and land reforms remain off the table.' 'Witness the arm-twisting of foreign players in e-commerce and all but one player in telecom -- and it is very hard to justify this perception that the BJP is business friendly.' 'There will also remain the real risk of ideas seemingly gleaned from the pages of Amar Chitra Katha, overlaid with PowerPoint presentations,' predicts Rahul Jacob.
The RBI was not party to the decision to demonetize 500 and 1,000-rupee notes, which was taken at the highest level of India's political leadership.
S&P Global Ratings has forecast India's economy to shrink by 5 per cent in the current fiscal. It, however, has projected GDP growth to be 8.5 per cent in 2021-22 and 6.5 per cent in 2022-23.
'Joko's re-election bid has been as tough as Modi's.' 'But in a curious reversal of roles, what Joko faced was a platform somewhat akin to Modi has chosen for himself to woo voters,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Rogue lending under political influence was rife in the Congress-led regime and is not happening in the Modi regime, certainly not on that scale. But if PSBs cannot lend as indiscriminately as they did last time in the name of 'credit expansion', how well will these banks do, asks Debashis Basu.
'Those leading the current political dispensation, whether at the central or the state level, must recognise the enormous risks that their divisive policies are creating for the national security and wellbeing of the country,' cautions former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
'I will need a few more pictures, sir, can I get some time from you for a more extended photo shoot?' asked Singh. Modi, ever-obliging before the camera, laughed. 'Sure, but let us plan to do it after my swearing-in is over in May!' The Balakot effect was evident. A fascinating excerpt from Rajdeep Sardesai's 2019: How Modi Won India.
'If Trudeau chooses to repeat his allegations in his UN speech on Friday, it would create a whole new escalation.'
'Today, in response to the rape of a foreigner in the city, AAP leaders are saying the Delhi police is not under them -- when I had said the same, nobody wanted to hear it. They themselves are facing the same situation. I would say, it is a learning process for the AAP,' says former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, who was vanquished by the AAP's Arvind Kejriwal in the recent assembly elections.
Finding itself trapped in a cul de sac, all things considered, a negotiated climbdown at this juncture seems the only sensible course available for the Centre, suggests Virendra Kapoor.
Narendra Modi's diplomacy and persuasive prowess has ensured long-term investments from China and Japan.
Modi orders coal, insurance sector reforms.
Can Modi enthuse BJP workers to pursue the end of single-use plastic with the same vigour and enthusiasm as they celebrated the attack on a neighbour, asks Aditi Phadnis.
These users span across four continents and included diplomats, political dissidents, journalists and senior government officials.
'Outside investors don't want to get tangled up in a religious war.'
Arun Jaitley and Janardan Dwivedi have rewritten the rules of politics in the Age of the Internet and its young and restless user base, reports Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
Modi said that the JD-S was going to finish a "poor, distant third".
'If there were no Ahmedabad programme -- no flashy town hall event in a huge cricket stadium with thousands cheering him on -- then Trump may well have decided not to go to India.'
