Government expected to modify laws to enable cars operate on biofuels
One of the major problems facing the global environment as well as threatening its very security, well-being and existence in the long run, is the extended usage of fossil fuels. The paucity of fossil fuels has also hampered several countries economically, especially the ones that act more as buyers than sellers. India is no exception to this rule. So perhaps, it comes as a great relief to know that the Indian government is considering changing laws so that cars can be allowed to operate on bio-fuel, which is supposed to abundantly available across the country, is environmentally compatible and sustainable from the standpoint of production.
Nitin Gadkari, the road transport minister of India, has stated that the government will also establish new rules in this regard that are in keeping with the global standards. In fact, these standards could very well be applied to cars that operate on fossil fuels as well. He has stated that the government will be looking to table the changes during the next session of the parliament. It is expected that with the changes in laws that govern the electronic rickshaws there could be added jobs for at least 2 lakh people across the country.
Congress attacks Indian government over white paper on destroyed documents
One of the major problems of being in the power in the national administration of any country that there is always a target painted at your back and after a few days in the hot seat the NDA government would be understanding that better than most. Their first budget has received mixed reviews – certain sections of common people have liked it but the experts have found many flaws in the same. Now the government has come under the line of fire from its principal political opponent – the Congress.
The chief component of the United Progressive Alliance, which was the National Democratic Alliance’s predecessor and unceremoniously ousted by the latter, has basically asked the national administration that it come up with a white paper regarding the order to find out old papers and files. They have also alleged that the files that dealt with Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination have been destroyed under orders of the Indian prime minister. However, Rajnath Singh, the home minister, has stated that 11 thousand files have been destroyed till date and none of them were regarding the assassination of the Father of the Nation. Considering the importance of Gandhiji this is a rather serious allegation and it remains to be seen that how the national administration deals with it.
Parliament disrupted over meeting between Hafiz Saeed and Indian journalist
One of the darkest episodes in the post independence phase of Indian history is the 26/11 episode that raged on for 3 days taking lots of lives in the process in the thriving city of Mumbai and also leaving an indelible mark on the country’s psyche as a whole. So recently when an Indian journalist, who also happens to be closely connected to famed yoga guru Baba Ramdev, had a meeting with Hafiz Saeed, who is regarded as the mastermind behind the said act of terrorism, there was a major furor at the parliament on July 14. The government has been quick to state that it had not authorized any such meeting and thus distanced itself from the same.
The Indian government has also affirmed that its attitude towards the terror mastermind remains the same. It has also labeled Saeed as a terrorist and stated that at least in his matter it is not following a path of diplomacy. It was Digvijay Singh, a Congress leader who has had his fair share of media attention for his out-of-the-ordinary comments, who asked the said question regarding the sanctity of Ved Pratap Vaidik’s meeting with Saeed that led to the disruption of parliamentary proceedings. The response for the government was provided by Arun Jaitley.
Telangana government lodges formal protest with central administration
One of the major areas of trouble for the new government has been the Telangana issue, something that is clearly evident with the conflicts arising between the two. First, there was the case of giving away 150 odd villages from Telangana to Andhra Pradesh and now the issue of Inter-State Water Disputes Act. In a formal complaint made on July 14 by the Telangana government, the complainant has brought into play some provisions of the said act and revealed that Andhra Pradesh has disregarded the terms of agreement that are concerned with the usage of water in Krishna river and allocation of the same between the two rivers.
The delegation that made the complaint was led by T Harish Rao, who happens to be the irrigation minister of the newest state of the country. It was Uma Bharti, the union water resources minister, who received the complaint. In the same letter the complainant also requested that the present tribunal, led by Brijesh Kumar, which is looking into the dispute over Krishna’s water, be given more power or to create a new one to look into the matter. The said tribunal had been provided an extension of two years after Telangana was created but it failed primarily because of the limited scope of work allocated to it.
Inflation went down during June
During June 2014, the inflation rate of India, which is based on consumer price index or CPI, went down to 7.31%. This has been the lowest such inflation in the country since June 2012. The wholesale inflation rate of India has also gone down to 5.43%. This is the lowest such rate in the last 4 months. One of the major problems in Indian economy in the last couple of years has been the high rate that the previous government found rather hard to control. It had an all-round debilitating effect on the national government.
Inflation reduced the growth of economy because at various levels the savings of the common people in India were affected owing to unmitigated price rise. Since job creation has not exactly happened at the desired rate, this also affected the expenditure of perhaps the biggest section of the consumers in India – the middle class. So in such a scenario this development comes as a breath of fresh air. However, experts still feel that the Reserve Bank of India, in its policy review for August, is expected to maintain these rates because of lack of adequate rains this year as well as the various problems in the region.
Economic indicators
| Indicators | Value | Rise/Fall |
| SENSEX | 25006.98 | -17.37 |
| NIFTY | 7454.15 | -5.45 |
| Rupee/Dollar | 60.07 | 0.14 |
| Gold | 27,760.00 | -596.00 |
| Silver | 44,895.00 | -1173.00 |
| Crude oil | 6,045.00 | -25.00 |
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