The links here may take you to other news websites and blogs.
Note: If images are not showing, click "Display images below" – the images aren't going to cause any harm, they will just make the newsletter look a bit better. They are very light.
Did demonetization rid the country of all monetary ills?
Nobody in his or her wildest dream would have thought that the recent demonetization drive could solve all money -related problems in the country but people are busy pointing out what didn’t happen after demonetization rather than giving a thought to what happened.
Two big reasons why demonetization was implemented were, fishing out black money as much as possible and rendering fake notes/currency redundant. Both these targets were achieved with great success. People were literally burning notes because they couldn’t be used. Big chunks of terror funding sources were destroyed. Naxals and Maoists lost millions of rupees. This Quora thread has nice information on the positive effects of demonetization. It doesn’t have exact figures but it gives you the complete picture of what all happened due to and after demonetization.
The government was claiming that one of the biggest benefits of demonetization was the elimination of the fake currency. It is said that a big fake currency kingpin publishing Indian notes in Pakistan committed suicide after the demonetization drive. Patthar-baaji in Kashmir suddenly came to a halt.
This India Today report says that fake currency is back. The primary purpose of using the word demonetization along with the expression that fake notes are still being printed is to show that demonetization hasn’t worked the way it was supposed to work.
I think demonetization was a drive but not a long-term solution. It suddenly eliminated notes that were used for wrong purposes. It was like a cleanup drive. Once you clean up the roads, it doesn’t mean they’re not going to get filthy again.
Good news! Food inflation is low
Although it isn’t being discussed in TV news studios and none of the journalists in “reputed” news publications are going to talk about it, inflation is down. I have actually heard people saying that the food is a lot cheaper than it used to be a couple of years ago. People are actually feeling a change at the ground level but of course, media has to be cynical for obvious reasons. This Bloomberg report says that the food and beverage prices rose by just 1.29%. Check out this link for some real-time data on how the inflation rate is coming down.
An India with strong naval capacity good for regional security?
This Daily Signal link says yes, and it makes sense. In this region of the world there is one bully, China, and one goon, Pakistan. A stronger India with a great retaliatory force already keeps Pakistan in check (although India is constantly wounded by the proxy war carried out by Pakistan, but that’s due to India’s weak political structure) but China is altogether a different ball game. It’s a very big country.
It’s one of the few countries that can pose a real challenge to the US in case there is war. India has been once pushed against the wall already. So, a strong naval capacity is going to create a counterbalance. If India has a weak position, on land and on sea, China has little incentive to maintain peace. But if India can retaliate and cause big damage to China’s interests, that it can be a big deterrence. Whether you are on war with an enemy or sitting across the negotiation table, talking with a militarily strong position makes the other party take you seriously.
The article says that:
India’s new K-4 nuclear-capable, submarine-launched ballistic missile is expected to have a range of 3,500 kilometers, a serious improvement over its current operational missile of the same kind.
When coupled with India’s burgeoning nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine program, India is set to seriously increase its second-strike capability in the coming years.
This trend aligns with India’s ongoing efforts to modernize its military with particular focus on naval power. A heftier military capability will extend India’s national influence and potentially rival China.
Most of India’s naval fleet is in Bay of Bengal and around Andaman and Nicobar Islands. These are strategic positions and nuclear warheads can be launched from these nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. Since India follows the “no first use” policy the country has to maintain a 2nd-strike capability. Which means, in case of a nuclear strike from Pakistan or China, there should be locations from where a counter nuclear attack can be carried out.
More than actually carrying out the attack, the capability for a 2nd strike certainly acts as a deterrence and helps maintain peace in the region.
Valentine’s Day and Matri-Pitri-Pujan Divas
Should Indians celebrate Valentine’s Day or not? Should they celebrate Matri-Pitri-Pujan Divas instead? Who should decide what Indians can celebrate and what not?
This is an unfortunate dilemma many youngsters get in every year. Orthodox elements of the society think that celebrations like Valentine’s Day are just a conspiracy to impose Western values on our youngsters. Aren’t they conspiracies? Who knows?
Wearing pants is a western concept. Why do you wear them? TV came from the West. Why do you watch TV? English came from the West. Why do you interact in English? The Internet is a Western invention. The mobile phone is a Western invention. Not just the mobile phone, even the traditional phone is a Western invention. In fact, there’s a big chance that 90% of the day-to-day things that you use have come from the West whether you like it or not. So stop this nonsense and focus on the core issues. The core issue is that our society is insecure because it isn’t sure of its own values. That’s the main problem, not the Valentine’s Day.
Valentine’s Day is a nice day to express your love for not just your lover, but also to express your love to your loved ones. It’s a nice thought and no way it pollutes the minds of our youngsters. And anyway, who are we to impose our values on them? They should themselves be allowed to decide what sort of celebrations they want to indulge in.
If you don’t like the concept of Valentine’s Day, then don’t celebrate it. If I want to celebrate Valentine’s Day and if you come to stop me and if you use force to stop me, then you deserve to be arrested and if I have enough physical strength to beat you up, then you should be beaten up.
It’s good that many want to celebrate Matri-Pitri-Pujan Divas but why think of paying respect to mother and father on this particular day? It means paying respect to your mother and father comes as a retaliatory gesture and not as a genuine gesture. This is shameful.
Would you like more people to get these newsworthy updates? Do forward this email to your friends and colleagues and spread the message. Forward this subscription to someone.
