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India Gazette
an hour ago
- Business
- India Gazette
Consumers exploited due to lack of sufficient competition: says Congress' P Chidambaram
New Delhi [India], June 1 (ANI): Highlighting that profit must be shared among promoters, shareholders, labour, government, consumers, society and other stakeholders, Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram stated on Sunday that because of the lack of sufficient competition, consumers are exploited in several sectors, such as air travel, insurance, and pharmaceuticals. In a post on X, Chidambaram said, 'That 'profit' in business is not a bad word became government policy in 1991 when Dr Manmohan Singh was finance minister. The question is how the profit must be shared among promoters, shareholders, labour, government, consumers, society and other stakeholders,' the Congress leader said on X. 'As the Chief Economic Adviser has said many times, the tilt is in favour of capital/promoters and against labour. Wages have stagnated. I may add that because of lack of sufficient competition, consumers are exploited in several sectors, for example, air travel, insurance and pharmaceuticals,' he added. On May 26, Chidambaram said that while the rise in India's per capita income under the BJP-led NDA government is 'broadly correct', the rate of growth was higher during the tenure of the Congress-led UPA government. Responding to recent remarks by the CEO of NITI Aayog, BVR Subrahmanyam, who stated that India's per capita income had nearly doubled from USD 1,438 in 2013-14 to USD 2,880 in 2024, Chidambaram said he welcomed the progress but added that the complete picture tells a different story when the performance of the two successive governments is compared. Quoting data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Chidambaram noted that India's per capita income stood at USD 543 in 2003, when the UPA took office, and rose to USD 1,438 by 2013 - a 2.64 times increase in 10 years. Under the NDA government, however, the increase from USD 1,438 in 2014 to USD 2,878 in 2024 amounts to just 1.89 times, falling short of a doubling in the same time frame. 'Under the UPA government, the per capita income more than doubled in 10 years. Under the NDA government, it fell short of doubling. The per capita income doubled in 11 years. I am happy with the record of both governments, but a shade happier with the UPA record,' said the former Finance Minister. (ANI)
Hans India
2 hours ago
- Business
- Hans India
BJP's Amit Malviya junks P. Chidambaram's negative view on economy
BJP leader Amit Malviya on Sunday targeted former finance minister P. Chidambaram for painting a grim picture of the economy and linking it to alleged wage stagnation and consumer exploitation due to lack of competition in some sectors. Chidambaram's attempt to credit the UPA government for economic reforms also did not go down well with Malviya who wrote in a post on social media platform X: 'It's truly pitiful how a former Finance Minister displays such selective amnesia regarding India's economic journey.' 'To claim that the concept of 'profit not being a bad word' originated solely during his tenure conveniently ignores the reality that those reforms, however necessary, were half-baked measures, forced by a crippling Balance of Payments crisis,' said Malviya, in-charge of BJP's National Information and Technology Department. Earlier, the Congress leader, in a post on social media platform X, said: 'That 'profit' in business is not a bad word became government policy in 1991 when Dr Manmohan Singh was finance minister.' 'The question is how the profit must be shared among promoters, shareholders, labour, government, consumers, society and other stakeholders,' he said. Malviya responded by saying, 'The former Minister pontificates on profit-sharing, yet seems to forget the UPA era's notorious legacy — the 'Jayanti Tax', rampant corruption scandals, and an environment of policy paralysis that left India languishing among the 'Fragile Five.' Big industries weren't just hesitant, they were actively looking for exits. Profit sharing? Under the UPA, profits seemed reserved for a select few, while genuine enterprise was stifled.' 'Jayanti Tax' is a term used by the BJP to allege corruption under the then environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan in matters related to granting green nod to projects. While slamming Chidambaram, Malviya also showcased the NDA government's flagship schemes. 'Initiatives like MUDRA Yojana and Stand Up India have empowered over 30 crore aspiring entrepreneurs, fostering grassroots prosperity and ensuring the fruits of growth are shared far more widely than ever conceived during his tenure. That is tangible benefit-sharing, not hollow rhetoric,' he wrote in his post. Earlier Chidambaram remarked about the economy and said, 'As the Chief Economic Adviser has said many times, the tilt is in favour of capital/promoters and against labour. Wages have stagnated.' 'I may add that because of lack of sufficient competition, consumers are exploited in several sectors, for example, air travel, insurance and pharmaceuticals,' he said.
South China Morning Post
11 hours ago
- Lifestyle
- South China Morning Post
Promising Chinese player defers PhD programme to give pickleball career a shot
A Chinese pickleball player said it was worth deferring her PhD studies to pursue a professional career in the emerging sport. Advertisement Long Yufei, who was about to start a biomedical informatics course in the United States, was presented with the opportunity to become a part of the United Pickleball Association's inaugural Asia Trailblazers Programme. Under the scheme, 12 players across the region will undergo a three-month training stint in the US and, if they impress, will be given a contract as a UPA Asia Pro. The two-year deal includes playing in at least 10 events a year, predominantly in Asia but also in the US and Australia. Long, who holds a Master's degree in public health from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, said the decision to defer her doctoral studies was difficult, but she had opted to embrace a less traditional route. 'I had invested months crafting potential research proposals and preparing applications,' said the Shenzhen native, who received acceptance letters from the University of Washington and from Washington University in St Louis shortly before the pickleball opportunity emerged. Long Yufei was an NCAA Division I tennis player at Vanderbilt University. Photo: Handout 'The sunk cost was high,' she said. 'I spent the whole of February evaluating the best option … I was choosing between two different life trajectories.'
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Congress, BJP spar over surgical strikes; Shashi Tharoor caught in the crossfire
The controversy surrounding the opposition's claims of surgical strikes, amid a national sentiment for the armed forces following Operation Sindoor, escalated after the Congress on Friday shared a video claiming actions against Pakistan during the earlier UPA regime at the Centre. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, leading an all-party delegation to the US, Panama, Colombia, Brazil and Guyana, a day ago had remarked that 'for the first time, India breached the Line of Control to conduct a surgical strike', triggering a war of words between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress. Sharing the video on social media platform X, the Congress said, 'No Noise. No PR. Only Decisive Actions 6 Surgical Strikes Were Carried Out Under Congress Govt.' The BJP swiftly hit back and shared an HT report, among others, that quoted Rahul Gandhi claiming, 'We did 3 surgical strikes'. 'Congress is corrupt, even when it comes to numbers related to national security. However, there were no surgical strikes under UPA as confirmed by the DGMO in response to an RTI query dated April 2018. Darpok Congress must STOP LYING,' the BJP said. Talking to the media on Thursday, Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala insisted that UPA had carried out 6 surgical strikes. 'When I was in charge of communications, I even did a press conference on it,' he said, indicating that the BJP didn't object to the Congress' claims on surgical strike. According to Congress, the first surgical strike under their government was carried out on 19 June 2008 in Bhattal Sector, Poonch. The second strike was carried out in the Sharda sector from August 30. The third one took place on 6 January 2013, and the fourth one on July 27-28, 2013. The fifth surgical strike was carried out in August 2013, while the sixth was carried out at Neelam Ghati on January 14, 2014. Surjewala added that even late PM Manmohan Singh spoke about surgical strikes. On Thursday, Tharoor hit back at his critics and said, 'After a long and successful day in Panama, I have to wind up at midnight here with departure for Bogota, Colombia in six hours, so I don't really have time for this — but anyway: For those zealots fulminating about my supposed ignorance of Indian valour across the LoC: in the past. (1) I was clearly and explicitly speaking only about reprisals for terrorist attacks and not about previous wars; & (2) My remarks were preceded by a reference to the several attacks that have taken place in recent years alone, during which previous Indian responses were both restrained and constrained by our responsible respect for the LoC and the IB. But as usual, critics and trolls are welcome to distort my views and words as they see fit. I genuinely have better things to do. Goodnight,' he said on X. Tharoor's rebuttal came a day after Congress leader Udit Raj accused him of being 'dishonest' and for allegedly denigrating the 'golden history' of the party. Raj suggested that he would recommend Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make Tharoor a 'super-spokesperson of the BJP' or India's foreign minister. Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju questioned the Congress' stance, and asked, 'What does the Congress party want & how much they really care for the country? Should Indian MPs go to foreign nation and speak against India and its Prime Minister? There's a limit to political desperation! We Indians must speak in one voice in crucial time at least !!' Surjewala, meanwhile, tried to play down the entire episode. 'Tharoor is a seasoned and experienced leader of the Congress and is very much part of the Congress family,' he said, though insisting that Tharoor was wrong about the surgical strikes. 'Congress party only corrected (him) by pointing out that surgical strikes against Pakistan and other dens of terrorists was a regular feature even during the UPA term -- to give a befitting reply to terrorists by our armed forces and the Congress governments. Those instances have been detailed in the past by the communications department (when Surjewala headed the department). Former PM Dr Manmohan Singh as himself spoken about them; Tharoor himself in his book spoken about them, and Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera have only put the record straight. It is not a matter of acrimony and doubt,' Surjewala added.
India Gazette
2 days ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
Nishikant Dubey slams Congress, claims it made India
New Delhi [India], May 30 (ANI): BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Friday accused the Congress-led UPA government of weakening India's national security, alleging that between 2005 and 2008, its foreign policy allowed repeated talks with Pakistan over the exchange of sensitive territories like Kashmir, Sir Creek, and Siachen--ultimately making India 'a weak, helpless and powerless nation' and costing Indian lives. In his X post, he wrote, 'After 1989, from 2005 to 2008, did the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan decide to exchange Kashmir, Sir Creek and Siachen 5 times or not? Congress always made India a weak, helpless and powerless nation in front of Pakistan and got Indians killed.' In a series of X posts earlier, Dubey slammed the former Manmohan Singh-led government, alleging that under pressure from the United States, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) had decided to resume dialogue with Pakistan shortly after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. In a post shared on X, Dubey referred to the meeting between Manmohan Singh and Pakistan's then-Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in July 2009. This was the first formal engagement between the two countries after the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. Dubey questioned the timing of the meeting, saying, 'Pakistan attacked Mumbai on 26 November 2008. 180 people died and 300 were injured; the fire of the pyre has not even cooled down. Was the dialogue started in December under US pressure without attacking Pakistan or not? Is this the statement of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Lok Sabha?' The BJP leader alleged that the talks with Pakistan were not only premature but also influenced by external forces, especially the United States. He cited multiple instances from 2009 where Indian and Pakistani leaders engaged in diplomatic interactions. 'Did the Foreign Ministers' meeting take place in January 2009 or not? Did he meet Pakistan President Zardari in Russia in June 2009 with the mediation of a third country or not? In July 2009, under American pressure, did Sharmal Sheikh go to Egypt and reach an agreement with the Prime Minister of Pakistan or not?' he asked. Referring to another major terror incident that occurred in 2011, Dubey said that such attacks highlighted Pakistan's continued support to terrorism, and criticised the Congress party's alleged 'soft' approach. 'In 2011, Mumbai blast happened again in which 26 people died and 200 people were injured. PM Modi raised our head high by doing Operation Sindoor, after years Pakistan is in a state of panic. Congress is completely hand in glove with terrorist Pakistan. The public can go to hell,' he added. In an earlier post on Wednesday, Dubey had also targeted Congress over an alleged nuclear deal with Pakistan in 1988 during the tenure of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. According to Dubey, the agreement was signed under 'American pressure'. He posted a purportedly declassified letter that he claimed was sent by former US President Ronald Reagan to Rajiv Gandhi, which outlined America's role in setting the agenda for India-Pakistan discussions. 'Why is Congress angry? When I saw this paper, I felt ashamed. US President Ronald Reagan sent this letter/telegram to the then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Under American pressure, we spoke to Pakistani President General Zia. The agenda for the talks was set by the US President. What we understood after this letter was that Pakistan and we did the nuclear deal in 1988 under American pressure,' Dubey said in his post. He further added, 'Whatever we talked to our friend Soviet Russia about on the Afghanistan problem was an American agenda. Is this the Shimla Agreement? Is the Iron Lady the mentality of slavery? Were we a sovereign nation at that time? Is Congress abusing Modi Ji to make India stronger?' Dubey, the Member of Parliament from Godda in Jharkhand, is part of a multi-party parliamentary delegation currently visiting West Asia and North Africa. The group, led by BJP MP Baijayant Jay Panda, has already visited Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. The delegation is scheduled to arrive in Algeria on May 30 for the next leg of its official tour. (ANI)
