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BHOPAL: Bhopal is decorating itself to accord warn welcome to over 100 big industrial magnets who will be in the capital city to attend Madhya Pradesh government sponsored Industrial Summit. The Summit will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 24.

Almost a month to this day, on January 16, 2025, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu made a startling proposal. Individuals with fewer than two children, he suggested, should be disqualified from contesting local body elections. This announcement came just two months after his government passed the Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Andhra Pradesh Municipal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024. These laws repealed the contrasting condition which previously mandated that anyone with more than two children would be disqualified from contesting elections.

The only time Prime Minister Narendra Modi lost his equilibrium at the joint press conference with President Donald Trump was when a journalist asked Modi if “Adani” had come up for discussion in the talks with President Trump. Visibly disturbed, Prime Minister told the journalist tersely that when two countries held talks, private individuals do not become subjects for discussion— not in so many words but somewhat in that fashion.

The outcome of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with the U.S. President Donald Trump in White House on February 13 may have its impact on the interim government of Bangladesh headed by Dr. Mohammad Yunus, who is in power since August 8, 2024 in the wake of the ouster of Sheikh Hasina government only three days before on August 5. The US government always has remained as a big player in influencing the course of developments in Bangladesh. In 2025 also, that remains the same, though the process varies from time to time.

The Indo-US joint declaration presents a striking imbalance, appearing more as a dictated statement than a mutually crafted agreement. The document is overwhelmingly skewed in favour of the United States, particularly in the domain of defence procurement, where it reads less like a diplomatic understanding and more like a sales pitch for American military hardware. While broader themes of cooperation are vaguely touched upon, they remain rhetorical flourishes rather than concrete commitments, exposing the disparity in negotiating leverage between the two nations. It is also significant that the joint statement has coincided with Trump’s retaliatory tariff, with India included.

In pursuance of Equality of opportunity and treatment, an ILO Committee of Experts has asked India again to amend the definition of wage, ensure job evaluation, equal remuneration for the same job to male and female workers, and end discrimination on religious or caste basis especially for Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians. The Committee has also pointed out several lacunae in the new Labour Codes that India intends to implement in the next financial year 2025-26.

US President Donald Trump welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a warm hug at his Oval Office in the White House on Thursday while describing Modi as a "great friend" for a long time and saying that they decided to take a big leap in broad-basing their strategic ties, but nonetheless did not forget to warn that India won’t be spared from higher tariffs he’s begun imposing on U.S. trade partners around the world.

Watch out for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swag when he returns from the United States after his meeting with President Donald Trump. That is, if Prime Minister Modi doesn’t do a mid-air transfer to an F-35, which President Donald Trump agreed to give to India in appreciation of Modi’s tough deal-making skills, which Trump says are far, far superior than his — “there is no contest!”

KOLKATA: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s top leadership failed to see the writing on the wall last year when the Congress bagged both the Lok Sabha seats in Manipur, defeating BJP’s candidate for the Inner Manipur constituency and its ally Naga People’s Front’s nominee for the Outer Manipur constituency. Thereafter too, the BJP leadership remained obstinate about chief minister N Biren Singh; not recognising the growing disenchantment of party MLAs with his leadership.

The President of India was obliged to impose President’s Rule in Manipur on February 13, 2025, for the 11th time in the last 57 years. It is in itself a manifestation of the political uncertainties under which the strife-torn Manipur has been suffering. President’s Rule has been generally welcomed in the state in the present circumstances, but only as a step towards realizing the hope of facilitating the political solution to the ethnic violence, under which the state has been reeling under since May 2023 claiming at least 250 lives while displacing about 60,000 people. Nevertheless, the complexity of the situation, has divided various pressure groups having diverse aspirations.