Going places

Brace yourself for another momentous week as more good news may come the way of Indian debt market. Reason: The much-anticipated FTSE review is set for September 28 when the decision on inclusion of Indian government securities in FTSE EMGBI will be taken by the index provider. Buzz is that FTSE could now change its mind after the recent JP Morgan’s decision to include Indian government securities in its GBI-EM index.

One thing is for sure, India will end up having capital inflow bounty in 2024-25 courtesy the $25-40 billion dollars inflow into its G-sec market post its inclusion in global debt indices. There is chatter in corridors of power of a big surplus in the BoP next fiscal despite the expected widening of current account deficit due to the likely spike in GDP growth in 2024-25!

Chandrayaan ki baat

The 105th episode of Mann Ki Baat was all about the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 and the successful hosting of G-20 in Delhi. And Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke at great length about the two events.

He said: “Friends, who can forget that sight during the G-20 Summit in Delhi, when many world leaders reached Rajghat together to pay homage to Bapu. This is a big evidence of how relevant Bapu’s thoughts are even today across the world. I am also happy that many programmes related to cleanliness have been planned across the country on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.”

The ‘Swachhta Hi SevaAbhiyaan’ is going on with great enthusiasm in all the offices of the Central Government.

Significant participation is also being seen in the IndianSwachhata League.

Marine (un)drive

The entry ban in Kochi’s Marine Drive between 10 pm and 5 am imposed by civic authorities has incurred public wrath. Some questioned the legality of the decision, saying that it is an illegal encroachment on the rights of individuals.

However, the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) and Kochi Corporation cited illegal activities in the Marine Drive walkway like use of narcotic drugs, racing of motorbikes etc as the reasons.

Strengthening the presence of police in the area would be an ideal option rather than banning public access.

Quota poser to Kavitha

The NDA Government’s move to introduce the Women Reservation Bill triggered an interesting political debate in Telangana. Activists and leaders of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) praised K Kavitha for “making the Bill a reality”and started praising her effusively, giving all the credit to her. BRS baiters on social media jeer at them, wondering how they can give her the credit when the NDA government brought in the Bill.

“Your father (BRS President and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao) announced a near-full list of candidates for 119 Assembly constituencies for the upcoming polls. How many of them are women? Now that you are taking the credit, will you be asking your father to redo the list with 33 per cent women candidates,” they ask.

Summers’ plainspeak

Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers had some sage advice this past week for the leadership and staff of the existing multilateral development banks (MDBs) — move quickly to tackle climate change issues or get ready to face public ire.

He pointed out that the world is watching them and may not have the patience to tolerate MDBs’ failure to address key issues such as climate change. “This is your last clear chance”, he said in his Delhi lecture, noting that if they don’t move dramatically there would be strong demand for new institutions.

Summers, who was Co-Convenor of G20 Independent Expert Group on Strengthening MDBs, noted that the expert group did not favour setting up of new institutions to tackle climate change issues as they would take time to scale up! Our Bureaus

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