Karnataka reshuffle?

With 16 of the 28 Congress candidates in the Lok Sabha contest being either sons, daughters or other close relatives of ministers in the Siddaramaiah Cabinet, the outcome on June 4 is likely to have several repercussions.

There is talk of a Cabinet reshuffle soon after the polls. Ministers whose kin have lost in the polls, might be dropped and those who have performed exceedingly well may be rewarded with ‘better’ and more ‘lucrative’ portfolios. The CM has tried to tamp down such talk, but intense lobbying has already begun for berths.

BJP and JD(S), though, are claiming that in case of a poor performance by the ruling party in the State, survival of the government maybe at stake, hinting at ‘Operation Kamal.’ The State administrative machinery is on tenterhooks.

Alert rival

Looks like Pakistani basmati rice exporters are more alert to the latest developments than their Indian counterparts. While they keep track of all news on basmati rice, particularly about the geographical indication tag, they are also questioning Indian experts and analysts on their views.

A few weeks ago, the writer of a book on the history of Indian basmati was confronted by these exporters at an international forum. They quizzed the author on some of his points and what surprised him was the exporters quoted the page on which a particular point had been raised.

Dividend wrangle

The RBI’s massive dividend payout of ₹ 2.1-lakh crore for FY24 has sent the stock markets soaring in the last couple of days.

This dividend boost is good news for banks, as it means less government borrowing and potentially lower interest rates, translating to more treasury gains.

However, the timing of this announcement, coming in the penultimate phases of the general election, has sparked political controversy. Punters cite the rising stock market as a sign of BJP’s potential victory, but political opponents argue that this move has distorted the level playing field ahead of the crucial last two phases of elections.

As the markets celebrate, the political landscape becomes increasingly charged, with debates over the impact of this financial windfall likely to dominate discussions in the coming days.

International spoof calls

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) have devised a system to identify and block international spoof calls from reaching any Indian telecom subscriber. Directions have been issued to the TSPs regarding this.

There have been reports of fraudsters making international spoofed calls displaying Indian mobile numbers to Indian citizens and committing cyber-crime and financial frauds. These calls appear to be originating within India but are made by cyber-criminals from abroad by manipulating the calling line identity (CLI). Such international spoof calls have been misused in recent cases of fake digital arrests, FedEx scams, drugs/narcotics in courier, impersonation as Government and police officials, disconnections of mobile numbers by DoT/TRAI officials, etc.

These calls with Indian landline numbers are being already blocked by the TSPs, per DoT directions.

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