https://www.prajasattakjanata.page/2025/02/blog-post_11.html https://youtu.be/9GnHJ3XSiI4?t=78

what Somnath Suryavanshi's mother and brother had to say.. https://youtu.be/9GnHJ3XSiI4?t=155

Middle classes form the bulk of depositors in the banks. It is these deposits that in turn form the bulk of the working capital that allows banks to operate. This year’s Economic Survey, in fact, rejoices in the double-digit growth in bank deposits. And yet, middle-class depositors have been shortchanged over the years by the dwindling interest rates on their savings bank deposits. “The interest on savings bank accounts, which was 5% in 1977, was brought down to 3.5% in 2003, and now it has come down to 2-2.5%,” says Thomas Franco, former general secretary of the All India Bank Officers Confederation. “If the middle classes were paid their fair share of interest at say 5%, they would have earned near about Rs 1.8 lakh crore more last year.” https://thewire.in/economy/the-banking-sector-reveals-the-middle-classes-arent-really-getting-a-bonanza 

This is far more than the Rs 1 lakh crore that the finance minister claims to have “foregone” with the tax rebate she bragged about. Fixed deposits account for nearly 60% of all bank deposits, and as per the Economic Survey, its share in bank deposits is growing. If one takes into account that the interest rates on FDs have nearly halved over the last two decades, the actual earnings foregone by the middle classes are massive. And yet, there seems to be a general acceptance of this as fait accompli.

The real story behind disappearing NPAs

 The banks have written off a whopping Rs 16.5 lakh crore in bad loans over the last decade. In fact, Rs 1.69 lakh crore has been written off in 2024 alone! It is the public sector banks (PSBs) that have taken the major share of these write-offs and it is the corporates who account for the major share of these bad loans or NPAs.

the middle classes – the rates tell the same story of disparity. When it comes to loans, one observes that the low interest ones (under 8%) are more accessible to the corporates (17.2%) than the household sector (4.4%). Meanwhile, loans with interest rates above 11% are disproportionately high among the household sector (29.4%) while much lower for the corporate sector (8.8%). So, despite contributing the bulk of the bank’s deposits, the middle classes are deprived of their deposit rates and low-interest loans, apart from the severe understaffing of the banks which also serves to hurt their interests.

So, while a one-time tax bonanza in this year’s Budget becomes an eyewash that suits political interests, the systematic loot of the common person and the middle classes through such raw deals rarely make headlines. After all, who is interested in the detail, when the devils run the show?

by Anirban Bhattacharya and Pranay Raj

07/02/2025

The world isn't close to breaking free from coal — in some countries, demand for it is surging https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/10/world-coal-demand-remains-at-record-high-as-power-demand-surges.html
U.S. exports of coal have been rising steadily to satisfy growing global demand for the world's dirtiest fossil fuel, even though its domestic consumption has decreased.

On top of that, the world's coal capacity reached a new record high of nearly 2,175 gigawatts in 2024, data from Global Energy Monitor showed on Feb. 6. Coal capacity is the overall power output that can be generated from coal-fired power plants.

China recently reported that its coal imports surged 14.4% to a record high in 2024, amounting to 542.7 million metric tons compared with 474.42 million tons the year before.

Hydropower, wind and solar energy made up almost 30% of China's electricity mix in 2023, data from energy think tank Ember Energy showed. When hydropower output drops as a result of insufficient rainfall, the Chinese government often relies on coal power to ensure energy security, Mei added.
"Additionally, another major barrier is not the availability of renewable energy infrastructure, but the difficulty of transmitting solar and wind power across provinces,
In India, climate-induced extreme heat has led to soaring energy demand for cooling, and clean energy sources are not built fast enough to meet the country's growing power demand, said Mei.

India's focus on economic and infrastructure development has also boosted the consumption of cement and steel, industries that are heavily reliant on coal, according to analysts CNBC spoke to.

The South Asian nation's demand for steel is set to grow by 8-9% in 2025, outpacing that of other economies, owing to a pickup in steel-intensive construction in the infrastructure and residential sectors, data from consulting firm Crisil showed.

 Don’t misdiagnose AAP defeat in Delhi election results. It will be fatal to democracy https://theprint.in/opinion/bjp-delhi-elections-2025-aap-defeat/2486293/ Akshay Marathe 09 February, 2025  Delhi’s voters do not dislike Arvind Kejriwal. In fact, even in defeat, AAP secured approximately 44 per cent of the vote, compared to 54 per cent in 2020. Over the last five years, the BJP convinced 10 per cent of Delhi voters—perhaps not inaccurately—that AAP was a false choice or no choice at all. A gun was held to the heads of Delhi’s people: if you do not vote for the BJP, your city government will remain dysfunctional, and your beloved city will decline. It is unthinkable that a Prime Minister would be so cruel and self-serving as to hold his own capital city to ransom the way Narendra Modi has—but that is exactly what happened in Delhi...

How was Sheila Dikshit able to govern Delhi without significant run-ins with the central government? The answer is obvious to anyone willing to look. Between the 2020 and 2025 elections, the Centre amended the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) Act, formally redefining “government” in Delhi as the “Lieutenant Governor”—a political appointee of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Previously, the Delhi government needed the L-G’s approvals only for major policy decisions, while day-to-day matters remained under the elected government’s control. The amendment, however, effectively transferred all decision-making powers to the central government, making the BJP the de facto ruler of Delhi.

without the BJP’s power grab, none of AAP’s shortcomings would have cost it its majority in Delhi elections 2025.

What global media https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/delhi-election-results-2025-how-global-media-said-about-pm-narendra-modi-aap-arvind-kejriwal-bjps-landmark-win-101739068253053.html  Reuters:"The victory  underscores the party’s growing appeal in urban centers, particularly among middle-class voters who once backed AAP.   Associated Press: AAP’s declining popularity and internal struggles played a role in its defeat.   The Financial Times :  AAP, once seen as a strong regional force, now faces an existential crisis. Losing it to the BJP puts serious questions on its national ambitions. Al Jazeera : this victory is a story of BJP’s micromanagement in constituencies + quoting Nivedita Menon: “It feels like BJP will never lose an election again.  BBC:   BJP, securing Delhi represents more than just electoral success—it marks a crucial foothold in the nation's capital after being out of power there since 1998.

From Godhra to Godse, the rise of propaganda films in India https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4BvqL7Uh8w  Since 2014, there has been a noticeable surge in the production of political and ideological films in India. More of these are slated for release in 2025. These films, many of which align with the Hindutva agenda, frequently target minorities, and contribute to the growing polarization in society.

https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/international/indians-unnerved-bytrumps-immigration-clampdown   ICE’s Fiscal Year 2024 report estimates 2,647 Indians detained for deportation in FY2024, and lists nearly 18,000 undocumented Indian nationals among 1.5 million individuals marked for deportation. The Indian detainees were the fourth largest group, following Mexico (5,089), Honduras (2,957) and Guatemala (2,713).  

“We have a very good relationship with India,” Trump had remarked, but he had told House Republicans at a Florida retreat earlier that day that he would impose tariffs on countries that “harm” America, identifying China, India and Brazil as “high-tariff countries”.... Indeed, the Trump administration is set to pressure India to further scale up its military purchases from the US, from fighter jets and armoured combat vehicles to aero-engines, missiles and drones...

Does Trump’s Attempted “Dismantling” of Spook-Infested, Regime Change Agency USAID Herald a New Foreign Policy Era? https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2025/02/will-trump-doge-sink-spook-infested-regime-change-agency-usaid-and-does-assault-herald-a-new-foreign-policy.html by Conor Gallagher February 5, 2025

USAID’s funding often supports media outlets, educational programs, and NGOs that promote pro-Western narratives. https://x.com/DD_Geopolitics/status/1886208239991431607 

Trump’s takedown of USAID, like much of his 2nd term, motivated by vengeance for the Russiagate hoax. The left-liberal-center spectrum that drove Russiagate for 4 years has since forgotten about it, but for MAGA Russiagate is red hot live & a great mobilizer.  https://x.com/MarkAmesExiled/status/1886192778608070749 

https://x.com/RnaudBertrand/status/1886082749779607997 Hegemony was going to end sooner or later, and now the U.S. is basically choosing to end it on its own terms. It is the post-American world order - brought to you by America itself.

Even the tariffs on allies, viewed under this angle, make sense, as it redefines the concept of "allies": they don't want - or maybe rather can't afford - vassals anymore, but rather relationships that evolve based on current interests.

How India has signalled a shift in the way it views climate crisis  https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-climate/how-india-has-signalled-a-shift-in-the-way-it-views-climate-crisis-9821960/  by Amitabh Sinha   The country has questioned the “excessive preoccupation” of the international climate regime to achieve a specific temperature goal and argued that for developing countries like itself, adaptation must take precedence over reducing emissions.

...The shift in India’s emphasis seems to be prompted by a reassessment of ground realities. The world is nowhere close to meeting its emissions reduction targets for 2030 or 2035 due to inaction largely on the part of the developed countries. In fact, global emissions are still on the rise.

 Appreciable benefits of mitigation accrue only when the world as a whole reduces emissions by a significant amount. Also, these benefits are not witnessed immediately as global warming is caused not by the amount of greenhouse gases being emitted, but by their concentration in the atmosphere over time...

Currently, India only seems to be asserting that the choices of low-carbon development, and the pace of energy transition, should be decided by itself and not dictated by others. While that is a fair and reasonable ask, it is more on India than the rest of the world to make this happen. For example, if manufacturing and technology capabilities related to clean energy are not scaled up significantly, India will continue to remain dependent on foreign supply chains. The country would also not be in a position to make independent choices on energy transition.

How Progressive Civil Society Became Professional NGO Culture  https://jacobin.com/2024/12/civil-society-working-class-democrats

Right now, progressive civil society is poorly equipped for this task. Broadly defined to include left-leaning advocacy groups, NGOs, think tanks, and public forums — such as publications, podcasts, social media networks, and community spaces — progressive civil society has come too close to abandoning mass politics to build working-class alliances and support for left visions.

The road to building much stronger ties between progressive politics and working-class communities will surely be arduous. Leftists will need to try a multitude of approaches and take risks. Advocacy organizations, think tanks, writers, and activists of all sorts need to engage more deeply with working-class communities and forge ties that go beyond the traditional progressive base.

This must include not just speaking to working-class people and communities but creating spaces for their direct contributions to a democratic left, ensuring participation in decision-making and shaping agendas. It could also mean contributing to an emerging left media sphere that speaks to working-class tastes, centers working-class voices and experiences, and invites many more people to see themselves as respected members of the democratic left. This would involve working with unions and other existing left-leaning groups that already have meaningful community ties, such as the Working Families Party, Common Defense, and the Rural Urban Bridge Initiative. Leftists might also forge new relations with nonpartisan groups in working-class communities open to partnering on specific causes...