What Kind of Budget Does India's Banking Sector Need  https://youtu.be/Dtg8auJvEe0

Thomas Franco Social activist and former Gen Sec of the All India Bank Officers' Confederation  Budget 2025: What's at Stake?', Thomas Franco dissects the government’s claims of a banking ‘turnaround,’ as highlighted in the last Economic Survey. Are declining non-performing assets, rising bank profits and increased financial inclusion as promising as they seem? 
He also evaluates whether successive budgets have truly delivered on credit support for MSMEs, including MUDRA loans, during financial stress. Finally, Franco outlines what a credit-sensitive budget should prioritise, sharing key recommendations for strengthening the nation’s financial system.

T

As A Deadly Artillery Range Turns Tourism Hub In Kashmir, Families Of Those Killed Battle For Compensation Sajad Hameed And Qazi Shibli
Wednesday 22 Jan, 2025 The Tosa Maidan Bachao Front (TBF), an advocacy group of victim families and civil rights activists, said in a 2017 petition for compensation in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court that at least 54 had died between 1974 and 2014, including farmers, shepherds, and children.  The court ordered, on 16 December 2024, that petitioners should send copies of death certificates for 30 more people who died on Tosa Maidan to the union government and that “after verifying” the documents, authorities are to “process cases for grant of compensation”. 

AAP documentary screening in Delhi cancelled: Did not seek permission, say cops; ‘Dictatorship,’ says Arvind Kejriwal https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/aap-documentary-screening-delhi-cancelled-cops-dictatorship-arvind-kejriwal-9785652/ The Aam Aadmi Party had planned a media screening of a documentary on the ‘unprecedented assault’ on the party and its leaders.

“As elections have been declared, political parties have to apply for permission through single window system at DEO office (that is DM office). This is a standard process during elections. For the said event, no such permission was taken and hence it would have been a violation of guidelines. We urge all parties to follow the elections rules and regulations at this time,” an official statement from the Delhi Police said.

Kejriwal claimed at a press conference that no permission was required for a private screening. “Today, we had organised the screening of one of our films for the media… This was a private and not public screening but a lot of police force was pressed to stop the screening

Why Trump forced Israel to accept Gaza ceasefire, with Ali Abunimah
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7pG_9qRYcY  

 And while the agreement is expected to bring immediate relief to Palestinians, While many factors led to this agreement, especially the continued strength of the resistance on the ground, the intervention of Donald Trump appears to have been decisive. Ali Abunimah, Nora Barrows-Friedman, Jon Elmer and Asa Winstanley were joined by political and economic analyst Shir Hever, and Ahmed Alnaouq, co-founder and director of We Are Not Numbers

https://electronicintifada.net/

Emergency & Neo Emergency: MG Devasahayam https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4Mun47hdxg Sam Pitroda  the history of human rights violations during the last ten years mirrors the Emergency in every way. Both the Emergency and the undeclared emergency have seen a war on dissenting writers, journalists, students, and politicians.
The book throws up searching questions like is the Emergency really done and dusted, who and what was primarily responsible for its imposition, how was it defeated, who did it, and how India is going through an era of neo-Emergency. The author highlights how India’s democracy has swung between two extremes—from two years of the ‘darkest period’ to ten years of the ‘dark-dark period’.
As masters and minions of both eras claim themselves as ‘defenders of democracy’, the question is, are they? 

https://youtu.be/uhFG2kibebA?t=25   Prof. Aditya Mukherjee || Nehru's Legacy Revisited || Defending Rationality, Science and Democracy
Samim Asgor Ali JNU

 76 लाख वोट का रिकॉर्ड गायब, Rajiv Kumar ने बेईमानी का लिखित सबूत दिया!   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw7N20p_eMQ  Ashok Wankhede
The News Launcher 

 'What Are They Celebrating?': Ravi Nair Slams Those Who Celebrated Shutting Of Hindenburg Research https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPm2AtEMdcg
HW News English 

India’s net forest cover sees paltry rise of 156.41 sq km; decrease in mangroves and Western Ghats cover https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-forest-tree-cover-govt-report-9737617/ 

WA : Kal What is the basis of such a claim?? The big highways, expansion of cities, many industrial projects, river linking have taken big toll on the forest.

AP: In my humble opinion, the figures are and have always been bogus. This is based on the facts that the forest figures are based on the India State of Forests Report prepared based on Forest Survey of India maps made from satellite imagery. Strangely, the FSI website itself has a disclaimer stating that their maps are not accurate! 
Now, the forests recognized by Government for protection under
the law are not based on the FSI maps. For example, Goa Govt recognizes and protects only 1200 sq kms (33%) of its land as forests, while FSI shows over 2200 (60%) sq kms of forests in Goa. 
Indian Govt has different figures for the world and for itself.

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/forests/western-ghats-lost-58-sq-km-of-forest-cover-since-2013-sofr-2023 Western Ghats lost 58 sq km of forest cover since 2013: SOFR 2023..“Very Dense Forest increased by 3,465.12 sq km, whereas Moderately Dense Forest and Open Forest decreased by 1,043.23 sq km and 2,480.11 sq km,”