FCNR (B) to pay for NDF.

"The central bank's special measures to attract foreign exchange have brought in $40.81 billion by July 31, driven largely by foreign currency non-resident (bank) or FCNR (B) deposits, showed data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)." "Banks can swap these deposits with the RBI under a zero-cost hedging facility available until 30 September." ET. That means that banks will be able to buy back this foreign money from the RBI at today's exchange rates when the bonds are redeemed at the end of 3-5 years. The RBI will bear the cost of any depreciation of the rupee. Protects banks but punishes taxpayers. "A surge in dollar demand from Indian lenders racing to boost the leverage on foreign currency deposits they are offering to overseas citizens is firing up its dollar bond and loan markets, with global banks rushing to capture the business." "Banks are giving interest rates north of 7% for those dollars which would end on 30 September." ET. Foreign banks are lending money to non-resident Indians (NRIs) to invest in these bonds. Yield on 5-year US Treasury is at 4.34% and on 5-year AAA Corporate bonds is at 4.44%. Fidelity. Foreign banks will profit from interest on their loans while NRIs will profit from the difference between their borrowing cost and the huge interest from Indian banks. The hapless taxpayer is losing out. Meanwhile, "Bloomberg Index Services...deferred the inclusion of Indian government bonds in its flagship Global Aggregate Index." "Inclusion in the index typically leads to increased foreign flows into the debt market and helps boost the country's currency - the Indian rupee has depreciated 5.5% so far this year." In June, India scrapped 12.5% long-term (bonds held for more than 12 months) capital gains tax and a 20% withholding tax on interest earned from government bonds to tempt foreign investors. Reuters. "Market participants are closely watching foreign portfolio investor (FPI) activity in fully accessible route (FAR) securities as some investors, who had bought them in anticipation of their inclusion in the Bloomberg global bond gauge, are expected to lighten positions accumulated over the last two months. " The daily average flow from FPI has dropped to Rs 3 billion in July from Rs 30 billion in June as markets are pricing in 1-2 rate hikes from the US Federal Reserve. ET. "India's remittance boom has powered through global crises, geopolitical tensions and economic slowdowns, helping make the country the world's largest recipient of money sent home by overseas citizens since 2008." "According to the Finance Ministry...gross remittance inflows rose to a record $155.1 billion in FY 26 from $135.4 billion in FY 25, an increase of 14.5%." However, "tighter visa rules, higher salary thresholds and restrictions on temporary migration could slow the pipeline of new migrants, making future growth uneven." ET. In addition to this high interest borrowing from NRIs, "The RBI's net foreign exchange forward book market shrank slightly to $103.3 billion in June, as a reduction of near-tenor dollar liabilities outweighed a rise in longer tenor ones reflecting absorption of dollar inflows." Reuters. The RBI's short-term borrowing in the non-deliverable forward market is to shore up its foreign exchange reserves to protect the rupee from steep falls. The 3-5 year FCNR (B) bonds is just kicking the can down the road (BBC). India's total foreign debt was $762.80 billion in the first quarter of 2026, slightly down from $765.50 in the fourth quarter of 2025. Trading Economics. India's foreign exchange reserves were $682.35 billion on 31 July 2026. investing. com. Hope we don't have to borrow from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) like Pakistan  (imf.org)." Imagine India and Pakistan standing with tin cans outside the IMF building in Washington. Brothers in alms. 

The door is there.

"Rejecting Meta's apology for taking down a PM Narendra Modi's video, a parliamentary committee yesterday sought a personal apology from its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and warned of seeking removal of its safe harbor protection if he failed to comply." TOI. It is not clear why Meta should act as a propaganda channel for Mr Modi or the BJP unless someone pays for it. Is it not enough that the mainstream media has been neutered into a sycophantic 'Godi (lapdog) media'? One week ago, Meta... admitted that PM Modi's first selfie video on Facebook, meant to address Gen Z over NEET paper leak, was taken down due to an 'error'." "The ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) summoned Meta's global head of public policy, according to PTI sources. This comes as PM Modi's video was 'unavailable" for a little time on Facebook but was later restored." TOI. In July 2023, "Meta has lifted the final restrictions on Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts in the run up to US presidential elections in November." "Trump's accounts, which combined have over 60 million followers, were reinstated in 2023 but subject to additional monitoring, which has now been removed, the social media giant said in a blog post." BBC. If Meta can block Trump why can't they drop Mr Modi's selfie? If the BJP actually penalises Meta in any way, Trump could show his support for the company by uninviting Mr Modi from addressing the UN General Assembly in New York next month (TNIE). Trump is unpredictable. The BJP should reflect before 'pulling the tiger's tail' (WR Forums). "Bitchat, the internet-free messaging app at the center of a government crackdown, has continued to gain traction in India despite authorities ordering GitHub to remove its source code repository." "Bitchat, founded by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, allows users to message without using any internet using Bluetooth mesh networks. According to new Appfigures data, India contributed 53% of Bitchat's estimated 120,000-plus global downloads in the thirty days ending July 24." ET. During the protests by thousands of students at Jantar Mantar against leaked question papers (Reuters), "Republic TV's main talking points included the alleged involvement of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), an alleged US hand behind the protest, a 'foreign funding cluster', alleged conversion by missionaries and the 'tukde tukde gang'." The Center for Culture-Centered Approach to Research and Evaluation (CARE), Massey University, New Zealand, analysed 25 Republic TV broadcasts between 20 and 25 July and counted 58,941 words, vilifying students as criminals and creating a fiction of paranoid delusion. Why didn't the government take down this blatant abuse? Television news channels are losing viewers and ad revenue. "It seems the nation no longer wants to know. Or at least no longer wants to know what the government wants it to know through the journalism of cower-age." "Shehzad Poonawalla, as BJP's chief content creator on prime, seems to have been clever enough to discern the impending great crash and has chosen to walk into the sunset before that happens." The Wire. While treating Indians at home with contempt and ruthless suppression, Mr Modi loves to present a benevolent persona in other countries. "In the enduring world of Prime Minister Modi's jhappi pappi (hug and kiss) diplomacy, something new is creeping in and has been on full display in his last few visits abroad." "Of course, the new contrived spontaneity of lighthearted interactions that is on full display only at the Mega Modi melas for NRIs," "But there is also a creeping international media scrutiny of Modi's jumbo jamborees abroad, raising issues of taxpayer spends, and fueling the anti-migrant and anti-Indian cry in the countries that Modi visits today," wrote Vrinda Gopinath. Other countries do not have a genuflecting media like in India and their politicians may start to pay attention. Also, non-resident Indians (NRIs) may realize that Mr Modi's visits coincide with racial hostility. At home, police harassment of students (MC) will surely anger their parents who have been Mr Modi's vote-bank (wikipedia). Mr Modi should heed Confucius, who said, "The way out is through the door. Why is it that no one will use this method? (Goodreads). If too profound, ask Gen Z. They found the door. Will open it. Gladly.        

Adding billionaires.

"India's gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections rose 15.4% year-on-year to over Rs 2.11 trillion in July, driven by higher revenues from both domestic transactions and imports, according to government data." "Gross domestic GST revenue increased 10.1% to Rs 1.45 trillion," and "GST from imports rose 28.8% to Rs 665.11 billion." ET . Rise in GST on imports could be partly due to a devaluation of the rupee from around 86.50 to one dollar in July 2025 to around 96.30 to one dollar in July 2026 (Thomas Cook), which would have increased prices of imported goods, but the rise in domestic GST is in spite of a cut in rates and a simplification to a two-slab structure from multiple slabs (pib.gov.in). Since GST is a percentage of the retail price of goods and services, the rise in domestic collections could be partly due to the rise in the consumer price index (CPI) inflation jumping from 3.93% in June 2026 to 4.38% in July  (pib.gov.in). Annual GST collections have almost doubled from Rs 11.77 trillion in 2018-19 (the first full year of collections) to an estimated Rs 23 trillion in 2025-26. blog.tatanexarc.com. Since GST is a consumption tax this seems to imply a healthy rise in consumer spending. "Government...said that there were 576 individuals who had disclosed a gross income of over Rs 1 billion during financial year 2024-25 with 165 added during the year." TOI. But only around 81 million out of a total population of 1,478 million  (Worldometers) filed tax returns in 2024-25. India will shortly be entering the festival season, which starts with Ganesh Chaturthi on 14 September 2026 and will go on till Christmas. "Indians spend heavily during the festive season, with BCG estimating festive consumption at Rs 12-14 trillion last year." "Early industry estimates suggest consumers are willing to spend more on premium products even if purchases in the mass market segment remain subdued. India's appetite for premium goods is increasingly becoming a barometer of the economy's underlying strength." ET. Is it? India's household debt hit a new high of 47.8% of GDP by December 2025. "Non-housing retail loans now account for 58.4% of household borrowings." "A housing loan creates an asset, while a business loan may create an income stream. Even an education loan creates future earnings. But a personal loan used for groceries, medical expenditure or repayment of earlier loans creates neither." "Gold loans have grown at a compound annual rate of 42.4% since March 2024." "RBI finds that much of this increase has come from existing customers using higher gold prices to obtain larger loans and roll over previous debt," wrote Ajit Ranade. "Gold loans drove a sharp acceleration in personal lending and overall bank credit, with the segment expanding 93.8% year on year at the end of June 2026," as banks increased their gold loans to Rs 5.4 trillion. TOI. Distress loans for borrowers, increased bonuses for bank managers. Women in several villages of Jharkhand have fled their homes because they are unable to repay multiple loans from microfinance institutions (MFI). Mint's reporters "met at least two dozen women who were reeling under debts ranging from Rs 20,000 to Rs 600,000, taken to meet their daily consumption needs," wrote Ritwika Mitra. "India has seen a rise in unofficial gold inflows since the government increased import tariffs on the precious metal earlier this year." Gold smuggling fell to 20.4 tons in 2025 from 156.1 tons in 2023 but "illegal gold imports could exceed 100 tons in 2026. ET. Billionaires, bank managers and gold smugglers are thriving. People less wealthy are not. After 12 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India needs a change. Now.  

Humor difficult to counter.

One week ago, "India's Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has called off its five-week long-protest, hours after EducationMinister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned." "This was the most visible expression of public anger against PM Narendra Modi's government in recent years" as "Thousands of posts mocking Modi have flooded social media. The prime minister's videos, intended to quell anger, have been turned into jokes and memes." BBC. Mockery, derision and ridicule are the most potent weapons against a regime using force, intrusive surveillance (ET) and a militia of Bhakts (DH), who live in delusion of Hindu utopia, similar to the Islamist Basij militia of Iran (Britannica). On 31 July, Mr Modi "expressed 'shock' at female protesters using expletives and said he wished to forgive such 'misled children'. He did not mention the use of force, including pellet guns," (The Wire) or firing the deadly AK47 at unarmed students (News18), protesting against criminal incompetence. "A girl, who was booked for allegedly using abusive language against PM Modi during protest at Jantar Mantar, has now apologized. In a viral video, she claimed to be 15 years old and said others influenced her at the protest." Newsbytes. When you have to use coercive force to terrorize a minor into apologizing, you have no respect or dignity left. Needless to say, social media was not impressed. The All India Students' Association (AISA) observed, "It has been a shameful normalcy of trolling and doxxing dissenters and giving rape threats to women and gender minorities. All this done by the IT cell run with utmost precision by Amit Malviya." The Wire. Malviya is the "national convener of the IT cell of the Bharatiya Janata Party" (wikipedia), which is Mr Modi's party. "The police claim to have identified 480 social media handles allegedly originating in Pakistan for spreading deep-fakes, and another 450 accounts that were sharing deep-fakes," wrote Bharat Bhushan. This is a crude attempt at tarring the protesters as anti-national. But, "The most viral of the Gen-Z memes and slogans are, on the other hand, personally derisive and mocking," and "As a result, the personal ridicule of Modi has gone deeper than in previous campaigns." "The idiom of mockery cannot be countered through rational responses of factual counter-arguments. This leaves the government with no ground to counter them except by resorting to the legalese that ridiculing constitutional public figures is punishable under the law." DH. Using pellet guns to deliberately blind protesters, shooting live rounds or using law enforcement as psychological terror on a minor are crimes against humanity. " Article 7 (1) (f) and Article 7 (1) (h), International Criminal Court. Western countries claim ownership of so-called liberal democracy (wikipedia), a civilizational superiority over others. Now is the time to act. Just stop inviting regime leaders for visits or summits and politely, and quietly, tell them it is not convenient if they want to visit. No lectures or any public statement. That will be used by the regime as an insult to the sovereignty of the Indian nation and the regime will create a siege situation and increase persecution of the people. Forget the idiotic principle of "Constructive Engagement" (Model Diplomat) which has not worked in the past and will not work here. Just ostracize the regime. Silently. Mr Modi's carefully nurtured invincibility has been stripped away. The king is in the altogether. Just laugh.            

Fund research. Prove your point.

" 'Gaumutra', or cow urine, has 'anti-bacterial' and 'anti-fungal' properties, and can heal a variety of illnesses, including IBS, or Irritable Bowel Syndrome - advice apparently proffered by V Kamakoti, the Director of Chennai's Indian Institute of Technology." He also claimed that "The anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties of cow urine have been scientifically demonstrated," and evidence published in top journals in the US. The journal Nature published an article on 'peptide profiling in cow urine'.  NDTV. "Kamakoti Veezhinathan completed both his MS and PhD in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT Madras and joined its faculty in 2001." ET. Excellent. But where did he graduate from? When Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi referred to a 'gau-mutra expert' on the government's education reform panel, "Though she did not name anyone, the remark was widely seen as referring to Prof Kamakoti."  TOI. To that former Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Prof Krishnamurthy V Subramanian posted, "If we do not reject Ramanujan's theorem's because Devi came and gave them in his dreams, why shud we reject a research question on Gomutra?" BT. Solutions to problems can come in dreams and Ramanujan may have described them as revelations from the Goddess, but thousands of his results have been proven correct and mathematicians continue to study his work (wikipedia). If cow urine has such novel molecules, they should be isolated and studied. Also urine from other herbivores, such as camels, elephants or horses studied to see what they contain. Could be a treasure trove. Indian pharma companies are creating advanced anti-microbial drugs to treat bacteria resistant to all available antibiotics,. "Enmetazobactam, developed by Chennai-based Orchid Pharma" treats severe infections by "targeting bacteria's defence mechanisms rather than the bacteria itself." Zaynich from Wockhardt is described as "ground-breaking, one-of-its-kind new antibiotic designed to combat all major super bugs." Wockhardt's Nafithromycin is undergoing Phase-3 trials, while some startups are also researching new drugs. BBC. "As per 20th Livestock Census, 2019, country has 193.46 million cattle population and out of this 142.11 million are indigenous and nondescript cattle, which is 73.45% of the total cattle population in the country." pib.gov.in. That is potentially an ocean of gaumutra, possibly containing "indigenous and nondescript" peptides. While the present government is showering us with the benefits of cow urine, "After-school tuition is sucking up a bigger portion of Indian family budgets these days as an increasing number of students compete for limited number of spots at top colleges." "Household incomes have increased at a compound rate of 11.9% a year in the past decade, trailing the 15.7% pace in education spending," so that "An average household now spends almost 3% of their income on education...compared with 1.95% in 2014-15, according to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). ET. Despite spending so much, a report, The State of College Hiring in India 2026, found that "While 68% of students said they considered themselves job-ready from the first day of employment, only 9% of companies shared that view." TOI. Instead of wasting time on mindless arguments, the believers should pay for research on gaumutra. Also, they may drink a liter of gaumutra everyday and compare their health with an age and sex matched cohort after 5, 10, 15 and 20 years. Till then, no idiotic claims. Put up or shut up.

An appalling abuse of uniform.

"Delhi Police said its investigation has revealed that 101 individuals with murder charges, 284 booked in dacoity and robbery cases, and 92 accused in sexual assault and other offences against women and children were part of the violence during the protester's march to Parliament on July 20." Apparently, a total of 2,873 criminals were involved in attacking cops and vandalising vehicles. TOI. Shouldn't these criminals have been safely locked up in prison? Whose job is it to prosecute criminals? "12 had criminal histories spanning at least 10 cases or more and among the rape accused, eight had been booked in multiple criminal cases." Appalling statistics. "A Rapid Action Force (RAF) jawan (a private), deployed at Connaught Place on July 20 during the Cockroach Janta Party-led 'Chalo-Sansad' march, fired at least seven rounds from his pellet gun, five of which hit peaceful protesters, an inquiry by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)has revealed." The Wire. Appalling. Pellet guns cause horrific injuries, especially permanent blindness. "In 2016, Kashmir saw the biggest mass-blinding campaign. Of 12,000 people who were injured, at least 6,000 were hit by pellets during periods of unrest. The foreign media called it an 'epidemic of dead eyes'." "The youngest victim of pellets was one-and-a-half year old child, Hiba." NDTV. Appalling. Pellet guns, or shotguns, are generally used for hunting birds. "With a rifle, we must put a bullet into exactly the right spot, and killing is a question of precision. With a shotgun, the shot charge is spread over a large area, and killing is a question of statistical probability." (Hunting 101). In 2019, "On 2 November, the Government of India's Press Information Bureau released two maps that show all of the former (but contested) princely State of Jammu and Kashmir as now comprising of two entities: the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh. Both belong to India. All people in them are Indians." Lowy Institute. Deliberately blinding Indians. Appalling. "The Supreme Court...said police forces can be permitted to use pellet guns in exceptional situations, even as it took a plea seeking complete ban on use of metallic pellet guns to deal with law and order situations." ET. The government will claim every situation is exceptional. Appalling. "A video purportedly showing a Bihar Police officer firing an AK-47 rifle during a student protest in Siwan has triggered widespread debate over the use of assault weapons by law enforcement." At least three young men have sustained serious injuries. The officer has been suspended. News18. If deliberate blindness is allowed, why not liver, lungs or kidneys? Appalling. "Sandeep Lamba, a senior Delhi Police officer who has come under fire after videos surfaced on social media showing him slapping a woman protester during Monday's student protests in central Delhi has been removed from all security-related duties in New Delhi." HT. Is that sexual assault? Appalling. In one incident, "a video purportedly showed a group of protesters inside a Mumbai police vehicle recording a police officer, who allegedly threatened to plant 50 grams of narcotic powder in their pockets if they continue to protest." DH. A police officer with total contempt for the law. Appalling. The police have become a militia of the government, to suppress any form of protest with extreme violence. If you kill a criminal during a crime it will be self-defence. How do you defend yourself against goons in uniform? Appalling.     

In a trap.

"Government...said that there were 576 individuals who had disclosed a gross income of over Rs 1 billion during the financial year 2024-25, with 161 added during the year." It is a small fraction of a total of  around 81 million who filed returns in 2024-25. "So far this year, 40 million returns have been filed for FY 2025-26 with 31 July being the deadline." TOI. According to the Income Tax Return Statistics for FY 13 and FY 23 released by the income tax department, the middle class with salary incomes between Rs 1 million and Rs 5 million "has substantially increased its share of salary income over the decade." "But, it is not earning more per person on an average. Average salaries grew from Rs 1.686 million in FY 13 to Rs 1.733 million in FY 23 - a less than 3% growth over the decade and an average annual rate of growth of less than 0.3% a year," "While nominal (real plus inflation) gross domestic product (GDP) grew at around 10.5% a year over the decade," wrote Monica Halan. The middle class and the super rich multiplying, so people must be getting wealthy. According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s latest Financial Stability Report, India's household debt reached 47.8% of GDP by December 2025. "Non-housing retail loans now account for 58.4% of household borrowings." And, "Gold loans have grown at a compound annual rate of 42.4% since March 2024." Net household financial savings have fallen from 11% to 7% of GDP in 2024-25, and "it is clear that low-income borrowers are increasingly using fresh loans to pay for consumption or an installment of a refinanced old loan," wrote Ajit Ranade. "According to the latest World Bank report, India's PCI (per capita income) of $2,760 places it 139th out of 182 countries, and firmly within the 47 lower-middle-income countries (LMICs, PCI between $1,136 and $4,495)." "India's PCI recorded an annual growth rate of 11.39% during the Manmohan Singh decade," but has grown at only 5.21% during the 12 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, wrote Subhash C Garg. "About 75% of the Indian labor force is self-employed. Compare that with data for the three Asian countries that have just been promoted into the upper middle-income club: Vietnam (53.3%), the Philippines (36.1%) and Sri Lanka (42.1%)." "As for China, only 37% of its labor force is self-employed." India has too few large enterprises as in China or "a deep layer of mid-sized, often family-owned, export-competitive firms - the Mittelstand - that employed millions and dominated global niches" as in Germany, wrote Niranjan Rajadhyaksha. "The Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) of 2025 counts 79.2 million unincorporated non-agricultural establishments in India." "The Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) 2023-24, reports that the average registered factory employs 73 workers. ASUSE shows the average unincorporated establishment employs only 1.6 workers. This is near-solo work." This is survival work because of a lack of regular well-paid jobs, wrote Saumitra Bhaduri & Shubham Anand. Out of about 900 million people of working age, "In 2024, about 28 million unemployed educated youth were looking for jobs; and about 100 million educated youth (mostly women) have stopped looking. Another 150 million youth are currently in education or training who will look for work." According to the National Crime Bureau report for 2024, "unemployed people form a large category among suicide victims" and suicide among students, especially of Class 10, Class 12 and higher-education is rising, wrote Profs Santosh Mehrotra & Jajati Parida. The population is ageing rapidly and so India risks being stuck in the middle-income trap (wikipedia). Which is great because politicians are dishing out unconditional cash transfers to women (BBC) to win elections. Students can commit suicide. They don't vote anyway.

The excellence of one.

On 25 July, "The youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has called off its protest, hours after the resignation of India's education minister. Dharmendra Pradhan resigned after weeks of protests over exam paper leaks and testing irregularities." BBC. However, "Returning to Parliament,..just two days after stepping down over the alleged NEET paper leaks controversy, the BJP MP was greeted with chants of 'Dharmendra Pradhan zindabad (live forever)' and a hero's welcome from party colleagues." TOI. Wishing Pradhan eternal life, while our students commit suicide in despair, shows the callous indifference of the so-called representatives of the people (wikipedia) to the anguish of our betrayed children. "An analysis of media reports by India Today's OSINT team traced at least 93 NEET-linked reported student suicides in the last five years, peaking in 2025 with at least 32 deaths. In 2026 so far, at least 14 cases have already been documented." We mourn while they cheer. "Among emerging market peers, India has recorded the second-fastest pace of growth, but also the highest youth unemployment rate, at 16%." Germany and Japan "entered the demographic dividend phase - the economic growth potential that results from a higher share of the working-age population as compared to the dependent population - and delivered nearly 10% compound average growth rate in per capita GDP between 1950 and 2000." "India's strike rate of around 4.8% pales when compared with China (10.8%), Vietnam (10.2%) and South Korea (6.2%)." Mint. Since the resignation of Mr Pradhan, a multitude of self-appointed experts have propounded their own opinions as to why this government, which always responds with force and terror, gave in to a bunch of students. Perhaps, Manu Joseph is the most persuasive when he writes, "Higher education has hinged on a lie. That it can result in a good job." "But, in reality, it was always inequality that helped people secure such jobs." "Higher education was an artificial filter designed to reject millions of people." But "the government has increased the number of elite engineering and management courses, perhaps thinking, oddly, that if there are many engineers, there would be more jobs." The first Indian Institute of Technology was set up in 1956 at Kharagpur in Bengal. IIT Bombay opened in 1958, Madras and Kanpur in 1959 and Delhi in 1961 for a total of five. Today there are 23 IITs. wikipedia. The first All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) opened in 1956 in Delhi. Today there are around 25 called AIIMS. wikipedia. Weirdly, our enlightened leaders seem to believe that a name automatically transfers excellence. They do not seem to understand that an erudite faculty, state of the art infrastructure and hard-working, meritorious students create an institution of excellence. After all, there is only one Harvard, one Oxford and, thankfully so far, only one Indian Institute of Science, which is regularly ranked the highest in India. In 2025, "more than 40% of faculty positions across various AIIMS remain vacant, with some institutions reporting faculty vacancy rates exceeding 50% in 2025-26." NDTV. In June 2026, "Around 38% of sanctioned faculty posts are lying vacant across 22 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) according to institution -wise data," which translates to "four out of every 10 teaching positions remaining unfilled". NDTV. As a result, "millions of graduates are both unemployed and unemployable." Building factories creates jobs. Putting names of elite institutes on buildings does not. It was a bluff. Backfired badly.   

Could it get worse?

"Applications for US unemployment benefits fell last week to an almost 60-year low," while "the European Central Bank rejected an immediate move to raise interest rates," South Korea's economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter," and "The World Cup staycations and scorching weather helped Britain's private sector bounce back in July." ET. "The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits for the first time unexpectedly fell last week to the lowest since the 1960s," as "Initial claims for state jobless benefits dropped by 22,000 - the largest decline in three months - to a seasonally adjusted 187,000 for the week ended July 18, the Labor Department said." Reuters. Why unexpected? Was it because the World Cup gave a bigger-than-expected boost to the hospitality sector, or was the eye jaundiced by hatred for President Donald Trump? "Europe is warming at roughly twice the global average," so that "at least 12,000 excess deaths were recorded across nine European countries during June's heatwave." "EU member states will need to spend close to 70 billion euros ($80 billion) every year until 2050 to adapt infrastructure and communities to rising temperatures." "Allianz projects that Germany could suffer economic losses of about $131 billion by 2030 if recent heat patterns persist." France could lose $240 billion, Italy $147 billion and Spain $120 billion. ET. Paradoxically, this winter could be hard for Europe. "Europe has rapidly replaced Russian pipeline gas with LNG." Consequently, "Europe now competes with Asia and other regions in a global LNG market where supply disruptions can reverberate around the world almost instantly." Storage facilities are currently 55% full, the lowest level since 2021 and "Europe faces similar challenges in diesel." ET. Meanwhile, according to the World Gold Council central banks have "purchased an average of 1,000 tonnes of gold annually for the past four years." Gold cannot be created like fiat currencies and is a hedge against inflation. ET. Central banks are reducing investments in US Treasuries and the dollar. The US needs foreign investors because of the huge deficits it runs. "The trade gap has been hovering around 3% of GDP for the last few years, and the current account deficit is closer to 4% of GDP." In 2004, "Japan's official holdings of US Treasuries accounted for 18% of all outstanding US debt held by the public, and in 2010, China's equivalent share represented 14%." Today they are down to 4% and 2% respectively. Today private investors are financing US deficits by buying into tech stocks. "Apple and Microsoft have triple-A credit rating, unlike the US government." The danger is that if markets fall, this flow could reverse. The deficits would become hard to finance. Reuters. The US sovereign credit rating is AA+ for both S&P's and Fitch Ratings and Aa1 for Moody's. World Government Bonds. On the other side of the pond, "The European Central Bank (ECB) is considering several options to mitigate its financial losses," as "ECB President Christine Lagarde confirmed...that policymakers would discuss raising minimum reserve requirements which means increasing the amount of cash banks must keep in an unremunerated account as a buffer in case of liquidity crunch." "Alternative options include not paying interest to banks on some of their excess reserves." Reuters. The US and the EU are the two biggest economies in the world. And they seem to be on edge. The times are interesting, already.

Not our Sanskaar.

Various global organisations publish indexes on nations ,based on different parameters, varying from terrorism to happiness. On happiness India stood at 116th in 2025, on corruption India ranked 91st, on human development it ranked 130th and on the Henley Passport Index ranked between 75th and 80th in 2026. Vajiram & Ravi. "The typical response of the Indian government has been to dismiss reports that are inconvenient and, in some cases, to go so far as to allege a conspiracy to 'taint India's image'." Not just furriners, this government rejects its own findings. "The first Periodic Labor Force Survey (PLFS) report by the Union government showed unemployment at its highest level in five decades. When it was leaked, the government rejected it." "The fate of the 2017-18 consumption survey was worse; it was junked even after being approved by the National Statistical Commission." DH. Some things are too horrific to acknowledge. A couple of weeks ago," an 11-year-old girl left her home for her friend's birthday party." "She was kidnapped, raped, bundled into a sack and thrown into a pond by a gang of men while still alive." "In northwestern Rajasthan state, a 12-year-old girl was abducted, drugged and raped by multiple men over four days in various hotels before she was rescued" and "a 7-year-old girl was raped before being killed and her body thrown into an empty shaft of an under-construction shopping mall." Reuters.       If it can't be denied, it can be ignored. " Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh convicted of rape in 2017 and supposed to be serving a 20-year sentence was released on parole for 30 days in May. So far he has been released 15 times already for a total of 406 days and the latest jaunt will bring the total to 436 days. HT. Haryana has a BJP government. wikipedia. In 2022, "The government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the premature release of 11 men who were convicted of the gangrape of a pregnant Muslim woman and murder of 14 members of her family, including her three-year-old daughter." They walked out of jail on 15 August, India's Independence Day. BBC. "Released from jail under the Gujarat government's remission policy, they were greeted with garlands at the Vishwa Hindu Parishad office." India Today. Gujarat has a BJP government with an overwhelming majority wikipedia. "The 11 men, convicted for the rape of Bilkis Bano and released by the Gujarat government after 15-odd years in jail, are 'Brahmins' and have 'good sanskaar (mentality)', the BJP's sitting MLA, CK Raulji, from Godhra has said." NDTV. The BJP stands for Hindutva. "The term Hindutva was first defined in the early 1920s by by an Indian nationalist activist Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. Today it is most closely associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),...and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a non-political Hindu nationalist paramilitary organization." Britannica. What is most infuriating is that the word "Hindu" is being associated with rape and rapists, which is repulsive for vast majority of us. Incredibly, women are also staunch supporters of the BJP. "Gradually, everyone will seek refuge in the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Sanatan culture because this is our own culture," said Bollywood actress and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut. TOI. Rape is not Sanatan culture. It is definitely not our Sanskaar. Only the vile deny it.