Flood of support for the publicist.

"A single-judge bench of the Karnataka high court said it does not behove schools to teach children to criticise government policies or insult constitutional functionaries for taking particular policy decisions." The Wire. "The Karnataka High Court has said abusive words used against the Prime Minister was derogatory and irresponsible but it does not constitute sedition, while quashing a case of sedition against a school management." Strange that, "The Gujarat high court has dismissed opposition leader Rahul Gandhi's appeal seeking a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case. Mr Gandhi was sentenced to two years in jail for his comments about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surname at an election rally. He was disqualified as an MP following his sentencing." BBC. What about frogs, snakes and monkeys? Are they derogatory and irresponsible, or criminal defamation? "You (the opposition) will sit on the same tree...there are frogs, snakes and monkeys too because there is flood water below. There is such a flood of support and popularity of Modi ji that all of them are trying to climb a tree," said Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan. What about 'creepy, crawly'? Is that derogatory or defamation? In response to India's objection to a float "marking the 39th anniversary of Operation Blue Star, depicted a tableau of assassinated former prime minister Indira Gandhi with blood on her clothes," Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau said, "We have an extremely diverse country and freedom of expression is something that we value, but we will always make sure that we are pushing back against violence and extremism in all its form." NDTV. India condemned Trudeau's support of "freedom of expression" as 'vote bank politics'. BT. We should know. After all, 'vote bank politics' was born right here in India. Sikhs in London distributed sweets the day Mrs Gandhi was shot. quora. At that time, the UK government's position was that celebrating someone's killing was in very bad taste but was not a crime. India's first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel accused the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) of distributing sweets when Mahatma Gandhi was shot dead by Nathuram Godse who was a member of the RSS. Logically. In November 2022, Chief of RSS Mohan Bhagwat said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a swayamsewak and pracharak, and even today he is working as a pracharak." India.com. 'Pracharak' means a 'publicist', 'the promoter of a cause or idea tries to make it popular'. Collins. Modi never forgets to remind us about the "dark days of Emergency" under Mrs Indira Gandhi and said, "I pay homage to all those courageous people who resisted the Emergency and worked to strengthen our democracy." NDTV. Pity, courageous people like Telugu journalist Thulasi Chandu are threatened with murder these days. The Wire. Democracy without freedom of expression. Only prachar.

Look outside.

"According to a recent report by the World Bank and World Trade Organization (WTO), India has witnessed a significant increase in its share of global commercial services exports. The country's share has doubled from 2% in 2005 to 4.4% in 2022." Adda247. Unfortunately, inside India, startups have hit a roadblock. "There was no new unicorn in India in the first half of 2023 as startup funding plunged more than 70 percent in the January-June period from a year ago, signaling that the funding winter is here to stay as several top unicorns continue to face an economic downturn." Zee. "In the first quarter of this year, Indian startups raised a total of $2.8, massive 75 percent lower compared to the same period in the previous year ($11.9), as rising inflation and interest rates continue to impact investments significantly." "In business, a unicorn is a privately held startup company valued at over US$1 billion." wikipedia. The established companies are also feeling the pinch. "India's outsourcing giants are slashing hiring and getting projects done with existing workers, a rare pullback that could weigh on the economy and affect engineering students who have seen information technology as the sector of choice for decades." Reuters. "The IT sector accounts for about 8% of India's GDP versus less than 1% about 30 years back, according to Rishad Premji, the chairman of Wipro, one of the country's IT giants." "The dismal outlook is worrying many students as the IT sector typically absorbs 20-25% of the 1.5 million graduates every year in India." "IT services companies have been operating with a near perfect product-market fit, of the extent to which a product or service is addressing a real market need," wrote TN Hari. "Yet, in 2022, the collective valuation of the unicorns, or private  companies with a valuation of over one billion dollars, was roughly the same as the top 10 IT services companies." "Take the case of edtech company Byju's, one of India's most valuable startups. In 2020-21, the company's loss, at Rs 4,588 crore (Rs 45.88 billion) was twice its revenue. Yet, its valuation in 2022 was an incredible $22 billion." "Edtech giant Byju's creditors...have pulled out of talks to restructure a loan". BT. "Byju's offered to increase the coupon on loan due 2026 by around 300 basis points and prepay part of the debt to renegotiate the agreement after it missed a deadline to file audited financial results." US investment firm BlackRock slashed its valuation to $8.4 billion. "Audit firm Deloitte and three board members have exited Indian startup Byju's". ET. The listing price of the Paytm IPO was Rs 2,080-Rs 2,150. Groww. It fell to Rs 438.35 per share on 24 November 2022, but has climbed up to Rs 860 per share. "There is probably no VC funded unicorn in the current lot that is likely to stand the test of private valuation in a public market." And so, "If you hear the buzz, the Indian economy is the bright spot in a gloomy world. But if you look at its ratings, it's just managing to carry on." ET. That is because we Indians have very little money. Only what outsiders give.     

MSP or Canada.

"Earlier this month, the government announced the minimum support prices (MSP) for 23 crops for the forthcoming kharif season . The MSP is an advisory price and is expected to serve as the floor." Mint. The list of MSP for Kharif crops has been published. Presumably the prices for Rabi crops will be published later. farmer.gov.in. 'Kharif' is Arabic for 'autumn' and is planted in summer just before the monsoon starts, while 'Rabi' is Arabic for 'spring' and is planted around November. Vedantu. "This year, the government hiked MSP rates by 5-10% over the last year." "In 2018-19, the average farm household earned Rs 10,218 per month ( at current rates)", "That was just short of the national per capita income for that year, which was Rs 10,495 per month." In 2020, the government passed three farm bills which sought to encourage farmers to "engage with agri-business firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters or large retailers for farm services and sale of future farming produce at a mutually agreed remunerative price framework in a fair and transparent manner". pib.gov.in. Farmers saw the bills as a step towards abolishing MSP and feared that they would be at the mercy of rapacious big business. Farmers from Punjab and Haryana went on strike at the borders of Delhi. The government tried to portray the protest as inspired by Khalistanis but that failed. Eventually the three acts were repealed in November 2021. wikipedia. In December 2021, "The Samukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) sent a list of 702 farmers who are said to have 'died' during protest against three contentious farm laws, to the government." DH. There were about 145 million farmer families in India in 2020, out of which 4.333 million sold wheat at MSP in the Rabi season and 12.4 million sold rice paddy at MSP in the Kharif season. DNA. Of these, 42% of farmers during Rabi season and 25% during the Kharif season were from Punjab and Haryana. Farmers had every reason to protest against the farm bills. "In Bihar, which abolished state regulated mandis (wholesale markets) back in 2006," "Farmers cannot bargain. The produce is neither graded nor auctioned as is the practice in well-functioning markets in other states," wrote Sayantan Bera. Farmers from Bihar travel to Punjab to work as farm laborers. However, "The simple fact is that a vast majority of rural households  are not able to make a living from farming, and are unlikely to be able to do so in the future." But, people in Punjab are not happy either and "emigration has been the aspiration of people for more than a century." The Wire. "In Talhan, Jalandhar, the famous Gudwara Shaheedan Baba Nihal Singh ji" "is perceived by thousands of people as one that will grant the wish to emigrate, so worshippers routinely bring toy aeroplanes or replicas of aeroplane with them and ask for them to be blessed." If Punjab is so badly off, how bad is Bihar? No wonder Punjabi farmers fought for MSP. 

China+1, or 1/2.

"With steadily rising tensions between the United States and China, the race to become +1 in the China+1 contest is now in full swing," wrote Prof Arvind Panagariya. Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Cambodia, India and Bangladesh are in the running. India's advantages are: 1. It has a huge working age population with 950.2 million people in the 15-64 age group. 2. Per capita income is very low so wages are also low. 3. It is a single market and goods and services can move freely within its borders. 4. It is a large internal market with a GDP of $3.4 trillion. India's disadvantage is that it is not a member of either the Regional and Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) or the Comprehensive Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and our tariffs are too high. China is a member of RCEP and has applied to join CPTPP. "An examination of customs-duty rates beginning in 2011-12 confirms the general impression that they saw an uptick beginning in 2014-15," wrote Panagariya. "But the real break in the policy came in 2018-19: That year, a massive 42.3% of all tariff lines went up, the average of all customs duties increased from 13.7% to 17.7%, and the proportion of tariff lines bearing 15% or higher duty rates shot up from 28.7% to 51.0%." "India sends to the OECD some of the brightest tax experts in the world," wrote Pascal Saint-Amiens. "But India suffers from a negative reputation for the practices of its tax administration." "India does not need tax incentives to attract investments. It is the largest fast-growing market in the world. What it needs is tax certainty." "Leading chartered accountant and Manipal Group Chairperson Mohandas Pai has reacted to a report that said 6,500 high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) will leave India in 2023 calling the trend 'very worrisome' and attributing it to 'tax terrorism'." Mint. "The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted foreign banks in 18 countries to open Vostro accounts to settle international trade in rupees. In July, last year, the Centre had said that it will be setting up of a mechanism to settle international trade in rupees." BT. But, "Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov recently said that Russia has 'accumulated billions of rupees in Indian banks' and to use this money 'the rupees need to be transferred to another currency'," wrote Vivek Kaul. Yield on 10-year government bonds in India is at 7.157, in.investing.com, while the RBI lending rate is at 6.5%, ET. The Federal Funds rate in the US is at 5%-5.25%, Forbes, while the 10-year bond yield in the US is at 4.036, in.investing.com. Clearly, the US Fed has credibility and the RBI does not. And so, "Indian refiners have begun paying for some oil imports from Russia in Chinese yuan." BT. We are nowhere near China+1. Reached half yet?

Which side are we on?

"US President Joe Biden...equated his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping with 'dictators' as he addressed the Democratic Party donors reception in the presence of journalists." ET. "The reason why Xi Jinping got very upset in terms of when I shot that balloon down with two box cars full of spy equipment is he didn't know it was there. I'm serious. That was the great embarrassment for dictators, when they didn't know what happened," Biden said. Said the man who is given cheat sheets and told what to do. President Biden found himself in another embarrassing situation as he was caught using cheat sheets during a press conference with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol." HT. "In the past, he has been ridiculed for using prepared answers during press briefings and even holding detailed instructions on how to enter a room and greet participants." "US consumer spending - the economy's main engine - has lost steam for most of this year, portending weaker growth ahead while also helping to cool inflation." ET. "Euro-area core inflation accelerated in June to an annual gain of 5.4% from 5.3% in the prior month as the cost of services picked up markedly." "China's consumer driven economy is showing more signs of losing momentum as spending slows on everything from holiday travel to cars and homes, adding to expectations for more stimulus to support the economy." "Beijing's typical playbook of using large-scale stimulus to boost demand has led to massive oversupply in property and industry, and surging debt levels among local governments." ET. "Netting out the base effect, growth for 2023 will look closer to 3% - less than half the pre-pandemic average." "Expectations of another rate hike by the Federal Reserve to tame stubbornly high inflation helped push a closely watched part of the US Treasury yield curve to its deepest inversion since 1981.., once again putting a spotlight on what many investors consider a time-honored recession signal." BT. "A key dilemma the People's Bank of China faces is that its main lever of juicing growth - rate cuts - can also put downward pressure on the yuan, which has fallen by 5% against the dollar this year." BI. In fact, rate cuts "have widened the gap with US rates as the Federal Reserve continues to tighten with more hikes on the way, making dollar assets more attractive to investors." As if all this confusion is not enough, "China's commerce ministry stated that, starting from August 1, it would exercise control over the exports of eight gallium products and six germanium products, citing the need to safeguard national security and interests." ET. "The metals are used in high-speed computer chips and in the defence and renewable energy sectors. Germanium is key to fibre optic cables and also used in high-speed computer chips and plastics as well as infrared radiation." Reuters. China seems to know only aggressive expansionist foreign policy. So, in May "Total Mexican exports rose 5.8% from a year ago, reaching $52.9 billion" and "The country posted a trade deficit of $74 million, significantly less than April's $1.5 billion." ET. Also, India's stock market index the Sensex has risen to a record 65,666 this morning. BSE. Who will win in this high-stakes game between the US and China? We don't know. But, a weaker China is great for us. No choice but to support the US. 

No wage inflation in India.

"Making monetary policy is often like flying blind due to the lagged information on growth and inflation variables while the use of statistics and consumer surveys reduce the uncertainty and enhance the credibility in managing the policy trade-offs between the desirable and the feasible, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deputy governor Michael Debabrata Patra said." ET. Not really. Just ask the Ministry of Finance which owns the RBI. wikipedia. After all, the present Governor Shaktikanta Das was a Secretary in the Revenue Department of the Ministry of Finance. wikipedia. Now, "Policy positions no longer seem to be based on economics," wrote Puja Mehra. "Instead, economists' public utterances tend to signal a leaning towards personalities or politics, perhaps to get picked for policymaking positions, or seem to vent frustration at getting fired from such jobs." "The government appears to attract cheerleaders who seldom bother to even pretend to be even-keeled. If their words held weight in policymaking, they'd be writing more on government files than in newspapers or on social media." Last week, "four of the world's top central bankers: those of the US, Eurozone, UK and Japan" met "at the annual ECB forum on central banking," wrote Narayan Ramachandran. "If one were to read between the lines, Powell, Lagarde and Bailey seemed to be saying that despite a decline in headline inflation (possibly caused by a greater than expected decline in energy prices), they were more than a bit surprised about how resilient the labor market was in their respective regions. Given this reality, they saw no way to reduce inflation to its target without rates being 'higher for longer'." India has an excess of labor. "In 2022, 1.1 million young Indians applied for the civil services examinations; 573,735 aspirants appeared for it; and a mere 933 candidates made it through," wrote Yamini Aiyar and Rahul k Sharma. "According to the department of personnel and training, 220 million hopeful candidates applied for central government jobs between 2014 and 2021." Out of 235 countries in the world, 220 million people is more than the population of 230 countries. worldometer. In "The grubby lanes of Musallahpur, in Patna," "the cacophony is directed toward a single goal: helping young people land a government job." DH. "When nothing pans out, even the most educated young people must settle for whatever work they can find, be it wage labor in the city or helping around the farm back home." With such enormous competition for jobs there can be no one will dare to demand higher wages in India. In June the RBI held its interest rate at 6.5% for the second time while predicting an inflation rate of 5.1% for the financial year 2023-24. TIE. Not flying blind, as Patra fears. Doing as expected.

Impromptu house arrest and Vande Bharat.

"India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has received a significant boost in the country's wealthiest state, as prominent opposition leader Ajit Pawar and several lawmakers from his party joined the provincial government." ET. Pawar has been appointed deputy chief minister in Maharashtra. "In recent year, BJP faced defeats in West Bengal by a big margin to Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress that is seen as a fierce rival to BJP and lost in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka in May that gave a big momentum to opposition Congress Party. BJP is in power in 10 out of 28 states." Why resort to sweeteners when, "Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan...equated the meeting of opposition parties in Patna with 'animals' perching on a tree to save themselves from 'flood' of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity." ET. "You (the opposition) will sit on the same tree...there are frogs, snakes and monkeys too because there is flood water below," said Chauhan. How civilised! If the PM's popularity is a flood, pray why, "With Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to visit Delhi University (DU) as chief guest at the valedictory ceremony of its centenary celebrations..., the constituent colleges of the varsity have sent out circulars to ensure that the event is well attended. Among the instructions - attendance is compulsory, and don't wear black clothes." HT. Students have been promised "five attendances" for their presence. Delhi University is assisting students to miss classes. Can they grovel any lower? In an impromptu house arrest, "Two constables from the Model Town Police Station entered the house of All India Students Association (AISA) Delhi President Abhigyan and AISA DU Secretary Anjali without warrants or any other relevant documents, Anjali alleged." The Wire. "The Wire contacted the Model Town Police Station to enquire about the constable's presence at the student's house however the SHO (Station House Officer) disconnected the call as soon as the 'Delhi University' was mentioned." These activists are lucky. Delhi Police has a record of picking up a young woman activist from her home in another state and throwing her into prison without proving any wrong. Ask Disha Ravi. DH. On returning from Egypt, Mr Modi "was received at the airport by Union Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi and BJP chief Nadda." HT. "He asked Naddaji how it is going here, and Naddaji told him that party leaders were reaching out to people with the report card of the nine years of his government, and the country is happy," BJP MP Manoj Tiwari told reporters. "Happy" people in Manipur are killing each other. "For more than two months now, nobody's writ has run in the border state except that of the rival mobs, or armed bands, currently at war with each other," wrote Shekhar Gupta. Meanwhile, PM Modi flagged off 5 new Vande Bharat trains at Rani Kamalapati railway station in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, ET, whose chief minister thinks opposition politicians are "animals". From the sinister to the ridiculous. Better be happy. Or else!         

One wonders.

"The Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime is an 'exemplar' that reduced tax burden on people, brought ease of compliance and created an efficient federal institution with revenue buoyancy for states, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said...citing media reports calling the Rs 1.6 lakh crore (Rs 1.6 trillion) monthly collection as the new normal." HT. "India's gross GST revenue collection in June stood at Rs 1,61,497 crore ( Rs 1.615 trillion), registering a 12 percent year-on-year rise, the Ministry of Finance said. India in April 2023 saw a record high GST collection of Rs 1.87 trillion." ET. "GST has acted as an engine for driving domestic consumption and helped households save on monthly bills since its implementation six years ago, the government said." ET. So, the government is collecting ever rising taxes on the goods and services that we consume and we are saving on monthly bills. This is genius mathematics that even the great Srinivasa Ramanujan (Britannica) would have been proud of. Ramanujan also did not have any college certificate but was awarded the Bachelor of Arts by Research by Cambridge University. MacTutor. This math has been explained by Mr Sanjay Malhotra. Before GST there were hidden taxes and, "As surveys showed, elimination of these cascading taxes and reduction of logistics costs translated to lower prices of goods and services. One may wonder how revenues increased when tax incidence on consumers has reduced." Indeed! One wonders very much. Turns out, it is very simple. "The answer lies in tax collection as the tax base increased from 64 lakh (6.4 million) in September 2017 to more than 14 million in June 2023 and taxpayer compliance improved." But surely, this increased compliance was passed on to us, the consumers, because GST is a consumption-based tax (cleartax)? That may be why, "It is now official that government employees will be receiving a 46 percent dearness allowance (DA Hike) in July 2023." DNA. "Dearness Allowance is paid by the government to its employees as well as a pensioner to offset the impact of inflation." cleartax. A government secretary is paid a salary in excess of Rs 200,000 per month, which is over Rs 2.4 million per year. wikipedia. At 46%, a government secretary will be paid Rs 1.104 million per year as DA to protect them against inflation. According to the second advance estimate (SAE) the per capita GDP for 2022-23 was Rs 1,15,490 and the per capita GNI was a meager Rs 1,13,144. PIB. These people are receiving nearly 10 times the per capita GNI to compensate for inflation. And, we are told we are paying less. Obscene, isn't it.

Fraudsters and wilful defaulters.

"On Friday (30 June), both Sensex and Nifty50 clocked more than 1% gains and scaled lifetime highs at 64768.58 points and 19201.70 points, respectively. Nifty50 settled at a record closing high of 19189.05 points and Sensex at 64718.56 points." ET. "Inflows from foreign portfolio investors into equities crossed $10 billion in the current financial year." But, "While the Indian rupee has been the second best to the rupiah in terms of carry returns so far in 2023, that looks set to change in the second half of the year." ET. "The highest bond yields among major Asian nations and a less volatile currency are burnishing the appeal of rupee assets." "Benchmark 10-year Indian bonds offer a yield of 7.07%, compared to 6.30% on similar-maturity Indonesian notes." Since yields are inverse to price, it is strange that Indian government bonds are priced lower than those of Indonesia, seeing that our economy is doing so well. "Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday (01 July) that the Indian economy has moved away from the twin-balance sheet problem of banks and corporates to twin-balance sheet advantage because of the concerted efforts of the Modi government. Profits of public-sector banks increased to Rs 1.04 lakh crore (Rs 1.04 trillion) in 2022-23." Outlook. Great news. "Scheduled commercial banks' net non-performing assets (NPA) ratio fell to a 10-year low of 3.9 percent in March 2023, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) noted." ET. Wonderful, but, a detailed letter from Dr Bhagwat Karad, Minister of State for Finance showed that "the sum total of the irrecoverable losses made by banks over the eight years and nine months of Narendra Modi's rule comes to Rs 12,09,606 crore (Rs 12.096 trillion)," wrote Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar. In June, an RBI circular to banks said, "Regulated entities may undertake compromise settlements or technical write-offs in respect of accounts categorised as wilful defaulters or fraud without prejudice to the criminal proceeding underway against such debtors..." TOI. "This is the first time that RBI has come out with compromise norms for settling with wilful defaulters." "A wilful defaulter is a borrower who has defaulted on meeting payment or repayment obligations to the lender despite having the capacity to do so." Reuters. "Two of India's largest bank employee unions...urged the central bank to review and withdraw its recent decision to allow compromise settlements for wilful defaulters." A fraudster is one who borrows money through "forged instruments, manipulation of books of accounts and conversion of property," or uses the money for "illegal gratification". RBI. "In the last five years, banks have reported 983 frauds above Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) to the tune of Rs 3,76,400 crore (Rs 3.764 trillion)," wrote Thomas Franco. This is depositors' money. Can defaulters and fraudsters invest in the stock markets? That could explain the astronomical rise.

Lethal exports.

US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) "Auditors uncovered 'deficient' manufacturing cleaning and storage controls during a visit to an Aurobindo Pharma Ltd facility at Anakapalli, eastern India, according to a FDA report obtained by Bloomberg News." DH. "Sampling tools weren't cleaned and maintained to prevent contamination at the plant, which produces certain active pharmaceutical ingredients - the raw materials core to making drugs. Laboratory controls also didn't include the establishment of scientifically sound and appropriate specification, designed to assure that drug products conform to appropriate standards of identity, quality and purity, the report said." If this is what they are selling to the US, imagine what they must be selling to Indians? "On June 1, Intas Pharmaceuticals received communication from the US FDA stating that the company's manufacturing facility in Ahmedabad - Special Economic Zone (Pharmez) near Matoda - has been listed under import alert." Forbes. "A section of the Indian pharma sector suggests, off the record, that the increasing regulatory scrutiny could have something to do with US Big Pharma lobbying against Indian generic manufacturers." American Atmanirbhar? In 2022, "Mumbai-based drug major Lupin's regulatory woes don't seem to be ending this year. After being issued two Form 483s by the US FDA to the Pune and Nagpur plants in October, a warning letter was also issued to the Tarapur facility recently." ET. Lupin is a major manufacturer of drugs against Tuberculosis (TB). Lupin. "India's TB incidence for the year 2021 is 210 per 100,000 population - compared to the baseline year 2015 (incidence was 256 per 100,000 of population in India); there has been an 18% decline which is 7% percentage points better than the global average of 11%." PIB. 210 per 100,000 comes to a total of 2.94 million patients in a population of 1.4 billion Indians. Any lapse at Lupin could have dire consequences for the nation. Contaminated drugs can kill and contaminated medicines from India have killed innocent babies in other countries. "The Indian manufacturer of cough syrups that Uzbekistan said last year had poisoned 19 children used a toxic industrial- grade ingredient rather than the legitimate pharmaceutical version, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters." DH. Before that, 70 children were killed in the Gambia by cough syrups from India which contained ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol. wikipedia. In 2021, at the height of the Covid pandemic, patients developed chills, shivering and high fever when given Remdesivir infusions in hospitals across North India. "Only the Bihar regulator identified the cause of the mysterious illness. Their testing found Cadila's batch V100167 to contain bacterial endotoxins - compounds present in the preotective envelopes of bacteria, which cause fever, chills and life-threatening septic shock in humans," wrote Priyanka Pulia. Who cares? Just deny. Just as over 4 million people did not die of Covid. ET. Indians are cheap. Others beware.

Manufacturing billionaires.

"The 2023 Forbes list shows that, worldwide, billionaires are down slightly in numbers and wealth from the pandemic peaks but still up sharply over the last two decades. There were 500 billionaires worth a total of less than $1tn in 2000; now there are more than 2,500 worth over $12tn," wrote Ruchir Sharma. Some countries added more. "Ironically, these include most prominently nations with deep socialist roots, including France, Sweden, Russia and India." 'Bad billionaires' are those with inherited wealth in rent seeking industries like real estate and commodities and 'good billionaires' are those in productive industries like manufacturing and technology. "India has seen a boom in good billionaires, particularly in manufacturing, they now account for, 34 of India's 169 billionaires, a fourfold increase in five years and the largest share of any industry." Hallelujah. But, what about the other 135? "The 'Big 5' consisting of Reliance Group, Tata Group, Aditya Birla Group, Adani Group and Bharti Telecom have grown at the expense of smaller firms, said Viral Acharya, who was Reserve Bank Deputy Governor between 2017 and 2019. At the same time the government's 'sky-high-tariffs' have shielded these conglomerates from competition by foreign firms, as per the Bloomberg report." ET. They are causing inflation through high prices and should be broken up. "According to a report by wealth management firm Marcellus, the top 20 profit generators earn a staggering 80% of the nation's profits," wrote Ajit Ranade. "About 80% of the decadal increase in stock-market wealth measured as the value of the Nifty index was captured by just 20 companies."  "India has dropped three spots to the 40th position on the latest Global Competitiveness Index released by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD)," but "it is an improvement from the 43rd rank secured in 2019-2021." Wion. If our 'good billionaires' were investing in manufacturing there would be an increase in  jobs which, in turn, should increase consumption expenditure. However, even though the GDP grew by 6.1% in the quarter ending March 2023, "private final consumption expenditure (PFCE) growth slowed down considerably over the course of 2022-23." HT. "With a growth of just 1.3% manufacturing is the most underwhelming component of Gross Value Added (GVA) in the annual numbers of 2022-23. Manufacturing sector GVA actually saw a contraction in the quarters ending September 2022 and December 2022." The March 2023 quarter GVA grew by just 0.6%. Young people do not want to work in factories. While there is an enormous demand for government jobs, "Finding people willing to uproot themselves for the factory jobs most crucial to long-term economic growth can be difficult. Training them can be expensive, and keeping them can be nearly impossible." DH. It seems that, though there may have been a growth in good billionaires in India, the baddies still rule. About 4 times as many. 

Whose money is it?

"Marking the third round of investment in Adani stocks in the last four months, US based GQG Partners and others on Wednesday (yesterday) bought around $1 billion worth of the conglomerate's stocks." ET. "The GQG Partners Global Quality Equity Fund seeks to invest in high-quality companies with attractively priced future growth prospects while diversifying by end-consumer risk. Bridgehouse. In March, "US boutique investment firm GQG Partners Inc has bought shares worth $1.87 billion in four Adani group companies, marking the first major investment in the Indian conglomerate since a short-seller's critical report sparked a stock rout." Reuters. Then, GQG invested another $330 million-$530 million in Adani stocks in May. BT. So, GQG has invested over $3 billion in the Adani Group in three rounds. This is despite, "According to a Bloomberg report, the US Attorney's Office in Brooklyn, New York, has sent inquiries in recent months to institutional investors with large holdings in the India conglomerate, one person familiar with the inquiries said. The requests for information were focused on what Adani Group told those investors, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the probe isn't public. The Securities and Exchange Commission also has a similar probe underway, two other people said." ET. Perhaps, the SEC should ask whether GQG is investing funds from American investors or investors in India. The Hindenburg report said, "We have identified 38 Mauritius shell companies controlled by Vinod Adani or close associates." "The Vinod-Adani shells seem to serve several functions, including (1) stock parking / stock manipulation (2) and laundering money through Adani's private companies into the listed companies' balance sheets in order to maintain the appearance of financial health and solvency." In March, "The Centre has told Parliament it has no data on offshore shell companies owned by Indians, the admission coming just four days before Rahul Gandhi said huge investments were made in the Adani group through alleged shell companies and asked whose money it was." The Telegraph. Don't know or won't tell? In blatant interference to hide facts, "For more than a decade, sockpuppets - some of them being company employees - created 'puffery' around billionaire Gautam Adani, his family and the ports-to-power conglomerate he helmed by adding non-neutral material and removing warnings from information on Wikipedia, the free internet-based encyclopedia has alleged." BT. "Thanks to a 173-page report by a six-member panel appointed by India's Supreme Court, we now have a fairly good idea where the country's probe into the Adani Group is headed: Nowhere," wrote Andy Mukherjee. So whose money is GQG investing, American or Indian? Hope it's not the Indian taxpayer's.

Obama, Zia and Prabhakaran.

"Leaders of India's governing party have criticised former US President Barack Obama for his recent remarks on Muslims in the country." BBC. "if I had a conversation with Prime Minister Modi, who I know well, part of my argument would be that if you do not protect the rights of ethnic minorities in India, then there is a strong possibility that India at some point starts pulling apart." he said. That has not gone down well with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Modi, as various leaders of the party rushed out to proclaim their allegiance. Referring to Assam Police filing charges against opposition leaders in other states, a journalist tweeted, "Has an FIR been filed in Guwahati yet against Obama for hurting sentiment? Is Assam police on its way to Washington to get Obama offloaded from some flight and arrest him?" To which Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma responded, "There are many Hussain Obama in India itself. We should prioritize them before going to Washington." Without naming Obama, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, "We want friendship with the US but we get remarks about religious freedom in India. It is during his tenure as President that the US bombed six Muslim countries and dropped more than 26,000 bombs in these countries. How will people trust these allegations?" TOI.  Does not matter if trust or not. It is what the Muslims believe, whether it is the truth or not. A 2020 US Religion Census estimated that there are 4.45 million Muslims making up 1.3% of the US population. wikipedia. While the 2011 population census in India estimated that there are 172.2 million Muslims, or a huge 14.2% of the Indian population. census 2011.co.in. Despite the small percentage of Muslims, the US has not been safe from attacks. In 2009, US Army Major Nidal Hassan shot 13 people dead and injured 30 others at Fort Hood near Killeen, Texas. wikipedia. In 2015, a US-born citizen of Pakistani descent Syed Rizwan Farook and his Pakistan-born, green card holder wife Tashfeen Malik shot 14 people dead and injured 22 others at a Christmas party at San Bernadino, California. wikipedia. Jawed Naqvi tries to draw a parallel with the US support of Ziaul Haq of Pakistan. "While Zia's role in creating a monstrosity would soon show up as the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan," Zia "a widely cheered Western spearhead in South Asia is mostly remembered for celebrating the demise of the Soviet Union." Dawn. Now, the US wants to use India against China. Perhaps a more terrifying monstrosity would be the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which fought for an independent homeland for Hindu Tamils in Sri Lanka.  Stanford. The more than 20 years of civil war that followed, along with Covid, has bankrupted Sri Lanka, forcing it to default on its debt. wikipedia. The Finance Minister should be worrying about our economy instead of what Obama did. But then, she was incensed to see that a ration shop in Telangana did not display her boss's photo. HT. We Hindus normally display photos of our gods. Better not to conflate the two.

A toxic mix.

"During the 1990s, inflation was low while employment, wages and productivity were up. Global trade nearly doubled. Investments in developing countries surged. The stock market rose." ET. "Over the years, reckless lending, asset bubbles, currency fluctuations and official mismanagement led to boom-and-bust cycles in Asia, Russia, Latin America and elsewhere." "Supply chain chokeholds stemming from the pandemic and subsequent recovery had already underscored the fragility of a globally sourced economy." "Although previous economic orthodoxy has been abandoned, it is not clear what will replace it. Improvisation is the order of the day." "The European Union is looking at an array of tools to ensure it punches at its global weight, as countries such as China and Russia show an increasing willingness to use trade and the control of critical supply lines to further political and military goals." ET. "The UK government has said the financial sanctions imposed by western nations have cut off $350 billion of Russia's $604 billion foreign currency reserves." BBC. That is naked international plunder. "In December 2022, the EU and G7 set a maximum price of $60 per barrel for Russian crude oil." Smaller economies are caught in a debt trap. "In decades past, the International Monetary Fund - a central component of the liberal democratic order forged by the United States and its allies at the end of World War II - was the only source of cash for nations that struggled to pay their bills. China has since emerged as a major lender for countries from Asia to Africa to Latin America." ET. "But as strapped governments negotiate with creditors to diminish their debt burdens, the IMF and the Biden administration have balked at providing relief until the Chinese participate. Otherwise, they assert, the Chinese lenders are free-riding on debt forgiveness extended by others." China refuses to cooperate. As if this were not enough, "Central bankers across the globe are delivering a message: Slow and steady won't win the race against inflation." CNN. On 22 June, "The Bank of England unexpectedly raised its benchmark interest interest rate by a half percentage point, stepping up its fight against the worst bout of inflation since the 1980s and warning it may have to hike again." Yahoo. "It's harder for central banks to clamp down on inflation when it becomes sticky, or persistently high." "It's just a matter of how much pain they are willing to inflict on an economy through rate hikes." Next to India, "Cash-strapped Pakistan's $350 billion economy is in a meltdown, with inflation at a record 38%." At least 209 Pakistanis desperate to reach Europe were crammed in an overloaded boat which sank off the coast of Greece. Only 12 survived. Reuters. It's not just economics, it's politics. And, it kills. 

Woman trouble.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned to India Sunday (yesterday) night after his six-day visit to the US and Egypt during which several landmark agreements were signed." HT. "President El-Sisi conferred Modi the 'Order of the Nile' award - Egypt' highest state honor. This is the 13th highest state honor conferred upon Prime Minister Modi." A great man. He also "toured the great pyramids of Giza on the outskirts of the Egyptian capital, which were included in the Seven Wonders of the World. Escorted by Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, PM Modi visited the three pyramids of the 4th dynasty erected on the rocky plateau on the west bank of the Nile River near Al-Jizah (Giza) in Northern Egypt." Hope the PM enjoyed his sightseeing. Meanwhile, "Security forces said...that they were forced to let go of the 12 Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) militants after a 'women-led' mob of around 1,500 surrounded them and thwarted the combing operation in ethnic-violence-hit Manipur." HT. "The issue of women-led mobs thwarting security forces from conducting combing operations has been happening across Manipur, where ethnic violence Between the Meiteis and the Kukis has claimed 113 live since May 3." Women have been at the forefront of blocking movement of security forces and supplies. "Supplies of essential items including baby food and medicines and movement of security forces have been hit in several areas of Manipur because of blockades of both National Highways leading to the state by tribals as well as at least six arterial roads by women-led vigilante groups." India Today. The violence is between Kukis who live in the hills and are mainly Christian and the Meiteis who live around the Imphal Valley and are mainly Hindus. The Statesman. The Kukis oppose Schedule Tribe (ST) status for the Meiteis because that will eat into jobs reserved for them. It is strange that the BJP government in Manipur, wikipedia, is so restrained and considerate towards women even though they are thwarting security forces. This was not the case at Shaheen Bagh in Delhi when Muslim women were protesting peacefully against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) when the humble biryani was deemed anti-national. NDTV. UP Chief Minister shamed Muslim men "claiming men had pushed women and children to spend winter nights at sit-in protests while they slept at home." NDTV. On 20 June, "At least three delegations of politicians from conflict-ridden Manipur - two from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and one from the state Congress - have failed to have an audience with Prime Minister Narendra Modi so far in spite of having camped at the National Capital for some days now." The Wire. Must have been busy packing for his so important trip abroad. But, be not afraid because, "Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been 'constantly monitoring the Manipur situation since day one' and 'guiding us with full sensitivity'." The Wire. We Hindus believe the Third Eye gives clairvoyance. wikipedia. Manipur is so lucky.

Jugalbandi of A-I.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden's 'jugalbandi' in Washington has inaugurated a new age of America-India relations. As the prime minister put it during his address to the joint session of the US Congress: 'In the past few years, there have been many advances in AI - Artificial Intelligence. At the same time there have been more momentous developments in another AI - America and India'." News18. From GE F-414 jet engines to MQ-9B UAVs, Micron Technology and Applied Materials Inc., the US seems to have emptied its pockets for Modi. But, what does it want in return? "Geopolitics determines trust, strategy and future economics," wrote Indrani Bagchi. "For the US, as it struggles to emerge from its China-induced torpor," "The Quad is only the beginning." The Quad, or the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, is a security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan and the US to counter increasing military threats by China. wikipedia. The Quad Leaders' Joint Statement on 20 May, 2023 said, "We believe all countries have a role in contributing to regional peace, stability and prosperity, as well as upholding international law, including the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the rules-based international order." The White House. In short, China will get a bloody nose if it attacks any country. At first China was dismissive. "It seems there is never a shortage of headline-grabbing ideas," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said. "They are like the sea foam in the Pacific or Indian Ocean: they may get some attention, but soon will dissipate." CNN. But later, he called the Quad an "Indo-Pacific NATO" and accused it of "trumpeting the Cold War mentality" and "stoking geo-political rivalry". Beijing worries that "A distributed network of land-based anti-ship missiles and other precision-strike capabilities stationed in allied countries could hinder Beijing's ability to threaten Taiwan" "But the worst-case scenario from Beijing's perspective is that the Quad could serve as the foundation of a broader global anti-China coalition," wrote known sinophile Kevin Rudd. "The current geopolitical situation needs closer India-US relationship and a more robust Quad. India may not join the war in the Taiwan Strait. But if it can keep China occupied in the Himalayas and the Indian Ocean, it would have done its bit to preserve global order," wrote Bagchi. That would mean the loss of thousands of Indian soldiers and huge damage of infrastructure as China would retaliate. Remember US support of Iraq against Iran? "A half million lives were lost, perhaps another million injured. The economic cost of the war exceeded one trillion dollars." Brookings. And then, in the greatest act of stupidity, the US removed Saddam Hussein and "Rather than serving as an anchor for a new era of stability and American preeminence in the Persian Gulf, the new Iraq represents a strategic black hole, bleeding Washington of military resources and political influence while extending Iran's primacy among its neighbors." Brookings. The Quad may be a beginning, but what will the end be? A quagmire?

Foreign and desi bulls.

"India's benchmark Sensex stock index hit a record on Wednesday (21 June), while the Nifty50 logged a new closing high amid sustained foreign inflows into Indian equities backed by the country's strong growth prospects." Reuters. "The S&P BSE Sensex hit an all-time high at 63,588.31," as "Foreign investors poured in Rs 738.12 billion ($8.99 billion) so far in this financial year. They were net sellers in the previous two financial years, with a record outflow of Rs 1,400.10 billion in FY22." Selling by foreign investors made little difference as domestic investors have been pouring money into stocks. "New demat account openings rose most in nine months in May, fueled by a broader market rally and record derivative volumes." Mint. A demat, or dematerialised account, holds shares in a non-physical format like a bank account. HDFC Bank. Openings of new demat accounts indicate ordinary individuals are investing in shares. "This was highest in August, when new account additions shot up 73% or 2.55 million, according to depository data." This would have been in the last financial year when foreign investors were selling. In addition to buying shares, "India's options frenzy rose to a crescendo in May despite regulatory warnings, with Nifty and Bank Nifty options volumes hitting a record 5.64 billion contracts, as the Bank Nifty hit a new high while the Nifty approached its record during the month." Mint. "The jump in index options volumes, in turn, drove total derivatives volumes to a record 5.75 billion contracts in May." While people are spending on stocks, "The nation is heading for a slowdown, analysts who cover it say, as rising inequality squeezes consumer spending among the poor - and hundreds of millions in the middle class." ET. This was supported by the RBI yesterday. "Citing national accounts data and corporate results, the Reserve Bank of India in its latest monthly bulletin has noted that higher inflation in India is slowing down personal consumption expenditure, which in turn is leading to a moderation of corporate sales and holding back private  investment in capacity creation." ET. In which case why is corporate borrowing rising? "In the years 2020-21 and 2021-22, Indian firms had pared their gross debt by 4% and 2%, respectively. However, gross debt rose by nearly 19% in 2022-23, the sharpest increase in over a decade." Mint. "Large listed firms borrowed more aggressively in 2022-23. Their aggregate debt to equity ratio rose sharply to 0.57 from 0.48 in 2021-22." Some banks are hiding bad loans. "RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the central bank has come across instances of some lenders trying to conceal their stressed assets." Zee. Meanwhile, "Adani Group stocks were under the spotlight and lost up to 10% in Friday's (yesterday's) trade amid a Bloomberg report suggesting US authorities are looking into what Adani Group made to its American investors following Hindenburg Research's scathing report that accused the company of using offshore companies to secretly manipulate its share prices." ET. Buy Indian shares. All in agreement.

Red carpet to a new era.

"US President Joe Biden and Narendra Modi hailed a new era in their countries' relationship after the White House rolled out the red carpet for the Indian prime minister on Thursday (yesterday), touting deals on defense and commerce aimed at countering China's growing influence," Reuters. "Biden and Modi signed off on a deal to allow General Electric to produce jet engines in India to power Indian military aircraft, through an agreement with Hindustan Aeronautics. US Navy ships in the region will be able to stop in Indian shipyards" and "India will procure US-made armed MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones." US chip maker Micron Technology will invest in Gujarat and India will join the US in space research. China, watch out. All that is for the future. As of now, "India's pharmaceutical exports have maintained their upward trend, reaching $25.3 billion, roughly Rs 2,08,231 crore (Rs 2.08 trillion), for the financial year 2022-23 despite setbacks, according to data from Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil), a division of the ministry of commerce and industry." Sadly, in January 2023, "The World Health Organisation has warned against the use of two India cough syrups for children that have been linked to deaths in Uzbekistan." "In October 2022, the WHO sounded a similar alert, linking four cough syrups made by another Indian firm to the deaths of 66 children from kidney injuries in The Gambia." Who cares? Just deny. Alarmingly, "US inspectors have in recent months uncovered wide-ranging lapses at factories run by some of India's biggest pharmaceutical firms," and "detailed insanitary conditions in manufacturing plants and poorly trained staff; shredded paperwork and under-investigated customer complaints; and evidence of exporting contaminated drugs to the US." DH. Customers are treated with the utmost contempt by all businesses in India. "The FDA (Food and Drug Administration), for instance, has banned drugs produced by Intas Pharmaceuticals from being imported into the US," wrote Mihir Sharma. "There's a distinct possibility economic nationalists in the US could seize the examples such as Intas to force the onshoring of medicine production, even of generics that can and should be cheaply and efficiently elsewhere." Meanwhile, "India's exports in the month of May declined 10.3 percent to $34.98 billion while imports fell 6.6 percent to $57.1 billion, government data showed." ET. "India's merchandise trade deficit in May stood at $22.12 billion, according to a Reuters calculation." And so, "Wilful defaulters and companies involved in fraud can go for a compromise settlement or technical write offs by banks and non-banking finance companies, as per the new RBI circular." The Wire. "In 2018, it was reported that out of 5,600 wilful defaulters, 15% were from Gujarat." Hope we don't make jet engines like cough syrup. Planes could fall out of the sky. Spectacular.

Implicit is sensed.

"Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said policymakers expect interest rates will need to move higher to reduce US growth and contain price pressures, even though they held rates steady at their meeting last week." ET. "It may make sense to continue moving rates higher in the coming months, but at a more moderate pace," and "The timing of additional rate hikes will be based on incoming data, he said." "The Federal Reserve held the line on interest rates while the European Central Bank pushed on, and both central banking heavyweights signaled a likelihood of further hikes." ET. "In China officials are reducing rates to help stimulate a weak economy that includes a slump in real estate, a drop in business investment and record-high youth unemployment." In its June meeting, "The monetary policy committee (MPC), which has three members from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and three external members, kept the repo rate steady at 6.50%. HT. Because, "Retail inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), grew 4.25% in the month of May on the back of lower cooking oil and vegetable prices." HT. And, "even core inflation - it measures the non-food, non-fuel component of the CPI basket - continues to come down and reached 5.13%, the lowest value since June 2020 according to data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) database." "India saw a sharp rise in goods inflation until September 2022. But, as countries opened up, the demand for contact-intensive services picked up, and services inflation started rising," wrote Deepa Vasudevan. The problem is that, "The weights of items in the CPI basket are based on the 2011-12 Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES)." "In 2021-22, households spent less than 30% on food, but food has a 45.9% weight in CPI." "In total, 49% of household spending was for services, but the sector has only 23.5% weight in CPI." Why not update the data on the spending pattern of Indian households? Because the government does not want people to know. In November 2019, "The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) said...that the findings of Consumer Expenditure Survey 2017-18 will not be released due to data quality issues and the ministry would separately examine the feasibility of conducting the next survey in 2020-21." HT. Did not happen. Changing the CPI basket to reflect today's consumer spending patterns may show a much higher inflation rate and that may force the RBI to raise rates. Which the government does not want. "The estimates of a 16.1 percent increase in GDP value in the financial year 2023 due to rising inflation, which is more than twice the real GDP growth rate of 7.2 percent. This disparity is a measure of inflation in terms of IPD (Implicit Price Deflator)," wrote Dipu Rai. In fact, India's GDP is still being calculated with 2011 as the base year. World Economics. This allows us to claim to be the fastest growing major economy in the world. India Times. Since no one knows, claim whatever you like. It works.

Vote cutters work both ways.

"Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US has assumed huge significance amid global economic and geopolitical headwinds. The White House is pulling out all the stops to welcome Mr Modi - it's a state visit, the highest level of diplomatic protocol the US accords to visiting leaders." BBC. "The US has long viewed India as a counterbalance to China, but Delhi has never been fully comfortable with owning that tag." But, "India's diplomacy has been getting more assertive about saying that this is the country's moment on the global stage." China has noticed. Wang Yi, China's former Foreign Minister, said, "As feared by many Indian elites, Washington's vigorous efforts to strengthen economic and trade cooperation with India is primarily to slow down China's economic development. However, this geopolitical calculation of the US is doomed to fail, because China's position in the global supply chain cannot be replaced by India or other economies." BT. India has not forgotten the cowardly, unprovoked murder of 20 Indian soldiers by Chinese thugs in uniform on 18 June 2020 at Galwan Valley in Ladakh. ET. Had the Chinese not been such uncivilized barbarians India would have no need for defense cooperation with the US. "This visit seems to have split America's Democratic Party system into two. One part, to which president Joe Biden belongs and which sent out the invitation to Prime Minister Modi," and, "The other part, the far-Left strain among Democrats which wields considerable influence in media, academia, social sector and the deep state," wrote Abhijit Majumder. "This network of global Left and anti-nationalists carved out of radical Dems and UK's Labour and funded by chaos entrepreneurs like George Soros have long been in bed with Islamists." Former President Donald Trump was made to lose the 2020 election "not by 'in the face' criminality-like outright hacking of voting machines, but what can be better described as 'death by thousand cuts'," wrote Satya Dosapati. "Word is that there are about 220 to 240 Lok Sabha seats identified across the country where there is tacit agreement among Opposition parties to field only one strong candidate with a sprinkling of weak candidates from the rest of the Opposition parties." That has been happening in India for decades. These dummy candidates are known as 'vote cutters'. "By definition a vote-cutter party or candidate is installed by a more dominant player in constituencies where it wants to cut through the voter base of its competing player," wrote Prabal. Did Modi's party, the BJP, benefit from vote cutting by the AIMIM party in Bihar? Quint. Did the BJP win a record-breaking victory in Gujarat assembly election because the AAP acted as a vote cutter? DH. Ralph Nader is still blamed by Democrats for acting as a 'spoiler' in 2000 which resulted in a victory for George Bush. Washingtonian. The problem is not that Modi is popular. The problem is that his base is a bunch of paranoid fanatics who will not tolerate any criticism. That is fascism. Britannica.