India already in crisis mode after inauguration of Modi 3.0
It has roughly been ten days since Narendra Modi took oath as the prime minister of the republic for the third time, and the nation is already facing multiple crises on all fronts. Still, the government has chosen to stay mum on everything.
Railways
The devastating train accident involving the Kanchenjunga Express in Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district has left ten dead and numerous questions unanswered. Allegations have been levelled against the Ministry of Railways for making the kin of victims sign on blank sheets of paper and later filing a complaint on their own to shift the blame exclusively on the shoulders of the locomotive driver. Not a single individual from the ministry or the respective division (North East Frontier Railway) has been able to come up with a tangible response.
Education
The NEET scandal has rocked the nation to its core. Massive irregularities in grading and scores have proven that the National Testing Agency (NTA) cannot conduct any examination fairly. The Ministry of Education is busy shielding itself. The Supreme Court has rapped the union government. Amidst all this, the NTA has cancelled the UGC-NET examination conducted days back over apprehensions of irregularities, pushing the lives and careers of nearly 24 lakh students into absolute jeopardy.
Infrastructure
A major portion of a 182-metre bridge at Sikti in Bihar’s Araria district collapsed on Tuesday afternoon. Roads and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari was prompt in shaking off the blame, while the NDA alliance of BJP, JD(U), LJP and HAM runs the government in the state. Adding to the constant woes regarding roads and highways, toll taxes were hiked by 5 per cent by the union government.
Finance
The Modi government has yet to produce the full version of its Budget. Still, there has been no word from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman or her ministry on the plans to tackle inflation and price rise, and on how the government is planning on accelerating its magnanimous plans for disinflation. An article released by the Reserve Bank of India has highlighted that food inflation (y-o-y) has remained unchanged at 7.9 per cent in May. Inflation increased for cereals, eggs, fruits and pulses, according to the report. The major financial scandal brewing in India right now is that of stock market manipulation through fraudulent exit-poll reports aired by leading media networks on the evening of June 1, which led to markets shooting up the next day and then crashing down when the results were declared on the 4th, wiping out nearly 2.5 lakh crores of investors’ money from the indices. This raised apprehensions of insider trading and intense market correction by the corporates by sucking retail investors dry.
