Bhargav Shukla

The Bank, the Buyer, and the Question of Ownership

What the IDBI sale tells us about a nation that wants to be strong India has not merely sold a bank. It has answered, in public, a question it has avoided for thirty years: who should hold the keys to our money?

The facts, without the noise.

The sale process began in October 2022. It took four years, which is its own confession. The bank was once a wounded institution, rescued with public money, and the state and LIC nursed it back to health. Critics say the public paid for the recovery and a private group collects the harvest. Supporters say a government should not run banks at all, and that capital, discipline and management are better supplied by an owner who answers to results. One detail deserves attention: IDBI's shares closed at ₹89.85 on the day of approval, above the ₹81 offer, yet the government judged the bid reasonable. Both sides of the argument can point to that number.

The mood of the economy

The deal arrives at a delicate moment. The RBI expects 7.1% growth for 2026-27, and the first quarter grew 7.8%. Yet the RBI also raised interest rates for the first time since 2023 on October 7. Strong numbers sit beside nervous prudence. I have learned to distrust any country that celebrates growth without asking who owns it.

The deeper question.

A nation can be wealthy and still dependent. The mind that cheers a headline figure, whether a record GDP or a record price, is the mind of the herd, comfortable and asking only for reassurance. Sovereignty is different. It means the capacity to decide for oneself, and to bear the consequences. Seen this way, the sale is neither triumph nor betrayal. It is a test of character. If the state truly steps back, it must regulate with a steady hand and without favour, and it must let the market's discipline apply to its friends as well as its rivals. If it merely changes the name on the door while the old habits of patronage and forbearance remain, we will have exchanged one dependence for another. Foreign capital is not the danger. The danger is a country that never learns to stand on its own judgment, whoever holds the shares. There is also a lesson for us as citizens. We were comfortable when the bank was "ours" and slow to ask how it was run. Ownership without responsibility is only sentiment. A public asset is truly public only when the public demands accountability for it, in good years as in bad. India should neither mourn nor boast. It should ask the harder question: after the sale, will we have become more capable of ruling ourselves?

To sell what you cannot manage is prudence. To sell what you have never learned to govern is only forgetting.

#Economy #Banking #RBI

Dussehra and Society: The Ravana We Keep Burning

Every year we burn Ravana, and every year he returns. That is not a failure of the ritual. It is the lesson of it. The effigy is easy to burn because it is outside us. It stands thirty feet tall, made of bamboo and paper, and the crowd goes home feeling clean. But Ravana was never a villain without learning. He was a scholar, a devotee, a king of immense ability. What destroyed him was not ignorance but unchecked appetite: power that answered to no one, a mind that mistook its own desire for dharma. That is a far more uncomfortable Ravana, because he lives in offices, institutions and ordinary households. Look at our society and ask which heads are still standing. Ego, in those who confuse rank with worth. Envy, in those who cannot celebrate another's success. Entitlement, in those who demand rights and defer duties. Cruelty, in those who still treat a woman's safety as her own responsibility. Greed, in those who have enough and still take from the commons. We are quick to find Ravana in the neighbour, the rival or the opposition, and slow to look for him in the mirror. Ram's victory was not only military. It was discipline: exile accepted without bitterness, power used with restraint, a promise honoured at great cost. The real victory of Vijayadashami is the one nobody applauds, the quiet refusal to do the wrong thing when no one would know. In Gujarat we mark the day with fafda and jalebi, something salty to sharpen the mind and something sweet to soften it. Perhaps that is the right balance for a society: the courage to be honest, and the grace to be kind. Burn the effigy by all means. Then spend the year on the harder work of cutting the heads that grow back in us.

The enemy outside is burned in an evening. The enemy within needs a lifetime.

#Vijayadashami #Dussehra #Culture

An Ideological Thought: The Weight of a Signature

Law asks whether a man is guilty. Legitimacy asks whether he is trusted. A republic needs both, and it fails when it confuses them. An accusation is not a verdict, and a nation that treats it as one is a mob. Gautam is entitled to the presumption of innocence, and those who call him a murderer today have no proof to offer. But a governor is not a private citizen. He is a moral symbol of the Constitution, and a symbol cannot be sustained on legal technicality alone. The question is not only "is he guilty?" but "why this appointment, why now, while a family still waits for the truth?" Power that does not ask that question of itself is arrogance, not innocence. The pre-dawn detention of a grieving father and mother adds a second wound. A state strong enough to appoint a governor should be secure enough to let parents sit with their grief on a public road. Dissent from the powerless is not a threat. It is the last audit a democracy has. The test of a government is not what it does to its enemies but how it treats its weakest citizen, here a daughter who cannot speak and parents who will not stop. If the CBI clears Gautam, let it do so swiftly and publicly, and let the accusers answer for their words. If it does not, no office will be high enough to hide behind.

Innocence needs no shield. A shield that arrives too early makes even the innocent look afraid.

#AnkitaBhandari #Rape #Murder #Women

Wishing everyone a blessed and joyous Navratri! 🪔

📝‎ Registration Form‎: https://forms.gle/bdKCPF3rRYGAx7pH7

The Share Market Episode

The red screen shows how much of our self-worth we have mortgaged to things we cannot command: cut-offs, crude oil, foreign funds in distant cities, a rupee sliding under a dollar. The Will to Power that hungers for control keeps meeting a world that was never ours to control.

A democracy does not die in a single conquest — it dies in a thousand small permissions. A form altered without rule, a portal locked from its rightful guardians, a Commission that no longer gathers in the same room. Each is a small treason dressed as procedure. Power that will not be watched becomes power that need not answer. Fourteen times the dissenters spoke, and fourteen times the machine rolled on regardless — this is not disagreement, this is the slow erosion of the many by the few who no longer feel the need to explain themselves. The vote is not merely counted — it is the last place where the powerless and the powerful are, in principle, equal. Whoever quietly reengineers who may cast it has committed the oldest sin of tyranny: mistaking control for order, and secrecy for efficiency. Trust, once centralised into a system no one outside it can see, is trust already spent. A democracy that stops explaining itself to its own guardians has already begun explaining itself to no one. We do not need saviours of democracy. We need witnesses who refuse to look away — because an institution unwatched does not become wicked all at once. It merely forgets, one small unauthorised order at a time, that it was ever meant to serve anyone but itself. #ECI #Gyaneshkumar #IndianExpress #RitikaChopra

Society promises virtue and delivers wolves in the clothing of morality. Do not wait for its conscience — it has none to spare for you. Love, if you dare it, is your burden to protect — not society's gift to guard. Choose light over shadow, walls over open fields, a home over a hiding place. The goons do not fear God, law, or shame — only witnesses. Be one. Demand safety as your right, not as their mercy. Nothing outside you will change. So become, yourself, the change that refuses to wait. "ज़िंदा कौमें पांच साल तक सत्ता के बदलाव का इंतजार नहीं करतीं, वे हर रोज हुकूमत को उसकी जिम्मेदारी याद दिलाती हैं।" - डॉ. राम मनोहर लोहिया #Jamui #Bihar #women #Society

ODISHA: PILOT PLANTS TO EXTRACT RARE EARTH ELEMENTS FROM WASTES 🌍⛏️ ■ Pilot plants have been established in Odisha to process bituminous coal fly ash for the recovery of multiple value-added products and to explore the valorisation of bauxite residue, commonly known as red mud. ♻️ ■ These initiatives have been supported by National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), the Navratna Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Union Ministry of Mines. 🏛️ ■ The pilot facility based on a jointly patented process developed by CSIR-IMMT and NALCO for the holistic utilisation of coal fly ash will enable recovery of multiple value-added products, including alumina, calcium silicate for ceramic applications, quartz residue with potential applications in glassmaking, and an iron hydroxide residue enriched in rare earth elements (REE), including scandium. 🧪✨

ANDHRA PRADESH RESTORES DIRECT ELECTION OF MAYORS 🏛️ ■ The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly has restored the direct election of Mayors of Municipal Corporations, Chairpersons of Municipalities, and Nagar Panchayats by passing the Andhra Pradesh Municipal Laws (Fourth Amendment) Bill, 2026. ■ Mayors and Chairpersons will now be directly elected by the people of the Urban Local Bodies for a five-year term. 🗳️ Hitherto, they were elected by members of the divisions and wards, including ex-officio members. ■ The Bill has also rationalized the Offices of Deputies to one Deputy Mayor and one Vice-Chairperson but left their model of election unchanged. ■ The election of Mayors and Chairpersons was indirect (chosen by elected members) prior to 1986, and direct from 1986 to 2005. The mode of their election was reverted to ‘indirect’ from August 6, 2005. 📅

TN INCREASES HEALTH COVERAGE 🏥 ■ Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has announced an increase in the annual coverage under the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh. 📈 ■ Outlining significant new initiatives to improve the state's healthcare system, the chief minister emphasised that medical care is a fundamental right, not a privilege, and the government aims to remove barriers to quality healthcare regardless of income or location. 🩺

A group of candidates filed a petition through the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) challenging the provisional answer key released on May 27, 2026. The petitioners claim that factual inaccuracies, wrong answer keys, and out-of-syllabus content in these 8 questions put over 16 marks at stake (including negative markings), severely impacting cut-off results. CAT has issued a formal notice to the UPSC regarding eight disputed questions from GS Paper-I, Set A are Questions 7, 11, 45, 60, 62, 82, 86, and 96. The case is scheduled for its next major hearing on October 8, 2026.

POWER TO DEMOLISH BRING RESPONSIBILITY TO REHABILITATE: SC

■ The Supreme Court has backed an NGO's petition seeking formulation of a uniform policy for demolition of unauthorised constructions and simultaneous rehabilitation of affected families. ■ Bench disposes the petition with a direction to the Union and State governments to consider the issues in it. ■ The court asked the Union and State governments to consider the petition filed by an NGO, the Centre for Law and Good Governance, seeking the formulation of a uniform policy for demolition of unauthorised constructions and simultaneous rehabilitation of the affected families.

COURTS OBSERVATIONS 🧐

■ Demolition and rehabilitation are the "twin responsibilities" of the government in a welfare democracy: o If the State wants to demolish, it has to provide rehabilitation for people affected by its action. It is a twin responsibility. o In case of demolition of an unauthorised construction, there has to be a policy for rehabilitation. ■ Court acknowledged that the authority of the state to demolish long- must be balanced with the right of the families to dignity, shelter and livelihood under Article 21 of the Constitution. ■ Demolition, being an extreme and irreversible measure, cannot be carried out without a policy that reconciles the right to shelter, livelihood and dignity

PM RESEARCH CHAIR (PMRC) SCHEME

■ In pursuance with the vision of NEP 2020, the Ministry of Education has launched the Prime Minister Research Chair (PMRC) Scheme: o    to attract and engage distinguished Indian-origin researchers, scientists and professionals with international research experience, o   to strengthen India's higher education and research ecosystem through research, mentorship and institutional capacity-building across national priority thematic areas. ■ The Scheme provides for fellowships under three categories, namely Research Chair, Senior Fellow and Young Research Fellow. ■ Under the Scheme, seven institutions have been identified as Lead Institutions. ■ The government has made provision of Rs 200 crore for the PMRC Scheme for the year 2026-27. ■ The Scheme envisages India’s position as a global hub of research, innovation and knowledge creation by providing benefits of structured engagement of Indian-origin researchers and scientists to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), national laboratories, and research centres.

TAMIL NADU ADOPTS RESOLUTION FOR ABOLITION OF NEET

■ The Tamil Nadu Assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Union government to abolish the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to undergraduate medical courses. ■ It cited: o Repeated irregularities in the conduct of the examination. o Proliferation of coaching centres. o Loss of lives. ■ The resolution said the Tamil Nadu government had consistently maintained that NEET was against social justice and equality and infringed upon the rights of the States in matters relating to medical education. o The examination had seriously undermined the opportunities available to rural and socio-economically disadvantaged students, including those whose medium of instruction was Tamil. ■ In 2021, when the DMK was in power, the Assembly passed the Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Medical Degree Courses Bill, seeking to exempt the State from NEET. o However, the Bill was reserved for the consideration of the President, and presidential assent has been withheld.

🇱🇧 LEBANON ABOLISHES DEATH PENALTY ■ Lebanon abolishes death penalty. ■ Lebanon becomes first and only country in the Middle East to formally abolish the death penalty. ■ The country replaced all existing death sentences with life imprisonment. ■ It has been maintaining a de facto moratorium on executions since 2004. □ A de facto moratorium is a practical suspension or ban on an activity that is not officially or legally prohibited. ■ Around 144 nations—have abolished the death penalty in law or practice.

BANKERS' Books Evidence Bill

■ The bill has been introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Finance Minister. ■ It seeks to replace the colonial-era 1891 law by recognizing electronic, digital, virtual, and cloud-based banking records as admissible evidence in courts. ■ It also provides for digital authentication of records and empowers the Centre to extend the law to other financial sector entities.

THE INDIAN STATISTICAL INSTITUTE BILL

■ The Bill has been introduced in the Parliament. ■ It seeks to repeal the 1959 Act governing the institution and incorporate it as a statutory body corporate with the President as its Visitor and a Board of Governors as its principal executive body. ■ It also provides for an Academic Council headed by the Director to strengthen governance, research, and academic autonomy while expanding the institute’s role in statistics, data science, and allied disciplines.

'Leaking question papers more heinous than murder'

■ The Chhattisgarh High Court has observed that leaking question papers for competitive examinations and jeopardizing the future of lakhs of students is an offense more heinous than murder. ■ The remark came while dismissing the bail plea of Janak Kumar Dhruv, an accused in the alleged Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC) recruitment scam. ■ The case pertains to alleged corruption, question-paper leaks, and manipulation of the CGPSC State Service Examinations conducted in the years 2021 and 2022, due to which relatives of influential people were selected by compromising the recruitment process. 📉 (May be quoted in answers)

No Manual Scavengers Identified in Fresh Survey