INDIA: KEY HAPPENINGS IN LAST WEEK

NATIONAL SUMMARY
POLITICS
External affairs Shashi Tharoor's remarks on Saudi Arabia's potential as an interlocutor in India's ties with Pakistan provoked criticism from BJP and other political parties including Congress. Congress president Sonia Gandhi said, "India's position on no to third party mediation in India-Pakistan issues is unchanged. There is no change in the Congress position." BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi termed Tharoor's remarks "unusual" and reiterated India's known stand that no third party can intervene in issues between India and Pakistan. BJP’s senior leader L.K Advani criticised government on holding talks with Pakistan and stated it a response on US pressure.
MINORITIES' ISSUES
Lok Jan Shakti Party president Ram Vilas Paswan on Thursday demanded a 10 per cent quota for Muslims in government jobs and a mechanism to ensure that funds allocated for the welfare of the minorities were fully utilised.
INSURGENCY MOVEMENTS
Responding on Maoist leader Kishenji's truce offer the government asked them to ensure ceasefire for 72 hours to facilitate talks. Top government officials have said Kishenji's offer for talks may be considered if he could ensure complete ceasefire for 72 hours.
GEO STRATEGIC/ FOREIGN RELATIONS
Indian foreign exchange reserves fell by USD 528 million for the week ended February 19 to USD 278.672 billion compared to USD 279.2 billion in the previous week. After a year long financial crisis finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is confident that economy would soon break the double-digit growth barrier and said the stimulus measures will not be fully withdrawn until a robust recovery is achieved. High food inflation and the ambiguous nature of recovery in exports due to the uncertainty prevailing in the developed economies still cause concerns.
India and Saudi Arabia finalised 10 pacts, including an Extradition Treaty and agreements in the economic sphere for signing during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the country. Manmohan Singh is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Saudi Arabia in 28 years. Singh received a vary warm welcome from Saudi King and declared his visit very successful. India is keen to build relations of geo strategic importance with Saudi Arabia. Country’s increasing demand for energy resources and Saudi Arabia’s influence in the region forced India make an attempt to strengthen ties with the oil rich and most respected country of the Muslim world. According to analysts it is an attempt to pressurise Pakistan to overview its policy in the region.
Killing of 9 Indians in last week’s Kabul blast again provoked a debate whether it is the part of conspiracy to an oust India from Afghanistan? Pakistan is against the target of accusation even though Richard Holbrooke said in a statement that Indians were not the target of blast but then he had to change his statement on Indian pressure.
SOCIAL FRONT
US report on International Narcotics Trade released by the state department said that most of the drug transiting through the country is bound for Europe. The report, however, noted that the bulk of heroin seized in the past two years has been of domestic origin, was seized in South India, and was apparently destined for Sri Lanka.
According to the latest data by the Ministry of Home Affairs for three years, cases of child rape continue to rise as a total of 4,721 cases were registered during 2006, 5,045 in 2007 and 5,446 in 2008 across the country. Madhya Pradesh registered 892 such cases, Maharashtra (690), Rajasthan (420) and Andhra Pradesh (412) in 2008, the data said. A total of 411 such cases were registered in Chhattisgarh, 301 in Delhi, 215 in Kerala, 187 in Tamil Nadu, 129 in West Bengal, 106 in Punjab and 104 in Tripura, it said. Whereas, Gujarat has registered 99 cases, Karnataka 97, Bihar 91, Haryana 70, Himachal Pradesh 68, Orissa 65 and Goa 18. Uttar Pradesh tops the list of States and Union Territories with the highest number of 900 child rape cases in 2008 followed by Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra
REGIONAL SUMMARY:
CENTRAL INDIA/ HINDI HEARTLAND
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is determined to make Bihar a developed state by 2015. Sixty-three people, all women and children, were killed and another 64 injured in a massive stampede at an ashram at Mangarh in Pratapgarh district of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday. The tragic incident took place when a portion of the entrance gate collapsed under pressure of the surging crowd that thronged the ashram belonging to Kripalu Maharaj to collect food and utensils. The dead included 37 children and 26 women.
NORTH
A new swine flu case has been reported in Himachal Pradesh after a gap of over a month, with this, the number of Influenza (H1N1) cases in the state has risen to 45.
THE SOUTH
Andhra Pradesh assembly opposition parties staged a protest on price rise issue. Members of assembly belonging to TDP, CPI, CPM, BJP and Praja Rajyam Party demanded that the issue be discussed through an adjournment motion. As their demand was rejected, the opposition members stalled the proceedings and Speaker N Kiran Kumar adjourned the House for 15 minutes. The opposition parties also demanded an immediate roll back of the hike to save the common man and wanted the state government to move a resolution in this regard.
Two persons died and eight others were injured in Shimoga district of Karnataka on Monday following violent protests over the publication of an article by Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen on the burqa in a vernacular daily.



DESPITE OF REGAINING PACE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT RISING INFLATION/PRICE RISE IS A SERIOUS CONCERN FOR INDIA. DO YOU THING IT COULD BE A HURDLE IN INDIA'S WAY TO BE AN ECONOMIC POWER???