election result

World’s biggest democratic exercise- India’s 16th Lok Sabha (Lower House) elections which ran from April, 7 to May 12, 2014 are over and its verdict is out. Of the total 543 seats for which elections were contested, BJP led NDA achieved a thumping victory on 336 seats, whereas, Congress led UPA has faced thorough defeat in 6 key states winning just 59 seats, and the Congress, 44 seats. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which contested on 424 seats has faced debacle as it could win just 4 seats. AAP leader and former Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejrival, who contested against the Narendra Modi from Varanasi, defeated by a huge margin of more than 3 lakh votes.

With this NDA victory, BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is all set to be the head of the newly elected Indian Government.

Some high spots of Lok Sabha polls 2014:

It was 16th Lok Sabha election.
Election Commission of India conducted election in 9 phases, longest election in the country’s history.
8,251 candidates contested for 543 constituencies in India.
814.5 million People were eligible voters, with an increase of 100 million voters since the last general election in 2009, making this the largest-ever election in the world.
Average election turnout was around 66.38%, the highest ever in the history of Indian general elections.
With more than six times the seats of its closest contenders, Modi’s is the most decisive mandate for a leader since the 1984 assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi propelled her son to office. Since 1989, India has been governed by coalitions.
With 282 seats, the BJP has won the highest number of seats by a single party in the modern, post-regional politics era, compared with 244 for the Congress in 1991 and 206 for it in 2009.
It is the worst ever performance by Congress compared to its show in other previous General Elections.
Since 1977, the BJP is the first non-Congress party to defeat Congress by such a huge margin. However, the biggest tally of seats achieved by a non-Congress party is 295 won by the Janata Party in the 1977 post-Emergency election that ousted Mrs. Gandhi from office.
BJP registered its biggest win in Uttar Pradesh winning 71 seats despite a big coalition partner, the best performance by a single party in the state since 1984 when the Congress won 83 of 85 seats.
Results Lok Sabha Polls 2014:

ALLIANCE TALLY
NDA (BJP + Allies) 335
UPA (Congress + Allies) 59
AAP 4
SP 5
BSP 0
AITC 34
JD(U) 2
LEFT 11
ADMK 37
OTHERS 56
TOTAL 543/543
VOTE SHARE:

Alliance Vote share (%)
NDA 35
UPA 23
LEFT 4
AITC 4
OTHERS 34

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone acquired the strategic Dhamra port in Odisha on the east coast of India for an enterprise value of Rs 5, 500 crore. The company inked a definitive pact to acquire the port from a 50:50 joint venture of Tata Steel and Larsen & Toubro. After the 2005 acquisition of Pipapav Port in Gujarat by APM Terminals BV from SKIL Infrastructure, the Dhamra deal is the largest port sector deal in India.

Dhamra Port:

Dharma Port - Odisha1Dhamra port is one of the deepest ports on the eastern coast of India. It was granted the rights by the Odisha government in 2004 to develop and operate for 30 years. The port is considered strategic as it is located to serve the mineral belt of the eastern states and in between competitors and government-controlled Haldia and Paradip ports.

Adani Ports and SEZ:
Gautam Adani-led Adani Ports and SEZ is listed on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and is 75% owned by Adani Enterprises, the flagship of Adani group. The company owns and operates 5 ports, of which three— Dahej, Hazira and Mundra—are in Gujarat. Dhamra port will help the company enhance its capacity to over 200 million tonne by 2020, making it a leader among private sector port operators in the country. Adani’s family firm also operates a coal loading terminal at Abbot Point in Queensland in Australia.

RBI to launch Plastic notes in 2015

RBI to launch Plastic notes in 2015
As per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan, Plastic currency notes will be launched in 2015 after field trial which is likely to be conducted in the latter half of 2014. The pilot testing would be conducted in five cities- Kochi, Mysore, Jaipur, Bhubaneswar and Shimla.

One billion plastic notes of Rs.10 denomination will be released in the field trial in these cities chosen for their geographical and climatic diversity. Plastic currency notes have an average life span of about 5 years and are difficult to counterfeit. Also, these notes are cleaner than paper notes.

Face of new terror

Face of new terror
As month-old Chibok kidnapping moves towards its denouement, it raises concerns along two axes: first set of questions centre around future of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and largest economy. Secondly, some observers wonder if post-Afghanistan, non-state actors like Boko Haram presage sub-Sahel Africa region becoming the new warfront on ‘global war on terror.’ Credible answers to both these possibilities require a detailed and objective study of Boko Haram, world’s deadliest practitioner of mass-terror this year, killing nearly 2,000 so far.

Boko Haram means ‘Western education is prohibited’ in Hausa language of northern Nigeria. It is a Sunni Takfiri sect founded in 2001 in Borno state capital of Maiduguri by Islamic preacher Mohammed Yusuf seeking imposition of Sharia (Islamic Law). He soon found an ally in Ali Modu Sheriff, a candidate for state governorship, who promised to apply Sharia, if elected. However, on becoming governor, Sheriff prevaricated and reneged after re-election in 2007. Yusuf fell out with governor soon after and became a strident critic.

Increasingly violent clashes with authorities culminated in custodial death of Mohammed Yusuf in July 2009 and violent suppression of Boko Haram. The sect went underground and re-emerged within months as a militant outfit under Abubakar Shekau, its current head. In mid-2011, it signalled its arrival by launching two high profile attacks in Abuja on the UN building and the police headquarters. A campaign of bombing the churches in north and central Nigeria followed. Another high profile attack on January 20, 2012 simultaneously targeted nearly 80 offices in Kano causing nearly 200 deaths. In May 2013, federal Nigerian government imposed State of Emergency in three north-eastern states to combat growing insecurity. These states border Cameroon, Chad and Niger. Although Nigerian armed forces were given free hand, they have been unable to contain the insurgency. The violence has escalated sharply and has expanded beyond the north-east.

For instance, hours before Chibok kidnappings, Boko Haram exploded a car bomb at a crowded bus station on the outskirts of Abuja, nearly 1,000 kms away. 74 persons died in this deadliest attack. Boko Haram’s increasing operational sophistication, firepower and lethality have been attributed to easy availability of Libyan weapons, assistance from sister outfits in region: Somalia (Al-Shabab) Algeria (AQIM), Mali and elsewhere. No foreign state sponsor of Boko Haram has yet come to light.

Boko Haram’s publically stated objectives are largely rhetorical. For instance, their main demands are creation of Islamic Caliphate in Borno and the imposition of Islamic Sharia over entire Nigeria, nearly half of which is non-Muslim. This agenda is not only unrealistic, it is also self-defeating. They have also sought trial of those responsible for repression of Boko Haram cadres and custodial killing of their founder Mohammed Yusuf in 2009. Boko Haram has single-mindedly sought the release of their captured colleagues. This has led to some speculation that Boko Haram intends to use the hapless kidnapped schoolgirls as a bargaining chip to get hundreds of its cadres in government jails released.

Ill-equipped armed forces

During past five years Boko Haram has exploited the inadequacies of Nigerian counter-insurgency campaign. Reports have often portrayed Nigerian armed forces as ill-equipped, badly trained and poorly led against a well-equipped and highly motivated enemy. High-handedness and corruption by armed forces and their civilian vigilante groups have also alienated the masses. Reported lapses, such as long delay in response to Chibok kidnapping itself have put Nigerian authorities on the defensive.

Moreover, the governors in all of three states under emergency belong to political parties different from the PDP ruling Nigeria causing lack of coordination and bickering. Federal policies have oscillated from outright military solution to ‘soft approach’ emphasising negotiated political solution and socio-economic development of Nigeria’s poorest region. However indirect contacts last year were fruitless. Current Nigerian politics is highly polarised with president Jonathan’s likely bid for re-election next February is opposed by a more unified opposition backed by many muslim politicians.

Boko Haram violence is senseless and counterproductive. While Boko Haram is a serious security menace, on its own the outfit does not constitute a direct political threat to Nigeria as a nation. Its sustained mass-terror, in tandem with other political and security tensions can, however, throw delicately balanced Nigerian polity into a convulsion. It can also seriously damage country’s image as good investment destination, particularly if it pulls off some spectacular operations in either Lagos, the economic hub, and/or oil-rich Niger Delta region.

Left unchecked, Boko Haram type of activities can also acquire regional or international form, particularly as many regional countries have Christian-Muslim faultlines. If Nigeria’s armed forces, largest in Sub-Saharan Africa, have struggled to control Boko Haram, the fate of smaller states can be well imagined. While western powers are ready to ‘assist,’ their intervention can easily become part of the problem. Absence of a state sponsorship, however, puts an upper limit on such militancy. The need is better and more representative governance at home and greater regional security cooperation.

India does have interest in the stability of Nigeria and neighbouring region. Nigeria-based Indians have suffered enormously from Boko Haram terror. January 2012 Carnage at Kano caused death of an Indian caught in the crossfire and six others were injured. In mid 2012, an attack on India-family owned Gum-Arabic plant at Maiduguri killed two of them and wounding the third. This first targeted attack on foreigners by Boko Haram ended the West Bengal based family’s brave defiance of security odds. They left Borno state, suffering trauma and huge financial losses. Their 70 Nigerians employees were rendered jobless. The episode has become a stark reminder of our stakes in this distant land with a complex narrative.

IR

China seems a little disturbed with India voicing its concern over the tensions in the South China Sea. Chinese Foreign Ministry said India need “not worry too much” about the issue.

The remarks from China came in response to India voicing its “concern” over the recent developments in the South China Sea where Chinese and Vietnamese ships had a tense standoff. These tensions have intensified with China’s oil rig’s attempts for oil exploration in the waters of disputed islands claimed by both countries.

China was critical of reactions by the US and Japan over the region last week. China objected to India’s ONGC participating in the drilling in the area specified by Vietnam which Beijing called disputed. Both Vietnam and the Philippines together with Malaysia and Brunei have serious disputes with China in the South China Sea and have been exhorting ASEAN to take a firm stand against Beijing on the issue. China also objected to the Philippines arresting 11 Chinese fishermen in the disputed waters.

Recent development over South China Sea:

Vietnam wants India to ‘rise quickly’ in the South-East region as it expressed concerns over China’s rising assertiveness in the South China Sea. The comments came a few days after Chinese and Vietnamese ships had a tense stand-off. Link: ‘Rise quickly’ to counter China: Vietnam to India
A significant defense deal inked between the Philippines and the US which will allow a bigger US military presence on Filipino territory. The pact would give U.S. forces temporary access to selected military camps and allow them to pre-position fighter jets and ships. It allows more US troops into the Philippines for joint military training exercises. Link: Significant defence deal inked between Philippines and US
US-Japan joint statement highlights importance of trilateral dialogue with India