Delhi Guardian

The Uttarakhand Government has been lurching from one crisis to another. It has lost both direction and purpose Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the hilly State of Uttarakhand was eagerly anticipated by many. He did not hesitate to hurl a volley of criticisms on the Congress Government. Modi's oratory was at its best when he promised to build a twin engine of governance between New Delhi and Dehradun in order to propel the State to greater heights and mitigate the plethora of development concerns which beset Uttarakhand. After the slew of uncertain events which have buffeted the State in recent years, the BJP's prospects of wresting victory from a decrepit Government seem all the more sanguine. Prime Minister Modi’s unequivocal commitment to lead the party to victory in the State poll early next year reverberated with the throng of people who attended his rallies. There was this palpable energy and a sense of inexplicable optimism in the hearts and minds of peo...

Regional trading agreements, hawkish protectionist policies, a fractured EU and diverging concerns are the new stumbling blocks that are hindering the successful conclusion of the Doha talks, writes Ishaan Saxena This November marked 15 years since the Doha round of negotiations, under the aegis of the World Trade Organisation ( WTO ) began. An ambitious round of negotiation, the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) round addressed a plethora of concerns and envisioned a revamped global trade platform reflecting the needs of the developing countries. Initially, scheduled to end by 2005, the negotiations have been moving at a rather slow and uncertain pace. Deadlocks between developed and developing countries continue to persist over a number of issues; most notably in the areas of farm subsidies and tariffs. Furthermore, global developments such as Brexit and the US elections have led to a profound power transitions, and perceptible changes in the foreign policy of major global players...