Goodbye ₹2000; Acquiring Addictions; Indo-Pacific Heft
Opinion Watch
Goodbye ₹2000
Rush to get rid of the pink note of ₹2000 begins from today, and The Asian Age has said that none would be complaining that the currency is withdrawn, arguing that the exchanged money would rather be spent by the people than deposited in the banks. Yes, the daily recalled the jubilation of a few television anchors who had invented that there were chips embedded in the pink note, which would have tracked its destination and resting places.
The daily stated that the middle class largely had nothing to do with the high-value denomination note. But it was indeed convenient in taking bribes by officials and transacting black money deals by the rea-estate, claimed the daily.
The ₹2000 is being withdrawn and the government spokespersons get very livid at the mention of Demonetisation 2.0 even while some of them agree that the currency added to creation of black money and it would be rerouted through various channels into the same murky deals of buying gold, properties or even exchanging for dollars.
Acquiring Addictions
Sapien Labs in a report has said that the deleterious effects of smart phones are more pronounced on the mental health of women, and The Telegraph in its Editorial stated that those who got their hands of smartphones exhibit suicidal tendencies. The report based on a study across 41 countries, stated the daily, also revealed that 71 per cent women were affected, it was 41 per cent for men, and abnormalities included aggressive behaviour, hallucinations and suicidal thoughts.
The Kolkata-based daily also quoted McAfee study to state that the smart phone usage among children was 81 per cent, which was seven per cent higher than the global average. The daily also listed cases of cyberbullying of women, while calling for gatekeeping for the usage by the children.
Pediatrics have been warning that screen exposure of new born children stunt their brain development, but the smart phones are majorly in the hands of toddlers. This indeed calls for de-addiction, and schools should first stop screen exposing children by giving digital assignments.
Indo-Pacific Heft
India enjoys a great deal of goodwill among the small island nations, which gained depth during the Covid-19 pandemic, and The Economic Times in an Editorial has called for more out of the box engaged with such countries which are at a greater risk of climate change. The daily in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Papua New Guinea for the meeting of the Forum for Indo-Pacific Islands Cooperation, a group of 14 nations, hailed the partnership approach of New Delhi.
The daily at the same stated that a sustained political engagement with such island nations had been lacking. It called for engagement with the other coast of the Indo-Pacific.
India is slowly and steadily seeking to fill the vacuum with small island nations which had come under excessive influence of China due to the deep pocket diplomacy of Beijing. India must tap its cultural connections with such nations.
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