RBI must hold rate hikes; Helming G20; Post-truth gaslighting
Opinion Watch
Global economic situations have been gloomy ever since Russian Vladimir Putin decided to invade Ukraine. But there appears slight indication that the global economy may be coming out of the tunnel. But the exit can be shut if the governments and the Central banks don’t find way out to pause rate hikes.
The Economic Times and The Times of India in their respective Editorials, while noting that the second quarter GDP growth is as per the estimate of the Reserve Bank of India at 6.3 per cent, opined that the annual growth number would be somewhere around seven per cent. Solace is that India is still standing, while most of the economies have come down on their knees. Both the dailies underlined that the manufacturing is under stress, showing a 4.3 per cent contraction, which is also reflected in slackening of the exports, which grew by a mere 4.97 per cent.
Consumption grew by just one per cent in the last quarter, which should be a clear sign that demand in the economy is now a challenge for the policy makers. Both the dailies make a case for the RBI to hold the rate hike. At The Raisina Hills, we have consistently argued that while India imported inflation, the policy apathy with the government continuing with blood-sucking the people with excessive taxation has arrested the economic growth, which is not creating jobs commensurate to the demand, while the Centre and states compete with each other with their respective vote buying schemes.
Helming G20
Those who don’t take interests in international relations must by now have come to know that India has taken over the Presidentship of G20 as full-page advertisements have appeared along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s article in several dailies.
The Pioneer in its Editorial has argued that India is uniquely positioned to offer solutions to a host of global challenges, including the Russia-Ukraine War. The daily argued that US President Joe Biden, who has called Putin a killer in the past, and the Europe are not in positions to mediate a way out for both Russia and Ukraine from the ongoing war.
The daily is quite optimistic in its assessment about the Indian heft in the global strife. Drum beating accompanies events, and there would be over 200 meetings in the course of one year in India about G20. But one shouldn’t be carried away, for neither Putin nor Volodymyr Zalenskyy listen to the voices of any of the multilateral agencies. The war is between Russia and NATO, and they are not interested in laying down their arms.
Post-truth gaslighting
In the post-truth world, George Orwell remains the greatest philosopher even if he never intended such a title. Lying and cheating are now skills ‘essential’ to gain worldly comforts in life. Politicians invariably have become incorrigible liars, and they show tenacity to tell the people that it’s night even when sun is shining brightly.
Gaslighting, thus, has become the Merriam-Webster word of the year. The Indian Express has urged that one should stick to the basic meaning of gaslighting – an act of lying, of being made to feel that the way you see the world is unreasonable, even insane. The daily has, however, claimed that gaslighting in 2022 emerged as a political strategy and idiom, as fake news and personality-tailored facts held sway in the public discourse.
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