https://www.livemint.com/opinion/online-views/india-singapore-mauritius-united-states-china-asean-europe-africa-latin-america-australia-fdi-inflows-foreign-investment-11748447486759.html At first glance, India’s latest foreign direct investment (FDI) data is impressive.
www.livemint.com/market/market-stats/stocks-liquid-etf-f-share-price-nse-bse-E00188 The overseas money invested in our economy for long-horizon returns, always preferable to ‘hot money’ going into assets, climbed 14% to $81 billion in 2024-25. This, however, was on a gross basis; it counts all FDI inflows last year
"What Is Holding The Investors Back?": Nirmala Sitharaman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsUX0LjGepM | Editorial With Sujit Nair | FDI | India
HW News English reality is our net foreign direct
investment is.3 billion that is 2024-25.
In fact 2016-17 our net FDI was $35 billion,
17-18 $30 billion ,18-19 $30.7 billion ,19-20 $43 billion, 20-21 44 billion, 21-22 $38 billion, 22-23 28 billion, 23-24 10.1 billion and 24-25 the inflow is more or less the same as previous years but the net flow is.3 billion of FDI .
notion that FDI is something that is always bought by government efforts and by large businessmen who the government is quite supportive of, is a myth.
common people. middle class Indians.
a lot of FDI are got by common people like you and me, common businessmen who gets foreign investments and builds their company. A lot of small and medium companies has done it. the fact is the government has no support system for these small and medium industries.
(unedited portion- I'm scared to getting foreign investment
is because if I get foreign investment
then I have a huge huge amount of
compliance with RBI. I have to fill all
those compliance for which I have to
hire lawyers worth lacks of rupees.
That's the first thing I have to do. I'm
a small and medium business mind you cuz
if I don't have a good lawyer, I will I
will be I will be damned tomorrow. So I
need a fantastic lawyer who will charge
me a fantastic fee to get that RBI
certification cleared. and RBI
certification, RBI compliance, I think
it's prejudiced because RBI before even
looking at me, they believe that I'm a
thief.
I think the way it's my opinion, it's my
opinion. I think the way RBI has
designed their forms and their their
qualifiers as if that the person who is
applying for uh FDI is a thief.
They already presume that I'm going to
do I'm going to violate FEMA regulations
or I'm going to do PMLA. they already
assume that
and that is how I fill my forms.
If Mrs. Nirmala Sithar Raman who once
mentioned that you know she it's very
frustrating what is holding the
investors back is what Nirmala
Sitharaman said when she was responding
uh to a question at a think tank uh
event about what's holding India back.
She says that going by the textbook
every economic activities are good and
robust and dynamic. Money flows there's
a normal textbook assumption. I want to
ask where are the investable funds?
Where are the investors? What are they
looking? What are they holding back?
Ma'am, this is what is holding them
back. This is what is holding them back
because you look at investment from a
Adani Amani and huge company
perspective. Look at investment from an
MSME perspective. That small businessman
tries to hustle all over the world.
tries to tell sell his talent all over
the world to offer what he has all over
the world try to get money organized in
India and try to build a life for
himself because there with foreign
direct investment he gets it at a lesser
interest he gets the money he desires he
or she tries it and that's how they get
it but then your compliances your
compliances your RBI your RBI makes it
so difficult the process is so difficult
The process is so painstaking that a
common man cannot do it unnecessarily.
He already has 40 50 lakhs which he can
invest in lawyers and and and
consultants who will consult him and
help him to get that foreign direct
investments.
Have you ever thought about that? Have
you ever done a research about that?
Have you ever done a survey? Have you
ever done a experience study? Please try
and do an experience study madam. That
is exactly how you get to know where the
problems are. You can't sit in an iv
ivory tower and and and then assume that
everything is going fine. Everything is
going according to the textbook cuz the
textbook is what you wrote.
That may not be relevant to the person
on ground
and that is not
stage one is your RBI.
Stage two is there's another body called
the ED, the enforcement directorate
which people are scared of. It is like
gustapo.
People are scared of the sheer word ed.
These are our organizations. These are
our investigative bodies. These are
supposed to be bodies that are helping
us to have a better, cleaner and safer
life.
The name ED sends shivers down people's
spine. Believe me, you
you know why? Because end of the day, Ed
is like that that that constable, that
traffic constable
who hides behind the tree waiting for
you to jump that signal and once you
jump that signal, he comes from nowhere,
catches you and finds you
because there is no provision in our
country where I could go to an ED office
and I could say that listen this is my
document, this is my offer, this is my
investment. that I'm going to get. This
is my offer. This is what I'm going to
provide to them. This is what they are
going to provide to me. This is the
money they going to give me. Is it all
okay?
And Ed telling me, okay, these are the
problems. You please solve these
problems and then get your deal done.
And then once I get the stamp from ED, I
get an okay stamp from ED, then I go
home happy saying that now at least I
will not fall into any trouble with ED.
Is there a provision you made? Madam,
shouldn't there be a provision for
common people?
Because a lot of so-called crimes that
you hear and you see on televisions are
not necessarily crimes. A lot of them
are are act done out of lack of
understanding, lack of knowledge and
lack of of of sheer good consultants.
Of course, lack of knowledge is not seen
as an exemption for law. I understand
that. But the fact remains at end of the
day the reality is so
I didn't know so I did it. Nobody told
me when I was doing it that I was doing
something wrong because my consultant
didn't tell me. I didn't hire the
world's best consultant or India's best
consultant pay him in crores. I didn't
do that. Therefore I got into trouble.
And now after all of this even
everything is done when the money is
come to me boom ED appears raids appear
I'm back. I'm going behind be I'm going
behind bars.
You tell me how are you going to make
people feel comfortable? Are you the
government of India and Mrs. Nirmala
Sitharaman saying that madam only rich
people super rich people you know the
the super businessmen uh whoever the
super businessmen only they have the
right to get FDI and and you know deal
with FDI and deal with foreign funds and
all that
because nobody dares to go and check
with them there'll be no raids that we
have ever heard of so that doesn't
happen to them but a common man one
error and you are you are tied up for
life.
Tied up for life. Writing to RBI and uh
and and facing the enforcement
directorate. Nightmares. Nightmares.
People die. Get into depression.
Get into depression. Businessmen have
committed suicide.
And you're still asking. I don't
understand where the reason is. Which is
what is surprising me. Ask a common man
what the reason is that common man madam
at times you know you should talk to
common people common human beings common
people in India MSMES who nobody bothers
about middle class who nobody bothers
about your government definitely doesn't
talk to those people and then maybe you
will get a solution and I'm telling you
this genuinely this is a very
constructive criticism that I offer you
madam
because this is reality people are
scared to go and take FDI. People are
scared to make money in India. People
are scared to to to be wealth creators
in India because unless and until you're
influential and you are super big,
creating of wealth
is dangerous. Nothing less than
dangerous in India.
Some compliance or another you get stuck
in some cases or another you get stuck
in. That's end of story for you. That's
end of peace for you.
This is reality. This is a fact. And
that is why most of the other countries
are having a better uh inflow and
outflow as far as FDI is concerned than
we have. Though like you rightly said in
paper, our economy is doing phenomenally
well.
But then that's paper.
I hope this reality dawns into our
country. I hope this reality dawns into
people who are taking decisions, who are
making decisions for us. I hope this
reality, this this this this agencies
that you've created that you've created
for possibly a lot of it for your own
political uh uh needs, these agencies
work as a friend to the businessman
rather than, you know, work as a foe.
Work as something that a businessman
dreads.)
Why should green-skilling be more than just a one-off workshop? post. It explores why green-skilling needs a proper curriculum and how INECC is working on modules that are structured, replicable, and rooted in real needs. https://www.instagram.com/p/DMNhdYdh3YP/?img_index=1
Rahul Gandhi Plays Judge & Jury As He Threatens To Jail Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma? India Upfront https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peMepojPNWw The Congress leader also threatened Himanta to put him in jail and said, "Even Modi can't save Himanta." Anchor says: The Congress party has built its entire narrative on crying foul, claiming the Modi government uses agencies like the ED, CBI to target opponents. They call it vendetta politics and cry about the death of democracy. But when Rahul Gandhi stands up and threatens to jail a sitting chief minister, where's the outrage from from their camp or the larger ecosystem? Suddenly the champions of love and fearlessness are all silent. Why? Because it's their person doing the threatening, the dump.
"What Rahul Gandhi G has clearly stated both inside and outside is that Chief
Minister Hima Vish Sharma and his family will pay for their corruption in the
future. People of Assam will see Chief Minister him Sharma in jail.
The people are determined to throw out this PJP government and the Himantab
Visha Sharma's government in 2026. Whatever Rahul Gandhi has predicted till
now everything has come in true. So it is a matter of time only him going to
the jail."
@geetaseshu https://x.com/geetaseshu/status/1945693919305662538 Post Now what brought this on @TISSpeak
? Another round of academic censorship? Deans of four major centres have been replaced, without any prior notice or reason.
Bihar’s SIR exercise is a threat to right to vote — across India https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ies2OcDnaFc Jul 16, 2025 Indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/yogendra-yadav-writes-bihars-sir-exercise-is-a-threat-to-right-to-vote-across-india-10126554/ While the relief signalled by the Supreme Court in its hearing on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar can only be welcomed, it carries a serious risk of distracting us from the real issue. Our focus may be diverted to the inclusion of Aadhaar, on revising the impossible timelines of this exercise and on the ground reality in Bihar. Once on the voters’ list, a name cannot be removed without the proper process. Finally, as Ornit Shani’s celebrated history How India Became Democratic shows, the making of universal franchise required the ECI to take unusual steps. Over the years, the ECI has gone out of its way to evolve protocols for the inclusion of “liminal” citizens who may have been left out in any routine, bureaucratic exercise: Nomadic communities, homeless persons, sex workers, transgender persons, orphans, undocumented citizens and non-resident Indians.
In this interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ies2OcDnaFc , Yogendra Yadav highlights the TDP's concern about the citizenship issue and the potential exclusion of disadvantaged communities. He argues that the revision threatens the universal adult franchise and the inclusive practices established over 75 years. Yogendra Yadav cites the "logic of encompassment" and the importance of substantive citizenship. He predicts the Election Commission will release favorable statistics and anticipates a Supreme Court hearing on July 25, 2023, which could impact the revision's future.
“Tourists go home”: Inside the angry protests on Spain’s holiday islands The Guardian https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWmwGnfOKVI Jul 15, 2025 CANARY ISLANDS
In scenes echoed across southern Europe, Spain’s Canary Islands are suffering from a crisis of too many tourists – 18 million are projected to visit in 2025.
On Tenerife, where tourism accounts for 35% of the economy and which draws the largest number of mostly British holidaymakers, it is tourists, not immigrants, who are seen as a threat to local identity. As protests across the Mediterranean continue, local people vent their anger at an exploitative, extractive and unsustainable tourism model. But is it still possible to change course, and are political leaders listening?
Atul S on Whatsapp :If the economy of these islands largely depends on tourism, then why are the local people then revolting against tourism ?
When the canary islands get 18m tourists annually, why are local residents becoming increasingly homeless and living out of their cars despite having a full-time job ?
Who is really benefiting from the mass tourism? These protestors are not against tourism, they are against a particular type of tourism (unfortunately the most widespread form) which benefits only corporations, government at the cost of local community, culture and environment.
Sustainable tourism, diversified economy, eco-friendly constructions is what they are asking for. More power to such citizen-led movements around the globe !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWmwGnfOKVI
Manas :One idea is to give tourism development in the hands of local specially formed community bodies. If not, the Municipal or panchayat bodies need to have special cells. The forests, parks, monuments, bazaars, and food will do better with local stewards. I have heard of another town in Spain, allowing only a set number of people entering. earlier they recorded 10000+per day, disrupting the locals everyday life and making amenities unaffordable. They now have curbed it to 800. Many tourism spots in India, especially in the hills are extremely vulnerable.
GAIA IS CALLING: LET'S RESTORE THE PLANET TOGETHER https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/gaia-calling-lets-restore-planet-together-rob-de-laet-pw94c/
https://www.coolingtheclimate.earth/
https://thedailyeye.info/in-the-news/trending-pride-combats-prejudice/4e08053d43c5b83a Khalid Mohamed In 2025, LGBTQIA+ representation in Indian cinema took diverse forms—from independent shorts by Shawn Gupta exploring same-gender intimacy to Anmol Sidhu’s powerful Punjabi feature Jaggi, and the docu-series In Transit created by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti. These narratives challenge societal norms and stereotypes, exploring the lives of queer and trans individuals through both fiction and nonfiction. As censorship battles persist and tokenism continues in commercial content, these films mark significant efforts toward visibility, inclusion, and dignity within the LGBTQ+ discourse.
From America, there have been The Children’s Hour (1961), The Fox (1967), and Staircase (1969), leading up to Brokeback Mountain (2005), which was acknowledged as a sensitive and believable rendition of the subject, earning as many as eight Oscar nominations.
In India, we’ve seen everything from the NFDC-funded Badnaam Basti (1971) to the exploitative Girl Friend (2004), and earlier, Deepa Mehta’s Fire (1996), which boldly debunked myriad taboos surrounding queer themes.
The American actor Richard Gere read a poem by the celebrated Palestinian poet and author Mahmoud Darwish, whose work articulated the struggles, exile and identity of the Palestinian people. Gere joins a wave of artists who have shown solidarity with Palestinians. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DI1shPCTieW/
Mamdani secured the most total votes in a primary in New York City’s history marks the culmination of a grassroots political project that began at least back in 2015, when the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) announced a “New Strategy for a New Era,” energized by the early days of Bernie Sanders’s first presidential run... - https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/zohran-mamdani-democratic-socialists-campaign-new-york-city-dsa
https://www.dsausa.org/blog/dsa_convention_new_strategy_for_a_new_era_dl/ The priorities included 1) building DSA and increasing public awareness of democratic socialism through grassroots work for Bernie Sanders (but independent of his official campaign); 2) implementing the approaches to organizing laid out in the strategy document; 3) increasing DSA involvement in local anti-racist coalitions; 4) electoral work to defeat the Right while building the Left and a stronger DSA; and 5) rethinking our organizing practices and structures to facilitate our longer-range strategy.
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