BHAGIRATH THE SANDMAN: dire consequences of indiscriminate sand mining on rivers, people and our future. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frI__5cpQKs 

'BJP to win 400 seats in 2024 Lok Sabha elections if...': Congress's Sam Pitroda's warning https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/bjp-to-win-400-seats-in-2024-lok-sabha-elections-if-congresss-sam-pitrodas-warning-101703755771074.html     Vaibhav Tiwari Dec 28, 2023 ..

the main recommendation of a former Supreme Court judge Madan Lokur-chaired NGO was to change the current design of the VVPAT system.  I feel there is a trust deficit based on this report. And, the Election Commission must respond to rebuild the trust,"

क्या भारत में होने वाली है तेल की किल्लत, सरकार की कौनसी चूक पड़ सकती है भारी KnockingNews   https://youtu.be/8Qfl-dav9vo?t=105 

Payment woes delay supply of Russian Sokol oil to India -sources By Nidhi Verma https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/payment-woes-delay-supply-russian-sokol-oil-india-sources-2023-12-26/ December 27, 2023  Shipments of Russian Sokol crude oil to Indian Oil Corp (IOC.NS) have been delayed by payment problems, forcing India's biggest refiner to draw from its inventories and buy more oil from the Middle East.. IOC's payments for Sokol oil have been hampered because Sakhalin-1 LLC has been unable to open an account with a bank in the UAE to accept dirham payments

 Who Will We Be After the War in Gaza Is Over https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2023-12-26/ty-article-opinion/.premium/who-will-we-be-after-the-war-in-gaza-is-over/0000018c-a2ac-d97c-a9ec-beef345c0000 

Long before the accursed Shabbat we were at the height of a culture war that the government declared against anything that radiates humanist and universal values, while enforcing an ultranationalist and religious agenda. After October 7 it seemed for a moment that these battles were suspended, because after all, only "Together We Will Win," right? Well, no. The spread of these festering wounds has only been accelerated under the sponsorship of the disaster and the war.

It pounds on our temples and rages in our bellies. Who will we be after the war? Will there be a place here after the war for anyone who still believes, like Shaul Tchernichovsky, "In man, in his spirit, a strong spirit," who insists that in the future "It will bring peace. And a blessing from nation to nation"? Will as Natan Alterman promised, the melody that we abandoned in vain return?
Is it true, as in Lea Goldberg's scorching question, that "days of forgiveness and mercy shall return?"

आगे बढ़ता लाँग मॉर्च, 11वां दिन, 17 दिसम्बर 2023  Voice of Farmer Movement https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwLWpuWLYAI

Reliance Communications previously owned by Anil Ambani with an outstanding debt of Rs. 47,251 cr has been taken over by Reliance Projects & Property Managment Services Ltd wholey owned subsidary of Mukesh Ambani through Insolvency & Bankruptcy Board process at the cost 455.92 cr which is less than 1% of total debt. Insolvency & Bankruptcy process is being claimed as game changer for recovering bank dues but in effect has proved to be escape route for corporates who are looting the banks. - Devidas Tuljapurkar

  India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy Perspectives and Recommendations on the Future of Work   https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2022-06/25th_June_Final_Report_27062022.pdf

From Whatsapp Univeristy: At Nahoums, New Market, Kolkata on Christmas Eve.This possibly is the only place in the world where the Hindus stand in the queue to buy Christmas cakes from a Jewish bakery made by Muslim chefs to celebrate a Christian festival.

ANI does this story as a Story of Jewish Entrepreneurship https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/christmas-2023-thousands-queue-up-at-121-year-old-iconic-jewish-bakery-shop-in-kolkata20231225231919/

: https://www.etvbharat.com/bengali/west-bengal/state/kolkata/cause-of-war-owner-of-nahoums-in-kolkata-is-in-israel-long-lines-of-customers-before-christmas/wb20231219170709856856050  (In Bengali )  Nahoum and Sons in Hogg Market: Kolkata's Nahoums and Sons bakery owner Isaac is caught in the war. Long lines of buyers in the shop before Christmas. He is inquiring about birthday cake business from the employees over the phone.

For many Kolkatans, a visit to Nahoum and Sons — the Jewish confectionery in the heart of New Market — on the brink of Christmas is an annual tradition. In the week before Christmas, the shop sees a stream of people, often coming from far away, queueing up outside its doors for hours for their festive fare. The queue often stretches all the way to the flower shops at the tail-end of the market.

https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/christmas-2023-thousands-queue-up-at-121-year-old-iconic-jewish-bakery-shop-in-kolkata20231225231919/

Strange to hear the privileged complain about feeling miserable and persecuted while the silence of those grappling with poverty and unemployment goes unnoticed.

https://thewire.in/society/the-choreographed-misery-of-the-powerful This recent unity of misery and insult among India’s privileged and powerful coupled with a media split between two hostile groups to speak for each side is a new phenomena in a surreal time. And it is overtaking most of the available media space leaving little to no informed and informative discussion on the economy and climate change issues.

Several major Bills became laws passed by the House, while 143 opposition MPs stood expelled. They were charged with indulging in unparliamentary acts because they were demanding that the Union Home Minister give a statement on the serious security lapses that resulted in an attack by mavericks inside the parliament. While the entire media ran with this story, a gut wrenching story about the mass burial of 87 Kukis killed in Manipur – with the youngest victim being a month-old baby – was relegated to the inside pages or just ignored. 

The evolution of our corporate landscape (and that includes the media also) and work being redefined is a story hardly ever highlighted. Not loyalty but flexibility is the flavour of the season. Recruitment agency (CIEL HR) reports 55% of organizations surveyed across sectors are now engaging gig workers and companies have said that they are going to hire more gig workers who are flexible, scale their workforce as required in an atmosphere where project demands are changing swiftly and workloads keep fluctuating. As a result, fresh formal job creation has dipped to a seven-month low in October according to Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) data while gig freelancers’ earnings have grown by 294% according to gig platform Pick My Work. 

by Mrinal Pande

24/12/2023