India’s Economic Growth Rate

India's economic growth has slumped to 7.3 percent in the first half of the current fiscal, substantially below the budgetary estimate. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth declined to 7.7 percent in the first quarter and it slumped further to 6.9 percent in July-September period. The economic growth was likely to be better in the second half of the current financial year. It is hoped that the country will be recovering some of the loss in our growth momentum and may end the year over 7.5 percent." The finance minister said the government was not in a position to boost growth through stimulus as it did during the global financial crisis in 2008-09.
Inflation Rate
Inflation has remained stubbornly high, near double digit, for the last two years despite an aggressive monetary tightening by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and claims of a series of fiscal measures by the government. Headline inflation based on the wholesale price index was recorded at 9.73 percent in October. However, food inflation has moderated in the recent week. It was recorded at 8 percent for the week ended Nov 19, according to the latest official figures.
Food inflation dropped to a four-month low of 8 per cent as on November 19, reflecting fall in prices of essential items like onions, potatoes and wheat giving relief to common man, while rates for rice and vegetables increased at a moderate pace.
Decline in food inflation may also give respite to the government which is facing heat from the Opposition on various issues, including the price rise. This is lowest since July 16 when it was 7.16 per cent.
The RBI raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 8.50 per cent and the reverse repo moved up by a similar percentage to 7.50 per cent in its last policy review in October. Repo is the short-term rate at which the RBI lends to banks, while reverse repo is the rate at which it gets funds from banks.
The central bank has hiked policy rates five times this fiscal. In the last one-and-a-half months alone, it has raised the key rate (repo) by 50 basis points.
Foreign Trade
India's exports grew by just 10.8 per cent to $19.8 billion in October, the lowest in the past two years, mainly due to the declining demand in the US and Europe. The growth rate has been the lowest since October, 2009, when it contracted by 6.6 per cent.
According to the Commerce Ministry data, imports grew at a faster rate of 21.7 per cent to $39.5 billion leaving a trade deficit of $19.6 billion, the highest ever in any month in the last four years, which is also due to expensive crude oils and vegetable oils.
From a peak of 82 per cent in July, export growth has slipped to 44.25 per cent in August, 36.36 per cent in September and 10.8 per cent in October.
In October, oil imports grew by 20.73 per cent to $10 billion, whereas the non-oil imports rose by 22 per cent to $29.4 billion over the year-ago period.
But, for the cumulative April-October period, exports aggregated to $179.7 billion showing a handsome growth of 45.9 per cent, thanks to sterling trend witnessed in the previous months of the current fiscal.

Judiciary in Pakistan

Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, had said that the judiciary can intervene if the institutions trespass their constitutional limits. Addressing a function in the Supreme Court on the occasion of commencement of the new judicial year, he said that the judiciary had taken oath to protect the constitution. Therefore, to check unconstitutional steps was within the obligations of the judiciary, he said.
He also said that the executive did not seem satisfied with the judicial verdicts against its unconstitutional acts. Another important point in the chief justice's speech was the issue of corruption in the lower courts and he said that corruption could not be controlled in spite of increasing salaries and other perks of the lower judges.
Constitutional Limits
If the speech of the chief justice is reviewed, three important points would come to the front. One, which determining the constitutional limits of the institutions is within the power of the judiciary. Two, the executive is not satisfied with the judicial decisions. Three, corruption is still prevalent in the subordinate courts. All these three matters are interconnected and the judiciary is at their center. This center has, in the past, preferred to keep a mum over the trespassing of constitutional limits by different institutions or even gave a pat on their back for doing so. However, the executive had also been demonstrating a headstrong behavior. Had the judiciary been meeting its obligation without any pressure right from the beginning, keeping the institutions within their limit, and making the executive subservient to its decisions, the law and justice would have remained supreme today. Unfortunately even the impartial circles have been raising fingers to the independence of the judiciary, particularly on occasions when courts had invented the doctrine of expediency for the sake of lending constitutional protection to those dislodging the democratic governments.
Today, the judiciary is mentioning its power of intervening if the institutions trespass their limits, but the question arises that why in the past it supported one institution, which repeatedly violated the constitution and winded up democracy in the country. It was due to this unconstitutional step of the judiciary that these institutions took the courage to trespass their constitutional limits. Now, the institutions have developed the habit of violating the constitution to the extent that after some court verdicts the talks of clash among the institutions are being made even at the public level.
It can be said that a revolutionary thinking has emerged after the superior courts' decision to declare the presidential ordinance of 3 November and imposition of emergency regulations. However, it is regrettable that the other institutions are not bringing themselves in consonance with this thinking. Their years' old habit of violating the constitution cannot be eliminated in days. Therefore, it is necessary that gradual reforms should be brought about in other institutions as well. Simultaneously, the supervision of constitutional limits of these institutions by the judiciary is also essential. If, God forbid, any attempt is made to wind up democracy and the judiciary fails to stop such an act, the trend of violating the constitutional limits by the institution can increase to dangerous proportions.
Fulfilling of Responsibility by Judges
The chief justice is correct that fulfilling of responsibility by the judges is essential for ensuring peace and stability, strengthening national integrity, and improving administrative affairs.
When, during the Second World War, a dreadful picture of the country's situation was drawn before former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said that if the courts delivered justice, there was nothing to worry.
Process of Dispensation
There is a need expedite the process of dispensation of justice to the common man. The increase in the perks of lower judiciary is not a burden. Rather it will further improve the dispensation of justice. The judiciary can also come into action according to the constitution to bring those institutions on the right path, which are proving hurdles in provision of justice.
Now, the time has come to redress the 64-year-long violations of the constitution by providing justice to people in every sphere of life. The matters about which the executive is violating the judicial decisions are directly linked with the people. One should hope that by making different institutions subservient to the constitution, the judiciary will become a cause of harmony, rather than confrontation, among the state institutions. On the other hand, by respecting the constitution, every institution can not only win over the public confidence but, as the chief justice has said, the objective of peace, national integrity, and stability can also be accomplished.

Yemen Becomes New Al-Qaida Terrorist Network Base

When US President Barack Obama had announced of his decision to send additional troops to Afghanistan, he thought he could stop the revival of the Taliban and Al-Qaida network base there. However, before President Obama could even come out with any plan to train up the Afghan security force and prepare the total US troop withdrawal in a year or two, Al-Qaida terrorist network has already established a new base in Yemen as a new global terrorist shelter.
Large-Scale Conflicts
Yemen has never been a peaceful nation. All along, the Yemini Government has failed to provide social security to people. Activities of the Shiite rebels and family-based private Armed Forces have continued to be a challenge to the Yemini Government. Moreover, Yemen is also a Muslim country with long history of association with the religious extremists.
Since the armed rebellion staged confrontation with the Yemini Government in 2004,the Yemeni Government forces and the rebels have engaged in five large-scale conflicts resulting in thousands of deaths and tens of thousands people displaced.
Al-Qaida Terrorist Network
Yemen and the extremist forces have long established a kind of bond. From the early period when the former Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, Yemen has already become a safe haven for the Taliban militants in Afghanistan. Before the 9/11 terrorist attack incident in the United States, there were a large number of Yemenis trained by Al-Qaida terrorist network in Afghanistan. According to the media reports, at least two terrorist suspects who were released from the US Guantanamo Bay prison have later on gone to Yemen. These two terrorist suspects have eventually become the senior commanders of Al-Qaida terrorist network base in Yemen. One of the two has become the mastermind behind the terrorist plot in attempting to blow up the Northwest Airline plane heading toward the US homeland during Christmas seasons but failed.
Yemen is a country dominated with mountain plateau with narrow flat land along the coastal zone only. Such geographical contour is a perfect place for terrorists to hide, but difficult for the government forces to launch attack.
Favorable Factors
Based on favorable factors such as timing, human resource and geographical condition in Yemen, it is difficult for Yemen not to be chosen by Al-Qaida terrorist network to be its new shelter in addition Afghanistan. In addition, after the United States invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, the US Government has suffered heavy losses in both the US economic and military resources. If the US Government intends to get involved in the counter-terrorism war in Yemen, it is easier said than done.
Nevertheless, we heard that after the foiled attempt by a religious extremist to blow up a Northwest Airline plane heading Detroit, the US Government has reached a secret agreement with the Yemeni Government to allow the US military to launch cruise missiles or use the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to hit at Al-Qaida terrorists hiding in Yemen.
Wave of Counter-Terrorism War
It seems to us that the Arabian Peninsula branch of Al-Qaida terrorist network has now moved beyond from creating regional threat to become one of the most active Al-Qaida terrorist network branch outside Pakistan and Afghanistan. It also seems to us that Al-Qaida terrorist network indeed has the ambition to stage global terrorist attacks again.
Before the United States can counter the current wave of terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan, another wave of counter-terrorism war will soon begin. Looking the counter-terrorism war from afar, it appears to us that the Obama administration that is already trapped in the quagmire of Afghanistan ,will have an extremely busy time ahead.