An India-China Enterprise

In the nine years since its inception was greeted with scepticism and even derision, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has not only survived but thrived. The bank’s lending has crossed $60 billion, not a sum to be sneezed at, and even more importantly it has emerged as a non-partisan lending institution where India and China work in surprising synergy despite the upheavals in their bilateral ties before and after the Galwan clashes of 2020. The Indian interest in AIIB received a boost with the appointment of Ajay Bhushan Pandey, former finance secretary and former head of the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA), as vice president, investment solutions, about four months ago. AIIB’s current lending to Indian projects, both government and private, is $1.8 billion a year and Pandey sees room for considerable growth. The AIIB official was back in India this week to meet industry and told a gathering that the bank is not only willing to lend to private players but its backing is also seen as a badge of trust and diligence. Pandey met officials at the finance, power and water ministries and explained the opportunities AIIB can offer as it defines infrastructure in a wide context. A former IAS officer from the Maharashtra cadre, Pandey held meetings in Mumbai as well and met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The staff at the bank’s office in Beijing are drawn from various nationalities with a fair representation of Indians. Unlike the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), India has a substantial role in AIIB as its second biggest shareholder. At a time when US President Donald Trump’s attitude towards India can best be described as ‘mixed’, it makes geopolitical sense to balance ties with China despite Beijing underwriting Pakistan’s military.

Pausing Partisan Politics

The five-10 minutes before Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha begins business, either in the morning, after a lunch break or after an adjournment, are a relaxed period belying the heated exchanges that follow. It is a time for casual discussions across the aisle. On Monday, July 28, when demands for a discussion on the Election Commission’s voter roll update in Bihar stalled debate on Operation Sindoor, BJP’s D Purandeswari and DMK’s Kanimozhi found time to catch up. Purandeswari, a daughter of NT Rama Rao and BJP MP from Rajahmundry, walked over to Kanimozhi’s seat and the two clearly had a few things to talk about.

Akali Dilemma

While some MPs choose to mingle, some like SAD’s Harsimrat Kaur Badal keep to themselves. The feisty MP, the sole SAD representative in Lok Sabha, occupies a middle row in the House almost equidistant from Congress and BJP benches. Although not part of NDA since September 2020, and a patch-up proving elusive, the Akalis are not quite at ease with the opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc. Despite a perceived decline in AAP’s standing in Punjab, there is no evidence of a revival of Akali fortunes. While their differences persist, BJP and the Akalis have had a durable partnership that lasted decades.

Naidu Stays below the Radar

It is not easy to keep a low profile in parliament as moving between chambers or from an office to a committee room requires traversing corridors that usually have a sprinkling of journalists. But civil aviation minister K Ram Mohan Naidu has managed just that. He has hardly been seen, having successfully avoided any chance encounters. In the wake of reports in the us media about the alleged role of the pilots of the ill-fated air India 171 and clarifications by the directorate general of civil aviation, Naidu’s views on the matter are keenly sought. So far, the YDP leader has kept himself below the radar.

A Thumbs-Up for Jaishankar

Did Indian foreign policy succeed after Operation Sindoor? This has been a subject of discussion in the Lutyens’ zone, with some commentators feeling that the ministry should be manned by a ‘political’ person rather than a former bureaucrat. This happened when Home Minister Amit Shah chided the Opposition for interrupting External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, asking whether they trusted unverified accounts rather than what a minister who has sworn his oath to the Constitution was telling Parliament.

Sound of Silence

Politics is a remorseless profession and 74-year-old former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar might be discovering the pitfalls of being out of office. A week after his resignation sent New Delhi’s political grapevine into an overdrive, there is hardly a mention of him, with parties and leaders moving on to more current affairs. Opposition parties did not see much merit in pursuing the matter beyond taking a few potshots at BJP. Even within the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, apart from Congress, no other party was particularly concerned. There was hardly a mention of Dhankhar’s resignation at meetings of Rajya Sabha’s Business Advisory Committee convened by Deputy Chairperson Harivansh Narayan Singh.

Quick Thinking

It was supposed to be a trick question, but Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was already an experienced MP before he became Madhya Pradesh’s chief minister. Congress leader Manickam Tagore’s query whether there is data to support that the government has achieved its goal of doubling farmer incomes was met with a lengthy answer on initiatives taken for small and medium farmers and landless tillers and an assertion that MSP has doubled. “It can be said,” said Chouhan, “that in many cases farmer incomes have more than doubled.” A survivor of many political battles, Chouhan knows how to pick his way through a political minefield.

AIIBAjay Bhushan PandeyBJPD PurandeswariDMKK Ram Mohan NaiduKanimozhi. Harsimrat Kaur BadalS Jaishankar. Jagdeep DhankharShivraj Singh Chouhan