The Target Is India

The ‘exposé’ on the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and another one promised by a portal that has earned a dubious reputation for its alleged stings is evidence that India’s financial markets continue to face relentless assaults. While the merits of the LIC report are being discussed, the allegations are not dissimilar to those levelled against a leading corporate group in January 2023. The idea behind the insinuations and half-truths about key institutions like LIC and leading national banks is to create panic and distrust among individual and institutional investors.

The attackers realise that any instability in these institutions can cause severe pain to India’s economy. That millions of ordinary investors can end up being hurt by politically coloured reports is not of any consequence to those levelling the allegations. The Supreme Court scrutiny and a report by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) that did not find any wrongdoing on the part of the corporate calmed nerves and the view among investors seems to be that the latest allegations are of the same order.

The insidious aspect of the attacks on LIC is that the corporation is the repository of investments by millions of ordinary Indians and is the main provider of insurance policies that are more consumer-friendly than private insurers. The repeated attempts to shake public confidence in LIC can put the small investments and savings of millions at risk. It is not a coincidence that the allegations have surfaced again just as the reforms in GST have provided a boost to consumption and investment when India is bracing for the impact of punitive tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.

PAC Rulebook

Congress’ demand that allegations regarding LIC investments in a corporate giant on an alleged prod from the government be investigated by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is intriguing. For one, Congress leader KC Venugopal heads Parliament’s the PAC. Presumably, he doesn’t need to await clearance from anyone. However, the mandate of the PAC is clear. It takes up paragraphs of reports submitted by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. It rarely picks up other issues, that too on the basis of media reports. Finally, parliamentary committees are a microcosm of Parliament and NDA has an overwhelming majority on the committee.

Assam’s Tough Guy

With the Assam elections due in early 2026, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is working on several fronts to keep rivals at bay. Paying particular attention to law and order, Sarma has cracked down on the so-called Veer Lachit Sena, a self-styled ‘nationalist’ outfit which seems involved in cases of extortion and kidnapping. Sarma threatened the Sena would be banned for harming the state’s economic interests by targeting businesses. This follows Sarma taking a tough line on infiltrators from Bangladesh squatting on forest land.

Owaisi Unnerves RJD

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav’s hint that the mahagathbandhan might pick a Muslim as a deputy chief minister seems a reaction to jibes that the alliance takes the community for granted. Interestingly enough, RJD came under fire from both BJP and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on this count. They asked if RJD’s claims of representing the interests of the minority community run skin deep given that the mahagathbandhan named Vikassheel Insaan Party chief Mukesh Sahani as a prospective deputy chief minister though the Nishad population is much smaller than Muslim numbers. RJD’s reactions suggest the attacks have rattled the party.

Troublesome Sibling

The Kerala government’s decision to sign an MoU with the Centre to access funding under the PM-Shri schools programme means the state will implement the National Education Policy 2020. The decision was greeted with protests from CPM’s junior partner CPI and the Kerala government has decided to keep the implementation of PM-Shri in abeyance for now. But CPM doesn’t care much for sibling sentiments. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is aware CPI will never agree to the proposal and that ultimately the partner will lump it.

Briefing on Sindoor

UAE Army Chief Major General Yousef Maayouf Saeed al Hallami is the latest senior foreign military commander to be given a detailed briefing of Indian tactics and achievements during Operation Sindoor. Previously, army chiefs of UN Troops Contributing Nations were shown detailed before-and-after photographs of locations in Pakistan targeted during the May 7-10 conflict. The idea was to expose Pakistan’s claims that it suffered no substantial damage and to drive home the message on the need for concerted global action against terrorism.

Rained Out

The women’s cricket ODI World Cup has seen several matches played in Colombo being washed out by rain. Sri Lanka being the cohost with India, played many matches at home. Pakistan played all its matches in Colombo since the team could not travel to India. But the worst affected by rained-out matches was New Zealand that had to split points with Pakistan and Bangladesh. The scheduling is puzzling as the rains are hardly unexpected given that Colombo receives regular showers in October due to the retreating monsoon.