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Context is everything.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
A report released by the prime minister says the animals face multiple threats even as his government claims that all is well.
Editor's note: On Sunday, we were subjected to (or treated to, depending on your inclination) images of our prime minister in his boldest adventure gear yet. After his somewhat modest adventure-plus-statesman wardrobe in the appearances with Bear Grylls on the Discovery Channel and at the release of the African cheetahs, our leader went all out this time, sporting a camouflage-print T-shirt over a pair of khaki trousers along with a matching multi-pocket vest and hat (oddly reminiscent of the outdoor photos of another ultra masculine leader up north). The occasion was the celebration of 50 years of Project Tiger, the government of India programme for the conservation of the big cat. The project began with about 3,000 tigers in the wild, and now Prime Minister Modi has announced the latest estimate at 3,167 individuals. This is impressive, given the numbers had collapsed to 1,411 in 2006. The three-fold increase in 16 years is a creditable achievement. But the official statements and speeches—as well as the photographs—seem to convey the message that not only are India’s tigers doing well, we are global leaders …
Fiscal discipline holds on paper, but the number is propped up by higher borrowing and revenue sources that are far from stable.
It’s never a good sign when your foreign minister needs a lobbyist to meet US officials. The recent events signal a breakdown in the Modi government’s ability to operate in today’s Washington through its own machinery.
It is the logical consequence of foreign policy built on a decade of illusion rather than the realities of power. The question is whether anyone in the government has the courage to admit it.
