On 29 July 1969, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi delivered a speech in Lok Sabha on the nationalisation of 14 banks, saying the move was 'totally justified to ensure that hopes and aspirations of millions of our people are not sacrificed'.
There have always been questions over who controls cooperative banks in India, states or the Centre. The ordinance empowers RBI to intervene in failing banks.
With 40% of banks assets, or 32.4% of GDP, riding on this instrument alone, the debate about priority sector lending is not new. There is a new-found urgency to make it fit-for-purpose.
For an industry globally classified as hazardous, protections such as health insurance and a provident fund for workers are necessities. In Sivakasi, they remain elusive.
The industry forecasts exports are set to grow 16% in 2025-26, boosted by surplus domestic production and a drive to push into 26 underserved global markets with strong potential.
Indigenisation level will progressively increase up to 60 percent with key sub-assemblies, electronics and mechanical parts being manufactured locally.
It is a brilliant, reasonably priced, and mostly homemade aircraft with a stellar safety record; only two crashes in 24 years since its first flight. But its crash is a moment of introspection.
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