[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”E-Edition” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” google_fonts=”font_family:Istok%20Web%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theindianpanorama.news%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F03%2FTIP-March-17-E-Edition.pdf”][vc_single_image image=”140077″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/TIP-March-17-E-Edition.pdf”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Lead Stories This Week” google_fonts=”font_family:Istok%20Web%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theindianpanorama.news%2F”][vc_wp_posts number=”5″ show_date=”1″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”82828″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/advertising-media-kit-portal-indian-panorama/”][vc_single_image image=”82829″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/advertising-media-kit-portal-indian-panorama/”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Tag: Health
Read the latest health news, diet, fitness, medical news and healthcare tips on theindianpanorama.news/health. Get all the healthcare news, including wellness, fitness, diet and weight loss & more.
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Joe Biden to urge 25% billionaire tax, levies on rich investors
President Joe Biden is proposing a series of new tax increases on billionaires, rich investors and corporations in his latest proposal for how Congress should prioritize taxes and spending.
Biden’s budget request to Congress, which is slated to be released Thursday, calls for a 25% minimum tax on billionaires, according to a White House official familiar with the proposal who declined to be named because the plan is not yet public. The plan would also nearly double the capital gains tax rate for investment to 39.6% from 20% and raise income levies on corporations and wealthy Americans.
The proposal, which is largely a reprise of Biden’s multi-trillion dollar Build Back Better economic package, has little chance of passing Congress, particularly now that Republicans control the House of Representatives. Biden was unable to pass similar tax increases when Democrats enjoyed control of both chambers of Congress, instead settling for slimmed down legislation focusing on energy and health policy known as the Inflation Redution Act.
But the White House’s proposal foreshadows both Democrats’ strategy ahead of high-stakes negotiations over the debt ceiling and government spending later this year, as well as the economic platform underpinning an expected Biden reelection campaign. Administration officials argue that the proposals show a commitment to cutting the deficit — projecting that Biden’s budget would slash $3 trillion largely through increased revenues over the next decade — and represent a politically popular return to tax levels in place before former President Donald Trump’s tax reform legislation. Taxes on the wealthy and large corporations have been a rallying cry for progressives for years and polls repeatedly show they are favored by a majority of Americans.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy immediately dismissed Biden’s plans to increase levies, telling reporters Wednesday “I do not believe raising taxes is the answer.”
The Biden proposal would require that the richest 0.01% of Americans pay at least a 25% tax rate. It would also increase the top tax rate for Americans making $400,000 to 39.6% from 37%, reversing one of Trump’s tax cuts — though tax rates for those making below that amount would remain untouched. It additionally calls for investors making at least $1 million to pay that 39.6% on their long-term investments, which are currently taxed at a 20% rate. The proposal would increase the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21%, undoing another signature Trump tax change. It would also eliminate a loophole that business owners and higher-earners can exploit to avoid paying levies for the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund on more of their income. White House officials so far have not indicated that Biden’s budget includes new Social Security payroll taxes on wages above $400,000, which some Democrats have proposed to shore up the program.
Biden is also calling for an end to valuable industry-specific tax breaks for private equity fund managers, oil companies, as well as investors in crypto and real estate, in his upcoming budget proposal, according to a summary of the plan. Eliminating these would upend the economics of many real estate and investment-fund deals — forcing Wall Street to reinvent the way that many transactions have been done for decades — if they were to become law. Source: Bloomberg -
NJS WITH XIAN ZHANG IGNITES CELEBRATING THE YEAR OF THE RABBIT
- By Mabel Pais
The New Jersey Symphony (njsymphony.org) for the fifth time presents Music Director Xian Zhang igniting the annual Lunar New Year. This festive family-friendly evening of cultural exchange will celebrate the Year of the Rabbit.
The performance takes place on January 21 at 7:30 pm at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark.
The evening is one of Music Director Xian Zhang’s most inspired projects. Shortly after becoming music director of the New Jersey Symphony in 2016, Zhang launched this popular celebration to share cultural traditions from across the globe. Zhang will be ringing in the New Year alongside conductor Tong Chen. Chen, is in her second season as the New Jersey Symphony’s assistant conductor; she is also music director of the Yonkers Philharmonic Orchestra.
Featured in this year’s event will be pianist Chelsea Guo and violinist Nancy Zhou, two rising stars who recently received glowing reviews for their performances in the New Jersey Symphony’s “East/West: A Symphonic Celebration” concert at New York City’s Alice Tully Hall, featuring music by Qigang Chen and Jiping Zhao, composers also represented on this program.
This performance will feature the world premiere of James Ra’s Fantasia on SaeTaryeong performed by Min Kwon. Kwon is a Korean-American pianist and professor of piano at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts.
The evening will include performances from the Peking University Alumni Chorus, Starry Arts Group Children’s Chorus, and the Edison Chinese School Lion Dance Team. Prior to the performance, the Symphony is hosting a Gala fundraiser, beginning at 4:30pm. Gala guests will enjoy a pre-concert reception and festivities with featured artists followed by an elegant gala dinner. For information on Lunar New Year events available at njsymphony.org/lnygala
Watch the preview – fb.watch/hUFvOrzuIY
PROGRAM
2023 Lunar New Year Celebration
Saturday, January 21, 7:30 pm | New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark
Xian Zhang conductor
Tong Chen conductor
Nancy Zhou violin
Chelsea Guo piano
Min Kwon piano
Peking University Alumni Chorus
Starry Arts Group Children’s Chorus Rebecca Shen, Director
Edison Chinese School Lion Dance Team
New Jersey Symphony
Li Huanzhi Spring Festival Overture
Zhao Jiping Violin Concerto No. 1
James Ra SaeTaryung for Piano and Orchestra
Chen Qigang Er Huang
Bizet “Choeur des gamins” from Carmen
Traditional (arr. Liu) Di Li, Di Li
Li Shutong (arr. Hersh) Farewell at Long Pavilion
Sartori (arr. Hersh) Con tepartirò
TICKETS
For Tickets, call 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476) or visit njsymphony.org.
HEALTHY SAFETY POLICY
All New Jersey Symphony performances follow safety measures in partnership with the venues and based on the guidance provided by the CDC and the State of New Jersey.
New Jersey Symphony
The Emmy and Grammy Award-winning New Jersey Symphony, celebrating its Centennial Season in 2022–23, is redefining what it means to be a nationally leading, relevant orchestra in the 21st century. The centennial season opened in October and will conclude in June 2023. For more information about the New Jersey Symphony visit njsymphony.org or email information@njsymphony.org.
Connect with NJS:
Website: njsymphony.org
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok: @NJSymphony on
YouTube: @NewJerseySymphony
Email: information@njsymphony.org
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NAI NI CHEN CELEBRATES LUNAR NEW YEAR AT NJPAC
Chinese-Dragon dance. (Credit: Courtesy, NJPAC.) By Mabel Pais
The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company begins its annual celebration of the Lunar New Year in the Year of the Rabbit. This year’s presentation is the Black Water Rabbit with the world premiere of Lion in The City featuring hip-hop break-dancing legends Kwikstep and Rokafella. Kwikstep, founder of the Full Circle Breaking Crew and a mentor to some of the best break dancers in the U.S. and Rokafella, one of the most iconic b-girls in hip-hop history will take to the stage with Nai Ni Chen on Saturday, January 21 and Sunday January 22 at 2pm.
A Newark tradition for over two decades, Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company returns to NJPAC to welcome the coming Spring of 2023, the Year of the Black Water Rabbit. This year, to honor the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop, the Company will present the New Jersey Premiere of Dragon Cypher, a work developed by Nai-Ni Chen, Rokafella, and Kwikstep, collaboratively, integrating Chinese dance, contemporary choreography, and Hip-Hop Dance. It’s a spectacular experience for all ages, combining traditional Chinese celebrations with a modern flair. The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company has assembled a cross-cultural team consisting of the Company’s Director of New and Contemporary Dance, PeiJu Chien- Pott, assisted by H+ | The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory’s Yvonne H. Chow, Lion Dance Master Henry Lee, and Hip-Hop break-dancing legends Kwikstep and Rokafella. DJ Kwikstep will develop new music incorporating the unique rhythms of Chinese Lion Dance drumming and Hip-Hop. At the same time, Rokafella works with the team to uniquely translate Hip-Hop Dance vocabulary onto the body of the lion. As Yvonne and PeiJu oversee the integration of all elements, welcome a Red Lion dance to a mix of Chinese drums and Hip-Hop rhythms. Besides these two new cross-cultural works, the Company also presents the Yungge (Harvest Song) and Peacock Dance from its traditional dance repertory and one of Nai-Ni Chen’s signature works, Movable Figures, from the Company’s contemporary dance repertoire.
Hip-Hop Break dance. (Credit: Courtesy, NJPAC.) The Lunar New Year of the Rabbit performance is only complete with authentic Chinese Classical music performance by the Chinese Music Ensemble of New York and the spectacular Dragon Dance. The audience will be blessed by the visitation of the Dragon, bringing good luck and fortune to every attendee of this celebration.
The Company will also showcase a contemporary dance work, Ashes of A Dead Frog, choreographed by legendary Polish Choreographer Jacek Luminski and commissioned by Nai-Ni Chen almost a decade ago. Guest artists from the Chinese Music Ensemble of New York will provide traditional and contemporary music on classical and folk Chinese instruments.
The Company Dancers, acrobats, and musicians perform in festive costumes in red, gold, blue, and purple colors symbolizing their prayer for a peaceful and harmonious New Year with plenty of prosperity and good fortune for everyone to enjoy and share.
TICKETS
For Tickets to see Nai-Ni Chen featuring break dancing legends Kwikstep and Rokafella, visit NJPAC.org or the NJPAC Box Office or call 888. GO.NJPAC (888.466.5722).
Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company
Learn more at nainichen.org
PeiJu Chien-Pott
To learn more, visit peijucpresents.com/peiju-chien-pott
Full Circle Souljahs
Learn more at fullcirclesouljahs.com
Yvonne Huatin Chow
For more information, visit linkedin.com › in › yvonnehchow
Follow NJPAC Online:
Website: njpac.org or 888.GO.NJPAC (888.466.5722)
Twitter: @NJPAC
Instagram: @NJPAC
Hashtag: #NJPAC
Facebook: facebook.com/NJPAC
YouTube: NJPACtv
Follow NJPAC’s Standing in Solidarity Series Online:
Website: njpac.org/takeastand
Hashtag: #NJPACTakeAStand
Youtube: Standing in Solidarity playlist
Mabel Pais writes on The Arts and Entertainment, Social Issues, Health & Wellness, Cuisine and Spirituality.
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AT THE APOLLO -UPTOWN HALL: MLK- BLUEPRINT FOR THE CULTURE
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Photo credit: apollotheater.org) - By Mabel Pais
Event Date: January 15, 2023
Event Time: 3:00 PM EST
Location: Apollo’s Historic Theater, 253 West 125th Street New York, NY
Tickets: Tickets are free, but RSVP is required
UPTOWN HALL: MLK- BLUEPRINT FOR THE CULTURE
PRESENTED BY WNYC & THE APOLLO
The 17th annual Apollo Uptown Hall MLK celebration focuses on Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement of the 60’s as the template for modern social and civil justice movements. This year is a celebration of young people impacting society through activism, engagement, and a commitment to justice.
The Apollo has a decades-long tradition of serving as a convener for local community residents as well as people from across New York City. That tradition continues as the Apollo partners with WNYC in its annual celebration of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his enduring legacy on the culture. WNYC’s ‘Notes from America’ host, Kai Wright moderates the first hour of this year’s celebration followed by music, spoken word and other forms of creative expressions with WQXR’s Terrance McKnight. Learn more at apollotheater.org/event/uptown-hall-mlk-blueprint-for-the-culture
Following the in-person program, Celebrate MLK’s National Day of Service with an inspiring panel on the Apollo Digital Stage featuring a discussion on the pivotal role of young voices affecting change within their communities, curated by the Apollo Young Producers.
APOLLO YOUNG PRODUCERS PRESENTS: YOUNG CHANGEMAKERS
Apollo Young Producers – left to right: Tania Maree Giordani, Natalie Hernandez, Luis Jonathan Hernandez, Deja Foxx. (Photo credit: apollotheater.org) Event Date: January 15, 2023
Event Time: 5:00 PM EST
Location: Apollo Digital Stage
Tickets: Free, but RSVP is required
A Virtual Event
PANEL DISCUSSION
Watch the Apollo Digital Stage, a virtual event celebrating Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the National Day of Service. Curated by the Apollo Young Producers, a dynamic group of alumni from the Apollo’s high school and college programs, this inspiring panel discussion highlights emerging activists and community leaders as they tackle gun violence, reproductive rights, and the need for holistic community care. Explore how young people can harness their unique talents to affect change and better serve their communities. Meet them on the Apollo Digital Stage to share resources, find support, and discuss experiences with the leaders of tomorrow.
‘MLK: Young Changemakers’ is a continuation of the Apollo’s 2022-2023 season, ‘The Next Movement,’ an exploration of what’s new, now and next in music, dance, art and ideas.
FEATURING PANELISTS
Luis Jonathan Hernandez, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Youth Over Guns
Deja Foxx, Activist, Founder of GenZ Girl Gang, Co-Founder El Rio RHAP
Tania Maree Giordani, Founder and Director at NourishNYC
Natalie Hernandez, Moderator
To learn more about each “changemaker” panelist, visit apollotheater.org/event/apollo-young-producers-presents-young-changemakers-2023/
HOW TO WATCH
Apollo Digital Stage
Facebook
Youtube
HEALTH SAFETY PROTOCOLS
For the safety of the artists, audiences and staff, face coverings are optional but encouraged for all attendees while inside the theater. For more information about the Apollo’s COVID safety policies, visit apollotheater.org/covid-19.
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JCC WELCOMES YOU TO NEW YEAR FITNESS FAIR
By Mabel Pais
Fitness Class. (Photo credit/JCC) WHEN: Sunday, January 8, 2023 from 10:30 AM to 4:30 PM
WHERE: Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan at 334 Amsterdam Avenue (at 76th Street)
WHAT: Hundreds of New Yorkers will kick off the new year with 20+ free fitness and wellness classes, offered in person and online, including Yoga for Bone Health, Dance Fitness, Nia Rockin’ New Year’s Jam, Self Defense, Tai Chi & Qi Gong, Zentangle, a salsa dance soiree and wine tasting to close the day, and more.
BENEFITS:
In addition to the day-long festivities, the JCC will offer a discount to Health Club membership for those who register during the event, along with discounts on personal training and massage. “We are delighted to welcome the community through our doors for this special annual event,” said Melissa Donovan, Chief Operating Officer, Health & Wellness of MMJCCM. “It’s vitally important that people have opportunities to connect with caring communities, vibrant programs, and evidence-based information on their wellness journey. The new year is a moment of reboot for many people, resolutions or not, and we love sharing a sampling of the wonderful classes and expertise that you can expect from the JCC year-round.”
PRE-REGISTRATION:
To pre-register and for more information, visit mmjccm.org/newyears.
WHO: Hundreds of New Yorkers who want to start the new year with a focus on getting and staying fit and healthy.
HEALTH SAFETY PROTOCOLS
For updated health safety protocols, visit mmjccm.org/about/policies-practices#covid
THE MARLENE MEYERSON JCC MANHATTAN (MMJCCM):
Together with its community, the MMJCCM creates opportunities for people to connect, grow, and learn within an ever-changing landscape. Located on 76th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, the JCC is a vibrant non-profit community center on the Upper West Side. It also presents a robust slate of virtual programming, serving an even wider community. The JCC serves over 55,000 people annually through 1,200 programs each season that educate, inspire, and transform participants’ minds, bodies, and spirits. Throughout COVID-19, the JCC has pivoted to meet the community online, exceeding 102,000 registrations to over 3,000 virtual classes and programs in the earliest part of the pandemic. Since its inception, the JCC has been committed to serving the community by offering programs, classes, and events that extend beyond neighborhood boundaries, reaching people at all stages of their lives. Learn more at mmjccm.org
(Mabel Pais writes on Social Issues, Health & Wellness, The Arts and Entertainment, Cuisine and Spirituality)
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Europe’s wars inseparable from profiteering
As the demand for guns surges, profit too skyrockets with the sale of every weapon or machine. Thus, the enterprise of military hardware production and sale becomes too tempting and lucrative to be eschewed, as after a long gap a ‘real’ war has come to European soil, where big-buck investments and astronomical profits are being made. Shortage of food facilitates profiteering too.
“The prolonged Russia-Ukraine war lays bare the stark reality that even an immoral war is good for the moral and ethical health of the West because through wreckage, blood, sweat and tears of widows, destitute and orphans emerge countless opportunities for wealth creation and open plunder by merchants and middlemen. Shortage of food facilitates profiteering too, the way it happened in the 1943 Great Bengal famine, killing 3 million people amid the World War II inflicted by Europe on the world.”
By Abhijit Bhattacharyya On the eve of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February last year, UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace had exclaimed, “The Scots Guards kicked the backside of Tsar Nicholas I in the 1853 Crimea War and we can always do it again,” comparing the 21st-century Russia-Ukraine conflict with the 19th-century war. The Tsar had been pitted against the combined might of England, France and the Ottoman Empire. The Russian defeat of yore and the lack of an international ally were sarcastically invoked to draw a parallel and warn Moscow to watch out for history repeating itself.
What the British Defense Secretary said was neither unsurprising nor unique. War has always had a macabre fascination for Europe. The gory combats and their inglorious consequences have been used to portray the grandeur of the warring West. Most of Europe’s eminent and enlightened scholars, intellectuals and philosophers have been fascinated with, and have spoken eloquently on, the importance of power, war and violence.
Machiavelli pointedly stated, “All armed prophets have conquered and unarmed ones failed.” To him, war, power and hypocrisy are connected. For Thomas Hobbes, conflict emerges from the impulse of self-preservation, thereby making life a “war of all against all” and resulting in it being “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short”. The views of Jean-Jacques Rousseau on the power of the state influenced global politics. His ‘Discourse on Inequality’, according to Voltaire, was “against the human race”. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel unabashedly admired Napoleonic wars and thought that it was a good thing to have wars from time to time. In all these expressions of the European mindset, one thing is clear. There is an element of axiomatic intellectual honesty about justifying, propounding or defending political dishonesty which appears preferable to the hypocrisy of depicting political polemics as an honest and noble enterprise. In this context, the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war lays bare the stark reality that even an immoral war is good for the moral and ethical health of the West because through wreckage, blood, sweat and tears of widows, destitute and orphans emerge countless opportunities for wealth creation and open plunder by merchants and middlemen. Shortage of food facilitates profiteering too, the way it happened in the 1943 Great Bengal famine, killing 3 million people amid the World War II inflicted by Europe on the world.
As the demand for guns surges, profit too skyrockets with the sale of every weapon or machine. Thus, the enterprise of military hardware production and sale becomes too tempting and lucrative to be eschewed, as after a long gap a ‘real’ war has come to European soil, where big-buck investments and astronomical profits are being made.
Further, if the war is between powerful belligerents, soaring profit is guaranteed because both possess the wherewithal to sustain a protracted conflict. In contrast, smaller wars in Third World countries reduce profitability as they are less destructive. Thus, the end of the 20-year-old Afghan war in August 2021 inflicted huge losses on arms and ammunition manufacturers. Undoubtedly, Russia is in the wrong. And the criticism thereof is justified. Nevertheless, Russian wrongs also raise a question. Why is Moscow pursuing this seemingly irreversible, hostile path? Although one-third of the answer was given by the British Defense Secretary with his comment on the 1853 Crimea War, it nevertheless leaves two-thirds unanswered, which lies in what happened in the 1810s and the 1940s.
Russia saved the entire West from being annihilated by two European scourges of mankind (Napoleon and Hitler) in successive centuries. Indeed, it crushed the bloodthirsty Napoleon’s ‘Grand Armee’ in the battles of Borodino (September 1812) and Leipzig (October 1813) much before the Duke of Wellington’s victory over a weakened French army at Waterloo in June 1815. From the Napoleonic wars to the two World Wars and from the Balkanization of the 1990s to the present Ukraine war — all constitute intra-Europe conflicts, like ceaseless continental civil wars. And yet, the non-European world was inexorably dragged into these internecine disputes, thereby giving Europe pole position in world affairs.
So, what’s next for the Russia-Ukraine war? Is a solution possible? Or will it again drag the entire Europe and the rest of the world into another Armageddon? Just hear the Europeans themselves on the “war within”, because “Europe is united” and yet “Europe is not united”. Europe is distressed because war fatigue and economic downturn have already gripped virtually every nook and corner of it. Hence, Deutsch Bank warns of the peril in borrowing from US banks and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel admits that the Cold War never ended. French President Emmanuel Macron is being berated for repeatedly calling for considering Russia’s legitimate security guarantee owing to NATO expansion in Russia’s neighborhood.
The French certainly know best, owing to the post-World War I Versailles Treaty’s monumental folly of humiliating the defeated Germany, thereby sowing the seeds of World War II. Criticism of the US came from top EU diplomat Josep Borrell: “Americans, our friend, take decisions which have economic impact on us.” The EU has also accused Washington of profiting/profiteering from the Ukraine war. A more serious matter, however, is the growing intra-Europe conflict between Serbia and Kosovo. Serbia (former Yugoslavia) was attacked by the NATO and broken into seven pieces in the 1990s. Hence, Serbia, like Russia, is smarting and eyeing revenge.
Indeed, there’s a real possibility of two simultaneous Balkan wars as the region is the ‘tinderbox’ of Europe where issues related to ethnic minorities have repeatedly triggered conflicts. Altogether, the possibility of the Russia-Ukraine conflict raising the stakes higher will only smoothen matters further for the profiteering brigade to make mega bucks from the sale of military merchandise.
( Abhijit Bhattacharya is an author and columnist)
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Ukraine War, Chinese Protest, Imran Khan’s Ouster; top global Events in 2022
The year 2022 has been a tumultuous one, with many uprisings, new faces coming to prominence and dictators losing hold of power. It has been a year of economic shockers, from the West to the East. Needless to say, it has been a year of clashes and of new alliances.
This year saw a significant rise of leaders like Ukraine President Zelensky, French President Macron and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. On the other hand, prominent international leaders, considered to have clout, including former US President Trump and Brazilian President Bolsonaro lost their power.
There were several prominent events which shaped 2022 in their own ways. To name a few, the Ukraine War, Sri Lankan Economic crisis and the unprecedented protests in China defined the year in their unusual ways.
UKRAINE WAR
The Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began earlier this year in February, has entered its 300th day this month, proving to be a tough challenge for both Russia and Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who began a blitzkrieg assault on Kyiv taking over the eastern and southern part of the country, is now facing challenge to keep the war going amid reports of ailing health and internal strife.
So far, over 100,000 Russian and 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or injured in the war in Ukraine. For the Ukrainians, this winter is going to be tough with Russian attacks on Ukrainian power plans and consecutive Russian missile attacks. However, the war has shaped the hero out of Ukraine’s President Zelensky, who not only stood against the Russian aggression, but also managed to forge a western unity.
SRI LANKAN CRISIS
The Sri Lanka protests which started in April had led to the ouster of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and two-time President and former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. The Sri Lankan crisis, which started as a protest in Colombo, spread across the country with the people demanding reforms in the government.
Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected President through a parliamentary vote, in which the Rajapaksas’ party backed him in July. The government blamed the Covid pandemic, which badly affected Sri Lanka’s tourist trade, and later led to a shortage of fuel and foreign dollars. However, many experts blame President Rajapaksa’s poor economic mismanagement.
The country continues to remain under crisis with Colombo anticipating the IMF loan to secure the country’s economy.
OUSTER OF IMRAN KHAN
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who came to power in 2018, is the only Pakistani Prime Minister to be ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament earlier this year.
Khan was ousted from power in April after losing a no-confidence vote in his leadership, which he alleged was part of a US-led conspiracy targeting him because of his independent foreign policy decisions on Russia, China, and Afghanistan.
Since he lost the vote in Parliament, Khan has mobilized mass rallies across the country, whipping up crowds with claims that he was a victim of a conspiracy by his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and the United States.
IRAN PROTESTS
Iran has been rattled by protests over opposition to the mandatory hijab law as thousands of common citizens have taken to the streets.
Iran has been rocked by protests since September 16, with the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died after being detained by the morality police. The protests have since morphed into one of the most serious challenges to Iran’s theocracy installed by the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
So far, the country’s police have arrested renowned actresses, footballers, actors and influencers for supporting the protests. It has also executed two protestors for participation in the protests.
RARE PROTEST IN CHINA
China saw two major developments this year- Xi Jinping becoming President for the third time and rare protests weeks after against tough anti-Covid restrictions.
In November, thousands of people took to the streets in several major cities across China, including Beijing and Shanghai, to call for an end to lockdowns and greater political freedoms, in a wave of protests not seen since pro-democracy rallies in 1989 were crushed.
Despite heavy crackdown, surveillance and censorship, the protests expanded into calls for broader political freedom and left a major negative impact on the reputation of Xi and the Party.
US MIDTERM ELECTIONS
The midterm elections in the US, which is usually seen as a mandate against the ruling government, failed to make a Republican sweep as the Democrats gained razor-thin control of the Senate, while the Republicans got a narrow margin against the dems in the House of Representatives.
However, the misterms was special in the sense that it rained down on the ambitions of former President Donald Trump, who was looking forward to run for the second term, his “Make America Great Again” movement and the broader Republican agenda.
A silver lining which came out of the midterm elections for the Republicans has been the victory of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. DeSantis is seen as the possible challenger to Trump and a possible source of revival for the GOP.
Surging inflation, ongoing strikes, economic crisis and war in Europe: the new UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces these major challenges. Sunak came to Power after his predecessor Truss resigned after just 44 days in power.
After 12 years in power, the Conservative party is more divided than ever. Earlier this year, Boris Johnson had resigned as PM in July after losing the confidence of some 60 ministers.
Sunak has become the fifth Tory prime minister since 2016 — following David Cameron, Theresa May, Johnson and Truss. The challenges continue to mount for Sunak, who hopes to get his country out of the economic and political mess.
BOLSONARO’S EXIT
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, lost election in October in a nail-biting presidential vote count against Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Almost from the start of his controversial mandate in 2019, Bolsonaro racked up accusations and investigations for everything from spreading disinformation to crimes against humanity. He survived more than 150 impeachment bids — a record.
Most of these were over his flawed management of the coronavirus pandemic, which claimed the lives of more than 685,000 people in Brazil — the world’s second-highest toll after the United States.
On January 1, 2023, Bolsonaro’s arch-rival, leftist ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will take over the reins once more and Bolsonaro loses his presidential immunity.
COP27 SUMMIT
The UN COP27 climate summit in Egypt had some success and some failures. While the summit achieved a landmark deal on funding to help vulnerable countries cope with devastating climate impacts, the talks stalled on key issues and failed to secure commitments to stop greenhouse gas emissions.
Though the participating nations agreed to contribute to the cost of the harm an overheated planet causes to developing nations, but they concluded the talks without doing anything more to address the burning of fossil fuels, which is the primary cause of these catastrophes.
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Navinder Oberoi
The year 2022was the year of tiger according to Chinese calendar. Very sharp and aggressive with lots of ups and downs like roller coaster ridesThe circle of 365 (2022)days is just about to complete and very soon we will see the beginning of the first point of another cycle of the year 2023 with great hopes of prosperity and good health around the globe.
How comfortable we all were in 2022 and where do we want to see ourselves in 2023 ?
Expectations and disappointments are the most important characteristics of human nature but how we take this, that’s more important. The economy, stock market, jobs, real estate, banking industry , health sector, education etc.. Were the major issues we been fighting with throughout the year in 2022 because right after the pandemic two year of suspension of our life, almost every public and private sector destroyed and many people lost their job but again life always rotates on our personal predictions and I am not a economist who can predict but based on my personal experience in my opinion I can’t see any major breakthrough in the year 2023 in any sector but like always real estate sector is the biggest shareholder because this sector alone provide jobs to many manufacturing sectors but the success of this sector is dependent upon banking interests rates if the mortgage rates remain same or going up and up in 2023 then I can’t see any difference in 2023. I am not the one who decides the fate of billions of people it is the government who decides every moment of our life that how we are going to live in coming year
We can learn so many lessons from past year failures but can also improve ourselves by not repeating those mistakes in the coming year and I wish all readers a very Happy New Year 2023 .
Navinder Oberoi
(Navinder Oberoi is a businessman based in Abbotsford, Canada)
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SOUTH ASIAN HOUSE PARTNERS WITH SXSW @ 2023 FEST
Founders of SAH
(Left to Right) – Jitin Hingorani, Monika Samtani, Rohi Mirza Pandya & Kirtana Banskota. (Photo: Satwic Mudigulam)By Mabel Pais
South Asian House (SAH), for the first time, partners with South By South West® (SXSW®) Film Fest 2023, a Festival held for 37 years. SAH will convene at Fourth and Co. in the iconic Warehouse District of downtown Austin, six blocks from SXSW® event headquarters.
There will be two full days of programming on March 11 and 12, 2023 of this innovative initiative to highlight, recognize, and appreciate South Asians from seven countries – India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Maldives – as well as accomplished members of the diaspora.
Programs will range from panel discussions on women in film, business tech, and climate change to curated sets of live and electronic music to a Reel Deal session, Comedy Hour, Industry Leadership Sessions, Mental Health Corner, Queer/Dalit Visual Art NFTs, and Desi Drag Brunch to a red carpet, awards ceremony on Oscar® Sunday recognizing South Asian Trailblazers in Cinema.
The initiative is the brainchild of veteran producers, curators, and programmers Rohi Mirza Pandya (Box Office Guru Media & Desipina), Monika Samtani (Ms. Media & The Fem Word), Jitin Hingorani (Jingo Media & DFW South Asian Film Festival), and Kirtana Banskota (Banskota Productions & Nepal America Film Society).
Follow @southasianhouse on Instagram or sign up to receive updates through the website, southasianhouse.com.
(Mabel Pais writes on The Arts and Entertainment, Social Issues, Health & Wellness, Cuisine and Spirituality)
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Long-term plan needed for Punjab’s progress
“To regain a leading position, Punjab’s economy needs to enter high-growth trajectory and attain a double-digit rate by 2047 and 8 per cent growth of per capita income. These targets are achievable in view of strengths of the economy such as sizeable market, skilled and entrepreneurial human capital, diasporic social capital and industrial peace. The double-digit growth should be accompanied by social safety nets to make growth equitable.”
By BS Ghuman The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister released the ‘Competitiveness Roadmap for India@100’ earlier this year, envisioning guiding principles for putting India on the trajectory of becoming a middle-income country and beyond by 2047. To achieve this vision, state-specific roadmaps need to be worked out.
The most important markers of Punjab’s growth story of 75 years are the glorious journey during the implementation of the state-led model and the slide under the aegis of the market-driven model. The policy advice based on the economic journey and the theory of ‘market failure’ suggests reinvention of the development model to rejuvenate Punjab’s economy. Can it happen when the market is dominating the economy? The answer is yes, but in the form of a hybrid model developed on the strengths of the triad — the state, the market and the social forces. Theoretically, the state and the market are dichotomous institutions, but, in reality, the border between the two is blurred. Social forces play a soothing role in the state-market mix. In the hybrid model, the state, however, will play a leading role. The roadmap’s vision is to restore the economic glory of Punjab based on sectoral strategies, linkages among sectors, investment, fiscal health, infrastructure, human resources, employment and zero-waste economy. Punjab’s economy registered a growth rate of 4.6 per cent per annum from 2011-12 to 2020-21, occupying the 20th position among states. The per capita income grew at 3.05 per cent. Leading states are growing at more than 7 per cent and registering around 6 per cent growth in per capita income. To regain a leading position, Punjab’s economy needs to enter the high-growth trajectory and attain a double-digit rate by 2047 and 8 per cent growth of per capita income. These targets are achievable in view of strengths of the economy such as a sizeable market, skilled and entrepreneurial human capital, diasporic social capital and industrial peace. Double-digit growth should be accompanied by social safety nets to make growth equitable. To facilitate high growth, the structure of the economy also requires rapid structural transformations.
Currently, the service sector contributes 46 per cent to the state’s income, followed by primary (31 per cent) and secondary sectors (23 per cent). By 2047, the structure of the economy should resemble that of industrial states by making the primary sector’s share 16 per cent, secondary sector 30 per cent and tertiary 54 per cent. An intersectoral strategy of strengthening backward and forward linkages among sectors will help bring structural transformations. Agriculture is riddled with four types of crises/challenges — economic, environmental, efficiency-related and equity-linked. In the next 25 years, the agenda is to take agriculture to the next level (Agriculture 2.0), driven by precision/satellite agriculture.
The industrial profile of the state is relatively weak. A two-pronged strategy can enable Punjab to become an industrial hub by 2047. The state’s industry is dominated by small units, mostly employing old technologies. Therefore, the first strategy is to upgrade the technology of the existing industry. The second is the steering of high-tech agro-based industries and the industries led by knowledge and smart technologies. To develop high-tech industries and promote innovations, the government, the industry and universities need to join hands on the pattern of the triple helix model of innovation.
Thriving on selling ideas, intangible/abstract products and professional services, the tertiary sector can become an epicenter of development in Punjab; firstly, by making service delivery more efficient. Secondly, by according priority to services such as information technology, social media, cybersecurity, environmental services, financial services, consultancy services and quinary services steered by ‘gold-collar’ professionals.
Punjab’s performance on account of investment has deteriorated during the implementation of the market-led model. The investment-GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product) ratio declined from 32.27 per cent in 1995-96 to half (16.4 per cent) in 2019-20. To achieve the double-digit growth rate, the ratio should be scaled up to 40 per cent by 2047. The fiscal health of Punjab is worrisome. The fiscal roadmap comprises reducing public debt-GSDP ratio from 50 per cent to 32.5 per cent and fiscal deficit from 5 per cent to 3 per cent of the GSDP, reducing committed expenditure from 78 per cent to 50 per cent of the total revenue receipts, increasing capital expenditure from 6 per cent to 20 per cent of the total expenditure and mobilizing resources by doubling the tax-GSDP ratio from 6.1 per cent to 12.5 per cent by 2047.
The state’s performance in the field of infrastructure is impressive. However, to attain double-digit growth, there is a need to improve the quality of economic, social and physical infrastructure and invest heavily in digital infrastructure. In Punjab, investment in human resources is very low. On education, the state is spending only 2.5 per cent of the GSDP — less than half of the 6 per cent norm suggested by the Kothari Commission on education. Expenditure on health being 4 per cent of the state income is also inadequate. To improve human capital, Punjab should spend at least 6 per cent and 10 per cent of the GSDP on education and health, respectively, by 2047.
Punjab has a relatively high unemployment rate of 7.8 per cent. It should strive to attain a rate of around 4.5 per cent by 2047. The roadmap for reducing unemployment comprises skill development programs with ‘apprenticeship’ in vocations, including animal husbandry, electricity, driving, plumbing, computer courses, hospitality and healthcare. Long-term measures for generating employment include promoting industry and services, incentivizing startups and entrepreneurship, and developing synergy between educational institutions and the industry.
Guided by these parameters, the roadmap should incorporate inputs from experts and stakeholders. Political consensus on the roadmap should be arrived at by deliberating on it and giving it the go-ahead in the Assembly. It may be treated as a ‘living document’, which can be modified as and when the need arises.
(The author is a former Vice-Chancellor, Punjabi University, Patiala)