With the stage set for the annual Budget on Thursday, India a scored 48—slightly higher than the global average– on a global survey on budget transparency. The global average score for budget transparency is 43 on a scale of 0-100.

The Open Budget Survey (OBS) 2017 been carried out by the International Budget Partnership (IBP) covering 115 countries, and is based on an internationally comparable methodology using 109 equally weighted indicators to measure budget transparency on a scale of 0-100.

The survey, for each country, evaluates eight key budget documents of the national/ Union / Central Government and assesses whether these documents are made public (available online) in a timely manner providing comprehensive information. These eight key budget documents are:  Pre-Budget Statement; Executive’s Budget Proposal; Enacted Budget; Citizens Budget; In-Year Reports; Mid-Year Review; Year-End Report and Audit Report. The survey was carried out between September and December 2016, thus covering the developments up to 31 December 2016, in the financial year 2016-17.

The Survey highlights that the global average score of budget transparency has declined by 2 percentage points from 45 in 2015 to 43 in 2017. There are only 28 countries that provide ‘sufficient budget information’ at the level of the national budget, (scoring above 61 points in the scale of 0-100). Countries such as New Zealand and South Africa (89 each) top the charts whereas Qatar and Yemen score a zero indicating no budget information being available in public domain. The average score for South Asian countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) registered an increase of 5 percentage points during the period to reach 46. India’s overall score is 48, an improvement of 2 percentage points from a score of 46 in 2015.

In terms of publishing timely and relevant information in Audit Reports and In-Year Reports, India has scored well above other countries. Not publishing Pre-Budget Statement and Mid-Year Review in 2016 lowered the country’s score. However, had the OBS been carried out for financial year 2017-18, India’s score would have been higher; as the advancing of presentation of Union Budget by a month last year made the earlier practice of Vote on Account redundant and the full Budget gets enacted before the start of the new financial year.

But a critical indicator for enhancing budget transparency is the scope available for public participation in budgetary processes; and, India has scored only 15 out of 100 in public participation, which is better than the global average of 12 but still very low with regard to the role of legislatures and that of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in terms of the oversight on budgets, India’s score is 48 out of 100. As the functioning of these oversight institutions is very crucial in the budget accountability ecosystem, there is a need for stepping-up efforts in this domain.

Subrat Das, Executive Director of CBGA, observed that, “OBS is a good indicator of budget transparency at the Union level, but it is limited in scope as it does not capture the issues of transparency at the sub-national level, particularly at the district level”. He also added that “a number of steps initiated at the Union level during the last seven to eight years, such as publishing all budget documents in machine readable format, improved accessibility of the expenditure budget document and central share of funds in all Centrally Sponsored Schemes being routed through the State Budgets have improved budget transparency to some extent”.

Nilachala Acharya, Research Coordinator, CBGA and Researcher OBS, believes that “lack of availability of district-specific budget information is a serious challenge. Hence by making state and district treasury information publicly accessible and publishing information pertaining to fund flow and fund utilisation of development schemes at the district and sub-district level would significantly enhance budget transparency in the country.”  

New Delhi : Today Ministry of Finance has issued cautious advisory on Virtual ‘Currencies’.

“There has been a phenomenal increase in recent times in the price of Virtual ‘Currencies’ (VCs) including Bitcoin, in India and globally. The VCs don’t have any intrinsic value and are not backed by any kind of assets. The price of Bitcoin and other VCs therefore is entirely a matter of mere speculation resulting in spurt and volatility in their prices. There is a real and heightened risk of investment bubble of the type seen in ponzi schemes which can result in sudden and prolonged crash exposing investors, especially retail consumers losing their hard-earned money. Consumers need to be alert and extremely cautious as to avoid getting trapped in such Ponzi schemes. VCs are stored in digital/electronic format, making them vulnerable to hacking, loss of password, malware attack etc. which may also result in permanent loss of money. As transactions of VCs are encrypted they are also likely being used to carry out illegal/subversive activities, such as, terror-funding, smuggling, drug trafficking and other money-laundering Acts.

VCs are not backed by Government fiat. These are also not legal tender. Hence, VCs are not currencies. These are also being described as ‘Coins’. There is however no physical attribute to these coins. Therefore, Virtual ‘Currencies’ (VCs) are neither currencies nor coins. The Government or Reserve Bank of India has not authorised any VCs as a medium of exchange. Further, the Government or any other regulator in India has not given license to any agency for working as exchange or any other kind of intermediary for any VC. Persons dealing in them must consider these facts and beware of the risks involved in dealing in VCs.

The users, holders and traders of VCs have already been cautioned three times, in December, 2013, February, 2017 and December, 2017, by Reserve Bank of India about the potential financial, operational, legal, customer protection and security related risks that they are exposing themselves to by investing in Bitcoin and/ or other VCs. RBI has also clarified that it has not given any licence/ authorization to any entity/ company to operate such schemes or deal with Bitcoin or any virtual currency. The Government also makes it clear that VCs are not legal tender and such VCs do not have any regulatory permission or protection in India. The investors and other participants therefore deal with these VCs entirely at their risk and should best avoid participating therein.”

ROORKEE : Professor Pranita P Sarangi of the Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee has been awarded Innovative Young Biotechnologist Award 2017 (IYBA-2017) by the government.

The Award is given by the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology and carries a research grant up to Rs. 50 lakh and a cash award prize of Rs. 1 lakh per year during the project period. Prof. Pranita was chosen based on her scientific achievements and the proposed work in the field of cancer immunology.

Talking about the achievement, Prof. Pranita said,” This is a highly prestigious scheme from the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, to identify and nurture outstanding young scientists with innovative ideas to pursue research in frontier areas of biotechnology “

Explaining about her work, Prof. Pranita said, “Cancer is the second largest cause of death worldwide including India, after heart diseases. Current therapeutic approaches available for treating cancers are primarily based on chemotherapies, which are highly toxic, and recurrence of tumors requires higher doses of such reagents leading to severe toxic side effects. The host immune system plays a crucial role in protecting our body from the development of cancers but in a cancer patient, with progression of time, the anti-cancer immunity is gradually reduced and become non-functional. Scientists have shown that cancer cells adopt various mechanisms to make our immune cells non-functional.”

“The proposed work will discover new molecular interactions in a cancer environment that re-educate our immune cells not to fight against the cancerous cells. Thus, this will help in the development of novel targeted therapeutics that could further help in managing cancer patients by restoring the functions of the immune cells,’’ she added.

Prof. Pranita has completed her PhD from College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, USA. She is also working as Special Research Volunteer, Laboratory of Cell and Developmental Biology, Molecular Biology Section, NIDCR/National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA since 2013. Her work has won her AAI Early Career Faculty Travel Grant Award, Immunology-2017, Washington DC, USA.

New Delhi : The Advocating Reproductive Choices (ARC) coalition has welcomed the opinion expressed by some parliamentarians on the need to revise the National Population Policy of 2000. This opinion was expressed by some members in the Lok Sabha in the ongoing session.

The ARC coalition calls on the government to consider the long term impact of such restrictive policies that evidently result in skewed demographics and gender imbalance, and negate the rights-based approach. What is required is a national population policy that recognises the dignity and rights of women and men, and equips them to make an informed choice for a healthy and planned family.

“We do agree that there is an urgent need to define India’s approach towards population stabilisation in line with India’s commitments on the global 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the actions required to meet its stated objectives on family planning,’’  a statement issued by ARC has said.

However, the call for introducing a policy with a two child norm in anticipation of a “demographic catastrophe” is not appropriate given the fact that in the last decade (2005-06 – 2015-16), India’s total fertility rate (TFR) has gone down from 2.7 to 2.2, which is very close to the desired replacement level fertility at 2.1. In the past, in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh where the law had debarred women with more than two children from benefits, there was a rise in sex-selective abortions, incidents of women being deserted, or giving their children up for adoption. With a skewed child sex ratio (0-6 years) of 919 girls to a 1000 boys, India can ill afford a restrictive two-child norm that would further discriminate against the girl child, the statement said.

In fact, institutionalising such a policy will undo decades of efforts undertaken to establish a rights based approach to family planning, which was adopted as part of India’s commitment at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo in 1994. The proposed approach will not only tilt towards a coercive and target-driven policy, but will also impinge on individual freedom and imply it is not the people but the numbers that matter. Pushing for an ‘anti-natalist’ policy resting on coercion and disincentives is an unacceptable direction and has proven to be counterproductive on innumerable instances. The forced sterilisations of 1975 pushed back India’s family planning programme by decades and was a leading argument against authoritarianism that unseated the party in power of that time, the ARC said.

At this moment there is need to reflect on how states such as Kerala, with a TFR of 1.6, reduced its fertility rates by investing in long-term measures like educating and empowering girls and women by ensuring equal rights, and improving health care delivery. Our neighbours, too, have good lessons to offer. Sri Lanka lowered its fertility rates by increasing the age at marriage, while Bangladesh succeeded by mobilising a cadre of village-level health workers to build awareness and acceptability of family planning.

Data from the National Family Health Survey – 3 shows that the sex ratio of the next birth gets even worse for women with four or more living children and one son (541 girls per 1,000 boys).

Advocating Reproductive Choices (ARC) is a coalition of more than 170 civil society organisations and individuals that are committed to advocating for greater attention and focus on sexual and reproductive health issues and family planning services in India. Established in 2005, the Coalition aims to expand contraceptive choices and calls for greater attention to the quality of care of family planning services for the Indian population.

NEW DELHI : The Government of India, the Government of Tamil Nadu and the World Bank today signed a $318 million loan agreement for the Tamil Nadu Irrigated Agriculture Modernization Project to promote climate resilient agriculture technologies, improve water management practices, and increase market opportunities for small and marginal farmers. About 500,000 farmers, of which a majority are small and marginal, are expected to benefit from improved and modernized tank irrigation systems.

The project will rehabilitate and modernize about 4,800 irrigation tanks and 477 check dams, spread across 66 sub-basins, in delivering bulk water to irrigation systems.

Tamil Nadu, being a water-stressed state, continues to experience water shortages which are expected to further exacerbate in the future. Rehabilitating and modernizing irrigation tanks will improve the reliability and availability of irrigation water for farming communities, making them less prone to climatic hazards. More than 160,000 ha of currently partially irrigated lands will come into full irrigation under this project,” said Sameer Kumar Khare, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.

The agreement for the project was signed by Sameer Kumar Khare, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India; S. K. Prabhakar, Principal Secretary, Public Works Department, on behalf of the Government of Tamil Nadu and John Blomquist, Program Leader and Acting Country Director, World Bank, India on behalf of the World Bank.

“This project will help Tamil Nadu scale up its efforts to unlock the full potential of its agriculture sector. It will support farmers improve the efficiency of water used in farming, diversify into high value crops, and produce crops that are resilient to the increasing threats of climate change. Such efforts will be a win-win for all, leading to better use of scarce water resources and raising household incomes of farmers,” said John Blomquist, Program Leader and Acting Country Director, World Bank, India.

Though significant progress has been made during the past decade in crop diversification, still there is scope for achieving a higher level. Paddy is the dominant crop occupying 34 percent of total cropped areas, whereas fruits and vegetables are grown on 11 percent and pulses and oilseeds on 14 percent of total cropped areas. By helping farmers’ access modern technologies, linking them to markets, and providing postharvest management support, the project will enable farmers to shift from a mono crop paddy system to mixed cropping including high-value crops (fruits, vegetables, and spices), pulses, oilseeds, and millets.

To enhance the ability of crops to withstand expected adverse impacts of climate change, the project will support smallholder producers adopt new conservation technologies such as the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and Sustainable Sugar Initiative (SSI). They reduce average water usage by 35 percent and increase yields by 22 percent per ha. The project is expected to increase the yield of rice, maize, and pulses by 18–20 percent.

The project will also coordinate with other World Bank-supported projects in Tamil Nadu and at the national level, including the Tamil Nadu Rural Transformation Project, National Hydrology Project, and National Groundwater Improvement Project to ensure synergy and enhance long-term project impact.

The $318 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has a 5-year grace period, and a maturity of 19 years.

NEW DELHI : India on Tuesday slammed Pakistan for the insensitive and callous way it handled the meeting of Kulbhushan Jadhav with his mother and wife in Islamabad on Monday.

In its first official reaction to yesterday’s meetings, New Delhi said the mother and wife were repeatedly harassed and heckled by Pakistani media, and the wife was made to remove her Mangalsutra, bangles and bindi under pretext of security precautions, much in utter disregard of her cultural sensibilities.

The ministry of external affairs on Tuesday said, “It appears that Jadhav was under considerable stress and speaking in an atmosphere of coercion. Most of his remarks were clearly tutored and designed to perpetuate the false narrative of his alleged activities in Pakistan. His appearance also raises questions of his health and wellbeing.”

The family returned last evening and met with Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, ministers of state MJ Akbar and VK Singh and officials today. Hours later, New Delhi came out with an official response.

Here is the Statement Issued By Ministry of External Affairs on Kulbhusan Jadhav’s meeting with his family

• As you are all aware, the mother and wife of Mr. Kulbhushan Jadhav met him yesterday in Islamabad. The meeting took place after requests by India for family access.
• Prior to the meeting, the two Governments were in touch through diplomatic channels to work out its modalities and format. There were clear understandings between the two sides and the Indian side scrupulously abided by all its commitments.
• However, we note with regret that the Pakistani side conducted the meeting in a manner which violated the letter and spirit of our understandings. This included:
  
  i. The Pakistani press was allowed on multiple occasions to approach family members closely, harass and hector them and hurl false and motivated accusations about Mr. Jadhav. This was despite a clear agreement that the media would not be allowed close access.
  
  ii. Under the pretext of security precautions, the cultural and religious sensibilities of family members were disregarded. This included removal of mangal sutra, bangles and bindi, as well as a change in attire that was not warranted by security.
  
  iii. The mother of Mr. Jadhav was prevented from talking in their mother tongue, although this was clearly the natural medium of communication. She was repeatedly interrupted while doing so and eventually prevented from proceeding further in this regard.
  
  iv. Deputy High Commissioner was initially separated from family members who were taken to the meeting without informing him. The meeting was started without his presence and he could join only after pressing the matter with concerned officials. Even then, he was kept behind an additional partition that did not allow him access to the meeting as agreed.
• For some inexplicable reason, despite her repeated requests, the shoes of the wife of Mr. Jadhav were not returned to her after the meeting. We would caution against any mischievous intent in this regard.
• From the feedback we have received of the meeting, it appears that Mr. Jadhav was under considerable stress and speaking in an atmosphere of coercion. Most of his remarks were clearly tutored and designed to perpetuate the false narrative of his alleged activities in Pakistan. His appearance also raises questions of his health and well being.
• We also regret that contrary to assurances, the overall atmosphere of the meeting was intimidating insofar as family members were concerned. Family members, however, handled the situation with great courage and fortitude.
• The manner in which the meeting was conducted and its aftermath was clearly an attempt to bolster a false and unsubstantiated narrative of Mr. Jadhav’s alleged activities. You would all agree that this exercise lacked any credibility.

Read More – 

Kulbhushan Jadhav Death Sentence : India Calls It ‘Premeditated Murder’

The Indian government has repeatedly rejected the charges on Jadhav and has also questioned his arrest. In the wake of this death sentence, India summoned the Pakistani High Commissioner in New Delhi, Abdul Basit, and issued a demarche, condemning the act as ‘farcical’. The demarche also stated: “If this sentence against an Indian citizen, awarded without observing basic norms of law and justice, is carried out, the government and people of India will regard it as a case of premeditated murder.”

PM Narendra Modi’s honeymoon with the people waning judging by the results in his home state of Gujarat. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hard fought win in his home state of Gujarat for the sixth consecutive time is indicative of his popularity taking a hit in the rural areas. He has been candid in acknowledging that the ruling BJP won the trust of only half the state this time. 

Is this an indication that Modi’s honeymoon with the people at large is beginning to take a hit. In the last three decades a Prime Minister’s popularity with the masses starts dipping after completing 36 to 42 months in office. 

While the saffron brigade enjoyed wide support in the urban areas, there was an unmistakable tilt in favour of the Congress party in the rural areas which was not enough to dislodge the saffron brigade having ruled Gujarat on the trot for 22 years. At the same time the Congress managed to increase its tally in the state assembly by 16 seats leading to subdued cheer in the grand old party. It had also played an effective part in ensuring that the BJP was nowhere near achieving its over ambitious target of 150 seats in the 182-member state assembly.  

The anti-incumbency against the BJP cannot be wished away. This has provided much food for thought to the Lotus party to do a reality check as Modi told his party MPs on Wednesday that the win in Gujarat was not easy by any means. Efforts by the Congress to build caste and social alliances proved effective in the BJP’s citadel. The Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti gave the Congress a shot in the arm in the Saurashtra-Kutch region. 

Simultaneously, backward classes leader Alpesh Thakor and Jignesh Mewani who organised Dalits against attacks by Hindutva vigilantes facilitated the Congress gain support from a wider social base. Both have entered the state assembly and assured their followers of taking up their cause. 

The BJP’s best in Gujarat has been 127 seats so far. Since then it has had to remain satisfied with a reduced tally. Five years back in 2012 it was 115 and this time it finished with 99 seats, one short of the three figure mark of 100.  

A shade over-three-and-a-half years after Modi became the Prime Minister in May 2014, the chinks in his armour are being exposed along with the widening cracks in his much touted Gujarat model of development. The growing discontent among the people in that state has raised the hopes of a Congress revival. 

The BJP triumph in Himachal Pradesh propelled it to regain power in the hill state. However, BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal losing to his Congress rival proved to be a dampener even though the party won nearly two-thirds of the seats in the 68-member assembly. 

Keen Gujarat watchers believe the competition in that state has woken up the Congress to posing a greater challenge to the BJP in the nine states going to the polls next year including Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh. 

While the Congress has strong leaders in some of these states like Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, Modi’s advantage might be far less in these states compared to Gujarat. The odds seemed stacked against the Lotus party this time due to resentment on a host of issues including demonetisation, GST, growing unemployment and distress faced by the farmers all over the country.  

There is no doubt Modi remains the trump card for his party. He has described it as a win for the overarching theme of “vikas” or development. It is time for the ruling party in Gandhinagar to address the growing unease among the people in the state.  

What has stood out is that the voters cannot be taken for granted. 

While the number of BJP ruled states in the country has jumped to 19 with the India map being swathed in Saffron, the writ of the Congress party runs only in Karnataka and Punjab.  

The Congress came a cropper in Himachal Pradesh as the old war horse Virbhadra Singh got little support from the party headquarters in the national capital. He had to contend with rebel candidates cutting into the party votes. Making matters worse included the corruption charges against the outgoing chief minister and the mishandling of the Kotkhai rape case. 

The task ahead for Rahul Gandhi having taken over the stewardship of the Congress party from his mother Sonia Gandhi last week pertains to giving a push to tolerance of dissent, pluralism and cultural diversity coupled with steering clear of any communal agenda. 

He has to chart out his political and ideological agenda for strengthening the party organisation which is in a shambles. It is imperative for him to be clear about the political agendas of his opponents. Compounding matters are more than two score affiliates of the RSS, the ideologue of the BJP. 

Rahul has to tackle Modi’s agenda of striving for a “Congress Mukt Bharat”. He also needs to encourage leaders having a mass base as evidenced in the past. It is important for him to infuse a sense of camaraderie among Congressmen to end the intense infighting and divisiveness which has been the bane of the party. 

(Views are personal)

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• Convicted in 2013 in another case of fodder scam
• 6 different cases have been labelled against him
• Ninth time he lands in jail, 5th in fodder scam
• Third time in Birsa Munda Jail in Ranchi

Former Bihar Chief Minister and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav was convicted by a special CBI court in the 1996 fodder scam.  After 20 years of investigation, the CBI court in Ranchi has found Lalu Yadav guilty of fraudulent withdrawal of public money worth 89.27 lakh from Deoghar Treasury (then in Bihar, now in Jharkhand), between the years 1991 to 1994. The quantum of sentence will be pronounced on 3^rd January.

He was earlier convicted and sentenced to five years jail in the first fodder scam case of swindling money through fake receipts and vouchers of 37.50 crores from Chaibasa Treasury in 2013, which technically barred him from contesting elections for next 11 years, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to disqualify convicts jailed for more than two years.

Apart from the chief accused Lalu, the CBI special court also convicted 15 others in the fodder scam. It includes politicians like Jagdish Sharma and RK Rana, IAS officers Beck Julius, Phoolchand Singh and Mahesh Prasad, and other government officials Krishna Kumar and Subir Bhattacharya.

However, the special CBI judge Shivpal Singh acquitted the three-time former Congress CM of Bihar Jagannath Mishra and five other accused in the same case. After the conviction, Lalu Yadav and the other convicts were taken to Ranchi’s Birsa Munda Jail.

In the wake of Jagannath Mishra acquittal, RJD senior leader Raghuvansh Prasad, who was present in the court premises said, “Jagannath Mishra ko bail aur Lalu ko jail…ab yahi hai khel..(bail for Mishra and jail for Lalu, this is the game now.) When both are facing the same charges in the same case, how can one get bail and the other be jailed?”

As soon as the CBI convicted Lalu Yadav, he tweeted, “powerful people and powerful classes always managed to divide society into ruling and the ruled classes. And whenever anyone from the lower hierarchy challenged this unjust order, they would be deliberately punished. Had people like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Baba Saheb Ambedkar failed in their efforts, history would have treated them as villains…No one should expect any different treatment.”

Congress leader Manish Tiwari criticized the government to use CBI as a pet. He said, “The CBI is acting like a pet performing parrot of this government.”

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “Lesson’s of today’s conviction is that law will catch up with you, if you commit corruption.”

Lalu Yadav has said that he will challenge the verdict in the High Court.

MALDIVES : It is no secret that Maldives has one of the most beautiful small islands on Earth. Away from distractions, polluting cities, noisy metros and honking taxis, Maldives is the perfect holiday destination. The white sand beaches, the turquoise crystal clear lagoons, the privacy of living on an own Island, it is a paradise on earth.

And when you have an exclusive Island for yourself, it is like icing on the cake. As beach destinations around the world get over crowded and some of them becoming unsafe, Maldives provides some of the most breath-taking beach destinations.

The Maldives are a tropical paradise, and people visit for the beaches and the watersports – the underwater life is amazing and the Maldives has a reputation as a diver’s paradise.

And taking you into this dream world is classy and paradise on earth The Residence resort nestled on Falhumaafushi, a pristine island in the Gaafu Alifu Atoll, one of the largest atolls in the world. It is an exclusive private Island secluded retreat, where nature’s unparalleled beauty creates a mesmerising backdrop for your sublime relaxation. Guiding us through this enchanting experience was the smiling and courteous Komal Seth from Outbound Konnections who represents The Residence in the Indian market.

Right from sunbathing on the white sand beaches, water sports, or exploring the underwater world or simply contemplating the infinite possibilities of the horizon, there’s no doubt The Residence is the perfect niche destination. For honeymooners and family alike, as much for the youngsters as for the oldies, this island has something for everyone!

In fact, truly reflective of what the island stands for- in the quietude of nature’s magnificence (yes, it can’t be anything but magnificent, given the aesthetics of the property we stayed in, the ultra-luxurious indulgence and above all the warmth of the hotel staff), Hotel ‘The Residence’ was our abode for the serene days we spent in Maldives. The resort is bustling with hospitality, luxury, sophistication and activities that come along with it. There is much to do every day from diving to paddle boarding, to lazing around by the pool, to long luxurious massages.

Taking us there was the Srilankan Airlines from Delhi with a stop-over at Colombo. The Srilankan Airlines experience, for the first time for me, was very comfortable with the best lounge facilities and shining duty free area at the Colombo airport. From Colombo, we were flown to Male, the capital of Maldives. From Male, we took a domestic flight to Kooddoo Island in a small aircraft. In fact, the hospitality begins from here as at the Male airport domestic terminal, The Residence staff is deployed to take care of you and your luggage. The resort uses the Moonimaa Lounge, where you free Wi-Fi and all-day buffet dining with a well laid out cuisine. After landing at the Kooddoo airport, one if greeted by another group of courteous staff of The Residence who transfer you to the Island resort where The Residence is located on a speedboat.

Form here, the war, and courteous staff usher the guests into the carts or Bugee as they call it and take you to the reception area of The Residence. Check-in was done ‘the traditional way’ via an open lobby with a welcome drink, and we were run though the course of our itinerary for the stay by the ever smiling property manager, Lynnette Chang who became our permanent guide, friend and accomplice during our stay. After completing all formalities, the guests are shifted into the bugee and driven to their rooms including the pristine water villas raised on the sea. Candles and lights in the middle of the dark island luxury resort along the pathways and the sea immediately told us that we had arrived at the right destination.

We stayed at a One Bedroom Water Villa. Measuring 137 Sqm, the villa is neatly divided into three parts. The aromatic whiff of sandal oil invites you to the meticulously done private villas. With tastefully done upholstery, a comfortable couch, a king size bed and all the amenities intact, the room is not just spacious but a visually appealing too either opening up into the sea or the beachside! These scenic luxury rooms blend sophistication with old world charm. Fine finishes and impeccable designs, mark the cottages equipped with a host of services.

The living room, which is the area when you first enter the water villa, is followed by the bedroom area and then you get into a huge bathroom area which opens up right into the sea. All villas (be it beach, deluxe or deluxe water villa, with or without pool), are laid out in the same systematic method. One of the most outstanding feature of the water villa is the stand alone bath tub which faces the sea. Sitting in the tub, gives a spectacular view of the sun set, which in itself is a mesmerizing experience to unfold right in front of your eyes. The sun set view is the same be it inside the bathroom, viewing from the bed, or just from the outdoor deck.

If you rise early in the morning, the waters are pristine and look really inviting and you can just climb down the ladder outside your water villa outdoor deck and land into the sea.  Shades of greens and blue is all what your eyes could see, till the distance they could! Deep blue sea, clear blue sky and an array of trees, all beautifully planted. A cluster of well aligned water and beach villas, systematically planted trees and a thick jungle, broad pavements and a group of ‘oh-so-prim -and proper’ staff greet us with a welcoming smile! The view was simply stunning and the accompanying pictures will speak for themselves. Bikes were parked outside each villa to allow the guests to get around the resort although the budgee can be asked for anytime. The resort staff were perfect, always saying hello and acknowledging you. The gardeners were working around the clock keeping the grounds looking fantastic.

The Food!

The food at The Residence is to die for. The awesome variety of cuisine from Tom Yum soup, Som Tum salad, Pad Thai, Mee Goreng, Hainanese Chicken Rice, Nasi Goreng, Char Siu Wonton Noodles, Chicken Tikka, waffles and pan cakes for breakfast or sushi on the menu are most authentic tasting dishes. The pool side restaurant where we ate at almost every day served all the mentioned Asian delights as well as good quality pizzas, burgers, pastas, and sandwiches.  One of my favourite dishes was Spaghetti Alio, Olio e Pepperoncino using the extremely hot Maldivian chilli. It was made to perfection.

Breakfast and dinner is usually served in the open-aired main dining room.  Breakfast has a wide variety of options from deli meats, pancakes, chinese porridge, pastries, yoghurts, fresh honey comb, sushi and fruits grown in the local orchards of the Island. Lunch and dinner are an a la carte menu with different curries varying from Maldivian to Thai or pasta with crab as well as vegetarian options.

Formal Dining at Fulhumaa Restaurant

For formal dining options, the hotel has its signature Fulhumaa Restaurant nesting itself on a pier where you can hear the lapping sea waves over the reef, and guests dine under the stars on a clear night hoping for no evening showers. The dishes are thoughtfully creative in line with any fine dining restaurant and we tried the tenderised pork dish and the tasty wagyu beef served on a bed of Himalayan salt cooked to choice.

The Residence Maldives also caters for other dining options but we didn’t have time to try it all including a dinner at the Sunset Grill, a private dining option, and a picnic on a deserted island.

The Residence Maldives has a fully equipped Water Sports Centre. They have a diverse range of water activities – windsurfing, surfing, body boarding, snorkel, scuba , night fishing — and in all these, most of their equipment are well maintained. Just a 10-minute ride in the boat takes you to exotic reef area. One ca spot reef sharks, leopard sharks, turtles, and several Nemos, of course. Further into the sea on a boat takes you to a number of small island of pods of dolphins. These dolphins chase the boat to give you a spectacular show while they are hunting for their supper. The diving is splendid as it one of the islands which nests itself in one of the largest atolls in the world, The Gaafu Alifu Atoll.

Drench yourself in this expansive, ultra opulent The Residence, offering the sweeping view of the sea all around you, on your next visit to Maldives – a pure expression of splendour! Explore the calmness within, with the magical spa therapy at the property. The signature soothing and aromatic oil envelopes you as you enter the spa room. Let positivity flow into your body and soul with the yoga sessions.

NEW DELHI: The continued logjam in the BJP over the selection of the Chief Minister in Himachal Pradesh, even after securing a decisive mandate in the Hill State, not only has brought out the divisions within the party in the open but continues to take toll of good governance in the Hill State.

BJP president, Amit Shah had deputed the Defence Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman and Narinder Singh Tomar as party observers to oversee the election of the new leader after holding consultations with the senior Himachal BJP leaders including newly elected MLAs and MPs. However, both the observers returned back to Delhi last evening without a conclusive result as sharp differences emerged between factions within the party making things difficult. The ball is now in the court of the party high command including Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Mr. Shah who will now take a final call on the new selection of the new Chief Minister for the state.

What is most surprising is that even after six days of the party securing 44 of the 68 seats in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls, it is still struggling to find a Chief Minister to rule the state. The party Chief Ministerial candidate, Prem Kumar Dhumal had lost the assembly polls from Sujanpur throwing the party into a tizzy. Following the defeat of Mr. Dhumal and the changed political dynamics at the local and national level, the party started a search for a new Chief Minister. However, supporters of Mr. Dhumal and some party MLAs want the former Chief Minister to be elected as the leader of the legislative party and three of the MLAs have offered to vacate their seats to enable Mr. Dhumal to contest the by-election to enable him to get elected to the Assembly.

However, this has been opposed by factions within the party. Supporters of five-time MLA from Seraj and a front runner for the Chief Minister’s post, Jairam Thakur have opposed installation of Mr. Dhumal stating that the verdict of the people was against him. Mr. Jairam, strongly supported by RSS, has not come out in the open to stake his claim but is learnt to have found favour with the senior party leaders for the top post.

The other contender and Union Health Minister, Jagat Prakash Nadda has remained low profile and has given no indication that he is keen to take up this job. Mr. Nadda has left it to the party leadership to take a call on who should be the next Chief Minister of the State. He is also seen as one of the contenders for the top post in the State with his vast administrative experience as a State Minister and then serving in the party and as the Cabinet Minister in the Modi Government. However, past actions of the BJP have indicated that they are reluctant to send a serving Union Minister as a Chief Minister and would rather go for election of a leader from within the elected MLAs. Interestingly, former Chief Minister, Shanta Kumar has strongly come out against the idea of selecting Mr. Dhumal stating that a leader who has been defeated in the polls should not be made the Chief Minister and a leader should be picked up from within the newly elected MLAs, something that has found favour with a large section of the party.

However, the biggest sufferers of this indecision have been the people of the State. They have been without an effective elected government for the past almost three months now. All developmental and administrative actions had come to a standstill after the announcement of Assembly polls by the Election Commission in October. Since then, there has not been a proper functional government in the state and everything is a state of perpetual suspension. The gap between the elections on November 9 and the counting on December 18 had led to a situation of flux in the government and now the continued delay is does not bode well for the welfare of the state and people at large.