Whispers Forum

The changes brought in by Mr. Donald Trump are likely to impact India in a very major way. Lots of scientists and engineers who would go on visas to the USA and send back remittances to India are unlikely to do so now. More Indians are likely to come home or stay in India looking for domestic jobs. Coupled with high tariffs that make our exports uncompetitive, Mr. Trump is trying to hurt the Indian economy in a major way. In addition, he is giving hints that the USA is likely to shift strategically to Pakistan. However, Mr. Trump is underestimating Mr. Narendra Modi. Mr. Modi is a very astute politician. He has already started redefining India's strategic alliances. He is looking for alternative markets. The GST cuts are likely to give domestic consumption a boost. Now, there is a need for improving employment and growth. One way is to resurrect the public sector. However, management control will have to be flexible and not subordinated to Ministries. Another way is to improve medical tourism. Let India become a hub for medical tourism. Hospital care is good and affordable in India. Set up hospitals catering to foreign nationals in SEZs. Land can be provided cheaply to these hospitals without EWS beds. Let these hospitals pay income tax on their profits at a higher rate and let there be no exemption from Income Tax to them. Government can also allow those who were working on visas in the USA to rent infrastructure in SEZs. They can run their own companies that can be given single window clearances for their companies in 24 hours. Extra infrastructure can be constructed in SEZs for both offices/ factories and residential units for such eligible persons. What Mr. Trump is trying to do to India may just backfire and boost India's way to becoming a developed economy by 2047.
Vijay Kumar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation on Sunday, discussing the upcoming GST 2.0 reforms set to take effect on September 22, 2025. Following points were highlight
- GST Reforms: The new system simplifies the tax structure into two main slabs: 5% and 18%, with a 40% rate reserved for luxury goods. This will reduce taxes on approximately 375 goods and services.
- Savings: The combined effect of income tax exemptions and GST rate cuts is expected to save citizens over ₹2.5 lakh crore in a year.
- Atmanirbhar Bharat: PM Modi emphasized the importance of self-reliance and urged citizens to buy "Made in India" products, promoting domestic manufacturing and industries.
- GST Bachat Utsav: The Prime Minister announced a "GST Bachat Utsav" (GST Savings Festival) starting from September 22, which coincides with Navratri celebrations. This initiative aims to boost consumer spending and economic growth.
- Benefits: The reforms will make daily essentials cheaper, benefiting the poor, neo-middle class, and middle class. The reduced GST rates will apply to various products, including food items, medicines, and electronics.
NN

In his independence day address to the nation this year, PM Modi flagged the issue of ‘obesity as a major health challenge for India and appealed to reducing cooking oil consumption by 10%’. The observation went largely un-noticed by the media. It is time to pause and ponder over PM’s appeal that merits serious consideration.
Statistically, as per WHO, one out of eight people in the world is living with obesity. Worse, worldwide, adult obesity has more than doubled since 1990 and adolescent obesity has quadrupled. An alarming trend especially in India, where people are avid foodies. In India, the edible oil import of palm,soyabean and sunflower oils from Indonesia, Malaysia, Argentina and Brazil come to 16 million tonnes per annum for meeting domestic demand.The import needs to be reduced to save on foreign exchange. This would, no doubt, hit the importing firms. But, the health of the people cannot be ignored.
Also, for public well-being, medical advice needs to be meticulously followed. The cardiologists advise against consuming high- calorie, deep-fried snacks to combat the rising obesity that raises blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and other parameters beyond permissible limits.So, let us avoid consuming deep-fried samosas and the sugar-loaded jalebis. If we do not correct ourselves now, then we are complicit.
A K Saxena (Former civil servant)

There are demands for a caste census in India. This is done with the hidden agenda of increasing reservations in government jobs (and education) so that open competition and merit are killed to nurture vote banks. Many corrupt dynasts support such a step because they feel such a stand may bring them back to power. But why are such exercises confined to services? There should be a caste census of criminals in the country. This will disclose which castes have the most criminals and which have the least. This will show how and which dominant castes are dominating political life through criminalization of the polity. There should also be a caste census of public representatives from the panchayat level to Parliament. This will give a real reflection of how powerful which caste is. Then we can think of giving reservations in the political arena to those castes which are least represented. There should also be a caste census of the armed forces. Those castes who do not join the armed forces in proportion to their population should have to join the armed forces commensurate to their proportion in the population failing which their reservation benefits in services and education should be reduced. There should be a caste census of contractors, transporters, hoteliers, businessmen, industrialists. Those castes who do not have representation proportionate to their population should be given reservations in government tenders and contracts. There should be a caste census of cattle owners. Those castes who do not own cattle wealth should be given reservation benefits in the dairy industry and animal husbandry departments. The cattle should be distributed evenly in proportion to the population of each caste to ensure that the benefits of animal husbandry reach all castes. There should also be a caste census of all those who were hanged, jailed or punished by the British for participating in the freedom struggle. Those castes who do not have representation in proportion to their population in the shaheeds and freedom fighters should have reduction in their reservation quotas. Further, so called Minorities cannot have any castes since there is no varna system in these religions. As it is they have ruled the country for a thousand years of foreign rule. The practice of giving reservations to religions other than Hindu on the basis of caste by calling them OBC to nurture vote banks is totally unreasonable and should be done away with. This will also allow us to arrive at the real number of actual OBCs. As it is, the populations of these religions are included in OBCs to artificially inflate their figures and nurture
Vijay Kumar

Tall Poppy Syndrome (TPS) is a social phenomenon where people who achieve notable success are resented, criticized or cut down by others. The term is metaphorical in the sense that in a field of poppies, the tallest ones are cut to make everything even symbolizing how individuals who rise above the rest are targeted by way of criticism, undermining or exclusion. Their achievements might be downplayed, they may be socially isolated or their ambition might be called arrogance. The story of Tall Poppy says the original tall poppies bloomed in the garden of Tarquin the Proud, the last king of Rome who is said to have symbolically decapitated the tallest poppies to show that powerful enemies should be defeated by killing their leaders.
The effects of TPS on work performance have been studied extensively. In a New Zealand study of prominent entrepreneurs, nearly all reported encountering the syndrome. Athletes also report being targets. One Australian study found that high performing student athletes were often victims of bullying. A Japanese saying ‘the nail that sticks out gets hammered down’ captures the idea that people should not be conspicuously different. Despite being fictitious, some rules dictate that ‘you are not to think you are anything special’ and ‘you are not to imagine yourself better than we are’. That reminds me of the experience during my own diplomatic service where some seniors would almost always undermine junior’s work and even during meeting junior will hardly be allowed to speak or present himself. Some such irritating terms used by seniors to rebuke a junior are ‘Keep your nose down; who gave you the right to think; keep your head down’, etc. The basic work is done by juniors and only the grammatical errors or little correction for name-sake is what is done by seniors. The original work is always the difficult one and pointing out deficiencies is always an easy task.
Many people might face the silent wrath of those who resent their success and undermine them. It can be said as Success-shaming which often takes the form of downplaying someone’s achievements or attributing them to luck rather than hard work or talent. Silence or fear of drawing attention can lead people to hide their success that is not sharing achievements, underplay wealth, avoid letting people know about business ownership, etc.
In contrast, Americans favor rewarding tall poppies more strongly than other countries. This aligns with the ethos of the ‘American Dream’, a cultural narrative that champion ambition and status-seeking and the full-throated celebration of personal success. In our age of self-promotion, with social media sites devoted to not-so-humble bragging, fast we are becoming immune to the tall poppy syndrome. We are becoming more comfortable about standing out, thanks to the social media.
If you are experiencing TPS and are worried about how to deal with it then stay grounded, that is, do not let criticism undermine your confidence. Try to set boundaries, meaning limit interaction with toxic people as far as possible. Encourage a culture where success is celebrated, not punished. Most importantly, find your tribe, viz., surround yourself with people who uplift and inspire you.
Subbiah Sridhar

There is a trend nowadays amongst fresh entrants to the Services to try to enhance their image. So, most of the younger civil servants join social media and start building their image. Most of them try to portray that they have faced a lot of struggle and like to show themselves as authors, poets or sportspersons, etc. All through the history of the Services, the hard working students from diverse backgrounds have joined the Services. Some came from dirt poor backgrounds, most from lower middle class roots; most faced struggles. Only thing is there was no social media, nor any desire to make their achievements seem larger that they actually were. In the interest of society at large and the Services in particular, the young entrants should be mentored to quietly do their work and involve themselves fully with the onerous task of nation building like their predecessors rather than wasting their time and energy on making themselves larger than life on social media. After all, civil servants are not in show business nor are they in politics. Then why these tendencies?
Vijay Kumar

Skyscanner's 2025 Travel Trend Report reveals some exciting insights into Indian travelers' behavior and preferences.
1- Increased Spending on Flights : 86% of Indian travelers plan to maintain or increase their spending on flights in 2025, indicating a strong appetite for global travel.
2- Unique Experiences Over Cost: While cost remains a consideration, with 65% monitoring hotel prices and 62% checking flight fares, there's a growing inclination towards unique experiences.
3- Top Destinations: Shillong, India, and Baku, Azerbaijan, have emerged as favorites, with Shillong's Cherry Blossom Festival being a major draw. Shillong has been ranked as India's most-searched travel destination in 2025, surpassing popular spots like Goa and Manali.
4- Travel Preferences: The report highlights the appeal of Shillong's scenic charm, cultural landmarks, and outdoor activities like trekking and exploring the Laitlum Canyons and Umiam Lake.
5- Travel Trends: Skyscanner's report also notes that travelers are seeking relaxation getaways and international trips to bucket-list destinations, with city breaks gaining popularity as people regain confidence in visiting urban areas.
Overall, the report suggests that Indian travelers are looking for memorable experiences and are willing to spend on flights to achieve that.
Deepa Jain

Nepal is undergoing a major political crisis. True that the current situation is a result of highhandedness of and exploitation done by few people in power. The politicians are definitely to be blamed but my question is that was there no other way to handle this? Were these killings a necessity? Was it right on the part of Gen Z to ravage the Parliament House and homes of political personalities?
Was display of such power-this manner necessary? The Gen Z boasts to be technologically advanced, internet revolution babies and more. Then is this the way they are going to take care of the country and handle crisis-like situations?
--Tyaga Roy

The tsunami of Gen-Z protests,demonstrations,arson led by school/college students,is raging in Nepal.Social media ban is just not the cause.The angst is against rampant corruption,unemployment,under-employment, growing inflation and Nepotism.The countrywide protests seem unstoppable. Total governance failure. Neither the police nor the army could now control the situation- spinning out-of-hands.At least,so it seems.
Nepal’s agitation by Gen-Z activists was preceded by similar protests in Sri-Lanka, Bangladesh crisis and could be followed by Pakistan.Can India remain immune to the foreign conspiracy?
Were India’s intelligence agencies and MEA,privy to the impending danger in Nepal?Why are their lips sealed?
India needs to guard against foreign interference especially as Sheikh Haseena has been given refuge in India after her removal allegedly at the behest of a foreign agency.
A K Saxena (Former civil servant)

Protests erupted in Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, after the government banned 26 major social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and YouTube. The ban was imposed due to the platforms' failure to register with the government, sparking widespread outrage among the youth.
Key Developments:
- Protest Details: Thousands of young people, including students, marched through Kathmandu, demanding the government lift the social media ban and tackle corruption. The protests turned violent, with police using tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds.
- Casualties and Injuries: At least 19 people were killed, and over 300 injured in the clashes between protesters and police.
- Government Response: The government initially defended the ban, citing the need to regulate online content and prevent the spread of misinformation. However, amid mounting pressure, the ban was eventually lifted.
- Prime Minister's Statement: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli expressed sorrow over the deaths and ordered a probe into the violence. He also assured that the government would ensure an environment for the use of social media.
- International Reaction: The UN Human Rights office expressed concern over the killings and urged a prompt investigation.
Stuti Garg