ACTION NEEDED
   Date :07-Jan-2020

Time and Tide_1 &nbs
 
THE situation at the now-infamous Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi has continued to go from bad to worse over time, and has hit a rock-bottom below which there is only total darkness. And this has necessitated an immediate and tough action by the Government, failing which a great institution may be pushed to destruction thanks to the ungainly, uncouth, undesirable politics in which genuine students become unwilling victims and honest and loyal-to-education faculty gets crushed. Perhaps, the action that we suggest may have to be launched at parliamentary level by making appropriate changes in the law that controls institutions of higher learning in general and the JNU in particular. Naturally, this effort may involve a lot of political activity at the highest level. Yet, if that is unavoidable, the Government must initiate immediate action, which may begin by inviting masters in education and maybe leaders across political spectrum for detailed confabulations. That may be a difficult task, but the situation does call for such steps.
 
LAUNDERING MONEY
 
THE Indian Government has been on the hot chase of money that has been laundered over the years and has put in place mechanisms to minimise incidence of parking funds in tax havens abroad by dodging the taxmen. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government has struck agreements with various countries where the black money is hidden by Indian nationals. The Swedish Government has been particularly very cooperative in reporting cases of secret accounts maintained by Indian nationals among whom include not only corporate big shots but also politicians. The Swedish Government has now come to know that Indians have formed trusts to park their funds in tax havens and thereby conceal their identity. What is heartening in this regard is that the Swedish authorities have begun to take action against such anonymous accounts in banks and have sought explanations from the entities. Indian moneyed people indeed have ingenious methods of laundering their ill-gotten money.