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3.3 GW of solar power in India out of the planned 100 GW by 2022 . Not a big deal at that , but the important question not publicized is where such plant or plants will be located . Will it be connected to military needs ? Then , surely , it will compromise independence of military . Then comes deal directly connected to military . That was settled in the meeting with Vivek Lall , CEO of General Atomics . They will provide drone technology for defence . This is no accident that they set up their office first in India during Modi regime in 2018 . An open arrangement to allow foreigners in development of sensitive military equipments . Pipeline .
The fifth and final one was with Stephen A . Schwarzman , CEO of Blackstone , a company known for investment management . Investments will be in National Infrastructure Pipelines and in National Monetisation
from page 13 South Africa ...
people was three months away from running out of municipal water . It was averted , though . More Reforms as Solution While all these issues point to the need to uproot the system and rebuild , corporate media is trying to eyewash by calling it a ‘ service delivery ’ problem that is , a problem of governance which can be addressed with reforms . Thus imperialists want to bring as solutions , the intensified versions of the very reforms that are the cause for the problems . As part of this , Zuma , the popular leader removed over corruption charges , was replaced with a pro-reform man , Cyril Ramaphosa . This has to be viewed in the light of many countries ’ popular leaders being removed over corruption charges and being replaced with right wing reformers or autocrats . The agencies of Neoliberalism are calling for more reformsmore people to be brought into the tax base , welfare schemes to be cut , government wages to be slashed , public sector enterprises to be restructured , regulatory frameworks to be ‘ improved ’, public investment to be increased on transport and
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Pipelines . Blackstone Real Estate Fund is said to be the largest owner of commercial real estates in India .
Message is clear . None of them will invest in productive sectors , most will be in military sectors . So the meetings with the five CEOs have no or little significance to the people of India except that through these much hyped meetings India ’ s defence have been compromised to US investors .
Last was the speech in the UNGA . Modi himself knew it has very little significance to the world community . It was known to everyone that Modi was only playing second fiddle to his US counterpart . After harangueing on his acts relating to development of people ’ s lives under his regime Modi confirmed the world assembly which side he is dragging India in the present global situation . He asserted that India is and will remain a sidekick
infrastructure , public financing of health care to be increased through a form of public insurance and exemption of minimum wage legislation in labourintensive industries . Thus reforms favouring the imperialist exploitation are happening in a similar way in all developing countries .
Accordingly , Moody ’ s has downgraded the country and left it without an ‘ investment grade ’ rating for the first time since the advent of its democracy . This put pressure on domestic capital markets and reduced confidence in the South African economy which manifested in higher bond yields , exchange rate depreciation , and by extension , increased borrowing costs .
In April 2021 , the minimum wage rose by only 4.5 % but food , transport and electricity prices rose by between 7-15 %. That means millions of people have been pushed into hunger . In the same month the government terminated the Covid-19 social relief of distress ( SRD ) grant of R350 ( 1Rand = 5 rupees ) a month which itself is far less than the food poverty line of R585 . The child support and old age grants were terminated after the first wave itself . Child hunger has of the USA in its global strategy so long Modi is at helm of affairs . At the same time he begged the US to stand by the side of India at the expense of its former ally Pakistan . Modi is mortally afraid of developing a fair and equality based people-to-people relationship between the two countries , India and the USA . So he avoided it by talking about ‘ rich linkages ’ only .
Precisely , this time Modi ’ s purpose of visit to the US was to reassure the present ruling dispensation in the USA that India stands firmly by its side in its global hegemonic strategy , at a time when the US is at the receiving end post Afghanistan retreat . Modi wanted to get some small pies which the US was also contemplating to give to advance its own interests in the Indo-Pacific region .
Modi unmasked himself that his US visit was to sell India . �
remained high even during the child support grant for it was too small . Now that has also been lifted .
Thus the people in South Africa are in such miserable conditions . If we consider this whole picture , we can see the organized crisis and its severity .
Thus the high levels of poverty and inequality created and perpetuated by capitalism has devastated the lives and livelihoods of the people . They have nothing to lose any more , but their fetters , only with organised protests and with united struggles .
Imperialism continues to exploit the oppressed people in this way in all countries . It appropriates the wealth from countries and throws their people into poverty . They are further and further reduced to a state where in if they fight , if they struggle , there is nothing to lose anymore but their fetters . But the struggles should be more united , more organized , should shake the foundations of the exploitative system , oppose the looting of the imperialists and direct the people ’ s defiance into constructive movements . Let us hope that the progressive and democratic forces in South Africa fulfill the democratic duty of their country .
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Class Struggle