The Kali Puja Festival

In Hindu mythology, the Tridev or the trinity of Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, Lord Maheshwara is considered to be the supreme. Along with it, Goddess Shakti is considered to be the cosmic, creative energy - the consort of Lord Shiva and the source of all creation. She is considered to be the active power for the destruction of evil and the protector, healer and the mother of all creation. Goddess Shakti is represented in many forms like Goddess Durga, Goddess Laxmi, Goddess Kali, Maa Santoshi among others. Goddess Kali is considered the angriest, ruthless, fiercest and the most feared form of it. Legend has it, that she took into this form to fight against a powerful demon and protect humanity from destruction, fear and plunder. But when clam and peaceful, Goddess Kali is also the most benevolent, living, caring and a kind deity. 

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In mythology, a demon named Raktabeej, laid a spell of plunder, destruction and death with its evil intentions. He got a blessing, vardaan from Lord Shiva that with each drop of his blood that fell on the earth, he would arise again. This made him undefeatable as well as immortal. He terrorized the Gods and all the people with his strength and plundered all along. With his immortal and increasing forms, he started ruling over others and came to a war with Goddess Durga. But he remained invincible. Thus, Goddess Durga took the form of Goddess Kali - the fiercest, brutal, warmongering and the powerful Goddess to fight with Raktabeej and save the world. In the battle, Goddess Kali went on to kill and admonish all the Raktasuras, demons arising from the drops of blood of the demon Raktabeej. She drank all of the blood that shed thus not allowing them to fall on the ground and stop the Raktasuras from arising. She fought and finally killed Raktabeej to free the creation from his terror and destruction. Thus, she came to be worshipped, revered and adored as the protector, saviour and a mother figure for all beings. Goddess Kali is also known to be benevolent, kind to the weak, devoted as well as the needy. Thus, she has both the characters in her persona. Symbolically, she is seen as a Goddess who destroys pain, suffering and pestilences in order to bring prosperity, happiness and welfare to all.

The Kali Puja is celebrated by Hindus all over the world. In the Bengali community, the Amavasya in the month of Kartik as per the almanac is the holy day for the Puja. Some of the pujas are centuries old. In other places like J&K, Himachal and Kerala, she is worshipped too in great fanfare and gaiety. In Assam, the Kamakhya temple near Guwahati also celebrates the puja along with other places. The Kali Puja festival is the second biggest festival for the Bengalis after the Durga Puja. The famous temples dedicated to Goddess Kali are the Dakshineshwar Kali temple, Kalighat Kali temple, the Tarapith temple at Kolkata, the Shakti Peeth Sri Chamunda Devi temple in Himachal Pradesh, the Baitula Deula near Bhubaneshwar, the Dhakeshwari temple in Dhaka, Bangladesh among others. Goddess Kali is said to be the chief deity of Tantricism. She is worshipped to attain tantric, mystic powers during the auspicious nights. She is said to bless the devout with tantric powers of foresight, healing and siddhis. She is considered to be the first form of the Ten Mahavidyas i.e. a group of ten Hindu Tantric Goddesses. Thus, seeking her divine benediction, through special prayers, religious practices, meditations etc. one can gain psychic powers and knowledge. She is worshipped with the red Hibiscus flowers (Joba), a bhog of Khichudi (a preparation of dal, rice, lentils mixed together), payesh (sweet dish), sweets and occasionally animal sacrifices too. People throng the Puja Pandals for the prasadas next morning. The festival draws people from all walks of life seeking for her blessings for happiness, protection from evil and harm and prosperity in their lives.                                    

SpaDex Project - A unique achievement of ISRO

Among the milestones achieved by the ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization), since its inception in 1969, the SpaDex mission successfully completed last January is a unique and an interesting one. The mission SpaDex (Space Docking Experiment) was basically to dock and undock i.e. join and detach two small satellites in the space so as to accomplish the ability for such maneuvers for other spacecrafts in the future. In space missions, it is necessary to dock or undock spaceships, satellites so that astronauts and equipment can be carried from one vehicle to the other. This becomes necessary to carry out experiments, in repair and maintenance activities, exchange from one vehicle to another. Like in the International Space Station (ISS), astronauts move in and out of space shuttles while entering ISS or returning back to the earth.

While becoming only the fourth nation after USA, Russia and China, India has now the indigenous capacity to move people and equipment between satellites or spaceships required for its future space expeditions. Launched on December 30th, 2024, and successfully executed on January 16th, 2025, and fully autonomous docking on April 20th, 2025, ISRO had successfully docked and undocked two small satellites namely SDX01 and SDX02 launched by the PSLV 60 rocket from Sriharikota station in Hasan, Karnataka. Controlled from the ground station at Sriharikota, the docking and undocking process worked out perfectly thereby establishing our capabilities for similar maneuvers in the near future. 

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The Chandrayaan-4 mission, the Gaganyaan mission as well as the Bharat Antariksh Station (BAS), a permanent space station of India like the ISS are the prominent future space expeditions of the ISRO. Given the need for the convenient and easy passage of equipment and astronauts between spacecrafts and satellites, the SpaDex mission was needed to be accurate as well as successful for us. The Bharat Antariksh Station (BAS) will be a permanent station for experiments in space, the stay of the astronauts as well as serve as a platform for carrying people and equipment to and from it and the earth. Similarly, the Gaganyaan  mission that aims to put Indian astronauts to space through an indigenous mission first time ever, will also require such capabilities. Thus, the SpaDex mission will be a milestone in that regard. The docking and undocking of satellites in space is a very complex one. It involves a rendezvous i.e., staying aloft at a position so as to align accurately to the other craft and the docking maneuver i.e., perfect and precise movements to lock to the target spacecraft (since inaccurate docking can be expensive as well as dangerous), and commence the movement of goods and people from one craft to another. This was followed reversely by the undocking process soon. A large number of indigenous technologies were incorporated in the mission. That included the docking mechanism i.e., the whole process of identifying, communicating, connecting and ultimately docking, a suite for four rendezvous and docking sensors, power transfer technology, Indigenous novel autonomous rendezvous and docking strategy, Inter-satellite Communication Link (ISL) for 

autonomous communication between spacecrafts, incorporated with inbuilt intelligence to know the state of the other spacecraft. GNSS-based Novel Relative Orbit Determination and Propagation (RODP) processor to determine the relative position and velocity of the other spacecraft. Simulation test beds for both hardware and software design validation and testing. ISRO built the two satellites and the associated equipment at a cost of ₹125 crore while the launch vehicle cost ₹250 crore. The main goals of the SpaDex mission were - develop and demonstrate technology for rendezvous and docking using two small spacecrafts, showcase controllability in the docked condition, demonstrate the potential for extending the life of the target spacecraft, test power transfer between the docked spacecraft. The ISRO chief S Somnath said at a press conference that additional SpaDex missions with greater size and complexity would be launched in the near future for larger docking systems for the space missions. Thus, India has the self-reliance in cutting-edge technology and the capability of the ISRO for such critical operations. Along with it, the SpaDex was a cost- effective technology demonstrating mission costing about ₹375 crore to show in-space docking using two small spacecrafts lifted by the 62nd PSLV flight.

GST 2.0, Tax Reforms

The GST (Goods and Service Tax) was introduced on midnight 17th July, 2017. It was a revolutionary step towards tax rationalization, a scientific and a modern tax structure as well as aimed to reduce the prices of items, increase tax compliance and enhance tax collections. Since then, a vast change has occurred from the erstwhile VAT (Value Added Tax) structure. The VAT tax was imposed upon the value added to the items and was the same for almost all types of items. GST came up with a more accurate tax system based upon tax slabs on the usage of various types of items. GST combined a large number of taxes like State Tax, Octroi, Levies, Sales Tax etc. into one tax. Service Tax i.e., tax levied on the services provided was also included to it, thus giving it a new name - Goods and Service Tax. Tax slabs were - 0% on items of essential need viz. loosely sold Rice, Atta, Salt, Milk, Eggs, Baby Food etc., 5% tax slab on items of ordinary use like Mustard Oil, Clothes below Rs. 1000/-, Domestic LPG, Coal, Cashew Nuts, Packed Paneer, Agarbatti, Footwear below Rs.500/-, Floor

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Coverings etc., 12% GST rates was for items less used like Butter, Ghee, Almonds, Keypad Mobiles, Umbrellas, Chutney, Jam, Jelly etc., 18% GST was on luxury items viz Hair Oil, Toothpaste, Laptops, Pasta, Ice-Cream, Smartphones, Computer Monitors (less than 17"), Apparel Accessories etc., 28% GST slab was on imported items like Jewellery, imported Cars, Perfumes, Fashion Accessories, iPhones etc. A large number of items were also exempt from the GST like donations made for charitable purposes, schools, religious places etc. Similarly, services were also taxed at 3%, 5%, 12%, 18% etc. The GST tax collected is shared between the Centre and the State in a 50-50 ratio. Through the passage of time, flaws appeared in the process like dependency on online computerized filing of tax returns resulting in the failure of small businesses to setup such facilities at their workplaces, objection also arose on the levy of higher tax rates like 12%, 18% on oft and daily use items like tractors, toothpaste and others, complex and costly implementation created problems for tax refunds, confusion as well as difficulties in tax filing for small, medium or common businesses. Thus, reform in GST was the cry of the day.

Donald Trump, who took over as the US President, February last imposed huge tariffs i.e., 50% of exports of Indian goods to them. Some items attracted even more tariffs. He did this globally with a view to enhancing US trade and economic interests. Since, our exports would fall, the government introduced a slew of measures to protect our businesses. Among them were the introduction of PLI (Production Linked Incentive) scheme to the effected industries, finding alternative export destinations and reforms in the GST. In his Independence Day speech on the 15th of August, this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared reforms in GST before Diwali. Thus, the GST Council meet on the 3rd of

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September last, decided to do away with the 12% and 28% tax slabs. Accordingly, a large number of items earlier in the 12% or 18% slab were moved to the 5% tax slab which included items like Hair Oil, Shampoo, Toothpaste, Toilet Soap, Toothbrush, Shaving Cream,  Butter, Ghee, Cheese and Diary spreads, Pre-Packed, Namkeens, Bhujias & 

Mixtures, Utensils, Feeding Bottles, Sewing Machines and Parts etc. Similarly, various consumer electronic items like Smart TVs, Refrigerators, Air Conditioners, Washing Machines etc. will be taxed at 18% instead of 28%. More importantly, Individual and Life Insurance products were changed from the 18% to the Nil slab. Also, medical equipment like All Diagnostic Kits & Reagents, Glucometer & Test Strips, Corrective Spectacles, Thermometer etc. were brought to the 5% slab. Similarly, taxes on educational items like Maps, Charts, Globes, Pencils, Sharpeners, Crayons, Pastels, Exercise Book & Notebooks were reduced to Nil. Petrol & Petrol Hybrid, LPG, CNG Cars (not exceeding 1200 cc & 4000 mm), Motorcycles (below 350cc) etc. have been brought in the 18% tax slab from the 28% earlier.

Focusing on Atmanirbhar and Ease of Living, the GST 2.0 reforms were made applicable from September 22nd last, just a few days before the festive season setting in. Coined as GST Bachat Utsav, the reform is aimed at reducing inflation in necessary and largely used items so that they can be within the reach of the ordinary citizenry, the farmers and small businesses. Given India's high unemployment rates, low per capita income, these reforms will boost sales in the items with reduced prices and propel the economy towards greater consumption and higher GDP growth. The reforms in GST must surely be made to suit the interests of all the people in the economic chain to make taxation simpler, easily implementable and provide impetus to higher GDP growth rates.