Crisis-hit Argentina requests $50 bn IMF loan
Buenos Aires, Aug 30 : In an unexpected move Argentina has asked for an early release of a $50 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund amid a growing economic crisis, the IMF said.
President Mauricio Macri said on Wednesday the move was designed to restore confidence in the Argentine economy, the BBC reported.
"Over the last week we have seen new expressions of lack of confidence in the markets, specifically over our financing capacity in 2019," Macri said in a televised address. "This decision aims to eliminate any uncertainty."
The Argentine peso has lost more than 40 per cent of its value against the US dollar in 2018 and inflation is rampant.
The monetary body confirmed on Wednesday it was looking to strengthen the arrangement and changing its phasing, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a statement.
Investors are concerned Argentina may not be able repay its heavy government borrowing and could default. The IMF bailout smacks of growing desperation, the BBC reported.
When the terms of the loan were agreed in May, Macri said he expected the economy to recover and did not plan to use the money.
Unlike other emerging markets -- Turkey and Brazil -- following devaluation of their currencies, Argentina's situation is particularly troublesome.
It has failed to lower inflation, which is the highest amongst G20 nations, the BBC said. Macri's government has also failed to enact the economic reforms -- curbing public spending and borrowing -- that it promised the IMF.
The IMF is widely loathed in the South American nation and blamed for the country's 2001 economic collapse after it pulled the plug and denied financial support.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah accuses EC of ‘bias’, defends state guarantee schemes ahead of bypolls
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has accused the EC of "double standards" and "bias" after it sought details on the state’s guarantee schemes in Davanagere and Bagalkot districts, where bypolls are scheduled for Thursday.
In a post on 'X' on Wednesday, Siddaramaiah said the Election Commission of India had asked the Karnataka government for information on fund releases under five ongoing guarantee schemes in the constituencies going to polls.
The polls were necessitated following the deaths of senior Congress MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti, respectively.
The schemes are Gruha Jyothi, which provides 200 units of free electricity to every household; Gruha Lakshmi, offering Rs 2,000 to women heading families; and Anna Bhagya, supplying 10 kg of rice per month to each member of BPL families.
In addition, Yuva Nidhi grants Rs 3,000 to unemployed graduates and Rs 1,500 to unemployed diploma holders aged 18–25 for two years, while Shakti enables women to travel free of charge within Karnataka on government non-luxury buses.
Siddaramaiah alleged that the ECI had remained silent when similar cash transfer schemes were announced in Maharashtra and Bihar ahead of elections, calling the scrutiny of Karnataka’s schemes a "clear case of bias".
"In states like Maharashtra and Bihar, cash transfer schemes were announced or fast-tracked just before elections, directly benefiting voters. Yet the ECI remained silent. This is not neutrality—it is complicity," he said.
The CM accused the BJP and NDA governments of "a double standard", noting that when they act, the ECI "looks the other way", but when Karnataka fulfils its promises, it faces "intense scrutiny".
He added that targeting the state’s guarantee schemes is "not just political but anti-poor, anti-women, and anti-Karnataka."
Siddaramaiah clarified that these schemes were not launched in connection with the bypolls but are ongoing programmes implemented as part of the Congress government’s commitments from the 2023 Assembly elections.
Funds are transferred regularly to beneficiaries in a transparent and structured manner, he added.
"The guarantees are part of governance—a direct investment in human dignity, household stability, and economic participation, not inducement," he said.
He also accused the BJP of "hypocrisy", saying that while it criticises Karnataka’s schemes as "freebies", it rolls out similar programmes in states it governs.
"The Karnataka model has set a benchmark for the country. What is deeply concerning, however, is the ECI’s selective approach," Siddaramaiah added.
