Politics Stable, Exports Down

The Lok Sabha (lower house) on June 3 unanimously elected Meira Kumar as the country's first woman speaker. Kumar is also a member of the dalit caste, or 'untouchables'. The appointment has been heralded as a positive step towards promoting equality for women and citizens who belong to the lower castes. Kumar was a beneficiary of India's reservation laws (affirmative action favouring the underprivileged castes) which allowed her to complete her tertiary education at Delhi University and subsequently join the Indian Foreign Service. President Pratibha Patil, who is also India's first woman president, has congratulated her appointment, saying that it

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