In-Depth

Not only has Modi’s social media popularity been on the rise, but he is now leading the 2016 Time Person of the Year poll
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange are the frontrunners of TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year Reader’s Poll, coming at 11 per cent and 9 per cent respectively.
Modi’s popularity is on the rise, as he is engaged in a battle against corruption in the financial sector; he recently ratified the Paris Climate Agreement.

The IMF has set a number of conditions including floating the EGP in order to receive $12 billion in loans [Xinhua]
Egypt is reportedly weeks away from securing the first installment of its much-anticipated $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund as its currency continues to fall in the parallel market.
Managing Director Christine Lagarde told reporters last week that “[Egypt has] almost completed” the actions required for the IMF board to review the loan accord.

BRICS is home to 43% of the world’s population [Xinhua]BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – account for 43 per cent of the world’s population and 25 per cent of the global economy.
Despite a global economic slowdown, BRICS has been a main economic engine for the world economy.
Countries such as Brazil and Russia, which struggled with recession in the past two years, are expected to turn the corner and post GDP growth in 2017.

Of primary concern to many academics is that 48 per cent of South African youth is unemployed [Xinhua]
Several South African universities continued to be closed this week because of student demonstrations protesting the government’s recommendations that such institutions could hike tuition fees by a maximum of 8 per cent in 2017 after zero increases in 2016.
Demonstrations since late 2015 under the #FeesMustFall campaign have disrupted teaching at many South African universities with buildings and libraries damaged as a result of arson and vandalism.

The currencies of three BRICS economies have steadily strengthened against the US dollar in recent weeks.
Brazil’s real, Russia’s ruble and South Africa’s rand have benefited from a ‘pause’ in the momentum to raise interest rates, particularly in the US.
All three countries have battled recession in contrast to BRICS members China and India, which are forecast to grow 6.7 per cent and 7.6 per cent, respectively, in 2016.
The rand is up nearly 15 per cent against the dollar in 2016 after suffering a significant slump in mid-2015.