BEATING DRUMS TO SELL ATTACHED ASSETS? SEBI FLAGS 'OUTDATED'
RECOVERY METHODS
Beating drums and shouting
aloud may have a lot of dramatic value to attract potential bidders but capital
markets regulator SEBI feels these archaic methods for recovery of funds
through sale of attached assets are outdated and there are several newer
alternatives that can yield better results. The 'outdated' provisions have
caught the eyes of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) during a
review of recovery powers available to the regulator, which it exercises when
someone fails to pay penalties or fees or defaults on regulatory orders. In
consultation with the Ministry of Finance, the securities market regulator is
considering drafting separate recovery rules to recover penalties, fees, disgorgement
amount and refund orders made under the SEBI Act, officials said. SEBI is
empowered to order attachment and sale of defaulters' properties as well as
bank accounts, as also to order arrest and detention of a defaulter and to
appoint a receiver for management of the defaulter's movable and immovable
properties. The watchdog is required to apply relevant provisions of the Income
Tax Act, as in force from time to time, while taking into account necessary
modifications to the tax law, for recovery purpose. SEBI had asked the
government to make necessary provisions in the laws to enable it to make
regulations and amendments to provide for faster and efficient methods for
recovering monies. In reply to SEBI's suggestions, the Ministry of Finance told
the regulator that the power to modify the Income Tax Act provisions for
recoveries to be made under the SEBI Act should vest with the central
government and therefore modifications need to be prescribed through rules made
by the government. Therefore, SEBI has also decided to request the government
to amend the three main laws for the securities market -- the SEBI Act, the
Securities Contracts Regulation Act (SCRA) and the Depositories Act -- to
empower SEBI to frame regulations for recovery of money, including from
attached properties and accounts of defaulters, officials said. SEBI will also
make certain incidental proposals which are more in the nature of clean up of
the three main laws to replace few terms and phrases which have since ceased to
exist. The finance ministry is in agreement for these changes. These include
mention of the word 'Bombay' as the place for head office of the regulator,
which it has suggested to be changed to 'Mumbai', which became the city's name
in 1995. Also, there are still some references to the erstwhile Companies Act,
1956, which has been replaced with the Companies Act, 2013, and SEBI has sought
the similar change in laws governing the regulator.
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SEBI CONTEMPLATES REDUCING TIME TO LIST RIGHTS ISSUE SHARES
After reducing the time to
list shares on the stock exchanges post-closure of initial public offerings
(IPOs), markets regulator SEBI is aiming to cut down the time for listing of
rights issue shares an official said. In September last year, the Securities
and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) decided on reducing the time to list shares
on the bourses after IPO to three days from the present six. The SEBI directive
is likely to come into effect from July this year. SEBI had cited mitigating
external risks such as market volatility and uncertainty of financial markets
as the reason behind the move. SEBI aims to reduce the listing of IPO shares to
three days from six days now. It is supposed to be introduced for IPOs from
July 2019 onwards. Now, the regulator is working on simplifying the rights
issue process Central Depository Services (India) Ltd. (CDSL) VP (operations)
Nitin Ambure told PTI. I hope the number of days for listing the rights issue
shares will come down to 8-10 days from about a month now This may happen in
phases, he said. The markets regulator has involved stakeholders such as
depositories and transaction advisors in the rights issue listing
simplification process, he said.
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PINAKI CHANDRA GHOSE SET TO BE INDIA’S FIRST LOKPAL
Former Supreme Court judge
and current member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Pinaki
Chandra Ghose, is likely to be India’s first anti-corruption ombudsman, or
Lokpal after his name was cleared and recommended by the high-level selection
committee chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. iHis name has been
finalised, said a top official involved in the selection process. Sources in
the government said the names of other Lokpal members had also been decided.
Other members of the committee are Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, Lok
Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and eminent jurist Mukul Rohatgi.
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CVC FINDS MANY FLAWS IN SALE OF BAD DEBT BY BANKS
In high season for sale of
bad loans to asset reconstruction companies (ARCs), the Central Vigilance
Commission (CVC) has pointed to several irregularities in transactions
involving non-performing loan accounts, prompting the government to initiate
action against errant executives. Instances have come to the notice of the
commission, wherein prudence has not been observed, while taking decision on
sale of stressed asset to ARCs. Irregularities have been noticed in estimating
the value of underlying securities (which) is much higher that the value at
which the assets were sold to ARCs, post-sale realisation from assets,
management fees and expenses charged by ARCs, etc, the CVC said after an
analysis of 302 cases of over Rs 50 crore from 2014-15 to 2017-18. In at least 48
cases, assets were sold to ARCs below the realisable value of securities that
the borrower had given as security at the time of availing of the loan. In
several cases, banks were found to be fixing the reserve price without factoring
in the accrued interest, resulting in banks having to take a deeper haircut,
the CVC said in its report to the government. It also said that in case of
companies that are sold as a going concern, the primary value of stocks and
equipment were not factored in, while fixing the reserve price. Similarly, in
55 cases, assets were sold within a year of the date of the account turning
into a non-performing asset (NPA), without banks initiating recovery action
under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement
of Security Interest Act. In all, 22 irregularities and gaps in regulations
have been pointed out by the vigilance body, prompting the government to swing
into action. The department of financial services has written to all state run
banks, asking them to analyse all accounts of over Rs 50 crore and initiate
action after examining accountability of executives and lodge complaints with
law enforcement agencies. While bankers acknowledged that there may be
instances of improper transactions, they said the latest advisory is prompting
many lenders to go slow on asset sales — which typically peak at the year-end.
Some of the bankers said this may result in several loans, which would have
been sold, remaining on their balance sheets.
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RESERVE BANK OF INDIA RAISES CONCERN OVER ROLE OF ‘RATING
ADVISERS’
Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) has pinpointed the conflict of interest in the functioning of credit
rating agencies and is concerned over the role of the littleknown club of
‘rating advisers’, which are unregulated entities acting as brokers between
companies and rating agencies. In a recent meeting, RBI governor Shaktikanta
Das categorically questioned the dual practice of rating agencies to rate a
bond as well as decide its valuation which is used by mutual funds (MFs) to
calculate the net asset value, or NAV, of a MF scheme. Das said the two
businesses pose a conflict as he asked senior agency officials present in the
meeting about the share of ‘non-rating activities’ in earnings of rating
companies. It is perceived that the motivation to downgrade a security would be
lower for an agency which carries out both businesses. The valuation of a bond
is also function of liquidity in the market. If a price or value of a bond goes
down, it could impact the rating. But the agency doing both may be reluctant to
downgrade a rating or keep it under watch because it could make its rating
transition and default statistics look bad, a banker familiar with the
discussions told. While bond valuation is not a big business for rating
agencies, it gives them a certain clout and builds their relationship with
funds. More so, because rating MF schemes is another business for the rating
agencies, said the person. Das clearly spelt out that credit rating is a
different kind of business in which revenue should not be the primary
objective. The rotation of the rating agencies every five years – the kind of
regulation that applies to auditors – is another suggestion that has cropped up
in making the agencies more effective and independent. The suggestion is that
Sebi or RBI should play a role in the reappointment of an agency by a
corporate. However, some of the agencies argue that this would disturb the
long-term data on a bond issuer’s rating movements, said a source.
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SEBI IMPOSES FINE OF OVER RS 10 CRORE ON SYBLY INDUSTRIES
Securities and Exchange
Board of India (SEBI) has imposed a fine of over Rs 10 crore on Sybly Industries
in a matter related to manipulation in the issuance of global depository
receipts (GDR). The penalty follows a probe by the regulator regarding the
firm’s allotment of 1.51 million GDR amounting to $6.99 million on the
Luxembourg Stock Exchange in June 2008.
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RESERVE BANK OF INDIA’S UNUSUAL LIQUIDITY TOOL FINDS PRAISE IN
TIMING, BUT HAS EXIT RISKS
Every time India goes to
polls, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) scrambles to make sure that banks don’t
run out of cash. That is because cash leakage from banks is faster in the
run-up to elections as shown by the increase in growth rate of currency in
circulation. For a nation trying to get back to its cash levels to
pre-demonetization days, before 86% of its notes were rendered invalid, the
leakage rate is obviously faster. But this time, the prescription has an
unusual additional pill. RBI will buy $5 billion from banks on 26 March and
give roughly ₹35,000 crore in return, on the condition they buy back these dollars
three years later. The premium at which dollars will be bought back will be
decided through an auction. The most obvious reason RBI did this was to avoid
being a back-door fiscal deficit funding source, which is what it effectively
does every time it buys government bonds to increase the stock of rupees in the
system. As prescriptions go, this swap deal comes on top, compared with the
modus operandi of managing liquidity through short-term repo operations that
RBI followed so far. Hedging is cheaper, and the resultant infusion of rupees
would keep a lid on short-term rupee loan rates too. It gets marks for the
timing as well and it is a win-win. But making sure banks have enough money
until the cash leakages slow down is one thing, and taking on risk in the
future is another. As its foreign liabilities go up, the central bank is piling
on the risk of exit.
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RBI GOVERNOR TO HOLD PRE-POLICY MEET WITH TRADE BODIES, RATING
AGENCIES ON MARCH 26
Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das will hold discussions on March 26 with
representatives of trade bodies and credit rating agencies on interest rate and
steps to boost economic activities said sources. The meeting, which comes ahead
of the next financial year's first MPC meet scheduled for April 4, is aimed at
broadening the consultation process, they added. The bi-monthly policy, to be
finalised by the six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), assumes
significance as it would be announced just a week before the commencement of
the seven phase general elections beginning April 11. The pre-policy
consultation meeting with the governor will take place in Mumbai on March 26,
the sources said.
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IDBI BANK STAFF UPSET AT PRIVATE LENDER TAG, SEEK OPTION TO
SHIFT TO OTHER PSBS
The employees of IDBI Bank
are on the warpath over its categorisation as a private lender and are seeking
the option to switch to any other nationalised bank with protection of pay and
service. We also want a memorandum of understanding confirming that existing
service conditions and welfare measures for officers will be protected till
their retirement, A.V. Vithal Koteswara Rao, told. Once the notion of a private
bank arises, not only employees, but also the general public, will lose as
public sector banks’ service is not profit-oriented, he said. IDBI Bank has
17,500 employees on its rolls, spread over 1,890 branches across the country,
and has received a top rating for customer service for the last two years. The
association has served notice to the bank management with a list of demands,
and is planning a one-day nationwide hunger strike on March 30, 2019.
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FINANCE MINISTRY ASKS BANKS TO GIVE PREFERENCE TO INDIAN FIRMS
FOR ATM PROCUREMENT
The finance ministry has
asked banks to give preference to Indian manufacturers under the ‘Make in
India’ initiative when purchasing ATMs. A finance ministry official said the
directions are in accordance with the guidelines issued in 2017 by the then
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). Banks have been directed
to ensure compliance he said. The DIPP has since then been renamed the
Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). DIPP had
directed all departments to evolve an internal system of vetting the
restrictive and discriminating terms against domestic manufacturers especially
included in the tenders they float with state governments. The extant norms
also said there should be no criteria for bidders that would be advantageous to
foreign manufactured goods. A bank executive said the move may help domestic
ATM manufacturers, who number over 200,000. The DPIIT is also looking to amend
the public procurement order so that penal action can be taken against erring
officials of procurement agencies of any government department if they include
restrictive or discriminatory conditions against domestic suppliers in bid
documents.
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67.82 LAKH FARMERS MISS BENEFITS AS STATES DIDN'T UPLOAD
DETAILS ON THE PM-KISAN PORTAL
Over 67.82 lakh farmers
will be left out of the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme as West Bengal,
Sikkim and Delhi have not uploaded their details on the PM- KISAN portal, Union
Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said on Sunday. The three states are
besides Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Lakshadweep
where funds have not been transferred to the eligible farmers as uploaded data
has not been verified and request for fund release has not been made. Singh
said 67.11 lakh farmers in West Bengal would have received Rs 2,000 each had
the state's availed the first installment of Rs 1,342 crore under the Pradhan
Mantri Kisan Nidhi (PM- KISAN). Similarly, 55,090 farmers in Sikkim and 15,880
in Delhi could not receive their share from the Rs 11 crore and Rs 3 crore
funds meant for them under the scheme. Singh said details of 4.71 crore farmers
were uploaded by 33 states and Union Territories and 3.11 of them were found
eligible after verification.
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ONLY 5% UNRECOGNISED PARTIES FILED CONTRIBUTION DETAILS:
REPORT
Unrecognised political
parties received Rs. 25.27 crore in donations between 2013-14 and 2015-16, with
only 5 per cent of such registered outfits filed their contribution details,
says a report. According to the Election Commission of India (ECI) notification
on April 13, 2018, there are 2,099 political parties registered And 2,044 or
about 97 per cent of registered political parties are unrecognised. Only 5 per
cent of registered unrecognised parties filed their contributions report to the
ECI between 2013-14 and 2015-16, a report released today by Association for
Democratic Reforms (ADR) said. For 2013-14, out of 1,627 unrecognised parties
only 89 or 5 per cent filed their donations reports with the ECI and declared
an income of Rs. 14.03 crore from voluntary contributions, it said. A total of
1,737 parties were listed as unrecognised parties in 2014-15, out of which only
106 or 6 per cent submitted their contribution statements to the ECI. Their
total declared income from voluntary contributions was Rs. 6.86 crore. Also,
1,906 parties were listed as unrecognised parties in 2015-16, of which only 99
or 5 per cent submitted their donations report to the ECI, declaring a total
income of Rs. 4.37 crore, the report said. Political parties are completely
exempted from paying income tax as long as they file their returns and submit
details of donations received above Rs. 20,000 to the ECI, annually. As many as
42 unrecognised parties declared donations below Rs. 20,000 in their submission
to the ECI for at least one financial year being considered, the report said.
Out of Rs. 14.03 crore declared as voluntary contributions during 2013-14 by
unrecognised parties, Rs. 9.99 lakh came from donations below Rs. 20,000.
Similarly, the parties received Rs. 20.79 lakh out of Rs. 6.86 crore (2014-15)
and Rs. 27.52 lakh out of Rs. 4.37 crore (2015-16) in such donations. During
2013-14, registered political parties received Rs. 393.18 crore as voluntary
contributions, out of which recognised parties (regional and national) received
Rs. 382.15 crore, while unrecognised parties collected Rs. 14.03 crore, the
report said. Out of Rs. 778.08 crore donations declared by registered parties
during 2014-15, regional and national parties collected Rs. 771.22 crore, while
unrecognised parties declared Rs. 6.86 crore. While regional and national
parties collected Rs. 281.85 crore during 2015-16, unrecognised parties
received Rs. 4.38 crore in donations, it said. Among state-wise declaration of
donations by unrecognised parties between 2013-14 and 2015-16, the reports were
filed from 18 states, including Rajasthan, Telangana, Haryana, West Bengal,
Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. Unrecognised parties from Rajasthan declared a
total of Rs. 10.79 crore between 2013-14 and 2015-16, the highest among all
states, followed by Telangana (Rs. 3.82 crore) and Haryana (Rs. 2.74 crore).
The report further said that unrecognised parties from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh,
Tripura, Karnataka, Bihar, Assam, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir failed
to submit their donations details for at least one of the three years
considered. Among parties of Rajasthan, National Unionist Zamindara Party,
declared the highest donations of Rs. 3.70 crore during 2013-14, while Shining
India Party declared the highest donations during 2014-15 and 2015-16, with Rs.
68.9 lakh and Rs. 76.76 lakh, respectively, the Delhi-based think-tank said.
During 2013-14 and 2015-16, Lok Satta Party of Telangana declared the highest
donations with Rs. 190.81 lakh and Rs. 28.20 lakh, respectively. A total of 33
unrecognised parties submitted their donation reports for all the three financial
years. These include 10 from Gujarat, 6 from West Bengal, 4 each from Tamil
Nadu, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, 2 from Chhattisgarh and one each from Delhi,
Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. ADR said 14 out of the 33 unrecognised
parties declared nil donations for all the three financial years. These include
6 from Gujarat, 2 each from Rajasthan and West Bengal and one each from Andhra
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi and Maharashtra. The top three unrecognised
parties, which declared the highest total donations are Indian Peoples Green
Party (Rajasthan) with total donations of Rs. 1.34 crore, followed by Rastriya
Ahinsa Mancha (West Bengal) -Rs. 1.22 crore - and Dharmarajya Paksha
(Maharashtra) - Rs. 1.07 crore.
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INDIA HAS 2,293 POLITICAL PARTIES, 149 REGISTERED BETWEEN JAN
& MARCH: EC
The Election Commission of
India's latest data on political parties, registered till March 9, a day before
the Lok Sabha elections were announced, reveal that the country is having a
total of 2,293 political parties They include seven recognised national and 59
recognised state parties. In fact, 149 political parties were registered with
the poll panel between February and March on the eve of the announcement of the
poll schedule. Till February this year, the country had 2,143 political parties
registered with the Commission, with 58 of them getting registered ahead of the
assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telengana, Mizoram and
Chhattisgarh during November-Deember last year. They have to choose from a list
of 'free symbols' issued by the poll panel. According to the latest EC
circular, there are 84 such free symbols available currently.
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CASH FLOW IN 110 LOK SABHA SEATS UNDER EC WATCH
More than 110 Lok Sabha
constituencies have been identified as expenditure sensitive or prone to
influence through money power in the upcoming general election, according to
the latest data compiled by the Election Commission. The number is likely to
exceed 150 Lok Sabha seats out of a total 543 as inputs from more states are
filed. For the first time, the Election Commission has decided to send in two
expenditure observers to each of these constituencies to create special teams
dedicated to tracking activity on the ground. The recently constituted Multi
Department Election Intelligence Committee (MDIC), which held its first meeting
on March 15, will also put these constituencies under close scrutiny to track
and freeze illegal money flows. The EC assessment is based on inputs by chief
electoral officers (CEOs) of all states and Union Territories. The Tamil Nadu
CEO has sought observers for each of its 39 constituencies. In 2017, the EC had
countermanded by-elections to RK Nagar. It has postponed assembly polls in two
constituencies in 2016 amid allegations of rampant voter bribery and cash
seizures.
Andhra Pradesh, known to
see high levels of money flow in elections, will have 116 of 175 assembly
constituencies and 16 of 25 Lok Sabha constituencies under watch. In Telangana,
17 Lok Sabha seats will be under scrutiny. In Bihar, 21 of the 40 Lok Sabha
seats across 26 assembly constituencies are on the EC radar as are two LS seats
in Jharkhand. In Gujarat, 28 assembly constituencies and 18 of 26 LS constituencies
are on the list as are 12 of 28 in Karnataka, EC data indicates. Four of the
five LS constituencies in Uttarakhand are sensitive besides two out of six in
J&K. Three Lok Sabha seats each in Haryana and Chhattisgarh, one out of two
in Goa, five in Rajasthan and six in Punjab are also on the watch list. Eight
assembly constituencies and two LS constituencies in Manipur, 23 Vidhan Sabha
seats and two LS seats in Meghalaya, seven assembly constituencies and one LS
constituency in Nagaland are on the radar as well. Uttar Pradesh is still
finalising its list of sensitive constituencies as candidates in the fray are
likely to be determining factors. Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra, West
Bengal, Tripura, Assam, Kerala and the Union territories of Delhi, Chandigrah,
Andaman &Nicobar, Daman & Diu have not yet indicated any such
constituencies. The EC is likely to reassess this. West Bengal, for instance,
has sought more expenditure observers even though it hasn’t indicated any
specific constituency as sensitive. Money power has been identified by the EC
repeatedly as one of the biggest challenges to the conduct of fair and free
polls. The EC seized Rs 1,200 crore during the 2014 LS election, including Rs
300 crore in cash. Of the latter, Rs 124 crore was seized in Andhra Pradesh
alone while drugs worth more than Rs 700 crore were seized in Punjab. Since
then, the commission has posted a total seizure of Rs 1,837.52 crore until
early 2018 in 21 state assembly elections.
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SUPREME COURT NOTICE TO TRIAL JUDGE AND ALLAHABAD HC FOR
SERIOUS LAPSE ON THE PART OF THE JUDGE
In a strongly worded
order, the Supreme Court has come down on Special Judge (SC/ST Act), Deoria,
Uttar Pradesh for what it perceived it to be a serious lapse on the part of the
judge to abide by the orders of this Court. What irked the Bench of Chief
Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna was the
failure on the part of the judge to complete the trial of a case within the
deadline prescribed by the Supreme Court. The Court has now issued notice to
the Registrar General of Allahabad High Court and the Special Judge to explain
the reasons for the delay. The Supreme Court had, on 9 December 2016, directed
the trial judge to conclude the trial within six months. It had also noted that
the trial court was free to pass orders if there were complaints regarding the
conduct of the prosecution or that of the accused-respondent in influencing
witnesses. However, after nearly two years, Special Judge (SC/ST Act) of
Deoria, Uttar Pradesh, requested the Supreme Court to grant additional time to
conclude the trial in the case and wrote a letter to the Supreme Court making
the request. The Supreme Court, in its March 15, 2019 order, noted that from 29
January 2019, seven adjournments were granted by the Presiding Officer. Three
of these adjournments were granted to the accused, the order stated. This would
prima facie show serious lack of concern on the part of the Presiding Officer
to adhere to the time bound schedule for conclusion of the case that this Court
had ordered.
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GOVERNMENT TO SOON START SELECTION PROCESS FOR NEW PFRDA
CHAIRMAN
The government will soon
start selection process for a new chairman of pension fund regulator PFRDA to
succeed the present chief, Hemant G Contractor, whose term is slated to end in
April. The Finance Ministry will soon come out with an advertisement to find a
successor to head the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority
(PFRDA), sources told. Contractor's term will be completed on April 30, 2019.
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EXPERT PANEL TO REVIEW OBC ‘CREAMY LAYER’ CRITERIA AFTER 26
YEARS
In a move that has raised
anxiety levels among interested groups the Centre has constituted an expert
committee to revisit the criteria for determining the creamy layer for OBCs
which was laid down in 1993. It has argued that the review was required to
simplify and streamline the norms in view of issues arising from their
implementation. Creamy layer is the section of OBCs that is economically
advanced and ineligible for Mandal reservations. Following the Supreme Court’s
judgment on Mandal Commission, the exclusion norms for creamy layer were laid
down by the DoPT’s office memorandum of 1993 based on the report of the Prasad
committee. After 26 years, ministry of social justice, on March 8, set up a
panel headed by retired GOI secretary BP Sharma, with terms of reference which
sound radical in their breadth and scope. The committee will revisit the
criteria evolved by the Prasad committee and give recommendations for
redefining, simplifying and streamlining the concept of creamy layer while
keeping in view the SC’s observations in Indira Sawhney case. The backdrop for
the review is the controversy arising from the DoPT’s application of different
wealth test yardsticks — inclusion of salaries in family income — for OBCs with
parents employed in central and state governments, and those with parents in
PSUs. At the core of the problem is that posts in PSUs have not been identified
as Group A/B/C/D like in government, creating confusion. The committee has been
asked to submit report in 15 days.
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ASSOCHAM RELEASES CHARTER OF DEMANDS FOR POLITICAL PARTIES;
PITCHES FOR 8-8.5 PC GROWTH RATE
Industry body Assocham
Sunday released a charter of demands to make India a USD 5 trillion economy by
2025 and called on political parties to incorporate the same in their Lok Sabha
poll manifestos. Listing out the charter, Assocham in a statement said it wants
political parties to pledge, among other steps, to enable growth rate of 8-8.5
per cent per annum. Some of demands that Assocham wants political parties to
incorporate in their 2019 election manifestoes include simplification of GST
structure, time bound dilution of government stake in Public Sector Undertaking
(PSUs), providing tax rebate of 1 per cent to companies that offer over 20 per
cent jobs for women and cut in corporate income tax for MSME sector. It further
suggested expeditious roll-out of Ayushman Bharat and reducing education cost
by minimising GST on outsourced education services from 18 per cent to 5 per
cent. To boost economic growth and investment, the industry body has suggested
creation of development finance institutions to provide long term non-bank
funding option to the industry. To improve farmers' income, the industry body
suggested the exemption of GST on leasing services for farm equipment and
machinery, as well as creation of Technology Up-gradation Fund (TUF) for
agriculture to provide capital subsidy. To boost manufacturing, the industry
has pitched for gradual simplification of GST structure aiming for dual rate
slab 8 and 16 per cent. It has also suggested reduction in the corporate income
tax to 15 per cent (from present 25 per cent) for the Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises (MSME) over a period of 5 years and 20 per cent (from present 30
per cent) for large companies over a period of 5 years.
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PRIVATE AND PUBLIC EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS ARE BOTH EXEMPT
FROM ELECTRICITY DUTY: BOMBAY HC
In a significant ruling,
the Bombay high court has held that there is an electricity duty exemption for
public and private educational institutions alike, under the law. The court
decided a purely legal point which would offer relief to all educational
institutions faced with a steep power bill or threat of disconnection of its
supply, if electricity duty is unpaid. The HC judgment was in a petition filed
last year by Shri Vile Parle Kelvani Mandal, a Public Charitable Trust and its
nine private educational institutions including NMIMS and Mithibai college,
against imposition of a 21 percent electricity duty. The duty, with arrears
amounted to Rs 3.5 crore in bills last July and August, said the petition. The
SVKM trust successfully assailed the legality also of a June 2018 opinion of
the Maharashtra law and judiciary department as being contrary to the
Maharashtra Electricity Duty Act, (MED) 2016. The opinion said that after the
enactment of new MED Act, 2016, the educational charitable institutions
registered under the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950 are not exempted from
payment of electricity duty, with effect from September 2016. The Trust's
counsel Milind Sathe and Gaurav Srivastava argued that the exemption applied to
all educational and health institutions, under the new Act as it did under the
old MED Act of 1958, which governed levy of electricity duty. A bench of
Justices S C Dharmadhikari and M S Karnik said it could not accept the AG’s
argument as it held that, clause (iii) of sub-section (2) of section 3 of the
MED Act, 2016 does not precede the words school or college or institution
imparting education or training, students' hostels, hospitals, nursing homes,
dispensaries, clinics etc, by the word ‘public’. The HC said, public street
lighting, public water works, public sewerage system, public gardens; including
zoos, public museums and administrative offices forming whole or as the case
may be part of the system run by local bodies are thus clubbed together with
public or private institutions in the field of education, health and that is
how the intent is not to levy this duty on them. It held that under exemption
provision now, several activities which are in the nature a service and
rendered not necessarily with a profit motive are covered. Therefore, education
and health, irrespective of whether service in such fields is rendered by
public body or private body, is covered.
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STEEL FIRMS URGE GOVT TO REIN IN CLANDESTINE IMPORTS FROM IRAN
Steel companies have urged
the government to stop the dumping of steel by Iran through the United Arab
Emirates at a much lower price. In a letter written to Binoy Kumar, Secretary
Steel, the Indian Steel Association said it is alarming that steel imports to
India from the UAE are growing at a fast pace and is expected to go up over
three times to 2.34 lakh tonnes (1.18 lt) this fiscal. Imports from the UAE, at
1.75 lt in the first nine of this fiscal, has already surpassed imports during
the whole of last year. On the other hand, shipments, directly from Iran, have
come to standstill from the 34,330 tonnes logged in FY18. Of the overall
imports from the UAE, flat steel accounted for 65,000 tonnes. Conventionally,
the UAE is a net importer of flat steel products. Iran offers hot-rolled coil
prices at $450 a tonne against China’s quoted price of $515 a tonne, including
ocean freight of $25. Consequently, the landed cost of shipment from Iran works
out to ₹36,350 a tonne, against China’s ₹41,600
a tonne.
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JET AIRWAYS GROUNDS 4 MORE PLANES FOR NON-PAYMENT OF LEASE
RENTALS
Cash-strapped Jet Airways
Monday said it has grounded four more planes taking the number of aircraft that
are non-operational due to non-payment of lease rentals to 41. Grappling with
financial woes, the carrier has been looking at ways to raise fresh funds.
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JET AIRWAYS SUSPENDS SERVICES TO ABU DHABI, SLASHES FLIGHTS TO
DUBAI
Jet Airways has suspended
services to Abu Dhabi and slashed the number of flights to Dubai till
March-end. According to a notice from Etihad Airport Services, the airline has cancelled
all its flights from Monday for operational reasons. It has also stopped
Delhi-Dubai flights. The airline has been committing lessors and vendors
regarding payment and has not been able to meet them till now. The airline management
is looking to raise funds and clarity would be available in next few days, said
a source familiar with development.
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JET AIRWAYS' PILOTS APPROACH LABOUR MINISTER SANTOSH GANGWAR
ON SALARY ARREARS
The pilots' union of
crisis-hit Jet Airways has approached the government flagging concerns about
salary arrears, saying that the situation is leading to extreme tension and
frustration according to a letter. The cash-strapped full service airline has
been making delayed salary payment for the last few months and has also
defaulted on loan repayments. Against this backdrop, the National Aviator's
Guild (NAG) -- a grouping of over 1,000 pilots of Jet Airways -- has written to
Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar. In the letter, dated March 6, the grouping has
raised concerns about persistent delay in salary payment of member pilots. This
situation is leading to extreme tension and frustration amongst our members,
hardly an ideal situation for pilots in the cockpit. All pleas to the
management in this regard have fallen on deaf ears, the letter said.
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SBI MOVES HIGH COURT FOR 2.8% IN UBL
State Bank of India (SBI),
one of the lead lenders to Vijay Mallya’s businesses, has moved the Karnataka
High Court to seek rights over a 2.8% stake, worth Rs 1,025 crore, in beer
maker United Breweries Ltd (UBL) held by a court-appointed liquidator. The
stake was held by United Breweries (Holdings) Ltd, the holding company for all
Mallya-owned companies which is currently under liquidation. The Debt Recovery
Tribunal last week transferred the stake — 74,04,932 equity shares — held by
United Breweries (Holdings) to the liquidator. Dutch beer maker Heineken,
largest stakeholder of UBL with a 44% stake, has already approached SBI for the
stake and is also seeking legal recourse for first access. It’s been tough on
Heineken as a shareholder to keep track of the attachment of Vijay Mallya's
shares in UBL their focus is to ensure 51% in the company, said a person close
to the development, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The high court is
scheduled to hear the matter on March 22.
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RESERVE BANK OF INDIA BACKS FINANCE MINISTRY ON DEBT RECAST
PLAN
The RBI told the Supreme
Court that the inter-creditor agreement (ICA) aimed at helping debt defaulters
avoid bankruptcy proceedings requires the approval of 66% of lenders and not
all of them, backing the plan that had been drawn up at the behest of the
finance ministry. Rakesh Dwivedi, senior advocate appearing on behalf of the
RBI, clarified that after execution of ICA, all lenders in a consortium don’t
have to approve it The RBI also told the SC that banks could have continued
with various resolution processes that were being discussed before February 12
last year, when a circular issued by the regulator had scrapped such
mechanisms. This seems to contrast with the RBI’s previous stand in cases in
the Allahabad and Madras high courts. In a case filed by Infrastructure Leasing
& Financial Services in the Madras High Court last year, the RBI had argued
that if a restructuring scheme had not been implemented before February 12,
2018, then it became null and void. Governor Shaktikanta Das had said last month
that there is no proposal on the table seeking modifications to the February 12
circular. The Centre said it was seeking to resolve the financial woes that ail
the power sector and took a firm stand on excluding stressed plants from the
RBI circular. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta argued that if this requires
striking down the circular, then so be it. In the Allahabad High Court case,
the government had said that such entities should not be categorised as
stressed in 90 days and that the deadline of 180 days to resolve a bad loan be
extended to 270 days. The ICA comes into play during the 180-day period and the
66% threshold is meant to ensure that smaller lenders don’t stall such plans.
The bench comprising Justices Rohinton F Nariman and Vineet Saran reserved
judgment on the matter on Thursday while asking all parties to make written
submissions within 10 days. The matter has been heard daily since March 6.
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RBI NOT IN FAVOUR OF CHANGING IDBI BANK'S NAME
The IDBI Bank's proposal
for changing its name has not found any favour from the Reserve Bank of India,
sources said. The board of IDBI Bank last month proposed change in the name of
the lender to either LIC IDBI Bank or LIC Bank, following its takeover by Life
Insurance Corporation. According to the sources, the RBI is not in favour of
changing the name of IDBI Bank. The board had proposed LIC IDBI Bank Ltd as the
first preference followed by LIC Bank Ltd.
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STAGE SET FOR IIM DEGREE FOR ONE-YEAR POST-GRADUATE PROGRAMME
IIMs, for the first time,
are getting ready to award degrees for their one-year post-graduate management
programme, with the human resource development (HRD) ministry softening its
position on the issue. While IIM Bangalore’s board of governors is learnt to
have approved the plan, IIM Ahmedabad is set to take up the proposal in its
board meeting on Saturday. IIM Calcutta, which discussed the plan in one of its
board meetings, is in advanced discussions with the government to take the
proposal forward. At a recent meeting of the IIMB board of directors, 14
members approved the proposal to grant degrees, instead of diplomas, for its
one-year executive post-graduate programme in management. The sole HRD ministry
representative is learnt to have reminded the board of the UGC specifications
which do not allow degrees for one-year programmes. Top HRD officials told that
the government has made it clear that IIMs have autonomy (through the IIM Act,
2017) to take their own decision. The ministry, however, may place on record
the UGC specifications for a degree course during the IIMB and IIMC board
meetings. The UGC norms allow granting of Master’s degree only for two-year
programmes. HRD minister Prakash Javadekar had pointed this out to all IIMs in
a communication in March 2018. IIM directors, however, had in December 2018
requested the ministry to reconsider its position.
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CHANGEMAKER - DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: ENAM
Aimed at freeing farmers
from the clutches of middlemen by ensuring a rightful price for farm produce,
the Electronic National Agriculture Market (eNAM), an e-commerce platform, provides
a unified national market for agricultural commodities by creating a pan-Indian
network of APMC mandis. eNAM has enrolled 585 mandis across 16 States and two
UTs. Over 1.31 crore farmers and 1.2 lakh traders are registered on eNAM, and
over 40.8 lakh tonnes have been traded. The platform aims to promote uniformity
in agriculture marketing by streamlining procedures across the integrated
markets, remove the ‘information imbalance’ between buyers and sellers, and
promote real-time price discovery.
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STARTUP FUND TO GET RS 3,000 CRORE FINANCING BOOST
India's flagship startup
fund is set to get into high gear after a slow start with Rs 3,000 crore in
financing lined up, said people with knowledge of the matter. Apart from this,
funding commitments from long-term partners are being secured to the tune of Rs
16,680 crore which can help accelerate deployment to startups. Disbursements
have taken off, said an official with knowledge of the fund’s activity. The
government also expects recent changes to further fuel funding requirements. It
recently widened the definition of startups making more entities eligible under
the framework. Narendra Modi had, in January 2016, announced the establishment
of a Rs 10,000 crore fund under Small Industries Development Bank of India
(Sidbi). The fund of funds makes downstream investments in venture capital and
alternative investment funds that in turn invest in startups. These VC funds
have managed to raise commitments of over Rs 9,000 crore and the final close
could be as much as Rs 16,680 crore, said the people cited above. They have
investments in 240 entities, which created 28,500 jobs, the latest government
data showed. Fostering startups was identified by the government as a key focus
area and it has taken several steps in this regard. The government sees
startups engendering economic activity, wealth creation and employment
generation. It has made several changes to the startup framework to make it
easier for entrepreneurs to set up businesses. These are aimed at ensuring that
those funding startups will be shielded from the so-called angel tax after many
investors received notices from income tax authorities.
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E-COMM PLAYERS, ONLINE BRANDS LAUNCH TRADE ASSOCIATION TECI
E-commerce companies such
as Snapdeal, ShopClues, UrbanClap, Shop101, Flyrobe, Fynd and scores of others
have come together to establish a trade association The E-Commerce Council of
India (TECI). Online brands such as Mamaearth, Superbottoms and Azah, which
focus on specific segments such as baby care products and women’s hygiene
products, are also part of the group that has collaborated to launch TECI.
Kunal Bahl, said the e-commerce sector in India is an increasingly important
part of the economy, unlocking tremendous value for buyers and sellers. It is
catalysing growth opportunities for allied businesses, and MSMEs and has the
potential to create large scale employment across the country, he added. TECI’s
vision is to help and guide the growth of the e-commerce ecosystem in India. It
also seeks to engage closely with private and public stakeholders with the aim
to help develop a robust digital commerce sector. TECI members account for more
than 7.5 lakh online sellers and service providers. Every month, more than 100
million users interact with the online businesses operated by members of TECI. More
than 30 global and domestic institutional investors have invested more than
$2.25 billion in the enterprises founded by TECI members.
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BOTTOM-UP STRATEGY CAN ENSURE DOUBLE-DIGIT GDP GROWTH: SURESH
PRABHU
Suresh Prabhu on Friday
said the Centre is working up from the grassroots to take India’s growth levels
to double digits. Change has to happen at the macro as well as the micro
levels. We are taking steps to ensure growth levels in every district in the
country go up by 3 to 4 per cent. When this accumulates at the macro level,
India’s GDP growth will move from 7 per cent to 10 per cent, Prabhu said. If a
district is growing at 5-6 per cent now, how can we push it higher by 3-4 per
cent? If all districts in India grow at a faster pace, India’s growth will.
Also accelerate. It is far more easy to make it happen at the grassroots level,
he added. The Minister said that the recently announced new industrial policy
is aimed at ensuring that the industrial sector’s contribution to GDP increases
from 16 per cent to 20 per cent. India’s industrial sector has the potential to
reach 20 per cent of GDP. We have made a plan to identify the sectors that can
take us to 20 per cent, he said. Prabhu said that 12 services sectors had also
been similarly identified, which, he said, could be scaled up in the future. The
third area of focus is the agriculture sector, Prabhu noted. The Centre, he
said, is targeting exports of $100 billion from agro products, against $32
billion now. We have identified the products and the places from where they can
be exported. We have created a cluster from where these products will be
exported, Prabhu said, adding that exports would also lead to overall
modernisation of India’s agri sector as the quality would have to be
benchmarked to global standards. We need to have micro and macro level
strategies for India to grow at a faster rate, he said.
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E-GOVERNANCE EMPOWERING INDIA
Governance is a challenge
in a country as vast, diverse and rapidly developing as India. That’s where new
technologies intervene and enable large-scale transformation and help in the
implementation of ambitious government plans. Policymakers have been
formulating innovative ways to usher in progress on paper. What they rely on is
robust infrastructure and smart solutions to translate inspiring plans to
reality. While India is among the fastest developing economies in the world,
India ranks 58th in this year’s Global Competitiveness Index, up
five places since 2017, equitable growth remains a critical imperative. The
government has been spearheading radical digitisation to induce economic
inclusiveness and social transformation, through initiatives like, ‘Digital
India’, ‘Make in India’ and Skill India. India, as a result, is gearing up for
an era of increased digitisation heralding the advent of Industry 4.0, powered
by new age technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial
Intelligence, and Robotics. Hitachi, a leading Japanese conglomerate with a
notable global footprint and a forerunner in digital innovation, has been an
integral part and an active partner in this ambitious plan committed to transforming
millions of lives. Hitachi, with its dual strength in Information Technology
(IT) and Operation Technology (OT), bolstered by its Social Innovation
Business, has been uniquely poised to assist in this journey. A century old
player in the manufacturing, power and transportation sectors, and with over
five decades of IT leadership, Hitachi is able to offer an unparalleled ‘single
eye view of macro solutions.’ A diversified group with established strengths in
infrastructure, railways, energy, construction machinery, healthcare, IT, and
automotive systems, its perspective is markedly well rounded. Understandably,
it’s significant contributions span solutions for issues as diverse as
urbanisation, water management, sustainable transportation, robust security
solutions, smarter manufacturing, and the core nature of financial solutions.
Hitachi, in myriad ways, is infusing positive changes in standards of day to
day living. The complex nature of governance in India demands a holistic
approach. Shedding silos and embracing the principle of ‘Collaborative
Creation’, Hitachi and its group companies are partnering with governments and
private companies, to work faster, smarter and more creatively to gear up for
future challenges. Digital transformation is expected to add an estimated $154
billion to the Indian GDP, according to International Data Corporation. In
2017, while 4% of India’s GDP was derived from digital products and services
created directly through the use of digital technologies, such as mobility,
cloud, IoT and AI, within the next four years, it is estimated that nearly 60%
of India’s GDP will be inevitable linked to this sector. Hitachi’s Social
Innovation Business is enabling a seamless digital transformation for its
customers. The initiative has been a part of e-Governance initiatives of
multiple governments in the country. The big, data heavy projects it has
undertaken include the digitisation of land records, single-window handling of
grievances and maintenance of essential services; easing tax payments and
government dues; along with internet based delivery of services. At the helm of
a catalytic shift that’s underway, Bharat Kaushal, Managing Director, Hitachi
India, predicts that ‘society will change much more than we ever imagined.’ The
implementation of digitisation to impact governance is an endeavour fraught
with challenges The sheer scale of operations, the resistance to new
technologies, and the need for seamless, transparent operations at all levels
are key concerns the governments has to contend with. Hitachi has been
fortunate to be a part of the ambitious ‘Digital India’ initiative that the
government has embarked upon. Its focus has been directed into a wide range of
projects. The three core pillars include infrastructure development, to empower
every citizen at any point of time; governance and services on demand to offset
the burden of inequitable access amongst the society’s weaker sections, and
digital empowerment of citizens whether they are buying a product or enjoying a
service. Large-scale government initiatives, both at the central and state
levels in sectors like electrification, agriculture, and healthcare are also
areas where Hitachi’s multiple businesses have brought in specialised
expertise. While some initiatives are in the planning and execution stages, a
few transformative citizen centric initiatives have already been implemented,
and are impacting the way CEO’s are setting goals, planners are building
cities, and farmers are accessing social benefit programmes. Hitachi Systems
Micro Clinic (HSMC), a market leader in providing end-to-end IT solutions and
services, helps businesses of different verticals thrive by integrating
end-user computing, virtualization, networking and resilient IT infrastructure
in conjunction with professional security services. The company’s vast range of
technical and service delivery expertise assists in driving value driven and
customer-centric IT solutions, pivoted on Hitachi’s spirit of Social
Innovation. With a people-first motto, the government of Andhra Pradesh Strives
to provide and agile and efficient public service delivery system benefitting
nearly 50 million citizens, in a 360-degree life cycle approach through its
Real Time Governance initiative. With the help of Real Time Governance, in
partnership with Hitachi, the Andhra Pradesh government can now swiftly resolve
citizen grievances and monitor infrastructure projects, incidents and weather
& climatic events across the state in real time, leveraging technology services.
The UIDAI relies on Pentaho software from Hitachi Vantara which provides a
powerful Big Data analytics platform to support a government data for more than
a billion citizens. For the entire registered working population in India,
their hard earned savings accumulating in a company’s provident fund form a
secure nest egg for an uncertain future. IN keeping with the Central
Government’s policy of ‘Information for All’. Hitachi Vantara partnered in the
digitization of EPFO records. With anytime access to view one’s pension amounts
and deposits, people feel more assured that their funds are safe and can
monitor their fund status. The initiative has also simplified and hastened
transfers, bringing in much-needed efficiency into the organization. MyGov.in
is a crowdsourcing platform created by the government to inform citizens on
policy issues and governance. It has sparked a healthy exchange to generate
ideas from citizens. The initiative has paved the way for a more democratic
framework, empowering the common man to influence policies and implementation. The
website is hosted and managed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), and
allows users to upload documents across formats. Hitachi worked closely with
NIC to host the platform and manage the applications. It did so by providing
information and infrastructure layers that helped to store, protect and
retrieve data, as and when required. And provide seamless access to
information.
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INDIA PILOTS RESOLUTIONS ON SINGLE-USE PLASTICS AND
SUSTAINABLE NITROGEN MANAGEMENT
In a significant first,
India piloted resolutions on two important global environment issues relating
to Single-use Plastics and Sustainable Nitrogen management at the fourth
session of United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) which was held in Nairobi
from 11th to 15th March 2019. UNEA adopted both the resolutions with consensus.
The global nitrogen use efficiency is low, resulting in pollution by reactive
nitrogen which threatens human health, eco system services, contributes to
climate change and stratospheric ozone depletion. Only a small proportion of
the plastics produced globally are recycled with most of it damaging the
environment and aquatic bio-diversity. Both these are global challenges and the
resolutions piloted by India at the UNEA are vital first steps towards
addressing these issues and attracting focus of the global community. It
emerged that collaborations and action at scale is key to success. The actions
should be oriented towards having an inclusive green economy and blended
finance will help in implementation whereas public finance should be provided
to de-risk private finance in transformational projects.
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GOA CHIEF MINISTER MANOHAR PARRIKAR DIES OF CANCER AT 63
Goa chief minister and
former Union defence minister Manohar Parrikar died on Sunday evening, after battling
pancreatic cancer for more than a year. Parrikar, a four-time chief minister of
the state, will be accorded a state funeral. The central government has
announced a day of national mourning in his honour on Monday. The National Flag
will fly at half-mast in the national capital and capitals of all states and
Union territories. A meeting of the Union cabinet is also scheduled to take
place on Monday morning. We inform with deep grief that our beloved Chief
Minister of Goa Shri. Manohar Parrikar passed away, after a spirited battle
against cancer, the official handle of the Chief Minister’s Office of Goa
tweeted at 9.10pm on Sunday.
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NITIN GADKARI HOLDS TALKS WITH BJP, MGP LEADERS TO SELECT NEW
GOA CM
Nitin Gadkari on Monday
held talks with party leaders and alliance partner Maharashtrawadi Gomantak
Party (MGP) to select a new Goa chief minister following the death of Manohar
Parrikar.
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SUGARCANE BELTS TO SET TONE FOR LOK SABHA POLLS IN UTTAR
PRADESH
In the backdrop of the
sugarcane arrears in Uttar Pradesh (UP) topping Rs 12,000 crore the cane belt
of western UP, scheduled to witness polling in the initial phases beginning
April 11, is likely to set the tone for elections in the country’s top
sugar-producing state. UP’s sugarcane economy, estimated at Rs 40,000 crore,
directly impacts nearly 4 million farmers’ households and has an intrinsic
downstream integration with the industry, especially sugar mills. The issue of
sugarcane payments has always acquired political connotations, especially
during elections. Even the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) promised prompt
cane payments in its election manifesto before the UP polls two years ago. In
the ongoing crushing season of 2018-19, the 119 operational UP sugar mills — 94
private, 24 co-operative, and one state — had procured cane worth Rs 23,200
crore from farmers and paid Rs 11,350 crore, thus leaving an unpaid portion of
Rs 11,850 crore. Besides, mills have to make a payment of Rs 290 crore for the
2017-18 season.
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NGT DIRECTS CPCB TO PREPARE NOISE POLLUTION MAPS WITHIN THREE
MONTHS
The National Green
Tribunal has directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to prepare a
noise pollution map and remedial action plan to solve the issue across the
country. The green panel said the absence of implementation of noise pollution
norms affects health of citizens, especially infants and senior citizens. It
also affects sleep, comfort, studies and other legitimate activities, it said.
The NGT said police may also train their staff regarding the use of such
devices and develop a robust protocol for taking appropriate action against the
defaulters. The CPCB may explore the possibility, in consultation with leading
manufacturers of public address systems and other manufacturers of such
instruments, to manufacture such equipments wherein the noise meters with data
loggers are fitted therein so that as and when the prescribed parameters are
violated, the same gets recorded and retrieved by the regulators for fixing the
responsibility on the violators, it said.
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PM MODI DID WHAT MANMOHAN SINGH DID NOT AFTER 2008: NIRMALA
SITHARAMAN
Referring to India's air
strike on Pakistan soil, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said
Prime Minister Narendra Modi did what his predecessor Manmohan Singh did not
after 2008. We had very strong and specific intelligence input about the terror
camp being run in Balakot. We also had information through several channels
that they had been planning more such suicide attacks. We had given many
evidences to Pakistan after Pulwama. But they failed to take action. Prime
Minister studied every minute details and thought on this. Pakistan always
claims that they are also the victims of terrorism. If you (Pakistan) are a
victim of terrorism, why don't' you remove it? That's why Modi Ji did what
Manmohan Singh Ji didn't do, said Sitharaman.
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PM MODI’S ‘MAIN BHI CHOWKIDAR’ POLL DRIVE LEADS TO WAR OF
WORDS
Automated replies in the
form of ‘dark tweets’ were sent to over one lakh Twitter users from Prime
Minister Narendra Modi’s personal handle on Saturday after they took a pledge
of #MainBhiChowkidar, a hashtag that itself drew a record nine lakh tweets
globally. On Saturday, the BJP had used the ‘dark tweets’ option offered by
Twitter, like Apple does, to send responses to one lakh pledge-takers through a
Tweet which other users could not see. It also did not reflect on Modi’s
timeline on Twitter as the party did not wish to clog the same. BJP had
leveraged the tech innovation of ‘conversation cards’ on Twitter for sending
personalised message from the prime minister to those who took the pledge. A
BJP functionary described the campaign as highly successful and the
single-biggest Twitter campaign done by a political party or company. Working
further on the campaign, the prime minister, BJP president Amit Shah and
ministers prefixed ‘Chowkidar’ before their names on Twitter on Sunday.
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PRIYANKA GANDHI TO CONNECT WITH PEOPLE OF UP THROUGH GANGA
Setting the context of her
three-day poll voyage through the Ganga starting Monday, Congress general
secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday said the river was the lifeline of
Uttar Pradesh and she was taking its help to reach out to the people of the
state. In an open letter released to the media on the eve of her journey, she
said: Ganga sachai aur samaanta ka prateek hain aur hamari Ganga Jamuni tehzeeb
ka chinh hain. wah kisi se bhed bhav nahi karti. Ganga ji Uttar Pradesh ka
sahara hain mai gangaji ka sahara le kar aapke beech pahuchungi (Ganga is an
emblem of truth and equality besides being a sign of India's syncretic (Ganga
Jamuni) culture). Priyanka also stated she would take all routes - water, bus,
train and padyatra to meet the people. Addressing her letter to 'sisters and
brothers of UP,' Priyanka said the current political situation was marred by
stagnation and the echo of suffering among youth, women, farmers and labourers
is drowned in the cacophony of political discourse.
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CONGRESS STAKES CLAIM TO FORM GOVERNMENT IN GOA
The Congress Saturday
staked claim to form government in Goa claiming that the Manohar Parrikar
dispensation has lost its majority in the Assembly following the demise of BJP
MLA Francis D’Souza. In a letter to Goa Governor Mridula Sinha, Leader of
Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar staked claim to form the government and
demanded dismissal of the BJP-led dispensation. The strength of Goa Assembly
has reduced from 40 to 37 after the death of D’Souza and resignation of two
MLAs — Subhash Shirodkar and Dayanand Sopte. While the Congress currently has
14 MLAs, down from 16 after Sopte and Shirodkar left it to join the BJP, the
latter has 13 MLAs. Three MLAs each of the Goa Forward Party, MGP and an
Independent and the lone NCP legislator are supporting the BJP. In a
communication to the governor, Kavlekar said, Consequent upon the sad demise of
Francis D’Souza, MLA who was belonging to the BJP, it is humbly submitted that
incumbent BJP led state government under the leadership of Manohar Parrikar,
which has long lost the trust of the people, has also lost the strength of the
House. Also, we anticipate that numbers of the BJP may further dwindle thus not
allowing such a party in minority to continue even for a moment, his letter
stated. It is therefore incumbent upon you to dismiss the state government led
by the BJP and ensure that the Indian National Congress party, which is the
single largest party in the House and is presently enjoying the majority, be
called to form government, his letter added. His letter warned that any action
in violation of the constitutional mandate to invite the single largest party
to form the government and any attempt made to bring the state under
President’s Rule will be undemocratic, and illegal and will be challenged, as
deemed fit.
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MODI WAS BUSY POSING FOR CAMERAS WHEN JAWANS WERE BLOWN UP IN
PULWAMA, SAYS RAHUL GANDHI
Rahul Gandhi trained his
guns at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, saying the Prime Minister was
busy posing for cameras at the Corbett National Park when CRPF jawans were
being killed in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama. Mr. Gandhi also said the Congress
will introduce a scheme of guaranteed minimum income for the poor if elected to
power. Everyone knows what Narendra Modi was doing when our jawans were being
killed. He was posing for the cameras to shoot for a National Geographic
documentary, the Congress president said to loud cheers from a large gathering
at the Parade Ground in Dehradun. Mr. Gandhi said everyone earning below a
certain level would be given a guaranteed minimum income, which would go
straight into the accounts of the beneficiaries, if the Congress-led United
Progressive Alliance (UPA) was elected to power. He added that India would be
the first country in the world to introduce a scheme like this.
#For Source of Information copy and paste the heading in google.
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
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