FIU: 1,400% RISE IN REPORTING OF SHADY DEALINGS AFTER
DEMONETISATION
The 2016 demonetisation of
two high-value currencies has led to an all-time high generation of over 14
lakh suspicious transaction reports (STRs), a record 1,400% jump over the past,
by banks and other financial institutions in the country, a latest Financial
Intelligence Unit report has found. This is the highest-ever figure of STRs
since the FIU first started the regime over a decade ago. The elite financial
snooping unit of the country has compiled comprehensive data of such instances,
including fake currency deposits, for the year 2017-18. During the year
(2017-18), banks and other financial institutions continued to examine
transactions during demonetisation and as a consequence over 14 lakh STRs were
received by FIU-IND. This increase is almost 3 times than the STRs received in
the last year (2016-17) and 14 times than the STRs received prior to
demonetisation, the agency's director Pankaj Kumar Mishra said in the report.
The report also talked about counterfeit currency reports (CCRs) that went
drastically down from 7,33,508 in 2016-17 (the year of the notes ban) to
3,53,795 in 2017-18.
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BRANCHES OF VIJAYA, DENA BANK TO FUNCTION AS BOB OUTLETS FROM
MONDAY: RBI
Branches of Vijaya Bank
and Dena Bank will function as Bank of Baroda outlets from April 1, following
amalgamation of the two lenders with the latter, the RBI said on Saturday. The
merger of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with Bank of Baroda, will be effective from
April 1, 2019. Consequently, all branches of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank will
function as branches of Bank of Baroda from April 1, 2019. Customers, including
depositors of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank will be treated as customers of Bank of
Baroda with effect from April 1, 2019, the Reserve Bank of India said in a
statement.
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BANK OF BARODA BECOMES SECOND LARGEST PSU BANK AFTER SBI
Bank of Baroda (BoB)
Monday became the second largest state-owned lender after merging Dena Bank and
Vijaya Bank into itself as part of the first three-way amalgamation. The
consolidated entity started its operation with a business mix of over Rs 15
lakh crore of balance sheet, with deposits and advances of Rs 8.75 lakh crore
and Rs 6.25 lakh crore, respectively. BoB now has over 9,500 branches, 13,400
ATMs, 85,000 employees to serve 12 crore customers. Meanwhile, BoB completed
share allotment to shareholders Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank as per the scheme of
amalgamation.
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WILLFUL DEFAULTER UNDER RBI ACT CAN’T BE REPRESENTED THROUGH
ADVOCATE / CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS: MADHYA PRADESH HC
The Madhya Pradesh High
Court has held that a ‘willful defaulter’ under the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
cannot be represented through the lawyers or Chartered Accountants The State
Bank of India has issued a notice to the petitioner-Company proposing to
declare them as wilful defaulter under Master Circular. By way of show cause
notice, the petitioners were called upon to show cause and make a
representation within 30 days of the receipt of the notice as to why they
should not be included in the list of ‘wilful defaulter’. Vide reply dated
29.7.2017, the petitioners have requested for supply of all the details and
documents relied upon by the respondent No.1/bank and which formed the basis of
allegations/charges containing in the said show cause notice. Vide letter dated
29.11.2017, the petitioners were directed to appear before the ‘wilful
defaulter’ Identification Committee The petitioners approached the court by way
of writ petition seeking a direction as to permit them to be represented
through their Advocate or CA at the time of personal hearing before the
Identification Committee. By order dated 16.1.2018, the writ petition was
disposed of with a liberty to the petitioners to make an application before
Identification Committee, seeking permission to represent through its Advocate,
in light of the judgment passed by the Delhi High Court in the case of Punjab
National Bank V. Kingfisher Airlines Ltd decided on 17.12.2015. however, the
request was rejected. Dismissing the petition, Justice Vivek Rusia observed
that a coordinate Bench of this court in the case of Surender (supra) has
already held that the borrower is not having the right to be represented
through lawyer/advocate under the master circular. As per clause 3.(b) the
personal hearing is available only to borrower Director and Promoter of the
alleged default unit. The identification committee is neither a court nor a
tribunal. Therefore, I have no reason to take a different view as taken by the
coordinate bench of this court in the case of Surender (supra). Even otherwise,
a similar issue is also pending before the Div. Bench of this court as well as
the Apex.
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ONE IN 3 MPS HAVE PENDING CRIMINAL CASES
One in three siting MPs of
Karnataka have declared criminal cases against themselves, data from affidavits
show. Reports show that candidates’ criminal records can have a bearing on
voter behaviour. Though the law does not prohibit people with criminal records
contesting elections, it is a factor that could deter voters from voting for
that candidate. In Karnataka, of the 27 sitting MPs, nine have a criminal
record and five have serious criminal cases lodged against them, as per a
report compiled by the non-profit Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR),
based on the affidavits filed by the MPs. As per another report on voting
behaviour by ADR, 97.86% of respondents had the view that candidates who had a
criminal background should not be allowed to contest elections. However, if
poll results often do not reflect that statistic, it could well be because only
35.2% of respondents knew that information on criminal record of candidates was
available. In addition, the presence or absence of a criminal record is only
one of the factors, as a considerable number of respondents (35.89%) said they
would vote for such candidates if the candidates had carried out commendable
work earlier. Overall, 174, or 33.34% of the 521 sitting MPs from the country
have declared criminal records, almost the same percentage as in Karnataka. The
state where most MPs have declared criminal records is Maharashtra with 31 MPs,
followed by Bihar (27) and Uttar Pradesh (25). Of the nine Karnataka MPs with
declared records, seven are from BJP, while one MP each is from Congress and
the JD(S). BJP won 17 of the 28 seats in Karnataka in 2014. At the national
level, 35% of sitting MPs from BJP have declared records and 22% have declared
serious criminal cases. For the Congress, 16% MPs have declared it, of which 4%
are accused in serious cases. Among Karnataka MPs, Bangalore Rural sitting MP
and also the Congress candidate for 2019 DK Suresh has the most number of cases
lodged against him — eight, and has been charged with two sections of the IPC
which are of a serious nature. Nationally, the MP from Bihar’s Madhepura
constituency Rajesh Ranjan aka Pappu Yadav leads the list with 24 cases against
him and has been charged with 42 serious sections of the IPC.
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GROWTH RATE HIGHEST SINCE LIBERALISATION: CEA
The average growth rate of
7.5% achieved in the last five years is the highest for any government since
liberalisation, despite global headwinds, Subramanian said. Mr. Subramanian
asserted that the growth rate was high notwithstanding all the controversy
surrounding the GDP data. The Indian economy has grown at a very high rate, and
despite any controversy that you must have read in the newspapers, let me
validate that in the three months that I’ve spent [as CEA], one of the things
that I’ve realised is that the touch-points of policy in India are large, the
CEA said. Therefore it is very hard to create a narrative that is different
from the truth, he added. The CEA also said that the highest growth rate had
been achieved amid challenging conditions, which provided resilience to the
economy. This growth has been achieved amid headwinds against globalisation
that have actually dampened our exports. In 2015 and continuing later, the
credit culture and credit growth were in quite a bad shape. The growth has
happened in the last five years, despite the credit growth being much slower
and almost grinding to a halt, especially for small and medium firms, Mr.
Subramanian said. The fact that our growth has happened on domestic consumption
ensures resilience and makes us more immune to the shocks experienced globally.
That is a good aspect we should definitely keep in mind, Mr. Subramanian said.
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CAIT SUGGESTS A REGULATORY AUTHORITY FOR E-COMMERCE SECTOR
The Confederation of All
India Traders (CAIT) has suggested that the e-commerce sector should have a
regulatory authority to facilitate its growth in India. CAIT wishes to stress
upon the dire need for a judicial or quasi-judicial authority having
enforcement as well as adjudicatory powers to give effect to the prevailing
e-commerce policy in India. CAIT, at the very outset, lauds that the draft e
commerce policy identifies all issues that are faced with this sector like immense
capital dumping, loss selling etc, which needs to be curbed, CAIT said in a
statement. The apex body was said this in its suggestion on the draft
e-commerce policy However, not having a regulator/ judicial/ quasi judicial
authority like we have in other jurisdiction, would render this policy
framework as a paper / toothless tiger, CAIT added. As per the draft,
e-commerce companies will also be mandated to disclose the seller details such
as their names, addresses and contact numbers. Sellers will also be required to
provide an undertaking to the platform about genuineness of products. While the
Policy recognizes the need for regulatory response and the need for equipping
the current enforcement structures to tackle issues emanating from the
e-commerce sector, the Policy essentially sets up a tooth-less tiger in making
positive regulatory changes without having an enforcement mechanism for the
same, CAIT said. The trade mark (TM) owners will also be given the option to
register themselves with e-commerce platforms. Whenever a trade-marked product
is uploaded for sale on the platform, the platform shall notify the respective
TM owner. The deadline to submit the comments for the industry stakeholders was
March 9 which was later extended to March 29.
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RBI SHOULD EXTEND FINTECH SANDBOX GUIDELINES TO ITS REGULATION
MAKING PROCESS ALSO, SAYS EXPERT
Even while RBI governor
Shaktikanta Das on Monday stressed on setting up a ‘regulatory sandbox’ for
fintech ecosystem, which he said has the potential to revamp India’s financial
services ecosystem, the market expert opined that relevant sandbox guidelines
neendn’t be limited to fintech companies only. The guidelines to be adopted by
the RBI for regulatory sandbox should also be applicable in the central bank’s
regulation-making process and designing policies, by adopting the Regulatory
Impact Assessment (RIA) framework, Amol Kulkarni, told. Incorporating RIA
basically means that it can enable RBI to design several regulatory options
aimed at achieving regulatory objectives; assess costs and benefits of such
options and the possibility of achieving objectives through stakeholder
consultation and data analysis. This can then help the RBI in figuring out
which is the most appropriate approach to achieve regulatory objectives in a
way that costs to stakeholders are substantially outweighed by benefits, said
Kulkarni. Kulkarni asserted that policies, for instance, pertaining to prepaid
payment instruments (PPI) and peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, adopted by the RBI in
financial services are more or less a knee jerk reaction to various market
developments without thinking through in terms of consequences. CUTS International
in its report on digital payments in April last year had highlighted that as
per PPI regulations, all existing non-bank PPI issuers are required to have a
minimum positive net-worth requirement of Rs 15 crore as on March 31, 2020,
from Rs 1 crore earlier. The substantial increase in net worth requirement may
adversely impact smaller players currently operating in the market, who might
not be in a position to comply with the revised requirements by March 2020. In
addition, the revised requirements may dissuade smaller interested players to
enter the market, the report said. With respect to P2P lending, there are caps
on exposures of lenders and amounts borrowed by borrowers. The lenders can lend
a maximum of Rs 10 lakh cumulatively while individually they can have an
exposure to a borrower up to Rs 50,000. This is expected to reduce the
attractiveness of the platform and the design of products which lenders can
offer, the report added.
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CEA SUBRAMANIAN COUNTERS RAGHURAM RAJAN ON GDP DATA:
CONTROVERSY BASELESS; GROWTH BEST SINCE LIBERALISATION
Responding to the doubts
raised by former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, Chief Economic Advisor (CEA),
Krishnamurthy Subramanian said that the ongoing controversy over growth data is
baseless The narrative which is being created over GDP data is further from the
truth, media reports said citing the CEA. On Tuesday, Raghuram Rajan had
expressed surprise over the economy growing at 7 per cent and not producing
enough jobs He had said that an impartial body must be appointed to check the
authenticity of the data. The 7.5 per cent growth seen by the Indian economy
has been at a very high rate against the global headwinds and slowing credit
growth, he said. Explaining further, he said that the touch-points of policy in
the country are large. The average rate of growth recorded is the highest for
any government since liberalization, he added. He said that GST and Insolvency
and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) were transformational reforms by the current
government. The GST acted as a game-changer for India to become a single market
and the right time has arrived to take disruptive ideas of all kinds in the
right sense, as all of them were aimed at the overall development of the
nation, he added. He further said that increase in domestic consumption was
possible lately on account of decline in inflation. Between 2014 and 2015, the
inflation rates which were over 10 per cent moderated to 4.5 per cent over the
last five years, he noted.
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74% STARTUPS WANT GOVERNMENT TO SEPARATE DATA POLICY FROM
E-COMMERCE REGULATIONS, SAYS SURVEY
A little over a month
after the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)
launched India’s e-commerce policy draft inviting comments from the
stakeholders of the startup ecosystem, a whopping 74 per cent startups/small
businesses have said that the government should separate the policy part
pertaining to business data from the e-commerce regulations. The draft policy
will be regulating fast-growing e-commerce market in India currently dominated
by Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart. This has what come up in the survey to
have a separate data policy so that the e-commerce policy can cover all
e-commerce aspects like counterfeiting, online views, ratings, cross border
e-commerce, marketplace, etc. Then your data policy also gets broader to apply
to all businesses including telcos, banks, insurance companies, healthcare,
social media, offline retail etc, Sachin Taparia, Founder and Chairman
LocalCircles told. Interestingly, with respect to data localisation, 53 per
cent per cent respondents said that barring data sharing with foreign companies
including group subsidiaries would not negatively impact their businesses, said
the LocalCircles survey. While this makes work easy for the government but we
have suggested the government that group companies must be able to share data
with each other. Customers today are so much used to global platforms like
Facebook, Whatsapp that if your UI/UX design is not as good as theirs then
users would go away. So to retain them, you need global talent, said Taparia.
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CONSUMER DATA CAN’T BE NATIONAL ASSET: US BODY
The US-India Strategic
Partnership Forum (USISPF) has told the government it should not have different
regulatory frameworks for foreign-invested and domestic companies, adding that
treating consumer data as a ‘national asset held in public trust’ is incorrect.
USISPF, which represents several major American companies like Amazon, Google
and Walmart, submitted their suggestions to the government on the draft
e-commerce policy the deadline for which ended on Friday. The draft e-commerce
policy released by the government in February limits the cross-border flow of
data, gives the Centre more access to it and also calls for creating a data
authority to share data for the public interest. It treats consumer data as a
national asset. This comes even as multiple associations of online businesses,
including members of homegrown companies, have expressed apprehension over the
scope of the draft ecommerce policy when it comes to consumer data. People
aware of industry representations said the sheer scope of the draft e-commerce
policy looking to set guidelines for any online company that uses data is not
ideal. If data is to be classified as a national asset, obtaining the consent
of the individual to access their data will no longer be necessary. The draft
policy is, to that extent, advocating non-consensual transfer of data, which is
inconsistent with the judicial classification of data as an aspect of
informational privacy, which is a fundamental right, the US industry body’s
series of recommendations highlighted. Over the course of the past few weeks,
several startups have told that the government’s proposal for instant access to
data should also be diluted It should be facilitated only in case of law and
order requirements with relevant approvals.
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ANDHRA, ODISHA MPS HAVE HIGHEST AVERAGE INCOME, GOA MPS
LOWEST: REPORT
Sitting MPs across the
country have an average annual self-income of Rs 30.29 lakh with Andhra Pradesh
topping the charts with its members of parliament earning an average of Rs
105.9 lakh per annum a study showed on Saturday. On the other hand, Goa MPs
earn the lowest with their average annual self-income coming at Rs 5.2 lakh, as
per the latest report of the Association for Democratic Reforms and the National
Election Watch. The report also showed 150 MPs aged between 46-55 years, have
average annual self-income of Rs 40.54 lakh whereas 54 MPs aged 66-75 years
have average annual self-income of Rs 16.72 Lakhs. The empirical study also
found that MPs who have declared themselves to be illiterate have an average
annual self-income of Rs 1.41 crore. Besides, 98 or 20% of the 479 MPs
analysed, have declared business as their profession, and 91 (19%) MPs as
agriculturists or farmers.
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RELEASE LIST OF CONVICTED OFFICIALS, CIC ORDERS CUSTOMS
DEPARTMENT
The Central Information
Commission (CIC) has directed the Customs Department to make public a list of
officers caught red-handed for smuggling gold and heroin, and other illegal
activities. The CIC also called for making public details of officers convicted
or jailed for giving false statements or evidence. Such data cannot be
considered personal information as held by the Customs Department, and should
be made available in the public interest, the CIC said. The direction came in
response to a Right To Information request to the Chief Commissioner of Customs
in Amritsar, asking for information on officers caught, convicted or jailed for
smuggling over the last 10 years. The Central Public Information Officer (CPIO)
responded by saying that the data requested pertained to personal information
of employees, and hence could not be provided. In response to questioning in
the appeal case, the CPIO also said no such list of convicted officers was
maintained by the Department.
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WHEN EX-RBI GOVERNORS GET POLITICAL, IT IMPACTS AUTONOMY
CAUSE: FM ARUN JAITLEY
Finance minister Arun
Jaitley said on Sunday that when former RBI governors join political battles,
they hurt the cause of central bank autonomy When former governors join the
political fight, the whole cause propagated for autonomy for institutions
itself gets hurt. Even during their tenure, they made statements which did not
concern their role as RBI governor. Now, it is far easier to see those
statements for what they were—political interventions. Therefore, if this kind
of trend continues, it will become difficult for future governments to trust
governors appointed by the earlier party. RBI governors are not changed when
regimes change. After all, we also allowed Dr Rajan a full term. He is a very
brilliant man but after getting into the political thicket, if you make
statements, then I will take it as more political than economic, Jaitley said. Rejecting
the criticism around jobs as a fake campaign, he said the data is prepared by
the CSO and various organisations and vetted at various stages and the FM
maintains an arms-length distance from the whole exercise. Some left-of-centre
academics who had signed multiple memoranda against the government signed one
more and therefore the data becomes suspect? Jaitley said.
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JET AIRWAYS PILOTS DEFER TO APRIL 15 ITS DECISION NOT TO FLY
A major crisis at the
struggling carrier Jet Airways was averted Sunday after its pilots body
National Aviator's Guild (NAG) deferred to April 15 its call of halting
operations The decision was taken at an open house meeting of NAG members that
took place both in Mumbai and Delhi Sunday afternoon, a guild source said. The
NAG, which claims representation of around 1,100 pilots of the total 1,600 with
the full service carrier, last month announced that its members will not fly
from April 1 unless their pending salary dues were cleared and a clarity on
future payments was provided by March 31.
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ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS HIT BY 9 EARTHQUAKES IN A SPAN OF
2 HOURS
Nine medium intensity
earthquakes, with a magnitude ranging from 4.7 to 5.2, hit the Andaman and
Nicobar Islands Monday morning, all in a span of two hours, according to the
National Centre for Seismology. The first jolt with a magnitude of 4.9 occurred
at 5.14 AM, followed by another jolt with a magnitude of 5 a couple of minutes
later. The last jolt was recorded at 6.54 AM with a magnitude of 5.2, it said. The
Andaman and the Nicobar archipelago is prone to earthquakes.
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DON'T CHARGE STEEP FARES FOR FLIGHTS TO J&K, NORTHEAST,
PORT BLAIR: DGCA
The Directorate General of
Civil Aviation has asked airlines not to charge exorbitant fares for flights to
Jammu & Kashmir, Northeast states and Port Blair. This comes in the wake of
Jet Airways grounding over half of its fleet leading to massive cancellations
and a surge in airfares. The civil aviation regulator is also expected to take
a call next week on the release of slots that are lying unused due to the
grounding of Jet’s fleet. Rival airlines have sought airport slots lying vacant
and the DGCA would take a decision on giving them on a temporary basis after
Jet submits its operational plan, it is learnt.
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PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTMENTS IN REAL ESTATE GAIN TRACTION, SAYS
REPORT
Indian real estate sector
witnessed rising interest from private equity players, both foreign and
domestic, in 2018, with a lion’s share of the total investment flowing to the
commercial real estate space. Out of the total investment of $33.1 billion in
India across sectors by PE funds, $7.2 billion was pumped in 65 transactions,
said a report by real estate consultancy firm Vestian. The value of investment
in commercial real estate segment was at $4.123 bn, which was 58% of the total
funding in the sector. Realty players in the southern region of India attracted
the highest amount of $3.403 bn during this period, accounting for 47% of the
total share, which was followed by the western region at 39%. While Mumbai
topped the list with companies in the city receiving investment to the tune of
$2.456 bn (34% share) in 2018, Bengaluru received the second highest funding at
$1.62 bn (23% share).
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FACEBOOK, WHATSAPP, OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA SITES FACE RS 5 CRORE
PENALTY FOR DATA BREACH
The ministry of
electronics and IT (MeitY) has proposed a stiff penalty of Rs 5 crore on IT
platforms, including social media sites like Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter,
for failing to comply with rules and regulations under the Information
Technology (IT) Act, 2000. The ministry has already moved a note to the Union
Cabinet for amending Section 45 of the Act. Section 45 of the IT Act provides
for residuary penalty. It mandates that whoever contravenes any rules or
regulations made under this Act, for the contravention of which no penalty has
been separately provided, shall be liable to pay a compensation not exceeding
Rs 25,000 to the person affected by such contravention or a penalty not
exceeding the same amount. Sources said considering the tremendous growth of IT
platforms, including social media platforms and the increasing contraventions
being reported, the residuary penalty is not considered adequate and needs to
be revised. Globally too the recent cases of data breach by various
intermediaries like Facebook and Equifax have resulted in a large number of
users being affected. Stiff penalties have been imposed on such intermediaries
by data protection authorities abroad, one of the sources said. Accordingly,
MeitY proposed to amend Section 45 to provide for compensation of Rs 1 lakh to
the person impacted by the breach and also a penalty of Rs 5 crore on the
platform. A recommendation of bringing down the level of investigating officer
from inspector, at present, to sub-inspector for investigating cyber crimes is
also being proposed. This was suggested by the T K Vishwanathan committee, he
added. After the Supreme Court, in March 2015, held Section 66A ultra vires,
the ministry of home affairs (MHA) formed a committee under former law
secretary Vishwanathan to provide recommendations on establishing a strong
regulatory and legal framework for tackling cyber crimes. Another source said
that MeitY has moved a note to cabinet on the same, but its will now be cleared
after the government formation in May this year, post the Lok Sabha elections. Confirming
the development, a senior government official said that cyber space is now a
complex environment of people, software, hardware and services on the internet.
Now with this space being borderless and coupled with communication being
instant and anonymous, the potential for circulating malicious or fake content
is huge. Hence there is a need for having stricter legal provision for
authorities to swiftly tackle such cases. Another issue is that compliance of
blocking orders is a tricky affair. Most of the URLs requested for blocking are
social media URLs, which are ‘http’ in nature and are heavily encrypted. They
cannot be blocked in the same way as a normal ‘http’ site can be. The encrypted
site requires specific decryption keys or an algorithm for it to be decrypted
and then it can be blocked. Internet service providers have technical
limitations in blocking such sites. The removal of such content posted on
social media sites can be done by the site, the official said. These amendments
along with amendment to the intermediary guidelines and the proposed data
protection act will aid the government and the law enforcement agencies in
tackling malicious content and fake news. Stringent penalties will also help in
better compliance, he explained.
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200 JET AIRWAYS PILOTS WRITE TO CEO; THREATEN TO GO ON LEAVE,
SUE AIRLINE
Around 200 pilots of
embattled Jet Airways have written individually to its CEO Vinay Dube
threatening to go on leave of absence and planning to take legal recourse over
non-payment of salary dues, according to a source. Cash-strapped Jet Airways,
whose board has cleared a debt resolution plan, has grounded many planes and
has also defaulted on repayment of debt, including External Commercial
Borrowings (ECBs). A source in the pilots' community said around 200 pilots
have written to the CEO flagging concerns about non-payment of salaries. The pilots
are also members of the National Aviators Guild (NAG), the source added.
Without providing the specific number, a NAG office bearer said that some
pilots have written to the CEO in their individual capacities. The source said
that a pilot has informed the CEO that he was planning to go on leave of
absence starting from April 1. The pilot is also looking to take recourse to
legal steps, including recovery proceedings against the company for salary,
allowances and benefits, the source said citing the letter.
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HAVE ENOUGH PILOTS, OPERATIONS WON'T BE IMPACTED: JET AIRWAYS
Even as it tries to
stave-off a proposed mass leave by a section of pilots Jet Airways on Saturday
said it has the requisite number of aviators to man its fleet currently under
operation Operations on Monday are unlikely to be impacted, an official said.
We have taken a note of the advisory sent by a section of the pilots. We are
engaged with them and hope to receive their complete support, a senior airline
official told IANS. Their dues will be paid. However, there is a delay due to
the March fiscal end, severely compounded by the weekend. The dues might be
delayed for some days but everyone will be paid. Jet Airways remains grateful
to its pilots, engineers and members of its senior management for their
patience and understanding during these trying times. The call to
non-cooperation was given by members belonging to the Jet Airways pilots' union
who decided to refrain from operating flights if their dues and clarity on the
company's resolution plan were not given by March 31.
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NARENDRA MODI ENSURED THERE IS NO CORRUPTION IN COUNTRY, SAYS
HEMA MALINI
BJP MP Hema Malini has
said it will be dangerous for the country if Prime Minister Narendra Modi
doesn’t return to power as he alone has the courage to do what is right for the
country. The actor-turned-politician, who is recontesting from the Mathura Lok
Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh once again this year, also hit out at the
Opposition, saying that it is desperate as Mr. Modi has ensured that there is
no corruption in the country. There is no other choice. Modiji has to come
back. It will be dangerous for the country if someone else wins. That’s why we
all (BJP members) are working hard to bring him back, Ms. Hema Malini told.
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TECHNICAL CLARIFICATION ON RECENT MEDIA REPORTS ON NATIONAL
ANNUAL RURAL SANITATION SURVEY
Recent media reports in
the Hindustan Times and Scroll.in have questioned the findings of the National
Annual Rural Sanitation Survey conducted under the World Bank supported Swachh
Bharat Mission Support Operation, questioning the sufficiency of the sample
size and the adequacy of training of enumerators. These reports are factually incorrect,
misleading and biased. The NARSS2018-19 is the largest independent sanitation
survey in the country to data, with a sampling framework that covers more than
six thousand villages, 92040 households, and 5782 schools, 5803 Anganwadi
Centers, 1015 Public toilets and 6055 Public spaces, making it the most
representative sanitation survey in the country. The selection of villages, as
well as households within each village is random, and statistically significant
and the village, State and national level. The methodology and processes of the
NARSS have been developed and approved by an empowered and independent Expert
Working Group comprising leading experts on statistics and sanitation which
include Prof. Amitabh Kundu, Dr N. C Saxena. This group has overseen and
participated in the conduct of the NARSS, from questionnaire design to sampling
to training of enumerators to the actual questioning in the field. The NARSS
followed a robust quality assurance mechanism through accompaniment and back
check of enumerators by their supervisors and members of the EWG, during and
post the survey period to re-validate the data collected. Over 5% of the total
sample was back checked to ensure that the findings are credible. This level of
rigor and neutrality by external experts makes the NARSS data the most credible
data available on sanitation in India. These media reports have used other
statistically insignificant, non-representative and biased studiesfrom varying
timeframes to cast aspersions on the findings of the NARSS. The report on
Scroll.in has in fact quoted data from NARSS 2017-18 instead of NARSS 2018-19,
misrepresenting it as the present sanitation coverage in rural India. It would
have been appropriate for the authors to read the NARSS Protocol document, as
well as the results of the survey from 2017-18 and 2018-19 which are all
available in the public domain, before making sweeping remarks on its
methodology and robustness.
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SHANGHAI BECOMES WORLD'S FIRST DISTRICT WITH 5G COVERAGE
Shanghai claimed on
Saturday that it has become the world's first district using both 5G coverage
and broadband gigabit network as China seeks to establish lead over the US and
other countries in the race to develop next generation cellular mobile
communications. 5G is the next generation of cellular technology with download
speeds that are 10 to 100 times faster than 4G LTE networks. Trial runs of the
5G network, backed by state-run telecom carrier China Mobile, officially
started the service in Shanghai's Hongkou on Saturday, where 5G base stations
had been deployed over the last three months to ensure full coverage, the
report said. During a launch ceremony, Shanghai vice-mayor Wu Qing made the
network's first 5G video call on an Huawei Mate X, the world's first 5G
foldable, AI phone, it said. When fully operational, subscribers stand to avail
of the same service without having to upgrade their SIM cards, it said. Huawei,
China's telecom technology giant, whose revenue in 2018 crossed $100 billion,
is battling a wave of opposition to its 5G trials from the US and different
countries. Zhang Jianming, said Shanghai city aims to build over 10,000 5G base
stations by the end of this year, and that figure is expected to surpass 30,000
in 2021.
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2019 ELECTIONS: OVER 6.8 LAKH RED WAX STICKS TO SECURE EVMS IN
MAHARASHTRA
As many as 6.81 lakh
sticks of red sealing wax and over four lakh candles will be used in
Maharashtra to keep the electronic voting machines (EVMs) secure after the Lok
Sabha polls next month. After the election, the fate of candidates will be sealed
in the EVMs. These EVMs, their control units and the VVPAT machines, being used
the first time, are to be kept firmly secured and for this sealing wax is used,
an official release said. For this, six sticks of sealing wax per polling
centre will be used and total 6.81 lakh sealing wax sticks will be required, it
added. This is probably the first time in elections that such a huge quantity
of red wax will be required. The red sealing wax has its own importance in the
government machinery as it is used for sealing the documents, evidences or
government material. It plays an important role as far as the safety and
security is concerned, the release said. After the general elections, the EVMs
and material related to them is kept secured and sealed with the help of this
sealing wax. The seal is opened on the day of counting. Sealing this material
is the major responsibility in the voting process. This year, at the rate of
six pieces of sealing wax per polling centre, the state would require 6,81,800
units of sealing wax. To melt the sealing wax units on such a large scale
4,55,000 candles will be required. This demand is placed by the State Election
Office to the ECI, the release said. Besides, erasers, papers, pencils, ink,
etc material is also sought on a large scale, it said.
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NDA GOVT COMMITTED TO ASSAM ACCORD, MULLING TO GRANT ST
STATUS: PM MODI
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on Saturday asserted that the NDA government is committed to the Assam
Accord and mulling granting Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to six communities in
the state. The Assam Accord provides for deportation of all illegal immigrants
who entered Assam after March 1971, irrespective of their religion. The Centre
is trying its best to implement the Assam Accord that was suspended by the
Congress, Modi said. We have made efforts to protect the people of Assam, its
culture and interests. The NDA is seriously considering granting ST status to
six communities -- Tai Ahom, Muttock, Moran, Chutiya, Koch Rajbongshis and the
tea tribes, he said. Lashing out at opposition Congress, he said Assam, where
only 40 per cent homes had power and gas connections till several decades after
independence, now has electricity and cooking fuel in almost every home. The
way you have supported me, blessed me, it has boosted my confidence to do
better work for the underprivileged, poor and the tribal population. Barring
the Congress and the terrorists, everybody is happy with the BJP government,
Modi said. Listing his government's achievements, he said over 500,000 people
in Assam have been given homes by the NDA govt, 27 lakh families have received
health insurance of Rs 500,000 each and farmers have been given aid to take
care of their regular expenses.
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HOPES DIM FOR ‘24X7 POWER FOR ALL’ FROM APRIL 1
The government’s promise
of 24x7 power supply for all from April 1 may remain a dream, going by the poor
financial health of the power distribution utilities (Discoms). While Delhi is
the only State that has come out with an enabling legislation, the poor health
of Discoms, unpredictable coal supply position and multiple lacunae in the
power distribution sector have come as a roadblock for the other States,
including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka and Telangana. Uma Shankar told that
though there has been an increase in the number of households connected and in
hours of power supply to them, the 24x7 target from April 1 looks difficult
because of the financial health of the Discoms. While the country’s installed
generation capacity to meet the needs of all households is adequate, the
financial health of Discoms is such that they cannot procure that much
electricity. There have been reports that there may be a second leg of Discom
reforms, a UDAY II, to bring about improvement in their financial condition. It
is only then that 24x7 power for all may happen, he said. The first is the
payment capability of Discoms. With dues of over ₹41,500 crore piling up
from power generation companies, the Discoms may find it financially unviable
to continue supplying power at tariffs which are not cost-reflective. The
second challenge is the inadequate coal supply position in the country, Khurana
said. While the Centre has claimed that the coal supply position has improved,
the sector watchers maintain that the high stock position is a seasonal
phenomenon. According to power generation companies, the higher coal stocks
diminish when the power demand increases. There is no load shedding in Delhi.
This is despite Delhi’s peak power demand breaking all previous records. On
July 10, 2018, it touched 7,016 MW, the highest ever recorded in the history of
the city. In fact, Delhi’s peak power demand is substantially more than that of
several cities and States, an official at a private power distribution company
said.
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REPLY TO EC AFFIDAVIT ON VVPAT SLIPS WITHIN A WEEK: SC TO OPPN
LEADERS
The Supreme Court Monday
asked 21 opposition leaders to file within a week their reply on the Election
Commission's affidavit on their plea regarding Voter Verifiable Paper Audit
Trail (VVPAT) slips in Lok Sabha polls. The opposition leaders led by Andhra
Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had sought that VVPAT slips of at
least 50 per cent of voting machines in each assembly constituency be checked
randomly during Lok Sabha polls next month. A bench headed by Chief Justice
Ranjan Gogoi asked senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for Opposition
leaders, to file the reply by next Monday. The poll panel had on Friday last
sought dismissal of the petition.
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SC STAYS EC'S DECISION NOTIFYING TALALA ASSEMBLY CONSTITUENCY
SEAT AS VACANT, DECLARING BYPOLLS
The Supreme Court on
Monday stayed the Election Commission's March 10 decision notifying Gujarat's
Talala assembly constituency seat as vacant and declaring bypolls there along
with the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan
Gogoi also issued notice to the poll panel on a plea filed by former Congress
MLA B D Barad, who had challenged his disqualification as an MLA and the
subsequent EC's decision notifying the seat as vacant. Barad has moved the apex
court against the Gujarat High Court's March 27 verdict dismissing his petition
against his disqualification as an MLA and also against the EC's decision
notifying the bypolls there. Barad was disqualified as an MLA by the assembly
speaker on March 5 following his conviction in a case.
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DELHI HIGH COURT REJECTS PIL TO PUT STAY ON PM MODI BIOPIC
In a major relief for the
makers of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's biopic, the Delhi High Court rejected
a PIL to stay the film's release The PIL was filed seeking a stay on the film
'PM Narendra Modi' considering the release date which comes at a time when the
country is heading for general elections and the model code of conduct is in
force. The PIL said that the release will help in bolstering the image of PM Narendra
Modi and influence the voters. Similar PILs have been filed in the Allahabad
High Court and the Bombay High Court as well. The film is set for release on
April 5, six days ahead of the first phase of polling.
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ASCI BANS 373 ADS IN DECEMBER 2018 & JANUARY 2019
The Advertising Standards
Council of India (ASCI) processed 415 complaints during December 2018 and
January 2019. Out of these complaints, advertisers ensured corrective action
for 125 advertisements while the Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) of has
banned as many as 230 advertisements out of 290 advertisements evaluated, ASCI
says in a release. The self-regulatory industry body, in a statement said, out
of these 230 advertisements banned, 106 belonged to the education sector, 61 to
the healthcare sector, 32 to the food & beverages sector, nine to personal
care, and 22 were from the 'others' category. The banned ads are from prominent
companies like Gujarat Co-Operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (Amul Milk),
Bennett Coleman & Co Ltd (Bennett University), Allied Blenders and
Distillers Pvt Ltd (Officers Choice Blue Snacks), United Spirits Ltd (Royal
Challenge Sports Drink), Bajaj Corp Ltd (Bajaj Nomarks Ayurvedic Antimarks
Cream), Marico Ltd (Hair and Care Fruit Oil), Dabur India Ltd (Dabur Amla Hair
Oil), Make my trip India Pvt Ltd (Make My Trip), ACC Ltd (ACC Gold Water
Shield), Keystone Realtors Pvt Ltd (Rustomjee), Gujarat Tea Processors &
Packers Ltd (Wagh Bakri Premium Leaf Tea), Xiaomi Technology India Private
Limited (MI A2) among others, they range from FMCGs to autos, personal
accessories to alcohol, and education to media.
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SEIZED ₹14,000 CRORE OF ASSETS OF AN OFFENDER:
NARENDRA MODI
Without naming absconding
liquor baron Vijay Mallya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the
government had seized ₹14,000 crore worth of assets of a man who committed a ₹9,000-crore
fraud and left the country. Mr. Mallya tweeted soon, asking why the BJP leaders
were still targeting him though the highest authority has confirmed full
recovery of his dues and more. What is the situation of those who committed
fraud in India and fled abroad, Mr. Modi said. The man who committed a ₹9,000-crore
fraud and left the country, his ₹14,000 crore and more of
assets have been confiscated, he said. How was this possible? Mr. Modi asked.
Because our government brought in a law that said that if anybody committed
such a fraud, not only would all his assets in India be seized, but also all
their assets abroad would be auctioned. Mr. Mallya became the first person to
be officially designated a fugitive economic offender by the special court
assigned for the purpose under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act 2018.
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VIJAY MALLYA CITES PM MODI'S REMARK TO AFFIRM RECOVERY OF ALL
BANK DUES
Fugitive liquor baron
Vijay Mallya on Sunday quoted an interview of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to
assert that the government has already recovered more than what he allegedly
owed to banks Mallya, who is currently facing trial in a UK Court, took to
micro-blogging Twitter and wrote: I humbly submit that my assertion that I am a
poster boy is fully vindicated by the PM's own statement about me (by name)that
his Govt has recovered more than what I allegedly owe the Banks. Fact that I
have been a UK resident since 1992 ignored. Suits the BJP to say I ran away. Prime
Minister Modi had expressed satisfaction over the fact that Mallya's
extradition process was in the last stage and the government has recovered
money from him. We brought in a law that enabled the Indian government to
confiscate the property of fugitives in any part of the world. You must've seen
in the case of Vijay Mallya. He owed banks Rs 9000 crore but the government has
confiscated his properties worth Rs 14,000 crore from across the world. Now, he
is in trouble because we are taking double the amount, said the Prime Minister
in an exclusive interview to Republic Bharat news channel's Editor-in-chief
Arnab Goswami. Reacting further on the Prime Minister Modi's statement, Mallya
also took a dig at BJP spokespersons for speaking against him despite the
government's confirmation of full recovery. Saw PM Modi's interview in which he
takes my name and says that even though I owe Rs 9000 crores to Banks, his Govt
has attached my assets worth Rs 14,000 crores. So the highest authority has
confirmed full recovery. Why do BJP spokesmen continue their rhetoric, he
tweeted.
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E-TAIL CASH-BURN MAY SHRINK BY 67% IN 5 YEARS
A recent study by management
consulting firm RedSeer says that cash-burn in the e-tailing sector is expected
to shrink to one-third of its current rate by 2023, driven by changes in
product category mix, among other reasons. E-tailing as a sector lost $15 for
every $100 of GMV (gross merchandise value) in 2018. We expect this to shrink
to $12 in 2019 and $5 in 2023, RedSeer’s recent note said. The report expects a
fall in the share of mobiles and electronics — a category that fuelled the
e-commerce boom — in coming years, and a rise in shares of higher-margin
fashion and home need products. The discounts offered by the sector will also
likely fall, the report said. Margins in smartphones and electronics have
traditionally been in the lower single-digits for e-retailers, leading to
higher burn rates for the companies. As platforms house more fashion, FMCG, and
home furnishing products, which garner up to 25-35% margins on average, the
unit economics will get better, the report predicts.
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TELECOM INDUSTRY NEEDS TO FIBERISE NETWORKS: ICRA
With over a billion mobile
phone customers and an explosion of mobile data consumption over the past two
years, the Indian telecom industry needs to migrate from traditional
copper-based networks to dense optic fiber cable networks, according to
investment information and credit rating agency ICRA. The proliferation of
affordable smartphones, low data tariffs, increase in speeds of delivery and
enhanced content have led to 539 million wireless internet subscribers in the
country. This translates into daily consumption of 418,330 terabytes (TBs) of
data. Each TB measures over 1,000 gigabytes. The data consumption is expected
to grow over the long term with increasing applications, improving technology
and more content. To meet the requirements, telecom networks need to be robust
and have the capacity to carry large amounts of data and deliver it quickly,
said ICRA in a research report. With each step on technology ladder from 2G to
3G to 4G and now 5G, the fiber requirement has been going up. In fact 5G and
its applications, which will expand in the times to come, translate into speeds
in excess of 10 Gbps as against the average speeds of 6 Mpbs achieved with 4G
technologies in India (against global average of 17 Mbps). Achieving such
speeds make fiber connectivity essential. India's high population density also
translates into deeper and denser fibre network, said the report. At present,
the country has about 500,000 towers of which only 22 per cent are fiberised as
against 80 per cent in China. India has 110 million km of fiber deployed
compared to 420 million km in the United States and 1,090 million km in China. Hence
India's fiber coverage in km per capita works out to 0.09, which is far behind
0.87 for China and more than 1.3 for the United States and Japan. The fiber
density in India will have to increase at least four-fold. It means that fiber
will evolve as a separate industry in some time, similar to the trajectory seen
for telecom tower industry over the past two decades. ICRA estimates the
present market value of fiber assets owned by major private telecom operators
is about Rs 1.2 lakh crore. The extent of fiber rollout over the next few years
will require investments of Rs 2.5 lakh crore to 3 lakh crore. Hence sharing of
fibre among multiple telcos will be the key driver of a reasonable return on
capital.
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INDIA’S MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT PER CAPITA SPEND WILL BE
CAPPED AT $32: ASSOCHAM-PWC STUDY
India’s per capita media
and entertainment spending will be capped at a mere $32 by 2021 compared to
$222 in China and $2,260 in the United States, according to an ASSOCHAM-PwC
joint study. India is one of the fastest growing entertainment and media
territories in the world, with a CAGR of 11.7% from 2017 to 2022, growing from
$30,363.72 million (Rs 19,78,045 million) in 2017 to $52,683.15 million (Rs
34,32,044 million) in 2022. It is set to be in the top 10 entertainment and
media markets globally by 2021 in terms of absolute numbers, noted ASSOCHAM-PwC
joint study on ‘Video on Demand: Entertainment reimagined’. India’s per capita
media and entertainment spend will be capped at $32 (Rs 2,080) by 2021 as
nominal GDP per capita reaches $2,560 (Rs 1,66,400) for the projected year. The
spend is much lower than that of China, which will stand at $222 (Rs 14,430)
for the same period, and that of the USA, which will have the highest spend at
$2,260 (Rs 1,46,900). According to joint study, SVOD and TVOD will collectively
grow from $296.69 million (Rs 19,328 million) in 2017 to $823.25 million (Rs
53,630 million) in 2022 at a CAGR of 22.6%, with SVOD holding a majority share
throughout the projected period. With multiple platforms to choose from,
consumers are spoilt for choice. However, OTT platforms do not just compete
amongst themselves, but also with DTH players. In recent times, there have been
new opportunities or areas of growth for VoD services. With increasing traffic
in metro cities, the time spent on viewing videos is also on the rise. Cab
aggregators have installed tablets inside their cabs with a wide range of
curated content for passengers at no additional cost, noted the joint study.
Globally, the OTT landscape is projected to grow at 10.1% from a base of
$36,021.11 million (Rs 23,46,595 million) in 2017 to $58,369.29 million (Rs
3,802,467 million) in 2022. The VoD market is well established in many markets
such as the USA. Though the USA will remain the largest OTT market globally
over the next 5 years, strong growth rates in SVOD platforms globally will
reduce its dominance. Cord cutting has been slower than expected, but it is
still happening at a much faster rate than in countries like India. In markets
like the USA, Internet usage to access television content has increased
drastically. However, consumers are also increasingly overwhelmed by the sheer
proliferation of available services. On the other hand, the relative lack of
pay TV options is comforting for the OTT industry as more and more consumers
get inclined towards bundled services.
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WILL HAVE 2.2 MN GOVT JOB VACANCIES FILLED BY MARCH 31, 2020:
RAHUL GANDHI
Congress president Rahul
Gandhi on Sunday said there are 2.2 million government job vacancies which will
be filled up by March 31 next year if his party is voted to power The Congress
has been criticising the government over alleged jobs losses and lack of jobs
creation. Today, there are 22 Lakh job vacancies in Government. We will have
these vacancies filled by 31st March, 2020, Gandhi tweeted. Devolution of funds
from the Centre to each state government for healthcare, education etc. will be
linked to these vacant positions being filled, he said.
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FIR AGAINST OMAXE GROUP FOR ‘CHEATING’ HOMEBUYER
An FIR has been lodged
against two officials of Omaxe Limited and six officials of its sister concern
Omaxe Build Homes for allegedly cheating a homebuyer of over Rs 19.25 lakh The
buyer has alleged that while she had booked a flat in 2006 and paid Rs 8.5 lakh
as the booking amount, she could not get the house till 2010. When she
approached the builders, she was offered a transfer of the booking amount to
another project but she could not get the flat even after two more payments. The
complainant has alleged that till 2015, there was no delivery of the flat and
the company officials called her husband to their office and demanded more
money. Kiran Agrawal, a resident of Sector 93, said that in 2006, she had
booked a 160sqft flat in Grand Wood project of the builder at Rs 3,565 per
sqft. We had given Rs 8.5 lakh as booking amount but we were not allotted a
flat till 2010. When we complained to the CMD, Rohtash Goyal, they suggested
that our money will be diverted to another flat in another project on the same
site at Rs 3,150 per sqft and we paid Rs 25 lakh more for the flat in Grand
Tower project. A part of the money previously deposited was transferred, the
FIR reads. The FIR has been lodged against the CMD of Omaxe Limited and also
the director, Mohit Goel, and six others under sections 420 (cheating), 406
(criminal breach of trust), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke
breach of the peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC. Kiran’s
husband Mukesh Agrawal, a warehouse businessman based in Noida, told that they
were cheated thrice by the builder. We understood that their intention was not
to hand over the flat, since other flats in the same project that we first
booked were being sold at a rate of Rs 15,000 per sqft, he said. Phase 2 SHO
Farmood Ali Pundhir said an FIR has been lodged against eight persons. Mukesh
Goel, vice-president, Omaxe Build Homes, told that the project was stuck due to
litigation. We had offered the buyers to get their refund along with interest.
The letters were sent via post. No flat is being sold for Rs 15,000 per sqft,
he said.
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BUYER CAN'T WAIT INDEFINITELY FOR FLAT, SAYS SUPREME COURT ON
7-YEAR DELAY
The Supreme Court has
upheld orders of a state consumer commission and the national commission to
refund payment with interest to a homebuyer for over seven years' delay in
handing over possession of the flat he had booked with a Kolkata-based builder.
The court said a buyer cannot be required to wait indefinitely for possession
of his house. A buyer can be expected to wait for possession for a reasonable
period. A period of seven years is beyond what is reasonable. Hence, it would
have been manifestly unfair to non-suit the buyer merely on the basis of the
first prayer in the relief sought before the state consumer disputes redressal
commission, a bench comprising Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Hemant Mehta
said while hearing a case filed by the builder, Kolkata West International City
Pvt Ltd, against the order for refund passed by the state and national consumer
commissions. The SC pronounced the verdict last Monday. Welcoming the order, an
umbrella association of home buyers - Fight for RERA tweeted, Landmark judgment
from Hon'ble Supreme Court on refund to buyer from developer. Hope this will
set at rest arbitrary orders being passed by RERA authorities denying refunds
on their own despite #RERA provision there for refunds.
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DATA OF 14 LAKH PEOPLE BREACHED, ONLINE BUYERS DUPED OF RS 200
CRORE
The Uttar Pradesh police's
Special Task Force (STF) Sunday said it has nabbed the kingpin of a gang that
procured data of 14 lakh customers illegally and allegedly duped people to the
tune of Rs 200 crore through online fraud over a period of time. Nandan Rao
Patel, arrested on Saturday by the Noida field unit of the STF, used to procure
the data of clients of major online shopping companies and sell them to fake
call centres, police officials said. The first related case was registered in
Varanasi in 2008, they said. Explaining the modus operandi, STF Deputy
Superintendent of Police Rajkumar Mishra said that Patel was the director of a
digital promotion and bulk SMS firm by the name of Anic World Company. He would
get the (consumer) data hacked through people he knew and buy it for Rs 2-3 per
customer. He would sell this data to fake call centres, duping online buyers in
Delhi-NCR, Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, etc for Rs 5-6 per customer,
Mishra said. He said Patel and his gang would target customers of online
shopping sites like Flipkart, Amazon, Myntra, Paytm, Snapdeal, Shopclues,
HomeShop18 etc, besides general and life insurance companies. Data of 14 lakh
customers of major online shopping websites have been found so far, he said,
adding that the data was being sent for forensic audit. Efforts are on to find
out from where the data was breached, how they were able to set up several fake
accounts and the modus operandi about their frauds. According to the
information received so far, the gang has committed frauds worth approximately
Rs 200 crore, Mishra said.
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AMIT SHAH'S ASSETS GROW 3 TIMES IN 7 YEARS TO RS 38.81 CRORE,
POLL AFFIDAVIT SHOWS
The affidavit filed
Saturday by BJP chief Amit Shah while submitting his nomination papers for the
Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat showed that his assets had grown over three times in
the last seven years. According to the affidavit, the movable and immovable
properties of Shah and his wife stood at Rs 38.81 crore, up from Rs 11.79 crore
in 2012. The Rs 38.81 crore figure included inherited property, both movable
and immovable, of Rs 23.45 crore, the affidavit states. While Shah had Rs
20,633 cash in hand at the time of filing the papers, his wife possessed Rs
72,578. As per the affidavit, Shah and his wife had Rs 27.80 lakh in several
savings accounts, and fixed deposits of Rs 9.80 lakh. Shah and his wife have a
cumulative income of Rs 2.84 crore as per their latest Income Tax Returns
(ITR). Shah's affidavit mentions his sources of income as salary received as
Rajya Sabha MP, rent on properties and income from agricultural activity.
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RAHUL GANDHI REFUSED TO FORGE ALLIANCE WITH AAP FOR LOK SABHA
POLLS: ARVIND KEJRIWAL
Delhi Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said there is no talk on alliance with the Congress
as party president Rahul Gandhi had refused in the sole meeting he had with
him.
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PM MODI LAUDS ISRO FOR 'HISTORIC LEAP' ON SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH OF
EMISAT
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi Monday lauded Isro scientists for the successful launch of Emisat
satellite The launch is a historic leap for Isro, Modi said. India's Emisat
satellite and 28 foreign nano satellites were Monday successfully launched on
board Isro's trusted workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from the
Satish Dhawan Space Centre. The rocket, PSLV-C45, injected the 436 kg Emisat,
aimed at electromagnetic measurement, and 28 co-passenger satellites belonging
to Lithuania, Spain, Switzerland and the US, into their designated orbits, Isro
said.
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PM NARENDRA MODI REDEFINES THE TERM 'CHOWKIDAR', INVOKES THE
CONCEPT OF TRUSTEESHIP
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi redefined the term 'Chowkidar' as a spirit which invokes the concept of
trusteeship. Modi said that the concept of Chowkidar is nothing new, as it was
demonstrated during India's freedom struggle by Mahatma Gandhi. In his address,
Modi compared the upcoming general election to his campaign in 2014, when he
wasn't a well-known figure at the national level. When I was campaigning in
2014, I had vowed to never misuse public money, said Modi. Replying to a
question on the strikes in Balakot, Modi said that it was Indian forces that
demonstrated courage and was successful in destroying the terror camps. In an
implicit reference to Vijay Mallaya and Nirav Modi, PM said Kuch log (loan
defaulters and financial offenders) videsh ki adalaton mein jakar keh rahe hain
ki Bharat ki jail ki sthiti aisi hai ki hum usmein reh nahi sakte. Toh ab unko
mahal dain kya? Angrezon ne Gandhi ko jis jail mein rakha tha usse achhi jail
thodi na dunga.
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RS 1 CRORE, FOREIGN TRIP: VOTE-LINKED BONUS FOR TAMIL NADU
PARTY CADRE
Tamil Nadu has a rich
tradition of election-time freebies - from television sets to blenders to
sarees - but this time, leaders are extending the largesse to the humble party
worker to begin with. Party cadres who ensure winning votes for candidates
stand to win anything from gold chains and rings to refrigerators, motorbikes
and even paid foreign trips. Such is the buzz that I-T sleuths swooped down on
one such candidate, Kathir Anand, who is debuting in Vellore, and unearthed Rs
10 lakh on Saturday. Kathir is the son of DMK treasurer S Duraimurugan. The
trend was kicked off by former Union minister and DMK candidate for Arakkonam,
Jagathrakshakan. He promised Rs 1 crore to the in-charge of the assembly
segment (there are six in an Lok Sabha constituency) where he polls the highest
number of votes. Jagathrakshakan, who runs a string of educational
institutions, owns a star hotel and is one of the four billionaire candidates
from Tamil Nadu. Kathir's political rivals are promising cadres election
dividends too. New Justice Party founder and AIADMK candidate for Vellore AC
Shanmugam is dangling a bullet (motorbike) and fully-funded foreign and
domestic tour packages to enterprising party workers.
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TRUSTS SEEKS NOMINEES TO TATA SONS BOARD
Ratan Tata and other
trustees of Tata Trusts are in a huddle to quickly nominate representatives on
the board of Tata Sons, people close to the development said. Tata Trusts can
nominate one-third of directors at the group holding company but it falls short
on the count following the recent exits of Amit Chandra and Vijay Singh, and of
Nitin Nohria. TVS Group’s Venu Srinivasan, vice-chairman of Tata Trusts, who
was inducted as a non-executive director at Tata Sons in August 2016, is now
formally a trust nominee on its board, one of the people said. The number of
directors on the Tata Sons board is usually 11, but can go up to 13, the person
said. Ratan Tata is likely to make the final decision in this regard. The
trusts may also shortly name a candidate from the Tata universe as its chief
executive, following exit of R Venkataramanan who was also managing trustee,
the people said. Some of the likely Tata insiders for the CEO’s role are N
Srinath, managing director of Tata Teleservices; Sanjay Ubale, head of
infrastructure & urban solutions at Tata Sons; and Praveen Kadle, who was
heading Tata Capital until April 2018 before moving to another role within the
group, they said. Bain Capital managing director Amit Chandra stepped down from
the Sir Ratan Tata Trust in November 2018 and the Tata Sons board in February
2019. Vijay Singh stepped down from Tata Sons board after reaching the
retirement age of 70, while Nitin Nohria quit in mid-2018. Meanwhile, the post
of the CEO at the Trusts has been delinked from the title of managing trustee,
following a tax row over the remuneration of Venkataramanan in his dual role.
According to some sources, Venkataramanan would be given a posting in the vast
universe of the Tata Group, possibly outside the country. But this could not be
verified. A CEO is usually not on the board of trustees he can carry out the
duties assigned to him or her by the board of trustees, said Sanjay Ashar, a
partner at law firm Crawford Bayley & Co. And, there is no legal
requirement to have a managing trustee. CEO is sufficient. The Income Tax
Department recently withdrew tax exemption given to Sir Dorabji Tata Trust as
Venkataramanan’s salary had exceeded the permissible tax bracket. The Income
Tax Department’s recent decision highlighted the conflict between the provision
under the trust deed for a salary of trustees and the actual salary of the
managing trustee, said Ravi Singhania, managing partner of law firm Singhania
& Partners. To balance the provision and the role envisaged under the deed,
and still be able to find a capable CEO, the separate position of the CEO was a
must. Venkataramanan is also being examined as part of the Central Bureau of
Investigation’s inquiry into allegations that AirAsia India — Tata Sons’ joint
venture with Ariasia Berhad of Malaysia — used illegal tactics to lobby for a
change in India’s aviation policies.
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DEMONETISATION GOOD FOR ECONOMY IN THE LONG RUN: HDFC'S ADITYA
PURI
HDFC Bank Managing
Director (MD) Aditya Puri Sunday said the demonetisation in 2016 was a good
move to boost economy in the long run, though the measure had brought hardship
to the people at the initial stage. The HDFC Bank MD also backed the Narendra
Modi government's endeavour to promote digitisation in the banking system
asserting that it is one of the best things to have happened in India. On the
HDFC Bank's expansion plans in the Northeast, Puri said it proposed to open 100
more branches in the region in three years to take its branch network close to
230. As a part of this plan, it would also double the number of branches in
Sikkim to 18, the HDFC MD said. He said that the HDFC Bank had started its
journey in the Northeast in 2004, and has grown rapidly since then.
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TUSSLE AT USHA MARTIN SEES BASANT KUMAR JHAWAR'S OUSTER FROM
BOARD
Basant Kumar Jhawar,
chairman emeritus and a co-founder at Usha Martin, has been voted out from the
board of directors by shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM).
The two factions at the apex of Usha Martin’s (one of the largest makers of
wire ropes in the world and a leading speciality steel maker here), of
Basant-Prashant Jhawar and Brij-Rajeev Jhawar, have been at odds with each
other for a while. Each has a shareholding of 25.5 per cent. The EGM was
convened on Saturday to seek continuation of Basant Kumar Jhawar, 83, and Brij
Kishore Jhawar, 81. According to Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi)
regulations, a non-executive director above 75 years of age may continue his
term beyond March 31, 2019, if shareholders approve. However, while 99.8 per
cent of the votes were for continuation of Brij Jhawar, the other
promoter-director, 67.3 per cent of the votes polled were against the
resolution for Basant Jhawar continuing. The rival promoter group and the
entire block of public institutions voted against Basant Jhawar. A special
resolution requires 75 per cent of the votes cast in favour for it to go
through. They further said that the board had okayed Rs 75 crore of the Tata
fund to pay exchequer dues for the Adityapur Industrial Estate. This issue was
pointed out by Basant Jhawar and the board chaired by G N Bajpai voted against
Basant Jhawar’s objection. Basant Jhawar is not a director from tomorrow and
will not be bound by the board members’ guidelines.
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KUMAR MANGALAM BIRLA TO REJIG PROMOTER COS AHEAD OF VODAFONE
IDEA ISSUE
Ahead of Vodafone Idea’s
$3.6 billion rights issue, Kumar Mangalam Birla is reorganising unlisted group
companies to raise funds, said people with knowledge of the matter. SKI Carbon
Black Mauritius Ltd (Birla Carbon) is set to buy a controlling interest in
Swiss Singapore Overseas Enterprises Pte Ltd for $450 million. Both are
promoter companies of the Aditya Birla Group chairman. Birla owns 100% of Kiran
Investments, which owns these entities. Carbon Black is said to be in talks
with banks to raise short-term debt of $300 million and $150 million. It has
also sought a relaxation in loan covenants from 3.5 times debt to Ebitda
(earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) to 4.1-4.2
times, said the people cited above.
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FSSAI PROVIDES RELIEF TO CRAFT BREWERIES ON YEAST CONTENT
The Food Safety &
Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said it will allow craft breweries to
continue making beer with higher yeast content This will come as a huge relief
to micro breweries across the country. The regulator had said that regular beer
or lager should be free of yeast while draught beer should have yeast content
of at most 40 CFU (colony-forming units). The notification had not put craft
beer into a separate category, which had put the breweries in a tizzy as many
craft beers have yeast content as high as 3 million CFU. The Food Safety &
Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulations, 2018 will be implemented in effect
from 1st April 2019, except the parameter for yeast in various categories of
beer, the regulator said in a notification on Friday. As part of the
notification, the FSSAI also clarified that it will provide drinks makers
another six months for use of old unused labels and printed cans. Following a
directive last year, all liquor bottles were supposed to carry cautionary
messages of Drinking is injurious to health and Don't Drink and Drive on their
labels from April 1. Alcoholic beverages manufactured prior to 1st April 2019
can be sold in the market up to 31st March 2020, FSSAI said.
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MUKHTAR ABBAS NAQVI SLAMS RAHUL GANDHI ON NITI AAYOG REMARK,
SAYS CONGRESS THREATENING INSTITUTIONS
Slamming Rahul Gandhi for
his remarks that the Congress, if voted to power, would scrap the NITI Aayog,
senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi alleged on Saturday that the opposition
party was threatening and defaming constitutional institutions The shehzada is
speaking under the influence of his arrogance of feudal mentality, Naqvi said
in an apparent reference to Gandhi. When the Congress was in power, the anarchy
and arrogance of the feudal family was at its peak in criminal misuse of
constitutional institutions and now in the Opposition, they are threatening and
defaming these constitutional institutions, he alleged.
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EC NOTICE TO CIVIL AVIATION, RAILWAYS MINISTRIES ON PM PHOTO
ON BOARDING CARD, 'CHOWKIDAR' SLOGAN ON CUPS
Railways and Ministry of
Civil Aviation regarding two different complaints raised regarding the alleged
violation of the model code of conduct. In a notice to the Ministry of Railways
in connection with a viral picture of tea being served in Shatabdi train in
'Main bhi Chowkidar' cups, the Commission has asked Ministry to file a reply by
Saturday. The ECI has also sent a notice to Ministry of Civil Aviation, seeking
a reply on Madurai Airport matter where Prime Minister Narendra Modi's picture
was seen on boarding passes. The Civil Aviation Ministry too has been asked to
file a reply by Saturday.
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ONLY A FOOLISH GOVT WILL DISCLOSE DEFENCE SECRET: CHIDAMBARAM
ON PM’S MISSION SHAKTI ADDRESS
Senior Congress leader P
Chidambaram on Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for announcing
that India had demonstrated anti-satellite missile capability saying only a
foolish government would make such a disclosure and betray a defence secret.
Slamming the announcement by the prime minister, Chidambaram tweeted, The
capability to shoot down a satellite has existed for many years. A wise
government will keep the capability secret Only a foolish government will
disclose it and betray a defence secret. The former finance minister also
questioned the motive of the government in making the announcement. Besides,
why was it done now in the middle of an election campaign? Only to boost the
sagging fortunes of the BJP, Chidambaram claimed.
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RELATION WITH J&K WILL BE OVER IF YOU REVOKE ARTICLE 370,
MEHBOOBA MUFTI WARNS CENTRE
In a stern warning to the
Centre, Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday said that the
relationship between the Union of India and Jammu and Kashmir would be over if
the government decides to revoke Article 370 of the Constitution. If you break
the bridge (Article 370), then you will have to renegotiate the relationship
between India and Jammu and Kashmir. There will be new terms and conditions,
there will be fresh negotiations. Like 1947, you will have to decide on what
basis do you plan to take over a Muslim-dominated state? You had given us the
status under the law. If you finish it, we will have to think about the new
conditions and whether we would even want to stay with you, the former chief
minister was quoted as saying. Mufti said, Arun Jaitley must think about this.
If you finish Article 370, your relation with Jammu and Kashmir will be over.
On Friday, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah had cautioned the BJP and
its leadership against raising questions against the validity of Article 370.
Abdullah said that if Article 370 is to be debated afresh, then I’m sorry, but
questions will be raised on Accession as well. Accession was done on these
terms and conditions.
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INDIA EXTENDS DEADLINE TO IMPOSE HIGH IMPORT DUTIES ON 29 US
PRODUCTS TILL MAY 2
The government has again
extended its deadline to impose retaliatory customs duties on 29 US products,
including almond, walnut and pulses, till May 2. A notification of the finance
ministry said that implementation of increased customs duty on specified
imports originating in the US has been postponed from April 1, 2019 to May 2,
this year. India is pushing the dates as both sides are negotiating a trade
package to boost bilateral commerce. But earlier this month, the US decided to
withdraw export incentives being provided by them to Indian exporters for
certain goods under Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme.
Extension of these benefits were part of the negotiations between India and the
US among other issues. These incentives are expected to be withdrawn from May
2. Domestic exporters are jittery over US' decision to withdraw these
incentives as they export goods worth $5.6 billion under GSP programme. About
1,900 items including from chemicals and engineering sectors avail these sops.
India is pressing for exemption from high duty imposed by the US on certain
steel and aluminium products, resumption of export benefits to certain domestic
products under their GSP programme, greater market access for its products from
agriculture, automobile, automobile components and engineering sectors. On the
other hand, the US is demanding greater market access through cut in import
duties for its agriculture goods, dairy products, medical devices, IT and
communication items. India has stated that it would be difficult for them to
cut duties on IT products. As part of the imposition of higher import duties,
New Delhi has notified higher tariffs on several products. While import duty on
walnut has been hiked to 120 per cent from 30 per cent currently, duty on
chickpeas, Bengal gram (chana) and masur dal will be raised to 70 per cent,
from 30 per cent currently. Levy on lentils will be increased to 40 per cent,
from 30 per cent. India's exports to the US in 2017-18 stood at $47.9 billion,
while imports were $26.7 billion. The trade balance is in favour of India.
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CHINA MULLS TO BUY RUSSIA'S SU-57 STEALTH FIGHTER JET
China is weighing options
to buy Russia's new Sukhoi Su-57 stealth fighter jet as Moscow has identified
China and India as potential customers to acquire its advanced warplane
Described by Russian President Vladimir Putin as the world's best military
plane, the Su-57 is a fifth-generation multi-role fighter jet capable of both
aerial combat and hitting ground and naval targets. The Chinese air force,
which currently has a range of home grown new aircraft including the stealth
fighter J-20, besides Russia's Su 35s, is keeping a close eye on India's
acquisition of France's Rafale plane adding a new strategic dimension to its
air assets. While China has been developing its own new generation military
aircraft, it is still heavily reliant on Russian engines for the planes as it
is yet to produce a reliant engine of its own. Both China and Pakistan rely on
Russian engines for their jointly produced JF-17 Thunder. While US warplanes
stress stealth and beyond visual range attacks, the Su-57 can evade incoming
long-range missiles through its super-manoeuvrability and engage enemies at
close range, a situation where stealth is not so important as
super-manoeuvrability, Wang said.
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PAKISTAN DIVERTS CPEC CORRIDOR FUNDS; CHINA TIES UNDER
PRESSURE
A controversy has erupted
over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) ahead of the second Belt and
Road Initiative (BRI) summit in Beijing following allegations that the Pakistani
government has diverted Rs 2,400 crore (around $171.6 million) meant for joint
infrastructure development projects with China under BRI to other projects.
China had given the money as part of the $62-billion infrastructure funding to
build the CPEC. However, Pakistan’s planning and development ministry issued an
order diverting Rs 2,400 crore to projects to be identified by local
legislators under the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals programme,
according to sources. The move could be part of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s
party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf ’s efforts to appease its lawmakers by allowing
them to make decisions on development projects, said one person. The government
committed theft by spending Rs 2,400 crore out of Rs 2,700 crore meant for BRI
on other development projects, Opposition leader Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman was
quoted by local media.
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CHINA SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES SECOND GENERATION DATA RELAY
SATELLITE
China has successfully
launched the first of its new-generation data relay satellites into orbit that
will provide data relay, measurement and control services for its manned
spacecraft. The Tianlian II-01 satellite was launched by a Long March-3B
carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in southwest China's
Sichuan Province Sunday night. As the first satellite to constitute China's
second-generation data relay satellite network, the Tianlian II-01 will provide
data relay, measurement and control, transmission services for manned
spacecraft, satellites, carrier rockets and other non-spacecraft users. The
Tianlian II network will be markedly more advanced in mission planning, system
management and operations than the first-generation network composed of
Tianlian I satellites, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Monday. The new
network, with faster data transfer and higher multi-objective service
capability, will play an important role in improving the transmission
promptness, in-orbit security and mission flexibility for medium- and low-Earth
orbiting satellites and manned spacecraft, it said.
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US LAWMAKER URGES TRUMP ADMIN TO DELAY DECISION ON
PREFERENTIAL TRADE STATUS TO INDIA TILL LOK SABHA ELECTIONS
A top Republican lawmaker
has urged the US trade agency to put on hold its decision to terminate
preferential trade status granted to India till the general elections in the
country are over. US President Donald Trump this month informed the US Congress
about his intent to terminate the designation of India as a beneficiary
developing country under Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programme that
facilitates duty free import of certain products from underdeveloped countries
to help grow their economies. It is my request that the administration postpone
the termination of India's GSP eligibility and revisit this decision after
India's general election. At that point, we would be free from the turmoil of
politics and would be able to have a more productive conversation, Holding
said.
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CAR CARRYING GAS CYLINDERS RAMS INTO CRPF BUS ON
JAMMU-SRINAGAR HIGHWAY NEAR BANIHAL, NO CASUALTIES REPORTED
A car loaded with gas
cylinders rammed into a bus carrying CRPF personnel on Jammu-Srinagar Highway
on Saturday, triggering fear of another Pulwama-like attack. The incident
occurred in Ramban's Banihal as a Hyundai Santro car struck a CRPF bus from
behind and exploded. The car was carrying more than one gas cylinder. An
official said that no casualties have been reported.
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TRUMP SCOLDS THE FED OVER 'MISTAKENLY RAISED INTEREST RATES'
Donald Trump ratcheted up
his pressure on the Federal Reserve, saying that if the central bank had not
mistakenly raised interest rates the US gross domestic product would be higher
and markets would be in a better place. The president’s comment, in a Twitter
post on Friday afternoon, was yet another shot across the bow of Fed Chairman
Jerome Powell, who Trump has repeatedly rebuked since the Fed raised borrowing
costs four times last year. Trump even discussed firing Powell, Bloomberg News
reported on Dec. 21. Had the Fed not mistakenly raised interest rates,
especially since there is very little inflation, and had they not done the
ridiculously timed quantitative tightening, the 3.0% GDP, & Stock Market,
would have both been much higher & World Markets would be in a better
place! the president said in the tweet.
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EU COMMISSION SAYS NO-DEAL BREXIT ON 12 APRIL 'LIKELY'
The European Commission on
Friday said a no-deal Brexit on 12 April was now likely after UK parliament
rejected for the third time British Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal
with the European Union. The Commission regrets the negative vote in the House
of Commons, a spokesman said, adding that the EU has given London until April
12 to inform it of the next steps. It will be for the UK to indicate the way
forward before that date. A 'no-deal' scenario on 12 April is now a likely
scenario. The EU is now fully prepared for a 'no-deal' scenario at midnight on
12 April.
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IN VIETNAM, TRUMP ASKED KIM TO HAND OVER NUCLEAR WEAPONS TO
US: REPORT
On the day that their
talks in Hanoi collapsed last month, US President Donald Trump handed North
Korean leader Kim Jong Un a piece of paper that included a blunt call for the
transfer of Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and bomb fuel to the United States
according to the document. It was the first time that Trump himself had
explicitly defined what he meant by denuclearization directly to Kim, the
source said. A lunch between the two leaders was cancelled the same day. While
neither side has presented a complete account of why the summit collapsed, the
document may help explain it. The document’s existence was first mentioned by
White House national security adviser John Bolton in television interviews he
gave after the two-day summit. Bolton did not disclose in those interviews the
pivotal U.S. expectation contained in the document that North Korea should
transfer its nuclear weapons and fissile material to the United States. The
document appeared to represent Bolton’s long-held and hardline Libya model of
denuclearization that North Korea has rejected repeatedly It probably would
have been seen by Kim as insulting and provocative, analysts said. After the
summit, a North Korean official accused Bolton and Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo of gangster-like demands, saying Pyongyang was considering suspending
talks with the United States and may rethink its self-imposed ban on missile
and nuclear tests. Aside from the call for the transfer of Pyongyang’s nuclear
weapons and bomb fuel, the document had four other key points It called on
North Korea to provide a comprehensive declaration of its nuclear program and
full access to U.S. and international inspectors; to halt all related
activities and construction of any new facilities; to eliminate all nuclear
infrastructure; and to transition all nuclear program scientists and
technicians to commercial activities.
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THERESA MAY CONSIDERS FOURTH BID TO PASS WITHDRAWAL DEAL
British Prime Minister
Theresa May and her cabinet are looking for ways to bring her European Union
(EU) withdrawal agreement back to the House of Commons for a fourth attempt at
winning MPs' backing. After MPs on Friday rejected May's agreement for the
third time by 344 votes to 286, the Prime Minister said that the UK would need
an alternative way forward to carry on with the Brexit process, the BBC
reported. The agreement is the part of Brexit deal May struck with Brussels
that sets out how much money the UK must pay to the EU as a settlement, details
of the transition period and arrangements for the Irish backstop -- the
insurance policy designed to avoid a hard border between the Irish Republic and
the UK province of Northern Ireland. MPs from all parties will now test support
for other options during a second round of indicative votes on April. The government
has so far failed to win over 34 Conservative rebels, including both Remainers
and Brexiteers who say the deal still leaves the UK too closely aligned to
Europe. However, a Downing Street source on Friday night indicated that the
Prime Minister would continue to seek support in the Commons, adding that
efforts were going in the right direction. May has until April 12 to seek a
longer extension to the negotiation process to avoid the UK leaving without a
deal, which most MPs believe could harm business and create disruption at
ports. However, she said any further delay to Brexit was almost certain to
involve staging elections to the European Parliament slated to be held from May
23 to 26.
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ADB TO EXTEND $750-MILLON LOAN TO PUSH RAILWAYS'
ELECTRIFICATION DRIVE
The Indian Railways will
raise a $750-million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) through Indian
Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) to finance part of its electrification
drive. The national transporter has lined up an electrification drive covering
28,000 km in the next three financial years — 7,000 km in 2019-20 and 10,500 km
each in 2020-21 and 2021-22, respectively.
This will entail an
expenditure of $6-7 billion. The ADB loan will be used for electrifying around
3,378 km, involving at least 16 sub-projects in 13 states. The national
transporter has approached the Election Commission to get the clearance on
this. In a week we are expected to sign a final deal with the ADB for a
non-sovereign project finance loan for the ongoing electrification process.
Based on the ongoing talks, the interest rates are likely to be 1.25 basis
points (bps) higher than the acquiring rate of the ADB, said a government
official. The government’s plan to opt for divesting its stake in IRFC failed
to take off last year after the World Bank’s agency Multi-Lateral Investment
Guarantee (MIGA) backed out of providing an investment guarantee for raising at
least $500 million from international private sector investors and lenders.
Following this, the listing plan was put on hold. The ADB debt financing is
likely to be structured as a standard secured project finance loan for a tenor
of 20 years, comprising a four-year availability period and a 16-year repayment
period. ADB-funded electrification works are expected to create around 4,500
additional jobs annually. Based on an estimate, at least 24,100 million
passenger gross tonnage km (GTKM) and 32,200 million freight GTKM may be
provided annually by electric traction on the newly electrified routes funded
by the ADB.
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XIAOMI LOOKS TO MONETISE INTERNET SERVICES IN INDIA
After beating Samsung in
smartphones, Xiaomi is now planning to take on the likes of Netflix, Amazon
Prime, Spotify, Paytm and Google Pay by monetising internet services in the
Indian market. The Chinese firm, counted amongst the top five most valuable
technology startups, wants to generate revenue and profit from streaming of
movies and videos, music, digital payment and applications, and will invest a
significant proportion of the recent Rs 3,500 crore fund infusion to expand
into services, Xiaomi India managing director Manu Kumar Jain said. Xiaomi
globally made less than 1% profit margin from hardware or device sales in 2018,
and we have stated that will never make more than 5% profit margin on hardware,
he said. It is the internet services which will make money for us. Jain said
Xiaomi globally has three financial pillars – devices, retail and services —
and the last one is yet to be monetised in India. Designing and selling
hardware is only half the job for us. Remaining half of the job is to engage
with customers and sell internet services to grow fast, he said. Xiaomi
overtook Samsung to become the market leader in Indian smartphone market in the
October-December 2017, and has held on to its top position since then. Jain
claimed the company is also leader in smart television, smart wearable band and
power banks in India.
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GOVT PLANS TO SPECIFY A UNIQUE COLOUR CODE FOR GENERIC
MEDICINES
The central government is
favourably considering an amendment to the decades-old Drugs and Cosmetics
Rules, to specify a separate colour code for generic medicines, from branded
medicines. A generic is a copy of a formerly patented drug. Of two types,
branded and unbranded. Generic medicines might or might not have a trade name,
as opposed to branded generics. They are made by small and large companies
alike but not marketed through the doctor-channel; instead, these are pushed
directly into the trade. A senior government official said they were actively
considering a proposal to introduce colour codes on the lines of the red and
green dots to differentiate between vegetarian and non-vegetarian food
products. Generic medicines are gaining popularity and available more easily in
the mainstream channel. There is a need to differentiate these from branded
generics. At times generic medicines, too, have a trade name and this leads to
confusion. To address the issue, the government is considering colour codes and
symbols on medicine packs, he said. By 2020-21, assuming each Jan-Aushadhi
store sells medicine worth Rs 5 lakh, the scheme’s combined revenue would Rs Rs
600 crore. Assuming an average price differential of five times, this means Rs
25,000-30,000 crore of branded generic sales, a fifth of the domestic market.
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J&J'S BABY SHAMPOO SAMPLES ARE NOT OF STANDARD QUALITY:
DRUG CONTROLLER
Rajasthan’s drug
controller has said Johnson & Johnson (J&J) baby shampoo samples are
not of standard quality. The drug controller said the samples tested were found
containing harmful substances This comes after J&J’s hip implants and baby
powder were declared defective. Their hip implants left 4,000 patients in the
lurch and the government is trying to get the company to pay compensation to
all those affected. The panel that was to look into compensation for affected
patients recommended the company to pay Rs 74 lakh to the first patient.
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US TESTING 250 OBJECTS FROM INDIAN ASAT DEBRIS; ISS NOT AT
RISK
The US is tracking 250-270
objects of debris in the space generated due to India's anti-satellite (ASAT)
missile test in lower earth orbit, but the International Space Station or ISS
is not at risk the Pentagon said Friday. US Strategic Command's Joint Force
Space Component Command (JFSCC) said 250 pieces of debris associated with an
Indian ASAT launch that occurred on Wednesday are being actively tracked.
Debris from the event is being actively monitored by the JFSCC, and conjunction
notifications are being issued to satellite owners/operators in accordance with
standard notification processes through the Department of Defense's public
space situational awareness it said. The JFSCC said it will continue to
actively track debris associated with the event and issue close approach
notifications as required until the debris enters the earth's atmosphere. The
ISS orbits over 100 km higher than the orbit at which India carried out the
ASAT test. That's another thing that we do and provide warning routinely.
That's just an example of -no other nation --no other military force, no other
civil or other body could have detected characterised and begun warning and
providing the world, the way we do with air force and other joint assets,
Thompson said.
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CHINA BANKS POST PROFITS BUT WARN OF INSTABILITY
Chinese banks have posted
profits for 2018 but warned that domestic and global uncertainties could put
downward pressure on the sector in the coming year. Bank of China (BOC) posted
a profit of 192.44 billion yuan (USD28.67 billion), up four per cent from the
previous year, which the company credited to a stable economy and prudent
monetary policy from the Chinese government. But the sector will face a
complicated operating environment in 2019, BOC said. The growth drivers of the
global economy will weaken, international financial markets will remain at risk
of fluctuation, and the functioning of the economy will be subject to a number
of uncertainties. China’s second largest lender by assets, China Construction
Bank, posted a net profit of 254.66 billion yuan for 2018, a gain of 5.11 per
cent.
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ZUCKERBERG CALLS FOR GLOBAL INTERNET REGULATIONS TO ADDRESS
HARMFUL CONTENT
Facebook Inc. Chief
Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg called for new global regulations governing
the internet on Saturday, recommending overarching rules on hateful and violent
content, election integrity, privacy and data portability. In a statement that
was also published as an op-ed in the Washington Post, Zuckerberg said the
company is seeking regulations that would set baselines for prohibited content
and require companies to build systems for keeping harmful content to a
minimum. We have a responsibility to keep people safe on our services, he said.
That means deciding what counts as terrorist propaganda, hate speech and more.
We continually review our policies with experts, but at our scale we’ll always
make mistakes and decisions that people disagree with. Zuckerberg’s comments
mark his most visible effort so far to shape the discourse around the way the
company collects information, uses and disperses it around the world. Facebook
has been the target of probes by various governments after news broke about a
year ago that it allowed the personal data of tens of millions of users to be
shared with political consultancy Cambridge Analytica. Earlier this month, it
came under fire for taking too long to take down a live video of a shooting in
New Zealand and allowing it to be circulated across the internet. Millions of
users also had personal information accessed via a recent breach. Over the past
year, lawmakers have focused greater scrutiny on the company and its immense
influence, asking its executives -- including Zuckerberg -- to testify in front
of Congress to explain the proliferation of misinformation, hate speech and
election manipulation on the platform. Zuckerberg said Facebook would welcome
common standards for verifying political actors, citing practices deployed by
advertisers in many countries of verifying identities before buying political
ads. He also suggested updating laws to include divisive political issues in
addition to candidates and elections. Every day we make decisions about what
speech is harmful, what constitutes political advertising, and how to prevent
sophisticated cyberattacks, he said. But if we were starting from scratch, we
wouldn’t ask companies to make these judgments alone. Zuckerberg also said
there should also be rules guaranteeing portability of data that protects
information when it moves between services.
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FACEBOOK TO TIGHTEN LIVE STREAM ACCESS AFTER NEW ZEALAND
MOSQUE ATTACKS
Facebook on Friday said it
is tightening live video streaming rules in response to the service being used
to broadcast deadly attacks on mosques in New Zealand. In the wake of the
terrorist attack, we are taking three steps: strengthening the rules for using
Facebook Live, taking further steps to address hate on our platforms, and
supporting the New Zealand community, she added. Facebook is looking into
barring people who have previously violated the social network’s community
standards from livestreaming on its platform, according to Sandberg. The social
network is also investing in improving software to quickly identify edited
versions of violent video or images to prevent them from be shared or
re-posted. While the original New Zealand attack video was shared Live, we know
that this video spread mainly through people re-sharing it and re-editing it to
make it harder for our systems to block it, Sandberg said. People with bad
intentions will always try to get around our security measures. Facebook
identified more than 900 different videos showing portions of the streamed
violence. The social network is using artificial intelligence tools to identify
and remove hate groups in Australia and New Zealand, according to Sandberg.
Those groups will be banned from Facebook services, she said. The ban will be
enforced starting next week on the leading online social network and its
image-centric messaging service Instagram.
#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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