GENERAL UPDATES 03.04.2019

SC RESERVES ORDER ON CONTEMPT PLEAS AGAINST RBI FOR NOT DISCLOSING INFORMATION UNDER RTI

The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its order on two contempt petitions filed against Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for not complying with the apex court's direction to disclose information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The two had claimed that RBI and its former Governor Urjit Patel had willfully and deliberately disobeyed the apex court's judgement asking the central bank to disclose information under the RTI Act. The two pleas sought initiation of contempt of court action against former Governor for not disclosing information as directed by the top court. One of the contempt plea filed by Girish Mittal said that RBI refused to provide information sought about the inspection reports of some banks. In December 2015, the petitioner under the RTI Act had sought certain information which included copies of inspection reports of ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and State Bank of India from April 2011 till December 2015. However, RBI denied the information in January 2016 that such information is exempted under Section 8(1)(e) of the RTI Act and Section 45NB of the Reserve Bank of India Act. Filing the contempt pleas, petitioners stated that the responses of RBI are in complete violation of the apex court judgment by which it was held that RBI ought to act with transparency and not hide information that might embarrass individual banks and it is duty bound to comply with the provisions of the RTI Act and disclose the information sought.

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WILL REVERSE ILLEGAL INTERFERENCE BY BJP GOVT IN RBI FUNCTIONING: CONG MANIFESTO

The Congress Tuesday said monetary policy is the province of the Reserve Bank of India and the party will reverse the unwarranted and illegal interference by the BJP government into the functioning of the RBI if voted to power. It also promised to review and replace the current Goods and Services Tax laws with the GST 2.0 regime, which will be based on a single, moderate, standard rate of tax on all goods and services. The Congress will respect the autonomy of the RBI in matters reserved to the RBI under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1939, including the formulation of monetary policy, the party said. The Congress also promised that the government would work closely with the RBI to ensure that fiscal policy and monetary policy were aligned to achieve the common goal of growth with price stability. The party said, The Congress promises that real estate (all sectors), petroleum products, tobacco and liquor will be brought within the ambit of GST 2.0 in a manner and time period not exceeding 2 years agreed to in the GST Council. In its manifesto, the party also promised a comprehensive review of the concept, role and functions of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) in order to make them robust and competitive with healthy balance sheets. The Congress will amalgamate 2 or more PSBs so that there will be only 6-8 PSBs with a national presence and reach. Each of the amalgamated PSBs will be adequately capitalised, it said.

The 55-page document titled ‘Hum Nibhayenge’ (We will deliver) focused on addressing the issues of joblessness, farm distress, safety of women and boosting the rural economy, with stress on building a narrative on real issues faced by people. For farmers, Congress promised to put them on the path from Karz Maafi (loan waiver), to Karz Mukti (freedom from loans). This will be done through remunerative prices, lower input costs, and assured access to institutional credit, the party said, adding it will present a separate Kisan Budget every year if voted to power. Gandhi said the Congress will allocate 6 per cent of GDP to education, strengthen government hospitals and give high-quality healthcare access to poor if voted to power. The party also promised to enact the Right to Healthcare Act and guarantee every citizen free diagnostics out-patient care, free medicines and hospitalisation, through a network of public hospitals and enlisted private hospitals. The Congress president alleged that the BJP government had spread hate and divisiveness in its five year rule and his party will work towards uniting India by bringing people together. Our manifesto process reflects our commitment to a higher vision, that of listening to the ‘jan awaaz’ It is not the ‘mann ki baat’ of one individual but the collective voice of lakhs of people, he said in a preface of the manifesto. He promised to make India strong and united, and a just and prosperous society. On the party’s minimum income guarantee scheme or Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY), the party’s manifesto promised to give Rs 72,000 per year to the poorest 20 per cent households in India. To the youth of India, Congress pledged to make jobs its top priority, saying it will ensure 34 lakh jobs in the public sector by filling all 4 lakh central government vacancies before March 2020, persuading the state governments to fill 20 lakh vacancies and creating an estimated 10 lakh new Seva Mitra positions in every gram panchayat and urban local bodies. The Congress, it said, will reverse the trend of declining defence spending under the NDA government, and increase it to meet the requirements of the Armed Forces. We will expedite all modernisation programmes of the Armed Forces in a transparent manner. We will improve social security, education and health facilities for our Paramilitary Forces and families, the party said. On education, Congress promised that school education from Class I to Class XII in public schools shall be compulsory and free. The party promised to pass in the first session of the 17th Lok Sabha the Women’s Reservation Bill reserving 33 percent of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies. Congress will also reserve 33 percent of all posts/vacancies in the Central government for women, it said.

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CONGRESS MANIFESTO AIMED AT ‘BALKANISATION’ OF INDIA: ARUN JAITLEY

The BJP on Tuesday dubbed the election manifesto of the Congress dangerous and unimplementable, saying it was aimed at balkanisation of India. Arun Jaitley said the Congress does not deserve even a single vote for its promises such as doing away with sedition law. He alleged that even tokenism has not been done on farm loan waiver in the five States where the Congress is in power. Mr. Jaitley further said that though the Congress had set up a drafting committee, it appears that some important points related to Jammu and Kashmir were drafted by party chief Rahul Gandhi’s friends in ‘Tukde Tukde’ gang.

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WAGES RISE UNDER MGNREGA WITH EC ENDORSEMENT

The Union Rural Development Ministry has increased the rate of wages under the MGNREGA for the 2019-20 fiscal with approval from the Election Commission and has asked state governments not to publicise the enhancement of wage rates under the rural employment scheme. The wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, have increased in a range of two to 8.76 per cent in most of the states except West Bengal, Karnataka, Kerala and Goa, where the wages have not been increased for the 2019-20 fiscal. Among the states, the increase of wages in Mizoram was the highest at 8.76 per cent from Rs 194 to Rs 211. As per the notification, which was circulated to the state governments on Thursday, the highest wage under the MGNREGA is Rs 284 in Haryana, while the lowest is Rs 171 in Bihar and Jharkhand. Officials of various governments in northeastern states told IANS that they have been instructed by the Election Commission and the Rural Development Ministry not to disclose any facts about the increase in wages under the flagship rural employment scheme.

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POLL PANEL STEPS IN TO ALLOW LAUNCH OF BOOK ON RAFALE DEAL

A few hours after an election flying squad in Chennai served a letter banning the release of a book on the Rafale fighter aircraft scam, the publishing house managed to launch the book by obtaining the nod from the Election Commission of India. Sources in the Commission later said the members of the flying squad that conducted the raid have been relieved from duty and issued a show cause notice. A new team has been constituted as part of the flying squad, they added. He also served him a hand-written letter banning the book’s release and sale. In spite of opposition from the publisher and other staff, police personnel and other officials seized all copies of the book But later in the evening, following the intervention of the Election Commission, the book was released by N. Ram, Chairman, The Hindu Publishing Group. Ram said what had happened in the morning was totally arbitrary, illegal and anti-democratic. The flying squad, the persons involved, first they called the people at the venue and had the meeting cancelled, frightened them. Secondly, they turned up and confiscated, from the showroom, 150 copies of the book. Fortunately, they were not destroyed and they were returned later. They were under the impression that the rules applicable to elections, particularly the Model Code of Conduct, gives them the licence to act in a partisan way, he said. The copies of the book which were in the possession of the police, were also sent back to the publisher.

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GREATER CLARITY REQUIRED ON DATA SHARING, CII ON DRAFT E-COMM POLICY

Industry body CII Tuesday said the proposed national e-commerce policy should provide greater clarity on data sharing as forced disclosure may raise concerns on privacy. In its comments on the draft policy floated by the department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT), it also said the regulations should not aim at micro managing players in the e-commerce sector, but should act as enabler to promote innovations. In its suggestions, the CII said role of an e-commerce platform is that of an intermediary and hence the responsibility of preventing IP infringements while limited, is a joint one with the larger role around liability and gatekeeping on the seller/ manufacturer. Forced disclosures and data sharing can infringe privacy concerns and hence greater clarity and calibration are required on the context, procedure and expectations around the government's right to mandate forced transfer of proprietary information, CII said. The draft says that a business entity that collects or processes any sensitive data in India and stores it abroad, shall be required to adhere to certain conditions. The conditions state that all such data stored abroad shall not be made available to other business entities outside India, for any purpose, even with the customer's consent. Further, the data shall also not be made available to a third party for any purpose and it would also not be shared with a foreign government, without the prior permission of Indian authorities, the draft said. CII further suggested that the e-commerce policy should not aim for a one size fits all approach but take into account the diversity of organisations and industries it affects. Hence, the policy should determine its scope of work and aim to limit its overreach accordingly, it said. Also, the regulation should not aim to micromanage or overpower innovation but to become an enabler of innovation and opportunities. Ritesh Agarwal, said in the last decade, e-commerce has touched every aspect of lives and is growing at an impressive pace. Through this committee's representation to the DPIIT, we will explore ways to increase economic opportunities and empower businesses, he said. Anjan Das, said any legal framework impacting e-commerce ecosystem is of critical importance for both consumers as well as service providers.

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INDUSTRY SLAMS DRAFT NATIONAL E-COMMERCE POLICY, CALLS IT VAGUE

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade’s proposed e-commerce policy has drawn flak from industry as well as civil society for being vague and heightening the uncertainty for the sector. Also, the draft policy has skirted many existing legal provisions stakeholders have argued. In a detailed submission on the proposed policy, the software services industry lobby National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) said the policy should limit its scope to cover various e-commerce platforms dealing in sale of goods and services and the sellers on those platforms. In its current form, the draft policy includes buying, selling, marketing or distributing goods, including digital products and services, through the electronic network, as part of e-commerce. It is important to ensure that there is no policy overlap with other departments The policy impacts a wide range of entities including e-commerce platforms, IoT, search engines, ISPs (Internet service providers), OTT (over the top) services providers, content ecosystem and the larger Indian IT industry which processes data on behalf of clients, the software association has pointed out. Expressing similar concerns, legal services organisation Software Freedom Law Centre has said DPIIT has gone beyond its mandate to make policy recommendations on subjects like data ownership, cross-border data flow and intermediary liability, among others. The department has overstepped its jurisdiction and issued recommendations which are not in line with existing statutes and their jurisprudence, it said. Data localisation, an overarching theme across recent government policy proposals, has been a thorny issue with industry. Now, the e-commerce policy aims to regulate cross-border data flows, while exempting certain categories such as data collected by IoT devices installed in public spaces and data generated by users in India from various sources, including e-commerce platforms, social media, search engines. Stating that these issues should be dealt with by the Personal Data Protection Bill Nasscom has said it’s not clear from the policy how the proposed conditions will promote e-commerce growth in India. The Software Alliance, also known as BSA, a non-profit that includes members such as Apple, Cisco, IBM and Microsoft, believes the restrictions on flow of sensitive data were unclear and undefined in the draft policy. Restrictions on the cross-border transfer of data and data localisation requirements do not advance the goals stated in the policy. Instead, they disrupt companies’ operations and make it costlier to provide services in India. Studies also indicate that local companies would be required to pay 30-60 per cent more for their computing needs in such cases, it added. Mozilla, which runs the popular open source web browser Firefox, has raised objections as the draft policy paves the way for proposals that undermine individual rights and is in stark contrast to the expectations of Indian internet users This policy conflates the government’s interests with society’s interests, which is a dangerous assumption for the world’s largest democracy, according to Mozilla. DPIIT has not made the submissions to the e-commerce policy public and there is no clarity yet on whether a revised proposal will be put up later.

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'WRONG POLICIES' OF BJP GOVT BROKE BACK OF COMPANIES: CHIDAMBARAM

Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram on Wednesday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government, saying its wrong approach drove companies to insolvency and said the opposition has been vindicated by the Supreme Court order on defaulters. The former finance minister also said the Congress' manifesto, released on Tuesday criticised the BJP-led government for its one-size-fits-all approach to the Non Performing Assets problem.

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RBI MULLING TO BRING BACK ‘EXOTIC CURRENCY DERIVATIVES’, INDIA INC HAS SOME SUGGESTIONS

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das is mulling the idea of bringing back ‘exotic currency derivatives’ product after staying away from it for almost a decade. This has got everyone back to their discussion table (after dollar-rupee swap tool) to debate it. The captains of commerce in India suggest that there is always scope for innovation to multiple gains or boost profits in the free market but suggest not without strict guidelines and proper caution. BK Goenka, suggest that as Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has suggested a few riders way back in 2014 for trading in currency derivatives space should be followed to safeguard the interests of the parties involved like putting a limit or ceiling on gross open position across all contract against the total open interest. The sectoral regulators should monitor the participation of domestic institutional investors in the exotic currency derivatives segment. BK Goenka Said that in the free economy, there is always scope for innovation to multiple gains or boost profits in the free market but we suggest not without strict guidelines and proper caution. The thinly traded currency derivatives are a very attractive but highly risky tool to earn extra earning on exchange rates and offset loan costs. However, corporate and banks have burnt their fingers with this product in 2008 when bets on currencies backfired as the exotic currencies like Yen, Swiss franc and Euro surged leaving behind lengthy court battles and bitter taste.

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KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK, RBI TUSSLE DRAGS ON AS COURT ADJOURNS HEARING

The ongoing legal battle between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Kotak Mahindra Bank will stand the test of the time and throw clarity on whether the regulator is empowered to issue ownership directions to private banks. Unlike public sector banks, private lenders are incorporated as regular entities under the Companies Act, 1956 and are mandated to comply with the corporate governance norms prescribed by markets watchdog SEBI. Separately, as per reports, the RBI is considering setting up a panel to look into ownership issues of private lenders, though there has been no official word yet. On Monday, the two-judge bench at the Bombay High Court adjourned the hearing to April 22. As per RBI’s banking licensing norms, a private bank’s promoter holding should be brought down to 40 per cent within three years of operations, 20 per cent within 10 years and 15 per cent within 15 years. Last August, Kotak proposed to issue non-convertible perpetual non-cumulative preference shares to reduce its promoter’s stake to 19.7 per cent, worth Rs 500 crore at Rs 5 a piece, which the RBI shot down arguing that preference shares don’t comprise core equity and help promoters retain voting rights.

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LENDERS TO CASH-STRAPPED JET AIRWAYS LIKELY TO REWORK RESOLUTION PLAN

The lenders to debt-hit Jet Airways might have to rework the earlier resolution plan which would have given them a combined 50 per cent stake in the airline for a rupee. Sources say jet is taking legal opinion on the implications. State Bank of India Chairman Rajnish Kumar said the lenders were examining the judgment to assess the impact.

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JET AIRWAYS GROUNDS 15 MORE PLANES DUE TO NON-PAYMENT OF RENTALS TO LESSORS

Cash-crunch hit private carrier Jet Airways on Tuesday said it has grounded 15 more aircraft due to non-payment of rentals to lessors, taking the total number of grounded planes to 69. The fleet strength in the airline has, however, has come down to 20 now.

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GUJARAT RANKS 5TH IN ELECTORAL BONDS SALE

Gujarat ranked fifth in the number of electoral bonds being issued across the country. An RTI filed with the State Bank of India (SBI), the only bank authorised to issued electoral bonds, found that in the year 2018, Rs 18 crore worth of electoral bonds was bought from the SBI branch in Gandhinagar. It should be noted that only one branch of SBI in each state is authorised to issue these bonds. In the year 2019, the number of electoral bonds being issued for just two months of January and March rose by four times touching Rs 73.5 crores. Mumbai topped the list with bonds worth Rs 495 crores issued for the months of January and March, while it was Rs 382 crore for the year 2018. Mumbai was followed by New Delhi (Rs 147 crore and Rs 205 crore respectively for the year 2018 and 2019) and Kolkata (Rs 231 crore and Rs 370 crore for the two years) Chennai came fourth followed by Gandhinagar. Overall Rs 1056 crore worth of bonds were issued across the country in 2018 while it was Rs 1716 crore for the two months of 2019.

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PSU BANKS GOT RS 1.95 LAKH CRORE CAPITAL INFUSION IN 18 MONTHS; GOVT COMPLETES MASSIVE RECAPITALISATION

Indian PSU banks have got a massive Rs 1.95 lakh crore in capital funding from the government in just the last one-and-a-half years, as the Narendra Modi-led NDA government completed its part of a proposed Rs 2.5 lakh crore recapitalisation plan during March end. The government completed its commitment of massive bank recapitalisation into PSU banks with the injection of Rs 5,042 crore in Bank of Baroda ahead of the merger with two other lenders — Vijaya and Dena Bank. In a bid to overcome the problem of rising bad loans in banks and to give further boost to the micro, small and medium enterprises which got severely impacted during demonetisation, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in October 2017 had announced a mega plan of recapitalisation of banks by Rs 2.11 lakh crore over a period of two years. Rs 1.35 lakh crore of the total capital was earmarked to be allocated by the government through bonds. As for the remaining Rs 78,000 crore, banks were supposed to raise Rs 58,000 crore from markets, while the government was to provide the rest by budgetary support. According to banking sources, the government is not keen on infusing further capital into banks in the next fiscal and expects three to four strong banks to raise capital from the market. The state-run lenders have recovered more than Rs 98,000 crore in the first three-quarters of last fiscal FY19 through the resolution of bad loans and further recovery from the resolution of these bad assets will help the banks in raising capital and mitigating their dependence on government’s capital. All in all the banks have recovered Rs 3 lakh crore since 2015.

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RBI HAS ROOM TO CUT MONETARY POLICY RATE AS GLOBAL ECONOMY NOT FIRING ALL CYLINDERS

Rate hike expectations in 2018 have paved way for actual rate cuts in the current scenario. US FOMC has taken a V turn in its stance from hawkish to dovish overture. Needless to say, the extreme paranoia on the credit from in mid-2018 has now given way to some tolerance for credit assets. Liquidity is now reasonably better in contrast to very tight conditions witnessed just two quarters back. While Government bond yields have outperformed corporate bonds, the high carry available in corporate bonds still continues to lure investors. Retail inflation (read CPI) in India seems to be on the wane and doesn’t seem ominous for now. Global economy at this juncture is not firing all cylinders which allows for some headroom for monetary accommodation. With NBFCs on a back burner with respect to lending, the onus of credit transmission largely rests on Indian banks. India seems to have taken a cue from the developing macro indications and we saw a benchmark repos rate cut in Feb 2019 Monetary policy committee meeting. Since then, we have seen US Treasury yield ease by almost 20 bps (0.20%), INR appreciate versus USD and marginal easing in Indian sovereign benchmark yield too. While crude oil has inched up, it doesn’t seem to be much of a concern for now. The short end of the yield curve already seems to be pricing in rate cuts in the upcoming MPC meeting and seems like for now stage seems set to see a rate cut of 25 bps (0.25%) in the policy on 4th April. The premise of need for credit transmission, global factors, liquidity infusion among other things could hog the limelight. There is an outer chance of a stance change in policy, which will be perceived bullish by market participants. Risk of fiscal overshoot and the political uncertainty due to upcoming elections, however, could prevent and sharp rally in bond prices. Risk reward wise, a judicious mix of short and medium tenor assets could be overweight in such a market scenario.

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TO CHECK CORRUPTION IN INDIA, CVC TO TRAIN OFFICIALS IN EUROPE

India's probity watchdog CVC has decided to train anti-corruption officials in Europe to check graft in the country officials said Tuesday. The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is organising a customised vigilance related training programme at the International Anti Corruption Academy (IACA), Vienna, Austria from June 3 to 14, they said citing an official order. The training will be for eligible Chief Vigilance Officers (CVOs) – who act as distant arm of the Commission to check corruption in an organisation – and others engaged in vigilance related works, the officials said. The body has sought details from CVOs in order to update its database as well as nominate officers for the upcoming international/domestic training to be conducted by the Commission and for proposed customised training in Austria, they said. The training plan of the Commission states that the officers (CVOs) should not have undergone any foreign training in the last two years as on April 1 of the year in which training is being organised, in order to be eligible for the upcoming international training, the officials said. The IACA is an international organisation based in Laxenburg, Austria dedicated to overcoming current shortcomings in knowledge and practice in the field of anti-corruption, and seeking to empower professionals for the future challenges. Over Rs 240 crore has been allocated to the Personnel Ministry for domestic and foreign training of bureaucrats and augmenting necessary infrastructure during this fiscal in the interim budget presented by the Union government in February. The Personnel Ministry acts as a nodal department for the CVC. In its annual report for 2017 tabled in Parliament last year, the CVC said it had received a total of 23,609 complaints of corruption. Of these, 12,089 were against railway employees and over 8,000 against various banks officials.

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LIQUOR BOTTLES TO CARRY STATUTORY WARNING: FSSAI

Beginning Monday, a rule requiring all liquor bottles to carry a statutory warning that alcohol consumption is injurious to health on the lines of message displayed on cigarette packets, has come into force. All liquor bottles must carry this as well as the warning that people should not drive after drinking, the food safety regulator FSSAI's regulation on alcoholic beverage said. According to a food safety & standards authority of India (FSSAI) notification issued last year, it had mandated the liquor industry to carry the statutory warnings in a square box on the lines of tobacco industry. The Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulations, 2018 mandated the makers to carry: Consumption of alcohol is injurious to health. Be safe-don't drink and drive. It had specified that font size of statutory warning shall not be less than 3 milimeter in English language. The same as well as alcoholics beverages manufactured prior to April 1, 2019 can be sold in the market up to March 31, 2020, it said.

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BENGALURU TRAFFIC WOES: CITY NEXT TO DELHI NOW IN NUMBER OF REGISTERED VEHICLES

Bengaluru’s vehicle population has recently crossed the 80 lakh mark and is now heading for the magic figure of one crore, which is just three years away; by 2022. This is the total number of vehicles registered in the city. Bengaluru is now second only to Delhi where around 1.5 crore vehicles had been registered The latest figures made available by the Karnataka transport department states that as many as 1,752 vehicles are added to the ever-growing fleet on a daily basis According to Karnataka Transport Commissioner VP Ikkeri, the number of vehicles has risen from 74.06 lakh in April 2018 to 80.45 lakh at the close of the financial year 2018-19.

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ADB CUTS INDIA GROWTH OUTLOOK, SAYS TRADE WAR, BREXIT BIGGEST GLOBAL RISKS

The Asian Development Bank downgraded economic growth forecasts for India and Southeast Asia for 2019 as global risks from trade tensions to Brexit mount. Gross domestic product in India will probably increase 7.2 percent this year, down from a December forecast of 7.6 percent, according to the ADB’s latest Asian Development Outlook report. Southeast Asia’s growth estimate was lowered by 0.2 percentage point to 4.9 percent. With various uncertainties stemming from U.S. fiscal policy and a possible disorderly Brexit, growth in the advanced economies could turn out slower than expected, undermining the outlook for China and other economies in the region, Yasuyuki Sawada, said in the report. China’s growth forecast for 2019 maintained at 6.3 percent, with economy seen slowing to 6.1 percent in 2020

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STATE-LEVEL NODAL OFFICERS TO HELP ELECTION COMMISSION BATTLE FAKE INFORMATION

The Election Commission of India has directed its state-level bodies to appoint nodal officers immediately to keep an eye on possible violations on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, as it takes another step to crack a whip on fake news, hate speech and other problematic content that violate the election model code of conduct. Facebook, WhatsApp, Google, Twitter, ShareChat and ByteDance had in March agreed to a ‘Voluntary Code of Ethics’ to follow during the parliamentary elections. Cases of violation of the model code of conduct on social media should be immediately intimated to the grievance officers of the concerned social media platform as well as the commission, the letter said. EC has appointed three nodal officers in New Delhi. The commission said a copy of the violations should also be forwarded to nodal officers appointed by it and that they would examine the matter instantly and, after the approval of its director general (media), write to the platforms to take appropriate action. The EC said it would examine social media content for violations, including those of the model code of conduct or any of its instructions, provisions of the law or court orders related to election matters.

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13.6% OF CONGRESS' LOK SABHA CANDIDATES ARE WOMEN

As many as forty-three of Congress' 316 Lok Sabha candidates announced so far, are women The figure translates to 13.6 per cent of the candidates the party has announced so far. The party is yet to announce more candidates. This is a marginal increase from the 2014 Lok Sabha elections when among the 464 seats it contested from, the Congress had fielded 60 women. This was 12.9 per cent of the total candidates. In comparison, the BJP which contested from 427 seats fielded 38 women, which was 8.9 per cent of the total candidates fielded. The Congress' pary's percentage is pale in comparison to the Trinamool Congress that recently announced that 41 per cent of its candidates are women. Also, the Biju Janata Dal has promised to field 33 per cent women candidates. While the Congress has promised to bring in 33 per cent reservation in the Lok Sabha by passing the Women's Reservation Bill with party president Rahul Gandhi making the announcement several times, the party's manifesto promises to pass the Bill in both Houses of the Parliament, and also promises to make a separate ministry for women by bifurcating the Women and Child Development ministry.

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HOW AADHAAR-BASED BIOMETRICS HURTS PDS IN INDIA

Since 2017, the Indian government has mandated the use of Aadhaar-based biometrics in India’s public distribution system (PDS) to tackle the longstanding issue of leakages Critics, however, suggest that this has excluded many beneficiaries and increased the costs of operating India’s flagship food security programme. New research paints a mixed picture on the relative merits of biometric authentication in the PDS. Rakesh Allu of the Indian School of Business and others compare Aadhaar-based biometric authentication in the PDS with other methods of authentication. They highlight that there can be several ways to authenticate beneficiaries in the PDS For instance, in Haryana, the biometrics of beneficiaries are matched with a central database before they are able to avail subsidized foodgrains, while in Karnataka, beneficiary biometrics are matched with pre-uploaded biometric data in a local database. In Chhattisgarh, beneficiaries do not even use Aadhaar biometrics but instead swipe an electronic chip-based card to authenticate themselves. However, during the actual transaction (where the beneficiary claims their monthly entitlement), Aadhaar becomes more problematic. The authors argue that biometric authentication can aggravate beneficiary dissatisfaction due to poor internet connectivity, sporadic supply of electricity and malfunctioning of the biometric-recognition software (ePoS). During transactions, the authors argue, the choice of authentication should depend on state-specific factors such as the strength of internet connectivity, availability of e-governance centres and time or budget constraints. They suggest that state governments would benefit from assessing their regional contexts before deciding the method of authentication.

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GOVERNANCE IN REVERSE GEAR WHEN CONGRESS IS IN POWER: MODI IN BIHAR RALLY

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the Congress, saying governance goes into reverse gear when the grand old party and its allies are in power. Modi accused the Congress of having neglected B R Ambedkar like no other party did. He also claimed that his rivals were spreading the canard that the BJP, if voted to power again, will do away with reservations for the backward classes. Governance goes into reverse gear when the Congress and its allies are in power. Terrorism, prices, violence, corruption, black money rise when Congress is in power; the country's prosperity, its credibility, the morale of the armed forces, respect for honesty decline, he said. He accused the Congress of having done everything to defeat Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution.

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INDIAN RAILWAYS TARGETS AT LEAST 50% OF FREIGHT TRAFFIC BY 2030

The Indian Railways has set a target to get at least 50 per cent share of the country’s freight traffic by 2030, according to a strategic vision document prepared by the transporter. In order to achieve this, the Railways is betting big on getting the existing expansion projects and dedicated freight corridors on track, and bringing in more private partnership. The target is to achieve half of the country's freight share by 2030, from 33 per cent now, said an official close to the development. The Railway Board set up a committee in October, including 11 executive directors from various streams, to come up with a 2030 vision document for the national transporter.

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ELECTION COMMISSION SEEKS INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING MINISTRY'S REPORT ON LAUNCH OF NAMO TV

The Election Commission of India has written to the information and broadcasting ministry, seeking a report on the sudden launch of NaMo TV just days ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The commission has also written separately to Doordarshan seeking to ascertain how the national broadcaster ran an hour-long live broadcast of PM Modi’s public address ‘mein bhi chowkidaar’ on March 31. The matter was raised by the Congress in its official complaint to the EC. The Content TV/NaMo TV, launched on March 31, features PM Modi and his speeches besides strong BJP-centric content. The BJP social media handles have been tweeting asking viewers to tune in to ‘NaMo TV’ and NaMo app for the PM’s rallies and speeches.

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'FULL OF LIES, A DOCUMENT OF HYPOCRISY': MODI TEARS INTO CONGRESS MANIFESTO

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday tore into the Congress, terming its manifesto as a hypocrisy document which was full of lies. Prime minister cited the Congress manifesto for the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, and said it had promised that every house would have electricity by 2009. However, till 2014 around 18,000 houses were unelectrified. Just like them (the Congress), their manifesto is corrupt and full of lies. Therefore, it should be called hypocrisy document, not a manifesto, Modi said. We never committed the sin of betraying farmers but we introduced the mechanism from seed to market, the PM said. Modi said the upcoming Lok Sabha polls will be about the choice between trust and corruption, and about resolution and conspiracy.

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MAYAWATI: IF RAM STATUE OK, WHY NOT MINE?

Riled by the attention around a petition questioning construction of her statues along with other Dalit leaders in UP when she was CM, BSP chief Mayawati on Tuesday asked why no such objections were being raised over a proposed 221-metre statue of Lord Ram in Ayodhya. The BSP leader’s affidavit in the Supreme Court recalled an established tradition of installing statues Memorials and installation of statues are not new in India. During Congress regimes, the Centre and state agencies installed statues of Nehru, Indira, Rajiv, Narasimha Rao with public funds. But neither the media nor the petitioners have raised any question, she said. She cited the Gujarat government’s recent construction of a 182m statue of Sardar Patel at a cost of Rs 3,000 crore from public funds and the Yogi government’s plan to build the statue of Ram with an initial cost of Rs 200 crore. Mayawati also cited the example of state funding for statues of Shivaji in Mumbai, Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Lucknow, Y S Rajasekhara Reddy across undivided Andhra Pradesh, the proposed 350-feet Mother Cauvery statue in Mandya in Karnataka at a cost of Rs 3,000 crore, N T Rama Rao’s statue in Amaravati at a cost of Rs 155 crore and that of J Jayalalithaa at Marina beach, Chennai, at a cost of Rs 50 crore. She said she had endeared herself to the masses as she had decided to remain unmarried and dedicate her life to uplifting the downtrodden and it was the will of the people that forced the state legislature to approve budgetary sanction for memorials and statues, including that of her. My statues came to be installed as the will of the state legislature representing the will of the people. However, some disgruntled elements could not digest such respect for a Dalit woman leader and they resorted to invoking the jurisdiction of the SC and the Allahabad HC by filing PILs raising the issue of construction of memorials and installation of statues of the CM, she said.

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RICH FLAT BUYERS’ RS 1,300 CRORE STUCK IN WORLI TOWER FOR A DECADE

Around Rs 1,300 crore paid by high net worth individuals to the builder of India’s tallest under-construction residential tower, 294-metre high Palais Royale at Worli Naka, is stuck for a decade. The project has been mired in a series of litigations leaving dozens of doctors, builders, fund managers, stock brokers, corporate honchos and NRIs high and dry. Aggrieved purchasers, who have formed the Palais Royale Members’ Association, have already paid 20% to 100% for their homes, each measuring between 4,000 sq ft and 8,000 sq ft. Some of the larger flats were sold for over Rs 50 crore each. Of the 162 apartments, 77 have been booked since 2009. One of the earliest buyers was promised possession of flat by May 31, 2010. Worse, the developer, Shree Ram Urban Infrastructure Ltd, is currently under liquidation after it failed to repay loans to its lenders We have come together, and through a proposed Palais Royale Society, have moved and intervened in various court cases to protect our rights, said a representative of the flat buyers. Based on the court’s verdict, we will further decide our options; whether to take over the project and complete the building. We paid the booking amounts several years ago and have suffered due to this huge delay, and for no fault of ours, he said. Another buyer who has paid 70% for his Rs 30 crore apartment, said, Our life savings are stuck. Many of us took huge loans. We purchased the flats based on sanctioned plans and the builder’s representations about clear title. If the company is wound up it will severely hurt our interests, said a purchaser. The builder has defaulted on an Rs 900-crore construction loan from Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd (IBHFL).

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PUNE DEVELOPER CHEATS SENIOR CITIZEN OF RS 32L, BOLTS

A real estate developer has been booked, for cheating a senior citizen of Rs 32 lakh According to the complaint filed by the victim, the accused, identified as Babaji Baburao Jadhav of Gayatri properties, Dhankawadi, promised to construct a row house for the victim. He allegedly took money from the victim on multiple occasions between 2011 and 2019, however, failed to come through on his promise. There has been no trace of the accused since the past two-three years. We visited Jadhav’s house, where his family members informed us that he has been missing. We are currently trying to locate him. said Mahendra Patil. A first information report (FIR) has been filed against the accused, by the Bharti Vidyapeeth police under section 420 (cheating) and 406 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code, relevant sections of the Maharashtra Ownership of Flat Act (MOFA) and the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Act.

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INDIAN REALTY PRIVATE EQUITY INFLOWS $53 BILLION SINCE 2008: REPORT

Private equity inflows into Indian real estate have surpassed $53 billion or Rs 32,000 crore since 2008, with 59% of that total invested between 2014 and first quarter of 2019, showed data from Colliers research. Investor-friendly reforms, positive sentiment following India’s first Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) offering last month, and firm market fundamentals will continue to steer investments into commercial property assets. Investment in residential assets may be hampered due to the upcoming general elections and an ongoing crisis in the Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) industry, said Joe Verghese. From 2014 to 2018, institutional investors invested in excess of $10 billion or Rs 7,000 crore in office assets. This is driven in part by strong commercial office leasing, which touched a new peak in 2018 at 50.2 million sq ft. Investors are scouting for investment-ready assets in core office locations in Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, which together accounted for about 77% of the total leasing in 2018. Colliers expects higher investor interest for greenfield projects in southern cities, especially Bengaluru and Hyderabad, which are witnessing pent-up demand in key office corridors. Investors’ sentiment towards Bengaluru has undergone a perceptible shift with the Silicon Valley of India emerging as the first preference for investment over the next 12 months. This is a departure from the past, when Mumbai and Delhi-NCR witnessed a high volume of investment. Traditionally, Mumbai has received the highest inflows, accounting for 31% of total investments between 2008 and first quarter of 2019. Delhi-NCR garnered the second-largest share at 21% of total inflows in the same period. Among the newer avenues for investment, about 63% of the investor respondents preferred data centers as their first choice. With some states like Maharashtra putting in place a Cloud Policy, we advise occupiers to scout for data center opportunities in Pune and Navi Mumbai, apart from IT centers like Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

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SONY, ZEE DEAL OFF FOR NOW AMID VALUATION DIFFERENCES

Sony Corp’s bid to buy Subhash Chandra-controlled Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE) has been derailed on differences over valuation pushing a rival consortium of US cable major Comcast to the forefront, four persons familiar with the development told. Comcast owns NBC Universal, while its partner for the bid, Atairos, is a $4-billion investment company led by former Comcast chief financial officer Michael Angelakis. Last month, Sony submitted a non-binding term sheet and was seen as a stronger contender, but differences over valuation and structuring scuppered the deal. Sony, sources said, had initially offered a merger of its existing operations with ZEE but was even open to a cash buyout. It’s pens down for Sony. Zee’s brinkmanship is coming in between and the delta of valuation differences is becoming too much to bridge, among other issues, said an official who is directly involved. Comcast is believed to be open to incumbent promoters staying on as junior partner with a call option to buy them out entirely in future.

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MINDTREE INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS' PANEL APPOINTS EXTERNAL ADVISORS

In its first meeting held on Tuesday, Mindtree’s Committee of Independent Directors (IDC) appointed Khaitan and Co as legal counsel and ICICI Securities as the financial advisor to provide assistance on Larsen & Toubro’s (L&T’s) open offer. The board of the Bengaluru-headquartered IT services firm had, on March 26, decided to form the IDC as part of a regulatory requirement, which would provide its reasoned recommendation on the open offer.

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AXIS BANK'S NEW BOSS IS GIVING IT A MAKEOVER & INVESTORS ARE HAPPY

Amitabh Chaudhry, as the chief executive of Axis Bank, is yet to deliver his first quarterly earnings But the stock is up 25% since he chose banking over insurance. Such investor trust in one’s leadership is a dream start, but it can be as much a burden when it comes to meeting expectations. Change is writ all over. From priorities, to new management team, and to the dos and don’ts –– all are new to a bank that moved from being a conservative lender to an aggressive financial conglomerate focused on growth under Shikha Sharma for nearly a decade. Chaudhry, a former insurer, is bringing in the conservatism he acquired in his previous avatar as the chief of HDFC Life, and at the same time is not taking his eyes off financial metrics an investor is keen on – return ratios. Targets are set. Deliver a return on equity of 18% on a sustainable basis, up from the 7.3% in December 2018. A conservative provisioning policy that can depress profits now, but comforts investors. No more infrastructure and project funding. Raise share of working capital loans to industry average of 60% from 35% now. And in retail, reduce the mortgages where returns are getting squeezed.

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NO PRODUCTION OF TATA NANO FOR 3RD MONTH IN ROW, NO SALES IN MARCH

For the third month in a row Tata Motors did not produce any unit of its entry level small car Nano in March, heightening the uncertainty over the future of the vehicle once dubbed as 'people's car'. According to a regulatory filing, the company also said it did not sell even a single unit of the small car last month.

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NANI PALKHIVALA ARBITRATION CENTRE ANNOUNCES ADVISORY COMMITTEE

In a bid to make it a world class arbitration centre Nani Palkhivala Arbitration Centre (NPAC) has announced the constitution of an advisory committee for its Delhi Centre. The Advisory Committee for NPAC's Delhi centre will include Amit George, advocate and independent counsel, Renu Gupta, advocate and independent counsel, Shashank Garg, partner at Advani & Co., Moazzam Khan, partner and head (global litigation) at Nishith Desai & Associates, Shourav Lahiri, partner at Reed Smith LLP Singapore and Dubai and Vinay Pranjape, corporate legal head of Power Grid Corporation of India. Arbitration is an alternative to the judicial method and is one of the major methods proposed under Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 controls the arbitration proceedings in India. This came into force on 25th January 1996 and has been recently amended in 2015. We are delighted that a younger generation of leading arbitration and commercial lawyers will be joining us to make a positive contribution towards arbitration ecosystem. We are enthused by the ideas, energy and initiatives that this group brings to NPAC and we look forward to working closely with them, Arvind Datar, director at NPAC said in a release.

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SOUTH KOREA TO LAUNCH WORLD'S FIRST NATIONAL 5G NETWORKS

South Korea launches the world's first fully-fledged 5G mobile networks Friday, a transformational leap that already has superpowers sparring for control of an innovation that could potentially change the day-to-day lives of billions of people. The superfast communications heralded by fifth-generation wireless technology will ultimately underpin everything from toasters to telephones; from electric cars to power grids. But while the South has won the race to be first to provide the user experience, that is only one part of a wider battle that has pit the United States against China and ensnared giants including Huawei. Hyper-wired South Korea has long had a reputation for technical prowess, and Seoul has made the 5G rollout a priority as it seeks to stimulate stuttering economic growth. The system will bring smartphones near-instantaneous connectivity -- 20 times faster than the existing 4G -- allowing users to download entire movies in less than a second. Huawei, the global leader, has registered 1,529 5G patents, according to data analysis firm IPlytics. Combined with manufacturers ZTE and Oppo, plus the China Academy of Telecommunications Technology, Chinese entities own a total of 3,400 patents, it says -- more than a third of the total. All three of South Korea's mobile networks -- KT, SK Telecom and LG UPlus go live with their 5G services.

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CONGRESS ASKS FACEBOOK TO LIST PAGES PULLED DOWN FOR 'POLICY VIOLATIONS'

The Congress is waiting for Facebook to respond to its letter seeking the list of pages that the social media platform said were affiliated to the party and taken down for violating its policies on coordinated inauthentic behaviour, party insiders said. While these people said the Congress’ digital ecosystem remained unaffected and none of its verified pages were removed, they called Facebook’s action highly irresponsible and partisan. Congress workers said they never had so many affiliated pages to begin with and expected Facebook to come clean with the names of all the pages taken down.

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ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES PILOTS FOLLOWED BOEING EMERGENCY PROCEDURE BEFORE CRASH

The pilots of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX jet that crashed last month had initially followed Boeing Co's emergency procedures but they still failed to regain control of the plane, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The crash killed all 157 people on board and led to a global grounding of 737 MAX jets. Boeing had issued guidelines to pilots about shutting off an automated anti-stall system in the wake of a deadly crash in Indonesia less than five months earlier. The pilots cranked a manual wheel in an attempt to stabilise the plane, the report said, but they eventually decided to restore power to the usual electric trim on their control yokes, likely because the manual attempt didn't achieve the desired results. Returning the electric power reactivated MCAS and allowed it to continue its strong downward commands, the newspaper said.

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BITCOIN AT 4-MONTH HIGH AS CRYPTOCURRENCY MARKET SUDDENLY SPRINGS TO LIFE

An abrupt surge in Bitcoin sent the world’s most popular cryptocurrency to the highest level since November, jolting the $160 billion market for digital assets after three months of calm. Traders struggled to pinpoint reasons for the rally, though some noted a flood fresh interest after Bitcoin breached the $4,200 level. The cryptocurrency briefly topped $5,000 and the value of digital assets jumped by about $17 billion in less than an hour. Sudden swings in Bitcoin are nothing new, but price action had been relatively subdued this year as investors weighed the prospects for mainstream adoption after last year’s 74 percent crash. Market participants say big buy orders in Bitcoin can often lead to outsized moves, in part because volume is spread across dozens of venues. Trend-following individual investors and short covering can also exacerbate volatility. Even after paring some of its gain, Bitcoin was trading up 15 percent at $4,737.59 as of 11:35 a.m. in New York. Rival coins Ether, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash jumped by double digits. Bitcoin is still primarily retail-led, said Craig Erlam. It’s still a relatively unsophisticated area of trading, giving more credence to breaking the $4,200 level than an April Fool’s hoax.

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TATA STEEL, THYSSENKRUPP SUBMIT 'COMPREHENSIVE' SOLUTIONS FOR JOINT VENTURE

German steel giant ThyssenKrupp said on Tuesday that it has submitted a comprehensive package of proposed solutions to the European Commission to obtain clearance for the merger of the two steel majors Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe and Tata Steel Europe. The Commission opened an in-depth investigation into the proposed merger in October last year amid concerns that the deal may reduce competition in the supply of various high-end steels. Following an agreed extension last month for further negotiations, ThyssenKrupp confirmed that it had submitted a substantial offer to the European Commission – the executive arm of the 28-member economic bloc. As we see it, our proposals cover all the concerns expressed by the Commission The offer is extensive and substantial. At the same time, it is acceptable to the joint venture partners and no risk to the industrial logic of the joint venture, said Guido Kerkhoff. While the details of the proposals are yet to be revealed, the Indian and German steel majors are believed to have offered to sell assets in Belgium, Spain and the UK to win the EU's approval for the proposed joint venture. The European Commission is expected to review the latest set of proposals and announce its decision by June 5.

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GOOGLE ADDS NEW FEATURES TO GMAIL

Google has announced new features to its email tool Gmail on its 15th anniversary. Among the new features is one that lets users schedule sending of emails. Users will be able to choose a date and time to send an email after composing it earlier This will be handy for people working across time zones, according to Google. Google is also bringing the Smart Compose feature, which predictively finishes words and sentences, to Android devices. It will also be offered for iOS devices soon, Google said. The company has also added four languages — Spanish, French, Italian, and Portugese — to Smart Compose. Gmail users can also now add comments on Google docs and browse more within emails, without having to open new tabs.

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FACEBOOK, TWITTER SUCKED INTO INDIA-PAKISTAN INFORMATION WAR

Pakistani social media campaigner Hanzala Tayyab leads about 300 ultra-nationalist cyber warriors fighting an internet war with arch-foe India, in a battle that is increasingly sucking in global tech giants such as Twitter and Facebook. Tayyab, 24, spends his days on Facebook and encrypted WhatsApp chatrooms organising members of his Pakistan Cyber Force group to promote anti-India content and make it go viral, including on Twitter where he has more than 50,000 followers. That ranges from highlighting alleged Indian human rights abuses to lionizing insurgents battling Indian security forces in Kashmir, a disputed Himalayan region at the heart of historic tensions between Pakistan and India. Tayyab's job became harder on Monday when the Pakistan Cyber Force's Facebook account was taken down, one of 103 Pakistani accounts the social media giant said it had deleted because of inauthentic behaviour and spamming. Some Indian nationalist accounts have also been suspended in recent weeks. Portraying himself as an online combatant defending Pakistan from India's attempts to destabilise his country, Tayyab plans to continue playing his role in the broader information war being fought between the nuclear-armed foes. We are countering the Indian narrative through social media, we are countering the enemies of Pakistan, Tayyab told. With a combined population of 1.5 billion, India and Pakistan are hot growth markets for Facebook and Twitter, say analysts. But with many rival ultra-nationalist and extremist groups in the region using Facebook and Twitter platforms to advance their political agenda, both companies face accusations of bias whenever they suspend accounts. Four Facebook and more than 20 Twitter accounts belonging to members of the Pakistan Cyber Force have been shuttered in the past two months, according to Tayyab, who is still angry at Twitter for shutting down his previous personal account in 2016. A Twitter spokeswoman said: We believe in impartiality and do not take any actions based on political viewpoints. A Facebook spokesperson told the company did not remove the Pakistani accounts because of Indian government pressure but because people behind them coordinated with one another and used fake accounts to misrepresent themselves. When we disrupt these networks for coordinated inauthentic behaviour, it's because of their deceptive behaviour and not because of the content they're sharing, or the ideology or political leanings of the people behind them, Facebook said. Clean the Nation said some of its accounts had been banned or suspended by Facebook last month. That action was unconnected with the 549 accounts and 138 pages linked to India's opposition Congress Party that Facebook said on Monday had been taken down.

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POLL AFFIDAVIT REVEALS: MULAYAM SINGH YADAV OWES OVER RS 2CR TO SON AKHILESH

Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav owes more than Rs 2.13 crore to his son and party president Akhilesh Yadav and the value of his assets has declined by Rs 3 crore in the last five years. This was revealed in an affidavit filed by Mulayam Singh Yadav, who has been fielded by the SP from its stronghold Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat. As per the affidavit, the SP patriarch has declared a total property, both movable and immovable, worth Rs 16.52 crore. This is Rs 3.20 crore less than the assets declared by him in an affidavit ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Mulayam Singh Yadav and his wife Sadhna Yadav have an annual income of Rs 32.02 lakh and Rs 25.61 lakh respectively. Sadhna Yadav has shown assets worth Rs 5.06 crore. According to the election affidavit, Mulayam Singh Yadav does not have a car. However, his wife owns a luxury car.

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SHIV SENA MP SANJAY RAUT ISSUED EC NOTICE FOR POLL CODE VIOLATION

The district election officer of Mumbai has issued a notice to Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut for alleged violation of the model code of conduct over his comments against CPI candidate Kanhaiya Kumar. Raut, who is the editor of Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana', said in the publication on Sunday that Kumar should be defeated in the elections even if it means the BJP has to tamper with EVMs. In his column 'Rok Thok' in the Marathi daily, Raut also said that Kumar, a bottle of poison, must not reach Parliament Following his remarks, the Rajya Sabha MP has issued a notice on Monday, asking him to respond to it by Wednesday. Further action in the matter will be decided by the Election Commission. Raut told PTI that he will respond to the notice to clarify his stand. Meanwhile, police and flying squads have seized cash and other items worth Rs 75.78 crore across Maharashtra since the enforcement of the model code of conduct on March 10, according to official figures. These include Rs 19.82 crore cash, gold worth Rs 38.36 crore, liquor worth Rs 13.64 crore and narcotic substances worth Rs 3.96 crore.

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PM'S PHOTOS ON AIR INDIA BOARDING PASSES: ELECTION COMMISSION ORDERS ACTION AGAINST OFFICIAL

The Election Commission of India has asked the ministry of civil aviation to instruct Air India to take action against its official responsible for having Prime Minister Narendra Modi's photographs on Air India boarding passes in violation of the model code of conduct The commission also directed the ministry to report the action taken within a week's time. In Ajoy Kumar, expressed serious displeasure over the non-compliance it Commission's lawful instructions and the lackadaisical approach in enforcing the Model Code or Conduct.

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PM MODI TRYING TO MAKE INDIA A HINDU RASHTRA, ALLEGES H D DEVE GOWDA

JDS supremo H D Deve Gowda Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of wanting to make India a Hindu Rashtra The former prime minister also sought to know as to why article 370 of the Constitution that gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir should be abolished. Why it should be abolished? The question is- why it should be abolished? I did not give article 370 there. When Kashmir joined India after an agreement with the then Maharaja there, article 370 (was agreed upon), Gowda said. He said, There are Buddhists there (in J&K), Muslims, Hindus, Brahmins, Pandits, and there are many communities there. After looking into the atmosphere that existed there, a decision was arrived at. Modi has the idea, to make this entire country a Hindu Rashtra. Am I not a Hindu? Am I a Muslim or Christian or Buddhist? We take all religions into confidence, he said. Gowda reminding about Mahtma Gandhi's efforts to bring in peace in communal violence hit Noakhali in Bengal said, Gandhi got us freedom. Did these people (BJP) get us freedom? Ambedkar gave us constitution. You (BJP) may have your ideas, if 130 crore people of Hindustan agree with the idea, let that test also happen during this election, he added.

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AFTER 32 YEARS, AFSPA ACT PARTIALLY WITHDRAWN FROM 3 ARUNACHAL DISTRICTS

After 32 years, the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, which gives sweeping powers to security forces, was partially removed from three of nine districts of Arunachal Pradesh but would remain in force in the areas bordering Myanmar, officials said. The state, which was formed on February 20, 1987, had inherited the controversial AFSPA enacted by Parliament in 1958 and applied to the entire State of Assam and the Union Territory of Manipur. After Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland came into being, the Act was appropriately adapted to apply to these states as well. The Justice B P Jeevan Reddy committee had recommended scrapping of the AFSPA from the state. Under the Act, the security forces can arrest anyone or carry out searches in any premises The Ministry of Home Affairs said in a notification that the four police station areas in Arunachal Pradesh, which were declared disturbed areas under the AFSPA, are no longer under the purview of the special law from Sunday. The police station areas from where the AFSPA has been withdrawn are Balemu and Bhalukpong police stations in West Kameng district, Seijosa police station in East Kameng district and Balijan police station in Papumpare district. However, according to the notification, the AFSPA will continue to be enforced in Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts and areas under the jurisdiction of Namsai and Mahadevpur police stations in Namsai district, Roing in Lower Dibang Valley district and Sunpura in Lohit district for six more months till September 30. A review of the law and order situation in Arunachal Pradesh's six districts was undertaken before the March 31 deadline for the validity of the disturbed area designation under the AFSPA.

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DO YOU WANT TO EMPOWER THE JAWAN FIGHTING AT THE BORDER OR DISCOURAGE THEM? SHAH REACTS TO CONG'S

The Congress, which released its election manifesto on Tuesday, promised to amend the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act or the AFSPA, that grants special powers to the Indian armed forces in 'insurgency-hit areas', if the party came to power after the ensuing Lok Sabha elections. The party said in the manifesto, Amend the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 in order to strike a balance between the powers of security forces and the human rights of citizens and to remove immunity for enforced disappearance, sexual violence and torture. The Congress said that the AFSPA Act and Disturbed Areas Act in Jammu and Kashmir will be reviewed if the party came to power after the polls. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act and the Disturbed Areas Act in Jammu and Kashmir will be reviewed. Suitable changes will be made in the text of the laws to balance the requirements of security and the protection of human rights, the party said in the manifesto. It has also proposed to scrap sedition law if elected to power. Amit Shah said, I want to ask Congress President do you want to boost the enthusiasm of the soldier fighting at the border or want to deflate their morale while commenting about amending AFSPA.

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AMIT SHAH 'DAYDREAMING' ABOUT ENDING J&K'S SPECIAL STATUS: MEHBOOBA MUFTI

PDP chief and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti Tuesday said BJP president Amit Shah was daydreaming about abrogating Article 370 of the Constitution that provides special status to the state. Mufti said the Constitutional provision is a bridge between the people of the state and India. The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said if the constitutional provision was removed, then mainstream politicians including her, will have to reconsider their future course of action. If you break this bridge, then mainstream politicians like Mehbooba Mufti, who swear by the Constitution of India and the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir, will also have to reconsider our future course of action because we have upheld the Indian flag and if you touch (Article) 370, then this flag will not remain in our hands or on our shoulders, she said. Article 370 grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir and limits Parliament's power to make laws concerning the state.

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JAITLEY SLAMS OMAR ABDULLAH FOR HIS 2 PMS CALL, SAYS HIS DEMAND INTENDS TO CREATE 'SEPARATIST PSYCHE'

Arun Jaitley on Monday hit out at former J-K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for demanding to revive the post of Wazir-e-Azam and Sadar-e-Riyasat in Kashmir, saying that New India would never allow this to happen. The new India will never allow any government to commit such blunders. In a veiled attack on the PDP and the National Conference, Jaitley said, The two mainstream parties in Kashmir are increasingly losing their identity. The separatists and the terrorists want a part of the State to segregate from India. India will never accept this. It has already given a loud and clear message both to the separatists/ terrorists and Pakistan that 'Azadi' is not a distant possibility. It is an impossibility. The statement of the two parties that the Constitutional link between the State and the country is based on the solemn assurance of Article 35A. If there is no Article 35A, it will break the link. Some have even gone further and argued that two Constitutional provisions constitute the revocable link, which has to be maintained. The Union Minister termed the argument as completely unacceptable. Article 35A was not there in 1947 when the Instrument of Accession was signed in the month of October. In 1950, when the Constitution came into force, it was not there. It was only surreptitiously inserted in 1954. How can it be the essential Constitutional link? The challenge is being heard by the Supreme Court, he said. Why intimidate the Court, which is hearing the matter. History is never reversed by Court judgments. The argument of revocability is as absurd as a suggestion that if the Indian Independence Act was revoked by the British Parliament, we will lose our Independence, added Jaitely.

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BOEING, FAA SAY MORE TIME NEEDED TO FIX ISSUES OF 737 MAX AIRLINERS

Boeing and US aviation regulators say the company needs more time to finish changes in a flight-control system suspected of playing a role in two deadly crashes. The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it anticipates Boeing's final software improvements for 737 Max airliners in the coming weeks. Boeing was expected to complete the work last week, but FAA spokesman Greg Martin said the company needs more time to make sure it has identified and addressed all issues. Chicago-based Boeing offered the same timetable as it works to convince regulators that it can fix software on the planes. Safety is our first priority and we will take a thorough and methodical approach to the development and testing of the update to ensure we take the time to get it right, said Boeing spokesman Charles Bickers. Boeing needs approval not just from FAA, but elsewhere, including Europe and China, where safety officials have indicated they will conduct their own reviews. The planes have been grounded around the world since mid-March. American Airlines had been pointing toward a late-April return of its 24 Max 8s. Over the weekend, Southwest Airlines announced that its 34 Max 8s will be removed from the schedule through May instead of mid-April. United Airlines has idled its 14 Max 9s through June 5. Separately, US regulators and Boeing are awaiting a preliminary report from Ethiopian investigators into the March 10 crash of an Ethiopian Airlines Max 8 jet shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa. The report will be scrutinized for information from the plane's data recorders that might suggest similarities between the doomed flight and the October 29 crash of a Lion Air Max 8 into the Java Sea off Indonesia. The two crashes killed 346 people.

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FUNDS FROM MINERAL AUCTIONS FOR PEOPLE AFFECTED BY MINING TOO LITTLE: TERI

Revenues generated from auctions of mineral blocks have failed to create ample funds for people affected by mining. A discussion paper by The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI) says that the District Mineral Foundation’s (DMF) revenues set aside for affected communities and regions are only two to three per cent of the total revenue from the auctions of 41 blocks (as on 31 March 2018). DMF revenues were a paltry three per cent of the total amount mobilised from auctions of mineral assets in 2015-16. For FY17 and FY18, the share of DMF continued to be woefully low at two per cent. For instance, in 2017-18, auctions mopped up Rs 705 billion in revenue, of which contribution to DMFs was barely Rs 15 billion. In its analysis of benefit sharing in the mining sector and role of DMFs, TERI feels funds accrued by DMF are not adequate to cater to high priority and less priority spending areas delineated under the foundation. The discussion paper advocates alternate revenue sharing models for apportioning a bigger share to the affected locals. Joyita Ghose, said, There are three alternative revenue sharing models available to apportion a bigger share for communities affected by mining. First, as the Economic Survey (2016-17) suggests, a permanent fund into which all mining revenue is deposited may be created and the income accrued by the fund may be redistributed to those affected by mining. Second, as was suggested in the MMDR (Mines and Minerals Development & Regulation) Bill, 2011, an amount equal to royalty may be required to be paid to DMFs, as opposed to the current requirement of an amount equal to 10-30 per cent of royalty. Third, the royalty (entirely or partially) may be transferred to DMFs. Each of the suggested models is beset with pros and cons. The concept of a permanent fund may not be accepted to state governments as it would mean a significant curtailment in untied funds for them. Moreover, a permanent fund may squeeze the sum available for immediate consumption - a prospect not justifiable in economically backward regions. There are multiple reasons for the low utilization of DMF funds in most states, including limited clarity on PMKKKY (Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana) guidelines pertaining to priority areas for spending, low (in some cases no) involvement of local communities in the preparation of annual plans, inadequate monitoring of expenditure through processes such as social audits, and limited absorptive capacity at the district level. Addressing some of these challenges may enable improvements in the utilization of DMF funds, Ghose said.

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AIR POLLUTION KILLS 1.2 MN INDIANS IN A YEAR, THIRD BIGGEST CAUSE OF DEATH

Exposure to outdoor and indoor air pollution contributed to over 1.2 million deaths in India in 2017, a new global study said on Wednesday. Life on average of a South Asian child growing up in current high levels of air pollution will be shortened by two years and six months, while the global life expectancy loss is 20 months. At the same time, the study noted, India has initiated major steps to address pollution sources like the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, accelerated Bharat Stage VI clean vehicle standards and the new National Clean Air Programme. These and future initiatives have the potential, if fully implemented as part of a sustained commitment to air quality, to result in significant health benefits in coming years, Health Effects Institute Vice President Robert O'Keefe said in a statement to IANS. Worldwide, air pollution is responsible for more deaths than many better-known risk factors such as malnutrition, alcohol use and physical inactivity, according to the annual report. In India, air pollution is the third highest cause of death among all health risks, ranking just above smoking. Every year, more people globally die from air pollution related diseases than from road traffic injuries or malaria. Overall, long-term exposure to outdoor and indoor air pollution contributed to nearly five million deaths from stroke, diabetes, heart attack, lung cancer and chronic lung disease in 2017. Out of these, three million deaths are directly attributed to PM2.5, half of which are generated from India and China together. South Asia -- Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan -- is the most polluted region, with over 1.5 million air-pollution related deaths. The report found China and India together were responsible for over half of the total global attributable deaths, with each country facing over 1.2 million deaths from air pollution in 2017. The report also highlighted that nearly half of the world's population -- a total of 3.6 billion people -- were exposed to household air pollution in 2017. But in India, 60 per cent of the population still uses solid fuels; in Bangladesh that number rises to 79 per cent, underscoring the importance of achieving success in government initiatives to address the problem.

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42% OF INDIA'S LAND AREA UNDER DROUGHT, 500 MN PEOPLE SEVERELY AFFECTED

About 42% of India’s land area is facing drought with 6% exceptionally dry--four times the spatial extent of drought last year, according to data for the week ending March 26, 2019, from the Drought Early Warning System (DEWS), a real-time drought monitoring platform. Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, parts of the North-East, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Telangana are the worst hit. These states are home to 500 million people, almost 40% of the country’s population. While the central government has not declared drought anywhere so far, the state governments of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan have declared many of their districts as drought-hit. Failed monsoon rains are the primary reason for the current situation. The North-East monsoon, also known as ‘post-monsoon rainfall’ (October-December) that provides 10-20% of India’s rainfall, was deficient by 44% in 2018 from the long-term normal of 127.2 mm, as per data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD). This compounded the rainfall deficit in the South-West (SW) monsoon (June-September) that provides 80% of India’s rainfall, which fell short by 9.4% in 2018--close to the 10% deficit range when the IMD declares a drought. Lower rainfall has reduced water levels in reservoirs across the country. The amount of water available in the country’s 91 major reservoirs has gone down 32 percentage points over five months to March 22, 2019. In 31 reservoirs of southern states, water level has gone down by 36 percentage points over five months. About 6% of the land area of the country is currently in the Exceptionally Dry category, which is nearly four times the 1.6% area at the same time last year. The area in Extremely and Exceptionally dry categories is 11% of the entire country, more than double the 5% area in March 2018, as per DEWS data. At least 133 of these 634 districts face drought almost every year; most of them are in Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, said the study that assessed how efficiently districts use water when dealt with hydroclimatic disturbances. The study also found that only 10 of 30 states and union territories had more than 50% drought-resilient area. Tamil Nadu was the best performer, with 56.74%, followed by Andhra Pradesh (53.43%) and Telangana (48.61%), while Karnataka (17.38%) and Kerala (19.13%) were at the bottom of the list. Among the northeastern states, Assam at 20.72% had the lowest percentage of resilient area. With 50% of India’s population dependant on agriculture and more than 50% of the cultivable area being rainfed, the farm economy could take the hardest blow from the ongoing drought, particularly as government programmes--such as farm insurance and irrigation infrastructure--are floundering. Of the 16 national water projects brought under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP), only five were under way, a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report released in 2018 said. Work on the remaining 11 is yet to begin. This delay has resulted in cost escalation of Rs 224.54 crore for these 11 projects, while the irrigation potential achieved from the five ongoing projects is only 37%, without any drinking water or power generation arrangements. The CAG audit sampled 118 major to medium irrigation projects for a decade ending 2017 and found that the cost overrun for 84 of them was Rs 120,772 crore, enough to buy 72 Rafale fighter jets, IndiaSpend reported on February 25, 2019. Of the 201 larger irrigation projects, 70% were not completed and 55.5% of irrigation target was not achieved, another CAG report released in January 2019 said. The irrigation potential achieved from small schemes was even lower--22% of the target. Only 7.73 million hectares (mha) of India’s estimated 69.5 mha with micro-irrigation potential have actually got it--drip Irrigation over 3.37 mha and sprinkler irrigation over 4.36 mha, IndiaSpend reported on June 25, 2018.

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HEATWAVES: FOLLOWING 6TH HOTTEST YEAR SINCE 1901, WARNINGS ISSUED FOR 2019

Even before the weather department issued heatwave warnings on April 1, 2019, on complete onset of summer temperatures in March 2019 had soared to unusually high levels across India. Consider the following recent reports: Kerala was put on high alert after 288 sunburn/sunstroke cases were registered in the state since March 1, 2019. There were four suspected cases of sunstroke deaths in the month and temperatures reached 40 degrees Celsius ( degrees Celcius) in the northern district of Palakkad. In Bengaluru, a city where the average summer temperature rarely crosses 26 degrees Celcius, temperatures of around 37 degrees Celcius caused dehydrated birds to fall out of the sky in March 2019, this report. Other regions of central Karnataka--such as Kalaburagi (40.6 degrees Celcius), Ballari (40 degrees Celcius) and Raichur (39 degrees Celcius)--also reported severe temperatures. Mumbai recorded a maximum temperature of 40.3 degrees Celcius on March 25, 2019, seven degrees above normal for the city. High temperatures--above 40 degrees Celcius--were experienced in north India, especially in areas around the national capital region. At 39 degrees Celcius on March 22, 2019, Delhi dealt with its warmest March in nine years. These events mirror those of the summer of 2018, which was declared the sixth warmest since 1901, as per a Lok Sabha (lower house of the parliament) reply on February 6, 2019. The annual mean surface air temperature across the country in 2018 was 0.39 degrees Celcius above the average observed between 1981 and 2010. The average maximum temperatures during April and June this summer are likely to be higher than normal by 0.5 degrees Celcius over most of the meteorological subdivisions in central India and some subdivisions in northwest India, an India Meteorological Department (IMD) release on April 1, 2019, said. With heatwave conditions affecting regions across India, 6,167 heat-related deaths were reported between 2010 and 2018. The year 2015 reported the most fatalities--2,081 or 34%, as per the Lok Sabha reply. (State-wise distribution of fatalities caused by heat for these years are only available for 2017 and 2018.)

HEATWAVES AND DEATHS

Among the five warmest years in India since 1901, 2016 (+0.72 degrees Celcius) recorded the highest average temperatures, followed by 2009 (+0.56 degrees Celcius), 2017 (+0.55 degrees Celcius), 2010 (+0.54 degrees Celcius) and 2015 (+0.42 degrees Celcius). Phalodi in western Rajasthan hit 51 degrees Celcius in 2016, the highest ever anywhere in India, breaking the previous high of 50.6 degrees Celcius recorded in Alwar in 1956. Eleven of the warmest years in India since 1901 were between 2004 and 2018, official data show. India has experienced [a] manifold increase in the human deaths during various heatwaves of years like 1971, 1987, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2013 & 2015, Harsh Vardhan, ministry of earth sciences, told Lok Sabha. By 2017, 11 states--Odisha, Telangana, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh--and 17 cities had adopted or were developing heat action plans. Extended forecasts were being provided to more than 300 cities, Vardhan said in an another Lok Sabha reply on February 4, 2019. Heatwave deaths declined by 97% over two years from 700 in 2016 to 20 in 2018 due to improved forecast and heat action plans, another Lok Sabha reply on February 6, 2019, said. There are two prerequisites to address the rise in temperatures and resultant casualties, Dholakia said. First, limit the global temperature rise to less than 1.5 degrees Celcius, as advocated by the Paris Agreement of 2015. More ambitious global mitigation efforts will translate into a lower probability of such extremes, Dholakia said. Developing early-warning systems to anticipate and respond to such extreme weather events at national and local levels is the other measure that can help, he added.

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Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya