General Affairs
Asian Games: Rahi Sarnobat Wins India's Only Gold On Day 4, Wushu Delivers Best Medal Haul
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Rahi Sarnobat beat all expectations to become India's first woman shooter with an Asian Games gold in women's 25-metre pistol event and the low-profile wushu players delivered their best ever performance even in defeat on another high-yielding day for the country at the Asian Games 2018. With four gold, three silver and eight bronze medals in their overall tally, India stood seventh in the medal table, which was led by quite a margin by powerhouse China with 82 medals, including 37 gold medals. The spotlight was on 16-year-old sensation Manu Bhaker, who shot a Games record qualifying score at the shooting range in Palembang but could not deliver in the final. However, it was Rahi who stole the limelight by winning gold
"Shooting is life for me," said the former World Cup gold-medallist, who was laid low by an elbow injury after a gold medal in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
In Jakarta, four bronze medals were settled for in wushu and though not one Indian in the fray made the finals, it would still go down as the low-profile sport's best ever performance, in terms of a number of medals won, in the Asian Games.
Roshibina Devi (women's 60kg), Santosh Kumar (men's 56kg) Surya Bhanu Pratap (men's 60kg) and Narender Grewal (men's 65kg) lost their respective semifinal Sanda bouts but will go back home content after the stronger-than-expected showing. The previous best was a silver and a bronze in the 2010 Guangzhou Games.
Two tennis medals were also guaranteed with Ankita Raina and the top-seeded pairing of Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan progressing to the semifinals of their respective events.
World number 189 Raina dispatched Hong Kong's Eudice Chong 6-4, 6-1 to enter the last four of the women's singles.
Bopanna and Sharan, who don't have much experience of playing together, came up with a solid performance against the seasoned pairing of Yang Hsieh and Yang Tsung-Hua of Chinese Taipei to win 6-3, 5-7, 10-1.
In Jakarta, the Indian men's hockey team recorded its biggest ever international win by annihilating Hong Kong China 26-0 in a Pool B match. India bettered an 86-year-old record -- a 24-1 win over the USA in the Olympics.
The rowers also continued their good show and qualified for the final round in three more events.
Rohit Kumar and Bhagwan Singh finished on top in men's lightweight double sculls repechage round with a time of 7:14.23s to qualify for the final race to be held on August 24.
In the women's four repechage round, the Indian quartet of Sanjita Dung Dung, Annu, Navneet Kaur and Yamini Singh finished fourth with a time of 7:53.29s but still made it to the final to be held on August 24.
The men's lightweight eight team was the last to compete and qualified for the final race by coming on top with a time of 6:15.62. The final will be held on August 24.
The Indian women's compound archery team qualified second for the quarterfinals, pipped by powerhouse Korea in the ranking round.
India were already through to the quarters with a first-round bye and today's round only decided the placement of the teams in the draw based on their rankings. India ended up in the bottom half with Korea in the upper half. But just as any other day, today was not without its share of heartbreaks and disappointments.
Star gymnast Dipa Karmakar had to withdraw from the artistic team finals due to the knee injury, which had threatened to end her career not so long back. The team, which missed her, ended seventh in the final.
After the high of two gold and a bronze medal in the freestyle competition, India endured a disappointing end to their wrestling campaign with Greco-Roman grappler, Harpreet Singh, losing his bronze medal bout. Harpreet (87kg) lost 3-6 to Kazakhstan's Azamat Kustubayev.
Harpreet was India's lone podium hope after Gurpreet Singh (77kg), Naveen (130kg) and Hardeep (97) failed to reach the medal round. The Indian men's volleyball team suffered its first loss at the Games, going down 0-3 to Qatar in a preliminary Pool F match. India lost 15-25, 20-25, 20-25 in 77 minutes.
In taekwondo, Navjeet Maan crashed out in the pre-quarterfinals of the 80 kg, ending the Indian men's campaign. The 24-year-old Maan lost 6-20 to Linglong Chen of China.
"Shooting is life for me," said the former World Cup gold-medallist, who was laid low by an elbow injury after a gold medal in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
In Jakarta, four bronze medals were settled for in wushu and though not one Indian in the fray made the finals, it would still go down as the low-profile sport's best ever performance, in terms of a number of medals won, in the Asian Games.
Roshibina Devi (women's 60kg), Santosh Kumar (men's 56kg) Surya Bhanu Pratap (men's 60kg) and Narender Grewal (men's 65kg) lost their respective semifinal Sanda bouts but will go back home content after the stronger-than-expected showing. The previous best was a silver and a bronze in the 2010 Guangzhou Games.
Two tennis medals were also guaranteed with Ankita Raina and the top-seeded pairing of Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan progressing to the semifinals of their respective events.
World number 189 Raina dispatched Hong Kong's Eudice Chong 6-4, 6-1 to enter the last four of the women's singles.
Bopanna and Sharan, who don't have much experience of playing together, came up with a solid performance against the seasoned pairing of Yang Hsieh and Yang Tsung-Hua of Chinese Taipei to win 6-3, 5-7, 10-1.
In Jakarta, the Indian men's hockey team recorded its biggest ever international win by annihilating Hong Kong China 26-0 in a Pool B match. India bettered an 86-year-old record -- a 24-1 win over the USA in the Olympics.
The rowers also continued their good show and qualified for the final round in three more events.
Rohit Kumar and Bhagwan Singh finished on top in men's lightweight double sculls repechage round with a time of 7:14.23s to qualify for the final race to be held on August 24.
In the women's four repechage round, the Indian quartet of Sanjita Dung Dung, Annu, Navneet Kaur and Yamini Singh finished fourth with a time of 7:53.29s but still made it to the final to be held on August 24.
The men's lightweight eight team was the last to compete and qualified for the final race by coming on top with a time of 6:15.62. The final will be held on August 24.
The Indian women's compound archery team qualified second for the quarterfinals, pipped by powerhouse Korea in the ranking round.
India were already through to the quarters with a first-round bye and today's round only decided the placement of the teams in the draw based on their rankings. India ended up in the bottom half with Korea in the upper half. But just as any other day, today was not without its share of heartbreaks and disappointments.
Star gymnast Dipa Karmakar had to withdraw from the artistic team finals due to the knee injury, which had threatened to end her career not so long back. The team, which missed her, ended seventh in the final.
After the high of two gold and a bronze medal in the freestyle competition, India endured a disappointing end to their wrestling campaign with Greco-Roman grappler, Harpreet Singh, losing his bronze medal bout. Harpreet (87kg) lost 3-6 to Kazakhstan's Azamat Kustubayev.
Harpreet was India's lone podium hope after Gurpreet Singh (77kg), Naveen (130kg) and Hardeep (97) failed to reach the medal round. The Indian men's volleyball team suffered its first loss at the Games, going down 0-3 to Qatar in a preliminary Pool F match. India lost 15-25, 20-25, 20-25 in 77 minutes.
In taekwondo, Navjeet Maan crashed out in the pre-quarterfinals of the 80 kg, ending the Indian men's campaign. The 24-year-old Maan lost 6-20 to Linglong Chen of China.
All Donations For Kerala Floods To Get Tax Benefits
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All donations to the the Kerala Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund and the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund are tax-free, while contributions to NGOs meant for Kerala flood victims will get 50 per cent income tax rebate.
Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) accepts voluntary contributions from individuals, organisations and trusts. All contributions towards this fund are exempt from income tax under section 80(G).
"For non-governmental organisations (NGOs), it depends if they have exemption under the Income Tax Act. If so, 80G allows 50 per cent rebate," he told PTI here.
An official said donations to the Kerala Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund have also been exempted from income tax.
In order to facilitate speedy issue of 80(G) Income Tax receipts, donors should provide the transaction details of donations deposited directly in any of the PMNRF collection banks along with the address of the donor through e-mail at pmnrf@gov.in
A government official said private donations from abroad to Kerala flood victims have no restrictions if they follow certain rules and routes, even though India as a policy does not accept any donation from foreign governments for disaster victims.
He said individuals and private entities can contribute for the Kerala flood victims subject to certain conditions.
There is also no ban on foreign contributions to FCRA-registered NGOs, which are working among the flood victims in Kerala.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government has offered USD 100 million (about Rs. 700 crore) aid to the rain-ravaged state, but the government is unlikely to accept it.
The Kerala government had sought an immediate relief of Rs. 2,000 crore to take up relief works.
The Centre had yesterday released Rs. 600 crore assistance to the state.
The Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) had received donations to the tune of Rs. 309 crore till last evening through online and deposits in the special SBI account.
The state, which suffered an estimated loss of
Rs. 20,000 crore in the del
Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) accepts voluntary contributions from individuals, organisations and trusts. All contributions towards this fund are exempt from income tax under section 80(G).
"For non-governmental organisations (NGOs), it depends if they have exemption under the Income Tax Act. If so, 80G allows 50 per cent rebate," he told PTI here.
An official said donations to the Kerala Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund have also been exempted from income tax.
In order to facilitate speedy issue of 80(G) Income Tax receipts, donors should provide the transaction details of donations deposited directly in any of the PMNRF collection banks along with the address of the donor through e-mail at pmnrf@gov.in
A government official said private donations from abroad to Kerala flood victims have no restrictions if they follow certain rules and routes, even though India as a policy does not accept any donation from foreign governments for disaster victims.
He said individuals and private entities can contribute for the Kerala flood victims subject to certain conditions.
There is also no ban on foreign contributions to FCRA-registered NGOs, which are working among the flood victims in Kerala.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government has offered USD 100 million (about Rs. 700 crore) aid to the rain-ravaged state, but the government is unlikely to accept it.
The Kerala government had sought an immediate relief of Rs. 2,000 crore to take up relief works.
The Centre had yesterday released Rs. 600 crore assistance to the state.
The Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) had received donations to the tune of Rs. 309 crore till last evening through online and deposits in the special SBI account.
The state, which suffered an estimated loss of
Rs. 20,000 crore in the del
Mumbai, Delhi Among Top Destinations For Chinese Travellers In Asia
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India ranks among the top 10 popular destinations for Chinese travellers in Asia, especially for social media-influenced millennials, according to a report.
As per the India Tourism Statistics 2017, the country had welcomed over 2 lakh Chinese tourists in 2017.
In India, Mumbai (69 per cent) and Delhi (51 per cent) emerged as the top visited cities, as per the Hotels.com Chinese International Travel Monitor 2018.
For this report, Hotels.com engaged market research firm Ipsos to conduct interviews during May 2018 with 3,047 Chinese residents, aged 18-58 years, who had travelled overseas in the past 12 months.
It said, star-struck by global pop-culture, film and television (62 per cent) are now the main sources of inspiration for Chinese millennial travellers, it said.
Out of the 59 per cent of Chinese travellers who expressed interest in visiting the timeless monument of love, Taj Mahal, when they visit India - 38 per cent said the desire to do so because of it being a favourite television series or film location as well, it said.
Interestingly, 26 per cent added Taj Mahal to their bucket-list after seeing their favourite celebrity visit it, it added.
"While millennials were at the helm of social media influence and trends, the report found no generation was free from social networking's undeniable draw," Hotels.com brand general manager, Asia Pacific, Nelson Allen said.
About 52 per cent of Chinese travellers were wooed by the news feed, and a third of the older generation reported their travel decisions and behaviour were influenced by their digitally-connected children, he added.
Travel brag moments and selfies were a huge part of the Chinese millennial travel experience in 2017, with 63 per cent using the reverse camera angle to boost those likes and build their social brand.
India's picturesque towns with natural beauty (62 per cent), indigenous local food (49 per cent) and vibrant local culture (40 per cent) were popular for selfie-worthy moments for Chinese travellers when exploring India.
As per the India Tourism Statistics 2017, the country had welcomed over 2 lakh Chinese tourists in 2017.
In India, Mumbai (69 per cent) and Delhi (51 per cent) emerged as the top visited cities, as per the Hotels.com Chinese International Travel Monitor 2018.
For this report, Hotels.com engaged market research firm Ipsos to conduct interviews during May 2018 with 3,047 Chinese residents, aged 18-58 years, who had travelled overseas in the past 12 months.
It said, star-struck by global pop-culture, film and television (62 per cent) are now the main sources of inspiration for Chinese millennial travellers, it said.
Out of the 59 per cent of Chinese travellers who expressed interest in visiting the timeless monument of love, Taj Mahal, when they visit India - 38 per cent said the desire to do so because of it being a favourite television series or film location as well, it said.
Interestingly, 26 per cent added Taj Mahal to their bucket-list after seeing their favourite celebrity visit it, it added.
"While millennials were at the helm of social media influence and trends, the report found no generation was free from social networking's undeniable draw," Hotels.com brand general manager, Asia Pacific, Nelson Allen said.
About 52 per cent of Chinese travellers were wooed by the news feed, and a third of the older generation reported their travel decisions and behaviour were influenced by their digitally-connected children, he added.
Travel brag moments and selfies were a huge part of the Chinese millennial travel experience in 2017, with 63 per cent using the reverse camera angle to boost those likes and build their social brand.
India's picturesque towns with natural beauty (62 per cent), indigenous local food (49 per cent) and vibrant local culture (40 per cent) were popular for selfie-worthy moments for Chinese travellers when exploring India.
NASA Satellite Video Of Heavy Rain That Devastated Kerala
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NASA has released a video created using satellite data that provides an estimate of the intense rainfall over India in the past week and shows the spread of the resulting severe flooding in Kerala and parts of Karnataka.
The summer monsoon is a regular feature this time of year in India, and it can bring heavy rains to the region. However, periodically areas of low pressure can form within the general monsoon trough and bring even more rain.
Kerala is facing its worst floods in nearly a century that has left at least hundreds of people dead, and forced nearly a milliom people out of their homes. The Centre has declared this calamity of 'severe nature'.
Rainfall accumulations from August 13 to 20 showed two bands of heavy rain across India, NASA said in a statement.
The first band appeared much broader and extends across the northern part of the peninsula with weekly rainfall totals ranging from over 5 inches towards the western half of the peninsula to as much as 14 inches over parts of the eastern half towards the Bay of Bengal.
The first band is associated with the general monsoon circulation.
The second band appeared more concentrated and intense and is closely aligned with the southwest coast of India and the Western Ghats where onshore flow was enhanced by an area of low pressure embedded within the general monsoon.
Weekly rainfall totals in this band are generally over 10 inches with embedded areas exceeding 16 inches. The maximum estimated value from the data in this band was 18.5 inches, NASA said.
Although the extreme Himalayan topography is much more well-known, another contributing factor to the heavy rains along the southwest coast of India is the Western Ghats, it said.
Though much smaller than the Himalayas, this mountain range runs parallel to the West Coast of India with many peaks over 2,000 metres.
As a result, the Western Ghats are well positioned to enhance rainfall along the West Coast of India as they intercept the moisture laden air being drawn in off the warm waters of the northern Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea as part of the southwest monsoon circulation.
The Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) is used to estimate precipitation from a combination of passive microwave sensors, including microwave sensor and infrared data.
The data is generated every half an hour, thereby allowing scientists to track rainfall across the globe almost in real time.
GPM is the Global Precipitation Measurement mission core satellite. GPM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Agency, JAXA.
The summer monsoon is a regular feature this time of year in India, and it can bring heavy rains to the region. However, periodically areas of low pressure can form within the general monsoon trough and bring even more rain.
Kerala is facing its worst floods in nearly a century that has left at least hundreds of people dead, and forced nearly a milliom people out of their homes. The Centre has declared this calamity of 'severe nature'.
Rainfall accumulations from August 13 to 20 showed two bands of heavy rain across India, NASA said in a statement.
The first band appeared much broader and extends across the northern part of the peninsula with weekly rainfall totals ranging from over 5 inches towards the western half of the peninsula to as much as 14 inches over parts of the eastern half towards the Bay of Bengal.
The first band is associated with the general monsoon circulation.
The second band appeared more concentrated and intense and is closely aligned with the southwest coast of India and the Western Ghats where onshore flow was enhanced by an area of low pressure embedded within the general monsoon.
Weekly rainfall totals in this band are generally over 10 inches with embedded areas exceeding 16 inches. The maximum estimated value from the data in this band was 18.5 inches, NASA said.
Although the extreme Himalayan topography is much more well-known, another contributing factor to the heavy rains along the southwest coast of India is the Western Ghats, it said.
Though much smaller than the Himalayas, this mountain range runs parallel to the West Coast of India with many peaks over 2,000 metres.
As a result, the Western Ghats are well positioned to enhance rainfall along the West Coast of India as they intercept the moisture laden air being drawn in off the warm waters of the northern Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea as part of the southwest monsoon circulation.
The Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) is used to estimate precipitation from a combination of passive microwave sensors, including microwave sensor and infrared data.
The data is generated every half an hour, thereby allowing scientists to track rainfall across the globe almost in real time.
GPM is the Global Precipitation Measurement mission core satellite. GPM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Agency, JAXA.
World Court Sets February 2019 For Hearing Kulbhushan Jadhav Case: Report
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The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will hear for a week in February the case of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on spying charges, according to a media report today.
Kulbhushan Jadhav, 47, was sentenced to death by the military court in April last year.
Pakistan claim that its security forces arrested Kulbhushan Jadhav from its Balochistan province in March 2016, after he reportedly entered from Iran. India denies all charges. India moved the ICJ in May last year against the verdict.
The ICJ halted Kulbhushan Jadhav's execution on India's appeal pending the final verdict by it.
Geo TV citing sources said the world court will hear the case daily for a week in February next year.
In its submission, Pakistan had stated that Kulbhushan Jadhav is not an ordinary person as he had entered the country with the intent of spying and carrying out sabotage activities.
Kulbhushan Jadhav, 47, was sentenced to death by the military court in April last year.
Pakistan claim that its security forces arrested Kulbhushan Jadhav from its Balochistan province in March 2016, after he reportedly entered from Iran. India denies all charges. India moved the ICJ in May last year against the verdict.
The ICJ halted Kulbhushan Jadhav's execution on India's appeal pending the final verdict by it.
Geo TV citing sources said the world court will hear the case daily for a week in February next year.
In its submission, Pakistan had stated that Kulbhushan Jadhav is not an ordinary person as he had entered the country with the intent of spying and carrying out sabotage activities.
Business Affairs
Make in India: Haier's new unit in Greater Noida to generate 12,550 jobs
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Haier Appliances will invest Rs 3,069 crore to establish manufacturing units at an industrial township in Greater Noida, UP, DMICDC said on Wednesday. The consumer electronics company expects to generate direct employment for 3,950 people with this project, Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC) said in a statement.
It has been allotted 123.7 acre of land in the DMIC Integrated Industrial Township Greater Noida (IITGN) project for setting up manufacturing units, it said. Besides, Chinese Mobile maker Formes Indian subsidiary Forme Trading has been allotted 3.5 acre land in IITGN for the same purpose.
"Forme Trading plans to invest Rs 100 crore in its new mobile phone manufacturing unit at IITGN which is likely to create 600 direct and 1,000 indirect jobs," it added. Satkriti Infotainment, a sister concern of leading audio manufacturer Fenda Audio India, is another company to have been allotted land in the township project.
"Combined investment of the three companies is pegged at Rs 3,404 crore and is likely to generate 12,550 employment opportunities," it added. DMIC project is aimed at creating mega industrial infrastructure along the 1,483-km-long Delhi-Mumbai Rail Freight Corridor. Dholera (Gujarat) is the biggest of the eight industrial smart cities being developed in the first phase of the project. Overall, DMICDC is setting up 56 Greenfield smart industrial townships.
It has been allotted 123.7 acre of land in the DMIC Integrated Industrial Township Greater Noida (IITGN) project for setting up manufacturing units, it said. Besides, Chinese Mobile maker Formes Indian subsidiary Forme Trading has been allotted 3.5 acre land in IITGN for the same purpose.
"Forme Trading plans to invest Rs 100 crore in its new mobile phone manufacturing unit at IITGN which is likely to create 600 direct and 1,000 indirect jobs," it added. Satkriti Infotainment, a sister concern of leading audio manufacturer Fenda Audio India, is another company to have been allotted land in the township project.
"Combined investment of the three companies is pegged at Rs 3,404 crore and is likely to generate 12,550 employment opportunities," it added. DMIC project is aimed at creating mega industrial infrastructure along the 1,483-km-long Delhi-Mumbai Rail Freight Corridor. Dholera (Gujarat) is the biggest of the eight industrial smart cities being developed in the first phase of the project. Overall, DMICDC is setting up 56 Greenfield smart industrial townships.
Rafale deal: Anil Ambani files defamation suit against Congress leaders, asks to stop spreading 'misinformation'
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Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence has filed a defamation suit against Congress leaders Randeep Singh Surjewala, Prithviraj Chavan, Sanjay Nirupam, Abhishek Manu Singhvi and others after they failed to respond to a 'cease and desist' notice issued against them by the company over the Rafale deal.
Anil Ambani had previously sent two letters addressed to Congress President Rahul Gandhi, asking his party to refrain from making unsubstantiated statements. An IndiaToday.In report says the notice had been sent in the form of a 'cease and desist' letter that asked the Congress party to stop spreading "misinformation" about Reliance Defence but since they failed to respond the company would fight the case in court.
The 'cease and desist' letter, sent to Congress national spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill, asked the Congress leaders, including Surjewala, Chavan and others, have been making "incorrect, frivolous and misleading statements" about the selection of Reliance Defence for a joint venture with French defence major Dassault Aviation as part of the Rafale deal. Shergil is one of the members of the Congress task force on the Rafael Deal. He said he is not scared of such notices.
Received "Cease & Desist" Notice from Sh Anil Ambani threatening me with legal consequences if I speak on #RafaleDeal; My reply-I'm a Congress Soldier, a Proud Punjabi who doesn't get scared with such notices-Tax Payer of this country deserves to know why they paid extra 42000 Cr
- Jaiveer Shergill (@JaiveerShergill) August 22, 2018
The Congress party has been consistently targeting the BJP-led NDA government and Anil Ambani's company over the Rafale deal. In his letter to Rahul Gandhi in December 2017, Ambani had said he was "personally saddened" after Gandhi asked PM Modi to explain his "Reliance on someone with nil experience in aerospace for the Rafale deal?".
Accusing the Congress of spearheading a "vilification campaign" at the behest of the company rivals, Reliance Defence has warned these leaders from making frivolous and defamatory statements regarding the deal. Under the deal between India and France, India would buy 36 Rafale fighter jets from France, and as part of the offset obligation, the French Dassault Aviation would invest 100 million euros in India to make the components for the fighter jets and Falcon civilian aircraft.
Ambani had earlier claimed that the decision to choose his company as a joint venture partner was an independent agreement between the two companies, and that the government of India had no role to play in it.
In his recent letter to Rahul Gandhi, the billionaire businessman had said the Congress had been misinformed, misdirected and misled on the Rafale deal, and that not a single component worth a single rupee was to be manufactured by Reliance for these 36 Rafale jets.
The Congress has also been accusing massive irregularities in the Rafale deal , alleging that the government was procuring each aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore finalised by the UPA government for the procurement of 126 Rafale jets. The deal negotiated by the UPA could not be inked. The Congress has also been pressing for price details of the deal, but the NDA government has refused to divulge them citing confidentiality provisions of a 2008 Indo-France pact.
Anil Ambani had previously sent two letters addressed to Congress President Rahul Gandhi, asking his party to refrain from making unsubstantiated statements. An IndiaToday.In report says the notice had been sent in the form of a 'cease and desist' letter that asked the Congress party to stop spreading "misinformation" about Reliance Defence but since they failed to respond the company would fight the case in court.
The 'cease and desist' letter, sent to Congress national spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill, asked the Congress leaders, including Surjewala, Chavan and others, have been making "incorrect, frivolous and misleading statements" about the selection of Reliance Defence for a joint venture with French defence major Dassault Aviation as part of the Rafale deal. Shergil is one of the members of the Congress task force on the Rafael Deal. He said he is not scared of such notices.
Received "Cease & Desist" Notice from Sh Anil Ambani threatening me with legal consequences if I speak on #RafaleDeal; My reply-I'm a Congress Soldier, a Proud Punjabi who doesn't get scared with such notices-Tax Payer of this country deserves to know why they paid extra 42000 Cr
- Jaiveer Shergill (@JaiveerShergill) August 22, 2018
The Congress party has been consistently targeting the BJP-led NDA government and Anil Ambani's company over the Rafale deal. In his letter to Rahul Gandhi in December 2017, Ambani had said he was "personally saddened" after Gandhi asked PM Modi to explain his "Reliance on someone with nil experience in aerospace for the Rafale deal?".
Accusing the Congress of spearheading a "vilification campaign" at the behest of the company rivals, Reliance Defence has warned these leaders from making frivolous and defamatory statements regarding the deal. Under the deal between India and France, India would buy 36 Rafale fighter jets from France, and as part of the offset obligation, the French Dassault Aviation would invest 100 million euros in India to make the components for the fighter jets and Falcon civilian aircraft.
Ambani had earlier claimed that the decision to choose his company as a joint venture partner was an independent agreement between the two companies, and that the government of India had no role to play in it.
In his recent letter to Rahul Gandhi, the billionaire businessman had said the Congress had been misinformed, misdirected and misled on the Rafale deal, and that not a single component worth a single rupee was to be manufactured by Reliance for these 36 Rafale jets.
The Congress has also been accusing massive irregularities in the Rafale deal , alleging that the government was procuring each aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore finalised by the UPA government for the procurement of 126 Rafale jets. The deal negotiated by the UPA could not be inked. The Congress has also been pressing for price details of the deal, but the NDA government has refused to divulge them citing confidentiality provisions of a 2008 Indo-France pact.
SBI expects Q1 GDP growth at 7.7% over boost in bank credit, auto sale
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The country's GDP is expected to grow by 7.7 per cent in the April-June quarter on the back of pick up in leading indicators like cement production, sale of vehicles and bank credit, a report by SBI said.
SBI has based its assessment on its Composite Leading Indicator (CLI), which takes into account 18 major macro-economic indicators. "The CLI is signalling that the economic activity for Q1 FY19 has picked up substantially and the GVA (Gross Value Added) growth would be 7.6 per cent," it said in its research report 'Ecowrap'.
However, the headline GVA is being possibly pulled down by a weak agriculture growth, it added. Major indicators that driving GVA in Q1 FY19 are cement production, passenger traffic, sale of both commercial vehicle and passenger vehicles, non-food credit growth and aircraft movement among others, the report said.
"Finally, how much GDP will be higher than GVA at 7.6 per cent Q1FY19? We believe it could be 7.7 per cent, as a lot of subsidy has been frontloaded in Q1, implying that the gap between GDP and GVA may just vanish in Q1!," it said. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) is scheduled to release quarterly GDP estimate for April-June 2018 on August 31.
The report further said the quarterly trend of subsidy expenditure suggests that the government has been frontloading larger chunk of overall subsidy amount in the first quarter compared to other quarters and this is happening since 2016-17. In April-June 2018-19, subsidy expenditure to the tune of Rs 1,16,820 crore has been frontloaded.
"We believe, by front loading subsidy amount in Q1 may have some impact on Q1 GDP figure and the gap between GDP and GVA might come down to some extent in Q1 as compared to remaining quarters in FY19," it said. In fact, a trend analysis suggests that first quarter of fiscal may even witness GDP declining below GVA or staying marginally above GVA, it added.
As per the CSO, the GDP at 2011-12 prices in the fourth quarter (Q4) of financial year 2017-18 registered growth rate of 7.7 per cent as against 5.6 per cent , 6.3 per cent and 7 per cent respectively, in the first three quarters of the last fiscal.
SBI has based its assessment on its Composite Leading Indicator (CLI), which takes into account 18 major macro-economic indicators. "The CLI is signalling that the economic activity for Q1 FY19 has picked up substantially and the GVA (Gross Value Added) growth would be 7.6 per cent," it said in its research report 'Ecowrap'.
However, the headline GVA is being possibly pulled down by a weak agriculture growth, it added. Major indicators that driving GVA in Q1 FY19 are cement production, passenger traffic, sale of both commercial vehicle and passenger vehicles, non-food credit growth and aircraft movement among others, the report said.
"Finally, how much GDP will be higher than GVA at 7.6 per cent Q1FY19? We believe it could be 7.7 per cent, as a lot of subsidy has been frontloaded in Q1, implying that the gap between GDP and GVA may just vanish in Q1!," it said. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) is scheduled to release quarterly GDP estimate for April-June 2018 on August 31.
The report further said the quarterly trend of subsidy expenditure suggests that the government has been frontloading larger chunk of overall subsidy amount in the first quarter compared to other quarters and this is happening since 2016-17. In April-June 2018-19, subsidy expenditure to the tune of Rs 1,16,820 crore has been frontloaded.
"We believe, by front loading subsidy amount in Q1 may have some impact on Q1 GDP figure and the gap between GDP and GVA might come down to some extent in Q1 as compared to remaining quarters in FY19," it said. In fact, a trend analysis suggests that first quarter of fiscal may even witness GDP declining below GVA or staying marginally above GVA, it added.
As per the CSO, the GDP at 2011-12 prices in the fourth quarter (Q4) of financial year 2017-18 registered growth rate of 7.7 per cent as against 5.6 per cent , 6.3 per cent and 7 per cent respectively, in the first three quarters of the last fiscal.
Bharti Airtel stock among top Sensex losers after telco adds lowest subscribers in June
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The Bharti Airtel stock fell in early trade after the telco logged the lowest subscriber addition for the month of June. Market leader Bharti Airtel added a paltry 10,689 customers in June, the least among its peers. Bharti Airtel had added nearly 36 million customers in May following the integration of its recently acquired Telenor India operation with itself. Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio led the subscriber addition tally by gaining 9.71 million subscribers in June followed by Idea Cellular, which added 6.36 million customers.
Kumar Mangalam Birla-led Idea Cellular had lost 2.53 million users in May.
Vodafone India added 275219 subscribers in the reporting month. Bharti Airtel still remains the top operator with 30.05 per cent market share followed by Vodafone (19.43%) and Idea Cellular (19.24%).
Jio has gained market share of 18.78 per cent at the end of June.
State-run BSNL too added 244,485 subscribers in June. MTNL though lost 9,615 subscribers in the reported period. The overall wireless subscriber base rose to 1.14 billion at the end of June.
The stock fell to 363.05 level intra day, seven points lower than its previous close of 370.40 on the BSE. At 10:32 am, the stock was trading 0.74% or 3 points lower at 367 level.
The stock has been losing for the last three days and has fallen 1.10% during the same period. It has lost 12.26% during the last one year and 30.55% since the beginning of this year.
23 of 30 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or 'outperform', four "hold" and three "underperform" or "sell", according to Reuters.
For the quarter ended June 2018, the telco reported reported a 73.5 per cent fall in net income at Rs 97 crore for the three months to June due to intense competition in the mobile services market. The company had registered a net profit of Rs 367 crore in the same period a year ago.
Kumar Mangalam Birla-led Idea Cellular had lost 2.53 million users in May.
Vodafone India added 275219 subscribers in the reporting month. Bharti Airtel still remains the top operator with 30.05 per cent market share followed by Vodafone (19.43%) and Idea Cellular (19.24%).
Jio has gained market share of 18.78 per cent at the end of June.
State-run BSNL too added 244,485 subscribers in June. MTNL though lost 9,615 subscribers in the reported period. The overall wireless subscriber base rose to 1.14 billion at the end of June.
The stock fell to 363.05 level intra day, seven points lower than its previous close of 370.40 on the BSE. At 10:32 am, the stock was trading 0.74% or 3 points lower at 367 level.
The stock has been losing for the last three days and has fallen 1.10% during the same period. It has lost 12.26% during the last one year and 30.55% since the beginning of this year.
23 of 30 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or 'outperform', four "hold" and three "underperform" or "sell", according to Reuters.
For the quarter ended June 2018, the telco reported reported a 73.5 per cent fall in net income at Rs 97 crore for the three months to June due to intense competition in the mobile services market. The company had registered a net profit of Rs 367 crore in the same period a year ago.
Flipkart launches new platform, 2GUD, for refurbished products
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Home-grown online giant Flipkart, now backed by Walmart, has launched a new platform for refurbished goods. Called 2GUD, this platform is only on its mobile site now. 2GUD will eventually be available on across desktops and other channels. The site is rolling out laptops, smartphones, tablets and electronic accessories. Large appliances would be added to the catalogue soon.
Prices of the products will vary from 50%-80% of the original price depending on the certification of the product.
"This (refurbished site) is for the aspirational customer in India. The refurbished market is unorganised and we want to organise it and break the barrier of trust," said Flipkart's CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy.
This move comes as per Flipkart's plans following eBay's decision to part ways with the company. Flipkart had acquired eBay's India unit last year as it raised $1.4 billion from tech giants such as Microsoft and Tencent. eBay also invested $500 million in equity stake along with selling its India arm.
Flipkart decided to launch a new platform to replace the eBay space after the latter decided to bow out following US giant Walmart's acquisition. To buy and sell within India, users will have to visit Flipkart's website, while you can still register on eBay and continue to buy and sell through eBay.com or other eBay sites internationally.
According to a report in The Economic Times, several members from the eBay team have been integrated with Flipkart's 2GUD team. Products on offer on 2GUD are refurbished either using Flipkart's F1 Info Solutions or other third party services. The company also offers a post-purchase warranty of 3 to 12 months.
Flipkart will be competing with platforms such as Zefo that offers second-hand refurbished products across categories. This platform will enable the company to further reach out to customers from tier 2 and beyond.
Moreover, the home-grown ecommerce giant also recently announced that it has acquired Bengaluru-based artificial intelligence (AI) startup Liv.ai, which has developed a platform that converts speech-to-text in nine regional languages apart from English. With this move, the e-tailer hopes to soon offer an end-to-end conversational shopping experience for its users.
Prices of the products will vary from 50%-80% of the original price depending on the certification of the product.
"This (refurbished site) is for the aspirational customer in India. The refurbished market is unorganised and we want to organise it and break the barrier of trust," said Flipkart's CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy.
This move comes as per Flipkart's plans following eBay's decision to part ways with the company. Flipkart had acquired eBay's India unit last year as it raised $1.4 billion from tech giants such as Microsoft and Tencent. eBay also invested $500 million in equity stake along with selling its India arm.
Flipkart decided to launch a new platform to replace the eBay space after the latter decided to bow out following US giant Walmart's acquisition. To buy and sell within India, users will have to visit Flipkart's website, while you can still register on eBay and continue to buy and sell through eBay.com or other eBay sites internationally.
According to a report in The Economic Times, several members from the eBay team have been integrated with Flipkart's 2GUD team. Products on offer on 2GUD are refurbished either using Flipkart's F1 Info Solutions or other third party services. The company also offers a post-purchase warranty of 3 to 12 months.
Flipkart will be competing with platforms such as Zefo that offers second-hand refurbished products across categories. This platform will enable the company to further reach out to customers from tier 2 and beyond.
Moreover, the home-grown ecommerce giant also recently announced that it has acquired Bengaluru-based artificial intelligence (AI) startup Liv.ai, which has developed a platform that converts speech-to-text in nine regional languages apart from English. With this move, the e-tailer hopes to soon offer an end-to-end conversational shopping experience for its users.
General Awareness
Criminalization of Politics
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What to study?
For Mains: Criminalization of politics- concerns, challenges and efforts to reform.
Context: The Supreme Court has proposed to make political parties accountable for criminalising politics by welcoming in “crooks” who may later win elections on party ticket and grab power. The court is hearing a batch of petitions to ban persons charged with heinous criminal charges from contesting elections.
Suggestion made by the court:
The Court may direct the Election Commission to insist that parties get new members to declare in an affidavit their criminal antecedents and publish them so that the “entire country knows how many criminals there are in a party.”
The court said the EC could de-register a party or withdraw its symbol if it refused to comply.
The suggestion was made by the court in a bid to prevent criminals from entering politics or later contesting elections to become parliamentarians, legislators and Ministers.
However, the centre has opposed this move suggesting the following reasons:
A political party has a right to field its candidate. Mere charges of having committed a crime cannot be used to prevent a person from contesting elections. The suggestion made by the court amounts to prematurely disqualifying a candidate. Besides, the court is taking on itself a matter of the legislature.
Provisions in this regard:
The court based its proposal on the following:
Article 324 and Section 29A of RPA: The power of the Election Commission to conduct an election and register/de-register political parties under Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act of 1951, respectively.
The Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order of 1968. Section 29A requires a party to swear to uphold the principles of socialism, secularism, democracy, sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
Criminals in Politics:
Protecting the parliamentary system from criminalisation has been the intention of the law from the beginning.
Section 8 of the Representation of the People (RP) Act, 1951 disqualifies a person convicted with a sentence of two years or more from contesting elections. But those under trial continued to be eligible to contest elections. The Lily Thomas case (2013), however, ended this unfair advantage.
Efforts by SC in this regard:
The SC has repeatedly expressed concern about the purity of legislatures.
In 2002, it made it obligatory for all candidates to file an affidavit before the returning officer, disclosing criminal cases pending against them.
The famous order to introduce NOTA was intended to make political parties think before giving tickets to the tainted.
In its landmark judgment of March 2014, the SC accepted the urgent need for cleansing politics of criminalisation and directed all subordinate courts to decide on cases involving legislators within a year, or give reasons for not doing so to the chief justice of the high court.
The trend:
According to the ADR’s analysis of EC data, 187 MPs in the current Lok Sabha face criminal charges (that is, 34.4 per cent). Of them, 113 face serious criminal charges. The number has gone up from 162 (76 serious) charges in 2009 and 128 (58 serious) in 2004.
Main reasons for Criminalization:
Corruption
Vote bank.
Lack of governance.
What is the way out?
There are three possible options.
One, political parties should themselves refuse tickets to the tainted.
Two, the RP Act should be amended to debar persons against whom cases of a heinous nature are pending from contesting elections.
Three, fast-track courts should decide the cases of tainted legislators quickly.
Opposition to the proposal made by the Supreme Court:
Far from denying tickets to criminals, all political parties seem to have been in competition to give them more and more tickets. They have been unitedly opposing the proposal to debar perpetrators of even heinous offences during pendency of trial on the grounds that false criminal cases may be filed by opponents. This concern is partly valid.
Is this concern justified?
To counter the concern expressed, the proposal has three safeguards.
First, all criminal cases would not invite the ban — only heinous offences like murder, dacoity, rape, kidnapping or moral turpitude.
Second, the case should have been registered at least a year before the elections.
Third, the court must have framed the charges.
Suggested measure to curb criminalization of politics:
Bringing greater transparency in campaign financing is going to make it less attractive for political parties to involve gangsters.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) should have the power to audit the financial accounts of political parties, or political parties’ finances should be brought under the right to information (RTI) law.
Broader governance will have to improve for voters to reduce the reliance on criminal politicians.
Fast-track courts are necessary because politicians are able to delay the judicial process and serve for decades before prosecution.
The Election Commission must take adequate measures to break the nexus between the criminals and the politicians.
The forms prescribed by the Election Commission for candidates disclosing their convictions, cases pending in courts and so on in their nomination papers is a step in the right direction if it applied properly.
What to study?
For Mains: Criminalization of politics- concerns, challenges and efforts to reform.
Context: The Supreme Court has proposed to make political parties accountable for criminalising politics by welcoming in “crooks” who may later win elections on party ticket and grab power. The court is hearing a batch of petitions to ban persons charged with heinous criminal charges from contesting elections.
Suggestion made by the court:
The Court may direct the Election Commission to insist that parties get new members to declare in an affidavit their criminal antecedents and publish them so that the “entire country knows how many criminals there are in a party.”
The court said the EC could de-register a party or withdraw its symbol if it refused to comply.
The suggestion was made by the court in a bid to prevent criminals from entering politics or later contesting elections to become parliamentarians, legislators and Ministers.
However, the centre has opposed this move suggesting the following reasons:
A political party has a right to field its candidate. Mere charges of having committed a crime cannot be used to prevent a person from contesting elections. The suggestion made by the court amounts to prematurely disqualifying a candidate. Besides, the court is taking on itself a matter of the legislature.
Provisions in this regard:
The court based its proposal on the following:
Article 324 and Section 29A of RPA: The power of the Election Commission to conduct an election and register/de-register political parties under Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act of 1951, respectively.
The Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order of 1968. Section 29A requires a party to swear to uphold the principles of socialism, secularism, democracy, sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
Criminals in Politics:
Protecting the parliamentary system from criminalisation has been the intention of the law from the beginning.
Section 8 of the Representation of the People (RP) Act, 1951 disqualifies a person convicted with a sentence of two years or more from contesting elections. But those under trial continued to be eligible to contest elections. The Lily Thomas case (2013), however, ended this unfair advantage.
Efforts by SC in this regard:
The SC has repeatedly expressed concern about the purity of legislatures.
In 2002, it made it obligatory for all candidates to file an affidavit before the returning officer, disclosing criminal cases pending against them.
The famous order to introduce NOTA was intended to make political parties think before giving tickets to the tainted.
In its landmark judgment of March 2014, the SC accepted the urgent need for cleansing politics of criminalisation and directed all subordinate courts to decide on cases involving legislators within a year, or give reasons for not doing so to the chief justice of the high court.
The trend:
According to the ADR’s analysis of EC data, 187 MPs in the current Lok Sabha face criminal charges (that is, 34.4 per cent). Of them, 113 face serious criminal charges. The number has gone up from 162 (76 serious) charges in 2009 and 128 (58 serious) in 2004.
Main reasons for Criminalization:
Corruption
Vote bank.
Lack of governance.
What is the way out?
There are three possible options.
One, political parties should themselves refuse tickets to the tainted.
Two, the RP Act should be amended to debar persons against whom cases of a heinous nature are pending from contesting elections.
Three, fast-track courts should decide the cases of tainted legislators quickly.
Opposition to the proposal made by the Supreme Court:
Far from denying tickets to criminals, all political parties seem to have been in competition to give them more and more tickets. They have been unitedly opposing the proposal to debar perpetrators of even heinous offences during pendency of trial on the grounds that false criminal cases may be filed by opponents. This concern is partly valid.
Is this concern justified?
To counter the concern expressed, the proposal has three safeguards.
First, all criminal cases would not invite the ban — only heinous offences like murder, dacoity, rape, kidnapping or moral turpitude.
Second, the case should have been registered at least a year before the elections.
Third, the court must have framed the charges.
Suggested measure to curb criminalization of politics:
Bringing greater transparency in campaign financing is going to make it less attractive for political parties to involve gangsters.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) should have the power to audit the financial accounts of political parties, or political parties’ finances should be brought under the right to information (RTI) law.
Broader governance will have to improve for voters to reduce the reliance on criminal politicians.
Fast-track courts are necessary because politicians are able to delay the judicial process and serve for decades before prosecution.
The Election Commission must take adequate measures to break the nexus between the criminals and the politicians.
The forms prescribed by the Election Commission for candidates disclosing their convictions, cases pending in courts and so on in their nomination papers is a step in the right direction if it applied properly.
For Mains: Criminalization of politics- concerns, challenges and efforts to reform.
Context: The Supreme Court has proposed to make political parties accountable for criminalising politics by welcoming in “crooks” who may later win elections on party ticket and grab power. The court is hearing a batch of petitions to ban persons charged with heinous criminal charges from contesting elections.
Suggestion made by the court:
The Court may direct the Election Commission to insist that parties get new members to declare in an affidavit their criminal antecedents and publish them so that the “entire country knows how many criminals there are in a party.”
The court said the EC could de-register a party or withdraw its symbol if it refused to comply.
The suggestion was made by the court in a bid to prevent criminals from entering politics or later contesting elections to become parliamentarians, legislators and Ministers.
However, the centre has opposed this move suggesting the following reasons:
A political party has a right to field its candidate. Mere charges of having committed a crime cannot be used to prevent a person from contesting elections. The suggestion made by the court amounts to prematurely disqualifying a candidate. Besides, the court is taking on itself a matter of the legislature.
Provisions in this regard:
The court based its proposal on the following:
Article 324 and Section 29A of RPA: The power of the Election Commission to conduct an election and register/de-register political parties under Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act of 1951, respectively.
The Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order of 1968. Section 29A requires a party to swear to uphold the principles of socialism, secularism, democracy, sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
Criminals in Politics:
Protecting the parliamentary system from criminalisation has been the intention of the law from the beginning.
Section 8 of the Representation of the People (RP) Act, 1951 disqualifies a person convicted with a sentence of two years or more from contesting elections. But those under trial continued to be eligible to contest elections. The Lily Thomas case (2013), however, ended this unfair advantage.
Efforts by SC in this regard:
The SC has repeatedly expressed concern about the purity of legislatures.
In 2002, it made it obligatory for all candidates to file an affidavit before the returning officer, disclosing criminal cases pending against them.
The famous order to introduce NOTA was intended to make political parties think before giving tickets to the tainted.
In its landmark judgment of March 2014, the SC accepted the urgent need for cleansing politics of criminalisation and directed all subordinate courts to decide on cases involving legislators within a year, or give reasons for not doing so to the chief justice of the high court.
The trend:
According to the ADR’s analysis of EC data, 187 MPs in the current Lok Sabha face criminal charges (that is, 34.4 per cent). Of them, 113 face serious criminal charges. The number has gone up from 162 (76 serious) charges in 2009 and 128 (58 serious) in 2004.
Main reasons for Criminalization:
Corruption
Vote bank.
Lack of governance.
What is the way out?
There are three possible options.
One, political parties should themselves refuse tickets to the tainted.
Two, the RP Act should be amended to debar persons against whom cases of a heinous nature are pending from contesting elections.
Three, fast-track courts should decide the cases of tainted legislators quickly.
Opposition to the proposal made by the Supreme Court:
Far from denying tickets to criminals, all political parties seem to have been in competition to give them more and more tickets. They have been unitedly opposing the proposal to debar perpetrators of even heinous offences during pendency of trial on the grounds that false criminal cases may be filed by opponents. This concern is partly valid.
Is this concern justified?
To counter the concern expressed, the proposal has three safeguards.
First, all criminal cases would not invite the ban — only heinous offences like murder, dacoity, rape, kidnapping or moral turpitude.
Second, the case should have been registered at least a year before the elections.
Third, the court must have framed the charges.
Suggested measure to curb criminalization of politics:
Bringing greater transparency in campaign financing is going to make it less attractive for political parties to involve gangsters.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) should have the power to audit the financial accounts of political parties, or political parties’ finances should be brought under the right to information (RTI) law.
Broader governance will have to improve for voters to reduce the reliance on criminal politicians.
Fast-track courts are necessary because politicians are able to delay the judicial process and serve for decades before prosecution.
The Election Commission must take adequate measures to break the nexus between the criminals and the politicians.
The forms prescribed by the Election Commission for candidates disclosing their convictions, cases pending in courts and so on in their nomination papers is a step in the right direction if it applied properly.
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