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The Indian Express, September 27, 2017 Anger over falling farm incomes has spilled onto streets across a swathe of India’s largest states as farmers struggle with food price deflation and a breakdown of the informal agriculture economy. For Prime Minister Narendra Modi — already grappling with a sharp slowdown in economic growth and looming job cuts in manufacturing — the protests involving hundreds of thousands of farmers highlight his struggle to deliver on the promises that swept him to power. Modi’s jobs problem threatens quest to cut India inequality On Sept. 15, state officials in Rajasthan joined those of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra — all ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party — in promising to waive farmers’ loans after 13 days of protests. But farmers aren’t satisfied. “We’re planning a national rally on Oct. 30 when we would carry torches to show light to state administrations bumbling in the dark,” said Amra Ram, 60-year-old leader of the All India Kisan...

Rediff, September 27, 2017 Pakistan's Foreign Minister has acknowledged that Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, the Haqqanis and the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. are "liabilities" for the country but it does not have the required "assets" to get rid of them. Khawaja Asif said that the United States, which is putting pressure on Pakistan to tackle terrorist groups operating from its soil, once used to treat them as "darlings" just 20 to 30 years back. US President Donald Trump had last month criticised Pakistan for its support to terror groups, saying it receives billions in US aid but continues to harbour militants. "Don't blame us for the Haqqanis (the Haqqani terror network) and don't blame us for the Hafiz Saeeds (chief of Jamaat-ud-Dawa terror group)," Khawaja Asif said at the Asia Society forum in New york on Tuesday. "These were the people who were your darlings just 20 to 30 years back. They were being di...

Rediff, September 27, 2017 The Enforcement Directorate has received replies from actor Amitabh Bachchan and his family members to notices issued to them in connection with its probe in the Panama Papers case and they could be summoned soon, officials said. Officials in the anti-money laundering agency said they had issued notices to the Bachchan family some time back asking them to explain their foreign remittances since 2004 under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme of the RBI. They said the Enforcement Directorate has now received their replies to the notices issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act. "The replies have been received. They could be soon summoned as part of the probe," sources said. Amitabh Bachchan's name had cropped in the Panama Papers case which is also being probed by the Income Tax Department. The taxman is probing Bollywood megastar's offshore remittances. Dubbed as Panama Papers, an investigation of a stockp...

Rediff News, September 27, 2017 Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani on Wednesday said that data is the oxygen of a digital economy, and Indians have it in super-abundance. Hailing India as one of the biggest telecom markets in the world, while addressing the Indian Mobile Congress 2017 (IMC) at Pragati Maidan in Delhi, Ambani said that data is a 'vital life-sustaining resource' which should be provided to all Indians at the most feasible cost. "The fourth industrial revolution, fuelled by connectivity, data and Artificial Intelligence has begun. Data is the oxygen of a digital economy. We cannot deprive Indians of this vital life-sustaining resource. Data is the new oil, which does not need to be imported. We have it in super-abundance," Ambani said. Highlighting the achievements of the Indian telecom industry so far, Ambani claimed that in the next 10 years, India will grow from a USD 2.5 trillion to a USD 7 trillion economy an...

News 18, September 27, 2017 The government’s previous attempt at starting home delivery of petrol and diesel may have failed before it could even take-off, but petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday appeared upbeat that this time would be different.  Speaking at the inaugural session of India Mobile Congress in the capital, Pradhan said the government could soon leverage the advancements in the telecom and IT sector to start home delivery of fuel. Customers could use e-commerce platforms for placing orders, the minister said.  In a series of tweets, Pradhan said that the revolution in the telecom sector has impacted how business is done in all sectors, and it has been for the benefit of consumers. He said the delivery option would cut queues at fuel stations and increase convenience. About 35 crore people go to fuel stations every day. Annually, Rs 2,500 crore worth of transactions take place at fuel stations. But this is not the first ...

PTI, Economic Times, September 27, 2017 Nearly 25 years after ONGC's  prime discovered oilfields were privatised, the government is planning to allow private firms to take majority stake in the state-owned firm's producing oil and gas fields such as Mumbai High.   The Oil Ministry plans to approach the Cabinet soon for allowing private firms to take participating interest (PI) in a nomination block, sources privy to the development said.  The policy currently allows giving out of PI or a stake to a private company only in the blocks or areas awarded in open auctions under New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) since 1999. However only exploration acreage was auctioned under global bidding in such rounds.  All areas prior to that were given to Oil and Natural Gas  Corp (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd  (OIL) on a nomination basis.   ONGC produces 87 per cent of its 25.53 million tonnes of oil from fields given to it on nomination b...

PTI, Times of India, September 28, 2017 India is expected to be a $6 trillion economy - the third largest in the world - in the next 10 years, majorly helped by digitisation, says a report. According to global brokerage Morgan Stanley, India's digitisation drive would provide a boost of 50-75 basis points to GDP growth in the coming decade. "We estimate that digitisation will provide a boost of 50-75 basis points to GDP growth and forecast that India will grow to $6 trillion economy and achieve upper-middle income status by by 2026-27," Morgan Stanley head India research and India equity strategist Ridham Desai told reporters here. "We expect India's real and nominal GDP growth to compound annually by 7.1 per cent and 11.2 per cent respectively over the coming decade," he added. Citing the report 'India's digital leap - The multi-trillion dollar opportunity' released today, Desai said apart from some short ter...

The Indian Express, September 28, 2017 IN A major boost for police reforms, the Union Cabinet Wednesday approved a Rs 25,000-crore outlay for upgrading the internal security apparatus in states. According to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, the Cabinet Committee on Security, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved an umbrella scheme, Modernisation of Police Forces, with the money to be spent in three years from 2017-18. Of a total outlay of Rs 25,060 crore, the Centre will provide Rs 18,636 crore — around 75 per cent — while the states’ share will be Rs 6,424 crore, Singh said. “The government had already increased the outlay to states as per the 14th Finance Commission recommendations, from 32 per cent to 42 per cent. It was earlier felt that police reforms would also be funded by states. But today, we have decided to approve the umbrella scheme over and above that,” Singh said. Under the scheme, J&K, the northeastern states and those affected by L...

Shaju Philip, The Indian Express, September 28, 2017 A SEBI probe has found irregularities in the functioning of Kerala-based Chemmanur International Jewellers, which was running a deposit scheme in the guise of advance payment for gold purchase in violation of the RBI Act. The company’s chairman is Boby Chemmanur and football legend Diego Maradona is its brand ambassador. The alleged illegal operations of the jeweller have been under the scanner of various financial agencies in the recent years. SEBI reported to the Kerala State Level Bankers Committee last month that Chemmanur, an unincorporated firm, was found to be running the deposit scheme in violation of Section 45 (S) of the RBI Act, 1934. The scheme was spread across several states and the scale of operations was reportedly to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore. The report found that in 2012-13 to 2014-15, the group collected Rs 998.4 crore from people as advance payment for gold purchase. “However, the total gold sale of ...

Khushboo Narayan, Indian Express, September 28, 2017 The auction of Sahara Group’s Aamby Valley City has seen not a single prospective bidder turning up for the physical inspection of the property near Lonavala, in Maharashtra, it is learnt. The physical inspection of Aamby Valley was scheduled on September 19-20. Sources familiar with the development said even the two prospective bidders who had submitted their KYC forms initially did not turn up for the inspection. Officials involved in the auction process said since the real estate market was stagnant, the prospective bidders might hold off bidding for the property. In case the auction does not attract satisfactory bids from prospective bidders, the sources said, the auction would be re-conducted after taking fresh approvals from the Supreme Court. However, the sources said the final picture would emerge only after October 3, the last date for bidders to submit their bids along with 15 per cent earnest money deposit pres...

TNN, Times of India, September 28, 2017 The UPA  government had the option to press for a continued freeze on the UK bank accounts of  Bofors  fugitive  Ottavio Quattrochhi  even after court proceedings had stalled in 2006 by declaring the Italian as a proclaimed offender but chose not to do so. Information recently shared by the CBI with Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has hinted at the possibility that the UPA regime led by Congress was keen on ensuring Quattrocchi was able to access $1 million and Euro 3 million suspected to be slush funds from the Bofors deal. A note on events that led to Quattrocchi accessing the funds after Congress assumed office in May 2004 stated that the counsel for UK's crown prosecution service had suggested that attachment of properties as part of proceedings relating to a proclaimed offender could ensure continuation of the freeze on the accounts. "The (CPS) suggested various follow up action i.e....

Raj Shekhari, Times of India, September 28, 2017 The Crime Branch of Delhi Police has busted a gang that duped people in Delhi by posing as bank officials over the phone. Comprising six-seven men, the group operated from Jharkhand and is believed to have duped at least 500 people till now. Four of the gang members have been arrested, while efforts are being made to nab the rest. Praveer Ranjan, joint commissioner (Crime), confirmed the arrests and said, "The gang operated across India from its headquarters in a Naxal-affected forest area in Jharkhand's Jamtara district." The gang procured debit card and bank account details from bank officials and hackers in bulk and then targeted the victims individually. They would con the victims into sharing the one time password or the CVV numbers and use the information to transfer the funds into mobile wallets to be withdrawn later via ATMs. Mohammed Salim alias Abdul Qarim, Varinder Singh, Major Singh and Abhis...

Aesha Dutta, Business Line, September 27, 2017 The government has refused to reveal the details of the objections raised by the Law Ministry to the draft Essential Commodities (Control of Unethical Practices in Marketing of Drugs) Order 2017. This draft order, which was circulated in June this year, has been blocked by the Law Ministry, which said it could not be passed under the proposed legal framework. Uniform code In response to an application filed under the Right to Information Act by a doctor and health activist, GS Grewal, the government has also declined to comment on any latest proposals on uniform code of pharmaceutical marketing practices (UCPMP), citing the section under the RTI Act that gives the government the right to deny information if it could “affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State.” Ironically, the government has been cracking down on pharmaceutical companies for alleged ...

Saurabh Kumar, September 28,  2017 For the first time, Indian Railways will float global tenders to buy rails, as Steel Authority of India (SAIL), its sole supplier, can’t meet the transporter’s increased demand. Railway minister Piyush Goyal, who took charge recently in the wake of a spate of rail accidents, has identified track renewal as a focus area to prevent such incidents from taking place. In a reply in the Rajya Sabha during the monsoon session of Parliament, minister of state of railways Rajen Gohain had said, “Rail requirement that is not met by SAIL is amenable to procurement from (alternative) sources. For the year 2017-18, SAIL has committed to supply 11.45 lakh tonne rails. The balance requirement of about 3.14 lakh tonne is under consideration for procurement (from sources other than SAIL).” The railways had earlier also considered issuing a global tender but the plan was put on the back burner given the government policy which stipula...