Posts

Showing posts from November 13, 2017

Why a Delhi gangster paid Rs 1 crore to buy Rs 36 crore of banned currency notes

India Today  November 09, 2017 Pradeep Chauhan, 47, a resident of Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi,  with dubious reputation bought banned currency notes worth Rs 36 crore by paying Rs 6 for every Rs 100 value note. As the National Investigation Agency (NIA) digs deeper into the terror funding case, new astonishing details are coming to light. Among the nine arrested gang members, one of them had paid Rs 36 crore to buy banned notes. The accused identified as Pradeep Chauhan, 47, a resident of Sarai Kale Khan, allegedly paid Rs 6 for every Rs 100 note he purchased. The plan to buy banned notes was hatched by Chauhan a property dealer with a dubious reputation. Chauhan had spent Rs 30 per Rs 500 note and Rs 60 per Rs 1,000 note. His misadventure however cost him  time in person. A senior officer said that the amount varied for buying notes. But they paid roughly 9-10 per cent for the banned currency but wanted to earn profit after exchanging the money. Chauhan also lured Del

'$100 billion embezzled': Saudi Arabia detains 201 in anti-corruption drive

Times of India  Riyadh November 09, 2017 Saudi Arabia announced on Thursday it has detained 201 people as part of a sweeping probe, estimating that $100 billion has been misused through embezzlement and corruption in the past decades. Saudi Attorney General Saud al-Mojeb said in a statement that 208 people had been called in for questioning since Saturday evening, and that seven people were released without charge, leaving 201 people still in detention. "The potential scale of corrupt practices which have been uncovered is very large," he said, adding that based on investigations over the past three years, at least $100 billion has been misused through corruption and embezzlement over several decades. Critics and observers say the purge that has targeted dozens of top princes, officials, military officers and businessmen is a power grab by the crown prince to sideline potential rivals and critics. Among those detained earlier are billionaire Saudi Pr

How significant is Jaish-e-Muhammad in Kashmir today?

The Indian Express Praveen swami November 10, 2017 The killing of Masood Azhar’s nephew Talha Rashid notwithstanding, broader data show the Jaish-e-Muhammad is behind both the Lashkar and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen in the Kashmir jihad. IN the hours after he learned that a nephew had been shot dead in a remote Kashmir village, Masood Azhar Alvi began writing a strange elegy to violent death: “The martyr’s sins are forgiven when the first drop of his blood falls”, he wrote, “and he is spared the agony of the grave, the terrors of the day of judgment; he is married to seventy two virgins; his family granted God’s mercy. His head wears a crown of honour, any one of the gems studding it more valuable than all this world”. This week’s killing of teenage jihadist Talha Rashid in an encounter at the village of Aglar Kandi, near Pulwama, has been seen as evidence that Azhar’s Jaish-e-Muhammad is emerging, again, as a significant actor on Kashmir’s jihadist stage. The data show it isn

Paradise Papers: Booked by CBI, SNC-Lavalin went to Appleby to float firm, get National Highway projects

The Indian Express  Ritu Sarin November 10, 2017  SNC-Lavalin is a Montreal-based engineering major, which was first implicated in a financial bribery case booked by the CBI in 2008 in which Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had been named.  Vijayan was cleared in August this year.A Canadian engineering and construction company, which has been the subject of corruption probes in India and abroad, used Appleby to register a new company and further its interests in bidding for projects of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), Appleby records show. SNC-Lavalin is a Montreal-based engineering major, which was first implicated in a financial bribery case booked by the CBI in 2008 in which Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had been named. Vijayan was cleared in August this year. The case related to SNC-Lavalin being contracted by the Kerala government for renovation and modernisation of hydro-electric power stations at allegedly exorbitant rates when V

‘Farmers set to lose ₹35,968 cr in top 7 crops this season’

Business Line  November 09, 2017 Ahead of the countrywide farmers’ rally in the Capital on November 20, the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), a nationwide coalition of over 180 farmer organisations, on Thursday announced its “#KisanKiLoot” (Looting the Farmer) campaign. Citing a study of crop prices across the country this season, the AIKSCC said Considering the total crop that would be sold by farmers this season (marketable surplus), the estimated loss of farmers compared with MSP is ₹35,968 crore, said AIKSCC, adding that these are the “most conservative estimates because the actual prices obtained by the farmers in many cases are much below the official APMC market prices used in these estimates.” “The KisanKiLoot campaign intends to showcase to the nation how farmers are being denied remunerative prices after all the hardships and risks that they face in producing food for the nation,” AIKCC said in a statement, after a press conference by
The Economics Times IANS November 09, 2017 Farmers face Rs 2 lakh cr loss as Modi failed to implement promise: Farmers' Union.Prime Minister Narendra Modi's failure to implement his electoral promise of 50 per cent profit above the cost of production has resulted in about Rs 2 lakh crore loss to farmers in the country this kharif season, a farmers' union said on Thursday.  In addition, the government has failed to stop market prices from falling below the current Minimum Support Price (MSP) so farmers had to sell their produce at lower rates, even below the cost of production in some cases, causing an expected loss of Rs 35,968 crore to them, said the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), an umbrella body of over 180 farmer organisations.  Addressing media persons here, the AIKSCC sought complete loan waiver and remuneration of 50 per cent margin above the cost of production as per Modi's promise.  To press their demands, the u

Sebi Imposes Rs 15 Lakh Fine on Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani's Family for Manipulative Trading

News 18 Rounak Kumar Gunjan November 09, 2017  The alleged manipulative transactions by Vijay Rupani HUF were carried out between January 2011 and June 2011. Rupani took charge as the CM of Gujarat in August 2016. Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) charged 22 entities, including Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani’s Hindu Undivided Family (HUF), for “manipulative trades” in Sarang Chemicals, a company not known to many. Rupani’s HUF has been fined Rs 15 lakh. The alleged manipulative transactions were carried out between January 2011 and June 2011. Rupani took charge as the CM of Gujarat in August 2016.A Hindu Undivided Family is a firm wherein a family can come together to run a business. In simpler words, it is similar to a partnership firm and gets various tax benefits as per rules. In May 2016, Sebi had issued a common show cause notice to the 22 entities alleging violations under Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices (PFUTP)

US Wants to 'Increase Societal Tolerance' in India With USD 500k to NGOs

News 18  November 09, 2017 The US on Thursday said it wants to "increase societal tolerance" and reduce "religiously-motivated violence" and discrimination in India with the nearly USD 500,000 grant to NGOs in the country. The US on Thursday said it wants to "increase societal tolerance" and reduce "religiously-motivated violence" and discrimination in India with the nearly USD 500,000 grant to NGOs in the country. The State Department had yesterday announced the grant for organisations which can come up with ideas and projects to promote religious freedom in India.The State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, in a notice, had said that it seeks to "reduce religiously-motivated violence and discrimination in India" through its USD 4,93,827 grant programme. "The goal of the programme is to increase societal tolerance and improve civilian security to reduce religiously-motivated violence and

Toilet scam spreads

The Telegraph Ramashankar and Roshan Kumar November 10, 2017 Patna: The toilet construction scam is not just limited to Patna, with complaints of financial embezzlement to the tune of Rs 3.67 crore coming in from Sheohar district. An FIR has been lodged with the Piprahi police station in Sheohar by the executive engineer in the public health and engineering department (PHED), Manish Kumar. Former mukhiya of Piprahi panchayat, Dharmendra Kumar Singh, and ward member Hari Kishore Rai are among those named accused. Rai has been arrested and sent to jail. Sheohar superintendent of police Prakash Nath Mishra said the case had been registered on the basis of a report submitted by officials who conducted an investigation into the construction of toilets under the centrally sponsored Swachh Bharat Mission (rural) and state government-run Lohia Swachhta Yojna schemes. A total of 3,065 toilets were to be constructed for which a sum of Rs 3.67 crore was released duri

US grant on riot alert

The Telegraph  November 10, 2017   The US has announced a $493,827 (Rs 3.2 crore) grant for organisations that can suggest ways to "reduce religiously-motivated violence and discrimination in India". The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor of the US state department has made separate allocations of equal amount for India and Sri Lanka for projects that promote religious freedom. The move is unlikely to go down well with the Indian government and could add to the woes of NGOs working for communal harmony. The India programme is seeking proposals to develop early warning systems to mitigate large-scale violence, conflict mitigation programmes between minority and majority groups, counter hateful public messages and report religious freedom violations. NGOs based in the US and abroad, non-profits, public international organisations (private, public, or state institutions of higher education) and for-profit organisations or businesses can apply.

Income Tax raids on AIADMK mouthpiece Jaya TV after reports of tax evasion

News 18  November 09, 2017 Following reports of alleged tax evasion by AIADMK mouthpiece, television channel Jaya TV, Income Tax officers launched an early morning raid on its premises on Thursday. The Tamil channel is controlled by AIADMK and arrested party leader VK Sasikala, while it was founded by late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. According to sources, the I-T raids started around 6.30 am on Thursday morning. The latest development could have a significant impact on Tamil Nadu politics, with the ruling AIADMK faction engaged in a bitter battle with rebel Dhinakaran and his supporters. Moreover, this is likely to become the opposition’s latest ammo in criticizing AIADMK and its functioning. URL:  http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/current-affairs-trends/income-tax-raids-on-aiadmk-mouthpiece-jaya-tv-after-reports-of-tax-evasion-2433507.html