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The Wire By Wire Staff 10/JUL/2018 The only public information about the Jio Institute, now one of six 'institutions of eminence', is a speech by Nita Ambani where she said it would be "a university from the gates of which will emerge our future leaders, musicians, scientists, and Olympians." The news of a Reliance-promoted educational venture – about which there is no information in the public domain – getting clubbed together with the Indian Institute of Science and the IITs of Delhi and Bombay as ‘institutions of eminence’ was astonishing by any yardstick, and true to the Modi government’s style of doing business, was broken on Twitter by HRD minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday afternoon. While the IISc and the two IITs have a stellar reputation and BITS Pilani and the Manipal Academy of Higher Education have a solid track record as teaching institutions, the selection of Jio Institute – a project of Nita Ambani’s Reliance Foundation – raised eye...

rediff.com July 10, 2018  The Facebook-owned company brought out full-page advertisements in leading newspapers as part of their awareness campaign to help users identify and prevent the spread of false information. Under fire over fake and provocative messages being circulated on its platform, WhatApp on Tuesday began an awareness campaign to help users identify and prevent the spread of false information, hoax messages and fake news.  With rumours on Whatsapp triggering lynching in parts of the country, the Facebook-owned messaging service brought out full-page advertisement in leading newspapers, first in the series of its user awareness drive, giving “easy tips” to decide if information received is, indeed, true.  Information-Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had last week asked for greater accountability from WhatsApp, saying that the government will not tolerate any misuse of the platform to spread fake messages designed to “provoke” and “ins...

The Wire By Devirupa Mitra 10/JUL/2018 A weekly round-up of diplomatic matters that went below the radar. Every year, Bhutan’s prime minister gets up in the middle of the year to present the annual report of his government to the parliament as stipulated in the  constitution . This year, was no different. For Tshering Tobgay, it was his sixth and last ‘ state of the union ’ speech before the National Assembly is dissolved in August. With an eye on the elections, the focus of Tobgay’s speech on June 30 was  improvement  in the economy during the 11 th  five year plan, which coincided with his tenure. As expected, the report also dwelled on Bhutan’s foreign policy with the aim of “protecting our sovereignty and security to ensure that we remain independent for all times to comes,” he said. After the customary reference to excellent relations to India, Tobgay then came to China. India obviously gets multiple mentions in the annual reports due to mult...

rediff.com July 10, 2018  Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Tuesday said that his government would not give in easily to India's demand to deport the controversial Muslim preacher Zakir Naik for alleged terror activities and money laundering, according to a media report. Three days after meeting Naik, wanted in India for alleged terror activities and money laundering, the Malaysian prime minister said his government would always ensure it looked into all factors before responding to any demand, the New Straits Times reported. "We do not easily follow the demands of others. We must look at all factors before we respond," Mahathir said in his first public remarks since on Naik since he met the radical cleric on Saturday. "Otherwise, someone will become a victim," the Malaysian Prime Minister said. Responding to questions on Naik, who is has permanent resident status in Malaysia, and India's request to have him extradited, Mahathir ...

The Wire By Swati Chaturvedi & M.K.Venu 10/JUL/2018 The estimates committee, which examines the efficiency of proposed government expenditure, is likely to probe the magnitude of India's bad loans and the issue of wilful default. The estimates committee of the Lok Sabha, which is headed by senior BJP leader, Murli Manohar Joshi, has summoned outgoing chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian, finance secretary Hasmukh Adhia, deputy RBI governor Mahesh Kumar Jain and economic affairs secretary Subhash Chandra Garg over the burgeoning non-performing assets crisis in India’s banking system. In the past, Joshi headed the public accounts committee (PAC), which brought out a scathing report on the 2G scam. The estimates committee, on the other hand, examines the efficiency and usage of proposed government expenditure of taxpayer money. In this context, sources with knowledge of the matter say that Joshi is likely to follow a non-partisan approach in examining the ma...

The Wire July 10,2018 Manoj Joshi The trade war has begun. The US began implementing 25% tariffs on $34 billion worth of goods from the morning of July 6.  US tariffs  on Chinese imports include semi-conductor chips assembled in China, plastics, dairy equipment, motor vehicles, electrical  equipment, oil and gas drilling platform parts, chemicals and lubricants. Earlier, it had put tariffs on washing machines, solar panels, steel and aluminum. In retaliation, Beijing has hit the US with  retaliatory tariffs  on 545 products, targeting goods produced in states that voted for Donald Trump in 2016 – products like soybean, beef, fish, fruits, vegetables, dairy products, bourbon, cotton, tobacco and motor vehicles. This is said to be the biggest tariff application by the US since the  Smoot-Hawley tariffs   which deepened the Great Depression and led to a collapse of world trade, which declined by 66% between 1929 and 1934. The immediat...