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Business Line Dated: March 26, 2019 CBIC also asks officials to keep a close tab on the illicit movement of goods.  Enforcement agencies have swung into action and are keeping a close check on the use of money ahead of the general elections starting next month. Apart from the Income-Tax department, which is monitoring the use of cash, indirect tax officials have also been asked to monitor such developments. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has asked its officials to keep a close tab on the illicit movement of goods, including liquor and gold, across the country.  “All-out efforts should be made to detect and seize illicit currency, liquor, gold, fake Indian currency notes, NDPS, and other contraband items,” the CBIC said in a recent missive to its field officials, adding that strict vigil should be maintained on domestic and cross-border movement of vehicles, trains, private chartered flights, and commercial flights. It has also asked officia...

Counterview Dated: March 27, 2019 World-renowned environmental leader and ecologist Dr Vandana Shiva has expressed concern that Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft Corporation, has joined the bandwagon of “a poison cartel of three" – Monsanto and Bayer, Syngenta and ChemChina, Dow and DuPont – all of whom allegedly have “roots in Hitler’s Germany and finding chemicals to kill people”.  Accusing Gates, known to be one of the world’s biggest IT giants, of being behind the effort to “get cash banned” in India in November 2016, Dr Shiva, who is a recipient of the Alternative Nobel Peace Prize, the Right Livelihood Award, says, the “war on cash” was announced at a time when “90 percent of India’s economy is cash… Overnight, everyone lost their lifetime savings. Everyone was made poor. Everyone was made vulnerable. Demonetization is what it was called…”   Asserting that Gates “did not invent anything”, that his Basic programme “was made by some mathematics professor...

The Times of India March 26, 2019 01 /11 ​RBI's mobile application The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is in the process of developing a mobile application to help the visually impaired identify the denomination of currency notes. 02 /11 ​A committee of experts The central bank constituted a four-member expert committee last month to develop the software. 03 /11 NAB petition The National Association of the Blind (NAB) had filed a petition stating that the new currency notes and coins were difficult to distinguish by touch. The petition also seeked directions to include distinctive features in new coins and currency notes. 04 /11 ​Tactile markers and embossments The new currency notes in India of the denomination of Rs 100 and above have "tactile markers and embossments" to help the visually challenged ascertain the denomination of such notes. 05 /11 ​How much the app will cost The new application, to be availab...

The News Dated; March 27, 2019 Murtaza Ali Shah Britain’s Department for International Fund (DFID) has said that its aid budget to Pakistan has not been utilised for funding madaris – including in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).is A spokesman of the DFID spoke to this correspondent after concerns were raised here through a “leaked” Home Office report that nearly 3,000 British children attend extremist madrassas every year in Pakistan during summer holidays. The report in the Mail on Sunday mentioned that around £2.2 million of the aid given to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by the DFID could have funded the radical madaris. The DFID spokesman told Geo and The News: "All DFID funds that go to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are earmarked for agreed purposes, which do not include funding madrassas. Our funding is audited." The Mail on Sunday claimed that a Home Office report has warned that more than 3,000 British children are being taken to Pakistan each year and enrolled in extremist...

Mail Online Dated: March 27, 2019 By   ABUL TAHER Secret Home Office study says children are taught a 'glorified version of jihad' Some Pakistani parents take their children to madrasas over the summer holiday Officials fear that these madrasas will increase the risk of radicalisation Two of the 7/7 bombers enrolled at madrasas before launching their attack A secret Government report has warned that more than 3,000 British children are being taken to Pakistan each year and enrolled in extremist summer schools. The chilling Home Office study says courses at madrasas teach a 'glorified version of jihad', according to a source. Officials fear some youngsters will be radicalised and return to the UK with a warped ideology and pose a terrorism risk. 'It is highly likely that this education in Pakistan, even for short periods of time, increases the risk of exposure to extremism for British-Pakistani children,' the source told The Mail on Sunday. ...

The Economic times Dated: March 25, 2019 NEW DELHI: Delhi-based lawyer Gautam Khaitan, accused of money laundering charges including in the high-profile VVIP choppers case, has been a beneficiary of Rs 850 crore slush funds generated out of defence deals, the Enforcement Directorate alleged Monday.  The central probe agency filed a prosecution complaint or charge sheet against him before a court here under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).  Khaitan, his family and companies have been charged by the ED for possession of alleged stash and three illegal bank accounts abroad.  The ED said in a statement, "Khaitan held beneficial interest/ownership in foreign assets, company and accounts and he did not disclose the same in his return of income filed before Income-Tax department authorities for assessment year 2009-11 to 2019-20."   It charged that Khaitan holds bank accounts, either individually or in joint names of his family members ...

The Indian Express March 27, 2019 The MPI measures acute poverty and people experiencing multiple deprivations, for example, those who are both undernourished and do not have safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and clean fuel.I India reduced its poverty rate sharply from 55 per cent to 28 per cent in ten years between 2005-06 and 2015-16, according to a new version of the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) developed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI). In India, a total of 271 million (27.10 crore) people moved out of poverty during these ten years, it said.  “The poorest groups in India — Muslims and Scheduled Tribes — reduced poverty the most over the ten years from 2005-06 to 2015-16,” the report said. The multidimensional poverty index is based on a powerful list of 10 deprivations for poor. The dimensions of poverty range from deprivations of health facilities, educati...

The Indian Express Dated: March 27, 2019 By Rahul Triphati The two-day mutual evaluation process by the APG, which started Monday, is separate from an FATF review but will examine Islamabad’s compliance with 40 recommendations made by the global task force. Signalling more international pressure for Pakistan, the Asia/Pacific Group (APG) has expressed displeasure over Islamabad’s lack of compliance with global anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing norms . The APG is an inter-governmental organisation modelled on the lines of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which decided in January to keep Pakistan on its “grey list” for having made only “limited progress” in curbing money laundering and terrorism.  Described as FATF Style Regional Bodies (FSRBs), APG covers 41 jurisdictions, including India and Pakistan. The two-day mutual evaluation process by the APG, which started Monday, is separate from an FATF review but will examine Islamabad’s...