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Showing posts from July 2, 2019

50 Raids, 18 Cities, 14 Cases: CBI "Special Drive" Against Banking Fraud

NDTV July 02, 2019 PTI The agency teams swooped down at 50 locations in 18 different cities in a coordinated action against the promoters and directors of the companies made accused in the cases in 12 states across the country, they said. The CBI Tuesday launched a special drive in connection with banking scams across the country and registered 14 cases, officials said. The agency teams swooped down at 50 locations in 18 different cities in a coordinated action against the promoters and directors of the companies made accused in the cases in 12 states across the country, they said. "In a countrywide action relating to bank fraud scams/cases, CBI is conducting a special drive today and has begun searches at more than 50 places in 18 different cities in around 12 states/union territories," a senior official said. "A total of 14 cases have been registered against the accused including various companies/ firms, their promoters/directors and bank off

PNB fraud case: Nirav Modi suffers huge blow as Singapore HC freezes kin's bank deposits of Rs 44.41 cr

FIRSTPOST July 03, 2019 The Singapore High Court has ordered freezing of bank deposits worth Rs 44.41 crore kept in that country by Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud-accused Nirav Modi's two relatives as part of a money laundering probe in India, the Enforcement Directorate said on Tuesday. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said the bank account is in the name of Pavillion Point Corporation based in the British Virgin Island, a company "beneficially owned" by Purvi Modi and Maiank Mehta. The two are the sister and brother-in-law of Modi, who is currently under arrest in this alleged bank fraud case in London. The high court had ordered freezing the balance of $6.122 million (Rs 44.41 crore) on the request of the ED on the ground that deposits in the bank account were made from "proceeds of crime" illegally siphoned off by Modi from the PNB, it said. PNB fraud case: Nirav Modi suffers huge blow as Singapore HC freezes kins bank deposits of Rs 44

Withdrawal of US Troops: Taliban Delighted, Afghanistan in Fear

Ask the Truth July 02, 2019 BY ATNEWS The President has recently expressed his desire to pull out the US troops that have been deployed in Afghanistan from a long time. The US officials tried negotiating a deal during the peace talks with Taliban in Qatar on Monday, though they are worried about Afghanistan becoming a base for terrorists and attacking the United States. The US troops have long been struggling to maintain peace in Afghanistan. Their invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 to drive out the then-Talibani organization from power in order to dismantle al-Qaeda brought immense difficulties for the population. It is not the first time that Trump has decided to bring the troops home. He also called for the withdrawal in early February. The longest American war started with Taliban militants’ attack on New York and the Pentagon on the instructions of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. US counterattacked and as a result, around 2,400 US forces died in the conflict. Since

Explained: What changes with J&K Reservation Bill

THE INDIAN EXPRESS JULY 02, 2019 BASHAARAT MASOOD On Monday, Rajya Sabha passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Bill. Passed by Lok Sabha last week, the Bill partially amends a Presidential Order of 1954 in order to amend the state’s Reservation Act. The amendments were earlier effected through an ordinance after these had been approved by the Union Cabinet in February this year. The amendments With the constitutional amendments, the benefits of reservation available to the residents along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) have been extended to residents living along the International Border (IB). This benefits residents in Jammu, Samba and Kathua. Through the Presidential Order, the Cabinet applied the 77th Constitutional Amendment of 1995 to J&K, giving benefits of reservation in promotion to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in government service. The Cabinet also applied the 103rd Constitutional Amendment of 2019 to J&K, which gave 10% reservatio

12 JuD, Jaish members jailed for terror funding

THE HINDU JULY 01, 2019 The anti-terrorism courts in Pakistan’s Punjab province have handed down up to five years imprisonment to 12 members of the banned Jamat-ud-Dawah (JuD) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) on the charges of terrorism financing. According to the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of the Punjab Police, it arrested the JuD and JeM members some time ago on the charges of terror financing and presented them before anti-terrorism courts of different districts of Punjab for trial. “The ATCs sentenced four leaders of JuD — Asghar Ali, Junaid Irshad and Ijaz Ahmad of Rawalpindi and Abdul Khaliq of Rahim Yar Khan — for two years each imprisonment with fines,” the CTD said in a statement here on Monday. The Hafiz Saeed-led JuD is believed to be the front organisation for the Lashkar-e-Taiba which is responsible for carrying out the Mumbai attacks. It had been declared as a foreign terrorist organisation by the U.S. in June 2014. The statement said that eight

View: India has to forge partnerships in developing 5G technology. Can India risk it with China?

THE ECONOMICS TIMES JULY 01, 2019 PRANAB DHAL SAMANTA India is at the crossroads on the 5G question, spoilt for choice at one level, and, yet, not fully  equipped — both technologically and commercially — to shape the global conversation. Then  again, why worry now? After all, the size and reach of the Indian market will eventually even out all  concerns. This approach underestimates both the 5G opportunity & the accompanying challenge. To clear  some basic misconceptions first, 5G is not just another spectrum upgrade, like 2G to 4G. In fact,  the general consensus is that the impact on the mobile phone use experience is not even its  principal fallout. If 4G allows connectivity to 10,000 people per square kilometre, then 5G could  make it three million. But there is no such realistic need. The applications for 5G will be on systems and machines that run facilities — they will allow for the  creation of intelligent hardware that will affect transport, healthcare

Treasury single account gets going; Benami crackdown zones identified

THE DAWN JULY 02, 2019 KHALEEQ KIANI The government has empowered the federal secretaries to have full control over development and non-development funds of their respective ministries and attached organisations and be responsible to surrender all unspent funds to the consolidated fund at least 25 days before the close of fiscal year. This has been done with coming into force of the Public Finance Management Act 2019 as part of the Finance Bill 2019 that also completely binds the ministries and their secretaries not to keep public funds in commercial banks. As such, all funds would remain in the government’s single treasury account and could be withdrawn by principal accounting officers (PAOs) anytime in line with allocations without going through the financial advisors. A senior official explained to Dawn that the new fiscal management regime was a practical beginning of an end to fiscal federalism and would minimise the red tape in implementation of public sector developmen

Satin Creditcare, one of India’s top microlender, seeks $900 million to fund loan growth

THE PRINT JULY 01, 2019 NUPUR ACHARYA Credit ratings of Satin haven’t seen a downgrade by any of the four rating companies as the lender doesn’t rely on mutual funds for financing requirements. One of India’s top micro lenders is seeking about 60 billion rupees ($900 million) from banks and non-bank lenders to fund loan growth as demand from borrowers living in small towns and rural areas bucks the slump in the nation’s overall credit offtake. Satin Credit care Network Ltd., whose assets exceed 70 billion rupees, needs the cash to meet its credit-growth target of about 40% for the year ending March, Chairman H. P. Singh said by phone. Its shares have handily beaten an index of small-cap stocks this year as the lender’s credit profile has remained largely unscathed amid the lingering shadow-banking crisis. Key Comments Not expecting rise in overall funding costs as major part comes as loans from banks and non-bank lenders Credit ratings of Satin haven’t seen a downgr

The Chinese resort in Cambodia that can overnight be turned into a naval base

THE PRINT JULY 01, 2019 COL. VINAYAK BHAT Amid increasing military ties between China & Cambodia, US Vice-President Mike Pence has raised concerns that these facilities could be put to naval use. China has recently leased vast tracts of land along the coast of the Ko h Kong province of Cambodia to turn into a seaside resort. An area of 45,000 hectares — 20 per cent of the coastline — has been leased for 40 years for a paltry annual rent of US $1 million.  A Chinese private company called Union Development Group (UDG) is undertaking the project, named the Dara Sakor Seashore Resort Long Term Project. However, there has also been increased military cooperation between Beijing and Phnom Penh, and the US has  raised concerns , with Vice-President Mike Pence  writing  to Cambodian PM Hun Sen that these facilities could be put to military use.  Paul Chambers, professor of international affairs at the Naresuan University in Thailand, has   claimed   that senior Cambodian of

Govt considering giving more power to RBI to regulate NBFCs: Sitharaman

BUSINESS STRANDED JULY 01, 2019 The government is considering strengthening the Reserve Bank of India’s regulatory and supervisory powers over the non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in the Lok Sabha on Monday. The minister said RBI was closely monitoring the liquidity position of NBFCs and will continue to monitor the activity and performance of the sector with a focus on major entities and their interlinkages with other sectors. 535 cases of fake invoices involving ITC claims of Rs 2,565 crore detected in the current financial year GST officers have booked 535 cases of fake invoices involving a total fraudulent claim of Rs 2,565 crore of input tax credit and arrested 40 persons so far in the current financial year, Sitharaman said. Also, about 2,313 Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana accounts with the public sector banks reported instances of fraud since the financial year 2016-17. Unclaimed deposits in banks rise by 27% to

Iraq moves to limit influence of Iran-backed militias in the country

THE TIME OF ISRAEL JULY 02, 2019 Iraq’s government moved Monday night to control powerful Iran-backed militias in the country, placing them under the full command of the Iraqi armed forces. In a decree, Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi said offices of militias that continue to operate independently within or outside Iraqi cities will be closed and any armed faction working “openly or secretly” against the new guidelines will be considered illegitimate. He said the militias will be subject to the same regulations as the army. The move comes amid US-Iran tensions and follows several unclaimed attacks near US forces or US interests in Iraq.  US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in May told Iraqi leaders during a visit to Baghdad that if they don’t rein in the militias the US will resort to using force, Reuters reported.  According to the report the militias have until July 31 to comply or they will be considered outlaws. The militias fall under the umbrella of Iraq’s Popul

Assam NRC: 1 Lakh Names Excluded in New List, Appeals Till 11 July

THE QUINT JULY 01, 2019 On Wednesday, 26 June, an additional exclusion list – comprising the names of 1,02,462 persons – to the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) was published in Assam.  The names found in this additional exclusion list were included in the draft NRC published on 30 July last year, but they have subsequently been found ineligible. Those who have been newly excluded will be informed individually through Letters of Information (LoI) to be delivered at their residential addresses and such persons will have the opportunity to file their claims at the designated NRC Seva Kendras (NSKs) by 11 July. Their claims will be disposed of before publication of the final National Register of Citizens on 31 July, the release added.  Those whose draft status will change to exclusion in the additional list have reportedly been highlighted there as ‘excluded in additional list’. Those already included in the draft NRC published on 30 July 2018 and not affect