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Indian Express April 14, 2019 PTI A whopping 99.8 per cent of donations received by political parties was through electoral bonds of the highest denominations — Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 crore — between March 2018 and January 24, 2019, revealed data obtained under the RTI Act. Donors purchased bonds worth Rs 1,407.09 crore, of which Rs 1,403.90 crore were in the highest denominations of Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 crore during the period. Social worker Chandrashekhar Goud shared the data received from State Bank of India (SBI) through an RTI query. The donors bought 1,459 electoral bonds of denomination of Rs 10 lakh and 1,258 bonds of Rs one crore denomination. They purchased 318 bonds of Rs one lakh, 12 bonds of Rs 10,000 and 24 bonds of Rs 1000 denomination, according to the RTI reply. Electoral bonds worth Rs 1,395.89 crore were redeemed by the parties. Gaud had also asked the bank how many parties redeemed the bonds and worth how much money, but the SBI did not disclose it, sayin...

The Print April 14, 2019 THE PRINT TEAM The controversial report that claimed Pakistan fighter pilots were trained on Dassault Rafale jets, which India has purchased from France, originated in an Egyptian news website called Seventh Day ( Youm7 ), said a column in  Business Today   Sunday. The report, carried by the US portal Aviation International News (AIN), had triggered concerns in the Indian security establishment with its claim that Pakistan Air Force pilots participating in an exchange programme with Qatar, a recent Rafale buyer, had received training on the jets. Cairo-based Youm7 offers news from Egypt and West Asia. In 2015, a columnist in  The Guardian  had described Youm7 editor Khaled Salah as “an unlikely jihadist” in an interview that traced his transformation from being a jailed radical to “running Egypt’s only digital-first newspaper”. Roots of the row The controversy over Pakistani pilots having access to Rafal...

Economics Times April 15, 2019 Paul Mozur The Chinese government has drawn wide international condemnation for its harsh crackdown on ethnic Muslims in its western region, including holding as many as 1 million of them in detention camps.  Now, documents and interviews show that authorities are also using a vast, secret system of advanced facial recognition technology to track and control the Uighurs, a largely Muslim minority. It is the first known example of a government intentionally using artificial intelligence for racial profiling, experts said.  The facial recognition technology, which is integrated into China’s rapidly expanding networks of surveillance cameras, looks exclusively for Uighurs based on their appearance and keeps records of their comings and goings for search and review. The practice makes China a pioneer in applying next-generation technology to watch its people, potentially ushering in a new era of automated racism.  The...

WHO April 13, 2019 At a global forum on fair pricing and access to medicines, delegates from governments and civil society organizations called for greater transparency around the cost of research and development as well as production of medicines, to allow buyers to negotiate more affordable prices.  The forum, co-hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Government of South Africa, aimed to provide a global platform for frank discussion among all stakeholders - including governments, civil society organizations and the pharmaceutical industry – in order to identify strategies to reduce medicine prices and expand access for all. The affordability of medicines has long been a concern for developing countries, but today it is also a global one. Each year, 100 million people fall into poverty because they have to pay for medicines out-of-pocket. High-income countries’ health authorities are increasingly having to ration medicines for cancer, hepatitis C an...

The QUINT April 15, 2019 In an effort to pacify the large Sikh diaspora in the country and bowing to pressure after several agitations, the Canadian government has removed a reference to Sikh and Khalistani extremism in its 2018 report on terrorist threats. The ‘2018 Public Report on the Terrorism Threat to Canada’ had been heavily criticised by the Sikh community in Canada, with several pressure groups threatening the government with dire consequences in its election year. According to The Tribune, “the Leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) and newly-elected MP Jagmeet Singh along with the NDP Public Safety Critic Matthew Dube had even shot off a letter to Canadian PM Justin Trudeau”. In the letter, Singh expressed concern over: “...the inappropriate labelling of the two communities without any sufficient evidence or basis by way or using terms such as “Shia”, “Sunni” and “Sikh” which, according to him, was relating these all communities to terrorism.” The Tribune  h...

Indian Express April 15, 2019 by Aakash Joshi Munir Akram, a former Pakistani ambassador to the UN, lays out in an article in Dawn on April 14 the many hurdles to peace in South Asia, of amity between Indian and Pakistan. He first says that the recent crisis in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack was a “baptism by fire” for the  Imran Khan  government and adds: “In the event, the Pakistani leader emerged as a responsible statesman while Modi exposed himself as a rash warmonger.” But Akram disagrees with the Pakistan PM’s assertion that if re-elected,  Narendra Modi  will be strong enough to engage meaningfully with Pakistan. The crux of his argument is that in the current global geopolitical scenario, with the US and China ranged against each other in a “new Cold War”, “peace is difficult”. He argues: “A new Cold War is underway between the US and China. The Washington ‘establishment’ views India as an essential ally in its global competition with China. Aft...

Business Line April 06,2019 In a move that is expected to bring relief to small organic food producers, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has decided to relax certification norms for small original producers or producer organisations with an annual turnover of up to ₹12 lakh till April 1, 2020. According to the regulations, all organic food sold in the country needs to be certified either under National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) or Participatory Guarantee System for India (PGS-India). The food safety authority has now directed State food safety officers to consider the organic food regulations as “Enabling Regulations” and not for prosecution — particularly for small original producers and producer organisation during the initial phase of its implementation till April 1, 2020. “Provision of direct sales of organic food to the end consumer by the small original producer/producer organisation having an annual turnover of organic pr...

The Hindu April 06,2019 Despite good ties in several other spheres, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is disappointed that the government has completed its term without renegotiating a bilateral “air services agreement” that would allow more Gulf airlines into India. In an interview to The Hindu, UAE Ambassador Ahmed Al-Banna said it was “unlikely” that the negotiations, which have been pending for more than five years, would be held until after the elections now, meaning a further delay of several months. “We are not satisfied at all,” Mr. Al-Banna said. “This is a major issue. Our carriers and so many passengers are suffering due to this delay. I have been trying to hold a meeting on this, [but without success].” The issue had been raised most recently at the Global Aviation Summit in Mumbai in mid-January, and was brought up by the UAE government during External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s visit to Abu Dhabi for the joint commission meeting in December 2018. ...

Financial Express April 11, 2019 IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath has become the latest to weigh in on the controversy surrounding India’s actual GDP growth, after a recent letter by 108 economist raised concern and sparked a debate on the credibility of official data. “There are still some issues with the way India calculates its growth rate and the IMF is paying close attention to the new numbers that are coming out,’’ Gita Gopinath said to CNBC in a recent interview. India, being touted among the fastest growing economies, is also an aspiring nation with one of the youngest populations in an aging world. However, the official growth numbers have come under severe criticism from time to time as the growth rate does not resonate with the situation on the ground, according to various experts. READ ALSO: Rs 1.8 lakh single Zomato order, crossing rivers to deliver food; eventful year at popular food app Although Gita Gopinath welcomed the changes made to the method ...

Business line April 09, 2019 A sustained rally in cotton prices following weak crop prospects has started getting reflected in cottonseed prices as well, making cattlefeed (cottonseed cake) and edible oil (cottonseed oil) costlier. According to ginners, cotton seed prices have jumped about 25 per cent within a month’s time — from ₹2,400 a quintal in March to ₹3,000 now. “We typically see cottonseed prices rising near the end of the season, around July. But this time, the prices have started going up now and may further go up, making cattlefeed and cottonseed oil costlier,” said Bachubhai Antrolia, a ginner in Manavadar, Junagadh district. After the ginning process, cotton fibre is separated from the seed and the seed is then processed to make cake and oil. Cottonseed yields about 85 per cent cattlefeed or cake and about 15 per cent oil. According to Antrolia, a sharp increase in cotton prices has resulted in pricing disparity, and the units have had to trim their opera...