JUST IN: Congratulations to countrymen on passage of GST Bill. New year, new law, new India: PM Narendra Modi

The Lok Sabha took up Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill for discussion and passage today. 

When two of the best debaters Parliament spar, it's time to listen in.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, who also held the finance portfolio in the UPA government sparred in parliament today over Aadhaar, the biometric identification system that has been questioned over data privacy.

Expectedly, Chidambaram cited the example of the inadvertent leak of MS Dhoni's Aadhar details, and he questioned the government on how it would protect the privacy of transactions, facts and materials.

"The Pentagon is being hacked - what is the guarantee you can prevent the hacking of Aadhaar?" the former finance minister asked in the Rajya Sabha.

"MS Dhoni's wife has complained his Aadhaar number is being made public."

Jaitley quipped, "The Pentagon got hacked even without the Aadhaar. So the hacking doesn't happen because of Aadhaar."

Don't trivialise the question, shot back Chidambaram. "If you don't want to answer, say so."  Jaitley replied that he had a point. "If firewalls are to be breached, they can happen anywhere."

Speaking on Sakshi Dhoni's complaint, the finance minister said "it was immature behaviour on behalf of the person who went there."

Heartbreaking moment for those in Britain who wanted to stay with EU. 

European Council president Donald Tusk receives Brexit notification letter from the UK envoy, triggering the two-year countdown to British withdrawal from EU. Sir Tim Barrow, the UK's permanent representative in Brussels personally handed over a letter from the British government to the European council president, Tusk, to provide notification of Britain's intention to leave the European Union.


UK PM Theresa Mays letter to the European Council in Brussels, announcing the countrys intention to initiate a two-year negotiation process for its departure, was signed on Tuesday night.

The formal notification to the other 27 EU members of Britains intention to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty was signed by May at her 10 Downing Street office.


Image: British Prime Minister Theresa May in her office signs the official letter to European Council President Donald Tusk invoking Article 50 and the United Kingdom's intention to leave the EU on Tuesday in London. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Pool/Reuters

Fueled by the recent violence in Budgam, which witnessed an encounter and incidents of stone pelting, in which three civilians were killed and 60 security personnel were injured, the BJP on Wednesday slammed the separatist leaders for their hypocrisy, saying that they are pushing the youth of the Valley into this conflict while their own children are kept in safe places.

Expressing disappointment over the death of three civilians killed in retaliatory firing by security forces near the site of the Budgam encounter, BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav said the security forces are trying to maintain utmost restraint.


"In spite of huge provocation such as stone pelting, forces are trying to maintain their calm, trying to ward off the agitating groups. But the separatist leaders are the most irresponsible leaders. They are deliberately pushing youngsters of the Valley into this conflict," he told ANI.


Condemning the negative propaganda unleashed from across the border, Madhav said civilians are being provoked using social media channels by the forces from the other side.


"These reactions from the people of the valley are all being orchestrated through concerted social media propaganda from across the border. We appeal to the people of Kashmir that they should maintain calm and they should allow security forces, who are their friends only and not enemies, to allow them to do their respective jobs," he said.

Pic: A man injured in the crossfire with security forces in Budgam yesterday.

Music icon Bob Dylan will receive his Nobel prize this weekend at a meeting with the Swedish Academy in Stockholm, it was announced today. "The good news is that the Swedish Academy and Bob Dylan have decided to meet this weekend. The Academy will then hand over Dylan's Nobel diploma and the Nobel medal, and congratulate him on the Nobel Prize in Literature," Sara Danius, permanent secretary of the Academy, wrote in a blog post.

The Swedish Academy has warned the Nobel literature laureate that he has until June 10 to deliver the traditional Nobel lecture, in order to receive the eight million kronor ($910,000) that comes with the prize.

The lecture, which can take nearly any form including a short speech, a performance, a video broadcast or even a song, must be held within six months of December 10, the date of the Nobel prize ceremony and the anniversary of the death of the prizes founder Alfred Nobel.

No phone conversation has taken place with Bob Dylan in recent months. Dylan is nevertheless aware that a Nobel lecture must be held on June 10 at the latest in order for a payment to be made, Sara Danius, the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, which awards the Nobel Literature Prize, said in a blog post yesterday.

What he decides to do is his own business.

Dylan had skipped the Nobel ceremony in December.

The queues at the designated RBI offices seem to be spilling over as the deadline for exchange of invalid notes by residents who were abroad during the cash ban window draws to a close on Friday.

The anxiety is palpable as people are leaving nothing to chance and lining up at the RBI office in the national capital from the night itself so that they get to deposit the currency next day.

The Reserve Bank has allowed Indian citizens who were abroad during November-December 2016 to exchange the scrapped notes up to March 31 and NRIs up to June 30.

This facility is available at RBI offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Nagpur only. For some reasons or the other, there are several people who have not been able to deposit or exchange the junked notes or have discovered them after the end of the demonetisation period on December 30, who are now making a last-ditch effort.

"Since I am here in India for a short visit, I thought it would be prudent to finish with the RBI work on the first day itself. Therefore, I have come here directly from the airport," Nikhil Kapoor, a US-based NRI, told PTI.

He felt that given the queue, it seems impossible that the currency could be exchanged in a day. Disappointed, Ram Kumar, who works in Dubai, said: "There was no information about Red Channel procedure at the airport and I did not get the Customs certificate. So, I am being turned away after standing in the queue for six hours." He suggested that the RBI should have made arrangements for checking documents of those in the queue so that elimination could be done properly for those not carrying all the papers.

An agitated Kumar said: "This is not black money. It is money that I have earned, so why is the government creating so much fuss?"

Two elderly women Usha, 65, and Sumitra, 80, next to the RBI gate in Delhi, have threatened to commit suicide in case they are unable to get their old notes exchanged. "I have found Rs 41,500 in clothes. The RBI officials are saying they will only exchange the notes of NRIs," Usha said.

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday advised Virat Kohli to let bygones be bygones, a day after India had won a hotly-contested series over Australia in Dharamsala.


"I am sure he [Kohli] will loosen up with time. He should forget what happens with the Australian players on the ground," Ganguly told India Today. "That is competitiveness. But what happens with media and ex-players getting into sledging the opposition captain wasn't right. It is not their job."

Australian captain Steve Smith apologised for letting "emotions slip' during the series, but India skipper Kohli rebuffed the overtures saying he would not treat Australian cricketers as his friends ever again.

Ganguly told India Today, That's the way Australia have always played their cricket from the Steve Waugh days. I don't consider there was bad blood. I consider there was competition. Both Virat and Smith should be happy they could put up a show. Both boards and players should get over it."

Delhi High Court reopens five cases relating to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots which were closed in 1986. The court has found that no eyewitnesses were examined.

Sakshi Singh, MS Dhoni's wife, tweets her thanks, @SaakshiSRawat  Thanks to all the unknown ppl who msged me to warn me about the leak of personal info last evening...#makeindiasecure.

To bring you up to speed, an Aadhaar volunteer's "fan moment" after he prepared cricketer MS Dhoni's Aadhar card has become awkward for the government, with Union Information and Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday saying Aadhar was safe.

At a time when Aadhar is confronting many questions, Dhoni's wife Sakshi drew Prasad's attention to the fact that a tweet featuring an Aadhaar volunteer with the cricketer also included a screenshot of his Aadhaar page, unwittingly making his details public.

With the Twitter exchange redirecting media glare on the scheme, Prasad today asserted that he has assured Sakshi, adding that the excited youth should be made to understand that such things are not repeated.

"Dhoni is not only a cricketer, I consider him as a hero. I respect him a lot. What I have got to know is the man who made the Aadhar got excited to click the Aadhar photo with Dhoni. Personal details have not been revealed. But still, I have assured his wife that this matter will be looked into. Aadhar is fully safe. We want to assure that details of anyone cannot get revealed," he told the media.

In the controversial tweet that has since been deleted, the Common Service Centre had said: "Former India Cricket Captain @msdhoni updated his Aadhaar details with a home visit by a CSC VLE. A fan moment for Ahsan Ali." The minister was tagged in that post.

In a huge win for environmentalists and a cleaner India, the Supreme Court today ordered a ban on the sale of vehicles that do not comply with Bharat Stage IV emission norms from 1 April.

The Court said that that public health is more important than commercial interests.

The Centre had earlier backed auto manufacturers that pleaded they had unsold stock of about 8 lakh vehicles that meet the BS III emission norms and were therefore not compliant with IV. 

The auto manufacturers had suggested the government deadline for 1 April 2017 was for stopping manufacture of BS III vehicles, and not their registration. The manufacturers had also argued companies were allowed to sell their stocks with old emission norms when new technology was introduced in 2005 and 2010.

But the apex court brushed aside this argument, going by the Bhure Lal-headed Environment Protection Control Authority's report that BS IV vehicles had 80 per cent lower particulate emissions as compared to the previous version.

Two suspected ISIS operatives approach Delhi court pleading guilty. Court issues notice to NIA for April 10.

Supreme Court orders that BS-III vehicles will not be sold from 1 April onwards. Rejects plea by govt and automakers to let them sell existing stock.

For Malaysia's Prime Minister Dato' Sri Mohammad Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak, who arrives in Chennai on Thursday on a two-day visit before going to New Delhi to break bread with his counterpart Narendra Modi, the ultimate priority is meeting Tamil actor Rajinikanth.

Najib Razak, as the Prime Minister is commonly known, and his wife Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor have put in a request for meeting the actor whose 2016 blockbuster Kabali was shot almost entirely in Malaysia with only a few scenes in Chennai, Hong Kong and Bangkok. Malaysia's first couple became Rajinikanth fans during the actor's long stay in Malacca for the production of Kabali. Read more

African nationals meet SSP Dharmendra Yadav over the suspected racial attacks by locals in Greater Noida, Gautambudh Nagar on Tuesday. PTI Photo.

Another attack on Africans in the the national capital.

A Kenyan woman on her way to college in an autorickshaw was stopped, pulled out of the auto and thrashed by unknown men, who fled thereafter. The incident occurred at Knowledge Park in Greater Noida. The woman was admitted to Kailash Hospital, but discharged shortly thereafter.

This is third attack since Monday on Africans in and around Delhi.

In one attack, which has been caught on mobile video, a Nigerian student was beaten with steel dustbins, kicked and punched by a large mob inside a mall in Greater Noida near Delhi. The attacks began with a protest march in Greater Noida over the death of a Class 12 student, which turned violent.

The protesters alleged that Nigerians supplying drugs were the reason the boy died, although a drug overdose has not been confirmed. During the march, the protesters spotted three Africans near a shop and attacked them brutally.

File pic

GST Bill debate in Lok Sabha, Congress leader and former union law minister M Veerappa Moily counters:

-- GST is unprecedented, transformative measure.
-- The anti-profiteering clause of GST is far too draconian.
-- The legislation is unprecedented and a game changer enactment intended by UPA government, it should have been enacted earlier but some of the then Opposition parties had some reservations.
-- We have to rise above politics over the issue.
-- Several years have already been lost in bringing this bill.The country has already lost Rs 10 lakh crore due to delay in implementing GST Bill.
-- What you have brought today is not a game changer but only a baby step
-- All Rajya Sabha members should resign as it is the biggest assault on Indian federal structure of the country.
-- This law will be a technological nightmare.
-- Some provisions of the legislation will increase redtapism.
-- There are too many tax rates. It is not one nation, one tax.

And in Lucknow, UP CM Yogi Adityanath moves into his official residence at 5, Kalidas Marg.

What does the former resident of 5, Kalidas Marg think about the new government? Read Akhilesh Yadav's interview with Archana Masih on Rediff.com.

Meanwhile, UIDAI blacklists centre that leaked Aadhaar receipt of cricketer MS Dhoni for 10 years, further inquiry on: UIDAI CEO.

The agency which helps Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) enroll citizens for Aadhar had over enthusiastically shared the personal details of ace cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni on social media.

Union Law and Information and Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who was informed about the breach by Dhoni's wife Sakshi on Twitter, was prompt to act.

The gist of what the FM said in Parliament as he moved four GST bills for consideration in the Lok Sabha.

-- It is a revolutionary bill which will benefit all.
-- 12 meetings of the GST council were held to make it a process based on consensus and recommendations.
-- UTGST law will take CGST law into consideration and implement in UTs; SGST is a mirror of CGST, will handle GST in states.
-- GST will put an end to tax differences, GST Bill will end tax terrorism. -- It will ensure free movement of goods across country.
-- States have pooled in their sovereignty into the GST council, and Centre has done the same.
-- GST rate structure of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent proposed.

Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi in Lok Sabha as the Finance Minister speaks on GST as is PM Modi.

The debate on the GST Bills has begun in the Lok Sabha. Union Finance minister Arun Jaitley speaks. The government wants the bill passed today. The Speaker has allotted seven hours to debate the bill which has been tabled. Following Jaitley, the Congress' M Veerappa Moily will speak.

RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat says he is not in the Presidential race. With President Pranab Mukherjee's term drawing to a close, BJP ally Shiv Sena had proposed Bhagwat's names to the the Narendra Modi government.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said Bhagwat in the country's top post, would usher in a 'Hindu Rashtra'.

"It is the highest post in the country. Somebody with a clean image should occupy it. We have heard Mohan Bhagwat's name is being discussed for President.


"If India has to be made a 'Hindu Rashtra', Bhagwat will be a good choice for President. But the decision (to support his candidature) will be taken by Uddhavji," he told reporters.

Bhagwat, however, said today he was not in the running.

In Arunachal Pradesh, preparations are on to welcome the 14th Dalai Lama at Tawang. On April 5, the fourteenth Dalai Lama will address a large crowd of Buddhists at the Yidiga Choedzin in Tawang town. Thousands of Buddhist Monpas are eagerly waiting to see their spiritual leader speak, a man considered a living god, but China has viewed the visit as a provocation. Pic: AIR. 

Writer-historian Ramachandra Guha Tuesday tweeted that he had been getting "identical threat mails' warning him not to be critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP.

Guha, 58, claimed that the mails also warned him against criticising BJP president Amit Shah.

"Many people/ids sending identical mails warning me to 'get ready for punishment (sic) by Divine Mahakal' for being critical of the BJP," he tweeted.

"I am also warned not to criticise Narendra Modi and Amit Shah who 'are blessed & divine' chosen one by Divine Mahakal to change the world',' he said.

Calling themselves 'Divine Indian', the sender of the mail/s also told Guha not to compare Modi with Indira Gandhi and Amit Shah with Sanjay Gandhi, while calling the BJP leaders "Divine chosen ones'.

"Before writing such blogs, comparing Mr Modi and Indira Gandhi, or Amit Shah and Sanjay Gandhi' You should understand the differences between them. Who are you to think, and write that way."You need to first understand the meaning of Divine chosen, and blessed by divine,' the mail read.

It also warned Guha "not to compare or insult' and "maintain the dignity of blessed persons."

The historian, however, told PTI that such mails were a "routine affair' and it was "nothing serious."

India's chief economic adviser rejected the notion that official data was politically influenced as "utter nonsense", after surprisingly strong growth in the wake of a government ban on high denomination bank notes caused raised eyebrows among independent analysts.

Speaking to an investment forum in Hong Kong on Wednesday, Arvind Subramanian said India was seeking to improve its methodology, and its data should not draw the same scepticism with which some analysts treat China's economic data."Let me say this categorically to all the investors and I am not batting on behalf of the government here," he told the annual Credit Suisse Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong.


Many analysts were surprised that a slowdown in growth during the December quarter was not as bad as they had expected following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision in November to outlaw 500 and 1,000 rupee banknotes in a radical move against tax avoidance and corruption in the cash-reliant economy.


The decision sucked 86 percent of cash out of circulation, and everyone from street hawkers to big consumer goods firms suffered a slump in sales.


With data on commercial vehicle output, rail freight, service tax receipts and home appliance sales showing slowing growth or contraction, economic expansion in the quarter to December was forecast by economists at 6.4 percent.


Instead, the official data showed the economy grew 7.0 percent, enough for India to retain the title of the world's fastest growing major economy even though it was slower than the 7.4 percent growth posed for the September quarter.


Getting economic growth up to 8-10 percent is essential for job generation in India, Subramanian said, adding that boosting private sector investment remains a challenge.He told the investor conference that there was a need for more direct investment in the manufacturing sector. -- Reuters

Army chief General Bipin Rawat, hands over seven horses gifted by India to the Nepal Army. The army chief is on a four-day official visit during which he is likely to call on the country's top leadership and hold talks on stepping up bilateral defence cooperation.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed the plea of Yogendra Yadav-led Swaraj India challenging the Election Commission's decision to not allot the common symbol to contest upcoming municipal corporations elections.

An agency which helps Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) enroll citizens for Aadhar has over enthusiastically shared personal details of ace cricketer MS Dhoni on social media.

Union Law and Information and Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who was informed about the breach of security by Dhoni's wife Sakshi on Twitter, was prompt to promise action.

The agency's Common Services Center (CSC) has posted a tweet yesterday through its handle @CSCegov saying "Ace cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his family get their Aadhaar updated at VLE Mariya Farooqui's CSE at Ranchi, Jharkhand".

Prasad was tagged in the tweet. It included a photograph of the cricketer with a CSC representative and another of his personal details on what appeared to be the Aadhaar website. The tweet with the details was later deleted.

"Is there any privacy left? Information of Adhaar card, including application, is made public property," Sakshi tweeted.

Prasad, while thanking Sakshi for bringing up the issue to his notice, said, "sharing personal information is illegal. Serious action will be taken against this".


Image: MS Dhoni gets his biometric identification done by the UIDAI employee who later tweeted the details.

A meat market in Lucknow, once teeming with customers, wears a deserted look now as meat vendors have gone on strike to protest against the crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses by the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh.

"The meat sellers are piqued over the crackdown on slaughter houses which has adversely hit the livelihood of lakhs of people," said Mubeen Qureshi, an office-bearer at Lucknow's Bakra Gosht Vypar Mandal, was quoted as saying.

Rediff.com takes you through the deserted meat markets of Lucknow for a look-see.

Just in: the government asks Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to take up the GST Bill for passing without the Question Hour. The GST debate is likely to begin at noon and go on for seven hours.

Four Bills related to the Goods and Services Tax will be debated in the Lok Sabha. The government needs to ensure that these bills are approved by Parliament in the current Budget session to be able to meet a July 1 deadline for the launch of GST, a unified tax regime that subsumed a slew of indirect taxes at the centre and in states.

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley will speak first, followed by former union minister M Veerappa Moily representing the Congress.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called a meeting of his council of ministers to brief them about the Bills.

The nomination papers for election of the Speaker of new assembly in Uttar Pradesh will be filed today.

The election will be held tomorrow. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has not yet announced its nominee for the post but name of senior party leader Hridaya Narayan Dixit is round the corner for the post.

A total of 319 members of 403-member house took oath yesterday.

The oath was administered by Protem Speaker Fateh Bahadur and four other MLAs nominated by the Governor, Seven members took oath in Sanskrit including Anupama Jaisawal, a member of the Yogi Council of Ministers.

First of all, Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi took the oath followed by his cabinet colleagues.

"So, let's get some facts straight: I agree and I accept that nepotism is a reality, that it exists. Nepotism is a result of easy access to an exceptional resource. I acknowledge that my father was a producer and that made my first film, even the idea of it, possible. But let's also not forget that I started as the son of a producer with five failures behind him. I entered the world of films as AD (Assistant Director) to a first-time director (and yes, it wound up being DDLJ, but we didn't know that then!). But still, even if I didn't recognize it as access at the time, that's what it was."

Read

"These people are not concerned about Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian -- they are only concerned about being in power," Akhilesh Yadav tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih in his first interview after the election results. Must read

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Washington later this year and US President Donald Trump looks forward to hosting him, White House said on Tuesday in an indication of the continuing bonhomie between the two nations under the new administration.  The White House said Trump spoke with Modi to congratulate him on the outcome of recent state-level elections. Trump expressed support for Modi's economic reform agenda.

As Jammu and Kashmir is again facing turbulence after three civilians were killed by the security forces during a stone pelting incident, defence expert Uday Bhaskar on Wednesday urged the Centre to chalk out a political solution to end the current crisis in the valley.

Asserting that, pacifying the situation in Kashmir will prove to be a tough task for the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government, Bhaskar said absence of a quick political initiative would give Pakistan an opportunity to defame India.


"The Prime Minister Modi-led Government has very serious challenge. Because after the spectacular victory especially in Uttar Pradesh, I think there is a lot of expectation that certain political initiatives will again be pursued, because absence of such initiatives, we can see a familiar pattern, will give Pakistan opportunity to go to town and cite this example as a human rights violation," said Bhaskar.

Bhaskar also condemned the stone pelting incident stating that any Indian citizen, however aggrieved, should never engage in stone pelting.

Three stone pelters were killed in retaliatory firing by security forces near the Budgam encounter site in the Kashmir valley yesterday.

The stone pelters were seen attacking the forces while a gun-battle was underway with terrorists, during which they were killed.

At least 17 stone pelters have been injured in the firing by forces.

The security forces had launched a search operation following a tipoff about the presence of terrorists, which then became an encounter.

Meanwhile, railway services will remain suspended throughout Kashmir today in the wake of volatile situation.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has made a fervent appeal to the locals of the Valley to not pose as an obstruction in the path of security forces while they are combating terrorists.

Further briefing about the Budgam encounter, Kumar said that the obstruction by the locals made their operation even more difficult, as they were forced to divert their attention from the militants.

Sources have held Pakistan responsible for the Budgam violence. They said that Pakistan is to be blamed for the recent spree of encounters that are happening in the state.

The Kashmiri locals are being tormented and brain washed by the separatist leaders of Pakistan and Kashmir and it is the Army and the Paramilitary Force that are protecting and safeguarding the people there, while the Centre and state government are monitoring the situation, sources added.


Image: The body of one of the three men killed during clashes with security forces during the encounter at Budgam. Pic: Umar Ganie

In a unique gesture, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan will on Wednesday present footballs to all MPs of both Houses of Parliament at a function near the Gandhi statue at Parliament.

The Lok Sabha Speaker will do this as a part of the mass awareness programme launched by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to reach out to children to create football fever.

Sports Minister Vijay Goel yesterday came to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Parliamentary meet with a football to promote FIFA-U17 World Cup.

Kolkata's iconic Salt Lake Stadium will stage the final of the FIFA U-17 World Cup on October 28, while Navi Mumbai and Guwahati have been selected to host the semi-finals of the prestigious tournament which India is hosting for the first time.

Following a week-long inspection tour of the six venues chosen for the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017, and with less than 200 days to go until the footballing talents of the future compete on the pitch, FIFA and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) have announced the tournament schedule.

The tournament will start in New Delhi and Navi Mumbai with the first double headers being held on October 6, while the four quarter-finals will be held in Goa, Guwahati, Kochi and Kolkata.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Mann Ki Baat on March 26 had mentioned about the FIFA U-17 World Cup and said that it would bring football to the forefront and encourage youngsters to take up sports

United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday signed the letter that will trigger Britain's exit from the European Union.

The letter, giving official notification to other 27 European Union members that Britain has invoked Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, will be delivered to European Council President Donald Tusk by British ambassador to the EU Sir Tim Barrow on Wednesday.

It sets the clock for a two-year negotiation process for Britain's relationship with the EU as a non-member.

Unless that time-frame is extended, Britain will have left the economic bloc by March 29, 2019.

May is scheduled to chair a cabinet meeting today before making a statement in the House of Commons confirming the countdown to the UK's departure from the EU has begun.

She will promise to 'represent every person in the whole United Kingdom' during the negotiations, including EU nationals, who are worried about their future following Brexit.

The UK has said it wants an 'early agreement' to guarantee the rights of EU citizens living in the country and those of British nationals living abroad.

It follows a referendum in June 2016 in favour of Brexit. -- PTI

British Prime Minister Theresa May in the cabinet office signs the official letter to European Council President Donald Tusk invoking Article 50 and the United Kingdom's intention to leave the EU on Tuesday in London. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Pool/Reuters

A 37-year-old man has been arrested and charged with attempted rape and assault after he attacked a woman inside a Gurudwara in the US state of Oregon.

Timothy Walter Schmidt was intoxicated and was walking by the Sikh house of worship in the Oregon town of Gresham Sunday night.

He asked to use a restroom at the Gurudwara and was allowed inside. When Schmidt came out of the bathroom, he saw a 26-year-old female temple member inside the building and attacked her, a report in Fox 12 Oregon said.

According to Detective Adam Baker, a temple member heard the commotion and pulled Schmidt off the woman and held him down until police arrived.

Schmidt was lodged into the Multnomah County Jail and charged with assault, coercion, attempted rape, sex abuse and unlawful use of a weapon.

Rights group 'The Sikh Coalition' said it was 'grateful' to Gresham law enforcement officials for arresting the accused.

JUST IN: Terrorists opened fire outside house of a senior police officer in Khudwani area of Kulgam district in Jammu and Kashmir.

No reports of any damage .

United States President Donald Trump is proposing immediate budget cuts of $18 billion (Rs 1.20 lakh crore) from programmes like medical research, infrastructure and community grants so American taxpayers, not Mexico, can pay for the border wall envisaged by him.

The White House documents were submitted to the Congress amid negotiations over a catchall spending bill that would avert a partial government shutdown at the end of next month, the American media reported.

The latest Trump proposal, disclosed on Tuesday, would eliminate $1.2 billion (Rs 8,000 crore) in National Institutes of Health research grants, a favourite of both parties.

The community development block grant programme, also popular, would be halved, amounting to a cut of $1.5 billion (Rs 10,000 crore), and Trump would strip $500 million (Rs 3,350 crore) from a transportation project known as TIGER grants.

Like Trump's 2018 proposed budget, which was panned by both Democrats and Republicans earlier this month, the proposals have little chance of being enacted.

But they could create bad political optics for the struggling Trump White House, since the administration asked earlier for $3 billion (Rs 20,000 crore) to pay for the Trump's controversial US-Mexico border wall and other immigration enforcement plans.

During the campaign, Trump repeatedly promised Mexico would pay for the wall, a claim the country has disputed. -- Agencies

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order rolling back Obama-era rules aimed at tackling global warming.