Ouch! This witty ad by Air India will surely hurt IndiGo airlines. 

Union minister Jayant Sinha termed today as "completely bogus" suggestions in 'Paradise Papers' about wrongly transactions by him, saying they were bona fide. 

Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, the Duchess of Cornwall meet PM Narendra Modi.

The elderly ex-servicemen seen crying after being unable to withdraw money in the immediate aftermath of demonetisation has done a u-turn on the government's policy. He had become the face of the woes faced by Indians in the wake of demonetisation.


This morning, as Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi continued his tweeting juggernaut against the drive, in one of his tweets, he quoted a Hindi couplet and said, "Eik aansu bhi hukoomat ke liye khatra hai. Tumne dekha nahin hai aankhon ka samandar hona [Even a single tear is dangerous for the government, because you never know when the drop turns into an ocean]."


What was more notable in his tweet was a picture he attached with it.


The man in the photograpgh is an ex-serviceman, apparently crying in despair standing in a serpentine queue in November last year.Nand Lal, who lives in Gurugram, became the face of the woes people faced in the aftermath of the move.


Well, supposedly.


Lal, while speaking to ANI, made a marked turn-around on such reports and said, "I welcome the government's decision. According to me, this demonetisation drive brought much relief from terrorism. These notes were made in Russia because the country is a friend of India. America is nothing, just a friend of Pakistan."


The army veteran, in another media interaction, had said that he initially faced difficulty in getting cash, but everything soon became smoother.


When asked if it was the right decision, the retired soldier said he would go with whatever the government decides as he has been a serviceman. He added he would abide by every decision of the government.  -- ANI

As demonetisation completes one year, about 36 per cent of wholesalers and retailers in India say that note ban has had high to severe impact on their businesses, as per a report. The survey conducted by wholesale marketplace Wydr said nearly 21 per cent respondents observed over 50 per cent reduction in October 2017 sales as compared to same period previous year. Besides, 27 per cent said their sales had reduced between 20-50 per cent.


A wholesale marketplace covering a range of categories, including fashion, home decor, computers and electronic accessories, Wydr has over 7,500 manufacturers and distributors on its platform and services over 7 lakh retailers in over 16,000 pincodes across 29 states.


The findings are based on poll conducted through retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers engaged in apparel, lifestyle and electronics trade across the country.


"A significant number of businesses has seen direct business impact in the form of reduced sales following the demonetisation announcement, however the overall sentiment remains positive regarding the government's decision," Wydr.in founder and CEO Devesh Rai said.


The survey found that there was no decline in cash sales for majority of the businesses as only 40 per cent respondents said cash sales without an invoice have reduced after demonetisation.


On the other hand, almost 62 per cent of respondents said there was zero to marginal increase in the digital payments and bank transfers after demonetisation.  -- PTI

IndiGo airline today apologised to the government over a brawl between one of its ground staff and a passenger, but maintained that the employee was "doing his work".

Civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju has sought an independent probe by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation after a video surfaced on Tuesday showing an IndiGo ground staff entering into a scuffle with passenger Rajeev Katiyal at the Delhi airport last month.


"At the very outset, let me start off by acknowledging that we were at fault and we not only apologise for the regrettable incident, we have also taken action," IndiGo President and Whole-time Director Aditya Ghosh wrote in a letter to Raju.


He said that he apologised to the passenger on the same day the incident took place and the employees involved were immediately suspended. While giving a chronology of events in the letter, the IndiGo president also backed his employee Juby Thomas who was seen in the video entering into a scuffle with Katiyal.


"He was indeed doing his work and ensuring safety of passengers," the letter said. It said that Thomas was asking Katiyal to move away from a catering lift to "prevent any accident".


However, when the passenger could not hear Thomas, the latter "started shouting in a much louder voice to overcome the very loud ambient noise around the aircraft", which might have been construed as rude by Katiyal, it said.


According to IndiGo, the passenger abused the airline staff and the employee turned around and asked Katiyal why was he abusing. In the video, it is after this argument that things begin to spiral out of control.


Ghosh has included screenshots of the video to explain how the events unfolded last month. The airline also defended its move to sack another ground staff Montu Kalra for shooting the video and said he "instigated the incident".


"The ex-employee, Montu Kalra who was terminated and is claiming to be the 'whistleblower', is the one you can hear shouting in the video and instructing the other two colleagues who were junior to him to prevent the customer from boarding the bus and holding him back at the ramp area itself," Ghosh wrote.


The incident on the Delhi airport tarmac took place on October 15 and the video starts with Thomas asking Katiyal not to abuse. The passenger continues to walk towards the shuttle bus and a voice can be heard asking the ground personnel to stop him.


After this, Thomas can be seen pulling him out of the coach. A second ground personnel Sahiv Sharma indicates to the bus driver to depart to the airport terminal.


A scuffle suddenly breaks out between Thomas and Katiyal. The video doesn't show who made the first move. Sharma tries to restrain the passenger by putting his arms around Katiyal's chest. Katiyal later breaks free from his grip and attacks Thomas and grabs him around his neck. In the ensuing melee he falls onto the ground and Thomas is seen with his hand on the passenger's collar bone.  -- PTI

As air pollution reached alarming levels in the national capital, major city hospitals witnessed a surge in the number of patients complaining of respiratory problems with doctors saying some may develop life-threatening conditions.


While people were seen wearing masks to protect themselves outdoors, there was a spurt in fresh cases in hospitals and conditions of patients with history of asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD) and cardio- vascular diseases deteriorated.


"Patients have started coming to the OPDs with complaints of breathlessness, coughing, sneezing, tightness in chest, allergy and asthma complications. There is about 20 per cent rise in patients seeking treatment due to respiratory and cardiac issues," said AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria, who is a also a renowned pulmonologist.


He, however, said that N95 masks and air purifiers, whose sale has increased in the last few days, may not provide full-time protection and stressed on implementation of long- term measures to tackle the crisis. -- PTI

The DMK today said no politics was involved in Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting the party's ailing patriarch M Karunandihi, and said the former had invited the nonagenarian leader to Delhi for treatment.


Modi, during his day-long visit to Chennai on Monday, had called on Karunanidhi in an unscheduled visit, setting off speculation of a political realignment.


DMK working president and Karunanidhi's son, M K Stalin said he has already clarified that Modi came to meet Karunanidhi with no "political intentions."


Leading a protest in Madurai against the Modi government's note ban implemented last year, Stalin said the meeting between the two leaders on November 6 in Chennai was a "humanitarian" one.  -- PTI

The AAP has approached former Reserve Bank governor Raghuram Rajan offering him a Rajya Sabha seat and might not nominate its own leaders to the Upper House.


An AAP leader, who did not wish to be identified, said the party will not field any of its leaders for the three Rajya Sabha seats from Delhi that will fall vacant early next year.


With its brute majority of 66 in the Delhi Legislative Assembly, a victory looks certain. Apart from Rajan, the party is also looking for an eminent jurist and a known person from the field of social service for the other two seats, the leader said. "We have approached him, but he is yet to revert to us," the leader added. -- PTI

Pradhyumn murder case: The Central Bureau of Investigation seeks six-day custody of the juvenile, a class XI student of Ryan International school, it says killed seven-year-old Pradhyumn Thakur, a student of the same school.

The names of Priyanka Chopra and her mother were removed from the list of Bareilly voters today, 17 years after they left the city for Mumbai, a senior official said. The family of the leading Bollywood heroine left Bareilly after she won the Miss World title.


"The names of Priyanka Chopra and her mother Madhu Chopra have been removed from the voters list," district magistrate Capt. R Vikram Singh said. Their names were present in the voters list of ward number 56.


A local resident had complained about the anomaly after which the authorities asked the block level officer (BLO) to submit a report on the issue. "After receiving the report of the BLO their names have been removed," the DM said. -- PTI

A Kolkata court has given a life term (jail till death) to a Bangladeshi man, who was yesterday convicted of raping a 72-year-old nun in Ranaghat, West Bengal.


The convict, Nazrul Islam and five others were also held guilty of robbery in the case. The verdict was delivered by Additional District and Sessions Judge Kumkum Sinha.


On March 14, 2015, a 72-year old nun at the Convent of Jesus and Mary at Ranaghat in the Nadia district was allegedly gang-raped. The men also decamped with cash and valuables worth Rs 6 lakh.


Noting that the charge of gang-rape was not established, the judge said only Nazrul Islam was found guilty of rape.


All the six were also found guilty of criminal conspiracy for committing dacoity at the convent in Ranaghat.


Read: Ranaghat robbery and rape: 'Nuns had received threatening calls'

Pakistan's anti-graft court today rejected ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif's plea for clubbing together three corruption cases filed against him by the country's anti-corruption watchdog in the Panama Papers scandal.


After the announcement of the judgement, Sharif was indicted separately in each of the three graft cases stemming from the Panama Papers leaks.


Now, 67-year-old Sharif will have to face three separate trials with hearings stretching out for months. The former prime minister pleaded not guilty to all the charges and contented that he was being deprived of the fair trial as the court was moving in a hurry to decide the case in six months as per direction of the Supreme Court.  -- PTI

Lashing out at the Centre, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today said note ban and GST rollout have broken the legs of Surat as he observed a "black day" in the country's textile and diamond hub.


Gandhi interacted with industry representatives and workers at Nirman Industries' loom factory in Katargam industrial development area after he arrived in the Surat city of the poll-bound Gujarat.


"There was an attack on India's economy one year back," he said. "I interacted with the people here and they told me that notebandi (demonetisation) and then GST have broken Surat's legs. The industry has been finished by the twin blows not only here, but in the entire country," Gandhi said.


"The people said that they have been threatened. But truth cannot be suppressed, it will come out," the Congress leader told reporters. He said, "Surat is the place which can compete with China and has been doing it. Jobs will either come to India or China. But instead of helping them, the government has destroyed their strength."


Hitting out at the new tax regime rolled out by the NDA government on July 1 this year, Gandhi said, "We had told (Prime Minister) Narendra Modiji and (Union Finance Minister) Arun Jaitleyji not to implement the GST in this way."  -- PTI

On the first anniversary of the launch of Narendra Modi's demonetisation,  West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee marked the day as a 'Black Day', saying demonetisation was a big scam. She turned her Twitter profile picture black and announced, "I have turned my Twitter DP black #DeMoDisaster. Let us raise our voices #Nov8BlackDay."

She also retweeted yesterday's post on demonetisation on Facebook saying, "The ill-famed #Noteban 8 November is approaching. Demonetisation is a big scam. I repeat, demonetisation is a big scam. If thorough investigation is conducted, this will be proved.


"Demonetisation was not to combat black money. It was only to convert black money into white money for vested interests of political party in power.


"Black money became white fund for them and the country was plunged into darkness.


"No black money could yet be brought out from the foreign accounts. In all practical sense, it yielded big, big zero."


Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi will participate in a candle-light vigil in Gujarat to protest against the 'Black Day', while the government is celebrating the first anniversary of the notes ban as "anti-black money day".

Congress leader P Chidambaram launched a scathing attack on the Centre and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on the anniversary of the note ban decision today, asking whether it was "ethical" to heap misery on millions of people.


No one could deny that lives and jobs were lost due to the note ban, the former Union finance minister said on "demonetisation Black Day".


A day after Jaitley said the demonetisation decision was an "ethical drive and a moral step", Chidambaram took him on in a series of tweets.


"FM says demonetisation was "ethical". Was it ethical to heap misery on millions of people, especially 15 crore daily wage earners?" he asked. The former finance minister went on to ask if it was ethical to destroy 15 lakh regular jobs during January-April 2017 and force thousands of micro and small businesses to close down?


"Was it ethical to give an easy way for converting black money into white as now discovered by Government?" The former finance minister also asked whether it was ethical to damage vibrant industrial hubs like Surat, Bhiwandi, Moradabad, Agra, Ludhiana and Tiruppur.


A year after the demonetisation decision, Chidambaram also launched a frontal attack on the Modi government and said, "On demonetisation Black Day read real-life stories, say a prayer for the millions who suffered." -- PTI

Update on the Delhi smog:

Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said that there should be no compromise with the health of children. All schools including private and government will remain closed till Sunday for all the classes.


The government had yesterday directed that primary schools would be closed today. It had also ordered suspension of outdoor activities for secondary classes. 


The decision came after the Air Quality Index (AQI) touched 448 in a scale of 500, entering 'severe' category. Today, the AQI was worse at 484.

All schools in Delhi will be shut till Sunday in view of high levels of pollution, announces the Delhi government. Delhi deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the air quality was turning worse and primary schools would have to remain closed till Sunday.


A thick layer of smog canopied the national capital earlier this morning leading to hazardous pollution levels.


The air quality index of Delhi's Lodhi Road area fell under 'severe' category with high particulate matter at 10 and 2.5.Various areas, including Dwarka, India Gate, Dhaula Kuan and R.K. Puram are covered with thick smog.In view of rampant air pollution, people at various places in Delhi are wearing masks during morning walk.


School students are finding it hard to commute with fall in visibility and air quality as moisture combined with pollutants shrouded the city in a thick cover of haze.


"I am wearing a mask as my throat is itching because of the smog," Raja, a school student told ANI.


Another student said, "We are facing problems. I have been experiencing itching in my eyes and throat".


In the wake of Indian Medical Association (IMA) declaring "public health emergency" in Delhi due to hazardous pollution levels, experts have warned people to avoid outdoor physical activities like cycling and jogging.


Delhi woke up to a blanket of smog on Tuesday with air quality touching hazardous levels.Air quality index was very severe with high particulate matter at a 2.5 level at many places.


Air pollution poses a major health risk and can cause stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, and chronic and acute respiratory diseases.


According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 92 per cent of the world's population lives in areas where the air quality is below as per its standards.


About 88 per cent of premature deaths occur in the low and middle income countries, where air pollution is escalating at an alarming rate.


Image: People wearing anti-pollution masks as they commute to work today.  PTI Photo by Manvender Vashist

Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, the Duchess of Cornwall, arrive in Delhi and are welcomed by MoS External Affairs VK Singh and the smog. 

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today extended greetings to veteran BJP leader L K Advani on his 90th birthday. In his message, the chief minister "wished Advani good health and a long political life". Kumar served as the Railway Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in which Advani was the Deputy Prime Minister. Advani was one of the founding members of the BJP, whose "Rath Yatra" in 1990 had brought the party into national prominence for the first time. -- PTI

Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar is a 'bad guy' and should be declared a global terrorist, the United States today said as China blocked a bid at the United Nations to list Pathankot terror attack mastermind as a designated terrorist.

Last week, China for the fourth time had blocked a proposal backed by the US, France and Britain to list Azhar as a global terrorist, citing a lack of consensus among the members of the Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council.

The JeM, founded by Azhar, has already been in the UN's list of banned terror outfits.

"We certainly think that he is a bad guy. We would like to have him on that list," State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said at a press conference when asked about China's move.

"There are some committee discussions that are underway over whether to add him or the entity to the sanctions list. That list is confidential under the United Nations, so unfortunately, I am not going to be able to comment on the deliberations at the UN under that," Nauert said.

"I'd have to refer you to the Chinese Government to explain why they voted the way they did, but we certainly think that this guy is a bad guy," she said when asked about China's action.

"We consider the organisation to be a foreign terrorist organisation under the US law," Nauert said.

A veto-wielding permanent member of the Security Council, China has repeatedly blocked India's move to put a ban on the Jaish-e-Mohammed chief under the Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the Council.

China had in August extended by three months its technical hold on the US, France and United Kingdom-backed proposal to list Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN after having blocked the move in February this year at the United Nations.

Notably, China was the only country opposing the designation of Azhar by the Security Council as a terrorist.

All other 14 of the 15 members of the UN Security Council were supporting the bid to place Azhar on the sanctions list that would subject him to an assets freeze and travel ban.

Azhar is accused of several terrorist attacks in India, including one on the Pathankot air force station in January 2016.  -- PTI

Just In: A Delhi court directs Vijay Mallya to appear before it by December 18 failing which he will be declared a proclaimed offender, and starts the process to declare him as one in a FERA violation case.   

Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju on Wednesday summoned all stakeholders in the IndiGo assault issue where an airline staff and a passenger were engaged in a brawl.

Earlier on Tuesday, Raju condemned the IndiGo staff-passenger scuffle and sought a report from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

"We are seeking a report from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Violence of any sort is deplorable and should result in criminal action," Raju said.

A video of an IndiGo staff and a passenger engaging in a brawl at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport surfaced on social media.

The video of the incident, which took place on October 15, shows the duo thrashing and abusing each other.

It also shows the airline staff holding the passenger down by the throat.

A passenger named Rajeev Katiyal, who arrived from Chennai, was waiting for the coach bus when he engaged into an altercation with the IndiGo staff named Jubi Thomas due to a misunderstanding.

The passenger allegedly abused the staff following which they stopped Katiyal from boarding the bus, which was to take him to the terminal.

They then manhandled him and pinned him to the ground by his throat.

Sanjay Bhatia, IGI Airport DCP, confirmed receiving a PCR call regarding the scuffle between the passenger and IndiGo employees on October 15.

IndiGo, however, apologised for its staff's misconduct and said that stern action was taken against the staff under the code of conduct violation.  -- ANI

IMAGE: Screengrab from the video posted on social media.

On the first anniversary of demonetisation, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi dubbed the note ban as a tragedy.

Gandhi further slammed Centre's decision of swapping currency and said that his party stands with those who were hit by Prime Minister Modi's 'thoughtless act'.

Gandhi took to Twitter and said, 'Demonetisation is a tragedy. We stand with millions of honest Indians, whose lives & livelihoods were destroyed by PM's thoughtless act.'

Launching a scathing attack on the Modi government on the note ban anniversary, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said millions of people 'suffered' and no one can deny that lives and jobs were lost due to demonetisation.

The former Union finance minister said on this 'black day, people should read real-life stories and say a prayer for the millions who suffered'.

'Can any one deny lives were lost, small businesses closed and jobs were lost?' he said in a series of tweets.

Chidambaram claimed cash with the public is Rs 15 lakh crore and it is increasing and will soon reach the November 2016 level of Rs 17 lakh crore.

He said how much cash (money supply) there should be, is a decision of the Reserve Bank of India, not the government.

Chidambaram claimed that artificial reduction of cash in circulation is one of the reasons for lower demand and lower growth.

The Congress and others who oppose the policy have decided to observe November 8, the first anniversary of demonetisation, as 'Black Day' across the nation.  -- ANI, PTI

In a major development in Pradhyumn Thakur murder case, a senior student of Ryan International School, Gurugram has been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation, media reports say.

Although the CBI is yet to make an official statement, a report by CNN News18 said the Class XI student has been charged with Indian Penal Code Section 302 (murder).

The report quotes the arrested boy's father as saying that he was detained by the CBI for interrogation last night and later, the agency 'informed him that he's been arrested for murdering' Pradhymn.

An India Today report quotes the boy's father as saying that the CBI told him that 'his son wanted school exams postponed so he murdered Pradyhumn in order to get the school to declare a holiday'.

So far, bus conductor Ashok Kumar was believed to be the one who murdered Pradhyumn. He had confessed to his crime soon after his arrest.

However, the senior student's arrest has now given a new twist to the case.

Reports said the arrested student will be produced in the court today and the CBI is expected to make an official statement on the matter soon. -- Agencies

On demonetisation anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, highlighting the benefits of the same, shared a video from his twitter handle.

The seven-minute-long video underlines the need and importance of ban of high value currency.

The video depicts demonetisation as 'one of the bravest steps' taken by Prime Minister Modi after coming to power in 2014.

The video says that the country was suffering from the menace of corruption and black money before 2014 and the decision of demonetisation was a step to 'clean the Indian economy'.

The video claims the poor and the commoner was not troubled with the decision as they always had faith that an 'honest government' is fighting for them.

The video also claims that 'such a decision was never taken in Independent India'.

The video further claims, that the decision broke the backbone of terrorism and Naxalism in the country and reduced stone pelting activity in the Kashmir Valley.

On this day last year the old Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes -- 86 per cent of currency in circulation -- were scrapped after Prime Minister Modi made an unexpected announcement during a surprise television address.  -- ANI

Bharatiya Janata Party workers celebrate the first anniversary of demonetisation in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency Varanasi. Photograph: ANI

Smog canopied the national capital early in the morning on Wednesday with air quality remaining in the 'severe category'.

Many areas like India Gate, Lodhi Road and others were covered with thick smog with prominent pollutants PM 10 & PM 2.5 in the 'severe category'.

In view of rampant Air Pollution, people at parks were seen wearing masks during morning walk.

Children also wore mask while going to school.

"I am wearing a mask as my throat is itching because of the smog," Raja, a school student said.

"We are facing problems. I have been experiencing itching in my eyes and throat," another student at a school in Teen Murti Road area said.

Smog was also seen in the NCR. Kaushambi in Uttar Pradesh and area around Faridabad's Sarai Metro station in Haryana were covered in smog.  -- ANI

Photograph: ANI

Opposing the upcoming release of Hindi film 'Padmavati', the Bharatiya Janata Party MP of Ujjain, Chintamani Malviya, has said that those like Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the director of the film, only understands the 'language of shoes'.

'People like Bhansali do not understand any other language. People like him only understand the language of shoes. This country will not disrespect Rani Padmavati. We will not tolerate any distortion of our history,' the 48-year-old MP wrote in a Facebook post.

The film has kicked up a row as Rajput organisations in Rajasthan have accused the filmmaker of distorting history.

'I strongly protest and propose boycotting the movie 'Padmavati'. I request my well-wishers not to watch this movie. It is shameful to make such films for the greed of money,' the BJP leader said.

Malviya, who is also the Madhya Pradesh BJP spokesperson, claimed that Bhansali had made the film on the basis of 'incorrect history' written by the court poet of Alauddin Khalji.

'How come filmmakers whose women family members change their husbands every day can understand 'Jauhar'? Mental deformity of Bhansali would not be tolerated in the name of freedom of expression,' Malviya wrote on Facebook.

He told PTI that he had made the remarks in his individual capacity.

Asked about the objectionable language in the post, Malviya said, "If the film industry crosses its boundaries, then it should not be expected that the elected representatives will be within their limits."

Asked if it was justified to appeal to the people to boycott the film before its release, the BJP leader said, "Everyone knows that the movie is based on the epic, 'Padmavat', written by Malik Mohammed Jaysi. The filmmaker (Bhansali) has made the film more imaginative and insulted the tradition of 'Jauhar' by twisting the golden history of the country."

Meanwhile, the Congress demanded Malviya's expulsion from the BJP over the 'offensive' Facebook post and demanded that legal steps be initiated against him.  -- PTI