LIVE! No new window for NRIs to deposit demonetised currency: Swaraj

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Wed, 27 September 2017

No new window for NRIs to deposit demonetised currency: Swaraj

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23:36 No new window for NRIs to deposit demonetised currency: Swaraj

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has ruled out any new window of opportunity for NRIs or people of Indian-origin to deposit their high value Indian currency which was declared illegal after the demonetisation

policy, a statement said.

Swaraj made these remarks during her interaction with a delegation of Global Organisation for People of Indian Origin during her trip to New York last week, a media statement said.

"Swaraj informed that the government had provided the time window for NRIs who are Indian citizens to deposit their currencies earlier. However, that window was not open for diaspora Indians with foreign citizenship and the government would not be able to provide another such chance," the GOPIO statement said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his demonetisation policy on November 8 last year, banning old currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 denomination.

According to GOPIO, overseas citizens of India and people of Indian-origin are still holding demonetised currencies as the Reserve Bank of India did not allow them to deposit them.

"Diaspora Indians have close to Rs 7,500 crores still lying with them in small amounts. What should the NRIs do with the old currencies?" GOPIO asked.

During the meeting, GOPIO delegation said that NRIs did not have Aadhaar card for linking with their bank accounts.

"Swaraj clarified that NRIs won't require Aadhaar card to operate their bank accounts," it said.

GOPIO suggested that Indians citizen living anywhere in the world have an Aadhaar card similar to all US citizens having a social security number, whether staying in America or outside. -- PTI

23:17 Panama Papers: ED may summon Bachchans

The Enforcement Directorate has received replies from actor Amitabh Bachchan and his family members to notices issued to them in connection with its probe in the Panama Papers case and they could be summoned soon, officials said.

Officials in the anti-money laundering agency said they had issued notices to the Bachchan family some time back asking them to explain their foreign remittances since 2004 under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme of the RBI.

They said the Enforcement Directorate has now received their replies to the notices issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act.

"The replies have been received. They could be soon summoned as part of the probe," sources said.

Amitabh Bachchan's name had cropped in the Panama Papers case which is also being probed by the Income Tax Department. The taxman is probing Bollywood megastar's offshore remittances.

Dubbed as Panama Papers, an investigation of a stockpile of records from Panamanian legal firm Mossack Fonseca by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalist had named several world leaders and celebrities who had allegedly stashed away money abroad in offshore companies. The documents had surfaced last year.

A jawan of the Border Security Force was shot dead by terrorists who barged into his house in Jammu and Kashmir's Bandipora district on Wednesday evening.

Three family members were also injured in the attack.

News agency ANI reports that Rameez Ahmad Parray had taken voluntary retirement from the BSF.

More details are awaited.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister has claimed that a proposal was made to swap Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav for a jailed terrorist in Afghanistan, who was responsible for the horrific 2014 Peshawar school attack.

"The terrorist who killed children in APS (Army Public School) in Peshawar is in Afghan custody. The National Security Advisor told me that we can exchange that terrorist with the terrorist you have, which is Kulbhushan

Jadhav," Khawaja Muhammad Asif told a New York audience yesterday.

The minister made this claim in response to a question during his appearance at the Asia Society.

However, he did not specify the name of the terrorist or the NSA he was referring to.

Jadhav, a 46-year-old retired Indian Navy officer, was in April sentenced to death by Pakistan's Field General Court Martial on charges of his alleged "involvement in espionage and sabotage activities" against Pakistan.

Asif said Pakistan has suffered grievously from conflict and instability in Afghanistan.

"Unless this cycle is reversed, we would continue to bear the brunt. No country, therefore, has a larger stake in seeing peace and stability return to Afghanistan than Pakistan. Regrettably, the situation in Afghanistan is getting worse," he said.

Asif said there is no military solution to Afghanistan. Pakistan has in the past done all it could to facilitate a political settlement.

India has accused Pakistan of violating the Vienna Convention by repeatedly denying consular access to Jadhav.

In a hearing of the case on May 18, a 10-member bench of the ICJ restrained Pakistan from executing Jadhav.

Pakistan has said that the Indian national would not be executed until he has exhausted his mercy appeals.

The Pakistan Taliban had claimed responsibility for the horrific Peshawar school attack in 2014 in which nearly 150 people, mostly school children, were killed.

Pigeons are capable of switching between two tasks as quickly as humans and even more faster in certain situations, despite their small brains, a study suggests.

Researchers performed behavioural experiments to test birds and humans and found that the cause of the slight multitasking advantage in birds is their higher neuronal density.

"For a long time, scientists used to believe the mammalian cerebral cortex to be the anatomical cause of cognitive ability; it is made up of six cortical layers," said Sara Letzner from Ruhr-University Bochum in Germany.

In birds, however, such a structure does not exist.

"That means the structure of the mammalian cortex cannot be decisive for complex cognitive functions such as multitasking," said Letzner, researcher of the study published in the journal Current Biology.

The pallium of birds does not have any layers comparable to those in the human cortex, but its neurons are more densely packed than in the cerebral cortex in humans.

Pigeons, for example, have six times as many nerve cells as humans per cubic millimetre of brain, researchers said.

The average distance between two neurons in pigeons is fifty per cent shorter than in humans, they said.

As the speed at which nerve cell signals are transmitted is the same in both birds and mammals, researchers had assumed that information is processed more quickly in avian brains than in mammalian brains.

They tested this hypothesis using a multitasking exercise that was performed by 15 humans and 12 pigeons.

In the experiment, both the human and the avian participants had to stop a task in progress and switch over to an alternative task as quickly as possible.

The switchover to the alternative task was performed either at the same time the first task was stopped, or it was delayed by 300 milliseconds.

In the first case, real multitasking takes place, which means that two processes are running simultaneously in the brain, those being the stopping of the first task and switching over to the alternative task.

Pigeons and humans both slow down by the same amount under double stress.

In the second case -- switching over to the alternative task after a short delay -- the processes in the brain undergo a change.

The two processes, namely stopping the first task and switching over to the second task, alternate like in a ping-pong game.

For this purpose, the groups of nerve cells that control both processes have to continuously send signals back and forth.

The researchers had assumed that pigeons must have an advantage over humans because of their greater nerve cell density. They were, in fact, 250 milliseconds faster than humans. -- PTI

The Election Commission has disqualified former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda from contesting polls for three years for failing to properly file election expenses.

More details are awaited.

The Centre today extended the deadline for obtaining Aadhaar for availing government schemes and subsidies by three months to December 31.

The extension is, however, only for those who are yet to apply of Aadhaar, an order issued by the ministry of electronics and information technology said.

As many as 135 schemes (of 35 ministries) including the free cooking gas (LPG) to poor women, kerosene and fertiliser subsidy, targeted public distribution system and MGNREGA will be covered by the extension.

The government had previously made quoting of Aadhaar necessary for availing government benefits and subsidies like those on cooking gas LPG. Those who did not have Aadhaar were asked to procure the unique identification number by September 30.

This deadline has now been extended till December 31, the order said.

"As a result of the review of welfare schemes covered and to provide the benefits of such schemes to all eligible beneficiaries of the scheme, it has been decided to further extend the stipulated date in all such notifications up to December 31, 2017," the order said.

The extension would also apply for Employees' Pension Scheme of 1995, scholarships, housing subsidy benefit, stipend to SC/ST trainees for coaching guidance and vocational training, stipend to handicapped, Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana, national apprenticeship and skill development schemes, crop insurance schemes, interest subvention scheme, scholarship and fellowship schemes, various education programmes such as mid-day meal for children and Atal Pension Yojana.

"It is hereby clarified that this extension shall only apply to those beneficiaries who are not assigned Aadhaar number or those who have not yet enrolled for Aadhaar. Such beneficiaries are required to enroll for Aadhaar by December 31, 2017 and provide their Aadhaar number or enrolment ID," it said.

A source said that there will be no denial of services in the interim period. -- PTI

In a major 'festive bonanza' for Mumbaikars, the railways has decided to add 100 new train services to the financial capital's train network from October 1.

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal will make the announcement on September 29 during his visit to his home state of Maharashtra, senior railway officials told PTI.

On October 1, the Western Railway will run 32 new services, while on October 2, the Central Railway will start 28 such services. Sixteen new services will be started on November 1.

By January 31, 2018, the national transporter aims to run 24 more services on the Central Railways. Thus, a total of 100 new services will be underway in the next four months -- 68 on the Central Railway and 32 on the Western Railway, officials said.

During his last trip to Mumbai, the railway minister had promised that his ministry was working to augment suburban services with new trains.

Spread over 465 kilometres, the suburban railway in Mumbai is the oldest railway system in Asia. It operates 2,342 train services and carries more than 7.5 million commuters per day.

The Mumbai Suburban Railway system is operated by the Railways' two zonal divisions of Western Railways and Central Railways.

Latching onto former Union Finance Minister and BJP leader Yashwant Sinha's critical comments on the state of economy, MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi today attacked the NDA government for its handling of the economic situation.

"Whatever he (Sinha) has said in that article is completely true. I don't know why did he stop at not blaming the prime minister himself. It is the prime minister who is leading this government," he told reporters.

Not only Sinha, even BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and political commentator S Gurumurthy have also criticised the NDA government for its handling of economy, Owaisi said.

"Secondly, not only Yashwant Sinha, even Subramanian Swamy has said that the economy is heading towards depression. Then you have this, one of the core supporters of the RSS, Gurumurthy also criticising that the economy is going to shake," the Hyderabad MP said.

Owaisi said the "responsibility" now lies with the prime minister himself "that because of his wrong policies, the economy is going down".

Various economic parameters have portrayed a negative picture of the economy, he claimed.

"You have all private sector, important people saying that economy is doing very bad. Private sector cannot grow in the next two years. The construction industry is down. Exports...the government does not have money to pay Rs 55,000 crore back to exporters.

He alleged that despite low oil prices, the government has increased central excise duties.

"Every sphere of economic activity is in doldrums. The responsibility solely lies with honourable Prime Minister," he said.

In a newspaper article headlined, "I need to speak up now", Sinha criticised incumbent Finance Minister Arun Jaitley over what he called the "mess the finance minister has made of the economy". -- PTI

The Karnataka Cabinet today cleared the much-awaited anti-superstition bill to prevent and eradicate "inhuman evil practices" and said it would be tabled in the next state assembly session for approval.

The legislation was earlier proposed as The Evil, Inhuman and Superstitious Practices Prevention Bill. After omitting the word superstitious, it is now titled The Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Bill, 2017.

"The Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Bill, 2017 has been approved by the Cabinet. It will be tabled in the next session, most probably early November," Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T B Jayachandra told reporters.

He said the bill had been prepared keeping in mind the suggestions made by progressive thinkers and organisations.

The Cabinet had earlier discussed the bill under the title The Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Bill.

It had in July referred the legislation to a cabinet sub-committee headed by Revenue Minister Kagodu Thimmappa, citing that most of the ministers wanted the bill to be studied in detail before coming to any decision.

Expressing helplessness over government's repeated inability in bringing his pet "anti-superstition" bill into effect, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had earlier blamed "vested interests" for it.

The government was under pressure from civil society groups to bring in an anti-superstition bill after the murder of rationalist M M Kalburgi.

Stating that there were provisions to make any addition or deletion from the proposed bill, Jayachandra said, "It will come to force once gazetted, and there are provisions to also amend or alter it thereafter."

He said the proposed bill was similar to the one in Maharashtra, but the Karnataka bill has 'savings' and 'schedule' categories, which classify the practices that can be tolerated and those that need to be controlled or prohibited.

"For removal of doubts, nothing in the act shall apply with respect to the forms of worship mentioned under the heading 'savings' in the proposed act, like pradakshina, yatras, parikramas performed at religious places, among other normal practices," the minister said.

The ED has summoned former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav and his mother Rabri Devi in connection with its money laundering probe in a railway hotels allotment corruption case dating back to the UPA rule,

officials today said.

They said Tejashwi, son of RJD chief and former Union minister Lalu Prasad, has been asked to be present before the investigating officer of the case on October 10.

Lalu's wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri has been summoned a day after on October 11. She was earlier summoned twice by the Enforcement Directorate in this case but she is understood to have sought more time to appear.

The case dates back to the time when Lalu was the railway minister in the UPA government.

The central probe agency is expected to record their statements under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, under which it had registered an FIR against members of Lalu Prasad family and others sometime back.

The Enforcement Directorate had earlier questioned a few people in this case including the wife of former UPA minister P C Gupta.

The agency had taken cognisance of a CBI FIR in this regard to initiate its own criminal complaint.

In July, the Central Bureau of Investigation had registered a criminal first information report and conducted multiple searches against Lalu Prasad, who is also a former Bihar chief minister, and others.

The ED will investigate the alleged "proceeds of crime" generated by the accused, purportedly through shell companies, officials have said.

Rabri, Tejashwi and others will be probed by the agency under charges filed in the Enforcement Case Information Report, the ED equivalent of a police FIR.

Others named in the CBI FIR include Vijay Kochhar, Vinay Kochhar (both directors of Sujata Hotels), Delight Marketing company, now known as Lara Projects, and the then IRCTC managing director P K Goel. -- PTI

The BBC today named Indian women's cricket team captain Mithali Raj as one of the most influential women in India.

Mithali is currently the highest run-getter in ODIs and also led the team to the ICC Women's World Cup final in England, where they lost to the hosts.

The list has been inspired by the BBC 100 Women Challenge, which will be held in Delhi from October 9-13 where a team will look at the female illiteracy.

Other places hosting the 100 Women Challenge are: Silicon Valley from October 2nd-6th where a group will tackle the glass ceiling; safety on public transport will be the focus for the London and Nairobi team from October 16th - 20th; and finally from October 23rd -27th women in Rio will consider sexism in sport.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister has acknowledged that Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, the Haqqanis and the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. are "liabilities" for the country but it does not have the required "assets" to get rid of them.

Khawaja Asif said that the United States, which is putting pressure on Pakistan to tackle terrorist groups operating from its soil, once used to treat them as "darlings" just 20 to 30 years back.

US President Donald Trump had last month criticised Pakistan for its support to terror groups, saying it receives billions in US aid but continues to harbour militants.

"Don't blame us for the Haqqanis (the Haqqani terror network) and don't blame us for the Hafiz Saeeds (chief of Jamaat-ud-Dawa terror group)," Khawaja Asif said at the Asia Society forum in New york on Tuesday.

"These were the people who were your darlings just 20 to 30 years back. They were being dined and wined in the White House and now you say go to hell Pakistanis because you are nurturing these people," he was quoted as saying by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan.

It is very easy to say Pakistan is floating the Haqqanis and Hafiz Saeed and Lashkar-e-Tayiba. They are liabilities, Asif said.

"I accept that they are liabilities, but give us time to get rid of them because we don't have the assets to match these liabilities and you are increasing them (our liabilities) further," the minister said.

Pakistan is ready to work with the US for effective management of the Afghan border to stop terrorist infiltration and to facilitate a peace settlement in Afghanistan, he said. -- PTI

United Nations General Assembly President Miroslav Lajcak has said that he will look into how to deal with the use of erroneous pictures, days after Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN used a photo to portray an injured Gaza girl as a Kashmiri pellet gun victim.

Exercising her right to reply hours after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj blasted Pakistan for its support to terrorism, Maleeha Lodhi, on the floor of the UN General Assembly on Saturday, held up a photograph of a woman whose face was peppered with alleged pellet gun wounds.

"This is the face of Indian democracy," Lodhi had claimed.

The picture of 17-year-old Rawya abu Joma'a of Gaza, an alleged victim of an Israeli attack, was taken by award- winning American photo journalist Heidi Levine in 2014.

When asked if he would like to set some sort of factual baseline when people make use of a wrong photograph, Lajcak said, "I will certainly think about it".

At the same time, he said it was a matter of diplomacy.

"It is not for me to answer. It's for the delegations that are involved. I want to use but not misuse my position as President of the General Assembly," he said.

India on Monday said Pakistan had tried to mislead the UN General Assembly by displaying a fake picture to spread falsehood about the country.

Former finance minister and Congress Party senior leader P Chidambaram addresses the media on a day when BJP's Yashwant Sinha slammed his government for wrecking the economy in column for the Indian Express. Highlights.

-- Congress has exposed many weaknesses in the economy and the terrible mismanagement.

-- But we are happy that Mr Yashwant Sinha has echoed our criticism (of the Govt).

-- Congress has, for nearly 18 months, highlighted these very grave weaknesses in economy. We were told, in effect, to shut up.

-- As I travel around the country, what I hear is "Achhe din to aaye nahi, ye bure din kab jaayenge?

-- My appeal to all, especially those knowledgeable about economy, is to speak & write without fear; Darr ko chhod do.

-- The govt is clueless on the economic decline. How long will it hide behind rhetoric of the PM and slogans of the party?

The BSE Sensex tanked 440 points to end at over three-month low of 31,159.81 due to across the board selling by investors ahead of the expiry of September derivatives and weakness in the rupee amid mixed global cues. Extending its falling streak for the seventh straight session -- the longest losing streak since December 22 -- the 30-share index fell by 439.95 points, or 1.39 per cent, to settle at 31,159.81 as RIL, HDFC, HDFC Bank, ITC, SBI and L&T dropped. This is the weakest closing since June 30 when it had settled at 30,921.61.

The house arrest of Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed has been extended by another month by authorities in Pakistan's Punjab province, saying his activities pose a threat to the peace and tranquillity in the country.

Saeed, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief, has been under house arrest since January 31 this year. The Punjab Home Department yesterday issued an order extending the house arrest of Saeed and his four aides - Abdullah Ubaid, Malik Zafar Iqbal, Abdul Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Hussain - for another 30 days with effect from September 25. The previous order to extend his house arrest was issued on July 28.

On January 31, Saeed and four others were put under house arrest by the Punjab government for 90 days under the Anti- Terrorism Act 1997. In its latest order, the Punjab Home Department said, "...Jamaat-ud-Dawah and Falah-e-Insaniat have planned to spread chaos in the country on their expected release. They have planned to make demonstrations under the leadership of Saeed. He will be portrayed as hero and his acts will be glorified."

The notification said that Abdul Rehman Makki, who is the central leader of the JuD, had been making preparations for his release "Transport is being arranged, arms are also being collected for show of force and for use, if need to be, against the personnel of law enforcement agencies. Funds are also being used collected for the purpose. The liberty of Saeed is a continuous threat to the peace and tranquillity. Further recommendation for his detention is in the interest of peace and order."

The notification further said that the District Intelligence Committee Lahore separately said: "There is apprehension that Saeed shall create law and order situation upon release." -- PTI

Palestine joined Interpol as a member state on Wednesday, a move opposed by Israel, in a vote at the international police organisation's general assembly in Beijing, Interpol said.

"The State of Palestine and the Solomon Islands are now Interpol member countries," an Interpol tweet read.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry, which said earlier that Israel's efforts to delay a vote until next year had failed, had no immediate comment on the decision. -- The Independent.

Cabinet briefing by Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi. The union cabinet met at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 7, Lok Kalyan Marg official residence this morning. Highlights of the press conference with the home minister and Union Minister Ravi Shankar Pradad.

-- An umbrella scheme for police modernisation approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security with an investment of Rs 25,060 crore for 2017-18, 18-19, 19-20.

-- An additional allocation of Rs 100 crore has been provided for North East
for police infrastructure upgradation, training institutes, investigation facilities.

-- Retirement age of Central Govt. doctors, other than Central Health Service doctors, to be increased to 65 years.

Union min Ravi Shankar Prasad: Cabinet approves permanent transfer of land measuring 1899 sq mtr at Lucknow Intl Airport by AAI to Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation.

-- Approved signing by EXIM Bank, of inter bank local currency credit line agreement & cooperation memorandum related to credit ratings.

-- Cabinet approves signing of India-Ethiopia Agreement on cooperation in Information, Communication and Media.

Update on the Army manoeuvre against NSCN-K rebels.

The Army inflicted "heavy casualties" on the insurgent NSCN(K) group during "retaliatory" fire along the India-Myanmar border in the early hours of the morning, the Eastern Command said today. Indian troops suffered no casualties, officials maintained.

According to a statement by the Eastern Command, a column of the Indian Army operating along Indo-Myanmar border was fired upon by unidentified insurgents of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K) at about 4.45 am.

"Own troops reacted swiftly and brought down heavily retaliatory fire on insurgents. The insurgents then broke contact and fled from the spot. As per inputs, a large number of casualties were suffered by the insurgents. Own troops suffered no casualties," the statement added.

It also asserted that Indian troops "did not cross the international border". Army sources maintained that it was "not a surgical strike".

The Eastern Command also tweeted, "Reports of casualties to #IndianArmy personnel factually incorrect. Firefight occurred along Indo-Myanmar border at 0445 hrs today @adgpi." In June 2015, the Army had conducted a similar operation against banned insurgent groups following the killing of 20 soldiers in Manipur. -- PTI

15:17

FAQ: What is NSCN-K? Who is SS Khaplang? Read

15:10

The statement released by the Indian Army, Eastern Command.

15:07 Naga terrorists killed in army ops along India-Myanmar border

The Indian Army today inflicted "heavy casualties" on NSCN(K) (Naga terrorists) in a pre-dawn counter operation along the Myanmar, the Eastern Command said today. "Indian security forces" suffered no casualties, it said.

"Heavy casualties reportedly inflicted on NSCN(K) cadre. No casualties suffered by Indian Security Forces," the Eastern Command said in a tweet.

Two years ago, the army attacked separatist rebels just over the border with Myanmar in a rare cross-border strike that the government said showed its resolve to fight terrorism beyond the country's borders. The raid was carried out in retaliation for the killing of 20 soldiers in an ambush in Manipur.

File image.

Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani on Wednesday said that data is the oxygen of a digital economy, and Indians have it in super-abundance.

Hailing India as one of the biggest telecom markets in the world, while addressing the Indian Mobile Congress 2017 (IMC) at Pragati Maidan in Delhi, Ambani said that data is a 'vital life-sustaining resource' which should be provided to all Indians at the most feasible cost.

"The fourth industrial revolution, fuelled by connectivity, data and Artificial Intelligence has begun. Data is the oxygen of a digital economy. We cannot deprive Indians of this vital life-sustaining resource. Data is the new oil, which does not need to be imported. We have it in super-abundance," Ambani said.

Highlighting the achievements of the Indian telecom industry so far, Ambani claimed that in the next 10 years, India will grow from a USD 2.5 trillion to a USD 7 trillion economy and rank among the top three economies in the world. Further, he also stated that 4G network is projected to surpass 2G network in the next 12 months.

"The pace at which the Indian Mobile Industry has grown is unparalleled in the world. India leapfrogged from 155th in mobile broadband penetration to being top mobile data consumer in the world in last one year," he said.

Further, he highlighted the need of the hour to be the presence of internet for all Indians at affordable prices.

"India must tap the potential of new technologies to transform and create jobs in rural and agricultural sector. India must embark on the task of connecting everything and everyone via super Internet of Things," he said.

Meanwhile, Aruna Sundarajan, Secratary, Telecom Ministry said India can be transformed into a manufacturing hub and global telecom leader, adding that 'Make in India' can aid the employment generation drive.

IMC 2017 is jointly organised by the COAI and K AND D Communications Ltd. -- ANI

Former Finance Minister and senior BJP party leader Yashwant Sinha's lacerating criticism of the government's handling of the economy provided Rahul Gandhi perfect fodder.

The Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi has tweeted a taunt from Gujarat. ""Ladies & Gentlemen, this is your copilot & FM speaking. Plz fasten your seat belts & take brace position. The wings have fallen off our plane," Gandhi tweeted as he shared Yashwant Sinha's critique in the Indian Express newspaper.

Sinha has squarely blamed Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for what he has says is the "mess" the economy is in.

Rahul Gandhi has built his recent attacks against the government around the economic slowdown, accusing it yesterday of taking important decisions like demonetisation and the GST roll-out "without listening to anybody," decisions which, he said, "affected the backbone" of the country's economy.

Yashwant Sinha, who was finance minister in the BJP-led government of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has expressed concern at growth slowing, private investment shrinking, and has, much like Rahul Gandhi assessed last year's notes ban "to be an unmitigated economic disaster".

Ashok Choudhary, who has been ousted from the post of the Bihar Congress president yesterday, said that the expulsion was "insulting".

"I welcome the decision of the party but I don't deserve the way I was insulted and expelled from the party. I don't want to leave the party but don't have a choice," he told ANI on Wednesday.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday relieved Ashok Choudhary from his post as Bihar PCC chief with immediate effect.

According to the sources, the leaders of the party were unhappy with Ashok for dwindling prospects in the state and discontent among party cadres.

Earlier in September, a faction of the Bihar Congress, led by state president Ashok, gave a miss to the anti-BJP rally in Bihar.

He also did not go to Delhi on being summoned by party vice-president Rahul Gandhi for a meeting to discuss the crisis in Bihar after the collapse of the Grand Alliance. -- ANI

Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa will visit Afghanistan this week to hold discussions with his counterpart in Kabul and the Afghan leadership, including restarting the process of peace talks with the Taliban.

General Bajwa is expected to meet with senior Afghan officials in Kabul. The Afghanistan government is expected to use the visit to reiterate its call to Pakistan to take action against terrorists having safe havens in Pakistan, Tolo News quoted MoD spokesman Dawlat Waziri, as saying. -- ANI

The Centre for Equity Studies, run by former IAS officer Harsh Mander, has been served an income tax notice for 'complete scrutiny' of its returns.

The institute received a notice under Section 143 (2) of the Income Tax Act for scrutiny of its I-T returns for the assessment year 2016-17 on September 20.

Mander is currently visiting various states where lynchings have taken place in recent months as part of the initiative, Karwan-e-Mohabbat or the caravan of love -- which he has described as a journey of love, atonement and solidarity. Mander took to Twitter to state that there was a link between the I-T notice and his run-in with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ideologue Rakesh Sinha on national TV recently.

Mander speaks to Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf about his yatra and the income tax notice. Read more

Image: Harsh Mander interacting with the public in Delhi during his Karwan-e-Mohabbat yatra, as part of which he covered Assam, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Delhi, Western UP, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

12:46 Rocket attack near Kabul airport

JUST IN: Rocket lands near Kabul airport after US Defense Secretary James Mattis arrives.

According to sources, a number of rockets landed, causing flights to be cancelled and the airport to be evacuated.

More details awaited.

12:38 Record September rains lash Bengaluru

Life was disrupted as torrential rains lashed the city since last night till early today, as also several other parts of the state.

Areas such as Krishnarajapuram, Nelamangala, Koramangala and surrounding areas in the city received more than 180 mm rain. Krishnarajapuram alone received 196 mm rain.

"It is a record for September that on a single day there was more than 180 mm rain whereas the average rainfall in September alone is 212 mm.. The highest record for this month in the past was 516 mm.. I think that record will be broken," said Srinivasa Reddy, director, Karnataka Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre.

Many trees were uprooted, lakes breached their banks, and houses were inundated as rains pounded the city.

The waste weir of Dodda Bidarakallu near Nelamangala was swept away and water gushed into many areas including a poultry farm killing 10,000 poultry birds, officials said.

In Koramangala in the city, many houses, a petrol pump and a Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation bus depot were inundated.

Roads were flooded in Madivala and HSR Layout, almost a repeat of July 2016 flooding.

This is despite a massive demolition drive last year to remove the encroachment of storm water drain in Avani Sringerinagar on Bannerghatta Road, Shubh Enclave and Yelahanka.

The city civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) was flooded with complaints.

Housing Minister M Krishnappa with Mayor G Padmavathi and other BBMP officials toured around the rain affected areas including Attiguppe where the compound wall of a building collapsed, damaging many cars.

No loss of human life has been reported so far in the city.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has granted visa to a seven-year-old Pakistani girl from Karachi for undergoing an open heart surgery in India.

The minister, responding to the girls mother Nida Shoaib, who appealed for help, tweeted, We also pray for her early recovery.

Shoaib, who said her application was pending since August, has posted the visas scanned copy on her Twitter handle.

Earlier in June, the minister had helped a four-month-old Pakistani child Rohaan for undergoing surgery for a heart ailment.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has met with his Cuban counterpart to express his profound concern over the safety and security of its diplomats in Havana after mysterious ailments affected 21 American embassy staff. The meeting came amid concerns over the unexplained incidents that have harmed the staff -- some with ailments as serious as traumatic brain injury.

The ailments may have been caused by a sonic wave machine or other high-pitched sound bombardments.

"The conversation was firm and frank and reflected the United States' profound concern for the safety and security of its diplomatic personnel," the State Department Spokesperson, Heather Nauert said after the meeting between the two diplomats in Washington DC.

"The Secretary conveyed the gravity of the situation and underscored the Cuban authorities' obligations to protect US Embassy staff and their families under the Vienna Convention," Nauert said.

Earlier in the day, Nauert told reporters that as many as 21 Americans have been medically confirmed as having been affected by incidents in Cuba which began in late 2016. After the meeting, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said Havana has been conducting its own investigation into the incidents, on orders from "the top level of the Cuban government," the Washington Post reported.

But it said Cuba so far had found no evidence pointing to the cause or origin of the health disorders that have affected Americans connected to the embassy, the report said.

"Nevertheless, it said measures had been taken to protect diplomats still stationed in Havana and their families, without specifying what they are," it said. "It would be regrettable that a matter of this nature is politicised and that hasty decisions not supported by conclusive evidence and investigation results are taken," Rodriguez said. -- PTI

The union cabinet is scheduled to meet at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 7, Lok Kalyan Marg official residence this morning.

According to sources, the cabinet is likely to take up key issues such as the next steps to be taken in the Ujwala Scheme, when to roll out the next phase of economic policies and give approval to the extension of Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian' term by a year.

During the meeting, the cabinet may also take a call on the recent article written by senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha.Sinha, a former finance minister, has criticised the NDA Government's economic policies in an article he penned for the Indian Express.

In the article, titled 'I need to speak up now', Sinha said that demonetisation had proved to be an "unmitigated economic disaster" and that the GST was a "badly conceived and poorly implemented" havoc.

He introduced the strongly-worded article, saying, "I shall be failing in my national duty if I did not speak up even now against the mess the finance minister (Arun Jaitley) has made of the economy." -- ANI

No matter what power does, ultimately truth will prevail, said senior Congress leader and former finance minister P.Chidambaram on Wednesday after senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led Central Government's economic policy.

Sinha, a former finance minister, hogged the limelight and started trending high on social media this morning, after he criticised his own government for sinking economy, in an article he penned for The Indian Express.

Taking to Twitter, Chidambaram said, "Yashwant Sinha speaks Truth to Power. Will Power now admit the Truth that economy is sinking?" "ETERNAL TRUTH: No matter what Power does, ultimately Truth will prevail," he added.

In the article, titled 'I need to speak up now', Sinha said that demonetisation proved to be an "unmitigated economic disaster" and that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was a "badly conceived and poorly implemented" havoc.

He introduced the strongly-worded article, saying, "I shall be failing in my national duty if I did not speak up even now against the mess the finance minister has made of the economy."Sinha further said that the economy is on a downward spiral and many in the BJP do not dare to speak up against it out of fear, adding, "Arun Jaitley is considered to be the best and the brightest in this government. It was a foregone conclusion before the 2014 elections that he would be the finance minister in the new government."

Sinha further took on BJP president Amit Shah for citing 'technical' reasons for slowdown in the GDP rate and wrote, "Even the SBI, the largest public sector bank of the country, has stated with unusual frankness that the slowdown is not transient or "technical", it is here to stay and the slowdown in demand has only aggravated the situation. It has openly contradicted what the BJP president said just a few days ago that the slowdown in the last quarter was on account of "technical" reasons and will be corrected soon."

On that note, the figures of the first quarter of fiscal 2017-18, released last month, showed the GDP growth rate falling at 5.7 percent, while in the concurrent period last year, the GDP was soaring ahead at 7.6 per cent.

-- ANI

11:07 7 trains rescheduled after this derailment

16 coaches of a goods train derailed near Nergundi station in Cuttack early Wednesday morning, affecting the rail traffic bypassing the district.

The fertilizer-laden goods train, which was coming from Gangavaram Port, and was on its way to Haibargaon, derailed at around 4.00 am near Nergundi station. As a result, all UP and Down trains via Naraj and Kapilas Road bypassing Cuttack are diverted.

Some passenger trains, like Hatia-Puri Tapaswini Express and Secunderabad-Howrah Special, had to be diverted through Naraj and Kapilas Road, while trains like Bhadrak-Bhubaneswar Passenger, Bhubaneswar-Brahmapur passenger, Brahmapur-Bhubaneswar Passenger, Cuttack-Bhadrak passenger and Bhadrak-Cuttack passenger had to be cancelled.

The Rajdhani Express, however, will continue to go via Naraj.

11:01 Yogi sniffs conspiracy in BHU protests

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said the recent incidents in the Banaras Hindu University smacked of a "conspiracy' as prima facie reports suggest the role of anti-social elements.

A number of students, including women, and two journalists were injured in a baton-charge by the police in BHU where a protest on Saturday night against an alleged eve-teasing incident turned violent.

An inquiry has been ordered into the violence on the campus.

The Chief Minister told reporters that those involved in spreading anarchy on the campus will not be spared at any cost.

"Prima facie investigation suggests it is a conspiracy by anti-social elements,' he said. Adityanath said the proctorial board of the university should have taken timely measures to ensure that the trouble did not escalate.

He suggested better communication between students and vice chancellors of central universities to prevent such incidents.

On alleged baton-charge on journalists, he said action will be taken immediately after getting the final report.

Hitting back at opposition parties, he said the law and order situation in the state has improved even though his political opponents were spreading canard against the government.

The violence on the campus had erupted after some students, protesting against the incident on Thursday, wanted to meet the varsity's vice-chancellor at his residence. -- PTI

It may not have been possible in the gory and violent world of "Game of Thrones" but Jon Snow and Yrgitte are engaged to be married in real life. After a huge amount of speculation, an official announcement has been published in the Times newspaper, confirming that actors Kit Harington and Rose Leslie are set to be married.

The news was published under the 'Forthcoming Marriages' section of the national daily which read, "Mr KC Harington and Miss RE Leslie...

"The engagement is announced between Kit, the younger son of David and Deborah Harington of Worcestershire, and Rose, middle daughter of Sebastian and Candy Leslie of Aberdeenshire."

The couple met while filming "GOT" in 2012, where they played on-screen lovers Jon and Ygritte. They had been rumoured to be in an on-again, off-again relationship. They only made their public debut as a couple at last year's Olivier Awards. Harington and Leslie moved in together in mid July this year. -- PTI

10:22

Cabinet meeting to be held at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, at 10:30 am today.

10:10 Sensex surges 198 pts, Nifty regains 9,900 level

The Sensex rose 198 points and the Nifty recaptured the 9,900 mark in the opening trade today after buying in realty, oil and gas and banking stocks paced up. Speculators were busy covering up short positions ahead of the September derivatives contract expiry tomorrow, which added to the upward move. The BSE 30-share barometer went up 197.70 points, or 0.62 per cent, to 31,797.46.

The gauge had lost 824 points in the previous six sessions, in line with a general weakness across the globe fuelled by escalating worries about Korean peninsula.

Sectoral indices led by realty, oil and gas, consumer durables, auto and banking were in the green, adding up to 1.65 per cent. The NSE Nifty was also higher by 49.55 points, or 0.50 per cent, to trade at 9,921.05. -- PTI

10:08 Kashmir wakes up to Pak firing

The Pakistan Army on Wednesday violated ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Bhimber Gali sectors, along the Line of Control. They initiated unprovoked and indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars at around 8 am, to which, the Indian Army is retaliating strongly and effectively.

The firing is still on.

In another incident, a minor explosion took place in a garbage dump near a bus stand in Srinagar's Pantha Chowk today.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Indian Army are investigating cause of the blast.Yesterday, the Indian Army foiled an infiltration bid by Pakistan near Keran sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district. -- ANI

10:01 Where thought is the foe

"Where the mind is without fear/ And the head is held high/ The whole world is by the side/ Of Narendra Modi..."

The Bengali version rhymed, and was perhaps the only Amit Shah-welcome verse that scanned. The normally terrible versifiers of the Bharatiya Janata Party surpassed themselves because this was one poem that Narendra Modi had endorsed on May 7 this year, Tagore's birth anniversary, when the prime minister expressed his respect for the man for his "powerful thoughts" and "contribution to the freedom movement" on various media. Read more here.

Hailing science and technology, President Ram Nath Kovind drew an encouraging comparison between a scientist and a nation builder.

President Kovind said, "When a scientist works hard in the lab, with integrity and sincerity and with the larger dream of helping society, he or she is playing the role of nation builder."

Relating present to the past, in terms of technology usage to accomplish social development goals, President Kovind highlighted how our country exploited India's rich wealth of traditional knowledge and intellectual property and as well as is open to the latest discoveries.

"This aspiration remains important as ever as we strive to achieve a New India by 2022, when we complete 75 years as a free country," added President Kovind. -- ANI

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram backs Yashwant Sinha and claims that he speaks the truth.

Taking to Twitter, the former finance minister wrote, "Yashwant Sinha speaks Truth to Power. Will Power now admit the Truth that economy is sinking?"

Earlier, Sinha in an editorial in the Indian Express wrote that he would "be failing in my national duty if I did not speak up even now against the mess the finance minister has made of the economy".

The veteran BJP leader in his column warned that economies are destroyed more easily than they are built. "The PM claims that he has seen poverty from close quarters. His finance minister is working over-time to make sure that all Indians also see it from equally close quarters," Sinha added.

Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha has hit out at Finance Minister Arun Jaitley saying that the economy has been on a downward spiral on his watch.

"I shall be failing in my national duty if I did not speak up even now against the mess the finance minister has made of the economy," Sinha wrote in The Indian Express.

"I am also convinced that what I am going to say reflects the sentiments of a large number of people in the BJP and elsewhere who are not speaking up out of fear," the veteran leader added.

Jaitley has squandered the opportunities presented to him, Sinha said, adding that global crude prices were low when he took over and the government reaped a fiscal Bonanza. "But the oil bonanza has been wasted and the legacy problems (NPAs, stalled projects) have not only been allowed to persist, they have become worse."

The veteran BJP leader warned that economies are destroyed more easily than they are built. "The PM claims that he has seen poverty from close quarters. His finance minister is working over-time to make sure that all Indians also see it from equally close quarters," Sinha added.

Read Yashwant Sinha's full column HERE

US President Donald Trump has said that America is "totally prepared" for a "military option" on North Korea but warned that would be "devastating",

in a further escalation of tensions between the two nations.

The strong reaction from the US president came a day after North Korea said that it was ready to defend itself by shooting down US bombers.

"We are totally prepared for the second (military) option. Not a preferred option, but if we take that option, it will be devastating -- I can tell you that -- devastating for North Korea. That's called the military option. If we have to take it, we will," Trump said.

Responding to a question, Trump said that the North Korean leader (Kim Jong Un) is "acting very badly". He's saying things that should "never, ever" be said, alleged the US president.

He said that North Korean nuclear weapons and missile development threaten the entire world with unthinkable loss of life. As such all nations must act now to ensure the regime's complete denuclearisation.

The violent Banaras Hindu University protests inside the campus have been criticised by the Congress as they have said that the prime minister should apologise to the girls, who were mercilessly lathi-charged by the cops.

"The PM should first apologise to the girls in BHU, because despite being there, he did not care to ask why the girls were protesting," Congress leader Mohan Prakash said.

He further asserted that the girls were just asking their right which was not difficult to adhere to.

"What were they even asking that was so difficult to do and then after that the way lathi charge took place, I have never seen it happen in any university," Congress leader said.

08:38

JUST IN: Pakistan violates ceasefire in Shanpur area along LoC in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir

08:23 Twitter to double length of its tweets to 280 characters per message

Twitter is to double the length of characters per tweet from 140 characters to 280.

Twitter said on Tuesday that it would begin a test with a random sample of users allowing them to send tweets that are as long as 280 characters, double the existing cap, in most languages around the world.

The tech company has stood by its short messaging template in the past but the company said it was trialing the new system as it said users tweeting in English and Spanish struggled to express themselves.

BHU Chief Proctor Professor O N Singh resigned taking moral responsibility for the recent incidents of alleged molestation of a student and violence on campus.

The university authorities are learnt to have accepted his resignation.

The resignation came even as the administration and police targeted BHU for not taking up issues of students, and the varsity faculty questioned the alleged forced entry of police into hostels and beating of staff members and students on Saturday night.

The conflicting views have reflected in multiple inquiries being ordered by the government, administration and BHU vice-chancellor into the violence on campus.

This came as the Yogi Adityanath-led UP government ordered a judicial inquiry into the violence on campus.

On Saturday night, police resorted to lathicharge hundreds of girls outside the BHU campus, where they were protesting against the molestation of a fellow student, university authorities who ended up victim shaming her and a general lack of security on campus.

UP government spokesperson and cabinet minister Srikant Sharma said that the government wanted communication between students, local administration, vice chancellor and other university officials. Sharma accused the opposition parties of trying to vitiate the academic atmosphere.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi hit out at the Narendra Modi government on Tuesday for taking decisions like note ban and the GST roll-out "without listening to anybody" which "affected the backbone" of the

country's economy.

"This is the big difference between the Congress's ideology and the BJP's ideology. The Congress listens to everyone and then implements a big decision. This government did not listen to anybody and implemented the GST and demonetisation, which affected the backbone of country's economy," Gandhi said.

He was interacting with small and medium entrepreneurs, teachers and doctors at Hemu Gandhavi Auditorium.

"We may not have good speakers, but we have the quality of listening to people...learning about their problems, we pay attention to everyone's suggestion and then decide to implement such big decisions. This government didn't do that and implemented the GST and demonetisation," the Congress leader said.

Modi's decision of scrapping high-denomination currency notes shocked even the "world's best economists" including former PM Manmohan Singh, he said.

"When I informed him about the Modi government's decision, he could not react immediately... he was shocked," Gandhi said.

He assured the trader community that he would pressure the government to simplify the Goods and Services Tax.

"He (Modi) does not listen to anyone, but we will try to make him do so by organising agitations. We will draw the prime minister's attention and try to convince him to simplify the GST norms," Gandhi said.

The GST has hit the small and medium industry badly, he said.

"Employment can be generated only by promoting small and medium industry, big industry cannot generate employment on a scale that the nation needs," Gandhi said.

Half the problems created by the GST and demonetisation can be solved if the prime minister starts listening, he said.

"The government has implemented the GST without any preparation. The bill was drafted when the Congress was in power but the BJP government got it passed after introducing changes," Gandhi said.

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