Moments after the SC said that the five activists arrested for suspected Maoist links would be placed under house arrest, the Pune police held a press conference on the charges for which the activists are being held.

The Pune police said the activists have shown a strong intolerance to the political system.


"Some of the evidence collected suggests that there was a plan to target highest political functionaries. The arrested had links with Kashmiri separatists," the police said.


The petition to the top court has sought the release of all the activists who have been arrested during raids in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon case.


The petitioners include historian Romila Thapar, Prabhat Patnaik, Devaki Jain, Satish Deshpande and Maja Daruwala.

The petitioners say the arrests were meant to muzzle dissent. "Are these arrests a demonstration to show that the democratic rights of the Indian citizen have been annulled?" petitioner Romila Thapar said in a statement.

Appearing for them is senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

The police contend the activists -- Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj, Arun Fereira, Gautam Navlakha and Vernon Gonsalves -- are linked to Maoists and were planning to recruit members from 35 colleges and launch attacks.


Justice DY Chandrachud, one of the five judges hearing the petition said, "Dissent is the safety valve of democracy. If you don't allow the safety valve pressure cooker will burst."


Image: Activist Arun Fereira

There are minor complications, nothing major, he would be leaving today for the USA for treatment as recommended by Mumbai's Lilavati hospital: Shripad Naik, North Goa MP on Manohar Parrikar's health.

Activists and academics staged a protest today at Hyderabad's Ambedkar statue demanding the release of activist Varavara Rao, who was arrested by the Pune police in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence.

Following the protest, the Hyderabad police detained all the activists and professors and shifted them to Goshamahal Police Ground.

On Tuesday, raids were carried out by the Pune Police in Mumbai, Ranchi, Hyderabad, Faridabad, Delhi, and Thane, with informed sources telling ANI that Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Gautam Navlakha, Varnan Gonsalves and Sudha Bhardwaj were the five activists arrested in connection with the incident. -- ANI

The Supreme Court directs all five activists to be kept under house arrest till September 6. The court is hearing the petition of Romila Thapar, Prabhat Patnaik, Satish Deshpande and others against the arrest of activists Sudha Bhardwaj and activist Gautam Navlakha in the Bhima Koregaon matter. They will be placed under house arrest till the next hearing on September 6.


Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira who were in police custody in Pune will be placed under house arrest, while Sudha Bhardwaj and Gautam Navlakha are already under house arrest in Faridabad and New Delhi.


The Supreme Court observed, 'dissent is the safety valve of democracy. If dissent is not allowed then the pressure cooker may burst'. Rajeev Dhawan, appearing for one of the petitioners says, "the arrest was done randomly, and is illegal and arbitrary".


A day after the pan India crackdown on Left-wing activists, the action shifted to the courts today with the Supreme Court giving urgent hearing to a plea against the arrests in the afternoon and three of the five who were nabbed to be produced before a Pune court.


The National Human Rights Commission stepped into the growing controversy over the arrests of Rao, Gonsalves, Ferreira, Bharadwaj and Navlakha, saying "it appears" that standard operating procedure was not properly followed and this may amount to a violation of their human rights. It issued notices to the Maharashtra government and the state's police chief and for a 'factual report' in the matter within four weeks. Telugu poet Rao and activists Gonsalves and Ferreira were taken to Pune late last night.


The other two arrested for their suspected links with Maoists were trade unionist and lawyer Bharadwaj in Faridabad and civil liberties activist Navlakha in Delhi. Navlakha and Bharadwaj are confined to their homes, under the guard of police officers, and allowed to meet only their lawyers. Eminent historian Romila Thapar and four others have moved the apex court against the arrests by the Maharashtra Police. -- PTI

Image: Left-wing activist Varavara Rao.

Thousands of Twitter users on Wednesday came out in support of the five activists arrested in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence, with the #MeTooUrbanNaxal becoming the latest trend on the micro-blogging site.


The messages of support for the activists started pouring in after Bollywood filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri took to his Twitter account to announce that he wanted some, "bright young people to make a list of all those who are defending #UrbanNaxals."


Agnihotri had earlier hailed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government's crackdown against Naxals, saying, "All these names of #UrbanNaxals have been there with Manmohan Singh's Govt also. Many times Sonia Gandhi was also made aware. But that Govt refused to act against its own patrons. This Govt did. That is the real problem. Congratulations @rajnathsingh for courageous work."


His tweets come in the backdrop of support from numerous individuals, including political leaders such as Congress President Rahul Gandhi and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury condemning the arrests of the activists.


Following his tweets, thousands of users came out in condemnation of Agnihotri and volunteered to be a part of the list of people defending the alleged Naxals.


"Hi @vivekagnihotri, Dissent is important for our democracy to function and to hold our Government accountable. I intend to do exactly that. Put me on your list. #metoourbannaxal," said one user.


"If having a contrarian point of view makes me an Urban Naxal, I was one in the Congress regime, and I am one in the BJP regime. #MeTooUrbanNaxal," said another.


"If believing in the constitutional rights and fighting for them is 'urban Naxal' then #MeTooUrbanNaxal," a user tweeted.


On Tuesday, the Pune Police carried out raids in Mumbai, Ranchi, Hyderabad, Faridabad, Delhi, and Thane, with informed sources telling ANI that Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Gautam Navlakha, Gonsalves and Sudha Bhardwaj were the five activists arrested in connection with the violence which broke out in January.


The police have booked all the accused under Sections 153 A, 505(1) B,117,120 B,13,16,18,20,38,39,40 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Former Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is being treated as a "state guest" in Himachal Pradesh, but the government is not spending any money on him apart from providing security, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur informed the state assembly today.


Replying to a discussion initiated by Dehra MLA Hoshyar Singh during the monsoon session, Thakur said, "Dhoni is in Shimla for five days from August 27 to 31 and he has been provided adequate security by the state government".


Dhoni is in the state capital to shoot for an advertisement, he said. "Let me make it clear that not even a single penny has been spent on Dhoni's stay here, only security has been provided to him by the state government and that is necessary for a renowned personality like him," he said. The chief minister's remarks came after the opposition parties accused the state government of spending money on Dhoni's visit. -- PTI

HDFC Bank today said it is adopting 30 villages and donating Rs 10 crore for relief efforts in flood-hit Kerala. The private sector lender also announced a waiver in late payment fees on monthly loan instalments and credit cards for August to its customers in Kerala.


"We stand with the people of Kerala in this hour of distress," the bank's managing director Aditya Puri said. As part of the village adoption, the bank will set up medical camps and rebuild health centres, support schools' renovations and reconstruction, and impart skills training to restore livelihoods, an official statement said.


The bank said it will consult the state government to finalise the measures and stressed that this is a long-term plan where its local non-profit partners will deliver the on-ground help. Apart from adopting villages, the bank has contributed Rs 10 crore to the Chief Minister's Disaster Relief Fund. Its employees have contributed a day's salary, while the rest has come from the bank. -- PTI

Four policemen were shot dead by militants in Shopian district of South Kashmir today when they were repairing their vehicle, police said. While two policemen died on the spot, two others succumbed to injuries in a hospital, they said. The incident happened near Arahama fruit mandi in the district. They said the weapons of the policemen were missing and police have launched a manhunt for the militants. -- PTI

Civil liberties activist Gautam Navlakha, arrested for suspected links with Maoists, today alleged that the case against him was a "political ploy" of the government to target dissent. Navlakha was arrested by Maharashtra Police yesterday along with four other Left-wing activists for alleged unlawful activities. The Delhi High Court has ordered that he be confined at his residence in New Delhi.


"The entire case is a political ploy against political dissent by this vindictive and cowardly government, which is bent upon shielding the real culprits of Bhima Koregaon and thus divert attention from its own scams and failures which stretch from Kashmir to Kerala," Navlakha said in a statement issued by the civil rights group People's Union for Democratic Rights of which he is a part.


"A political trial must be fought politically and I welcome this opportunity. I have to do nothing. It is for the Maharashtra police, working at the behest of their political masters, to prove their case against me, and my comrades who too have been arrested," he said.


He said PUDR has collectively and fearlessly fought for more than 40 years for the cause of democratic rights and he has covered many such trials as part of the organisation.


"Now I myself will be a witness to a political trial with a ringside view," he said and also tagged a revolutionary song, "Tu zinda hai toh zindagi ki jeet par yakeen kar...", often sung by Leftists. Telugu poet Varavara Rao and activists Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, trade unionist and lawyer Sudha Bhardwaj and Navlakha were arrested yesterday after multi-city searches. -- PTI


Image: Human rights activist Gautam Navlakha at his residence after he was arrested by the Pune police in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence, in New Delhi yesterday. Pic: PTI

India remains a preferred destination for foreign direct investment as domestic consumption remains strong, according to RBI Annual Report. With manufacturing sector gathering momentum, helped by both services and agriculture sectors, consumption demand remains robust in the country making it an attractive investment destination, it said. India received USD 37.3 billion capital inflow in 2017-18 as compared to USD 36.3 billion in the previous fiscal. During the 2015-16, the country received USD 36.06 billion.


"There are country-specific factors that could distinguish the Indian experience going forward. In the real sector, a normal monsoon for the third consecutive year should lift agricultural output," it said.


Manufacturing activity is gathering momentum on the back of new business, both domestic and export orders, rising capacity utilisation and drawdown of inventories, said the Reserve Bank of India report. -- PTI

Trade unionist and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj, who was picked up by the Maharashtra Police for her suspected links with Maoists, today said those speaking against human rights violation and fighting for the rights of Dalits and tribals are being targeted by the "present regime".


Bharadwaj, along with several other Left-wing activists, was arrested yesterday in multi-city raids. She has been confined at her residence in Faridabad, under the guard of police officers, and allowed to meet only her lawyer.


"I think whatever is the opposition to the present regime, whether it is on Dalit rights, tribal rights, or human rights, everybody who is in the opposition is being rounded up in this manner.


"My mobile, laptop and pen drive has been seized. I apprehend they are going to play around with this data. My Gmail and Twitter passwords have also been taken," she said.


The arrest has triggered a nation-wide outrage with activists saying the raids were a brazen attack on democratic rights and reminiscent of the infamous Emergency.


Her daughter, Anu Bharadwaj, said, "There were 10 people. Among them only one was a lady constable from the Haryana police. Others were from the Maharashtra police. When mom asked for search warrant, they said they did not have it.


"They did have some other document. That is why, mom allowed them to come inside. I do not have any idea about allegations but mom said they have come in connection with arrests in Pune," she said.


The Maharashtra Police yesterday carried out searches at multiple places in several states, including Delhi, on the residences of people suspected to have Maoist links.


The raids were carried out as part of a probe into the violence at Maharashtra's Koregaon-Bhima village, triggered by an event called 'Elgar Parishad' (conclave) held in Pune on December 31 last year. --  PTI

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram today slammed the government after the RBI said that as much as 99.3 per cent of the demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes have returned to the banking system, saying the Indian economy had suffered due to the notes ban by way of job loss, closure of industries and the GDP growth.


In a series of tweets, the former finance minister also said the RBI figures suggests that the government had actually demonetised only Rs 13,000 crore and the "country paid a huge price" for it.


"Indian economy lost 1.5 per cent of GDP in terms of growth. That alone was a loss of Rs 2.25 lakh crore a year. Over 100 lives were lost. 15 crore daily wage earners lost their livelihood for several weeks. Thousands of SME units were shut down. Lakhs of jobs were destroyed," he tweeted.


Chidambaram said every rupee of the Rs 15.42 lakh crore, barring a small sum of Rs 13,000 crore, has come back to the RBI. "I suspect that the bulk of the Rs 13,000 crore is currency in Nepal and Bhutan and some that was lost or destroyed. Remember who had said that Rs 3 lakh crore will not come back and that will be a gain for the government!?," he said.


As much as 99.3 per cent of the junked Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes have returned to the banking system, the RBI said today, indicating that just a minuscule percentage of currency was left out of the system after the government's unprecedented note ban aimed at curbing black money and corruption.


The Reserve Bank of India, which has taken an awfully long time to count the currency that was returned in the limited period window provided by the government to exchange or deposit the demonetised currency, said in its Annual Report for 2017-18 that the exercise is finally over.


Of the Rs 15.41 lakh crore worth Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in circulation on November 8, 2016, when the note ban was announced, notes worth Rs 15.31 lakh crore have been returned. This meant just Rs 10,720 crore of the junked currency did not return to the banking system. -- PTI

Telangana: A Chetak helicopter of IAF made an emergency landing in a village in Siddipet after technical snag. It was on routine training and took off from Hakimpet base of Hyderabad.

Sidelined Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav today announced the formation of a Samajwadi Secular Morcha and said he would try to unite smaller parties under it.


However, Shivpal, who is still a SP legislator, refused to answer whether the Morcha will contest the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. "I have formed Samajwadi Secular Morcha. I was neglected in the Samajwadi Party and waited for two years. I was neither informed nor invited in party programmes and no responsibility was given to me," Shivpal, uncle of SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav, told reporters at his residence in Lucknow.


While the news is official now, we had in fact told you two days ago that Shivpal Yadav was in touch with BJP chief Amit Shah to split the party soon and align his new party with the NDA.


"There are many neglected workers in the SP. They will be assigned responsibilities and asked to strengthen our Morcha. I will also try to unite smaller parties under the Morcha," he said.


Asked whether SP founder and his brother Mulayam Singh Yadav will be part of the Morcha, Shivpal said, "We will give him due honour and ask others also to do the same."

Clearing the air on the Rafale deal, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said that the present NDA government has negotiated hard to keep prices down by at least 20 per cent for each aircraft as per 2016 deal, compared to that of the UPA in 2007.


In an exclusive interview to ANI, Jaitley underlined the fact that each of these aircraft were coming fully loaded and the deal is between government to government without involving anyone in between.


"Can you compare a basic aircraft's pricing with a loaded aircraft? Can you compare a simple aircraft with a weaponised aircraft?... If in 2012 they had come to an agreement, the first would have been delivered in 2017. From 2007 to 2017 the escalations would have gone up, along with a foreign exchange variation. So there is India specific add-ons and the foreign exchange variants' Is the Congress party aware that if you take the 2007 L1 offer and the escalation clause without the add-ons, the price negotiated in 2015-16 is cheaper?' Jaitley said.


"Let us first come to the pricing. My question therefore is, if you are fully aware -- Mr Anthony fully read the file and abandoned the contract -- he would tell his party that the L1 offer of 2007 had a basic 2007 price plus escalation plus currency variation. In 2015 or 16, this would have been 9 per cent costlier than what the basic aircraft price of 2016 negotiated was' Loaded to unloaded, you compare the price again. The 2016 price is 20 per cent  cheaper than the 2007 offer. So we got it cheaper,' Jaitley asserted.


"What was negotiated from 2015 to 2016 and finally executed in 2016, with the escalations and the currency variations, the basic aircraft price turns out to be 9 per cent cheaper. Is the Congress party aware of this?' he addedSlamming Congress president Rahul Gandhi's charge of a more expensive final Rafale jet being purchased by the present government, Jaitley said that every fact by the Congress is factually false.


"Every fact that they have said on pricing is factually false... Mr Rahul Gandhi himself has given seven different prices in different speeches with regard to the Rafale, that is the 2007 offer. And the simple case is they have made it as if it is a kindergarten or primary school debate," Jaitley said.


The Finance Minister asserted that no rules were bypassed and the Cabinet Committee on Security approval was taken during the deal and the negotiations took about 14 months to complete.

Historian Romila Thapar and four activists today moved the Supreme Court against the arrest of five rights activists by the Maharashtra Police for suspected Maoist links.


The petition against the arrest of the activists was mentioned before a five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra which agreed to give an urgent hearing today itself at 3:45 pm.


In the petition, which was mentioned by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, the historian and other right activists have sought release of all activists who have been arrested during raids in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon case. They have also sought an independent probe into the arrests. The raids were carried out as part of a probe into the violence between Dalits and the upper caste Peshwas at Koregaon-Bhima village near Pune after an event called Elgar Parishad, or conclave, on December 31 last year.


In related news, the Delhi High Court today has said it will hear at 2:15 pm the plea of rights activists Gautam Navlakha, arrested for alleged unlawful activities, after the Maharashtra Police submitted that translated documents of the case were not ready.


The court had yesterday directed that Navlakha should not be taken away from Delhi till it hears the matter as specific allegations against him were unclear as the documents were in Marathi.


A bench of Justices S Muralidhar and Vinod Goel was informed by Additional Solicitor General Aman Lekhi, appearing for Maharashtra Police, that the documents to be translated from Marathhi to English will be provided to Navlakha's counsel positively by 12 pm. Advocate Nithya Ramakrishnan, appearing for Navlakha, said the matter could be heard tomorrow. The court, however, said it will hear the matter at 2:15 pm.
-- PTI


IMAGE: Arun Ferreira, a human rights activist and lawyer, was arrested yesterday by the Pune police in connection with Bhima Koregaon violence case. Photograph: PTI Photo

Reserve Bank of India's annual report for 2017-18. RBI says processing of demonetised old 500, 1000 rupees notes completed; 99.3 per cent of notes returned. Excerpts from the report:

-- The processing of SBNs (Specified Bank Notes, Rs 500 and Rs 1000) has since been completed at all centres of the Reserve Bank. The total SBNs returned from circulation is Rs 15,310.73 billion.


-- The total value of SBNs in circulation as on Nov. 8, 2016 (date of demonetisation), post verification and reconciliation, was Rs 15,417.93 billion. The total value of SBNs returned from circulation is Rs 15,310.73 billion.


-- Indian economy exhibited resilience during 2017-18, with upturns in investment and construction. Inflation eased on a year-on-year basis in an environment characterised by high variability.


--In the evolution of monetary aggregates, currency in circulation surpassed its pre-demonetisation level while credit growth revived to double digits from a historic low in the previous year.


-- Domestic financial markets were broadly stable with rallies in equity markets and intermittent corrections, hardening bond yields, the rupee trading with a generally appreciating bias except towards close of the year and liquidity in money markets.


-- Implementation of GST achieved another important milestone towards an efficient indirect tax structure. On the external front, the current account deficit was comfortably financed with accretions to foreign exchange reserves.


Image: People queue up to change demonetised notes in 2016. Less than 1% of the notes is presumed to be black money, according to the RBI report.

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who is currently admitted at a private hospital in Mumbai, would fly to the US tonight for further medical treatment, his office said today. Parrikar, 62, underwent treatment in the US for three months earlier this year for a pancreatic ailment and returned in June. He went there again for a follow-up earlier this month. He was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai for a review health checkup on August 23, a day after he returned from the US, and was scheduled to return to Goa today.


However, a senior official in the Chief Minister's Office said Parrikar will leave for USA from Mumbai in a flight tonight. The official refused to divulge any further details about the chief minister's health. He said, "The official charge of the post of chief minister will remain with him (Parrikar). There is no need to hand over the charge to anyone."


 Parrikar had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on August 7 and sought his intervention to address the current crisis in the state's mining sector. -- PTI

A woman journalist of a television channel in Bangladesh has been hacked to death with a sharp-edged weapon by some unidentified assailants at her home, media reports said today.


Subarna Nodi, 32, was a correspondent of private news channel Ananda TV and also worked for the Daily Jagroto Bangla newspaper, bdnews24.com reported.


She lived in Radhanagar area of Pabna district, some 150 kms from Dhaka. Suborna, who is survived by a nine-year-old daughter, was awaiting divorce from her husband, the report said.


The assailants, said to be around 10 to 12, came riding motorcycles and rang the doorbell of her house at around 10:45 pm yesterday, it said.


When she answered the door, they indiscriminately hacked her and fled the spot, Pabna Additional Superintendent of Police Ibne Mizan said. The assailants used a sharp-edged weapon to attack her, police said. Some locals rushed her to hospital where she was declared brought dead.


Police have launched several teams to nab the culprits, Additional SP Gautam Kumar Biswas said. Journalists in Pabna have condemned the killing and demanded that the murderers be immediately brought to justice. -- PTI

Congress president Rahul Gandhi is in Kochi today on day 2 of his 2-day visit to Kerala. Rahul will take stock of the flood situation in the Wayanad district of Kerala today. He reached Kerala on Tuesday morning and met people at a relief camp in North Paravur district. He promised people living in the camp that Congress leaders would put pressure on the government for compensation.

Speaking to the media today, Rahul said, "I have come here in support and not to politicize the situation. I will not comment on the nature of this crisis," the Congress President said on being asked if Kerela floods is a man-made crisis.

"I have visited a large number of camps yesterday and people are worried. I spoke to Kerela CM too. It is important that the government gives a sense to the people that it is going to help re-build the houses. Compensation promised should be delivered quickly," he said. .

He added that the extent of support that the central govt has given should be more. "This is owed to the people of Kerala. It is their right. I am sad that central govt has not given as much aid as they should," he said.  


When asked about the crackdown on human rights activists, the Congress government said, "There are two different visions of India, one is a centralized vision & other is decentralized vision. One respects only one ideology, based out of Nagpur and the other respects all different ideas, cultures, different people in this country. That fight is on."


Meanwhile, the Cochin international airport will resume operations today. Private carriers Jet Airways and Indigo had on Tuesday said they will restart services which were discontinued from August 14 after the airport was shut due to flooding.


Image: Rahul Gandhi meets people at a relief camp in Angamali, Ernakulam, Kerala. Pic: @INC

A gurudwara in the British city of Leith has been severely damaged in a suspected arson attack with the police treating the "suspicious" act as a hate crime, according to a media report. The Guru Nanak Gurdwara Sahib in Leith city, Scotland was set on fire in what was believed to be a "deliberate" act at around 5am yesterday, BBC reported.


No-one was injured in the incident but the building was severely damaged. Police in Edinburgh are investigating the suspected arson attack as a hate crime. It is believed that whoever was responsible deliberately targeted the temple and police said they were treating the incident at the temple in Leith as "suspicious", the report said. -- PTI

The arrests of five activists from various cities across India in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence by the Pune Police was done "under government's pressure," said advocate Susan Abraham, the wife of Vernon Gonsalves -- one of the activists.


Talking about the arrests, Abraham on Tuesday told ANI, "This is being done under government's pressure. If you think Bhima Koregaon was an assassination plot, then file an FIR. You've made this case, will it stand before the court?"


The raids were carried out in Mumbai, Ranchi, Hyderabad, Faridabad, Delhi and Thane. As per sources privy to the latest developments in the case, Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Gautam Navlakha, Gonsalves and Sudha Bhardwaj were arrested following the raids that were conducted by the Pune Police. The police have booked all these accused under Sections 153 A, 505(1) B,117,120 B,13,16,18,20,38,39,40 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.


Sudha Bhardwaj's advocate Sanjeev Choudhary said, "Out transit bail application was dismissed. We had informed Chief Judicial Magistrate that the High Court in Chandigarh intervened and passed interim order that Pune Police won't take her under custody and she will be under house arrest for three days."


"The matter will once again be taken up before the High Court in Chandigarh after three days. Still, the Pune Police arrested her. It's a complete violation of the order of the High Court," he added.


Activists Varavara Rao and Sudha Bhardwaj were detained in Hyderabad and Faridabad respectively and Gautam Navlakha was arrested from Delhi. A search was also conducted at activist Stan Swamy's residence in Ranchi.
However, he was not arrested.


The Bhima Koregaon violence erupted while observing the 200th anniversary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle in January. A youth died and several others, including 10 policemen, were injured in the violence.
-- ANI


Image: Advocate Susan Abraham, the wife of Vernon Gonsalves, who was arrested yesterday. Pic: ANI

In volatile trade, the benchmark BSE Sensex hit a new life-time high of 38,989.65, extending its record-setting spree for a third session on buying by domestic investors amid short-covering ahead of August futures and options (F&O) expiry and mixed Asian cues.


The 30-share index rose by 93.02 points, or 0.23 per cent, to hit a new high of 38,989.65, bettering its previous intra-day record of 38,938.91 hit yesterday.


The index, however, turned choppy and was trading flat at 38,896.02 at 0945 hrs. The gauge has rallied 644.83 points in the previous two sessions. The 50-share NSE Nifty too turned cautious and was trading 14.70 points, or 0.12 per cent, higher at 11,753.20. Sentiment turned cautious ahead of August series F&O expiry scheduled tomorrow amid mixed cues from other Asian bourses, traders said.


Prominent gainers were Vedanta, Sun Pharma, Adani Ports, Tata Motors, HDFC, SBI, ONGC, RIL, Bharti Airtel, M&M, Axis Bank, Maruti Suzuki and NTPC, rising up to 2.06 per cent. -- PTI

Criticising the Bharatiya Janata Party for the demonetisation drive in 2016, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said that not even a single economist across the world said it was a good thing.


While addressing a National Students' Union of India (NSUI) event in New Delhi, Chidambaram said, "Show me one economist anywhere in the world who stood up and said demonetisation was a good thing. Not one. On the day PM announced demonetisation, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian was in Kerala. He was not in Delhi. He was not even consulted. He didn't know that demonetisation is taking place. If the CEA doesn't know, what kind of an economy is this?"


On November 8, 2016, the BJP-led Centre had invalidated Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 banknotes, claiming it was a crackdown on the shadow economy and use of illicit and counterfeit cash to fund illegal activities and terrorism. The move was criticised by several Opposition parties.


Earlier this month, a recent study by the Reserve Bank of India noted that the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have been adversely hit by the Goods and Services Tax roll-out and demonetisation, which had a significant impact on the overall credit of the sector.

Besides demonetisation, Chidambaram also raised questions over the Ayushman Bharat scheme."Ayushman Bharat is an insurance based model. Government says it will pay the premium... Is that the right model for India? I don't think so. The right model for India is the one practiced in Europe - vast expansion of public facilities, more public hospitals, more super specialities, more tertiary hospitals, more district level hospitals, more primary health centers, more doctors and nurses, more beds and free public health care. That's the way you can treat our 130 crore people. You can't go by an insurance model," Chidambaram said.


He added, "Insurance model has been a complete failure anywhere in the world. Even in America, Obama Care - an insurance model, has been seriously questioned. America's per capital is 150,000 dollars and our per capital is barely 1,800 dollars. But, who will tell the government that this is a wrong model?"


Chidambaram also asserted that under the former Prime Minsiter Manmohan Singh, the Indian economy was "more competent". "I've seen how President Barack Obama used to sit with Manmohan Singh and listen to him. Not that Obama will accept everything Dr Manmohan Singh says but he wanted to listen to him to know how to run a huge economy," Chidambaram said. - ANI