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Thu, 22 March 2018
BJP should take action on data theft instead of holding PCs: Congress

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23:14   Congress issues whip to all party MPs in RS

The Congress tonight issued a three-line whip to all its MPs in the Rajya Sabha asking them to be present in the House at 11 am tomorrow in full strength and support the party's stand.
According to sources, the whip has been issued by the opposition party which seeks to corner the government on some burning issues.
 
The party has been raising the issues of PNB scam, the Supreme Court's order on SC/ST Act issue and the death of 39 Indians in Iraq.
 
Some party MPs have also given a notice for moving a privilege motion against External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for allegedly "misleading" the House on the death of the Indians.
Sources said the party MPs in Rajya Sabha are also likely to meet tomorrow morning. -- PTI
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23:09   Air India's maiden flight to Tel Aviv takes off
National carrier Air India's maiden flight to Tel Aviv took off from New Delhi at 6 pm today, heralding a new chapter in the India-Israel ties and ending a decades-old overfly ban by Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia's decision to permit Air India to use its airspace has enabled the airline to take a shorter route.
It will cover the distance in 7.25 hours, 2.10 hours less than the time taken by the only other airline that flies between the two countries -- Israel's national carrier El Al.
 
Many Arab and Islamic nations do not recognise Israel and, therefore, disallow airlines from using their airspace for flight services to that country.
The Delhi-Tel Aviv direct flight is expected to boost tourism in both the countries, besides taking the diplomatic relations to a new level.
The flight will operate every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. While the inaugural flight AI 139 left at 6 pm today, the schedule departure will be 4.50 pm from March 25 when the summer schedule comes into operation.
The state-run carrier will be operating its 256-seater Boeing 787 Dreamliner on this route.
Air India's Chairman and Managing Director Pradeep Kharola and Israel Ministry of Tourism's Director Hassan Madah cut a symbolic cake to mark the start of the direct flight to Israel.
Kharola had earlier said the airline anticipates interest from travellers from countries further to the east of India such as Australia.
The Air India flight will fly over Oman, Saudi Arabia and Jordan to reach Israel.
The permission to fly over Saudi Arabia will save Air India almost 2 hours and 10 minutes compared to the longer route taken by Israel's national carrier El Al, which has direct flights between Tel Aviv and Mumbai.
 
El Al takes a circuitous route over the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and then enters India and avoids countries that are on the direct flight path such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. -- PTI 
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22:55   BJP should take action on data theft instead of holding PCs: Congress
Senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi today said that the BJP should take action on its allegation that his party indulged in data theft to influence the outcome of elections, instead of holding press conferences.
Alleging that the BJP has dished out fake news for long, Singhvi said spreading of false information has been its forte.
"The BJP is the party in power. Rather than holding press conferences, why doesn't it take action?" he said about Union Law and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad's charge that the opposition party was using data manipulation and theft to woo voters.
"The BJP has misused the company many times and is now casting aspersions on us out of fear," he said.
"The BJP has been spreading false information since the days of Rajiv Gandhi ... Dishing out fake news is its forte," he added.
Any attempt by social media sites, including Facebook, to influence India's electoral process through undesirable means will not be tolerated, Prasad told reporters in Delhi yesterday.
Stating that party spokesman Randeep Surjewala has refuted the allegations of misuse of social media by the Congress, Singhvi alleged that it was the BJP which has misused the platform to spread canards against his party and its leaders.
"Paid garbage is posted by goons of the BJP," Singhvi alleged.
The BJP and the Congress traded charges over a Facebook data scandal involving private firm Cambridge Analytica, with the ruling party accusing its rival of "data theft" to woo voters ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha polls, a claim the opposition party rejected. -- PTI
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22:40   BJP to stay away from RS polls in Telangana
The BJP today said it would stay away from Rajya Sabha polls being held tomorrow to fill three vacancies from Telangana.
 
A decision to the effect was taken as per the directives of the party's central leadership, state BJP president K Laxman said in a statement.
 
Election would be held to fill three vacancies and four candidates, three belonging to TRS and one Congress nominee, are in the fray.
 
TDP's Telangana unit said yesterday it would not take part in the Rajya Sabha election.
 
With the BJP and TDP deciding to stay away from the election, the TRS is expected to wrest the three seats as its ally AIMIM has announced support to the party.
 
In the 119-member Legislative Assembly, the party-wise strength is: TRS-82, INC-19, MIM-7, BJP-5, TDP-3, Independent-1, CPIM)-1 and CPI-1. -- PTI  
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21:56   DeMo succeeded in unearthing black money, preventing corruption: FM
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that demonetisation of high value currency notes in November 2016 "succeeded" in unearthing black money and preventing corruption.
 
In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, which was made available today, he said that at the time of demonetisation, on November 8, 2016, high denomination notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 amounting to Rs 15.44 lakh crore were in circulation.
 
"At the rate, Specified Bank Notes were growing in previous years, SBNs would have become of the order of about Rs 18 lakh crore in December, 2017," he said, adding that the circulation of high value came down to 13.34 lakh crore last December.
 
Therefore, circulation of high value notes have been brought down effectively, Jaitley said in the reply.
 
The minister further said that as high denomination notes have been used for storing black money and in corruption, "it may be concluded" that demonetisation did control black money generation and corruption.
 
"Demonetisation, besides serving other objectives of eliminating fake currency, stopping terror financing, promoting formalisation of economy, promoting digital payments, also succeeded in unearthing black money and preventing corruption," he said.
After demonetisation, the Department of Revenue had launched Operation Clean Money' on January 31, 2017 with respect to about 17.92 lakh persons whose cash transactions did not appear in line with their tax profile.
 
Online verification of such cash transactions was enabled and the information in respect of identified cases was made available in the e-filing window of the PAN holder.
 
"Nearly 11 lakh persons submitted online response. High risk cases have been made available to the field formation for effective monitoring and follow up," Jaitley said.
 
He also informed the House that data analytics was being used to match information in IT returns with cash deposit data and identify high risk cases/ groups for necessary verification/investigation. -- PTI
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21:39   Find candidates with character, conduct not caste and cash: VP to voters
Vice President Venakaiah Naidu today asked people to look for "character, conduct, caliber and capacity" in a candidate and remove "caste, community and cash" from the system.
Addressing the inaugural programme of the three-day 'Bihar Diwas' celebrations in Patna, Naidu said women's empowerment is in tune with the ancient traditions of the country, "which we call Bharat Mata and not Bharat Pita".
"Indians are making it big in all walks of life and their mettle is being proven across the world. There are so many MNCs which are headed by Indians," he said.
Naming Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Pepsico CEO Indira Nooyi, the vice president said their success points towards the immense potential that lies within this country endowed with fertile land and fertile minds.
While electing their representatives, voters ought to focus on "character, conduct, caliber and capacity" of the candidates and not get swayed by "caste, community and cash", he said.
He said: "It was at Champaran in Bihar that Mahatma Gandhi demonstrated before the world the power of non-violence, which is more potent than atom bomb".
Commending Nitish Kumar for various steps taken by his government to improve the lot of women, he said: "Many people say the ancient Hindu traditions favour the women staying inside their homes. They should look at our mythology wherein deities like Saraswati, Durga and Laxmi come across as the equivalents for ministers taking care of education, defence and finance respectively."
"It is because of our reverence for women that we call our country Bharat Mata and not Bharat Pita. The country has, from time to time, grappled with social evils like the custom of Sati. But the revolt against these came from within," he said adding, the practice of Sati was brought to an end not by someone from abroad "but by our own Raja Ram Mohan Roy."

Naidu said before the British came to India, the country's GDP was said to be 27 per cent of that of the entire world. 

"The country is once again growing at a brisk pace and we can expect to usher in a new era of prosperity in the foreseeable future," Naidu added. -- PTI
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21:29   Nirav Modi fraud: PNB to beef up its system, processes for lending
Hit hard by the Rs 13,000 crore scam, the Pinjab national Bank has decided to tighten loan disbursement and set up a monitoring mechanism to check loan slippages and fraud.
 
Some of the ideas being considered include having a separate pre-sanction appraisal and post sanction monitoring teams for credit disbursal to ensure better governance and transparency, official sources said.
 
A new monitoring group will be set up to keep track of whether cash flow from projects is being used to repay bank loans and that there are no slippages, sources said, adding that a separate vertical to be created for stressed asset recovery.
 
This will be tried out as a pilot in some branches before a roll out nationally in the next 6 months, the sources said.
 
These changes are being made as part of Mission Parivartan drive which the bank has embarked on earlier this week.
 
In a bid to improver customer convenience, sources said, automating customer response mechanism is to be implemented soon so as to ensure timely intervention and evaluate performance on timely resolution of customer disputes and complaints across branches.
 
The bank is also actively looking to leverage benefits of emerging technology including AI and analytics both from a greater control over the audit process as well as providing a one stop suite of financial services with a single touch point, they said.
 
Billionaire jeweller designer Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi in connivance with certain bank officials allegedly cheated the PNB of Rs 12,968 crore through fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs).
A Mumbai branch of Punjab National Bank had issued as many as 1,590 letters of undertaking (LoUs) fraudulently for the group of companies belonging to Nirav Modi since March 2011.
 
Different investigating agencies, including CBI and Enforcement Directorate, are probing the fraud, dubbed as the biggest banking scam in the country. -- PTI 
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21:22   HC to pronounce verdict on 20 disqualified AAP MLAs pleas tomorrow
The Delhi high court is likely to pronounce on Friday its verdict on the plea of 20 Aam Aadmi Party MLAs challenging their disqualification for holding office-of-profit when they were appointed parliamentary secretaries.
A bench of  justices Sanjiv Khanna and Chander Shekhar kept its decision pending since February 28, when it had reserved the judgement after the legislators, Election Commission of India and other parties had concluded their arguments.
During the arguments, the MLAs had told the court that EC's order disqualifying them for allegedly holding office-of-profit was passed in "complete violation of natural justice" as they were not given an opportunity to explain their stand before the poll panel.
The bench was also requested by the legislators to remand their case back to the poll panel with a direction to hear the matter afresh. They had approached the high court challenging their disqualification after President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the EC's recommendation.
Backing its recommendation to the President for AAP MLAs' disqualification, the poll panel had submitted that the legislators cannot claim that they were not holding office-of-profit. It had also claimed that these MLAs' pleas were not maintainable and were liable to be dismissed.
The MLAs are accused of holding offices of profit, as they were appointed parliamentary secretaries to ministers in the Delhi government in March 2015. This was soon after they were elected to the Delhi Assembly. In September 2016, the Delhi high court had ruled against their appointment as parliamentary secretaries, after hearing their pleas on a daily basis since February 7.
The high court had on January 24 refused to stay the Centre's notification disqualifying them, but had restrained the poll panel from taking any "precipitate measures" such as announcing dates for by polls to fill the vacancies.
The EC had on January 19 recommended the disqualification of 20 AAP MLAs - Alka Lamba, Adarsh Shastri, Sanjeev Jha, Rajesh Gupta, Kailash Gahlot, Vijendra Garg, Praveen Kumar, Sharad Kumar, Madan Lal, Shiv Charan Goyal, Sarita Singh, Naresh Yadav, Rajesh Rishi, Anil Kumar, Som Dutt, Avtar Singh, Sukhvir Singh Dala, Manoj Kumar, Nitin Tyagi and Jarnail Singh.

The president had accepted the EC's opinion the next day. -- PTI
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21:13   Was scared that I might get framed, says 'relieved' Shami
A hurt but "relieved" Mohammed Shami today said that he was always confident about proving his innocence in the wake of corruption allegations levelled against him by his wife Hasin Jahan.
 
The beleagured Indian pacer today was absolved of all charges related to corruption after BCCI's Anti Corruption Unit headed by Neeraj Kumar gave him a clean chit after a week long investigations on allegations of having accepted money from a certain Pakistani girl named Alishba and UK based Mohammed bhai.
 
"I was under tremendous pressure but now I feel relieved after the BCCI cleared me of wrong-doing. I was hurt that my loyalty and commitment towards my nation was questioned. But I had full faith in BCCI's investigation process. I am looking forward towards getting back on the field," Shami told mediapersons today.
 
One of India's most craftiest fast bowlers of recent times, Shami said that the past two weeks were extremely tough for him.
 
"I had to go through a lot in the past 10-15 days. The charge of match fixing specifically brought me under tremendous pressure. I will channelize my anger in a positive way on the cricket field. This decision has given me courage and motivation to perform on the field. I will make my bowling do all the talking now in the coming days. This is a big win for me and I am hopeful that in the coming days I will also be cleared of the remaining charges," Shami later told ABP News.
 
Shami however admitted that the manner of insinuation had scared him till the BCCI investigations got over.
 
"I knew from within that I had done nothing wrong but was still scared that I might get framed. I can't thank BCCI enough," he said. -- PTI  
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20:48   Uber drivers call off strike
Drivers of app-based cab service Uber today called off their four-day-old strike, the transport wing of the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, which spearheaded the stir, said.
A similar strike by drivers of Ola, another popular ride-hailing app, was called off yesterday.
Claiming "victory" for the "owner-operators" of Uber cabs in Mumbai and other places, the MNS, in a statement in Mumbai this evening, said the Uber management, during their talks with the police and the wing's representatives earlier in the day, has given a written commitment on meeting the various demands.
These include a relook at drivers blacklisted by the taxi aggregator and putting up stickers in Marathi on Uber cabs, the statement said.
An Uber spokesperson, in a separate statement, confirmed that the strike had been called off with immediate effect.
MNS transport wing president Sanjay Naik told PTI, "Like Ola, Uber has also assured us that the company will look into ways to increase earnings of the Uber driver-partners".
On March 19, drivers of Uber and Ola went on an indefinite strike to protest "low profit margins".
It is estimated that over 45,000 app-based cabs operate in the financial capital alone. -- PTI
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20:16   Don't like sledging and car horn honking: Rahane
Having experienced verbal retorts from rival teams at the top level of the game, Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane has developed a distaste for such banters.

The 29-year-old today compared sledging with horn honking when driving his car.
"Just as I don't like sledging (on the cricket field), I also don't like car honking while driving," said Rahane.
The Mumbai cricketer was speaking at a media conference to announce an initiative by the motor vehicles department, Maharashtra in association with the Tata Group to raise awareness about road safety and no honking.
Rahane is also set to take part in the `Horn Not Ok Please' T20 Cup exhibition match on March 24 at the Wankhede Stadium between `Road Safety XI' and `No Honking XI'.
Some top Indian players, including Yuvraj Singh, K L Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, Harbhajan Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, Hardik Pandya and Suresh Raina, will also feature in the match.
"Noise pollution is a serious issue, especially in large metro cities like Mumbai. I'm happy to be part of the No Honking Initiative and contribute in the best way I can, by playing cricket," added Rahane. -- PTI
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20:14   Need to pool anti-BJP votes state wise to beat saffron party: Karat
Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Prakash Karat today said the most effective electoral tactic to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Lok Sabha elections was to ensure pooling of anti-BJP votes state-wise, as any effort to build a non-BJP, non-Congress "federal front" was bound to fail.
In an editorial in the latest edition of the party organ 'People's Democracy', the former general secretary of the party said regional interests would prevent regional parties from coming together.
"Any effort to build a non-BJP, non-Congress 'federal front' mooted by Telangana Chief Minister KC Rao, is bound to fail. Some of the regional parties like the DMK and the RJD are with the Congress in their respective states. Further, there are many contradictions amongst the regional parties in terms of policies and regional interests which will prevent all the regional parties coming together.
"So, the most effective electoral tactics to defeat the BJP in the Lok Sabha election would be to ensure pooling of anti-BJP votes state-wise. This is what happened in the UP by-elections," Karat said.
He also reiterated that even though the Congress was hoping to build an extended UPA-style alliance to counter the BJP, it would not succeed.
"The Congress has no credibility to lead such an alliance in terms of an alternative programme. An electoral alliance or understanding with the Congress, which adopts and follows the same neo-liberal policies like the BJP, would not serve the purpose," Karat wrote.
He said regional parties like the BJD in Odisha, the TRS in Telangana and the TDP in Andhra Pradesh would not agree to be partners in any alliance headed by the Congress.
Karat argued and stressed on state-wise political tactics as the most practical way to isolate and defeat the BJP in each state, and at the same time, safeguard the interests of the CPI-M and pave the way for the advance of the Left and other democratic forces. -- PTI
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19:53   All CCTV cameras removed during Jaya's hospitalisation: Apollo
Apollo Hospitals, which treated former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in 2016 till her death, on Thursday said no footage of hers in the hospital room was kept as "we did not want everyone to be watching."
Speaking to reporters in Chennai, Apollo Hospitals founder-chairman Prathap Reddy said the medical staff did their best to save Jayalalithaa but she passed away after suffering a "massive heart attack."
Admitted for fever and dehydration in September 2016 at the corporate hospital, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo breathed her last on December 5 the same year, after receiving 75 days of
medical treatment.
The octogenarian doctor, speaking on the sidelines of a seminar organised by the hospital, said after Jayalalithaa was admitted there, other patients were shifted to another intensive care facility.
"The ICU was more or less completely occupied only by her (Jayalalithaa). One out of 24 rooms were used...we removed the footage because we did not want everyone to be watching," Reddy added.
Reddy said the hospital did its best to save Jayalalithaa.
       
"We did our very best and we thought she was recovering fast. Unfortunately she had this sudden massive heart attack and even for that they (doctors) tried their very best (to save her)," he said. 
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19:28   Ready to meet any challenge: IAF chief
The Indian Air Force is ready to meet all challenges, including in the Indian Ocean region, Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa said today.
The Chief of Air Staff was talking to media persons at the Halwara Airport of the IAF, about 20 km from Ludhiana, after giving a send off to President Ram Nath Kovind.
He said it was wrong to say that China's J-20 fighter aircraft could not be traced by Indian radars, and added that the IAF was better placed on the Indo-China border as compared to its counterparts.
The Chief of Air Staff said the IAF had upgraded itself over the last couple of years with the inclusion of latest aircraft and other equipments.
Asked about civilian aviation players being granted permission to use the IAF's runways, Dhanoa said the move would not result in any security concerns. -- PTI
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19:01   Pak gets powerful missile tracking system from China: Report
In an unprecedented deal, China has sold Pakistan a powerful tracking system which could speed up the development of multi-warhead missiles by its all-weather ally, state-run Chinese Academy of Sciences said.
Zheng Mengwei, a researcher with the CAS Institute of Optics and Electronics in Chengdu, Sichuan province, confirmed to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post that Pakistan had bought a highly sophisticated, large-scale optical tracking and measurement system from China.
The Pakistani military recently deployed the Chinese-made system "at a firing range" for use in testing and developing new missiles, he said.
China was the first country to export such sensitive equipment to Pakistan, the CAS said.
The Post report attributed the sale of the equipment to Pakistan to India testing the most advanced nuclear-ready intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Agni-V with a range long enough to hit Beijing or Shanghai.
Chinese authorities declassified information about the sale of the tracking system yesterday. -- PTI 
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18:49   Farmers owe Maha govt Rs 17,000 cr in power bills: CM
Farmers owe the Maharashtra exchequer Rs 17,000 crore in the form of outstanding power bills for the agriculture pump sets, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today told the Legislative Assembly.
Fadnavis also said though the government had initiated the process to recover the pending dues, it has stopped the drive temporarily taking into consideration various hardships being faced by the farmers.
"The state government was directed by the MERC (Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission) to recover the amount from farmers and the process had begun. However, considering the hardships faced by the farmers, the recovery process has been stayed," the chief minister said.
Fadnavis was responding to NCP leader Ajit Pawar's charge that electricity connections of farmers were being disconnected and that the government was "unjust" to the farmers who have not been able to pay the power bills.
He demanded that the process to disconnect the electricity connections should be stopped. -- PTI 
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18:39   Big relief for Shami, BCCI clears match-fixing charges
In huge a relief for Indian cricketer Mohammed Shami, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has cleared him of match-fixing charges and awarded him a Grade B contract.

Now, Shami can be part of Delhi Daredevils team in Indian Premier League 2018.

Shami's annual contract was put on hold by the BCCI after his wife Hasin Jahan levelled charges of domestic violence and attempt to murder

"Mr Neeraj Kumar has submitted his confidential report to the CoA. Based on the conclusions in the said report, the CoA is of the view that no further actions/ proceedings under the BCCI anti-corruption code are warranted in the matter, the BCCI said in a statement.

For this reason, the BCCI shall proceed with offering a Grade B annual retainership contract to Mohd. Shami," it said.
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18:04   Maldivian prez lifts emergency after 45 days
Maldives President Abdulla Yameen on Thursday lifted a 45-day state of emergency which had outlawed protests amid a political crisis in the country.


A press release published by the Maldives Times stated that "The announcement of a State of Emergency was precipitated by a Constitutional Crisis created by two Justices of the Supreme Court who conspired with political actors to violate both the Constitution and standard legal norms and practices in order to illegally overthrow a lawful Government, and whose actions constituted an imminent threat to national security."


President Yameen imposed a state of emergency on February 5 for 15 days to annul a Supreme Court ruling that quashed convictions against nine opposition leaders and ordered his government to free those held in prison. The emergency was further extended to 30 days.


During the emergency, the current administration arrested the chief justice, another Supreme Court judge and former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom on allegations of attempting to overthrow the government. -- ANI
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17:58   Pak envoy to India to return from Islamabad ahead of Pak national day
A week after he was called back for consultations amid raging row between India and Pakistan over harassment of diplomats, Pakistan High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood will return from Islamabad tonight, Pakistani government sources said today.


According to sources, Mahmood will host a series of events tomorrow to mark the 'Pakistan National Day' at the country's mission in New Delhi, including a dinner reception. In the morning, the Pakistani envoy will also hoist the flag and deliver a speech, they said. -- PTI
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17:55   Farmers owe Maha Rs 17,000 cr in power bills for agri pumps:CM
Farmers owe the Maharashtra exchequer Rs 17,000 crore in the form of outstanding power bills for the agriculture pump sets, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today told the Legislative Assembly. Fadnavis also said though the government had initiated the process to recover the pending dues, it has stopped the drive temporarily taking into consideration various hardships being faced by the farmers. -- PTI
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17:53  
The scary truth that Cambridge Analytica understand. Read
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17:40   Contest for UP RS seats tomorrow; Jaitley among candidates
Can the BJP snatch a ninth seat or will the newfound bonhomie between former arch-rivals SP and BSP prevail is the question hanging in the air a day ahead of the crucial polls for 10 Uttar Pradesh Rajya Sabha seats.


The saffron party is assured of victory in eight of the ten seats going by its dominant numbers in the state Assembly along with its allies.


The four-MLA strong Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), after being placated by BJP chief Amit Shah, and the Apna Dal (Sonelal) with nine MLAs have decided to vote for BJP nominees.


"We are standing with the BJP. We had held a meeting of our MLAs and it was decided that we will strongly support the BJP," national president of Apna Dal (S) Ashish Patel told PTI today.


The declaration of support from the Apna Dal (S) comes days after SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar, a Cabinet minister in UP government, declared his party's support for the BJP candidates. There are in all 11 candidates, including Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in the fray for the 10 seats for which polling will take place tomorrow.


According to the Election Commission, voting will be held from 9 am to 4 pm. Counting of votes will be taken up at 5 pm tomorrow itself. The BJP and its allies have 324 MLAs in the 403-member Assembly after the death of its Noorpur MLA in a road accident recently. To secure a win in this Rajya Sabha election, a candidate needs 37 first preference votes.


Arithmetically, the BJP can easily win eight of the 10 seats and will be left with 28 surplus votes. "There will be contest on the ninth seat," a senior UP BJP leader said, exuding confidence that the saffron party would bag nine seats.


The SP and the BSP also appeared sure of win one seat each. The SP has fielded Jaya Bachchan and the BSP Bhimrao Ambedkar. With 19 MLAs, the BSP is short of 18 first preference votes and with Naresh Agarwal's son Nitin, who is still an SP MLA, likely to cross-vote for the BJP, the task will become difficult for the candidate of the Mayawati-led party.


BSP insiders said to be doubly sure of victory, Mayawati has sought a list of SP's loyal MLAs who will vote for her party candidate. She is also banking on some independent MLAs, who, though, are yet to reveal their cards, they said. Riding on the new bonhomie with the SP, Mayawati is banking on the 10 surplus votes of Akhilesh Yadav's party, besides seven votes of the Congress and one of RLD to reach the magic figure of 37 votes.


However, Nitin Agarwal can queer the BSPs pitch if he votes for the BJP. Naresh Agarwal, who recently quit the SP and joined the BJP, has said his son would vote for the saffron party in the Rajya Sabha polls.


The country's most populous state sends 31 MPs to the 245-member Rajya Sabha, and the BJP, which won a massive victory in the 2017 Assembly elections, is yet to get a lion's share of these.


Presently, the BJP has 58 Rajya Sabha MPs. The BJP candidates in the fray from UP are Union Finance Minister Jaitley, Ashok Bajpai, Vijay Pal Singh Tomar, Sakal Deep Rajbhar, Kanta Kardam, Anil Jain, Harnath Singh Yadav, GVL Narasimha Rao and Anil Kumar Agarwal. PTI
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17:09   45000 rodents killed in a day! Why Khadse smells a rat
Senior BJP leader and former Maharashtra minister Eknath Khadse today demanded an inquiry into the way a contract to kill rats in Mantralaya (the state secretariat) was executed. How could the company which was given the contract to kill 3,19,400 rats in Mantralaya accomplish the task in a mere seven days, he asked, speaking in the Legislative Assembly. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had taken two years to kill six lakh rats in the city, he said during a discussion on Budgetary demands.


"A survey found that there were 3,19,400 rats in Mantralaya. A work order was issued by the General Administration Department. The company was given six months. But it claimed to have killed them in just seven days," Khadse said.


"It means it killed 45,628.57 rats a day. Those 0.57 must be the new-born ones," he said, evoking laughter in the House.


"It also means the company killed 31.68 rats every minute. Their weight was around 9,125.71 kg and every day one truck was required to take dead rats out of Mantralaya. But it is not known where they were disposed of," he said.


The government could have deployed ten cats to do the job instead of hiring a private firm, the former revenue minister said in a lighter vein. Dharma Patil, a farmer who committed suicide in February, consumed poison from the stock kept by the company on the premises of Mantralaya, he alleged.


Patil, alleging injustice in award of compensation for land acquisition, consumed poison at Mantralaya and died a few days later. "There is no information on whether the company had the permission to use the poison. Also, was it permitted to keep the poison stock in Mantralaya?" Khadse asked. -- PTI
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16:43   JDU has no links with Cambridge Analytica: KC Tyagi
The Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal United has sought an explanation from its senior leader KC Tyagi in the ongoing Facebook data leak scam. On Thursday, media reports said that Tyagi's son, Amrish, is the owner of Ovelina Business Intelligence, the Indian associate of Cambridge Analytica, which is under investigation over allegations stealing the data of over 50 million Facebook users.


A media report said that OBI was working in association with SCL Group, the parent company of Cambridge Analytica. Together the two companies had formed a company --  SCL India. A number of media reports claimed on Wednesday that OBI had listed JDU, Congress and the BJP as its clients on its website.


KC Tyagi, JDU's response: "There was only a work relation between my son Amrish's company and Cambridge Analytica; there is no financial transaction or shareholding, everything is open to probe.


"JDU also has no links with this, neither did they promote us in 2010 polls. It's CEO has never met Nitishji nor me. In any case JDU is a socialist outfit and we stay away from such things, except for maybe Prashant Kishoreji helping us during the last assembly polls."
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15:59   Riot cases will be withdrawn if politically motivated: UP govt
The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh may withdraw riot cases if they are "politically motivated", the state's Law Minister Brijesh Pathak said today.


Pathak was replying to a specific question by a media-person on cases related to Muzaffarnagar and other riots in the state. "Riot cases are also registered under the IPC. If these are politically motivated, we will surely consider their withdrawal," the minister said.


He, however, made it clear that only those cases were being withdrawn which smacked of political vendetta.


"Chief Minister Yogi Adidyanath has decided to withdraw those cases which were filed due to political reasons. We have initiated a process in this regard," he said. Pathak said the state government had received applications from leaders of all the parties.


"The cases lodged because of political rivalry are being withdrawn by the state government," the minister said. Over 62 lakh cases were pending before UP courts, he said.


The minister was, however, did not give a specific reply on a news report that the BJP government had initiated the process of withdrawal of 131 cases linked to the 2013 Muzaffarnagar and Shamli communal riots.


At least 62 persons died and a large number of people lost their homes in the riots that took place in September 2013. Following the violence, a total of 503 cases were lodged against around 1,455 persons at police stations in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli by the then Samajwadi Party government. PTI
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15:51   Surjewala compares Modi, Prasad to Hitler, Goebbels
RS Surjewala, Congress on the Cambridge Analytica row: Hitler had an associate called Goebbels, Modiji has an associate called Ravi Shankar Prasad. BJP Govt has become a manufacturer of fake news. Sabse bade data chor macha rahe hain sabse zyada shor."
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15:45   Cong to move privilege motion against Swaraj
Congress on Thursday announced that they would move a Privilege Motion against External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for misleading the families of the Indians killed in Iraq by the Islamic State.


Swaraj on Tuesday told Parliament in New Delhi that the 39 Indians kidnapped in 2014 by the IS terrorists had been killed. Four years ago, the Ministry of External Affair said the kidnapped Indians were alive.


"We are going to bring a Privilege Motion against the External Affairs Minister for misleading the families of the 39 Indians as well as the House," senior Congress leader Ambika Soni told reporters.


Congress leader and former MoS for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor, too, had criticised the government for giving false hope to the families of the hostages all these years.


"Giving falsehood to people is actually cruel and suggests a certain level of lack transparency on part of the government, Tharoor said.Echoing on similar views, another Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday asked the central and state governments to extend financial assistance, including government jobs, for the family members of the victims.


The 39 persons, most of whom hailed from Punjab, were working on projects near Mosul when they were kidnapped during their evacuation in 2014.  -- ANI
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15:40   Cambridge Analytica managed Rahul's social media campaign: BJP
Union minister for electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday upped the ante against the Congress over its alleged links with the British data analytics company Cambridge Analytica, which is under fire over data breach storm.


Addressing a press briefing Prasad said that the Congress party has maintained conspicuous silence on their ties with Cambridge Analytica.


"The Congress has maintained conspicuous silence (on their ties with Cambridge Analytica)," he said.He also alleged that Congress president Rahul Gandhi's social media campaign has also been managed with the help of Cambridge Analytica.


"Rahul Gandhi's entire social media campaign has been managed with the help of Cambridge Analytica and they have had meetings also," he added.


The Union Minister's remark comes after Britain's Channel 4 alleged that the London-based data analytics firm harvested private data of Facebook users to influence elections in several countries including US presidential elections.


Soon after the controversy over Cambridge Analytica's association with Indian political parties broke-out, BJP and Congress accused each other of availing of its services for electoral campaigns.


However, Congress has been refuting the charges, saying that neither the party nor Rahul used the services of Cambridge Analytica. -- ANI
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14:45   Union minister to meet Oppn leaders to break Parl logjam
Union minister Vijay Goel will meet key opposition leaders at their residence in an effort to break the logjam in Parliament, which has been paralysed for 14 days due to protests by various parties.


The government is willing for a discussion on no-confidence motions against it and enjoys a strong majority in the Lok Sabha, Goel, who is Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, said today, wondering why the opposition leaders were debating on television and not in the House.


Goel said he will be visiting key leaders of opposition parties, including the Congress, AIADMK, TDP and TRS, to persuade them to call of their protests, which have resulted in a washout of Parliament's proceedings since March 5 when it met after a recess to continue the Budget session.
-- PTI
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14:17   Trump was told not to congratulate Putin
President Donald Trump did not follow specific warnings from his national security advisers when he congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday on his re-election, including a section in his briefing materials in all-capital letters stating "DO NOT CONGRATULATE," according to officials familiar with the call. Read more


File pic.
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14:03   Why Sakshi is confident of CWG gold
A new defensive technique added to her repertoire, Olympic bronze-medallist Sakshi Malik is confident that she would fetch her maiden Commonwealth Games gold medal when she takes the mat in Gold Coast next month.


The Rio bronze-winner has tweaked her leg defence on the insistence of her coach Kuldeep Singh Malik, something that has already got her a gold in the Commonwealth Championships in December last year.


Speaking to PTI, Sakshi, however, refused to go into the details of the new technique that she has worked on. "I can't give the details of the techniques. But as I said, I'm looking for a gold medal and more confident now."


In February this year, a controversial decision in the qualification bout against eventual silver-medallist Luo Xiaojuan of China cost Sakshi a place in the final of the Asian Championship in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
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13:54   Low danger avalanche warning issued in Jammu and Kashmir
Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir have issued a low-danger avalanche warning for high altitude areas of various districts in the state, advising people to take precautionary measures.


"On the basis of information received from the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment, a low-danger avalanche warning has been issued for various high altitude areas," an official spokesperson said.


He said that the warning has been issued for Baramulla, Gulmarg, Furkian-Z Gali, Kupwara, Chowkibal-Tangdhar, Kulgam, Badgam, Bandipora, Ganderbal, Bandipora, Gurez in Kashmir, besides Srinagar-Jammu National Highway for next 24 hours, he said.


The warning was also issued for Kargil and Leh in the Ladakh region; Poonch, Rajouri, Reasi, Ramban, Doda, Kishtwar and Udhampur in Jammu region, the spokesperson said. He said the people living in these avalanche-prone areas have been advised by the disaster management authority to take precautionary measures. PTI


File pic of the aftermath of an avalanche in Kashmir.
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13:46   UIDAI CEO's PowerPoint presentation to SC on Aadhaar at 2:30 pm
The Supreme Court today allowed the CEO of the Unique Identification Authority of India to make a PowerPoint presentation on the Aadhaar scheme at 2.30 pm before it.


The constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra asked the petitioners opposing the Aadhaar scheme to prepare a questionnaire after the UIDAI CEO's presentation.


The constitution bench is hearing a number of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of Aadhaar and its enabling Act.


The bench had yesterday said there are several technical aspects related to the Aadhaar scheme.


These include surveillance, data security and exclusion of certain people from receiving benefits for want of either authentication or the lack of an Aadhaar number.


The apex court was earlier told that the collection of biometric details of citizens by the UIDAI from 2010 onwards till 2016, when the enabling Aadhaar law came into force, was "illegal" and "invalid" and the collected data deserved to be destroyed.


The court has extended the March 31 deadline for linking of Aadhaar to avail various services and welfare schemes run by the government until it delivers its verdict on the validity of the 12-digit biometric number and its enabling law. PTI
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13:38  
Cauvery water dispute: Kerala Government has filed a review petition in the Supreme Court.
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13:25   Another day of no work in LS, trust vote notice not taken up
The proceedings of Lok Sabha became a casualty of noisy protests by the AIADMK and TRS members yet again today as the House was adjourned for the day without transacting any business.


The two notices of no confidence motion against the council of ministers were not taken up for the fourth day as Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said she could not proceed forward unless the House was in order.


The Question Hour was washed out in the morning due to protests by AIADMK and TRS members over Cauvery and quota issues respectively.


As soon as the House met again, the ministers laid the listed papers even as the protests resumed. The AIADMK is pressing for immediate setting up of the Cauvery river management board. The TRS, whose members held placards saying 'One Nation One Law', is demanding that the states be given the right to determine the proportion of reservations. -- PTI
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13:07   India successfully flight tests supersonic cruise missile BrahMos
India successfully flight tested the supersonic cruise missile, BrahMos from Pokhran test range, Rajasthan on Thursday morning. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman took to Twitter and congratulated the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the successful fight test while stating how it will be a further boost for the country's security.
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12:46   CWG: IOA will not pay for extra officials
Commonwealth Games mission head Vikram Sisodia on Wednesday informed that the expenses of extra-officials, who are part of the Indian CWG contingent for Gold Coast, will be borne by the individual sports federations and not the Indian Olympic Association.


"The Commonwealth Games contingent comprises 222 athletes, 82 officials and 26 extra-team officials," Sisodia told reporters.


"According to official CWG Federation norms, extra-team officials are allowed with players but their expenses are taken care by individual federations and not IOA," he added.


He also informed that if federations are sending parents' of athletes as coaches, then their expenses will also be borne by the federation itself.


The IOA has forwarded a list of 222 athletes and 106 officials for clearance from Sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.


According to reports, the sports ministry had earlier directed the IOA that it was going to be strict on the CWG contingent size and will not allow family members of any athlete to travel with the contingent.


The 2018 CWG will be held at Gold Coast City of Australian from April 4 to 15. -- ANI
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12:29   Govt removes education fee cap for armed forces' martyrs' children
The Ministry of Defence issues an order that educational concession will continue without the cap of Rs 10,000 per month for the children of Armed Forces Officers, PBORs (Personnel Below Officer Rank) missing, disabled or killed in action.


This comes after the defence ministry had requested the finance ministry to remove the cap of Rs10,000 per month on educational assistance given to children of martyrs or those disabled in action.


On 1 July last year, the government had issued an order saying the assistance under the scheme cannot exceed Rs10,000 per month, triggering widespread discontent among all the three services.


The Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC), comprising the Army, Navy and the Air Force chiefs, had also written to the defence ministry requesting it to remove the cap.


Under the scheme, which was initially rolled out in 1972, tuition fee of children of martyrs or those disabled in action were completely waived in schools, colleges and other professional educational institutions.
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12:15   The Stephen Hawking I knew
Professor Daksh Lohiya's association with Stephen Hawking -- who passed into the ages on March 14 and will be buried in Westminster Abbey on March 31 alongside other giants of science like Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin -- began with a letter in 1976-1977.


Professor Hawking could barely write by hand then and the signed letter is one of Dr Lohiya's prized possessions.


Professor Lohiya then went on to be Professor Hawking's student at Cambridge from 1978 to 1982. Professor Hawking was his PhD supervisor and Dr Lohiya remembers him as a ruthless examiner.


Professor Hawking grilled him for 11 hours on his thesis -- with two breaks.


It was a guru-shishya parampara that continued over the years.


Dr Lohiya taught at Delhi University's mathematics department from 1984 to 2016 and was appointed emeritus professor thereafter. He is a life member of Clare Hall, Cambridge, for advanced study in applied mathematics and theoretical physics. He spends an average of three months at Cambridge every year.


The last time the shishya met his guru was at Professor Hawking's 75th birthday in 2017.


In a moving tribute to his teacher, interspersed with laughter and sadness, Dr Lohiya speaks about the man behind the brilliant mind with Rediff.com's Archana Masih. Read the interview here.
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12:07   China quietly finds a new route to S Doklam
China has worked through the winter to bypass India's aggressive blockade at Doklam, making a new road that can give its troops access to the southern part of the plateau -- a move that has serious strategic implications for New Delhi. Read more
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11:46   Journalist murder: SC gives clean chit to Lalu's son
The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed the petition filed by Asha Ranjan, whose husband and journalist Rajdeo Ranjan was murdered in Siwan district in Bihar. The petition alleged Lalu Yadav's son Tej Pratap was involved in her husband's murder. Ranjan was murdered in Siwan in May 2016.


Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Shahabuddin's name has cropped up as an accused in the investigation of Ranjan's murder.


Ranjan's widow had sought direction for registration of an FIR against Shahabuddin and Yadav for "conspiracy and harbouring and sheltering the proclaimed offenders" in the murder case.


The CBI had last year taken custody of Shahabuddin and on August 22, 2017, the CBI had filed a chargesheet against Shahabuddin.


Read more:Embarrassment for Lalu after image of son with wanted sharpshooter goes viral


File pic: Tej Pratap with sharpshooter Mohammad Kaif who was wanted in the murder of journalist Rajdeo Ranjan.
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11:30  
Supersonic Cruise Missile BrahMos successfully flight tested from Rajasthan's Pokhran test range, this morning.
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11:26   'We Are Sikhs' campaign wins top US award
A Sikh nationwide campaign launched across America to generate awareness about the minority community in the country has won a top US award for excellence in public relations programming to promote public causes.


In April, "We are Sikhs" ad campaign was launched by the non-profit organisation National Sikh Campaign to inform Americans about their religion amid a spike in hate crimes against the minority community in the country.


The campaign which was executed by FP1 Strategies, won the award for effectively projecting the Sikhs as neighbours and everyday Americans who face discrimination due to ignorance of their faith.


The campaign received the top 2018 PRWeek US award, nicknamed the "Oscars of the Public Relations Industry", in the category of Public Cause. "It is indeed a great victory for the Sikh community across the US. I would like to thank each and every individual who contributed towards making this campaign a grand success," said Rajwant Singh, co-founder and senior adviser of NSC.


"Countless Sikhs have had to face bullying, discrimination, and hate crimes due to the lack of understanding of our faith and our values," he added. The USD 1.3 million for the campaign was raised mostly by Sikhs, with some Hindus also making notable contributions.


The TV advertisements showed Sikhs as American neighbours going about their daily lives, professing patriotism and national values, but also sharing a love for the TV series "Game of Thrones" and the children's show "Sponge Bob Square Pants" - to counteract the mistaken negative perceptions because of their turbans and beards.


"The campaign drove online conversation that reached more than 5.5 million voters and gained the attention of many of Washington's most influential organisations.


"A post-campaign poll proved the group moved the needle, with significant increases in the percentage of people who knew more about Sikhs and said the group had 'generally American values,' believed in 'equality and respect for all' and were 'patriotic'," PRWeek said in a statement.


Image: A Sikh family in the US.
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11:12   EXPLAINED: Cambridge Analytica, Facebook and the data breach
British data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica is at the centre of a controversy in India, the United States and Britain after two newspapers reported on Sunday that the company harvested personal data about Facebook users beginning in 2014.

How does that matter, what does it entail and should you be worried?

All your questions answered here.
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11:00   Rahul reacts to data theft accusation: BJP inventing story
Congress president Rahul Gandhi's first response to BJP accusations that the party hired Cambridge Analytica for data theft.


Rahul Gandhi tweeted, "Problem: 39 Indians dead; Govt on the mat, caught lying.

Solution: Invent story on Congress & Data Theft.

Result: Media networks bite bait;

39 Indians vanish from radar.

Problem solved."


The BJP on Wednesday accused the Congress of hiring the services of Cambridge Analytica, a data mining firm accused of illegally harvesting Facebook users' details to influence elections in several countries, and wondered if the party would now depend on data theft to woo voters.


The Congress, however, denied the charge and instead, accused the ruling party of using the services of the controversial firm. The BJP also rejected the allegation.


Union minister and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad launched a scathing attack on the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi as he cited several media reports, which claimed that the New York-based company would work for Gandhi ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.


The law and IT minister wanted to know how many times did Gandhi meet Cambridge Analyticas now sacked CEO Alexander Nix.


Later, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra told reporters that the illegal use of peoples data from social media could turn out to be the Congress biggest scam and added that the government would launch a probe into the matter.

"Stealing data from social media is your (Congress) weapon. Cambridge Analytica is now Congress Analytica, he said.
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10:43   Mosul victim's wife: Don't want to collect husband's body
After news of her husband's death in Mosul, Iraq, Dipali Tikadar now harbours just one wish: a meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to seek a government job.


Dipali's husband Samar Tikadar was kidnapped along with 38 other Indians in Iraq in 2014 by Islamic State. On Tuesday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj announced in Parliament that all 39 men were dead.


"I will tell the CM when I meet her about my poor financial condition, and appeal for a government job. I think she will understand my situation," Tikadar, a mother of two, said.


Over the past four years, she had been toiling hard to make ends meet for her two children with a hope that her husband's return will change their life for better.


"I thought after Samar returns, our days of hardship would be over. But now, I don't know what to expect from life," Dipali Tikadar told PTI.


She is staring at an uncertain future with little means to provide for her children. Her son Sudip is making preparations for Class X board exams and daughter Sharmistha is a student of Class 4.


"I want a government job so that I can arrange for the education of my children," the 35-year-old woman said.


The tin shed over her mud house in Nadia district, along the Indo-Bangladesh border, is also in need of immediate repair, but Tikadar says she has no money.


"I get Rs 4,800 as an Integrated Child Development Service worker. It is not enough to run a family. Please arrange to take me to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee," she pleaded.


Samar Tikadar had left for Iraq in 2011, much like Khakon Tikadar - both residents of Chapra Mahakhola area of Nadia district, close to India-Bangladesh border. Their families last heard from them early 2014 before the abduction by IS militants.


Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh has said that it would take the government eight to 10 days to bring back the remains of the 39 workers. Dipali Tikadar, however, is not keen on visiting Kolkata airport to receive her husband's remains.


"Even if I get scope to go to the airport to receive the remains of my husband, I won't go. I am too depressed to handle the situation," she said, adding that the Nadia administration has collected blood samples from Samar's siblings for a DNA test. -- PTI
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10:21   Statement by France on Indians killed by ISIS in Mosul
Following Indian authorities confirmation of murder of a group of Indian workers kidnapped by ISIS in 2014, France offers its condolences to victims families and loved ones and to Indian authorities.

The statement reads:

"France pays tribute to the investigation carried out with Iraqi authorities that made it possible to establish the truth about the fate of these victims of terrorism. We stand with its Indian and Iraqi partners in the fight against terrorism and for peace and stability."


External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday told Parliament, "All the 39 Indians abducted by the Islamic State terror outfit in Mosul in Iraq three years ago are dead and their bodies have been recovered."


While it was not immediately known when the Indians were killed, their bodies were recovered from Badosh -- a village in northwest of Mosul, and their identities established through DNA testing, she said making a suo motu statement in the Rajya Sabha.


The mortal remains, which were exhumed from a mass grave in Badosh, will be brought back to India on a special plane and handed over to their relatives, she said.


Image: Family members of some of the 39 Indians declared dead at a village in Amritsar. PTI Photo
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10:11   The challenges to transparency
The Right to Information Act raised the promise of a true participatory democracy with empowered citizens. It also raised the hope of citizens being treated with respect and dignity by the public servants.


A unique provision for penalizing public officials who did not provide information to the citizens within 30 days gave the law its teeth. It exempted only specific categories of information and recognized the sovereignty of the individual citizen and his/her ownership of government by mandating that a citizen needed to give no reasons for seeking information.


It is one of the best transparency laws in the world which can bring accountability in governance and reduce corruption. Citizens started using the law with great enthusiasm and also teaching and facilitating others. 

Read RTI activist Shailesh Gandhi's piece here.
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10:04   A rash of proclamations
"There is much to commend about India's newspapers that most outsiders find 'lively'. Alas, the well-researched celebration of past lives, written in lively prose, isn't one of the known attributes of the Indian media. At one time, The Statesman used to possess a 'morgue' - the colloquial term for a room where the Obituaries Editor was based. This was a relic from the days the newspaper was suitably grand and British-controlled. With indigenization, the 'morgue' fell into disuse and was subsequently junked. Reports of deaths of yesterday's famous, or even interesting, people resemble a potted biodata - like the ones the presiding officer reads out in Parliament on the death of an MP or a former member of the House. The personality of the departed is subsumed in a lifeless list of what school and college he attended and which offices he occupied."


Swapan Dasgupta on the tendency to overstate trends. Read the column here
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09:56   EC allows murder accused Mukhtar Ansari to vote in RS polls
The Election Commission on Thursday granted permission to jailed Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mukhtar Ansari to take part in the voting of the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.


BSP national general secretary, Rajya Sabha member and an eminent Supreme Court lawyer, Satish Chand Mishra had filed a petition in the Allahabad High Court for the release of two MLAs Mukhtar Ansari of the BSP and Hariom Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, so that they could participate in the voting on March 23.


Ansari is the prime accused in the murder of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai, among other crimes, and has pleaded not guilty.


In September 2017, Ansari was acquitted in connection with contractor Manna Singh's murder case.


In 2010, Ansari was also booked for the murder of Ram Singh Maurya, who was a witness to the murder of Manna Singh.


The Rajya Sabha polls are scheduled for March 23.There will be 59 vacancies in the Rajya Sabha in April. Three nominated members - actor Rekha, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and social worker Anu Aga - will also be retiring then. -- ANI
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09:52   England's Leicester city to host National Samosa Week
If there can be events and days dedicated to pies, chocolates and cheese, why can't we celebrate the lip-smacking samosa?


A National Samosa Week has been launched in England's Leicester city to create an awareness about South Asian food and culture.


Organised by the Leicester Curry Awards, the event - which is set to take place from April 9 to 13 - has been launched with the aim to encourage everyone to try, taste and enjoy these savoury bundles of joy.


Romail Gulzar, Founder of the awards, said, "There's a national food event for everything, from burgers to beer, so why not samosas? The savoury dish has grown in popularity and for many people in the South Asian community, eating one is like the equivalent of having tea and cake."


To launch the event in April, the organisers in Leicester will be setting up a pop-up shop in a city centre venue and encouraging people to buy, eat and sell as many samosas as they can. -- ANI
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09:28   Nitish to help kin of Indians killed in Mosul
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has condemned the killing of 39 Indians, six of whom were from his state, in Iraq's Mosul by the Islamic State. 

Describing the killings as "dastardly", he said that the entire state stood in solidarity with the family members of the six persons killed in Mosul.

In an official release, the chief minister assured that all help would be provided by the state government to the bereaved families.

On Tuesday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told Parliament that all 39 of the Indians kidnapped had been killed and buried in a mass grave. The revelation set off a row with the Opposition, which accused the Narendra Modi government at the Centre of being insensitive in not informing the victims' kin first. 

Swaraj's suo motu statement on the fate of the kidnapped Indian workers confirmed the worst fears of the kidnapped Indians' families after keeping alive hopes of their survival for four years.
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09:24   Trump to unveil China trade sanctions tomorrow
US President Donald Trump is likely to unveil sanctions against China tomorrow, the White House indicated today, as the officials from the US Trade Representative said America has strong evidence of Beijing violating its commitments on intellectual property and technology transfers.

"Tomorrow the president will announce the actions he has decided to take based on USTR's 301 investigations into China's state-led, market-distorting efforts to force, pressure and steal US technologies and intellectual property," White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah said today.

Officials, however, refrained from giving any further details even as USTR submitted its Section 301 report on its investigation into "unfair" Chinese trade practices to the president.

Tariffs and a potential WTO case are certainly on the table, a USTR official told reporters during a briefing on Section 301 investigation report.

The administration, according to the official, is not satisfied with the type of responses the United States has been getting from China.

"We have strong evidence against China. These are deeply concerning to the administration and raise severe questions about China and its commitment to market-oriented practices that they promised to engage in," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

-- PTI
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08:21   'ModiCare gets Cabinet nod; likely to roll out by October
The Union Cabinet approved the governments ambitious Modicare health insurance that targets nearly 11 crore poor families and will be a portable scheme which can be availed of anywhere in India. 

There will be no cap on family size and age while payments will be on package rates. The scheme, announced in the Budget earlier this year, will provide Rs 5 lakh insurance cover per family and is intended to be extended over time into a universal programme for all citizens.

Preexisting conditions will be covered and there will also be a defined transport allowance per hospitalisation. As the benefits of the scheme are portable, a beneficiary covered under the scheme will be allowed to take cashless benefits from public or private empanelled hospitals across the country.

According to an official release, the urban and rural inclusion criteria will look at deprivation and categories like families with no adult members between the ages of 16 and 59 years; female-headed households; SC, ST and landless labour; families without shelter; and destitutes.

Though no rollout date for Modicare has been announced, the scheme is expected to become effective latest by October. The premium amount to be paid by the Centre and states has not been stated either, though it was estimated at about Rs 1,200 per family. To control costs, payments for treatment will be done on package rate (to be defined by the government).
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07:49   Facebook made mistakes, says Zuckerberg; vows to 'fix' issues
In the midst of revelations of a major data breach, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg today admitted that his company made mistakes on user data secrecy and vowed to take steps to prevent the misuse or breach of personal data of users by developers or business partners.

Zuckerberg, 33, through a lengthy Facebook post, broke his silence over the alleged privacy scandal that hit the social media giant.

"I started Facebook, and at the end of the day, I'm responsible for what happens on our platform. I'm serious about doing what it takes to protect our community," Zuckerberg said.

Reports alleged that personal data from as many as 50 million people might have been used improperly in Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign by Cambridge Analytica, a UK-based political research firm.

Zuckerberg said Facebook has a "responsibility" to protect its users' data and if it fails, "we don't deserve to serve you."

He acknowledged that there is more the company needs to do.

"But we also made mistakes, there's more to do, and we need to step up and do it," he said.

Over the past several days, Facebook has been facing an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission and calls for legislative testimonies in the US and Europe.

India's IT and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has warned social media companies such as Facebook of stringent actions if there was any attempt to influence the electoral process of any country.

-- PTI
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00:35   Jharkhand's top Naxal 'commander' Arvindji dead: Sources
Top Naxal 'commander' Arvindji, operating in Jharkhand, is reported to have died on Wednesday of a heart attack in the jungles of the state, sources in the security establishment said. 

Official sources said the horse-riding Arvindji alias Dev Kumar Singh alias Nishant was in his 50s and died early on Wednesday in the jungles of the Budha Pahad in Jharkhand, bordering Chhattisgarh.

The 'A category', most wanted Naxal leader was a member of the central committee of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) and carried a reward of Rs 1.5 crore on his head, declared by the police forces of Jharkhand and Bihar. 

"We have reports to confirm that Arvindji is dead. It is understood that he suffered a heart attack today that claimed his life while he was in the Budha Pahar area," a senior security official said.

However, security agencies and police did not make an independent confirmation on the development. 

They said the 'well-educated and technology expert' Naxal leader was suffering from several diseases, including diabetes, and had his hand behind a number of killings and attacks on security forces including the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in the state.

Arvindji, who hailed from Bihar's Jehanabad, was active in the Palamu, Garhwa and Chatra districts of Jharkhand that are hit by Left Wing Extremism (LWE). 

Considered an expert in inter-district Naxal operations, security forces had found that Maoists from other states used to seek Arvindji's suggestions on operations against the forces and other tasks.

A police dossier said he was a 'strategist and mastermind' of Naxal operations in Jharkhand for years.

The forces had reported Arvindji moving in the Budha Pahar area and other jungle patches in the state on horse back for years and several times he escaped by a whisker as security forces closed in on him.

Unconfirmed reports said his wife Prabhavati Devi left Jehanabad shortly after the reports of his death came in. Arvindji's death, sources said, would further weaken the Maoist strength and morale in the state.  -- PTI

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