2006 Aurangabad arms haul case: MCOCA court likely to announce its order on Abu Jundal today

Mumbai: A Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court is expected to announce its verdict on key plotter of 26/11 terror strikes, Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, in connection with the he 2006 Aurangabad Arms haul case.

The 22 arrested accused in the case include Lashkar-e-Toiba operative and key plotter of the 26/11 terror attack case Jundal.

Sponsored by Revcontent
Trending Now

On May 8, 2006, a Maharashtra ATS team chased a Tata Sumo and an Indica car on Chandwad-Manmad highway near Aurangabad and arrested three terror suspects and seized 30kg of RDX, 10 AK-47 assault rifles and 3,200 bullets.

The Indica, allegedly driven by Jundal, managed to give police the slip. Jundal, who hails from Beed district of Maharashtra, drove to Malegaon and a few days later he escaped to Bangladesh from where he fled to Pakistan, according to the state police.

He was deported to India from Saudi Arabia in 2012.

The court had last year framed charges against the LeT operative in connection with 26/11 attacks case.

Jundal was charged on 23 different counts, including criminal conspiracy, waging war against the nation, criminal conspiracy, murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping for murder, cheating, forgery and for abetting the terror attack from Pakistan under Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had filed a charge sheet against Jundal in Delhi for conspiring to carry out terrorist activities in India, including the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

The charge sheet against Jundal has details about his training in Pakistan, preparations ahead of 26/11, LeT hierarchy, the precise role played by those involved, etc.

According to Jundal's confession, LeT training camps enjoyed full support from local, federal police and paramilitary organisations in Pakistan.

Source:-zeenews
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

Lok Sabha clears amendments in Lok Pal Act

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday cleared amendments to the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, pertaining to dilution of Section 44 of the Act dealing with disclosure of assets of spouses of public servants and those holding positions on the boards of non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

In an unprecedented step, neither the copies of the amendments were circulated to the MPs, nor the Union cabinet had approved them ahead of introduction. Prime Minister Narendra Modi invoked special powers, vested to him to approve the Bill without the Cabinet clearance. The amendments will restrict the declaration only of the assets and liabilities of the public servants only, sparing their spouse and dependent children. The amendments will also seek to do away with this proactive disclosure requirement. The public servants includes the government officials, political functionaries that is the Prime Minister, Ministers and also the Members of Parliament.

Sponsored by Revcontent
Trending Now

Minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh moved the amendments, which was not listed in the business list, assuring the members that a Standing Committee of Parliament will be looking into the amendments in any case. The amendment were cleared without discussion amidst protests from the Opposition benches. On the urgency, the minister said since the date of filing such returns was July 30, it has become necessary to address the impasse.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and several members of Parliament, including nominated member Anu Agha and independent MP in the Rajya Sabha Rajeev Chandrashekhar had raised concerns over the income disclosure clause for trustees and board members of NGOs. According to the minister civil servants, mostly lady officers had also raised the issue that the spouses were working elsewhere and they were not very clear whether they should be asked to make it public and declare the assets.

While the Congress and the Left parties agreed that there was an 'urgency' to pass the bill, they urged that the government should be stringent in imposing the provisions of the bill. Opposition leaders including Mohammad Salim of CPM objected to the introduction of the Bill saying that due parliamentary process was not followed.

As per the rules notified under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act 2013, every public servant shall file declaration, information and annual returns pertaining to his assets and liabilities as well as for his spouse and dependent children on March 31 every year or on or before July 31 of that year. In April, the government had extended the date of filing returns by public servants from April 15 to July 31. This is the fifth extension in the deadline since the Act came into force in January 2014.

As per rules, organisations receiving more than Rs1 crore in government grants and donations above Rs10 lakh from abroad fall under the ambit of Lokpal.
Source:-dnaindia
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

Magsaysay for Wilson, Krishna

Bezwada Wilson and TM Krishna, the Indian recipients of this year’s Ramon Magsaysay Awards, have a lot in common. Both challenged caste hierarchies to lay the ground for social order where human dignity prevailed over everything else.

Where 50-year-old Wilson, born to manual scavengers in Karnataka’s Kolar, worked to liberate thousands of women from the dehumanising practice, 40-year-old Krishna, a trained Carnatic musician, questioned his art for being the exclusive preserve of Brahmins.

Four others who have been selected for the award are — Conchita Carpio-Morales of the Philippines, Dompet Dhuafa of Indonesia, Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers and ‘Vientiane Rescue’ of Laos.

“My award goes out to all those women who burned their baskets without the promise of rehabilitation from the government. I salute them all,” Wilson told The Tribune from his humble East Patel Nagar office today. His office doubles as his home.

The Award, Wilson adds, will help focus the national attention on lakhs of faceless sufferers still trapped in the inhuman occupation, restricted to Dalits.

“Around two lakh women are still engaged as manual scavengers across India. What’s more — lakhs of cleaners of sewage and septic tanks are suffering silently across our booming cities. No one cares about their deaths. Their liberation and justice to their families is our next goal,” says Wilson, credited with three landmark moments in the history of India’s anti-manual scavenging movement — the passage of the 1993 anti-scavenging law, its replacement with a new 2013 law and a 2014 Supreme Court judgment, which directed the Centre and state governments to pay Rs 10 lakh compensation to each family that witnessed death of a ward in a septic tank.

His Magsaysay citation recognises the range of Wilson’s 32-year work. “Awarded for asserting the inalienable right to a life of human dignity,” it says of the man who led the movement to demolish dry latrines in India through his Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA). He launched this movement from Hyderabad with Narayan Amma, the legendary scavenger whose stories are now part of school curriculum.

The citation also mentions how of the estimated six lakh scavengers in India, SKA liberated three lakh. The practice still involves 180,000 Dalit households cleaning 790,000 public and private dry latrines across India.

For TM Krishna, born to a privileged Brahmin family in Chennai, the Magsaysay Citation says: “Awarded for social inclusiveness in culture”.

The Award recognises Krishna’s urge to liberate his art form from the clutches of caste and make it inclusive. “He questioned the politics of art; widened his knowledge about the arts of the Dalits and non-Brahmin communities; and declared he would no longer sing in ticketed events at a famous, annual music festival in Chennai to protest the lack of inclusiveness…Krishna is resolved to break barriers of caste, class or creed by democratising music,” declares his citation also mentioning how Krishna was the sole Carnatic musician to hold music fests in war-torn Northern Sri Lanka.

Source:-tribuneindia
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

GST Bill: Good job Cabinet, it's only a matter of time now

A day after the meeting of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers raised its concerns about the GST Bill, the Cabinet cleared the changes in the Constitutional Amendment Bill in line with the demands made by the panel, clearing the way for the much-needed tax reform to be passed in the current Parliament session.

The move by the Cabinet, chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi, is commendable for the swift action taken and shows the seriousness of the NDA government in taking up the reform process, according to experts.

On Wednesday, the Cabinet approved the dropping of the 1 percent additional manufacturing tax and also provided guarantee to compensate states for any revenue loss in the first five years of the rollout of the proposed indirect tax regime.

“It is indeed commendable that the Cabinet has taken up the GST matter within a day of the meeting of the Empowered Committee of state finance ministers. This depicts the resolve and commitment of the Government to move ahead on GST," MS Mani, Senior Director – Indirect Tax, Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP, said in a statement.
"The decision to do away with the 1% tax proposed earlier to compensate the manufacturing states will remove a major aberration in the GST value chain. Further, the statement that the states would be compensated for revenue losses for five years would go a long way in addressing their concerns on a very crucial aspect of the GST process,” he added.

Apart from the Congress party, the 1 percent additional tax has been a bone of contention even for the industry, which termed it a "bombshell" that would defeat the whole purpose of PM Modi's pet Make in India scheme. The levy was introduced to placate manufacturing states such as Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, which would lose revenue on account of the GST.

Pratik Jain, partner at KPMG had told Business Standard that the 1 percent additional tax will compromise the efficiency of the supply chain.

As far as compensation for state governments is concerned, the state finance ministers on Tuesday had said that wording in the Bill needs to be changed to bring about clarity.

"You will be happy to know that unanimously a wording was proposed which is clear that five years and that it will be implemented, a very nice constitutional amendment wording was proposed by the empowered committee which I proposed on the behalf of all the finance ministers. I believe that much of it will be accepted," West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra, who heads the empowered panel, had told the CNBC-TV18 in an interview.

The Cabinet-approved Bill now provides that the Centre will give 100 percent compensation to states for first three years, 75 percent and 50 percent for the next two years.

With the Centre accepting the changes, the NDA government has indeed made a giant step forward to bring on board all the state governments.

Harishanker Subramaniam, national leader, indirect tax, Ernst and Young, said the Cabinet approval is a "very welcome" step.

"The cabinet's clearance of crucial amendments in the Constitution Amendment Bill in response to Empowered Committee discussions like removal of 1% origin tax, and 5 years compensation to States is indeed very welcome and will pave the way for political consensus and early passage of bill in the monsoon session," he said in a statement.

According to a PTI report, with states on board and the Cabinet approving the amendments, the government is hopeful of passage of the long-pending Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament, which ends on August 12.
Source:-firstpost
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

Strike all you want, app-based taxi services Ola and Uber aren't going anywhere

I almost missed my flight out of India yesterday because the Ola cab driver that arrived three minutes after being called on the app gently and sadly refused to take me to Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport on the grounds that we might get blocked by the 20-odd taxi (yellow-tops) and autorickshaw unions. He said he could drop me a couple of kilometres short of the airport and I could leg it from there.

With luggage in tow, that was not an option and running short of time, I was reduced to requesting neighbours if their drivers could take me. Finally, one driver felt pity and since his boss was out of the city, took the risk of misusing his vehicle.

En route, I saw several Ola and Uber cabs stopping short of the airport and passengers and others in private cars being flagged down so they could complete their journey. It was heartening to see several private vehicles doing just that.

I am not so sure what the beef is and what this strike was for but this is exactly how we thwart progress. I was introduced to Ola by a friend. It works. They come in moments, they don’t argue, they don’t dump you, they have WiFi, a GPS, they are in touch with their offices, have clean cars, they message you afterwards and they say 'thank you'.
Representational image. News18

Representational image. News18

And they cost less.

Compare that to surly, ill-mannered autorickshaw drivers who hold a quiz contest about where you are going, drive off so often leaving you stranded when you tell them where you wish to go and spray you with contempt. Yellow-tops that do the same, charge more than Uber and Ola and give you a smelly treat in cover-ripped interiors of cabs that look like burnt-out slippers.

If you want to go on strike, get your act together first.

Why would the passenger not take these app-based services? Especially when they are cheaper, more comfortable and reliable and convenient than these cabbies and autos.

We want to be a more progressive country, so let’s be more progressive. If the 90,000 autos and the 1,500 cabs in the capital have been cheating us and treating us like dirt for years and the same story holds true in every Indian metro. Why should we have any sympathy?

It has nothing to do with poor guys and snatching their daily bread, turn them all into an app-based facility with rules of conduct.

And as far as political support is concerned, both the AAP and the BJP can take a hike. You go against against good service and a proper system, and you are hurting the people of this city and every other city. You talk about your livelihood being threatened. These unions have done nothing to improve service, they are an unpleasant exercise at the best of times and we have been at the receiving end for years.

How often have we stood there begging an auto driver to take us to Sundernagar or RK Puram and he has roared off without a backward glance?

That’s my point. Let’s not go backwards.

Become competitive in every sense of the word or you will be sidelined regardless of the number of strikes you hold or the protests you make. The public is tired of your blackmailing inefficiency.
And let us ask Rajender Soni, general secretary of Delhi Autorickshaw Sangh and Delhi Pradesh Taxi Union, what he would do if he had to get somewhere in a hurry.

He says action should be taken against Uber and Ola. What action? For being user friendly. Cheaper. Cheaper. Cheaper.

For once, let this powerful union be honest with itself. Tell your members to smarten up. Get real. Uber and Ola are here to stay and there will be ten more like them. You cannot fight better service with emotional arm-twist.

Tomorrow, there will be an auto rickshaw equivalent that will be courteous, professional and gracious enough not to leave you in the lurch.

If Narendra Modi’s government wants progress then improvement in public transportation is a pivot. You want us to be hi-tech and then wait on the road pleading with a string of auto drivers who don’t even look up and acknowledge you?

And the same goes for you, too, Arvind Kejriwal, don't mess with things that show improvement.

Give me Ola and Uber any day.

The people driving them are not rich either. They are also making a living. And they say 'thank you'.
Source:-firstpost
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

What's the biggest trap for users in an Oracle licensing agreement?

Let's assume you've made it past the signing of your contract while staying in compliance. Now you're faced with a never-ending series of contractual terms that can lead you into a noncompliant position. Can your organization use the software outside its home country? Can external clients use the software? What happens if your company is acquired? All of these questions are real issues faced by businesses every day. If you don't anticipate such issues when negotiating an Oracle licensing agreement, it's very easy to find yourself accidentally out of compliance.

    If you try to fix your license problems by starting with the technology and counting processors, you're just digging yourself into a deeper hole.

As if that wasn't bad enough, there's more. There are also some contractual licensing traps that aren't actually in your Oracle contract. An Oracle licensing agreement contains a lot of links to further resources on Oracle's licensing policies. Why do you think Oracle doesn't include links to those documents in the final contract? If it really wanted you to read them, it would have left them in the contract itself.

In addition, there are various policies that Oracle doesn't even mention in its contracts. For instance, there's nothing about virtualization -- the Oracle policy document says it's not part of the contract. As you may already know from past experience, this lack of clarity causes major problems.
Source:-techtarget
viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

As iPhone Sales Sag, Apple Touts Apps And Services Instead

San Francisco: You can expect to hear a lot more from Apple about the virtues of mobile apps and online services in coming months. And for good reason: They're just about the only part of Apple's business that's growing right now.

Apps and services have always been key to the appeal of Apple products. But with iPhone sales down for the second quarter in a row - and speculation that a major redesign won't arrive until late next year - Apple is talking up its online business, promoting it with new kinds of ads and even sponsoring an upcoming reality TV show called "Planet of the Apps."

The giant tech company sold 40.4 million iPhones in the last quarter - 15 percent fewer than a year ago, according to its earnings report Tuesday. Analysts say consumers just aren't as excited about the newest iPhone models. As a result, Apple's overall revenue fell 15 percent to $42.4 billion for the three months ending June 30.

Apple also sold fewer iPad units, Mac computers and Apple Watches in the last quarter, although iPad revenue increased, thanks to the introduction of higher-priced iPad Pro models. And a modestly better forecast for the current quarter sent Apple shares up nearly 7 percent in late trading, after closing at $96.63.

But the biggest bright spot in the company's report was a 19 percent sales jump for the segment that includes iTunes, Apple Music, the App Store and services like Apple Pay and iCloud storage. That segment produced nearly $6 billion in sales - more than Apple pulled in from quarterly sales of either iPads or Macs.

FOR SERVICES RENDERED

Apple makes money from online services by taking a percentage whenever users pay to download a song from iTunes, buy an app from the App Store or subscribe to a streaming service like Apple Music. It keeps 30 cents of every dollar spent in the App Store , for example, and passes 70 cents to the app developer. Apple also collects fees from people who buy extra iCloud storage and from banks when customers use their credit cards with Apple Pay.

Since growth is what Wall Street likes to see, Apple executives are increasingly touting the purchasing power of the company's massive customer base - nearly 600 million owners of Apple devices who spend an average of $68 a year on apps, music and other services, according to estimates by Credit Suisse.

"We expect this business will continue to grow" even if Apple sells fewer devices in a particular quarter, Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri told The Associated Press. "It's becoming a very meaningful portion of what we do."

Apple's still optimistic about the iPhone, CEO Tim Cook assured analysts on a conference call. But he also boasted that Apple's online services will produce as much revenue as a Fortune 100 company by next year.

REALITY OR BUST

That's where shows like "Planet of the Apps" come in. Apple is partnering on the project with a team of veteran Hollywood producers and musician/entrepreneur will.i.am.

Though it's expected to be something like a "Shark Tank" competition for app developers, Apple has kept a tight lid on details such as who will host or when it will air. But it will undoubtedly promote the App Store. It also demonstrates Apple's desire to create original programming as a way of drawing more people to purchase music and videos on iTunes and Apple TV.

Apple also announced Tuesday that it's sponsoring another unscripted video series based on the popular "Carpool Karaoke" segments hosted by talk-show host James Corden.

Separately, Apple has been tweaking the App Store itself. In one change, Apple is reducing its commission on apps that are sold on a subscription basis. That could lower its revenue in the short term, but experts say Apple benefits in the long run if more developers adopt a sales model that requires consumers to renew every year - since Apple gets a slice of every renewal fee.

In another change, Apple has begun selling App Store ads to developers, so iPhone owners who search for new apps will now see a paid listing along with other results. The ads should increase Apple's revenue, according to Credit Suisse analyst Kulbinder Garcha. He estimated Apple's annual take from apps and services could more than double in a few years, reaching $54 billion by 2020.
Source:-NDTV
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

Bill Clinton's charming speech did a masterful job in making Hillary likeable

New York: If the first day of the Democratic National Convention focused on disgruntled Bernie Sanders supporters, the second day focused effectively on Hillary Clinton. Former President Bill Clinton showed his unique ability to fire up the base by making a forceful case for the woman he called the best "darn change-maker" he's ever met.

Earlier Tuesday, 68-year-old Hillary Clinton made history as she became the first woman to be nominated for the post of President by a major political party in the US. In prime time, Americans were hooked as Bill Clinton opened his speech with a charming preamble:

"In the spring of 1971, I met a girl."

He then segued into his wife's life journey — from the young woman with "thick blond hair and big glasses" he met in law school — to Clinton's journey as a mother and a senator and a secretary of state. Bill Clinton's long, folksy telling of their love story was the evening’s capstone and tried to open a window into Clinton’s character and motivations by sharing a medley of personal anecdotes. Hillary has weaknesses as a candidate: she has a lackluster style on the stump and is often seen as untrustworthy or unlikable. She is a conventional candidate in an unconventional election in which voters clearly favor renegades.

Therefore, Bill Clinton sought to soften his wife's harder edges and transform the way people think about Hillary Clinton. He harked back to the spring of 1971, when he was a love-struck young man from Arkansas smitten by the brainy blonde he spotted across a law-school classroom. He elicited warm laughter from the audience in the Wells Fargo Center as he shared how Hillary left him speechless and how he proposed two times before she finally said yes the third time.

"We’ve been walking and talking and laughing together ever since,” the former president said of the woman he would marry. “We’ve done it in good times and bad, through joy and heartbreak. We built up a lifetime of memories."

Throughout the evening, Bill Clinton didn't lose sight of his main job of talking about Hillary's accomplishments as a public servant. The clear takeaway was intended to be that Hillary makes things better. She makes people’s lives better. She has made his life better.

"Hillary has lived for so long in the public eye that it's not easy to separate her private persona from her public one. But Bill Clinton did a masterful job of making her tremendously likeable," said political analyst Adam Bradford.

"The vintage speech showed up Hillary Clinton as super-smart, strong, committed, determined and genuine," added Bradford. "This will go a long way in converting voters."

The night ended with a dramatic nod to history being made at the Democratic convention. Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys played "Superwoman" as a large screen television flashed a photo gallery of the nation’s 44 presidents, all men and all but one of them white. Then it showed Hillary Clinton breaking through what looked like a plate of glass.

After President Obama was shown on screen, Hillary Clinton appeared via a live feed from New York.

“I can’t believe we just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling yet," said Hillary Clinton. "If there are any little girls out there who stayed up late to watch, let me just say: I may become the first woman president, but one of you is next.”

Hillary has pledged to give Bill Clinton a role in a potential second Clinton administration dealing with the economy, trying to capitalize on her husband's economic record while he was in the White House.

"I'm going to put (him) in charge of revitalizing the economy," Clinton said in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, this May. "You know he knows how to do it, especially in places like coal country and inner cities and other parts of our country that have really been left out."

Source:-firstpost
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

Rajnath’s J&K visit shows Centre unsure

Those who may have looked for identifiable positives to emerge from Union home minister Rajnath Singh’s trip to the Kashmir Valley last week are likely to be disappointed. Which means the Centre is unsure what to do with the wreckage — social, political, psychological — left behind by the spontaneous show of public violence following the shooting down of Kashmir’s “new age” militant, Burhan Wani, on July 8. This seems the main point to emerge from what the home minister said to the media in Srinagar.

More, the BJP’s coalition partner in the state government and for all practical purposes its principal interlocutor, the PDP, too seems to have lost the way, if CM Mehbooba Sayeed’s observations are any guide. The CM just blamed the Centre and the state for not thinking of the Kashmir issue when times are normal, and (for once) criticised Pakistan — may be to balance what she said about the Centre — for promoting terrorism in Kashmir while seeking to flush out (inconvenient) terrorists internally.

So, there is no plan of any kind, evidently. Asking Pakistan to go stew is not a plan. Also, making it plain that India will not countenance a third-party or third-country intervention in Kashmir is old hat. This has been our position since the Simla summit of 1972 and was endorsed at the Lahore summit when India was led by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, the first PM from the BJP’s ranks. The home minister said he desires an “emotional” connect with Kashmir, and not one based on need. But what does that mean? We, of course, know what it does not mean.

Mr Singh himself made that quite clear. He said there would be no talks with anyone until peace was restored. Probably what he means is that the situation must return to the time before Wani, an important emerging Hizbul Mujahideen leader, was killed. It is entirely unclear how long that might be. A tight curfew is on. We’ll have a better idea when that is officially lifted across the Valley. But we should note that the home minister has said one more thing, convoluted though that sounds. He said that when normalcy returns the government would talk to whoever it needs to talk to.

Does that mean something very different from a need-based relationship, which Mr Singh indicated he does not want? The home minister is expected to talk to the security forces and the CM when he visits Kashmir. Because the situation was complex, he also engaged the Opposition parties. But the Congress did not meet him. Leading civil bodies also showed no interest. Clearly, no one thought of adequately preparing the ground before his visit. That shows a certain mindset.

Source:-deccanchronicle
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

Stocks in focus: Dr Reddy's Labs, Equitas Holdings, Rallis India, Axis Bank,

Shares of Dr. Reddy's Labs ended the session down by 3.62 per cent ahead of release of quarterly earnings on Tuesday.

The drugmaker stock earlier fell as much as 3.75 per cent in its biggest percentage loss in nearly four months.

The stock was the top percentage loser on the NSE index.

The company is expected to report June quarter consolidated profit of Rs. 495 crore ($73.59 million) on Tuesday, according to StarMine data, down from Rs. 626 crore a year ago

StarMine's SmartEstimates, which aggregates the views of top-ranked analysts, sees net profit at Rs. 493 crore.

During the previous earnings' season, the company stated it could see another challenging year in the United States, its biggest market, where business has been hurt by regulatory scrutiny and fewer new drug approvals.

Of 40 analysts covering the stock, 16 have a “buy” or higher rating, 18 “hold” and six “sell” or below, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Equitas Holdings surges

Shares of financial services provider Equitas Holdings today ended the session higher by nearly 3 per cent as the company reported a 64 per cent jump in consolidated net profit for the first quarter of 2016-17 financial year.

The stock went up by 2.7 per cent to Rs. 186.65 on the BSE. On the NSE, the scrip surged 2.44 per cent to Rs. 186.50.

The stock hit an intra-day high of Rs. 192 and low of Rs. 185.15 on the BSE.

Equitas Holdings had on Friday reported 64 per cent jump in consolidated net profit at Rs. 61.2 crore for the first quarter of 2016-17 financial year.

Its net profit stood at Rs. 37.4 crore in the corresponding April-June quarter of 2015-16.

“Total income increased by 46 per cent at Rs. 348.8 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 as against Rs. 239.3 crore in the corresponding quarter last year,” it said in a release.

Rallis India soars

Shares of agri-input firm Rallis India ended higher by over 4 per cent after the company posted a four-fold jump in consolidated net profit for the quarter ended June 30.

After opening the day with smart gains, the scrip further jumped 7.53 per cent to Rs. 224.90 on the BSE.

On the NSE, it rose 7.65 per cent to Rs. 224.90.

At the closing trade, the stock was up 4.4 per cent at Rs. 218.35 on the BSE. On the NSE, the stock closed higher by 4.16 per cent at Rs. 217.60.

Tata group’s Rallis India on Friday had reported a four-fold jump in consolidated net profit at Rs. 174.20 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2016.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs. 42.39 crore in the year-ago period.

Total income increased to Rs. 469.61 crore during the period from Rs. 438.72 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year, Rallis India had said in a BSE filing.

The company’s net profit rose sharply on account of an exceptional profit of Rs. 158.39 crore during the April-June quarter, comprising sale of leasehold rights of land in Navi Mumbai to IKEA India Pvt Ltd.

Rallis India is a subsidiary of Tata Chemicals with business presence in the farm essentials vertical. It is into seeds, agro-chemicals, plant growth nutrients and agri-services.

Axis Bank plummets

Shares of Axis Bank today wiped off their initial losses and ended the session marginally higher.

The stock went down 4.19 per cent to Rs. 515 on the BSE as the company reported a steep 21 per cent decline in net profit for the three months to June.

On the NSE, it lost 3.57 per cent to Rs. 518.50.

At the closing trade, the stock was up 0.14 per cent at Rs. 538.30 on the BSE. On the NSE, the scrip gained 0.37 per cent at Rs. 539.70.

Axis Bank had on Friday reported a steep 21 per cent decline in net profit at Rs. 1,555.5 crore for the three months to June, roiled by a more than doubling of its bad loan provisions, higher operating expenses (opex) towards branch expansion and the resultant salary outgo.

It had earned a net profit of Rs. 1,978.44 crore in the April-June quarter of the last fiscal, Axis Bank had said in a statement.

“Decline in profit is driven by slippages from the watch list, which led to a rise in both gross NPA as well as net NPA levels to 2.54 per cent and 1.08 per cent, respectively, in the reporting quarter.

“Another reason for the dip in profit is the higher salary outgo and investment into branches which led to a 23 per cent increase in operating expenses,” Deputy Managing Director V Srinivasan had said in a post-earnings concall.

Gross NPA in absolute term more than doubled to Rs. 9,553 crore from Rs. 4,251 crore as of end June. Of this, NPA provisions stood at Rs. 1,823 crore against Rs. 1,046 crore a year-ago and Rs. 906 crore in the March quarter of last fiscal.
Source:-thehindubusinessline
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

Nine militants killed in police raid in Bangladesh

DHAKA: Bangladeshi police stormed a militant hideout in a Dhaka neighbourhood and killed nine suspected Islamist extremists after a gunbattle on Tuesday morning, officials said.

"Nine Islamist militants+ were killed after two hour-long gunfight" deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Masud Ahmed said, adding another extremist was shot and arrested during the raid in Kalyanpur neighbourhood.

Police said they cordoned off an apartment building after suspects threw a small hand bomb at officers who were conducting a "block raid" in the area after midnight.

The Islamist gunmen+ exchanged fire intermittently throughout the night and shouted "Allahu Akbar" ("God is the Greatest") as the neighbourhood was sealed off by hundreds of heavily armed police and the elite security force Rapid Action Battalion, police said.

"This morning police launched operation Storm 26 and was able to destroy the militants. We're now sweeping the place," Dhaka additional police commissioner Sheikh Maruf Hasan who led the raid told AFP.

He said all 10 were members of an Islamist extremist group but did not say which group they belonged to.


"Their dress and their slogans before and after the attack all proved that they are members of (Islamist) militant force+ ," Hasan said, adding that they were wearing black tunics and shouting "Allahu Akbar".

Top Comment
Fighting Terrorism in Kashmir? Learn from Israel and now Bangladesh.PKM

Bangladesh is reeling from a wave of deadly attacks by Islamist extremists.


Earlier this month five armed men stormed an upscale cafe in Dhaka+ 's diplomatic zone and killed at least 20 hostages including 18 foreigners, in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.
source:-TOI
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

Narendra Modi manages to win over adversaries, despite punishing schedule

Pema Khandu, the newly sworn-in Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, turned into an admirer of Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently, when he met the latter on Sunday. Obviously Khandu’s liking for Modi has nothing to do with his stint as a rebel of the Congress, who helped form a Nabam Tuki government in the state.

Khandu, after winning the confidence vote in Itanagar, came to Delhi and sought appointments with top leaders of his party – president Sonia Gandhi, and vice-president Rahul Gandhi – and the Prime Minister, in that order. He got none, except with the prime minister.

Once again, the impression of an inaccessible Congress president and vice-president got firmly entrenched among the leaders of Arunachal Pradesh. His meeting with Modi, on the other hand, went off quite well.
Narendra Modi. AFP.

A close scrutiny of the prime minister's schedule would reveal details of meetings with Members of Parliament (MPs) cutting across party-lines, indicative of his punishing round the clock schedule.

When he is not in the House, he is engrossed in other meetings – it can be a Cabinet meeting, a Cabinet sub-committee meeting, a floor strategy meeting – and a large part of his schedule in Parliament this Budget session has been devoted to meeting MPs, regardless of their political affiliation.

Parliament observers recall that over the last many years, a meeting between the prime minister and the MPs only happened in a Janata Durbar type setting, where many gathered around the PM. Narendra Modi has changed that trend, and has been meeting MPs individually. He is also accessible to MPs across all parties, and often remains in the Parliament till late in the evening.

A routine day in Parliament begins with the daily briefing meeting with Home Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Minister of Urban Development Venkaiah Naidu, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar, Minister for Transport Nitin Gadkari, and the ministers of state for Parliamentary affairs.

Then there are MPs who meet the prime minister to discuss the routine national, state and political issues.

During Parliament sessions, MPs can come to the prime minister’s chamber, and meet him to discuss important issues. Sources close to the PM said, “Time maybe given to five MPs/ministers per day but so many additional MPs stop by and meet the PM. He seldom says no to those coming.”

MPs who meet the PM are amazed at the manner in which he interacts. For those few minutes, all his attention is only on the conversation. No aides walking in, no phones ringing. “It feels very special that the PM is giving his full attention to us,” said a BJP MP, who also met the PM in Parliament. Due to the composition of the Parliament, it is obvious that more BJP MPs meet the prime minister.

Since the start of the monsoon session, BJP MP’s who have met the prime minister include, Harinarayan Rajbhar (MP from Ghosi in UP), Satish Gautam (MP from Aligarh), Udit Raj (Lok Sabha MP from North West Delhi) and Mahesh Girri (Lok Sabha MP from East Delhi).

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP from West Bengal’s Bangaon Mamata Thakur also met the Prime Minister. National Democratic Alliance (NDA) MPs like Anant Geete (who is also a Union Minister) and Rajan Vichare from the Shiv Sena, Telugu Desam Party (TDP’s) Venkateswara Rao and Akali Dal’s Prem Chandumajra are among those from the ruling alliance, who have spent time with the Prime Minister.

From the Congress, KC Venugopal and some MPs from Kerala met the PM in Parliament. Venugopal, a former Union Minister, is one of the leading lights of the Congress legislative party in the current Lok Sabha and has been critical of the Prime Minister on every possible occasion. Another Congress MP from Kerala, Anto Antony, too met Modi along with Kerala Congress’ Jose Mani. PAC Chairperson KV Thomas too met the Prime Minister.

Earlier this year, the BJP and the NCP were sparring over the arrest of Chhagan Bhujbal, but that didn’t prevent a healthy and cordial meeting between Sharad Pawar and Narendra Modi in the Parliament during the first half of the Budget session. Another NCP MP, DP Tripathi, met the PM in the start of the monsoon session.

Samajwadi Party's (SP) Naresh Agarwal too met Narendra Modi. It may be recalled that in 2013, Agarwal had made scurrilous comments on Modi that had triggered a controversy. Anglo-Indian Lok Sabha MP George Baker met the Prime Minister to hand over a magazine related to the Anglo-Indian community. Newly nominated Rajya Sabha MPs Dr Subramanian Swamy and Suresh Gopi (with his family) have also met the Prime Minister.

INLD Rajya Sabha MP Ram Kumar Kashyap has met the Prime Minister at the start of the monsoon session.

Though the Prime Minister’s office keeps a detailed record and photographs of his meetings with MPs and senior political leaders, officials are particularly instructed to track the issues raised in these meetings.

Sources in the PMO say that all the issues that come up for discussion in these meetings get a rigorous follow-up by a dedicated team of officials, who have reconciled to the idea of having a gruelling schedule, right from the early morning.
Source:-firstpost
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

“BJP preventing Dayashankar’s arrest”

Stepping up the attack on BJP, Mayawati on Sunday alleged that it had “pressurised” the SP government in U.P. into lodging an FIR against her and was preventing arrest of Dayashankar Singh, who made derogatory remarks against her.

The BSP supremo claimed that the controversy was raked up by the BJP ahead of 2017 Assembly polls in the State to distract people’s attention from the atrocities on Dalits in Gujarat raised by her inside and outside Parliament.

She alleged the remarks made by her party leaders, who were protesting against expelled BJP leader Singh, were deliberately misconstrued by the saffron party, reflecting its “polluted” and “casteist” mentality.

Ms Mayawati also vowed to take stringent action in the episode once the BSP comes to power in the State, if Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who calls her ‘Bua’ does not ensure the arrest and take stern action against Singh.

“Slogans demanding Singh to present his mother, wife and daughter were raised. They (BJP) are viewing it with polluted mentality and publicising in media,” Mayawati said amid a row over use of derogatory language by protesting BSP leaders against women members of Singh’s family.

Referring to the BSP national general secretary Naseemuddin Siddiqui’s remarks, she said: “Whether the mother, wife and daughter of Singh’s family agreed with the language used by the expelled BJP leader against me. They were asked to clarify their stand. Siddiqui has said that no objectionable words were used against them.”

On the complaint by Singh’s mother against her, the BSP supremo said, “It would have been better if she had also demanded stern legal action against Singh for using derogatory language against a Dalit’s daughter.”

“She did not say a single word, which indicates their dual mentality towards mothers and daughters in general. Whatever is being done is being done to save Singh at the behest of BJP,” she added.

She alleged that at the behest of BJP, statements were being issued to distract attention from the “heinous crime” of Singh.

She also termed the FIR against her in Singh’s issue as “contempt of Parliament” and said that ruling SP has acted under pressure from the BJP.

Mayawati said that “frustrated” with the manner in which she raised the issue of harassment of Dalits in Gujarat in and outside Parliament, BJP as a part of conspiracy used Singh to distract the attention of Dalits.

“To distract attention of the people ahead of 2017 UP Assembly polls from BSP, the issue was raked as a conspiracy,” she said.

The BSP supremo also announced that ‘ sarvjan hitay, sarvjan sukhaye ’ mega rallies will be held from next month to “expose” the “tacit understanding” between BJP and ruling SP to not arrest Singh. “These rallies will start from August 21 from Agra and I will address them,” she said. - PTI
Source:-thehindu
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

Operating expenses to remain high in FY17: V Srinivasan

Axis Bank's June 2016 quarter earnings were dented by higher provisions as well as operating expenses. Going forward,the bank's management believes operating expense would be higher than that in FY16 even as it expects a large part of incremental bad loans from the watch list to accrue in the first half of this financial year. V Srinivasan, deputy managing director, Axis Bank, talks to Sheetal Agarwal about the bank's performance in the quarter gone by and the road ahead. Edited excerpt

Against the Street's expectations of a flattish net profit, the bank witnessed a sharp fall in the same. What went wrong?


Higher provisions as well as higher operating expenses impacted our bottom line in the quarter. The increase in operating expenses was primarily on account of investments in new branches. So, the cost of infrastructure as well as additional people was higher in the quarter. While operating expenses should soften a bit from here on, they will be higher when compared to FY16.

We should look at two aspects of our quarterly results. One is the operating performance, the second is in terms of bottom line. Bottom line performance has been affected by higher credit costs. But, we continue to do well on the operating level. We have gained market share in both deposits and loans in the June quarter.

In addition to the watch list, the bank is witnessing stress in healthcare and education sectors. Could we see further stress from outside the watch list in the coming quarters?

I would like to clarify that 92 per cent of corporate slippages came from exposures in the watch list. The slippages in the first quarter from sectors such as healthcare, education were also part of the watch list. Going forward, too, we expect that the bulk of the slippages would be from exposures in the watch list.

Q1 saw the watch list fall by 10 per cent. Will slippages from the watch list be similar in Q2, or will those be higher?

We expect about 60 per cent of the watch list exposures to slip through this financial year and the next. We had stated earlier that the slippages could be higher in the first couple of quarters of FY17. We reiterate that guidance.

The bank's net interest margin (NIM) contracted in the June quarter and it is likely to be lower in FY17 as well. What are the reasons?

We had earlier stated that our NIM for FY17 would be above 3.6 per cent and we reiterate that expectation. There was a marginal dip in NIM in Q1, which was on account of the higher amount of slippages.

Your credit costs stood high at 190 basis points in Q1. What is the outlook on credit costs for the full year?

We are maintaining our credit costs guidance of 125-150 basis points in FY17.

What has driven the strong growth in corporate loans in the quarter?

A large part of incremental corporate loans are towards working capital needs. Strong growth in corporate loans is also driven to a large extent by refinance loans. While SME (small and medium enterprises) loan growth has been good, bulk of the incremental lending is to companies which have credit rating of A and above.

In Q1, the number of your corporate borrowers having credit rating of below BBB/unrated increased. Please explain.
Eighty-two per cent of our incremental lending is to companies enjoying credit rating of A and above. The increase in sub-BBB rated segment is because we did a rating review of accounts in our watch list and a lot of companies in BBB have come down to below BBB. Beyond that, the ratings profile has remained largely stable.

What is your loan growth guidance for FY17?

We believe we can achieve 18-20 per cent loan growth in FY17. While the retail segment will grow the strongest at about 25 per cent, corporate and SME segment will also do well.

Are you witnessing signs of an uptick in private capex in select industries, if not all?

Private capex investment continues to stay muted as of now. We expect some pickup in the later part of FY17.
Source:-buisnessstandard
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

Want to make winning a habit: Virat Kohli

India kick-started the 2016-17 season with an emphatic victory in West Indies, on Sunday (July 24). Led by their captain Virat Kohli's maiden double century, well-complimented by R Ashwin's brilliant all-round display, the visitors took 1-0 lead in the four-match Test series with an innings and 92-run victory in Antigua. Ashwin, who notched up his third Test century earlier in the game, shone on the fourth and final day as well to bag his maiden five-for outside Asia, and walked away with the Man of the Match award.
Life came full circle for Kohli, who buried the memories of a forgetful Test debut with a comprehensive win in his first game as captain on West Indies soil. Excerpts from Kohli's post-match press conference:
Victory in his first Test as coach, indeed a great gift for AnilKumble. What did he say?There was nothing out of the ordinary. Having played for so long, I think he understands how the players feel about a victory. He congratulated everyone and gave special mention to the guys who made important contributions in the game. Might not be seen too much but those important breakthroughs, important moments are very crucial for the team to win. He understands that very nicely and he was obviously very happy with the victory. It's a great start for him. First game as coach and we end up winning by an innings. Very happy all round.
Source:-crcbuzz
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

Rashtrapati Bhavan museum ready to welcome visitors: 10 key attractions

The much-awaited second phase of a museum at the Rashtrapati Bhavan is ready to welcome visitors. Now, the legacy of Indian Presidents and chapters of the freedom struggle can be seen under one roof. What’s more? There will be a glimpse of how the planet’s second-largest presidential estate works.

Built at a cost of Rs 80 crore and in 19 months, it will be the country’s only underground museum, and boast of state-of-the-art virtual reality exhibitions. A small section of the museum was opened a year ago. The completed museum will open to visitors on October 2.

“We tried to re-create the history and capture some of the important events. We showcase the gifts received by Presidents over the years and also the daily life in (the) Rashtrapati Bhavan, among other things,” said Omita Paul, the President’s secretary.

Rashtrapati Bhavan’s story-telling museum in pictures

The new museum, built under the supervision of museologist Saroj Ghose, who is an advisor to the President, will showcase more than 2,000 artifacts in a sprawling 1.30 lakh sq.ft space. It will also exhibit, for the first time, rare paintings from the British era.

President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the museum on Monday, as Mukherjee completes four years in office.

“Unlike other Indian museums, where unconnected artifacts are displayed, this will be an event-based storytelling museum,” said Ghose.

Visitors can book a tour through the Rashtrapati Bhavan website.

Here are the 10 key things to know about the new jewel in Delhi’s crown:

The replica of a horse-drawn carriage at the Rashtrapati Bhavan museum. (Raj K Raj / HT Photo)

1. Gandhi walk: Stand in a room and see Mahatma Gandhi talking to Lord Irwin on screen. And then, when he walks out of the Rashtrapati Bhavan — then Viceroy’s House — you can join him in virtual reality. Feel free to click pictures, wave hands and do a namaskar.

2. Hand shadow show: If you want to know how a President is elected, all you need to do is watch this hand shadow show with a running commentary. It will tell you about the election process, the Parliament building, the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Indian villages and the Pillars of Ashoka through the movement of hands.

3. The Study of the President: A replica of the room where the President meets the visitors in his office.

4. Privalite projection: It appears to be a simple, see-through glass. But when the projector beams a live video, it becomes a TV telecasting daily news. Viewers can go behind the screen and continue to watch the show.

5. Meet the President: Never met the country’s first citizen? No worries. Go to this small cubicle and press a button. On the large screen, a photo will appear where the visitor and the President will be talking to each other.

A view of the Rashtrapati Bhavan museum. (Raj K Raj/ HT Photo )

6. Personal belongings: The museum showcases, in separate windows, personal belongings of all 13 Presidents, giving a glimpse of their choice of clothes, habits and lifestyle.

7. Live speech in 3D holographic projection: A special square-shaped box beams 3D holographic images to accompany, one after another, speeches of Indian Presidents. Stand anywhere and see them delivering their speeches, as if in real life.

8.Gifts counter: A floor full of exotic gifts that Presidents received from different parts of the world is a key attraction.

9.Interactive digital platform: See rare photographs of the President’s house and the freedom movement. The pieces of history will be lying on a table. Twist them, turn them and visit the past.

10. President’s vehicles: An old presidential buggy drawn by a life-size horse. Near it, one can find a merc gifted to late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi by the King of Jordan. Gandhi handed over the car to the Rashtrapati Bhavan toshakhana.

    Tags Rashtrapati Bhavan museum President's House Rashtrapati Bhavan museum opens Pranab Mukherjee Indian history
Source:-hindustantimes
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

Rajnath Singh chairs high-level meeting in Kashmir

SRINAGAR: Union Home Minister rajnath Singh on Sunday chaired a high-level security meeting+ , met delegations of political parties in Srinagar and is slated to visit south Kashmir's Anantnag district before returning to New Delhi.

A National Conference (NC) delegation led by former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah met Rajnath Singh in Srinagar's Nehru Guest House.

He also met a delegation of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and some other political leaders of Kashmir.

The high-level security review meeting was attended by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, senior bureaucrats, police officials and those from state and central intelligence agencies besides top officials of para-miliatry forces.

Rajnath Singh is scheduled to visit the crisis-hit Anantnag district where he will take stock of the ground situation and interact with administrative officials
Sorurce:-TOI
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

Mayawati blasts BJP for preventing Dayashankar's arrest, calls it 'anti-dalit'

NEW DELHI: BSP president Mayawati today blasted the BJP by calling it "anti-dalit" and accusing it of having "pressured" the UP government against arresting party member Dayashankar who likened her to a prostitute.

"I don't think Dayashankar will be arrested and punished. The BJP made him use foul language+ against me and then thought that thought suspending him will win the hearts of dalits but it has turned out differently," Mayawati told the media in Lucknow.

The former UP chief minister arrived in the city yesterday for a meeting with party members to decide on what course of action to take against Dayashankar for his outrageous comments about her.

Last Wednesday, Dayashankar, who was then vice president of the BJP in UP, said Mayawati was "worse than a prostitute" for "selling election tickets". The BJP expelled him a day later.

The BSP leader said today that merely expelling Dayashankar isn't good enough; he must be arrested. Her party has filed an FIR against the expelled BJP member under the atrocities against Scheduled Castes and Tribes law, in addition to other laws.

"BJP pressuring SP government in UP''

"The Samajwadi Party is under pressure from the BJP, that's why it has not yet arrested Dayashankar," Mayawati said. "The BJP is making the state government do this, they want to protect Dayashankar. It's a conspiracy of the BJP and the SP," she added.

Source:-timesofindia
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

Rajnath Singh Begins Kashmir Visit, Curfew Lifted In Parts Of Valley

Srinagar:
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today began his two-day Kashmir visit to give a healing touch to the restive Valley, with two trade bodies boycotting him as curfew was lifted from four districts and parts of Srinagar town but remained in force in other areas as a precautionary measure.

Barring stray incidents of stone-pelting, the day passed off peacefully.

As the situation in the troubled Valley, which was on the boil for several days following the killing of terrorist Burhan Wani on July 8 in an encounter with security forces, somewhat eased, Home Minister Rajnath Singh began his visit of the state to take stock of the situation.

Mr Singh met BJP ministers in the Mehbooba Mufti government, including Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh. A group of Muslim clerics also met Mr Singh at the high-security Nehru Guest House. A delegation of Shikarawalas and houseboat owners also called on the Home Minister and apprised him of their problems.

A Home Ministry release said Rajnath Singh would meet Governor NN Vohra and the Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti later today. Mehbooba Mufti was away meeting families of those killed in action by security forces when Mr Singh arrived in Srinagar.

Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and Kashmir Economic Alliance (KEA), two major representative trade bodies in the Valley, decided not to meet the Home Minister, saying such exercises in the past have been futile.

Meanwhile, curfew was lifted from Bandipora, Baramulla, Budgam and Ganderbal districts and some parts of Srinagar city in view of the improving situation in these areas, a police official said.

The official, however, said restrictions on assembly of four or more people under Section 144 CrPC will continue in the areas where curfew has been lifted. He said curfew remained in force in Anantnag, Kulgam, Kupwara, Pulwama and Shopian districts of the Valley and eight police station areas of the city.

Mr Singh is scheduled to hold meetings with state government officials, political leaders and others during his two-day stay. However, representatives of the two trade bodies, who were to meet him today, decided to boycott him.

Meanwhile, two senior police officers have been transferred from South Kashmir range, which was worst hit by violence following killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

Senior IPS officer Ghulam Hassan Bhat has been posted as DIG South Kashmir range, replacing Nitish Kumar, a government spokesman said.

He said SSP Anantnag Abdul Jabbar was also transfered and replaced by SSP Traffic (Rural) Zubair.

The KEA, in an open letter to the Home Minister, said while they could understand the urgency for his visit to Kashmir for assessing the situation, "we also can easily determine the futility of this exercise."

In the hard-hitting letter, the trade body accused the Union ministers of showing "arrogance and hostility" to the people of the Valley about whose problems they had "no real knowledge".
Source:-NDTV
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

Munich shooting: Gunman was 'obsessed' with mass killings

MUNICH: The teenager who shot dead nine people in a gun rampage in Munich+ was "obsessed" with mass killers like Norwegian rightwing fanatic Anders Behring Breivik and had no links to the Islamic State group, police said.

Europe reacted in shock to the third attack on the continent in just over a week, after 18-year-old David Ali Sonboly+ went on a shooting spree at a shopping centre on Friday in what appears to have been a premeditated attack, before turning the gun on himself.

Officials said Sonboly, a German-Iranian student, had a history of mental illness.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the teenager had likely hacked a girl's Facebook account and used it to lure victims to the McDonald's outlet where he began his rampage.

"There is absolutely no link to the Islamic State," Munich police chief Hubertus Andrae said, with prosecutors describing the assault as a "classic act by a deranged person".

Investigators see an "obvious link" between Friday's killings and Breivik's massacre of 77 people in Norway exactly five years earlier, Andrae added.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said Munich had suffered a "night of horror".

Most of the victims in Friday's attack were young people, with three aged just 14, police said.

Munich prosecutor Thomas Steinkraus-Koch said Sonboly had suffered depression, but voiced caution over reports he may have undergone psychiatric treatment.

The teenager had 300 rounds of ammunition in a rucksack when he targeted the busy Olympia shopping mall, just minutes away from the flat he shared with his family, according to authorities.

Police are investigating how he managed to obtain his weapon, a 9mm Glock pistol with a defaced serial number.

Germany's bestselling Bild newspaper pointed out that a Glock pistol was also among the firearms used by Breivik.

In the grieving city of Munich, residents laid roses and lit candles in memory of the victims, with one placard bearing the simple plea: "Why?"

Sixteen people were wounded in the attack, three of them critically.

Survivors described terrifying scenes Friday as shoppers rushed from the area, some carrying children in their arms.


A video posted on social media appeared to show a man in black walking away from the McDonald's restaurant while firing a handgun as people fled screaming.
Source:-TOI
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

REVEALED: Why Hindu families in Aligarh want to sell their houses, leave area

Aligarh: After Kairana, now Aligarh is in the news!

That too, more or less for the same reason as Hindu families want to leave the area as they feel they are not safe here.

A molestation incident in Aligarh's Babri Mandi area has triggered a communal unrest between the two communities.

The Hindu families are approaching the district administration and requesting them to buy their properties as they don't feel safe living there.
Heartbreaking! This VIDEO is eye-opener for people who don't believe that Hindus are leaving Kairana, Kandhla
MUST READ
Heartbreaking! This VIDEO is eye-opener for people who don't believe that Hindus are leaving Kairana, Kandhla

'Miscreants pulled sari of a 19-year-old Hindu woman'

The fears of Hindu families were strengthened after some miscreants of a different community allegedly pulled sari of a 19-year-old Hindu woman, according to a report in TOI.

The molestation incident led to stone pelting between the two groups. Cops had to intervene to control the situation.

“Our daughters are not safe here," Sudha Varshney, who has been living in the area for 38 years, said.

“There are many families ready to sell their properties. It is not possible to live in this area. We are in a minority," Sudha said.
You will be SHOCKED to know Burhan Wani's last wish - Know what it was
MUST READ
You will be SHOCKED to know Burhan Wani's last wish - Know what it was

Hindu girls not able to go to school

According to Sudha, “the roads are narrow and some boys from a different community sit on both sides of the path making it difficult for their girls to even go to school."

"Several girls have refused to attend class fearing for their safety," Sudha added.

Additional district magistrate (ADM) Avadhesh Tiwari said, "We will make sure no family exodus takes place."
Source:-zeenews
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

Missing Antonov AN-32 plane: Indian Air Force beset with ageing assets, Ukraine war fallout, slow decision making

Today, around 70 percent of India’s Air Force is of Russian origin: MIG-21 fighter jets, MIG-29 fighter jets, AN-32 transport aircraft, IL-76 transport aircraft, Mi-17 helicopters, SU-30 MKI fighter jets and many more. Friday’s disappearance of AN-32 on a flight to Port Blair from Chennai and accident is the third in recent months.
Is it connected to the controversial refit and upgradation programme of the entire fleet of AN-32 in Ukraine in recent years? A few months ago Croatia accused Ukraine of supplying faulty fighter jets and filed a legal case against it. The war with Russia has put immense pressure on Ukraine’s defence manufacturing complex.
The AN-32 crash could possibly be a casualty of this but the accident should again refocus attention to the ageing assets of Indian Air Force. The cost of delay in decision-making during 10 years of UPA government, where the then defence minister AK Antony famously sat over decisions to keep his “clean” image intact, haunts the Indian Air Force even today. All Indian governments are guilty of this but, the cost can be extremely high as seen in the past when Mig-21 aircraft were dubbed as "flying coffins".
In the bargain, the three Services suffered because of acquisition and modernisation processes are high complex, technical and they take time. Even when a decision is reached on hardware, the financial outgo remains a matter of paramount importance.  Three squadrons each of Mirage 2000Hs and MiG-29s — presently undergoing retrofits — complete the IAF's fighter inventory.
Source:-firstpost
viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

Monsoon session: Congress plans to raise China, Andhra special status issue in Rajya Sabha

NEW DELHI: The Congress appears to be lining up tricky issues that could cause trouble for the government's business schedule in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, if not beyond. The main Opposition party has decided to raise the issue of the 'Prime Minister's silence' on the Chinese government's comment on the recent violence in Jammu and Kashmir and also raise the issue of "Prime Minister failing to keep the assurance on the floor of Parliament" on passing the Andhra Special Status Bill in the Rajya Sabha
He also accused the Centre of maintaining silence even to China 'significantly changing its stand' on Pakistan-Occupied Pakistan. "Chinese first referred to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir territory as the one 'administered by Pakistan' but for the first time they have said the Frontier Defence Regiment of the People's Liberation Army in Xinjiang along with Border Police Force from Pakistan will carry out a joint patrol along the China-Pakistan Border," Sibal said.

Source:-indiatimes
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

BJP to protest against BSP over ‘foul language’ used for expelled leader’s kin

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will launch a counter-attack against the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Saturday over its use of ‘indecent’ language against the family of its expelled leader Dayashankar Singh, who triggered a storm after comparing BSP chief Mayawati to a prostitute.
Swati Singh, Dayashankar’s wife, told reporters her family faced abuse by BSP workers, who stormed the main street of Lucknow on Thursday demanding her husband’s immediate arrest. BSP national general secretary Naseemuddin Siddiqui and other party workers allegedly demanded that Dayashankar’s wife and daughter her be “presented” before them.
The expelled leader’s mother and wife also alleged intimidation and threat to their lives and even filed an FIR against Mayawati, Siddiqui and other leaders and workers of the BSP.
The BJP on Friday asked Mayawati to tender an apology and take action against Siddiqui for his abusive language.
Rallying behind Dayashankar’s family, BJP state president Keshav Prasad Maurya also announced a ‘Beti ke samman mein, BJP maidan mein (For daughter’s honour, BJP on the streets)’ agitation over the alleged use of foul language by BSP leaders and workers.
“Party leaders and workers across the state have been asked to take to the streets to demand the arrest of BSP leader Naseemuddin Siddiqui and other BSP leaders and workers who used indecent language against Dayashankar’s wife and daughter,” Maurya said.
On Saturday, inspector general of police (Lucknow Zone), Satish Ganesh, asked Lucknow Police to provide security cover to his wife and other members of his family.
The BSP also firmed up its stand on the arrest of Singh and said if he was not put behind bars within the 36-hour deadline set by the police, statewide agitations will take place. The Mayawati-led party, however, announced on Thursday that it had withdrawn the ultimatum.
Dayashankar has not been arrested yet till the time of filing of this report. If he stays at large till Saturday morning, it would be time for the BSP to relaunch its agitation.
Dayashankar’s remarks have triggered massive protests and a political storm in Parliament with all parties coming together to back Mayawati. The BJP sacked Dayashankar within hours of the remark with Union finance minister Arun Jaitley apologising to the Dalit leader.
His comments have taken a political colour ahead of assembly polls in the state early next year as the Dalit community forms more than a fifth of the state’s population and is likely to prove crucial.
source:-hindustantimes
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

Oracle tools up for cloud wars with sales re-org

Oracle has shaken up its sales force to drive cloud business, multiple sources have told The Register.

The task of pushing Oracle cloud services, flagship database and middleware was handed exclusively to Oracle’s field sales operation. On-premise apps - eBusiness Suite, PeopleSoft, Siebel - have gone to the phone-based direct sales team. All new hires are going into the cloud units.

The organisational reboot is intended to create clear lines of responsibility, accountability and bonus allocation - and also to pinpoint who is to blame if sales targets are missed. It also means field sales and direct will no longer collaborate on sales.

Many Oracle customers have seen their long-time account reps suddenly moved away as a result of Oracle’s shake up, sources told us.

Earlier this year we reported that Oracle in Europe and the Middle East was hiring 1,400 to sell sales direct in Amsterdam, Cairo, Dubai, Dublin, Malaga and Prague.

Two sources with close links to Oracle sales reps and customers said the shake up is intended accelerate penetration of Oracle’s cloud services.

“This year, the cloud component of quota [of sales] is much bigger and more weighted than in the past," said one.
Source:-theregister.co.uk
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

Communal protest in Phagwara: Shiv Sena workers, Muslims clash

Coming face-to-face during their protest marches, Shiv Sena leaders and Muslims clashed with each other at Phagwara on Friday. No casualties were reported as the police managed to control the situation.

Sources said following the recent disruption of the Amarnath Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir, the Shiv Sena leaders had been targeting the local Muslims and raising anti-Pakistan slogans. On Thursday evening, they wrote ‘Pakistan Murdabad” on the wall of a shop owned by a Muslim.

Muslims protested against this attitude of the Shiv Sena and took out a march under the leadership of Uvais-ur- Rehman, the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid of Pahgwara. The Shiv Sena leaders, too, carried out a protest march, led by their state vice-president Inderjit Karwal, while raising anti-Pakistan slogans. Both the groups came face to face at Naiyan Wala Chowk and passed comments on each other. Tempers ran high and both the sides started pelting stones at each other. SHO Aman Devesher suffered minor injuries.

SP Ajinder Singh and DSP Harkanwalpreet Chahal rushed to the spot with police force and managed to control the situation. Later, DIG (Jalandhar range), Kapurthala SSP Rajinder Singh and Deputy Commissioner Jaskiran Singh visited the spot.Heavy police force was deployed at Phagwara to avoid any untoward incident.

Late in the evening Phagwara police registered a case against Shiv Sena leaders including Inderjit Karwal and six others. The case was registered on the complaint of Uvvais-ur- Rehman. After this, state Shiv Sena president, Yog Raj, gave a bandh call for Saturday in Phagwara and demanded transfer of SP and DSP.
Source:-indianexpress
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

Kabali: HT tried to ace Rajinikanth’s awesome moves. How did we fare?

He is a legend. He is a god to his fans. He is a great actor. He is Rajinikanth.
But what is it that we associate immediately with him? They have got to be his many mannerisms. If Rajinikanth is a household name across the nation, much of the credit goes to the popularity of his moves.
His next film, the much-talked about Kabali, is up for release this Friday. In the midst of the craze, we thought, how about some fun on the side.
Source:-hindustantimes
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

BREAKING NEWS: New Delhi Man Makes Rs.6,302/Day And You Will Not Believe How He's Doing It!

Sameer Malik from New Delhi, never thought about trying to make a living on the internet, until he read about making money online and filled out a simple online form. In a very short time, he realized he had stumbled across something big, a way to provide for his wife and children.

Sameer's story has gone viral and we decided to feature his story in our weekly Employment report. In our phone interview he told me his amazing story. "I actually make Rs.180,000 - 250,000 a month from home. It's enough to easily replace the income from the 3 jobs I was working, especially considering I only work about 15-20 hours a week from my home.
Sameer says anyone can get cheques like this

Working online has been a big break for Sameer, who has been unemployed for months, unable to find a decent job. "I lost my job right as our newest child was born, I needed stable income, I wanted to avoid the "get rich quick" scams that seem to be all over the internet. The pyramid scams or programs where you have to sell to your friends and family. I really needed a legitimate way to earn money to support my family. The best part about this is working from home and having more time with my kids. Thanks to the Digital Profit Course I am giving my kids the childhood they deserve and my wife is happier then ever."

I asked him about how all of this began and he said. "It was really simple, I filled out a short form and applied for a work-at-home kit. It wasn't free, but it was inexpensive and seemed to have a lot of good user feedback. I got the kit and within two weeks I was making over RS. $180,000 a month. It's really simple, I am not trained in computers, but I know how to use the internet. I was happy to find that I didn't have to sell anything to anyone. Large companies are always recruiting people for this, so you'd be missing out on something big if you didn't try it."

The companies that recruit for this are worth over 100 billion dollars and are the most popular websites in the internet market place. Sites like Amazon, Google, Walmart, Delta, Apple and many more. You're using the top ranked sites in tSource:-he world, over 50 percent of all internet visitors see them each day. It's not widely known but this has been helping people make money at home for over 5 years. You have to ask yourself why wouldn't you want to get in with the biggest companies on the internet?

There are a lot of scams on the internet that will make claims that you can earn Rs.500,000/month, but these are obvious scams. From my interview with Sameer, "I am finally making a stable income and from working at home, less than a year ago I was out of a job in a very tough economy. I thank God every day that I found this oppurtunity and filled out that form."

Quickly, Sameer Malik was able to use the simple Digital Profit Course to make consistant income from home.
Source:-hindustantimes
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

Deepika Padukone refuses to work with TV actor, Vicky quits Padmavati?

Sanjay Leela Bhansali is yet to officially announce the cast for Padmavati, his take on emperor Alauddin Khilji’s obsession for Chittor’s queen Padmavati, but rumours mills are already working overtime.

According to the latest buzz, Deepika Padukone has refused to work with a television actor who was supposed to play her husband in the film. While Deepika essays the titular role of Padmavati, Ranveer Singh is set to play Alauddin Khilji.

Read: Deepika Padukone to star in Padmavati

A Bollywoodlife report claimed on Tuesday that Deepika wants someone big to play her husband’s character. It added that the first schedule is with Deepika and her husband’s character.
Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone have earlier teamed up for Ram Leela and Bajirao Mastani. (Yogen Shah)

“Initially, a TV actor was to be signed, but Deepika put her foot down. A random actor from television won’t do for her. While she has no scenes with Ranveer, she shares some intense romantic and lovemaking scenes with her husband, so she wants a big star as her hero,” Bollywoodlife quoted a source as saying.

The scenes between Deepika and Ranveer are being shot separately as they never meet in the film, it added.

Another report claimed that Vicky Kaushal, who auditioned for the role of Deepika’s husband in Padmavati, quit Bhansali’s upcoming ambitious project over his role.
Vicky had auditioned for the role of Deepika’s husband in Padmavati.

Read: Vicky Kaushal to play Deepika’s husband in Padmavati?

“Vicky Kaushal has opted out of the film considering that the role is very short in comparison to those played by Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone,” Pinkville quoted a source as saying.
Source:-hindustantimes
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

The Benevolent Dictatorship of Mark Zuckerberg

New Delhi - Indians love Facebook but the social networking giant is increasingly playing nanny, taking down posts that don�t meet its community standards, a move that has users and activists worried.

India, which has 150 million Facebook users, the second highest in the world after the US, had 30,126 posts taken down in 2015, the company�s transparency report shows. The US reported the most takedowns, followed by France, with India coming in third.

The censorship continues.

Zargar Yasir, a 23-year-old Srinagar-based security analyst, last week found his Facebook account blocked. He had reposted a 2015 blog he wrote about Burhan Wani, a Hizbul Mujahideen commander who was killed in a gunfight on July 8.

Yasir wrote the blog for The Nation, a popular Pakistani paper. It can still be found on The Nation Facebook page and is accessible in India as well.

“Even people within Kashmir have differing views on Wani. Facebook has made me a mute spectator in my own country,” he complained. Wani�s death has triggered a wave of unrest in the Valley that has left 44 people dead.

After HT raised Yasir's concerns with Facebook, a representative said, “From time to time we make a mistake which is what happened here.” At the time of the publication of this story, Yasir's account was still blocked. The representative spoke didn�t wish to be identified.

“The right to express oneself is guaranteed to a citizen not by Facebook but by the Indian constitution,” cyber law expert Pavan Duggal said.
Source:-hindustantimes
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

SC's verdict on Lodha Panel reforms: One of Indian cricket's biggest victories ever

For too long the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had operated as its own fiefdom, insulated from the ideals of transparency, accountability and fairness. A coterie of officials monopolised the board and did as they saw fit unless a rival group outwitted them and then did as they saw fit. That the BCCI performed a public function in selecting the Indian men’s and women’s cricket teams was merely incidental. They believed they were answerable to no one and outsiders were a nuisance to be swatted away as quickly as possible.

The Supreme Court, however, turned out to be an outsider the board could not swat away. With one stroke of the gavel, Indian cricket has been remade and the old ways cast aside. By accepting the vast majority of the Lodha Committee recommendations on how cricket in India should be administered, the Supreme Court has delivered a knock-out blow to the board’s Kremlin-like operations and thrown open the doors and windows of the board to allow a bright light to shine and a cleansing wind to sweep through.


Better still, the recommendations trickle down, so the country’s many state associations, must fall in line too. The days of regional satraps running these associations like family-owned companies are soon to be in the past.
Back in 2013, when the Supreme Court first took charge of the case and appointed Justice Mukul Mudgal to investigate the allegations of betting and fixing against Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra in the IPL, it raised the hope that this time the BCCI might not get away with business as usual and this time there would be accountability and the board would be forced to swallow the bitter pill.
Yet there was no idea of what cataclysmic forces the case would unleash. The scope of the inquiry grew from Meiyappan and Kundra to the issue of conflict of interest because N Srinivasan was both board president and IPL franchise owner. And then it magically and improbably grew into a review of the board itself.

This was already more than a fan could dream of and while hope kept rising, there was always the thought lurking in the background that the board would get out of this jam as well. But Chief Justice RM Thakur and Justice Ibrahim Kalifulla, who heard the case, were relentless and pushed back against all the objections the board raised. Slowly the idea began to take shape that maybe, despite its political clout, the BCCI had met its match at last. In the final order, written by Justice Thakur, he left no doubt as to what he thought about those in the BCCI who opposed the changes.

“The truth is that resistance to change stems partly from people getting used to status quo and partly because any change is perceived to affect their vested interest in terms of loss of ego, status, power or resources. This is true particularly when the suggested change is structural or organizational which involves some threat, real or perceived, of personal loss to those involved.

No wonder, therefore, that the portents of change which the recommendations made by the Committee appointed by this Court symbolizes are encountering stiff resistance from several quarters interested in continuance of the status quo. The fact that the recommendations for change come from a body whose objectivity, fairness, sense of justice, equity and understanding of the problems that are crying for a solution are beyond any doubt or suspicion has made little or no difference to those opposing the recommendation.”

The changes Lodha committee has recommended are all-encompassing but the age and tenure restrictions for officials alone are a game-changer. Ministers and bureaucrats who are in office are now persona non-grata. A BCCI president can no longer be a state association official and vice-versa. That means current board president Anurag Thakur will have to resign as Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association president. Mandatory retirement has been set at 70 years, which is going leave some familiar faces on a sticky wicket. Mumbai Cricket Association president Sharad Pawar, for example, is 75; Tamil Nadu Cricket Association president N Srinivasan is 71 and Saurashtra Cricket Association secretary Niranjan Shah is 72. I’m sure you can do the math.

Thanks to the Supreme Court, ruling your home cricket association as these three have done for at least 10 years each will now be impossible. Under the new rules, officials will be limited to three terms of three years each irrespective of position. They also can’t serve these terms consecutively as the report calls for a cooling-off period between each of them, making it impossible for any one person to monopolise an association or the board. And once your nine years are done, so are you. Cricket will no longer a sinecure for so many.

Ironically, those of us who yearned for a day like today owe former president Srinivasan a debt of gratitude. Had Srinivasan simply accepted the allegations of betting and spot-fixing against his son-in-law Gurunath and ordered an impartial investigation, Aditya Verma, the petitioner in the case, would not have had any grounds to go to court. Instead, Srinivasan’s desperate attempt to outwit his rivals in the board and cling to power precipitated the events that led to this historic verdict.

The BCCI has been given six months to implement the changes, which will be overseen by Justice Lodha. It is likely to be a bumpy ride as constitutions will have to be re-written, elections held, and power handed over, but the final destination is worth a little upheaval in the short-term. If all goes according to plan, a fairer, more open, more accountable and gentler board should rise from the ashes, a board that operates less in secret and shadow and whose officials work for the good of Indian cricket alone and not their own.
Source:-firstpost
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

Priyanka Gandhi alone can't revive Congress: Jairam Ramesh

Amid the clamour within a section of Congress for Priyanka Gandhi to take an active political role, senior leader Jairam Ramesh has said no individual has a magic wand to revive the party and a team effort is the only way forward. "I have always believed that the answer to the Congress' revival lies not in one individual but in a collective endeavour," Ramesh said when asked if Priyanka should campaign extensively in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections or 2019 Lok Sabha poll is the "right time". "No individual has a magic wand. The magic wand lies in a collective entity called the Congress party. Each of us has a responsibility to contribute to the revival. We cannot sit back and say: 'A' will do this, 'B' will do this and 'C' will do this. I think that era is over," the leader told PTI. "Nobody has a magic wand any more. The magic wand is a collective entity. It's a collective effort, it's a team effort," the Rajya Sabha member said. On whether "delay" in Rahul Gandhi taking over as Congress president is hurting the party's prospects, he said, "I think it (Rahul's taking over) is a last mile issue right now. I think it's only a matter of time. I am not privy to his time- frame, but I am sure it's going to happen sooner rather than later." Ramesh said Congress has taken "the right steps" vis-a-vis Uttar Pradesh elections. For the party to announce a chief ministerial candidate (Sheila Dikshit) almost eight months before the poll is unusual. "So, I think we are learning from our own experience." "This is the first time we are announcing a chief ministerial candidate. We have a new PCC chief. We have a new coordination committee chairman. I think we should now wait for the people who have been appointed to deliver," the Congress spokesperson said on the UP elections.
Source:-Moneycontrol
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

In GST Reform Breakthrough, Congress OKs Debate, Date TBD: 10 Facts

1. In a big breakthrough for the government, the Congress, which has been blocking the GST reform, has agreed to a five-hour debate  on the proposal. No date has been set yet, but the agreement allows the bill to be introduced for consideration.
2. The GST will replace a tangle of tariffs imposed by the Centre and different states. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has presented it as the most important tax reform in decades.
3. Most parties have come around to support the bill, including regional heavyweights like Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress and Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party.
4. But the main opposition party, the Congress, which drafted the proposal when it was last in power, remains non-committal on the negotiations with the government over specifics of the bill.
5. The GST proposal has been approved by the Lok Sabha but has yet to be greenlit by the Rajya Sabha where the government is in a minority. With regional parties backing the reform, the Congress is likely to be outnumbered.
6. Because of that, the Congress is expected to either cause disruptions in the House which would prevent the legislation from being taken up, or attack the government on recent political controversies.
7. As part of its outreach, the government today agreed to the Congress' pitch for a debate on the violence that has seared Kashmir since the killing earlier this month of 22-year-old Burhan Wani, a terrorist commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen. His death has led to massive and continuing clashes between civilians, young stone-throwing protesters, and security forces.  Nearly 40 people have died, and 2,000 been injured.
8. Tomorrow morning, Anand Sharma and Ghulab Nabi Azad of the Congress are scheduled to meet Finance Minister Arun Jaitley with directions from top leaders on both sides to negotiate compromises on the GST.
9. The Congress wants the GST to be capped at 18 per cent, it wants the upper limit to be listed in the constitutional amendment that will usher in the reform, it wants the removal of proposed 1% state levy, and it has called for a powerful council to settle disputes on revenue-sharing between states.
10. The government has indicated it is willing to accommodate most of those changes. But it points out that specifying a tax rate in the constitutional amendment is inadvisable as that would require changing the constitution each time the rate is to be revised.
    Source:-ndtv
    Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

Newspapers fail to hit stands in Kashmir for third day

Local newspapers in curfew-bound Kashmir failed to hit the stands on Monday for the third consecutive day after the government’s alleged “clampdown” on the media in the aftermath of widespread protests in the Valley.

No local daily — English, Urdu or Kashmiri — was available as the newspaper owners decided not to publish them after the “clampdown” by the government on Friday night.

Jammu and Kashmir Police on Friday allegedly closed down the offices of at least two printing presses after seizing plates of newspaper and printed copies in Rangreth Industrial Estate in the outskirts of the city here.

Local news agencies also said they have stopped their news bulletins after police allegedly asked them not to issue those.

Attempts to seek an official version of the events did not fructify.

Following the police action, a meeting of Kashmir-based newspaper editors, printers and publishers, was held on Saturday at Press Colony in which the issue was discussed.

The journalists also held a protest against the alleged “clampdown” and termed it as an “attack on the freedom of press”.

A statement of the newspaper editors, printers and publishers of Kashmir issued here said they strongly “condemned” the alleged government action.

It said when they contacted a government spokesperson during the Saturday meeting, he conveyed to them that in view of apprehensions of “serious trouble” in Kashmir Valley in next three days aimed at subverting peace, strict curfew will be imposed and movement of press staff and distribution of newspapers will not be possible.
Source:-thehindu
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database

'Pak. journalist was questioned in Sunanda murder case'

 Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar was questioned in February last in connection with the murder of Sunanda Pushkar, said the police.

Joint Commissioner of Police (South Eastern Range) R.P. Upadhyay confirmed that Ms. Tarar, with whom Ms. Pushkar had a spat on twitter days before her death, was questioned. He, however, refused to divulge further details.

Ms. Pushkar, wife of former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor, was found dead under mysterious circumstances on January 17, 2014, in a suite the couple lived in South Delhi's Hotel Leela Palace.

Mr. Upadhyay said Ms. Tarar was told to join the investigation and she was asked to reply to a questionnaire prepared by the investigators.

She had written to then Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi, expressing her willingness to come to Delhi and get examined. The questioning took place at a hotel in the city.

Sources said the members of the Special Investigating Team asked her about the allegations made by Ms. Pushkar prior to her death — that the journalist was romantically involved with Mr. Tharoor. She is learnt to have refuted these claims.
Source:-thehindu
Viewmore:-Punjab Mobile Number Database