Welcoming the New Year 2019

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January 1, 2019

The start of the new year is the time of the year when everyone wants to treasure the jubilant spirit of the moment. Our country is a land of diversity. The long history of India has exposed it to many cultural and political transformations and as a result, the country is now a proud conglomeration of diverse traditions.

Earlier, there were many cultures which decided the New Year’s Day by considering the moon and the sun cycles. It was only when the Julian calendar came into existence when January 1 became a worldwide New Year celebration day.

It is said that New Year’s Day was celebrated in 45 B.C. for the first time. At that time, it was more of calendar adjustment than a celebration. Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator decided to reform failing the Roman calendar which was introduced in 7th century B.C. It was based on the lunar cycle; it used to fall out of phase frequently with the seasons and had to be corrected. Sosigenes, an Alexandrian astronomer advised using solar cycles like Egyptians. The year was adjusted by adding 67 Days to 45 B.C. making January 1, as first of year 46 B.C. instead of March. He also decided to add one more day to February every four years to keep the calendar on track.

The whole world solemnised the New Year’s Day with great enthusiasm and energy. This day has a special contingency for people. People from various walks of life welcome new year in their own hearty ways. The beginning of the New Year 2019 is a celebration representing new opportunities, a chance to start over and to learn from the last year and to make plans for next year.

Everyone has right to express themselves and feel comfortable in the way they want to eat, drink or act. What we need is to adjust ourselves with time too. So, along with fun and party, we should understand the real meaning of ‘New Year’ and we should try to act on it.

We, the human beings are good and bad bundled together. When a child is born in the world, the heart is pure and it takes in whatever it observes while growing. When we get matured, we shape ourselves into a good person. This can be done by washing away unwanted thoughts/habits from us and cultivating new and positive habits and disciplines as a part of life. Such a change can happen with a well-determined resolution. Every year, we can make our mind ready to accept good things that are difficult though and leave off the bad ones that are hard to leave though.

Every new year gives a little hope to everyone that, this year somehow is going to be better than the previous one. Let us cherish the New Year 2019 and say goodbye to the going year .

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(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

New Year bash: 455 cases of drunk driving in Mumbai

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Web Team

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January 1, 2019

Mumbai police have registered at least 455 cases of drunk driving in the early hours of the New Year Day on January 1, an official said on Tuesday.

As per a report compiled by the traffic police till 6 AM, at least 455 drivers were found driving drunk.

Action like imposition of fine and compounding of driving licenses has been taken against them, the official said.

A large number of police personnel manned various parts of the megapolis to ensure smooth conduct of celebrations to ring in 2019, and to prevent rash driving.

Till December 31 midnight, police had caught 1,533 drivers, and 76 of them were found positive in a breath analyser test, the official said.

“During the early hours of the New Year day, at least 455 drivers were found positive in the drunk driving test,” he said, adding that further action will be taken against them as per orders of court.

In 2019, economy will perform in a better way

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Web Team

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January 1, 2019

According to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the number of taxpayers earning more than Rs 1 crore has increased 68 per cent in the Financial Year (FY) 2017-18 to 1,40,000, which was 89,000 in the FY 2013-14. The number of taxpayers has increased by 80 per cent in this period. In FY 2013-14, 3.79 cr persons filed income tax returns, which increased to 6.85 cr. in the FY 2017-18. According to CBDT Chairman Mr. Sushil Chandra, direct tax and GDP ratio during the FY 2017-18 has been 5.98 per cent, which is the best in the last 10 years.

The share of the Centre in Goods and Services Tax (GST) will help in achieving the fiscal deficit target in the current financial year. The 50 per cent of the amount can be transferred to the cumulative fund of the centre for any year during 5 years if the amount of GST collection is not utilised in the State. This law is a tool for meeting deficit amount of GST collection. There is a hope for an increase of more than Rs 300 billion in direct tax collection. By the third week of October, the direct tax collection has increased 15.7 per cent on year-on-year basis to Rs 4,890 billion, which is more than 42 per cent of the direct tax collection target of the year. The government is expected to get Rs 800 billion from disinvestment, as there is a hope for some mergers and strategic sales before March 2019 which includes Air India’s ground handling unit and PFC’s disinvestment.

In the second quarter of the current financial year, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate was 7.1 per cent, which is the lowest level of three quarters. The GDP growth rate in the first quarter was at a high level of four years at 8.2 per cent. Nonetheless, despite the GDP growth rate being reduced in the second quarter, India remains the fastest growing economy. China’s growth rate is 6.5 per cent in this period. The GDP growth during the first half of the current financial year was 7.4 per cent, which is more than 5.8 per cent of the same period of last year.

The growth rate of the manufacturing sector was 7.8 per cent in the second quarter, which was 8.7 per cent in the first quarter. Mr. Devendra Pant, Economist, India Ratings and Research, says that during the September quarter, the construction activities remains slow, but after passing of the month of October, its pace increases. Due to low growth in GDP, the pace of growth in agriculture, manufacturing, the service sector is sluggish. The reason for sluggishness in the agricultural sector is mainly bad response of monsoon, farmers not getting the capital in the times of need etc. Banks are avoiding distributing agriculture loan having a problem of mounting Non-performing Asset (NPA). In recent months, the amount of NPA in the agriculture sector has increased significantly. At present, the bank is facing capital problem, credit risk, fraud, mounting NPA etc. Despite this, the result of the second quarter of the current financial year for its public sector banks was mixed. Some public sector banks have come in profit in the second quarter, whereas some are still in loss. State Bank of India earned a profit of Rs 945 cr in the second quarter, Canara Bank has been successful in earning a profit of Rs 300 cr in the second quarter. However, the bank recovered 1,700 cr during this period, but most of the money was used for the provision in connection of NPA.

The Central Government has made a number of improvements to encourage investment in the country and also make ways for “Ease of Doing Business”. Last year, in the ranking of “Ease of Doing Business”, India had recorded a record number of 30 points to get a 100th place. In 2019, India wanted to get the 50th place in the global ranking of “Ease of Doing Business”, but it could get the 77th position among 190 countries.

Due to economic reforms, the World Bank termed India as the economy to make significant improvements for the third consecutive year. Due to the corrective steps taken by the government, India could reach the 77th place from 142th place within four years. According to this report, India has been the fifth best-performing country in the world in terms of improvement in the business environment.

The World Bank has placed India at 10th place among the most reforming economies in this matter. In order to assess the improvement in the business environment, the ten criterias that the World Bank has put in, India has improved in six norms. These norms include an introduction of business, construction permit, obtaining electricity facility, getting loans in an easy way, paying taxes, cross-border trade, implementing contracts in reality on easier terms and dealing with the bankruptcy process. If India’s ranking improves, global rating agencies can give a better rating, which will boost investors’ confidence in India and the business environment in the country will also be in a better position.

The number of people making income-tax deposits in the country is increasing. At the same time, there has been a huge increase in the income tax deposit, but tax evasion is still being done on a large scale in the country, including those who are well-educated people. Reduction in unnecessary expenses, increase in direct taxes, disinvestment etc. can help the government succeed in keeping the fiscal deficit in line with the target. The reasons for which GDP growth rates have decreased in the second quarter may be called temporary. The weakening of the monsoon, rupee depreciation, the rise in the price of crude oil, the uncertain environment in the country etc. should be considered as a temporary reason.

The speed of recovery in the banking sector is on the rise. The merger of some banks will strengthen the position of weaker banks. The government is going to provide relief to the weaker banks. By the end of the FY 2019, there is a possibility of the increase in the number of profitable Public Sector Banks. In order to facilitate the business, the Modi Government is working with the World Bank to maximise the reforms. Next year, India has the potential to reach the top 50 countries category.

By looking at the ongoing reforms in the economic sector, the NITI Aayog has set a target in strategic documents of achieving 8 per cent growth rate in each year till 2022-23. The Aayog wants the Indian economy to be made 4 trillion US $. The government will also try to get 9 per cent growth rate instead of 8 per cent. On the basis of economic reforms made in the last 4 years, the estimation of the NITI Aayog cannot be said exaggerated. It is worth mentioning that the NITI Aayog has presented a strategic document to realise the dream of “New India”. Accordingly, the investment will be increased from the existing 29 per cent of GDP to 36 per cent by 2022-23.

To achieve this, the government will invest in infrastructure sectors like health, education, irrigation, electricity, road construction etc.

In this context, the government has also targeted to increase the export of goods and services from the current $478 billion to $800 billion. There is a proposal to emphasise on the agriculture sector, to make farming an entrepreneurship, to formulate a code of labour laws and promote the allied activities and Small & Medium Enterprises (SME) for inclusive development of the country.

–Satish Singh

(The author of the article is the Chief Manager in State Bank of India’s Economic Research Department.)

Koregaon Bhima anniversary: Security stepped up as people pay tributes at war memorial

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Web Team

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January 1, 2019

Thousands of people, mainly Dalits, Tuesday flocked the ‘Jay Stambh’ memorial in Maharashtra’s Pune district to pay tributes on the 201st anniversary of the Koregaon Bhima battle amidst heavy police presence.

One person was killed and several others were injured in caste clashes that broke out on January 1 last year on the occasion of the anniversary of the 1818 battle, which has attained legendary stature in Dalit history.

At least 5,000 police personnel, 1200 Home Guard jawans, 12 companies of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) and 2,000 Dalit volunteers are deployed in and around Perne village where people are paying tributes at the war memorial, police said.

The ‘jay stambh’ was erected by the British as a memorial for soldiers killed in the Koregaon Bhima battle on January 1, 1818.

Besides large-scale police deployment, 500 CCTV cameras, 11 drone cameras and 40 video cameras are monitoring the area, a senior police officer said this morning.

Police check posts have been set up along the border of Pune district.

“Internet services in and around Perne village have been suspended,” special Inspector General of Police Vishwas Nangre-Patil said.

In the Dalit narrative, the 1818 battle is the victory over casteism as the British Army comprising a large contingent of Dalit Mahar soldiers had defeated the forces of Peshwas–the Brahmin custodians of the Maratha kingdom.

Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh leader Prakash Ambedkar, the grandson of Dalit icon B R Ambedkar, was among the first politicians to offer his tribute at the Jay Stambh this morning.

After laying a wreath at the memorial, Ambedkar hoped the commemoration event will pass off peacefully.

“Unlike last year, local people of surrounding villages have extended all help during the commemoration. Locals are lending a helping hand. I hope peaceful completion. However, the police should not act in haste,” he told reporters.

Ambedkar said the number of visitors is likely to swell this year.

“The reason behind the surge is because the likes of retired SC judge P B Sawant, retired HC judge B G Kolse Patil and some students (Kabir Kala Manch) took the history of the Koregaon Bhima battle to rural Maharashtra,” he said.

Unfortunately, the same students who “bridged the gap between the Marathas and the OBCs using the Elgaar Parishad platform were labelled as Naxals by the government, he said.

“These students took real history of Koregon Bhima to the masses, but the government labelled them Naxals,” he said, adding the government should find real perpetrators of last year’s violence and bring them to justice.

Police are probing the alleged Maoist links in the January 1 violence, which they suspect was triggered by provocative speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave in Pune on December 31, 2017.

In the wake of the clashes, police had booked Hindutva leaders Milind Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide on charges of inciting violence.

537 Indian prisoners lodged in Pakistani jails

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Web Team

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January 1, 2019

Pakistan Tuesday shared with India a list of 537 Indian prisoners lodged in Pakistani jails as per the provisions of a bilateral agreement.

They include 54 civilians and 483 fishermen, the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement here.

“The Government of Pakistan today (Tuesday) handed over a list of 537 Indian prisoners (54 civilians and 483 fishermen) in Pakistan to the High Commission of India in Islamabad,” it said.

The step was taken under the Consular Access Agreement of May 21, 2008 between Pakistan and India, the FO said.

According to the agreement, both countries are required to exchange lists of prisoners in each other’s custody twice a year, on January 1 and and July 1.

India will also share the list of Pakistani prisoners lodged in Indian jails with the High Commission of Pakistan in New Delhi, the FO said.

The two countries have adhered to the practice of exchanging the list of prisoners despite recurring tensions.

It is one of the enduring Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) agreed upon when the two sides were trying to disentangle the complex relationship with the help of the composite dialogue process.

Fishermen from Pakistan and India are frequently detained for illegally fishing in each other’s territorial waters since the Arabian Sea does not have a clearly defined marine border and the wooden boats lack the technology to avoid being drifting away.

US Democrats plan to pass bill in attempt to end govt shutdown

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Afternoon Voice

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January 1, 2019

Democrats in the House are planning to pass a stopgap spending bill in order to fund the Department of Homeland Security through the month of February.

The move is aimed at putting an end to the partial government shutdown in the United States.

Washington Post reported that the bill would be extending the existing USD 1.3 billion funding over the construction of a wall in the southern US border with Mexico, which is however less than the USD five billion funding approved by the US President himself.

On Monday, the US President took to Twitter saying, “I am in the Oval Office. Democrats, come back from vacation now and give us the votes necessary for Border Security, including the Wall. You voted yes in 2006 and 2013. One more yes, but with me in office, I’ll get it built, and fast!”

In addition to this, the Democrats are also planning to pass six other spending bills that would further provide funding to different federal agencies that were closed since the partial government shutdown started off since December 22.

The recent shutdown, the third time in the last one year, was imminent as the US President remained at odds with the lawmakers over border wall funding. The shutdown had continued for more than a week and sent many federal workers on temporary leave due to unavailability of funds.

509 drink-and-drive cases in Delhi on New Year’s eve

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Web Team

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January 1, 2019

Over 500 drunken revellers were penalised by the Delhi Police on New Year’s eve, with a majority of them being youngsters, officials said on Tuesday.

Around 15,000 police personnel were deployed across the national capital to ensure celebrations go off smoothly on New Year’s eve, with special traffic arrangements made to regulate movement of revellers, police said.

Police had warned that any incident of hooliganism and drunk driving would be dealt with strictly.

A total of 509 challans were issued for drink-and-drive cases on New Year’s eve, they said.

Thai man guns down six family members, including kids at New Year party

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Afternoon Voice

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January 1, 2019

A Thai man who felt slighted by his in-laws shot dead six family members including his two young children at a New Year’s Eve party before turning the gun on himself, police said on Tuesday.

The mass shooting took place 10 minutes after midnight as Sucheep Sornsung joined his wife’s family to ring in the New Year in the southern province of Chumphon.

Sucheep was “heavily” drunk when he pulled out his pistol at the table in the beauty parlour where the party was being hosted in Phato district, police said.

“All of the victims were his family members including his nine-year-old son and six-year-old daughter,” Lieutenant Colonel Larp Kampapan of Phato police told AFP.

“They were shot either in the head or the torso… he was angry that as the son-in-law he was not being made welcome by his wife’s family.” The gunman then turned the weapon on himself.

The other four victims were two men and two women aged between 47 and 71.

Thailand has high rates of gun ownership and petty personal disputes, romantic and business rivalries are often resolved with bullets.

Veteran Bollywood actor-writer Kader Khan passes away at 81

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Afternoon Voice

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January 1, 2019

Veteran actor-writer Kader Khan passed away due to prolonged illness at the age of 81 on December 31, his son Sarfaraz confirmed.

Khan was admitted to a hospital in Canada and his son confirmed that his last rites will be conducted in the country.

“My dad has left us. He passed away on December 31 at 6 pm as per Canadian time due to prolonged illness. He slipped into coma in the afternoon. He was in the hospital for 16-17 weeks.

“The last rites will be performed here in Canada only. We have our entire family here and we live here so we are doing it,” Khan’s son Sarfaraz told the media.

“We are thankful to everyone for their blessings and prayers,” he added.

The news of the death of the actor-screenwriter, who was at his peak in the 1980s-90s, comes days after his son dismissed media reports of his demise.

Khan had developed breathing issues and the doctors had reportedly transferred him from regular ventilator to BiPAP ventilator.

As per reports, he was suffering from Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, a degenerative disease that causes loss of balance, difficulty in walking and dementia.

Born in Kabul, Khan made his acting debut in 1973 with Rajesh Khanna’s “Daag” and has featured in over 300 films.

He wrote dialogues for over 250 movies. Before becoming an actor he had written dialogues for Randhir Kapoor-Jaya Bachchan’s “Jawani Diwani”.

As a screenwriter, Khan frequently collaborated with Manmohan Desai and Prakash Mehra.

His films with Desai include “Dharam Veer”, “Ganga Jamuna Saraswati”, “Coolie”, “Desh Premee”, “Suhaag”, “Parvarish” and “Amar Akbar Anthony” and films with Mehra include “Jwalamukhi”, “Sharaabi”, “Lawaaris”, “Muqaddar Ka Sikandar”.

Biggest Coinages surfaced in Modi regime

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Web Team

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December 30, 2018

Domestically and internationally, the Modi government is stumbling from one blunder to another. The devastating demonetisation was rung in on November 8, 2016, completely out of the blue. Even the Reserve Bank of India, the guarantor and regulator of the Indian currency learnt only three hours before Modi threw the demonetisation grenade on the bumbling RBI and the unsuspecting public. Ever since that shock, millions of people have been queuing up at the banks and the ATMs every day; despite the government’s promises to the contrary the end of queues seems not in sight.

While demonetisation wreaks havoc on the economy and a significant portion of India suffers in horrible poverty, Modi government, in the true Marie Antionette fashion of “let them eat cake”, is promising the tallest statues of steel, marble and stone. Modi’s right wing supporters such as the RSS, the Thackeray outfits and others are bent upon on reviving medieval fiefdoms of fanaticism, bigotry and intolerance; they are playing havoc with the essential ethos and fabric of the country.

2016 witnessed China’s increasing militarisation of the South China Sea and its deepening encirclement of India. In addition to continuing to strengthen its military presence in the South China Sea, on the man-made islands and otherwise, China has also been building infrastructure such as deep sea ports and roads in and to the countries around India – collectively called the string of pearls. Recently, Russia has expressed strong support for the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, part of China’s Silk Road Project, which severely impinges on and violates India’s claim of sovereignty over the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. Russia is even talking about its idea of a Eurasian Economic Union possibly merging with China’s Silk Road Project. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s term in power is almost over. While political analysts are out to make sense of Modi government’s achievements and failures in the last four-and-a-half years, I feel at least four phrases that sum up the tenure in a far more conclusive way than imagined. Semantics apart, these phrases created a perception that the government is either arrogant, anti-poor or doesn’t intend to keep its poll promises, or all of it.

Chunaavi jumla: The term was used by none other than BJP chief and Modi’s Man Friday, Amit Shah, barely two days before the crucial Delhi elections. When asked about Modi’s election promise of getting black money back and depositing Rs 15 lakh in every person’s account, the BJP president said it was only a “chunaavi jumla” (election speech not to be taken seriously). Modi’s voters perhaps never expected a princely sum of Rs 15 lakh in their bank accounts once he won, but Shah’s statement showed something worse: that the BJP lacked the intent to fulfil big poll promises. Lack of intent is a serious charge. The BJP won only three of the 70 seats in Delhi, suffering a shocking defeat at the hands of a resurgent Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). With slogans now playing a major role in a hypermediated environment, the “chunaavi jumla” faux pas is bound to haunt Modi and his government for it’s the rest of its tenure.
Suit-boot ki sarkar: After 60 days of his much-talked about sabbatical, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi returned to active politics with another slogan with far-reaching implications. Attacking the Modi government in Parliament over the contentious Land Bill, Rahul called the Modi dispensation a “suit-boot ki sarkar”, catching the BJP completely off-guard. India had still not forgotten the monogrammed pin-striped Rs 10 lakh designer suit that Modi wore on the reception for US President Barack Obama. The jibe resonated even more with a perception slowly gaining ground that the government is more interested in the interest of a few industrialists and not India’s poor. The phrase, like “chunaavi jumla”, is bound to haunt the Modi regime in future too.
Presstitute: Miffed with the media’s alleged uneven coverage of his works, former Army chief and minister of state for external affairs VK Singh slammed the entire press fraternity by calling them “presstitutes”. Misogyny apart, the statement triggered outrage for its contempt for an independent press. Though Singh apologised later, in today’s digital era, once you have spoken a word, it remains there to haunt you forever. Time and again, #presstitute trends on Twitter, reminding us of its controversial speaker, one of Modi’s chosen men.
Bazaaru media: Not to be left behind by his subordinate, even Modi could not resist the urge to attack the press. In the run-up to the charged up Delhi elections, he called the pollsters who predicted a rout for his party “bazaaru”. Not only was it unbecoming of a prime minister to shoot the medium rather than reading the message, he soon had to eat his unfortunate words when the BJP actually suffered one of its most humiliating defeats in the national capital. However, Modi was perhaps too big to apologise. I won’t be surprised if the phrase returns as a hashtag to haunt him.

The above list is in no way conclusive in a year that was marked by massive acrimony between the ruling combine and the opposition and the unleashing of a divisive Hindutva campaign on the ground by Modi’s close associates, whether it was Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti’s “Haraamzaade” shame, Giriraj Singh’s racist remarks against Sonia Gandhi, or Sakshi Maharaj’s call for four Hindu kids in every family.

For the remaining term, these words and phrases are bound to haunt Modi as his detractors will milk them dry to their advantage. Remember, perceptions and not reality drives contemporary politics. Modi still has a bit of his time in power with him. That is a great opportunity to correct the course and elevate political discourse. Isn’t clean India also about language?

For Indians, 2019 must be the year of rebellion– of the peaceful variety. There is nothing wrong with revolting against bad government. It is not sedition against the country. Indians must rise up in peaceful revolt and protest to ensure that their country’s government works for their collective dream of a better and fairer India of more jobs, good public healthcare, better education and less corruption. They must stand up in peaceful protests and tell the increasingly deaf government in Delhi they can’t eat statues, no matter how tall they are.