The Congress on Monday described the proposed three-day tour of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to drought-hit Marathwada region from September 1, as a “farce” and said instead his government should announce concrete steps like farm loans waiver. Talking to reporters on Monday, Maharashtra state Congress president Ashok Chavan said that Fadnavis should have toured the drought-hit region long ago.

“People might say that it is better late than never, but he should announce some quick decisions like loan waiver,” Chavan said.

Union Agriculture Minister Radhamohan Singh visited the state twice, a Central team toured the area thrice and now Fadnavis is also going on his tour, Chavan said, adding that instead of such a “farce”, his government should announce concrete steps.

“The situation in rural areas is explosive because of acute water scarcity and drought like conditions. We have been touring drought hit areas for the last few days. At none of these places, have farmers loans been rescheduled,” he said.

Union Agriculture Minister Radhamohan Singh had announced a Rs 25,000 compensation per hectare for hailstorm affected farmers during his visit on April 1, 2015, he said.

“However, his assurance was an April Fool’s Day joke because the farmers are yet to get any compensation,” he claimed.

Chavan described the Modi government’s decision to allow the Land Acquisition Ordinance to lapse as a “victory of the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi”. Chavan said that All Indian Congress Committee (AICC) president Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi had rallied opposition parties in the country against the Land Acquisition Ordinance and led the agitation from the front.

“The BJP government has retreated with an eye on the Bihar assembly polls. It is a victory for the Congress which was in the forefront in building public opinion against the Land Acquisition Ordinance,” Chavan said. He said that there was tremendous unrest among farmers against the Land Acquisition Ordinance and finally the Modi government had to bow down before the wishes of the people.

Replying to a question about Union Minister Nitin Gadkari’s statement that the government had exposed the Congress’s anti-development face, Chavan said that the Centre is patting its own back after its retreat on the Land Acquisition Ordinance. Chavan said that reports that the Maharashtra government plans to lift reservation of tribal (adivasi) land, is “shocking”.

Production of low-quality counterfeit goods has the potential to significantly undermine the ‘Make in India’ programme that seeks to establish the country as a global manufacturing hub, a report has said.

The counterfeit market is growing at a rate of 44 per cent per annum and has touched Rs 1.05 lakh crore in size in 2014, according to ‘Sell SMART’ report by industry body FICCI and consultancy firm KPMG.

As a consequence, since 2010, India has been on the US’ `Priority Watch List’ of countries more exposed to IPR (intellectual property rights) violations globally, it said.

Alcohol, consumer packaged goods, personal care products, tobacco, mobile and mobile components, auto parts and computer software and hardware are the sectors that are most prone to counterfeiting, the report said.

It added, of the total bogus goods sold in the country in 2014, FMCG, alcoholic beverages and tobacco accounted for a staggering 65 per cent.

Production of low-quality counterfeit goods has the potential to significantly undermine the goal of ‘Make in India’ programme. Counterfeiting is a challenge to the government and its most direct impact is felt through the loss of tax revenue, the report said.

In 2014, the government lost about Rs 39,200 crore in tax collections to the counterfeit trade, an increase of 50 per cent from Rs 26,100 crore in 2012. Of this, FMCG and alcoholic beverages sectors accounted for a loss of about Rs 27,500 crore, or about 70 per cent, it added.

“Counterfeit goods is a huge issue that needs to be addressed. Counterfeiting is more prevalent in rural and semi- urban areas compared to urban areas,” KPMG Partner Rajat Wahi said.

Indrani Mukerjea, wife of former Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea, faced fresh charges of poisoning and attempting to murder her son Mikhail on the day her daughter Sheena was killed more than three years ago as police suspect involvement of people outside the state in the sensational crime.

Seeking further custody of the three key accused–Indrani, former husband Sanjeev Khanna and driver Shyam Rai–in the Sheena murder case, police told a metropolitan court they would like to establish a “financial trail” in the crime.

Meanwhile, Chief Metropolitan Magistrate S M Chandgade extended their police custody till September 5.

Mikhail, Indrani’s son with her first husband Sidharth Das, had earlier told the police that she had thrice attempted to kill him and also spiked his drink the day Sheena disappeared in April 2012. Mikhail, who lives in Guwahati, and Sheena were Indrani’s children with Das.

There were emotional scenes in the court when Indrani hugged Vidhie, her daughter with Khanna, in the court and was seen crying. Indrani felt uneasy during the proceedings after which she was given water and allowed to sit.

Their faces covered in black veil, all the three accused were produced before the magisterial court amid tight security shortly before 3 pm. Their veils were briefly lifted when the Magistrate asked them whether they had any complaint (against the police), to which they replied in the negative.

After their police remand was extended, they were taken to the Khar police station where Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria, who himself is keenly supervising the probe, also arrived for interrogating them. What transpired during the interrogation was not immediately known.

Earlier, Chandgade rejected the contention of defence lawyers Gunjan Mangla and Hrishikesh Mundergi, appearing for Indrani and Khanna, that as the two were in police custody for sufficient time the remand should not be extended.

The police has begun a manhunt for some unknown people who allegedly kidnapped a housewife, strangulated her and dumped her body in the Kasara ghat, a Kalyan MFC police station official said.

The police said that it was a couple of days ago when the Kasara police station found the victim’s body in the ravine, after which a case was registered.

Later, it was on August 30, 2015 that the MFC police station registered a case under Section 302, Section 364 and Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code against unknown people in connection with the housewife’s murder.

According to a police complaint some unknown as well as unidentified people kidnapped her from her residence between August 12 and August 13, 2015 when she was alone at home.

Allegedly, killed her and dumped her body in the Kasara ghat, the police said. The motive behind the kidnap and murder is still not known, the police said.

The local police is probing the crime and is looking for those accused.

The Bombay High Court asked Maharashtra government to come out with a scheme for giving compensation to boys who are victims of sexual assault, on the lines of an existing one for female victims.

Incidents of sexual assault on boys at remand homes in Maharashtra are on rise and there is a need to formulate a scheme for rehabilitation of the victims, the division bench headed by Justice V M Kanade said.

“Why no separate scheme for boys has been formulated?” said the judges, directing the state to inform them at the next hearing after two weeks what it has done in this regard.

‘Manodhairya’ scheme for women rape victims was launched in 2013 by the state with a provision of compensation.

The HC was hearing a suo motu (on its own) petition about a sexual assault case at Kavdas orphanage in Shahpur. The sessions court had convicted six persons, including the orphanage owner, of sexually assaulting and starving 18 minor mentally-challenged inmates, five of them girls.

Taking a suo motu cognisance of the case, the HC had ordered the government to inquire into the working of all the state-aided orphanages. As a result of the PIL, a state coordination committee for child protection was formed and Dr Asha Bajpai was appointed an ‘amicus curiae’ (friend of court). Bajpai also heads the five-member committee.

The government today submitted a report on compliance of July 3 order of the HC which had asked the state to rehabilitate the victims.