Historic announcements on ending corruption and black money by PM; Five hundred and one thousand rupee notes will no longer be legal tender from midnight tonight

In a historical move that will add record strength in the fight against corruption, black money, money laundering, terrorism and financing of terrorists as well as counterfeit notes, the Government of India has decided that the five hundred and one thousand rupee notes will no longer be legal tender from midnight, 8th November 2016.

The Government has accepted the recommendations of the RBI to issue Two thousand rupee notes and new notes of Five hundred rupees will also be placed in circulation.

Notes of one hundred, fifty, twenty, ten, five, two and one rupee will remain legal tender and will remain unaffected by the decision today.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi made these important announcements during a televised address to the nation on the evening of Tuesday 8th November 2016. He said that these decisions will fully protect the interests of honest and hard-working citizens of India and that those five hundred and one thousand rupee notes hoarded by anti-national and anti-social elements will become worthless pieces of paper.

The Prime Minister said the steps taken by the Government would strengthen the hands of the common citizens in the fight against corruption, black money and counterfeit notes.

Fully sensitive to some of the difficulties the common citizens may face in the coming days, the Prime Minister has announced a series of steps that will help overcome the potential problems.

Persons holding old notes of five hundred or one thousand rupees can deposit these notes in bank or post offices from 10th November onwards till 30th December, the Prime Minister announced. There are also some limits placed on the withdrawals from ATMs and bank for the very short run.

Shri Modi stated that on humanitarian grounds notes of five hundred and one thousand rupees will be accepted at government hospitals, pharmacies in government hospitals (with prescription of a doctor), booking counters for railway tickets, government buses, airline ticket counters, petrol, diesel and gas stations of PSU oil companies, consumer cooperative stores authorized by the state or central government, milk booths authorized by state government and crematoria, burial grounds.

Shri Modi emphasized that there is no restriction on any kind of non-cash payments by cheques, demand drafts, debit or credit cards and electronic fund transfer.

In his address the Prime Minister shared the insight into how the magnitude of cash in circulation is linked to inflation and how the inflation situation is worsened due to the cash deployed through corrupt means. The Prime Minister added that it adversely affects the poor and the neo-middle class people. He cited the example of the problems being faced by the honest citizens while buying houses.

A time-tested commitment to eradicate black money

The Prime Minister has time and again said that the Government is committed to ensure that the menace of black money is overcome. Over the past two and a half years of the NDA Government, he has walked the talk and led by example.

The very first decision of the Prime Minister led NDA government was the formation of a SIT on black money.

A law was passed in 2015 on disclosure of foreign bank accounts. In August 2016 strict rules were put in place to curtail benami transactions. During the same period a scheme to declare black money was introduced.

The efforts have borne fruit. Over the past two and a half years, more than Rs. 1.25 lakh crore of black money has been brought into the open.

Raising the issue of black money at the world stage

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has time and again raised the issue of black money at the global forum, including at important multilateral summits and in bilateral meetings with leaders.

Record growth in last two and a half years

The Prime Minister said that the efforts of the Government have led to India emerging as a bright spot in the global economy. India is a preferred destination for investment and India is also an easier place to do business in. Leading financial agencies have shared their optimism about India’s growth as well.

Combined with this, Indian enterprise and innovation has received a fillip due to the ‘Make in India’, ‘Start up India’ and ‘Stand up India’ initiatives that seek to celebrate enterprise, innovation and research in India.

The historic announcements made by the Prime Minister will add value to the already thriving efforts of the Central Government.

Sensex rallies 185 pts on FBI relief for Clinton

Mumbai, Nov 7 (PTI) Ending its five-session losing run, BSE benchmark Sensex on Monday recouped nearly 185 points on positive global sentiments as chances of Hillary Clinton in the US election brightened following a relief from FBI in personal email server probe.

The US elections and outcome speculation caused nervousness in global markets last week but the news of a reprieve, mere two days ahead of polls, for Clinton from FBI brought cheers for investors as the investigative agency did not find any material evidence for potential criminal charges.

Besides, domestic equities got a major push from covering-up by speculators, who had been creating short positions.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services Ltd, said, "Market reacted positively to the outcome of US FBI's clean chit to the Democratic presidential candidate. Investors expressed an interim relief in the midst of escalating worry in the final lap of election battle. Further, short covering on pharma, bank stocks has also supported the rally." 

The Sensex opened gap-up at 27,552.27 and hovered between 27,591.15 and 27,398.72 before closing at 27,458.99, showing a gain of 184.84 points, or 0.68 per cent.

The gauge had lost 667.36 points in the previous five sessions.

The Nifty after shuttling between 8,535.85 and 8,481.45 ended higher by 63.30 points, or 0.75 per cent, at 8,497.05.

Buying activity was so strong that all the sectoral indices, except capital goods, ended in the green, rising by up to l.94 per cent.

Tracking overall trends, broader markets were also in better shape with the small-cap surging 1.19 per cent and the mid-cap index rising 0.59 per cent.



Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net INR 343.30 crore on Friday, as per provisional data.

Globally, in the Asian region, Japan's Nikkei moved up 1.61 per cent, Shanghai Composite was higher 0.26 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng up 0.70 per cent.

European markets also joined Asian markets as Frankfurt's DAX climbed 1.71 per cent, while the Paris CAC rose 1.81 per cent in their initial deals. London's FTSE too surged 1.37 per cent. The US stocks futures too were trading in positive terrain ahead of Monday's market opening. .

Clinton, Trump in nail-biting finish to brutal US prez poll

Washington, Nov 7 (PTI) Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump today scrambled to make their final pitch to voters in the closely-contested US presidential race dogged by controversies like the Democratic nominee's email scandal and sexual assault allegations against her Republican rival.

As the countdown began for the most bitter and divisive presidential election in the US history, Clinton, 69, and her running mate Tim Kaine's campaign received a last-minute boost by news that the FBI had found no new troublesome emails in a review of the former secretary of state's private server and she will not face criminal charges.

"Based on our review, we have not changed our conclusions that we expressed in July with respect to Secretary Clinton," FBI Director James B Comey told Congress leaders in a letter after a renewed probe into her use of private email server as secretary of state following a cache of recently discovered emails.

Seeking to become the first female president of America, Clinton relieved by the latest development will end her campaign with a rally in the battleground state of North Carolina at midnight local time.

Republican candidate Trump will close his campaign with an event in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a state where he is hoping to pull off a huge surprise.

Trump, 70 called the vote tomorrow a final chance to turn back foreign forces menacing American identity, while Clinton said the country's long journey toward equality for women and minorities was at risk of being reversed in a day's balloting.

Trump claimed that he is leading in battleground States and is headed to win the White House race, much to the surprise of the pollsters and the media.

"You have to get everyone you know to the polls. We are going to win. We are going to have one of the greatest victories of all time. This is going to be Brexit times 50," Trump told cheering supporters in Leesburg, a suburb of Washington DC in Virginia.

"I think, we are up in Colorado. We are doing very well in Nevada. Doing really well in North Carolina. I hear, we are going to do very well in the State of Virginia. We are winning Florida. I think, we are doing very well in Pennsylvania," he said.

Trump promised a raucous crowd that he would end trade deals supported by "crooked Hillary", scrap the Affordable Care Act and dramatically restrict the arrival of refugees in communities that don t want them.

He also addressed rallies in Iowa, Colorado, Minneapolis, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Clinton, meanwhile, campaigned in Pennsylvania, where she maintains a lead, and in Ohio and New Hampshire, two battleground states that could go either way.

"This election is a moment of reckoning," Clinton told a crowd in Manchester.

May joins Modi in seeking action against those backing terror

New Delhi, Nov 7 (PTI) British Prime Minister Theresa May today joined her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in demanding strong action against those who support terrorism and provide sanctuary to its perpetrators after he voiced deep concern over cross-border terrorism, in an obvious reference to Pakistan.

The leaders called upon Pakistan to bring to justice the perpetrators of the November 2008 and 2016 terrorist attacks in Mumbai and Pathankot as May condemned the terror strike on the Indian Army Brigade headquarters in Uri in September.

As many as 19 soldiers were killed in the attack.

Terrorism and Indo-British economic ties were the key subjects at the talks here between Modi and May, who arrived last night on a three day visit to India, her first bilateral trip outside Europe since becoming Prime Minister in July after the Brexit vote.

The joint statement issued after the talks said they strongly affirmed that terrorism is a serious threat to humanity and reiterated their strong commitment to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. They stressed that there can be no justification for acts of terror on any grounds whatsoever while agreeing there should be zero-tolerance to terrorism.

In an obvious reference to Pakistan hailing Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani as "martyr", the joint statement said, "There should be no glorification of terrorists or efforts to make a distinction between good and bad terrorists. They agreed that South Asia should be stable, prosperous and free from terror and called on all countries to work towards that goal." 

Modi and May also called for concerted global action against them "without selectivity". They pitched for urgent measures to counter and prevent the spread of terrorism, violent extremism and radicalisation.

The two Prime Ministers affirmed that the fight against terrorism should not only seek to disrupt and bring to justice terrorists, terror organisations and networks, but also identify, hold accountable and take strong measures against all those who encourage, support and finance terrorism, provide sanctuary to terrorists and terror groups, and falsely extol their virtues.

Addressing a joint press event with May, Modi said they discussed ways to purposefully work together to combat the growing forces of radicalisation and terrorism. "We agreed that it is not a limited security challenge. Its arc of threat spreads across nations and regions. Terrorists move across borders with ease, and endanger the entire humanity.

"I conveyed our deep concerns to Prime Minister May regarding cross-border terrorism and the need for the international community to take strong action against States that support and sponsor terrorism," he said.

On her part, May said the two countries face the shared threat of terrorism as individual countries, as partners, and as global powers and have agreed to strengthen cooperation in particular by sharing best practice to tackle use of internet by violent extremists.

Delhi smog: Rise in asthma, allergy, breathlessness cases

New Delhi, Nov 6 (PTI) Cases of severe breathlessness, asthma and allergy have sharply risen in Delhi as the city remains blanketed in thick layer of toxic air due to the worst smog in 17 years.

Doctors and experts say that besides spike in fresh cases, health complications have aggravated in people having a history of asthma, allergy or other related ailments.

"Earlier 15-20 per cent pollution-related ailment cases were reported at our hospital. But now these have gone up to 60 per cent.

"The most common problem is related to respiration. But this time we are seeing a rather large number of cases of severe breathlessness, coughing and sneezing and bronchiolitis due to the smog," says Dr S P Byotra, senior consultant and chairman of the department of medicine at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH).

Bronchiolitis is inflammation of the bronchioles, the smallest air passages of the lungs.

"Children and elderly are the most vulnerable to infections and allergies due to smog and pollution. So, they should take extra care, and try not to venture during early morning and at dusk when the toxic level is highest," Byotra says.

Delhi is facing its worst smog in last 17 years, prompting the high court to observe that it was akin to "living in a gas chamber".

The Centre has termed it an "emergency situation" and called a meeting of environment ministers of all neighbouring states tomorrow to curb stubble burning by farmers.

According to experts, it is estimated that over 20 per cent of the world's population suffers from allergic diseases such as allergic asthma, allergic rhinitis and allergic conjunctivitis, atopic eczema and anaphylaxis.

"We are seeing a rise of 60-70 per cent in ailment cases related to pollution. Breathlessness, asthma, eye and skin allergies case have jumped. We are getting patients as young as a two-month-old baby who had bronchiolitis.

"People who had a history of or are predisposed to such ailments, such cases have also risen. Children getting affected more, as their immunological state is low. Besides, the infections are taking longer time to subside," says Dr Rahul Nagpal, Director and Head, Pediatrics, at Fortis Hospital in Vasant Kunj.

"Children should as far as possible avoid venturing out in the open early morning and late evening, and peak hours of the pollution. The number of cases have increased due to the smog in the last few days," says Dr V K Paul, pediatrician at AIIMS. .

I'm proud of my beautiful daughter: Big B

Mumbai, Nov 5 (PTI) Megastar Amitabh Bachchan says he is proud of her daughter Shweta Nanda, who walked the ramp, here last night for noted designer duo Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla's label "Jani Khosla".

The 74-year-old star shared his excitement on Twitter, calling Shweta- "the world's most beautiful daughter." 

"And the most beautiful daughter in the world walks the ramp for Khosla-Jani International... A very very proud Father...," he wrote.

Shweta donned a white gown with a small feather like crown on her head, which gave the star daughter a perfect angel look.

The event was also attended by Abhishek and Jaya Bachchan.

As Delhi turns into 'gas chamber', CM seeks Centre's help

New Delhi, Nov 5 (PTI) A thick shroud of menacing grey haze blanketed the national capital today as pollution level breached the safe limit by over 17 times at places, prompting Chief Minister Arvind Kerjriwal to describe Delhi as a "gas chamber" and seek the Centre's intervention.

Kejriwal appealed to people to minimise the use of private vehicles in view of the situation and switch to public transportation facilities.

The extent of pollution surpassed even the post-Diwali levels, while smog brought down visibility to around 200 metres across the city. Monitoring agencies recorded 'severe' quality air and advised people to avoid going outdoors.

Kejriwal told a press conference that the smog was mainly a product of raging farm fires in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana. Later, he raised the issue with Union Environment Minister Anil Dave in a meeting at the latter's residence.

While the 24-hour average of respirable pollutants PM 2.5 and PM 10 was 355 and 482 micrograms per cubic metre respectively, real-time figures were alarmingly high.

Anand Vihar, for instance, recorded PM 10 level at 1,711 micrograms per cubic metre at 2 PM -- around 17 times above the safe limit.

The safe limits of these ultrafine particles are 60 and 100 respectively. Even the level of gaseous pollutants like NO2 violated the prescribed standards for human inhalation as per real-time readings.

Lt Governor Najeeb Jung has also called for a high-level meeting on Monday to take stock of the immediate, short-term and long term measures, in which he invited Kejriwal, health minister Satyendar Jain, environment minister Imran Hussain, the Delhi Chief Secretary, and representatives of Police and the civic bodies.

Kejriwal said vehicle restriction measures like 'odd-even' scheme will not be able to bring down the smog as initial studies suggest that the "large-scale" influx of pollutant-laden smoke from Punjab and Haryana has aggravated the situation.

He said the Delhi government has very few methods at its disposal and the Centre needs to intervene.

"Pollution has increased to an extent that outdoors in Delhi are resembling a gas chamber. Prima facie the biggest reason seems to be burning of stubble in agricultural fields in Haryana and Punjab in huge quantity," Kejriwal told a press conference.

Shutting down of schools for a long time was not a feasible solution, he said, when asked about the decision of the civic bodies to keep schools run by it closed for a day in view of pollution. .

Pak media report on recalling High Commissioners nonsensical: India

New Delhi, Nov 4 (PTI) India today dismissed as "totally speculative and nonsensical" a Pakistani media report that the two countries were planning to recall their respective High Commissioners temporarily in the backdrop of continuing slide in the ties.

Government sources were totally dismissive of the report in Pakistani daily 'Express Tribune' which said Pakistan and India may temporarily recall their envoys and scale down the size of diplomatic staff in each other's missions.

"It is totally speculative and nonsensical," a source said.

The report comes in the wake of Pakistan pulling out six of its senior officials, including diplomats, after Pakistan High Commission staffer Mahmood Akhtar was expelled last week after being caught running a spy ring. He had also named four Pakistan diplomats as being part of the spying operations in India.

India is also mulling withdrawal of eight of its diplomats from Islamabad as their security has been "completely compromised". It had strongly protested against the manner in which their names and photos were published. According to sources, these diplomats were likely to return by Sunday.

Pakistan had claimed that these Indian officials were involved in "espionage, subversion and supporting terrorist activities in Balochistan and Sindh, especially Karachi, sabotaging China Pakistan Economic Corridor, and fuelling instability in the two provinces".

Reacting sharply to Pakistan's charge, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said the allegations against Indian officials represent an "after-thought" and a "crude attempt" to target them for no fault of theirs, after the Pakistan High Commission staffer was caught.

"We completely reject the baseless and unsubstantiated allegations made by Pakistan against certain officials of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. The Government categorically denies those allegations.

"It is especially regrettable that Pakistani authorities have chosen to level these allegations after deciding to recall, on their own, six officials of the Pakistan High Commission, some of whom may have been named to Indian authorities by Mehmood Akhtar - Pakistan High Commission official caught red handed," Swarup had said.

Clinton had asked about Amitabh Bachchan, leaked emails show

New York, Nov 4 (PTI) A leaked email of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton shows that she had once asked her close aide about Indian megastar Amitabh Bachchan.

Jose A DelReal, national political reporter with The Washington Post, posted a picture on Twitter of a leaked Clinton email in which the former US secretary of state had asked her Pakistani-origin aide Huma Abedin about Bachchan.

The July 2011 email had been sent by Clinton to Abedin in which she asked "What's the name of the famous older Indian actor we met a few years ago?".

To the question, Abedin replied "Amitabh bachan (sic)." 

The leaked email does not give further details as to why and in what context was Clinton asking about Bachchan, 74.

The cache of leaked emails have been a headache for Clinton and just as the elections entered their last crucial lap, FBI Director James Comey sent a letter to Congress about a renewed inquiry concerning her emails.

Abedin is currently in the middle of a political storm after FBI started reviewing some 650,000 emails found on a laptop belonging to her estranged husband, former Congressman Anthony Weiner, that may be related to the investigation into Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state during President Barack Obama's first term.

India, Japan likely to sign nuke deal during Modi visit

New Delhi, Nov 3 (PTI) India and Japan are likely to sign a civil nuclear cooperation agreement during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to that country next week as the two sides completed the internal procedures for the much- awaited agreement.

The two countries had sealed a broad agreement for cooperation in civil nuclear energy during Japanese Prime Minister Shiozo Abe's visit here last December but the final deal was yet to be signed as certain technical and legal issues were to be thrashed out.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said both the countries have completed the internal procedures including legal and technical aspects of the text of the pact.

When specifically asked whether the pact will be inked during Modi's two-day visit beginning November 11, he only said, "I cannot pre-judge outcome of the talks." 

There was political resistance in Japan to go ahead with a nuclear deal with India, particularly after the disaster at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in 2011.

Japan is a major player in the nuclear energy market and an atomic deal with it will also make it easier for US-based nuclear plant makers Westinghouse Electric Corporation and GE Energy Inc to set up atomic plants in India as both these conglomerates have Japanese investments.

Modi, during the visit, will have an audience with the Emperor of Japan and hold the annual summit meeting with Abe.

Ahead of his trip, a delegation of Japanese parliamentarians called on Modi today which was led by Toshihiro Nikai.

Swarup said the Prime Minister recalled his interaction with the Japan-India Parliamentarians' Friendship League in September, and welcomed increased interaction between the legislatures of both countries. He said Modi also called for strengthening exchanges between State-level legislatures.

"The Prime Minister welcomed the initiative of Toshihiro Nikai to raise awareness about the threat posed by tsunamis, and sought strengthening of bilateral cooperation in the field of disaster risk reduction and disaster management," he said.

According to Swarup, Modi also said he was looking forward to his visit to Japan.