Rajinikanth turns 66; no celebrations due to Jaya's demise

Chennai, Dec 12 (PTI) Superstar Rajinikanth turned 66 today but there were no birthday bash for the actor on account of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's December 5 demise.

However, a host of leaders and celebrities including Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted him.

"Happy birthday @superstarrajini! Wishing you a long life filled with good health," Modi tweeted.

Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan also greeted the actor.

"It is Rajnikant's birthday on Dec 12th and we wish him greater glory happiness and good health," Bachchan wrote on his Twitter page and shared pictures of the two actors posing together.

Khan described the Tamil mega star as "coolest and greatest of them all."

"2 the coolest & greatest of em all. Wishing u health happiness & years of entertainment for us. Happy B'Day Thalaivaa," he said.

Rajinikanth's daughter called him the "greatest man I know.

"To the greatest man I know ... my #Father #ILoveYou #HBDSuperstarRajinikanth," she said and posted photos of her and her father.

DMK Treasurer and Tamil Nadu Opposition Leader MK Stalin and BJP state President Tamilisai Sounderrajan and a host of actors greeted the 'Kabali' through statements and on Twitter.

The actor had last week asked his fans not to celebrate his birthday on account of Jayalalithaa's death.

He had skipped birthday celebrations last year also on account of the torrential rains that sparked a deluge in Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallore districts.

India,Indonesia resolve to deepen cooperation to combat terror

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi and the President of Indonesia, Mr. Joko Widodo at the Joint Press Statement, at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi on December 12, 2016.

New Delhi, Dec 12 (PTI) India and the world's most populous Muslim nation Indonesia today decided to expand their defence and maritime security ties and resolved to effectively deal with terrorism, calling for "zero tolerance" towards it.

The two countries, among the very few fast growing large economies globally, also decided to boost bilateral trade and investment in areas of oil and gas, renewable energy, IT and pharmaceuticals, during talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

The issue of South China Sea figured prominently in the talks and in a veiled message to Beijing, both sides asserted that the dispute must be resolved through peaceful means and without resorting to threat or use of force.

Two MoUs, one on providing for cooperation in youth affairs and sports and another on standardisation were signed.

A joint communique on combating illegal and unregulated fishing was also firmed up.

In his media statement, Modi said the talks focused on the full range of bilateral cooperation and that both countries agreed to prioritise defence and security cooperation, besides ramping up efforts to ensure safety and security of the sea lanes.

"As the world's most populous Muslim nation, Indonesia stands for democracy, diversity, pluralism, and social harmony. These are also our values. Our nations and societies have nurtured strong bonds of commerce and culture throughout our history," Modi, flanked by Widodo, said.

Asked whether India raised the issue of Indian national Gurdeep Singh, facing death sentence in Indonesia on drug charges, officials did not give a direct reply but said the matter is under judicial process in that country.

A joint statement said the two leaders condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations in the strongest terms, holding that there must be "zero tolerance" for acts of terror and that all states must deal with trans-national terrorism emanating from their territory by effective criminal justice response.

"Both leaders discussed the threat from global terrorism and other transnational crimes and resolved to significantly enhance bilateral cooperation in combating terrorism, terrorist financing, money laundering, arms smuggling, trafficking in human beings and cyber crime," it said.

Modi and Widodo called upon all countries to implement the UNSC Resolution 1267 (banning militant groups and their leaders) and other relevant resolutions designating terrorist entities, seen as an apparent reference to China blocking India's move to get Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar designated as a global terrorist by the UN.

The two leaders also asked all nations to work towards eliminating terrorist safe havens and infrastructure, disrupting terror networks and their financing channels and stopping cross-border terrorism,seen as a message to Pakistan.

Emphasising on the need to improve connectivity and encourage people-to-people contact, the two leaders also welcomed Indonesian airline Garuda commencing direct flights from Jakarta to Mumbai. .

Dilip Kumar turns 94, to celebrate birthday in hospital

Mumbai, Dec 11 (PTI) Legendary actor Dilip Kumar turns 94 on Sunday but he will have a low key birthday celebration in hospital where he is admitted following illness.

Kumar, who was admitted to Lilavati hospital in suburban Bandra on Tuesday after swelling on his right leg, is recovering well.

"He is resting now. He is in the ICU, but he is doing well, there is nothing to worry. Close family and friends have been visiting him since morning. We will cut the cake once he is awake. It will be a quiet birthday this time," his wife and veteran actress Saira Banu told PTI on Sunday.

"We are thankful to all the fans and media for their love and well wishes. He will be in hospital today, he is not getting discharged," she said.

Last year, Kumar had a quiet birthday celebration as a mark of solidarity to the victims of deluge in Chennai.

Born in Peshawar as Yousuf Khan, the actor adopted the screen name Dilip Kumar.

He made his debut in acting with "Jwar Bhata" in 1944 and went on to give memorable performances in films like "Mughal-e-Azam", "Ganga Jaumna", "Devdas", "Andaz, Babul", "Aan", "Amar", "Shaheed", "Naya Daur", "Madhumati", "Ram Aur Shyam", "Shakti"and "Mashaal" among others.

Kumar portrayed tragic roles through the 1940s, 50s and 60s in films like "Mela", "Devdas", "Dil Diya Dard Liya" and others, which gave him the moniker of 'Tragedy King of Bollywood'.

Later, he shifted to doing lighter roles in films like "Ram Aur Shyam", "Tarana" and "Kohinoor" and showed that he is equally good at comedy.

He was last seen on-screen in the 1998 film "Qila".

The thespian has been honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke award in 1994 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015 for his contribution to the Indian cinema.

The Pakistan government also honoured him with its highest civilian honour - Nishan-e-Imtiaz - in 1997.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Rishi Kapoor among other Bollywood celebrities took to Twitter to wish "the greatest actor" on his birthday.

"To the greatest.. Dilip Kumar.. on his birthday Dec 11, wishes prayers and duas for good health and happiness," Bachchan wrote.

Calling him the "Aakhri Mughal of the Hindi film industry", Azmi tweeted, "Salgirah mubarak @TheDilipKumar. You have been such an inspiration to millions. Respect.

Pak will get splintered into 10 if it does not mend ways :

Kathua (J&K), Dec 11 (PTI) Home Minister Rajnath Singh today accused Pakistan of "conspiring" to divide India along religious lines and warned the neighbouring country that it would be "splintered" into 10 nations if it failed to quell terrorism.

"Pakistan is conspiring to divide India on religious lines but it will not succeed. We were divided in 1947 on religious basis. We have not been able to forget that... All Indians are brothers, whether they are born from the womb of a Hindu mother or a Muslim mother," he said addressing a Martyrs' Day function in Kathua district.

Singh accused Pakistan of waging a proxy war against India.

"We want to live in peace with Pakistan but it has indulged in sponsoring a proxy war against India. Every Prime Minister of India wanted to mend relations with Pakistan but it did not understand the language of peace and attacked India four times. But our brave soldiers gave them a befitting reply." 

The Home Minister said Pakistan was waging the proxy war through terrorism, which is a weapon of the weak.

"Terrorism is the weapon of the weak and not the brave," he said.

"Pakistan came into existence after India got divided on religious lines but it could not keep itself united. In 1971, it got split into two and, if it does not mend its ways, it will get splintered into 10 pieces and India will have no role in it," he said.

Singh said terror groups ISIS had the whole world worried because of its activities but failed to spread its roots in India because of the Muslims.

"When the entire world is worried about ISIS, I can say it as the Home Minister of the country, as I know the reality that ISIS has not been able to spread its roots in India and the credit for this goes to the Muslims of the country, the followers of Islam," he said.

He said people might not know but when a member of somebody's family got radicalised, others came to him to seek his help to save the child from the clutches of the ISIS.

He also offered India's cooperation to Pakistan to help eradicate the menace of terrorism from its soil.

"If Pakistan is serious about eradicating terrorism but is incapable of doing that and wants cooperation, we are ready to help it eradicate terrorism from there," the Minister said.

Singh said India always wanted to have friendly relations with all its neighbours but Pakistan betrayed India and returned peace initiatives with terrorist attacks.

For a week in US, Pak PM's top aide still to meet Trump team

Washington/Islamabad, Dec 11 (PTI) Pakistan prime minister's top foreign policy aide Tariq Fatemi, who has been in the US for a week for 'familiarisation meetings' with President-elect Donald Trump's transition team, is yet to meet anyone from the incoming administration, a media report said today.

Fatemi, special assistant on foreign affairs to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, however, has held meetings with senior officials of the outgoing Obama administration and US lawmakers and is hoping to meet some members of the incoming Trump administration early this week, Dawn newspaper reported.

Such meetings are highlighted in press releases issued by the Pakistan embassy, which claims that these talks have helped create a better understanding of Pakistan s position on various issues, it said.

So far the only comment from the US side came from the State Department's deputy spokesman Mark Toner who said that US officials did discuss "a range of bilateral and regional" issues with Fatemi and these included "regional stability and counter-terrorism cooperation".

But he did not say if the meetings helped resolve the differences that have strained Pakistan's relations with the United States, the report said.

Neither the Pakistan embassy nor the Trump team have said anything about Fatemi's meetings/probable meetings with the officials of the incoming administration, it said.

Earlier this week, Fatemi visited New York, from where US President-elect Trump is conducting his business, but Pakistani diplomats said he was only there to meet senior UN officials and returned to Washington the same day.

A senior Pakistani diplomat, when asked why Fatemi had not yet met members of the Trump team, was quoted by the paper as saying that "protocol did not allow him to meet them in his official capacity" but he and the embassy were trying to arrange some informal meetings.

One such meeting, with Stephen Hadley, the former Bush administration's national security adviser, may happen this week, the report said.

The embassy official claimed that Fatemi has also been "very active on telephone," speaking to the Trump team. "We are reaching out to the 'influentials' not 'probables,' the paper quoted the official as saying while explaining why Fatemi had not yet met Trump officials although he has been in the US for almost a week now.

"We are trying to meet the people who have influence and are feeding into the transition process," the official said.

While the Pakistan embassy insists that it would not be appropriate for Fatemi to hold formal meetings with officials who are not in the government yet, officials from other countries are doing exactly that, the paper noted.

Senior officials and leaders from across the globe are visiting New York for meeting Trump officials, it said.

Govt to amend RBI Act to annul old Rs 500/1000 currency notes

New Delhi, Dec 11 (PTI) The government is likely to amend the Reserve Bank of India Act to extinguish the validity of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 printed before November 9 and a reference to this effect would be made in the upcoming Budget.

As part of the demonetisation process, there would be a law to make Rs 500/1000 notes invalid and it can be made effective from March 31, sources said.

"In 1978, when the currency was banned, the law to annul the validity came ahead. This time the government acted under 26 (2)," sources said.

As per RBI Act Section 26 (2), the central government, on the recommendation of the Central Board of RBI, may by notification in the Gazette of India, declare that, with effect from such date as may be specified in the notification, any series of bank notes of any denomination shall cease to be legal tender.

Asked about the amount of money which did not get into the system, sources said, it would add to bottomline of the RBI and it would be in a position to pay the government in the form of higher dividend or special dividend.

Banks have received Rs 12 lakh crore demonetised currency notes as against Rs 15.5 lakh crore. The government expects Rs 13 lakh crore to come back to banking system.

Higher dividend from the RBI due to cancellation of Rs 500/1000 may not be applicable until the RBI law is amended.

Last week, Reserve Bank Governor Urjit Patel had said it would not have any automatic impact on the central bank's balance sheet as per the existing law.

"Actually, the withdrawal of legal tender characteristics status does not extinguish any of RBI's balance sheet.

Therefore, there is no implication on the balance sheet as of now. The question of a special dividend automatically does not arise as of now," Patel had said.

RBI has issued currency notes worth over Rs 4.27 lakh crore to public through banks and ATMs following the demonetisation of old high value bills.

Consequent to the announcement of withdrawal of legal tender status of banknotes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 from the midnight of November 8, 2016, the central bank made arrangements for exchange and/or deposit of such notes.

Long queues for cash withdrawal have been witnessed outside banks and ATMs all over the country since November 10.

The bank were kept closed on November 9, the day demonetisation came into effect.

PM Modi greets President on birthday

New Delhi, Dec 11 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi today greeted President Pranab Mukherjee on his 81st birthday, saying the country is proud to have such a President whose wisdom has benefited the nation.

"Birthday wishes to Rashtrapati Ji. His tremendous experience & wisdom has benefited the nation greatly. I pray for his long & healthy life," he said in a tweet.

"Pranab Da always puts India's interest above everything.

We are proud to have such a well read & knowledgeable President," he said

India Incentivize Digital Payments

Government of India has initiated numerous steps to combat the scourge of Corruption and Black Money in the last two and a half years. Demonetization of 500 and 1000 Rs. notes is an important milestone in this endeavour. These large denomination currencies have resulted in a number of ill effects upon the economy. To increase overall transparency in the economy, it is important that we set into motion long term schemes to encourage digital payments so that tax evasion can be minimized.

It is possible to leverage technology to carry out business transactions digitally through online payments, mobile banking, e-wallets, debit cards etc. There are a large number of instruments to move from digital to digi-dhan. In Africa a developing country like Kenya has made this possible. In a country like India where 65% of the population is below 35 years of age, whose IT prowess is well recognized and where even poor and illiterate people exercise their franchise through EVMs, this transformation toward digital economy is definitely possible provided the citizens resolve to do so. This would enable the economy to grow at a faster pace.

In order to realize this vision, we need to encourage electronic payments and nudge the society to move from digital to digi-dhan. There has been a remarkable increase in both volume and amount of digital payment transactions since November 8^th. However, it is necessary to ensure that electronic payments are adopted by all sections of the society. In view of the above, NITI Aayog has requested National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) to conceptualize and  launch a new scheme to incentivize digital payments. It would be useful to reiterate that NPCI is a not for profit company which is charged with a responsibility of guiding India towards being a cashless society.

The highlights of the proposed incentives scheme are as follows-

·        All consumers and merchants using digital payments shall be eligible

·        There are two levels of incentive amounts available under the scheme:

§  Weekly lucky draw of the transaction IDs generated in that week, the contours of which are being finalized.

§  Quarterly draw for grand prizes.

·        While designing the scheme the focus will be on poor, lower middle class and small businesses.

·        All modes of digital payments- viz. USSD, AEPS, UPI and RuPay Cards- will be eligible.

·        For merchants, transactions made on the POS machines installed at their locations would be considered.

·        The detailed guideline of the scheme shall be unveiled soon. However, it would be ensured that all those who have used digital payment systems after November 8^th shall be eligible to participate in the scheme.

·         The scheme would also provide for recognition of State Governments, their Undertakings, Districts and Urban & Rural Local Bodies who innovate for promoting electronic payment in their respective jurisdictions.

CIA says Russia intervened to help Trump win White House

The CIA has concluded that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help President-elect Donald Trump win the White House, and not just to undermine confidence in the U.S. electoral system, a senior U.S. official said on Friday.

U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that as the 2016 presidential campaign drew on, Russian government officials devoted increasing attention to assisting Donald Trump's effort to win the election, the U.S. official familiar with the finding told Reuters on Friday night on condition of anonymity.

Citing U.S. officials briefed on the matter, the Washington Post reported on Friday that intelligence agencies had identified individuals with connections to the Russian government who provided thousands of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and others, including the chairman of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, to WikiLeaks.

As summer turned to fall, Russian hackers turned almost all their attention to the Democrats. Virtually all the emails they released publicly were potentially damaging to Clinton and the Democrats, the official told Reuters.

"That was a major clue to their intent," the official said. "If all they wanted to do was discredit our political system, why publicize the failings of just one party, especially when you have a target like Trump?"

A second official familiar with the report said the intelligence analysts' conclusion about Russia's motives does not mean the intelligence community believes that Moscow's efforts altered or significantly affected the outcome of the election.

Russian officials have denied all accusations of interference in the U.S. election.

A CIA spokeswoman said the agency had no comment on the matter.

The hacked emails passed to WikiLeaks were a regular source of embarrassment to the Clinton campaign during the race for the presidency.

U.S. intelligence analysts have assessed "with high confidence" that at some point in the extended presidential campaign Russian President Vladimir Putin's government had decided to try to bolster Trump's chances of winning.

The Russians appear to have concluded that Trump had a shot at winning and that he would be much friendlier to Russia than Clinton would be, especially on issues such as maintaining economic sanctions and imposing additional ones, the official said.

Moscow is launching a similar effort to influence the next German election, following an escalating campaign to promote far-right and nationalist political parties and individuals in Europe that began more than a decade ago, the official said.



In both cases, said the official, Putin's campaigns in both Europe and the United States are intended to disrupt and discredit the Western concept of democracy by promoting extremist candidates, parties, and political figures.

In October, the U.S. government formally accused Russia of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations ahead of the Nov. 8 presidential election.

President Barack Obama has said he warned Putin about consequences for the attacks.



Trump has said he is not convinced Russia was behind the cyber attacks. His transition team issued a statement on "claims of foreign interference in U.S. elections" on Friday but did not directly address the issue.

FSSAI prohibits use of calcium carbide for ripening of fruits

As per information available with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), some reports have appeared in the media regarding use of calcium carbide for ripening fruits. As per regulation 2.3.5 of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulations, 2011, use of calcium carbide for ripening of fruits is prohibited. FSSAI has sent letters to all State/UT Governments/State Food Safety Commissioners emphasizing the need to keep a strict vigil for checking use of calcium carbide for ripening of fruits and apprising them of the methodology for detection of Acetylene in godowns and storage chambers. They have also been apprised of the approved concentration of ethylene for ripening of fruits. State /UT Govt authorities/State Food Safety Commissioners have also been impressed upon to conduct periodic inspections and monitoring, inter alia, of fruits and vegetables markets. A document has also been uploaded on the FSSAI’s Official website i.e. fssai.gov.in to make the public aware about ill effects of consuming fruits ripened artificially by calcium carbide. FSSAI and the Ministry of Consumer Affairs regularly issue advertisements in print media to acquaint consumers about the harmful effects of use of carbide gas for ripening of fruits.

FSSAI IS responsible for making regulations and setting standards, import of food, notifying labs and coordination to ensure cooperation between FSSAI and States. The implementation of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 falls within the remit of the State/UT Governments and it is discharged through the Commissioner of Food Safety, Designated Officers and Food Safety Officers. The drawing of samples, getting them tested and launching prosecution, etc. is the mandate of the State/UT Governments. Regular surveillance, monitoring and inspection is undertaken by State/UT Governments to check compliance with the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and regulations therunder. However, separate information in respect of inspection of food packaging industries carried out by State/UT authorities is not maintained centrally by FSSAI.

The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), Smt Anupriya Patel stated this in a written reply in the Lok Sabha here today.