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Sunday, 16 April 2017

US working on "range of options" against N Korea: McMaster

Washington, Apr 16 (PTI) The US today said it is working with China and other allies to develop a "range of options" against North Korea's "provocative and destabilising" behaviour, asserting that President Donald Trump will not allow Kim Jong-Un s regime to have the capacity to threaten America.

"The President has made clear that he will not accept the US and its allies and partners in the region being under threat from this hostile regime with nuclear weapons. And so we're working together with our allies and partners, and with the Chinese leadership, to develop a range of options," national security adviser H R McMaster said.

McMaster said the latest missile test, which failed, just fits into a pattern of "provocative and destabilising and threatening" behaviour on the part of the North Korean regime.

"I think there's an international consensus now, including the Chinese leadership that this is a situation that just can't continue. The US President has made clear that he will not accept the US and its allies and partners in the region being under threat from this hostile regime with nuclear weapons, he told ABC News.

McMaster said President Donald Trump has asked the National Security Council to integrate the efforts of the Department of Defence, State, and intelligence agencies, so that they can provide options and have them ready for him if this pattern of "destabilising" behaviour continues.

"These options would be used if North Korea regime refuses to denuclearise, which is the accepted objective of both the United States and Chinese leadership, as well American allies in the region," he said.

North Korea launched a missile today but it blew up almost immediately after its launch.

The attempted launch occurred a day after the regime of Kim Jong Un showed off a bevy of new missiles and launchers at a large-scale military parade.

Referring to the display of intercontinental ballistic missile by North Korea during a recent parade, the US National Security Advisor said the purpose of that parade is to demonstrate military prowess in a threatening way.

So whether those weapons are real or fake is unclear, he said.

Asked about the "options" against North Korea, he said Trump has made very clear that he is not in the business of announcing in advance exactly what he's going to do in any particular situation.

"I think what you saw last week with the President's decisive response to the Assad regime, to mass murder of innocent people, including children, with chemical weapons, that this national security team is capable of rapidly responding to those sorts of crises or incidents and events and providing the President with options. And our President is clearly comfortable making tough decisions and respond, he said.

All our options on the table undergoing refinement and further development, the top American national security advisor said in response to a question.

McMaster said it should make clear to the North Korean regime that it is in their best interest to stop the development of these weapons, to stop the development of these missiles, and to denuclearise the peninsula.

"While we do not want to telegraph in any way how we'll respond to certain incidents, it's clear that the President is determined not to allow this kind of capability to threaten the United States. And our President will take action that is in the best interest of the American people," he said.

McMaster said what Kim Jong-un is doing is a threat to all people in the region and globally as well.

"This is someone who has said not only does he want to develop a nuclear weapon, but he wants to use it to coerce others. He's said that he was willing to proliferate nuclear weapons once he develops them. And so this a grave threat to all people, he asserted.

Pyongyang had yesterday warned Washington that it is "prepared to respond to an all-out war with an all-out war".

Friday, 14 April 2017

Lucky winners of 1 crore,50 lakh, 25 lakh, 12 lakh embracing digital payments felicitated by the Prime Minister in Nagpur

Digital Payment is the order of the day:  Proud Winners of the Mega Draw
The six lucky winners of the first, second and third prize worth Rs.1 crore, Rs.50 lakh and Rs.25 lakh in the consumer category and Rs. Rs.50 lakh, Rs.25 lakh and Rs,12 lakh in the merchants  category for embracing digital payments under NITI Aayo’s Lucky Grahak Yojana for consumers and Digidhan Vyapar Yojana for merchants  have underlined the need and importance of  making digital payments the order of the day. The proud winners were felicitated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for their contribution in making digital payments revolution a mass movement in India.. The winners of the mega draw itself are a testimony to the spread of the digital payments revolution in the country.

The lucky winners the Mega Draw were felicitated by the Prime Minister on this occasion. 
20 year-old Shradha Mohan Mengshette, a second year student of Electrical Engineering from Latur district in Maharashtra, emerged as the winner of Rs.1 crore mega draw for consumers. She won the reward for making a transaction of Rs.1590 through her Rupay card online, to pay the monthly EMI for her new mobile phone.

The 2nd prize of Rs. 50 lakh, under the Lucky GrahakYojana for consumers, was won by Hardik Kumar from Khambhat in Gujarat. The 29-year-old is a primary school teacher who used hisRupay card for making a transaction of Rs. 1100.

 Another RuPay card transaction, of just Rs.100, won Bharat Singh from the Sherpur village in Uttarakhand an amount of Rs. 25 lakh.

The 1st prize of Rs. 50 lakh, under the Digi-DhanVyaparYojana category for merchants, was won by AnandAnanthapadmanabhan for accepting a payment of Rs.300 at GRT Jewellers in Tambaram, Tamil Nadu.

The 2nd prize of Rs. 25 lacs was won by RaginiRajendraUttekar, owner of a small beauty parlour in Thane, Maharashtra. She accepted a payment of Rs.510 which won her this amount.

The 3rd prize of Rs. 12 lakh was won by 33 year-old Shaik Rafi who runs a wholesale clothing store in Ameerpet, Telangana. He accepted a payment of Rs. 2000 on his PoS machine.

NITI Aayog’s two schemes to incentivize digital payments -Lucky GrahakYojana and DigiDhanVyaparYojana, came to an end after a rigorous 100 day information, education and communication campaign  making digital payments a mass movement in India.

Spread over 100 days since 25th December in 100 cities all over the country, Rs.258 crore of prize money was won by 16 lakh winners, including customers and merchants belonging to different corners of the country and from varied walks of life.

100 days of DigiDhanMelas, led by NITI Aayog in 100 cities across India, have had a huge impact in enabling increased usage of digital payment methods. At least 15,000 institutions have gone cashless across just these 100 rural and urban cities across each one of the 27 states and 7 UTs. With a turnout of over 15 lakh from cities, small towns and villages, the melas have enabled lakhs to open new bank accounts as well as create new Aadhaar cards.

Centre positive on Teesta, will take right decision: Uma



Howrah (WB), Apr 14 (PTI) Union Water Resources and River Development Minister Uma Bharti today said the Centre has a positive stand on the Tessta water issue with Bangladesh and it will take the right decision on it considering all aspects.

"We don't want any politics on Teesta water issue. All aspects on it are being examined carefully," Bharti said before attending a meeting of her party BJP here.

Asked about West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's unhappiness over the water sharing agreement, Bharti said "She (Mamata) is hardly happy on any issue." 

"Several questions have been raised on the issue both in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Things will be resolved through discussion with the state government," she said.

On paucity of drinking water in various states, Bharti said, "We have asked all the state governments through the Central Water Commission (CWC) to report to the Centre if there is any crisis regarding the availability of drinking water. The Centre will come out with all help." 

On the BJP performance in recent elections, Bharti said her party is now eyeing West Bengal.

"Earlier we used to win hardly any seat in the states like Assam and Haryana, but now we have formed governments in these states. We are confident about forming government in West Bengal too in future with a clear majority," she said.

Strongly criticising the law and order situation in West Bengal, Bharti alleged, "A reign of terror has been unleashed in Bengal and our party workers are being targeted. I have asked them to fight against these odds as the time is now ripe to fight for a change in power." 

Bharti also launched a counter attack on Trinamool Congress on the issue of communalism, saying it is not the BJP but Mamata Banerjee, who is responsible for playing communal politics in the state.

People will give her a fitting reply, she said.

Speaking on various central projects, Bharti alleged that the West Bengal government didn't submit proposals for projects properly, thus failing to avail central funds.

"How can we sanction funds against such incomplete project proposals?" she asked.

"Leaving aside the politics for development, Mamata Banerjee is only doing politics of violence. Her officials in the state have lost all efficiency to work for development," Bharti alleged.

Claiming that the BJP had a role behind the rise of Mamata in politics, she said, "The BJP will script her downfall as well by defeating her in the 2021 assembly elections." 

She called upon party workers to work towards a positive direction to bring in a change in the state.

Bharti condemned the bounty announced by a BJP youth wing leader on Mamata's head and said both she and her party have denounced the BJYM leader's comments.

Thursday, 13 April 2017

Prez gives assent to four supporting legislations on GST



New Delhi, Apr 13 (PTI) President Pranab Mukherjee has given assent to four key legislations on Goods and Services Tax (GST), paving the way for the roll out of one-nation-one- tax regime from July 1.

The legislations were The Central GST Act, 2017, The Integrated GST Act, 2017, The GST (Compensation to States) Act, 2017, and The Union Territory GST Act, 2017, officials said today.

These bills were passed in Rajya Sabha on April 6 and by Lok Sabha on March 29.

The GST, the biggest taxation reform since Independence, will subsume central excise, service tax, Value Added Tax (VAT) and other local levies to create an uniform market.

The Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, provides for the levy of the Central Goods and Services Tax by the Centre on the supply of goods and services within the boundary of a state.

Whereas, the Integrated GST Act deals with the levy of Integrated Goods and Services Tax by the Centre on inter-state supply of goods and services.

The Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Act, provides for compensation to the states for the loss of revenue arising on account of implementation of the Goods and Services Tax.

The Union Territory GST Act makes a provision for levy and collection of tax on intra-state supply of goods, services or both by the Union Territories.

The GST rates are to be discussed by the GST Council headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on May 18-19.

Jaitley had in Rajya Sabha last week said that the GST Council, comprising finance ministers of Union and states, had agreed to take a decision on bringing real estate within the ambit of the new tax regime within a year of its roll out.

The GST Council will also take decisions regarding inclusion of petroleum products and alcohol in the GST network, one by one, in the foreseeable future.

As regards Jammu and Kashmir, the Finance Minister had said the law will not apply there because of Article 370 that gives special status to the state.

Jammu and Kashmir will have to legislate its own law and integrate with the GST regime, Jaitley had said.

From state bodies to players, BCCI releases funds for all

New Delhi, Apr 13 (PTI) The BCCI has released pending payments to various stakeholders which include Test match centres, state bodies, match fee of India players besides salary of coaches and commentators.

Also the IPL franchises were paid one installment of their share from the "Net Central Rights".

The board's website has uploaded all the payments and specific heads under which the invoices have been created from January to March.

According to payments made in March, the cash-strapped Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) have been paid approx Rs 1.69 crore under the head: "Advance against amount due to association".

The amount has been released on March 22 and will go a long way to help the staff, who have not been paid salaries for months.

The BCCI has also paid Rs 1.45 crore and Rs 5.54 crore (approx) on two separate counts -- property tax and service tax -- on behalf of DDCA.

The payments to various Test centres have also been made.

Accordingly, Himachal Pradesh and Hyderabad have received approximately Rs 2.82 crore each while Maharashtra and Andhra were paid Rs 4.52 crore respectively.

Among the IPL franchises -- promoters of KKR and Sunrisers received Rs 21 crore each, while Kings XI Punjab received Rs 22.5 crore.

The promoters of Mumbai Indians -- Indiawin Sports Private Limited and Delhi Daredevils owner GMR Sports received Rs 23 crore each.

All the top Indian players received their match fees plus retainership fees for various tours during the last international season.

Chief coach Anil Kumble has received "professional fees" of approx Rs 48.75 lakh each for December and January while Rahul Dravid, currently coach Delhi Daredevils, has received two separate amounts of Rs 41.44 lakh and Rs 1.89 crore (approx) during the 2016 season for coaching India U-19 and A sides.

The top Indian commentators have also been paid their fees for various broadcasting assignments. Both Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri have been paid approx Rs 56.93 lakh each for the England series.

Likewise, L Sivaramakrishnan and Sanjay Manjrekar were paid Rs 26.25 lakh and Rs 42 lakh respectively for the England series.

Nat Award for Sonam glorious validation of her talent: Azmi



Mumbai, Apr 13 (PTI) Veteran actress Shabana Azmi has praised Sonam Kapoor as she got a special mention at the 64th National Film Awards for her portrayal of slain air hostess, Neerja Bhanot, in "Neerja".

The 66-year-old actress, who essayed the role of Bhanot's mother in the movie, said she is glad to see the "Raanjhanaa" star's growth as an artiste and that the prestigious honour will motivate her to do better work.

"Sonam is like my own bachcha. To see her growth as an artiste is a very fulfilling experience for me personally. The National award for Sonam is such a glorious validation of her talent.

"It just makes her so much more confident to do better work. I am very proud of her," Azmi said in a poster which was shared by Sonam on social media.

"This made my day year and everything! Thank you @AzmiShabana and thank you @RamKMadhvani for showing me this," Sonam wrote alongside the photo.

While, Madhvani, who directed the movie, said, "High praise from @AzmiShabana and well deserved @sonamakapoor. Very happy for you." 

"Neerja" also won National Award for the best Hindi feature film

Wednesday, 12 April 2017

Growmoney Voice (Intra Day Tips Given for educational / academic purpose – see Notes given at the end of blog)

13/04/2017 (Intraday trading hours : 09.30 AM to 3 PM)
NIFTY Future: 
Range :  9172 - 9273
Likely to open between  : 9197 -9248
Buy above 9240 ; Tgts -  9259/9283/9307/9331 ; sl  - 9217
Sell below  9216 ; Tgts -  9196/9172/9148/9124 ; sl  - 9239
Break down -  9171 ;       Break up - 9273

Ensure women doctors not denied maternity leave: Maneka to Kejriwal



New Delhi, Apr 12 (PTI) Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi has urged Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to ensure that doctors in government hospitals are not denied maternity leave.

Gandhi wrote a letter to Kejriwal following a media report which claimed that several government hospitals in the city either denied maternity leave to women resident doctors serving in the hospital on ad hoc basis or asked them to resign when they broached the topic.

The report claimed that this was a common practice in hospitals like Baba Saheb Ambedkar, Guru Tegh Bahadur, Govind Ballabh Pant and Lok Nayak hospitals, and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) hospital Hindu Rao.

"It is important for us in the government to ensure that the working conditions are suitable as well as enabling for working women. For this, extended maternity leave is one of the factors.

"I, therefore, request you to ensure that women doctors are not denied these benefits under any circumstances," Gandhi said.

Her letter said she has been informed that not just temporary resident doctors but regular doctors are also denied maternity benefits.

The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016, passed by Parliament last month, extends paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks and is applicable to all organisations with 10 or more employees.

Russia mulls stripping citizenship over IS links: Putin



Moscow, Apr 12 (AFP) Russia is weighing up stripping the passports of naturalised citizens accused of involvement with the Islamic State group, President Vladimir Putin said in an interview released today.

"According to the Russian constitution, we cannot strip anyone of citizenship," Putin told Mir television station.

"But we can cancel the decisions that served as the basis for obtaining Russian citizenship. We are holding consultations with our lawyers and I think that such decisions will be made in the very near future."

The comments come in the wake of a deadly attack on the Saint Petersburg metro by an alleged Russian citizen who was born in mainly muslim Kyrgyzstan in ex-Soviet Central Asia.

No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing, but the authorities say they are probing ties to Islamic State jihadists.

Putin said that nearly 10,000 people from ex-Soviet countries part of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) were fighting in Syria, according to some estimates.

Other estimates put that figure at around 9,000 people, half of whom are Russian nationals, Putin said, adding that 5,000 of them hailed from Central Asia.

"The (terror) threat is very big and real," Putin said.

"We know it, we understand the scale of this threat and must do everything to minimise it."

Jihadists from IS - including foreign fighters from the ex-Soviet Central Asia and the Caucasus region - have repeatedly threatened an attack on Russian soil to avenge Moscow's military support of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

The head of the FSB security service, Alexander Bortnikov, said yesterday that the core of "terrorist groups in Russia" is made up of citizens of ex-Soviet countries arriving "in flows of migrant workers," RIA Novosti state news agency quoted him as saying.

Tuesday, 11 April 2017

Tillerson in Moscow to confront Russia over Syria



Moscow, Apr 11 (AFP) US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrived in Moscow today to confront the Russian leadership over its support for President Bashar al-Assad's Syrian regime.

Before setting off for Moscow, Tillerson told a G7 foreign ministers' meeting in Italy that Russia should rethink its alliance in the light of the latest alleged chemical attack in Syria.

"I think it's also worth thinking about Russia has really aligned itself with the Assad regime, the Iranians, and Hezbollah," he said, referring to Syria's other military allies in its six-year-old civil war.

"Is that a long-term alliance that serves Russia's interest, or would Russia prefer to realign with the United States, with other Western countries and Middle East countries who are seeking to resolve the Syrian crisis?" 

Tillerson was due to spend the night in Moscow before holding talks tomorrow with his opposite number Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

When Tillerson's predecessors visited the Russian capital it was usual for them to also be received by President Vladimir Putin, but Russian officials have said that no decision has been made on whether this will be the case.