Apr 16, 2018 10:22 PM IST | Source: Moneycontrol.com
News highlights of the day: CBI files charge sheet against Lalu, Rabri, Tejashwi Yadav in IRCTC case
This blog will keep track of key global and local developments impacting business and markets through the day. Important local and global political developments will also find resonance here.
Top
highlights
Delhi High Court dismisses plea to change the date of CBSE Class 12th economics re-examination
Judge who delivered the Mecca Masjid verdict resigns: sources told CNN-News18.
Should view Air India's losses in contrast to the assets it has, says Mohan Bhagwat
Walmart likely to announce Flipkart acquisition by April-end: Sources
SC asks J-K govt to protect victim's kin, lawyer in Kathua case
Expecting 97% normal monsoon this year: IMD
Karnataka Polls: BJP releases second list of candidates
India's inclusion in NSG will boost global export control system: Germany
Danish woman gangrape: Delhi HC upholds life term till death of convicts
Suzlon commissions 626 MW wind power projects in FY'18
This is post-independent India's darkest hour, former bureaucrats tell PM
India starts antidumping probe on chemical from Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand
SC says screening of film 'Nanak Shah Fakir' to continue
Supreme Court Stays NCLAT Order On RCom’s Asset Sale To Jio
Kathua case: SC to hear at 2 PM two separate pleas
NIA court acquits Swami Aseemanand, 4 others in Mecca Masjid blast case
Malaysia's IHH says Fortis board declines to engage on takeover offer
Tata Motors shares fall 4% after JLR's job-cut plan
Indian ride-hailing firm Ola to launch 10,000 electric vehicles over 12 months
Kathua rape and murder trial adjourned to April 28
Martin Sorrell quits as CEO of ad giant WPP
France's Macron says he persuaded Trump to keep troops in Syria
France has not declared war on Syria regime, says Macron
Trump 'morally unfit' for office, fired FBI chief: Comey tells ABC
8 accused in Kathua rape case to go on trial today
All 14 grounded A320 Neos back in operation
Syria's allies say airstrikes undercut political resolution
Trump criticises ex-FBI chief Comey in new twitter tirade
Karnataka polls: Congress releases first list of candidates, Siddaramaiah to contest from Chamundeshwari
US to impose new Russia sanctions over Syria: Nikki Haley
India ranks 10th on new Commonwealth innovation index
India was ranked 10th on a new Commonwealth Innovation Index, topped by the UK, Singapore and Canada, on Monday.
The index was launched as part of a new Commonwealth Innovation Hub on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). It has been created in partnership with the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and its annual Global Innovation Index (GII). (PTI)
World Bank forecasts 7.3 percent growth for India this year
The World Bank on Monday forecast a growth rate of 7.3 percent for India this year and 7.5 percent for 2019 and 2020 and noted that the country's economy has recovered from the effects of demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax.
"Growth is expected to subsequently stabilise supported by a sustained recovery in private investment and private consumption," the World Bank said in its twice-a-year South Asia Economic Focus.
In its report, the World Bank said, India should strive to accelerate investments and exports to take advantage of the recovery in global growth. (PTI)
CBI files charge sheet against Lalu, Rabri, Tejashwi in IRCTC case
The CBI on Monday filed a charge sheet against two companies and 12 people, including former railway minister Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi and son Tejashwi Yadav, for alleged irregularities in grant of an operational contract of two IRCTC hotels to a private firm.
The charge sheet was filed in a special CBI court in New Delhi, officials said. Besides these three, former Union minister Prem Chand Gupta, his wife Sarla Gupta, then group general manager of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) B K Agarwal, who is at present Additional Member of Railway Board, then Managing Director of IRCTC P K Goyal and then IRCTC Director Rakesh Saxena, have been named in the charge sheet. (PTI)
Portal for complaints on sexual abuse videos: SC seeks govt's report
The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Centre to file a comprehensive and detailed status report about the progress of an online cybercrime reporting portal to block videos of sexual offences on social sites.
A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and U U Lalit said it would be in the interest of all concerned if a central reporting mechanism was set up to stop cyber crimes. The Centre informed the top court that the launch of the beta version of this portal was expected in the last week of April. (PTI)
PNB sees 2% rise in wilful defaults to about Rs 15K cr in February
The dues by scam-hit PNB's big wilful defaulters grew to Rs 14,904.65 crore in February, up 2.1 percent from the previous month, according to the bank data. These wilful defaulters, who have taken loans of Rs 25 lakh and above, had total outstanding of Rs 14,593.16 crore in January.
PNB started listing the names of such wilful defaulters and the loans outstanding against them from last June. Within the first nine months, these defaults have seen 25 percent jump, from Rs 11,879.74 crore in June 2017. (PTI)
Nothing called 'saffron terror', Rahul Gandhi, party never used the phrase: Congress
The party's reaction came after the BJP attacked it following the acquittal of right wing activist Aseemanand and four others in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast, alleging that the Congress had defamed Hindus by using the term
TRAI unveils beta site for comparison of telcos' tariffs
Telecom regulator Trai on Monday unveiled the beta version of a website that will bring on one platform information about mobile tariffs of all operators for all service areas with a view to enhancing transparency and allowing users to compare plans.
In the first stage, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has made the tariff data available for the Delhi circle, and sought feedback from users about the new site over the next fortnight. "This is an effort to bring at one place all tariffs reported by operators and also offers a tool to compare those tariffs," TRAI Secretary, S K Gupta told PTI. (PTI)
Kathua rape-cum-murder accused plead not guilty, demand narco test
The eight people accused of raping and killing an eight-year-old girl pleaded not guilty and asked the judge for a narco analysis test as the trial into the case, which has become the focal point of outrage across the country, began on Monday.
Seven of the eight accused were produced before District and Sessions Judge Sanjay Gupta, who asked the state Crime Branch to give them copies of the chargesheet and fixed April 28 as the next date of hearing.
The eighth accused is a juvenile who moved a bail application before the chief judicial magistrate. The matter was posted for April 26. The accused were presented before the court which was packed with lawyers and a heavy posse of policemen.
SC sets aside NGT order on restrictions on devotees at Amarnath Shrine cave
The Supreme Court on Monday set aside a National Green Tribunal order that had created a controversy by putting restrictions on devotees asking them to maintain silence while standing in front of the 'Maha Shivalinga', a natural formation inside the Amarnath cave in South Kashmir Himalayas.
The top court said that the December 14 last year's order should not have been passed by the NGT on a petition which did not concern the Amarnath cave shrine. Observing that due procedure needed to be followed, a bench of Justices M B Lokur and Deepak Gupta asked petitioner Gauri Mulekhi to file an appropriate petition with regard to the pollution at the Amarnath cave. (PTI)
Rupee dives 29p to close at 6-month low against USD on trade deficit woes
The rupee on Monday plunged by 29 paise or 0.44 percent to close at a six-month low of 65.49 against the US currency on widening trade deficit concerns amid heightened geopolitical worries.
The Indian unit was the biggest loser among Asian currencies which suffered due to a strong US dollar after the strike on Syria by the US, the UK and France. Among Asian currencies, Chinese yuan and Singapore dollar dropped 0.1 percent, the Philippine peso and Malaysia's ringgit declined up to 0.2 percent against the dollar following hopes that the strikes would not lead to a broader escalation in the conflict. The rupee resumed on a bearish note at 65.30 per dollar
from its previous close of 65.20 at the inter-bank foreign exchange (forex) market. (PTI)
Judge who delivered the Mecca Masjid verdict resigns: sources told CNN-News18.
Should view Air India's losses in contrast to the assets it has, says Mohan Bhagwat
The RSS chief added that Air India's operations haven't been managed properly, and it should be handed over to someone who can run it efficiently.
Policies are only good if the benefit reaches the targetted segments: Mohan Bhagwat
The RSS chief also said that the objcective of economic policy has not been successful.
Catch Moneycontrol's Sakshi Batra with the top headlines @ 05:30
Walmart likely to announce Flipkart acquisition by April-end: Sources
Walmart is in the final leg of talks for the acquisition with Flipkart's principal shareholders, sources told CNBC-TV18.
Walmart will most likely buy a majority stake in the company, between 51% and 76%.
SC asks J-K govt to protect victim's kin, lawyer in Kathua case
The Supreme Court today directed the Jammu and Kashmir government to provide security to the family of the eight-year-old Kathua gangrape and murder victim, their lawyer and a family friend assisting them in prosecuting the case.The apex court also took note of a plea of the victim's father seeking transfer of the trial of the case from Kathua, preferably to Chandigarh and sought response of the state government.During the hearing, the victim's father expressed satisfaction with the probe so far, conducted by Jammu and Kashmir Police and opposed the plea for CBI investigation demanded by others.
Expecting 97% normal monsoon this year: IMD
The Met Department said the monsoon will be 97% of the long period average, which is normal for the season. It sees a very small probability of a deficient monsoon. The department said that it will issue its first assessment of the monsoon on May 15, followed by another assessment in June.
Karnataka Polls: BJP releases second list of candidates
The BJP has releases its second list of 86 candidates contesting the Karnataka Assembly elections this year. Earlier today, the Congress had released its first list in the the May 12 Karnataka Assembly elections, fielding Chief Minister Siddaramaiah from Chamundeshwari and state party chief G Parameshwara from Korategere.
India's inclusion in NSG will boost global export control system: Germany
Strongly pitching for India's inclusion in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Germany today said the global export control system will benefit a lot from New Delhi's participation in all its four regimes.Out of the four export control regimes that work to keep proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) in check, India is a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the Wassenaar Arrangement and the Australia Group. India's membership to the 48-member NSG is being primarily opposed by China on the pretext that it is not a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Catch Moneycontrol's Sakshi Batra with headlines @ 03:20 pm
Danish woman gangrape: Delhi HC upholds life term till death of convicts
The Delhi High Court today upheld the sentence of life imprisonment till death given to five convicts for gang-raping a 52-year-old Danish woman in 2014.
The high court dismissed the appeal of the convicts challenging their conviction and jail term awarded by a trial court in 2016. A bench of Justices S Muralidhar and I S Mehta said the testimony of the victim and the DNA report, which was a clinching piece of evidence, have nailed the guilt of the convicts.
Suzlon commissions 626 MW wind power projects in FY'18
Renewable solution provider Suzlon said it has commissioned 626 MW of wind power projects in FY18, capturing 35 percent a market share despite the transition from a feed-in-tariff (FiT) system to bidding regime.
This is post-independent India's darkest hour, former bureaucrats tell PM
A group of retired civil servants have said in an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that this is post-independent India's "darkest hour" in the backdrop of the Unnao and Kathua rape cases, holding Modi responsible for the "terrifying state of affairs". Instead of owning up and making reparations, the prime minister chose to remain quiet, breaking his silence only when public outrage both in India and internationally reached a point when he could no longer ignore it, the group of 49 former bureaucrats said.
Catch Moneycontrol's Anchal Pathak with headlines @ 2