QBullet: India’s Worst Cyclone in 20 Years to Hit Today & More
From Cyclone Fani to India rejecting China’s terms for Azhar ban, here are all the top stories of the day.
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1. 1 Million Shifted as India’s Worst Cyclone in 20 Years Hits Today
More than a million people are being moved to safety as a tense Odisha battens down the hatches to take on the might of the “extremely severe” cyclone Fani, which is set to make landfall near Puri between 8am and 10am on Friday.
An estimated 10,000 villages and 52 towns in Odisha will come in the path of the cyclone, which could see winds gusting up to 225 kmph, the Union home ministry said after PM Narendra Modi held a top level meeting on Thursday to assess preparations for the cyclone.
(Source: The Times of India)
2. India Rejected China’s Terms for Ban on JeM Chief Masood
In the course of the high-level exchanges between India and China, Beijing offered to lift its “technical hold” on Jaish-e-Muhammed chief Masood Azhar’s terror listing if India committed to not attacking Pakistan and de-escalating tensions after the Pulwama terror attack. India, however, refused.
After the 14 February attack on a CRPF convoy that killed 40 jawans, for which Jaish claimed responsibility, rising anger in India and in the government prompted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare that the terror strike would not go unpunished. In the 12 days between Pulwama and India’s air strikes in Balakot, New Delhi’s right to self-defence was acknowledged and agreed to by most of the global community. It became clear that India would not face diplomatic heat if it retaliated militarily against Pakistan-sponsored terror.
(Source: The Times of India)
3. Class XII CBSE Results: Delhi Govt Schools See Best-Ever Pass Percentage
Delhi government schools registered their best-ever performance in CBSE Class XII examinations yet, with a pass percentage of 94.29% and over 200 schools with a 100% pass percentage.
This comes after Delhi government schools had crossed the 90% pass percentage mark in Class 12 boards for the first time last year.
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. Decide on PM, Shah’s ‘Code Breaches’ by 6 May: SC to EC
The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Election Commission (EC) to decide by Monday nine pending complaints by Congress accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah of violating the model code of conduct by allegedly delivering hate speeches and invoking the armed forces as well as the PM holding rallies near an Ahmedabad polling booth. Appearing for the petitioner, Congress MP Sushmita Dev, senior advocate A M Singhvi said the party had lodged 11 complaints and the EC decided to address only two complaints after five weeks.
(Source: The Times of India)
5. Economy May Have Slowed in 2018-19: Finance Ministry Report
India’s economy appears to have slowed down slightly in 2018-19, a finance ministry report has said, while listing some challenges that need to be addressed to get the momentum going.
The latest comments about growth come in the midst of general elections and are expected to trigger a debate about the health of the economy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s watch. The NDA government has showcased high economic growth to highlight its governance record.
(Source: The Times of India)
6. ‘No Wearing Face Veil on Campus’: Kerala Minority College Order
In a first, the Kerala-based Muslim Educational Society (MES), one of the largest such groups in the country with over 150 institutions, has issued a directive to colleges under its management to ensure that girl students do not wear veils covering their faces on its campuses.
“At present, no girl students under MES educational institutions attend classes covering their face. But this is a preemptive decision sensing what is in store,” said MES president Dr P A Fazal Gafoor.
(Source: The Indian Express)
7. Pushing Dodgy Deals, Burying Facts: ICICI Bank Official Red Flags Ignored
A “culture” of doing a deal “at any cost,” mistakes “made knowingly,” “suppressing” facts, rewarding staff for such behaviour — this scathing indictment of ICICI Bank’s processes was put on record by a top official of the bank’s risk department in an email to his senior colleagues in 2016 when Chanda Kochhar was the bank’s managing director and chief executive officer.
This official requested his colleagues to delete that mail after reading but an executive director of ICICI Bank, who was one of the recipients, forwarded it to Chanda Kochhar suggesting that such analysis and mails can “freeze” the organisation. Kochhar, too, supported this view and those red flags got a quiet burial.
(Source: The Indian Express)
8. Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Election Commission Gives Another Clean Chit to PM Modi, Clears Rahul Speech
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has cleared Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi of wrongdoing in one complaint each of violation of the model code of conduct they faced for speeches made on the Lok Sabha campaign trail.
ECI said on Thursday that it found no violation in the speech Modi delivered at Barmer in Rajasthan on 21 April in which he said India hadn’t kept a nuclear arsenal for use on Diwali, the festival of lights and fireworks. It’s the third complaint on which the commission has absolved the prime minister.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
9. ‘6 Surgical Strikes’ in UPA Tenure: Cong Backs Manmohan Singh With Dates
India conducted “six surgical strikes” across the border into Pakistan between 2008 and 2014. Congress leader Rajiv Shukla made this revelation at a press conference in New Delhi.
During the press conference, Shukla went on to list the dates when the strikes were carried out.
The first strike, according to the dates Rajiv Shukla gave out, was conducted on 19 June 2008, in Bhattal Sector in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch. The second was conducted from 30 August-1 September 2011, in the Sharda sector across the Neelam River Valley in Kel, ANI quoted him as saying.
(Source: Hindustan Times)