QBullet: NC Leaders Meet Abdullahs; SC to Hear Aarey Plea Today
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1. After Meeting Abdullahs, NC Leaders Seek Release
Two delegations from the National Conference (NC) met senior party leaders Farooq and Omar Abdullah in Srinagar on Sunday, 6 October, in what was a rare political meeting in Kashmir since at least 50 politicians were put under detention on 5 August, when Jammu & Kashmir was stripped of special status and bifurcated into two Union Territories.
The delegations demanded that Kashmiri politicians be released and said there was little scope for participation in the upcoming local body polls if senior leaders remained under detention.
The other major Kashmiri political party, the Peoples Democratic Party, announced that a team would be meeting former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti in Srinagar. The party initially said a delegation would meet Mufti on Monday but TV reports later said the day of the meeting was unclear.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. Supreme Court Sets up Special Bench, to Hear Aarey Plea Today
A special bench of the Supreme Court will on Monday, 7 October, hear a plea seeking stay on the cutting of over 2,600 trees in a portion of land in Mumbai’s Aarey for the construction of a Metro Rail car shed.
The Special Bench was set up Sunday after a law student sent a letter to Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi. An official notification said the letter has been registered as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), and that the matter will be heard at 10 am.
In Mumbai, meanwhile, a holiday sessions court granted bail to 29 people arrested Saturday for protesting the cutting of trees for the project.
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. India, US Close to Trade Deal
Prospects of an early conclusion of an India-US trade deal have brightened with the two sides reducing their differences and agreeing to allow more goods to be shipped by both countries, besides cutting import duty on contentious items, including high-end bikes like Harley-Davidsons.
While an assessment of the gains — in terms of duty benefits as well as trade volumes — is being undertaken, an announcement over the next few weeks looks likely. There have been discussions on the trade package being unveiled during the next meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, with the possibility of an interaction in India also being looked at, sources said.
Finding dates, however, may be an issue given that the US is heading into election season and this may result in the announcement being made by commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal and US trade representative Robert Lighthizer.
Sources told TOI that a deal has been arrived at on high end, patented and innovative heart stents and knee implants, which had become a sore point with the US after the government brought them under the ambit of price control.
(Source: The Times of India)
4. Gardener Kills Goa Artist, Dies While Fleeing
A 65-year-old Goa-based artist was on Sunday, 6 October, killed by her gardener, who later died at a hospital after sustaining injuries while fleeing the crime scene, police said, causing shock in the beach town that has come to be identified as a destination for people looking to give up the big-city life.
Shireen Mody, a visual artist originally from south Mumbai, had lived and worked in Goa for over three decades. A Parsi by birth, she was born and brought up in Mumbai, but made Goa her home after giving up her job in the advertising industry in London.
The Goa Police said on Sunday their investigations showed there was a scuffle between Mody and the gardener – neighbours said they would quarrel frequently – during which he attacked the 65-year-old with an iron rod.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
5. Five Days to Go, India Awaits Official Word on Xi’s Visit
Five days to go for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s likely visit to India for an informal summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, there is no official confirmation from Beijing on it.
The two leaders are expected to meet in Mamallapuram near Chennai on October 11-12. Sources said the next 24 to 48 hours are key to the announcement of the visit, stressing that the two sides have a very robust diplomatic communication in place. The announcement, sources said, would be done in coordination with each other once the confirmation comes through.
(Source: The Indian Express)
6. India to Receive First Rafale Jet on Dussehra
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will on Tuesday, 8 October, perform ‘Shastra Puja’ (worship of weapons) on the occasion of Dussehra after receiving the first of 36 Rafale jets in the French port city of Bordeaux, officials said.
After performing puja, he will take a sortie in the aircraft, they said.
Singh has been performing ‘Shastra Puja’ for last several years, including during his tenure as the Union Home Minister in the previous NDA government.
The defence minister will leave for Paris on a three-day visit on Monday, primarily to receive the first Rafale fighter jet on Tuesday—the foundation day of the Indian Air Force as well as the day when Dussehra will be celebrated.
(Source: The Tribune)
7. Hasina Meets Congress Leaders, Invites Sonia to Bangladesh
Visiting Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday, 6 October, met Congress president Sonia Gandhi, former PM Manmohan Singh and Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Anand Sharma and discussed matters related to the ties between the two nations.
The Congress, in a statement, said the meeting took place owing to a “special bond of friendship” between the party and Hasina’s Awami League. Singh had visited Bangladesh as PM in 2011.
Hasina recalled “with gratitude India’s support for the Bangladesh Liberation”, the statement read. She also recalled the bond that “Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman shared with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi”. The Congress said Gandhi accepted Hasina’s invitation to visit her country for commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s liberation.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
8. Fund Flows to Commercial Sector Down 88%: RBI Data
Overall financial flows to the commercial sector have declined sharply, by around 88 per cent, during the first six months of the current financial year amid the slowdown in the economy.
According to the latest RBI data, the flow of funds from banks and non-banks to the commercial sector has been Rs 90,995 crore in 2019-20 so far (April to mid-September) as against Rs 7,36,087 crore in the same period last year. The commercial sector does not include farming, manufacturing and transportation.
With the financial sector going through a turbulent phase, there was a reverse flow of Rs 1,25,600 crore from the commercial sector to non-deposit-taking NBFCs and deposit-taking NBFCs as against a flow of Rs 41,200 crore in the same period last year.
(Source: The Indian Express)
9. Indian Army to Begin Deploying Light Howitzers in Eastern Sector
The Indian Army is preparing to deploy its new M777 ultra-light howitzers in eastern Arunachal Pradesh for accurate artillery fire support in the mountainous terrain that could prove to be a “game-changer” in the sector, two officers familiar with the move told HT.
The 155 mm/39-caliber howitzers, which can be sling-loaded to helicopters and swiftly deployed to high-altitude areas, are likely to be inducted by the year-end, the first officer said. India ordered 145 howitzers from the United States for $750 million in November 2016.
“The M777s will be a game-changer in the eastern sector. The highly portable guns can be swiftly deployed and redeployed for missions using the Boeing CH-47F (I) Chinook helicopters. The howitzers will be part of light artillery regiments,” the second officer said.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
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