1. MP Farmers' Stir: Jyotiraditya Scindia, Hardik Arrested; Congress Calls Strike
A political storm over violent crop protests sweeping Madhya Pradesh deepened on Tuesday as several opposition leaders were arrested amid mounting speculation that angry farmers will hurt the ruling BJP in next year’s state polls.
Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia and Patidar leader Hardik Patel were arrested and stopped from visiting violence-hit Mandsaur, where five farmers died in police firing last week while demanding better crop prices and a loan waiver.
Scindia was released in the evening and he left for Indore from Ratlam.
Sporadic violence continued to singe six districts and at least five debt-ridden farmers have committed suicide since the 6 June firing, including two on Tuesday. The state registered a farmer suicide every five hours last year, official figures show.
Source: Hindustan Times
2. Centre Nixes Speculation of Delay in GST Rollout
The government has put an end to speculation that the rollout of the goods and services tax (GST) will be delayed, with revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia and the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) saying the tax reform is on track for a 1 July launch.
Adhia tweeted:
There has been persistent speculation over the rollout date with sections of the industry expressing the view that more time is required. The West Bengal government has also sought a delay. But the government has said it will stick to the 1 July rollout and almost all states have no reservations on this score.
Source: Times of India
3. Centre Has No Plan to Intervene in Darjeeling, Says MHA
The Centre is not thinking of any direct intervention in Darjeeling at this stage and is committed to helping the Mamata Banerjee government if it seeks any assistance, a senior home ministry official told The Telegraph.
At this stage, there is no question of sending any central team to Darjeeling... Any interference in Bengal at this juncture will only snowball into a political row.
On Monday, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha had sought immediate intervention by the Centre.
Another home ministry official pointed out that law and order was a state subject. "We will offer our help if the Bengal government seeks the Centre's assistance," the official said. "We are not in a hurry to send a team to Darjeeling."
Source: The Telegraph
4. Incessant Rains Kill 10 in Northeast; Guwahati Submerged
Incessant rain, triggered by a deep depression that moved into Bangladesh on Monday, wreaked havoc in the Northeast on Tuesday with 10 deaths reported from Guwahati and Aizawl.
The Guwahati Met office recorded 105.7 mm rain between 8:30 am and 5:30 pm on Tuesday. Eight people were killed in Tlabung, Lunglei district, south Mizoram, in the past two days. State disaster management and rehabilitation department officials said over 350 houses were flooded in Mizoram since Monday.
Six bodies, including that of a mother and her daughter, in Changpui village, are feared to have been washed away. Three people in Marpara South were killed in a flash flood. Only one body was found. Three others were swept away by floodwaters from a house in Phairuangkai village late on Monday night. Villagers had gathered there to mourn the death of an eight-year-old girl, whose body was also swept away.
Source: Times of India
5. Vijay Mallya Routed Rs 400 Crore of IDBI Loan Abroad: Probe
An investigation into the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines Ltd has found that the airline and its chairman Vijay Mallya allegedly routed overseas over Rs 400 crore out of the Rs 900 crore it obtained as loan from IDBI Bank Ltd.
Sources familiar with the probe told The Indian Express that the money was allegedly sent abroad as payments for aircraft rental leasing and other operational expenses.
Out of the total amount, sources said, IDBI granted a short term loan of Rs 150 crore to the airlines in October 2009. In the second tranche, they said, the bank loaned Rs 750 crore to Kingfisher, of which Rs 200 crore was in the form of a bridge loan and the rest for other purposes.
Meanwhile, appearing in front of the Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, Mallya claimed he has “enough evidence” to plead his case and taunted authorities, saying, “you can keep dreaming about a billion pounds”.
Source: The Indian Express
6. RBI Identifies 12 Mega Defaulters for Insolvency
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is moving to resolve the bad loan crisis with an Internal Advisory Committee (IAC) of the RBI having identified 12 accounts of corporate borrowers who owe over Rs 5,000 crore each – and overall involve an amount of close to Rs 1,75,000 crore – for insolvency proceedings under the newly enacted Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 (IBC).
The RBI committee has recommended for IBC reference all accounts with fund and non-fund based outstanding amounts in excess of Rs 5,000 crore, with 60 percent or more (Rs 3,000 crore or more) classified as non-performing by banks as on 31 March 2016.
“The IAC noted that under the recommended criterion, 12 accounts adding up to about 25 percent of the current gross NPAs of the banking system would qualify for immediate reference under IBC,” the RBI said on Tuesday.
Source: The Indian Express
7. Open to Amending Cattle Rules: Harsh Vardhan
Union Science and Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan has said he will consider amending the Environment Ministry’s notification disallowing the sale of cattle in animal markets for slaughter. “If at all there is a need to change some language, we will consider that,” he told The Hindu on the phone.
Right now, we are going through representations by farmers, traders, animal activists and the leather industry.
He, however, didn’t confirm whether a formal process had been initiated.
The 23 May notification had said those who wished to sell cattle – bulls, cows, buffaloes, steers, heifers and camels – may do so only after they formally stated that the animals had not been “brought to the market for sale for slaughter”.
Source: The Hindu
Also Read: Decoded: Cattle Market Rules, ‘Beef Ban’
8. Presidential Elections: Opposition Set to Draw Joint Strategy
Leaders of top Opposition parties will meet on Wednesday to discuss option on a joint candidate for the upcoming Presidential and Vice Presidential elections. Thus far, sources said, no one from the government has been in touch on the names the ruling coalition is considering.
The 10-member group set up by the Opposition that will meet for the first time after its constitution, these sources said, will also discuss the farmers’ agitations that have broken out in different parts of the country. The committee has been set up not merely for the Presidential and Vice Presidential polls, but also to promote Opposition unity.
Sources said that if by Wednesday no one in the government gets in touch with them, the committee members may spend more time discussing the feasibility of a common agenda on how to highlight agricultural distress and rural unrest in the country.
Source: The Hindu
9. India Ratifies Core Conventions to Clamp Down on Child Labour
In a historic move, India on Tuesday ratified two core Conventions of International Labour Organisation (ILO) on child labour – a global commitment to end the worst form of child labour and to ensure minimum basic education for children.
Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya handed over the Instruments of Ratification to the ILO in Geneva as a part of the ceremony.
“It is a historic moment for India as we are going to take another giant step to affirm our commitment for a child labour-free India by ratifying the two Core Conventions of International Labour Organization (ILO), Convention 138 regarding admission of age to employment and Convention 182 regarding worst forms of child labour,” Dattatreya said on the sidelines of the International Labour Conference 2017 in Geneva.
Source: The Hindu
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