1. Prime Minister Wraps Up: Reply to Opposition Lies, Take Gujarat to New Heights
Ending his high-octane campaign for the second and final phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi boarded a seaplane from the Sabarmati Riverfront — the BJP’s symbol of vikas in the state — to fly a route that touched several constituencies and gave him a vehicle to drive home his message.
The seaplane took off from the Sardar Patel bridge side around 11 am to land at Dharoi Dam site in Mehsana around 11.25 am in Sabarkantha district. Modi then left for Ambaji temple in Banaskantha district by road.
Modi flew back to Ahmedabad by 3 pm, landing on the Sabarmati again, after which the plane circled the river and flew along the east bank, which comes under the Jamalpur-Khadia constituency where the BJP is facing a tough fight.
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. Doklam Standoff Put 'Severe Pressure' on Ties, India Must Learn Lesson: China
The Doklam standoff put “severe pressure” on bilateral relations and “lessons should be learnt” from the episode so that such incidents are not repeated, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj, according to a statement issued by the Chinese foreign ministry on Tuesday.
Wang brought up the 73-day face-off between Indian and Chinese troops near the Sikkim border during a bilateral meeting with Swaraj in New Delhi on Monday, the Chinese statement said.
In the statement in Mandarin, issued hours after Wang left India at about 3 am on Tuesday, he was quoted as saying that bilateral ties during 2017 were “not very satisfactory”.
Wang referred to what he described as trespassing by Indian troops in the Donglang (Doklam) sector near the Sikkim border in June, and said the incident had strained bilateral ties.
Wang also said from the relations of 2017, “lessons should be learned and (such incidents) should be avoided again.”
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. Paradise Papers: First Set of Income Tax Summons Go Out
In less than a month after the publication of the Paradise Papers, investigation units of the Income Tax Department have begun issuing summons and questionnaires to persons named in the global media offshore leak.
Top officials of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) told The Indian Express that summons have been issued under Section 131 of the Income Tax Act which ensures the appearance of persons called to give evidence.
Officials said the first set of summons with specific questions for each were sent in end-November.
CBDT officials said, as a result, the first batch of Section 131 summons have been issued to 23 “groups” named in the Paradise Papers who also figure in the structured data made public by the ICIJ last month.
An early scrutiny of tax returns and business background has already been done for these 23 “groups” with those named expected to submit documentation and tax declarations, if any, for the off-shore entities they set up.
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. 'Ram Setu' Exists, Is Man-Made, Claims Promo on US TV Channel
The spotlight is back on the existence of the 'Ram Setu' or the Adam's Bridge, after a show on Science Channel hinted that such a structure may actually exist outside of mythology.
The promo released by the channel suggests that the bridge may not even be a natural formation, and instead may have been built by humans.
“Are the ancient Hindu myths of a land bridge connecting India and Sri Lanka true? Scientific analysis suggests they are,” says text accompanying the promo.
The show, citing images from a Nasa satellite, claims that investigators have found a line of rocks 30-miles-long between Sri Lanka and India.
The stones in the image are sitting on a 'sandbar', which occur in areas with shallow water. As archaeologist Chelsea Rose explains, sand could accumulate between the land masses.
(Source: The Times of India)
5. Restaurants, Hotels Can Sell Bottled Drinking Water Above MRP, Says SC
The Supreme Court allowed hotels and restaurants on Tuesday to sell bottled drinking water and packaged food at more than the maximum retail price (MRP) printed on these items.
The court rejected the government’s argument that overcharging for pre-packed or packaged products was an offence under the legal metrology act, which attracts a fine of Rs 25,000 or a jail term.
A bench headed by Justice Rohinton Nariman said the provisions of the law will not apply to hotels and restaurants, and these establishments cannot be prosecuted for selling such items above the MRP.
“It is not a case of simple sale. Nobody goes to a hotel to buy or take away a bottle of mineral water,” the bench observed, hearing a petition by the Hotels and Restaurant Association of India.
Advocate Sameer Parikh, appearing for the hoteliers’ association, said the law does not apply as selling packaged drinking water or food “involves a service element, including ambience, cutlery and service”.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
6. Was Given Apology Draft, Asked to Sign, Claims Tarun Tejpal
Tejpal told the High Court of Bombay in Goa, during a hearing of his plea seeking the quashing of rape charges framed by a lower court against him, that his statements of apology days after the incident in 2013 were “sought on demand” and drafted by Shoma Chaudhury, his colleague at the time.
“It was like a charter of demands… and he was just given a draft and asked to sign,” claimed senior counsel Aman Lekhi, who appeared for Tejpal at the hearing Tuesday.
The defence argued for the “precious reputation of a family man wrongly facing charges of rape”, while the public prosecutor sought to “respect the statement of a rape victim given under oath”.
Lekhi questioned the “quality of two apologies” sent by Tejpal to the victim within a gap of minutes, and said that they were “inconsistent with each other”. “She (Shoma) makes a charter of demands, which is contrary to what CCTV showed… How can there be a apology on demand?” he argued.
(Source: The Indian Express)
7. For Women's Safety, Govt Wants Cabs Sans Child Locks
Soon passenger cars used as cabs won't have the child lock system to end any misuse by drivers. The transport ministry has asked vehicle and equipment manufacturers to come up with a solution so that no commercially registered vehicle rolling out of a showroom has any child lock system.
The move to find solution to child lock in cabs comes after the recent incident of a cab driver in Bangalore harassing a woman passenger after allegedly activating the child lock.
The transport ministry officials discussed the issue with vehicle and equipment manufacturers during the apex technical committee meeting on Monday. The apex committee sets standards and specifications for vehicles and their parts.
"Since no manufacturer knows which particular product will be registered as a cab or transport vehicle, the solution has to be at the end when the dealer dispatches the vehicle. The manufacturers have said there are ways out and passengers to disable the child locks before starting the journey.
(Source: The Times of India)
8. 'Kissing Contest' Kicks up Storm, Jharkhand Govt Orders Probe
The Jharkhand government said on Tuesday it has initiated a probe into the ‘kissing contest’ that has now become a political issue in the state, with the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) for “conspiring to malign the tribal culture and custom”.
A two-member probe team comprising Pakur sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Jitendra Kumar Deo and deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Navnit Hembrom visited Dumarai village and inquired from villagers about the event.
We have begun a probe into the controversy surrounding the kissing contest on the directive from the district administration. To examine the authenticity of the contest, we visited Dumaria village on Monday.Jitendra Kumar Deo
JMM’s Littipara legislator Simon Marandi had organised a kissing contest at Dumaria, his native village, on Saturday evening. The contest was part of various other events during the two-day fair, Dumaria Mela, which he has been organising for the last 37 years.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
9. Citing Sachar, Rajasthan Health Dept Sends Data on Muslim Staff to Centre
Saying that it was doing so as part of its implementation of the Sachar Committee’s recommendations, the Rajasthan government has collected data on Muslim employees in the state’s health department and sent it to the Centre.
In a letter dated 30 November, the State Directorate of Medical, Health and Family Welfare Services had sought information on all Muslim employees posted across the state, at all sub-centres, public health centres and community health centres.
The letter, addressed to all the chief medical and health officers (CMHOs) across the state, asked for personal details of these employees.
Referring to an order sent by “Deputy Secretary, Union Health Ministry”, on November 20, the letter, signed by B L Saini, joint director, administration, of the state directorate, said: “In the pro forma attached with the letter, furnish information of Muslim employees posted at sub-centres, public health centres (PHCs) and community health centres (CHCs) under your jurisdiction, and ensure that it is mailed immediately to the departmental email id…”
(Source: Indian Express)
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