1. At CWC, Party Underlines: Rahul Gandhi Leader, There Is a Need for Allies
The Congress on Sunday sent out an unambiguous message to present and potential allies that while it was open to state-specific alliances for the 2019 elections, its pan-India footprint could make it the single largest party, in which case Rahul Gandhi will be the prime ministerial face.
The party also moved to erase the perception that Sonia Gandhi will lead alliance talks and made clear that Rahul, or leaders chosen by him, will talk to parties about tie-ups.
After a meeting of the extended Congress Working Committee (CWC) chaired by Rahul, the first after he took over as president eight months ago, the Congress said he was “setting up a group” to look into the alliance question.
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. Alwar Lynching: Police Took Three Hours to Reach Health Centre 4 Kms Away
The Ramgarh Community Health Centre (CHC) is roughly 4 kms from Lalawandi, the village in Alwar where Rakbar alias Akbar was lynched on Friday night on suspicion of being a cow smuggler. Yet, it took the police over two and a half hours from the time they reached the lynching spot to get to the CHC, where Rakbar was brought dead.
The FIR simply mentions that on getting a call at 12:41 am on Saturday from Naval Kishore Sharma, chief of VHP’s Gau Raksha cell in Ramgarh, about a suspected case of cow smuggling, they took Sharma along to the spot, spotted an injured and muddied Rakbar, washed him, questioned him briefly on the spot, and then took him directly to the CHC, where he was declared dead on arrival.
Rakbar alias Akbar was transporting cows on foot along with an associate, Aslam Khan, when they were allegedly stopped by villagers in Lalawandi, under the jurisdiction of the Ramgarh police station. While Rakbar was attacked, Aslam managed to escape.
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. Three Militants Who Killed J&K Cop Gunned Down
Three Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants responsible for a police constable’s torture and murder in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district a day earlier were killed in a firefight with security forces on Sunday, police said.
Police identified the three as Muawiya, Suhail Ahmad Dar and Mudassar alias Rehaan. Muawiya was from Pakistan, while the rest were local residents, they said.
A police statement said Mauwiya’s involvement had been established in a number of civilian killings while Suhail, a labourer, had joined militant ranks after dropping out of school.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. Five-Storey Illegal Building Collapses in Ghaziabad, One Killed
At least one labourer was killed and eight others were injured when an under-construction five-storey illegal building collapsed in Ghaziabad on Sunday. The dead as well as the injured comprise labourers and their family members who were working in the building.
This is the second time a multi-storey building has collapsed in NCR within a week. Two adjacent buildings had collapsed in Shahberi in Greater Noida last Tuesday.
The building, located in Radhey Krishna Colony, came crumbling down around 2.30pm when heavy rain lashed the city. GDA officials said the illegal building was scheduled to be demolished on 12 July but it was not carried out due to logistical issues.
(Source: The Times of India)
5. Govt’s Plan for PSUs to Procure from Dalit SMEs Fails to Take Off
The government’s ambitious plan to get Central PSUs to make 4% of their procurement from Dalit enterprises has not made much headway over the last six years.
In 2017-18, Central PSUs bought Rs 543.86 crore worth goods and services from SC/ST enterprises, accounting for just 0.46% of their total procurement of Rs 1,16,837.27 crore. Five years ago, in 2012-13, SC/ST enterprises sold goods and services valued Rs 419.93 crore, or 0.5% of the total procurement of Rs 85,155.18 crore by Central PSUs then.
(Source: The Indian Express)
6. 600 Indians in Qatar for World Cup Infrastructure Stranded With No Pay
Over 600 Indian construction workers in Qatar have for six months faced denial of salaries, job losses, the expiry of visas and substandard living conditions in labour camps, according to workers and official communications reviewed by Hindustan Times.
Qatar has been drawing flak for the plight of migrant workers involved in construction work for the infrastructure required for the 2022 football World Cup.
An Indian official said nearly 300 of the workers have been provided work in other companies while some have been brought back.
But several of those affected say there has been no word on their compensation after having worked for eight to 10 years.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. White Goods Sales Set to Surge on 7-8% Price Cut
The white goods industry is anticipating a bumper festive season as the latest round of GST duty cuts is expected to combine with gains from a healthy monsoon to spur demand in rural as well as urban areas. The industry had a dull festive period last year, ironically on account of GST as teething problems related to its introduction had dampened sentiment.
Kamal Nandi, VP at Godrej Appliances, said prices would come down by 7-8% (after making certain adjustments) as new stocks start rolling in. “It brings in good sentiments and we expect the industry to grow by around 12-15% this festive period against muted or single-digit growth over the past one-anda-half years,” he said.
(Source: The Times of India)
8. IAF Hunts Junk Jets to Source Spares for Fleet
Confronted with a fast-depleting number of fighter squadrons, and long delays in new inductions, the IAF is scrambling around the globe to acquire old jets retired and mothballed by other countries to bolster its existing combat fleet.
The hunt for airframes and spares has been particularly successful for the British-origin Jaguar strike fighters, with transfer of “assets” from Oman, France and the UK, which IAF will cannibalise for operational flexibility of its jets.
“IAF currently has 118 Jaguars (26 of them twin-seaters) but their operational availability has drastically gone down because of obsolescence, shortage of spares and closing down of assembly lines by Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL). So, the search for airframes and spares from different countries is under way,” a defence ministry source said.
(Source: The Times of India)
9. $210-Million Assets: I-T Moves Court Against Winsome Owner’s Wife
The Income Tax department has moved court under the Black Money Act against Sonia Mehta, the wife of Jatin Mehta who is the promoter of Winsome Diamonds and Jewellery Ltd, for not disclosing immovable foreign assets of $210 million, or Rs 1,450 crore, sources told The Indian Express.
Winsome Diamonds is the country’s second largest wilful defaulter, and owes Rs 4,687 crore to a consortium of banks headed by Standard Chartered Bank. Its associate firm Forever Precious Diamonds and Jewellery owes another Rs 2,121.8 crore to a set of banks led by Punjab National Bank. The company was classified as a “wilful defaulter” in 2013.
(Source: The Indian Express)
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