1. Mimicry and Swipe Help Rahul Rake up Pay-Off Charge Again
Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi on Thursday found rare common ground on something called "packets" in a riveting exchange of long-distance repartees that ensured attention stayed focused on a corporate bribery charge against the Prime Minister.
Modi referred to a “youth leader” who had only to open his mouth to expose himself. “They (the Congress) have a youth leader. He is learning to make speeches,” the Prime Minister told an event in Varanasi, his Lok Sabha constituency.
A broad smile on his face, he gesticulated with his right hand, mimicking Rahul, and said: "He does like this."
Displaying uncharacteristic street savvy, Rahul lobbed a riposte to the "packet" jibe.
(Source: The Telegraph)
2. What Does Najeeb Jung’s Departure Mean for Delhi’s Governance?
Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung’s exit is unlikely to end the power struggle between the national capital’s elected government and Raj Niwas, because of which governance and public projects suffered.
His successor might have his task cut out as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) stands firm on its position that the Centre, to whom the lieutenant governor reports, should divest more powers to the city’s government.
The Centre is in no mood to relent as well. “What do you expect us to do, roll out a red carpet for him (Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal) when he abuses us daily?” asked a senior Union Minister, underscoring the tense relationship between the two governments.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. TN Sand Baron Sekhar Reddy’s Associate Arrested at Mumbai Airport
The hunt for black money following the arrest of J Sekhar Reddy, the Chennai-based sand mining baron and expelled Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams board member, has turned into a pan-India exercise with multiple central agencies cracking down on his alleged associates.
On Thursday, a day after the Income Tax Department conducted extensive searches at the houses and offices of former Tamil Nadu chief secretary P Rama Mohana Rao and others, the CBI arrested three suspected associates of Reddy in Chennai.
Separately, the Enforcement Directorate arrested Kolkata-based businessman Paras Mal Lodha at the Mumbai airport for allegedly converting more than Rs 25 crore of old notes into new ones in connivance with international hawala operators.
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. Addresses of Delisted Parties on EC List: J&K CID Office, Home Minister’s Home, Gurgaon House
Cutting across the national map, these are just some of the 255 political parties “delisted” by the Election Commission of India following a review, which found that none of these outfits had put up any candidate for any assembly or general election from 2005 to 2015.
And, as The Indian Express found out while tracking down these parties and the faces behind them (see page 6), they include the All India Progressive Janata Dal, with its address registered as 17, Akbar Road, New Delhi, 110001, which is now the official residence of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
Sources had told The Indian Express that the EC hopes that the CBDT will have a “close look” at the financials of these delisted parties so that a clear message can go out that forming a political party for “turning black money into white” is no longer a good idea.
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. Girija Vaidyanathan Replaces Rama Mohana Rao As New TN Chief Secy
IAS Girija Vaidyanathan has been appointed as the new chief secretary of Tamil Nadu in place of P Rama Mohana Rao.
Vaidynathan was additional chief secretary/commissioner of land administration prior to this.
She will also hold the additional charge of vigilance commissioner and commissioner for administrative reforms – the posts additionally held by Rao.
Read the full story on The Quint.
6. U-turn: No Questions on Rs 5k-Plus Deposits
Forty-eight hours after it was issued, the Reserve Bank of India withdrew on Wednesday its widely criticised directive that disallowed banks from accepting deposits above Rs 5,000 in the scrapped currency notes, if a customer was not able to convincingly explain why he or she did not make the deposit earlier.
A new directive said the stipulation would not apply to bank accounts that are compliant with ‘know your customer’ (KYC) norms.
Bankers said nearly 70% of bank accounts are KYC compliant (customers have provided proof of identity and proof of address). Most non-KYC-compliant accounts are Jan Dhan Yojana and no-frills accounts.
There are some mainstream customers, particularly senior citizens, who have not done their KYC in five years. They will need to comply with the requirements.Senior Banker
(Source: Times of India)
7. Parking Rider for Cars
Taking a cue from Tokyo, India is considering making it mandatory for car users to provide a parking space availability certificate before they can be allowed to register their new vehicles.
This in effect means that if a new buyer does not have space to park his or her car, she/he will not be allowed to register the vehicle. The parking space availability certificate is usually issued by the police station nearest to the buyer's residence.
(Source: The Telegraph)
8. Only 2.5 Million in Rural India Have Gone Digital After Demonetisation
More than half a million volunteers helping job seekers in different rural schemes now have a new target: To enrol people and shops in e-economy and train them in cashless transactions.
And despite an incentive of Rs 100 for making each village shop accept any form of digital payment, volunteers across India are facing a daunting task.
So far, just 55,000 merchants have gone digital and 2.5 million rural Indians enrolled in cashless transactions after the government recalled Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes on 8 November, said a senior member of the Amitabh Kant-led task force to push cashless economy.
(Source: The Indian Express)
9. Jaipur Lit Fest No Stranger to Controversy
It’s the 10th anniversary of the Jaipur Literature Festival and this year too, the event seems to be courting controversy. This time around, the reason is the inclusion of two RSS men – Manmohan Vaidya and Dattatreya Hosabale – in the festival line-up. What two men from the ruling BJP’s parent organisation, with no literary work to their credit, will do at a literature festival is as yet unclear.
But the other fact that stands out is this: Three writers who returned their State-sponsored awards protesting against growing intolerance in the country – Ashok Vajpeyi, Uday Prakash and K Satchidanandan – will not find their names in the list of speakers this year.
(Source: The Hindu)