1. PNB Closed All Options of Recovering Dues By Going Public: Nirav Modi
Nirav Modi has hit back at Punjab National Bank, saying its 'overzealousness' has shut the doors on his ability to clear his dues, which he claims are much lower than the Rs 11,400 crore that the bank has gone public with.
In a letter to the bank's management, he pegged the amount his companies owe the bank at under Rs 5,000 crore.
"The erroneously cited liability resulted in a media frenzy which led to immediate search and seizure of operations, and which in turn resulted in Firestar International and Firestar Diamond International effectively ceasing to be going-concerns," Modi wrote.
"In the anxiety to recover your dues immediately, despite my offer your actions have destroyed my brand and the business and have now restricted your ability to recover all the dues leaving a trail of unpaid debts," he wrote.
(Source: Times of India)
2. CBI, ED File FIRs in Rotomac Scam
Rotomac pens promoter Vikram Kothari is now facing the heat from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as well as the Directorate of Enforcement (ED).
Both agencies have now registered separate cases against him and his company for allegedly swindling Rs 3,695 crore from seven banks in 2008.
Initially, the alleged scam was estimated to be of Rs 800 crore but after the CBI started to probe into the accounts of the company, it was found that the company had allegedly taken loans from Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Indian Overseas Bank, Union Bank of India, Allahabad Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce.
(Source: India Today)
3. RBI Cautioned Against SWIFT Platform Abuse Ahead of PNB Scandal
Seventeen months before the PNB loan scandal became public, there was an attempt to defraud another public sector bank, the Union Bank of India, by abusing the SWIFT messaging system. The situation was "salvaged post event without any apparent monetary loss," The Indian Express reported.
This incident took place in July 2016 and "preventive measures" were supposed to have been taken by banks thereafter. Moreover, in January 2017, SS Mundra, the then-Deputy Governor of RBI, specifically flagged risks from the abuse of the SWIFT platform at a seminar on financial crimes in the presence of banking sector representatives.
"We have already witnessed an attempt to defraud a bank by abusing the SWIFT messaging system which thankfully could be salvaged post event without any apparent monetary loss," he said at the seminar organised by RBI-promoted Centre for Advance Financial Research and Learning in Mumbai.
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. Centre Denies Snubbing Canadian PM Justin Trudeau
The government dismissed reports that it had “snubbed” visiting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as he began the second leg of his seven-day visit to India in Gujarat, where he paid homage at Mahatma Gandhi’s Sabarmati Ashram, and visited the Akshardham temple and IIM Ahmedabad for a talk on 19 February.
As Trudeau met with Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani, the government brushed aside questions about why Rupani had not received the Canadian PM at the airport.
The questions were fuelled after PM Modi appeared to side-step Trudeau’s arrival on 17 February and didn’t issue any statement or tweet to welcome him, as he customarily does with visiting dignitaries, because of tensions over the Trudeau government’s support to separatist Khalistani groups in Canada.
On Sunday 18 February, Uttar Pradesh CM Adityanath did not meet Trudeau when he travelled to Agra.
(Sources: The Hindu)
5. Pak Riskiest Nation to Be Born in, India Safer But not Much: UNICEF
Pakistan is the riskiest country to be born in, with one in 22 babies born there dying before they turn one month old, according to a UNICEF report scheduled to be released on 20 February.
India's neonatal mortality rate(deaths per 1,000 live births) is 25.4 which ranks it at 12 among 52 "lower middle-income countries" in terms of risk for newborns. While this is better than Pakistan, it is far behind India's less prosperous neighbours.
In the same "lower middle-income" countries group as India and Pakistan, Sri Lanka has the lowest neonatal mortality rate of 5.2, which is comparable with high income countries. Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan are also ahead of India in neonatal survival.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
6. Two High Court Judges to Retire Within a Month of Taking Charge
The first woman chief justice of the Manipur high court, Abhilasha Kumari, who took oath on 9 February, will retire on 22 February, and justice Tarun Agarwala, who took oath as the chief justice of Meghalaya on 12 February, will end his term on 2 March, an official in the law ministry said on 19 February.
The two, who will effectively get less than a month at the helms of their respective high courts, were among the five chief justices of high courts whose names were cleared by the Supreme Court collegium on 10 January and notified by the law ministry on 6 February.
Another chief justice appointed on 6 February, justice Antony Dominic, who heads the Kerala high court, is slated to retire on 29 May.
Their retirements will once again trigger the process of appointing fresh incumbents — which is likely to take several weeks, the ministry official said.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. Hate Crime Accused Shambhu Lal Uploads Videos From Jail, Claims Threat to Life
Videos shot inside Jodhpur central jail and uploaded on social media by Shambhu Lal Regar, who is accused of the murder of a migrant labourer in Rajsamand, Rajasthan under the garb of opposing “love jihad”, triggered a furore on 19 February after the clips went viral.
In the videos, which were circulated on the evening of 18 February, Shambhu Lal claimed that his life was under threat from an inmate named Vasudev, who had been trying to get close to him for the past few days. Preliminary investigation revealed that Shambhu Lal used the mobile of an inmate though the jail administration could not recover any phone from the hate crime accused.
He adds that he was infuriated over “jihadi” comments against Hindu women and that is why he had killed the Bengali labourer Mohammad Afrazul and has no regrets about his act. Shambhu Lal was arrested on 7 December 2017.
(Source: Times of India)
8. DB Realty Owner’s Brother Abducted in Mozambique
Pramod Goenka (52), brother of chairman of construction firm DB Realty Vinod Goenka, is believed to have been kidnapped by an African gang in Mozambique on Saturday 17 February.
According to sources, the gang had taken Pramod to an undisclosed place near Maputo, the capital of the south-eastern African nation, and had reportedly sent pictures showing him to be in its custody to the friend of an Indian politician.
Vinod Goenka told TOI that his brother was missing since Saturday evening. “I have informed the external affairs ministry,” he said. He however denied any knowledge about the kidnapping or about any ransom demand.
Pramod, who is in the jewellery business, split from his brother and the construction business years ago. His son Yash approached Juhu police in Mumbai, on 19 February to lodge a missing person’s complaint, TOI reported.
(Source: Times of India)
9. Send Pics, Videos to Prove Students Saw PM Modi's Chat, Schools Told
Following PM Narendra Modi's session with students preparing for exams, 'Pariksha Par Charcha' on 16 February, schools have been asked to submit photo or video proof that students watched the national telecast of the PM's counselling.
Sources told TOI that the HRD ministry instructed all state governments to compile reports soon after the PM's interaction.
The state governments, in turn, had sent out instructions to all schools, regardless of the boards, to provide details of students who watched the speech as well as submit photographs or videos of their participation.
Schools across the country received circulars from their respective state education departments to submit the evidence by 19 February.
(Source: Times of India)
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