1. Over 78% Voter Turnout in Tripura Elections
Nearly 79 percent polling was reported on 18 February night, in Tripura, where the BJP is trying to dislodge, the Left Front which has enjoyed an unbroken 25 year stint in power.
The polling for 59 seats of the 60-member Assembly was peaceful, barring minor incidents, with thousands of central paramilitary forces deployed across the northeastern State.
Polling in at least 20 centres continued till late in the night as voting was delayed due to faults in electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Chief Electoral Officer Sriram Taranikanti said there were 191 replacements of EVMs during the day. At 9.15 pm, he informed the media that the turnout was estimated to be 78.56 percent and this might go up after final evaluation of voting on Monday.
2. Meghalaya NCP Candidate Jonathone Sangma Killed in ‘Militant Attack’
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate Jonathone N Sangma was killed on Sunday night after militants attacked his convoy in Meghalaya's East Garo Hills district, officials said on 18 February.
Two others accompanying the NCP leader who was contesting from the Williamnagar constituency, also died in the IED (Improvised Explosive Device) attack which took place at around 8 pm, police said.
Reports said the incident took place at Samanda when the candidate was returning to Williamnagar from poll campaigning. “We have reports of an IED blast, which claimed some lives. The details are not available as the police team is yet to reach the spot and confirm,” Meghalaya police DGP SB Singh said on Sunday night.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. Nirav Modi Case: Bank Officials May Have Made Close to Rs 823 Crore in PNB Fraud
Officials at Punjab National Bank’s Brady House branch in Mumbai may have made close to Rs 823 crore after receiving kickbacks for issuing fraudulent LoUs (letters of undertaking) to Nirav Modi’s firms. A chartered accountant shared details of how PNB staffers were allegedly handed out 2 percent hush money per annum for several years, India Today reported.
Giving a break up of how PNB officials were allegedly charging commissions, the source explained: For instance, if the LoU amount is Rs 500 crore, then 2 percent for one year – which comes to Rs 10 crore – was being charged as commission. Hence, for Rs 11,400 crore, the total commission that PNB officials may have charged would be around Rs 228 crore per year.
(Source: India Today)
4. All Passengers Feared Dead in Plane Crash in Southern Iran
An Iranian commercial airplane brought back into service only months ago after being grounded for seven years crashed on 18 February in a foggy, mountainous region of southern Iran, and officials said they feared all 66 people on board were killed.
The ATR-72, a twin-engine turboprop used for short-distance regional flying, went down near its destination of the southern Iranian city of Yasuj, some 780 kilometers (485 miles) south of the Iranian capital, Tehran, where it took off.
It wasn't immediately clear what caused the crash, although weather was severe in the area. Dense fog, high winds and heavy snow in the Zagros Mountains made it impossible for rescue crews in helicopters to reach the site Sunday, state television reported.
(Source: Times of India)
5. Rotomac Owner Denies ‘Fleeing India’ for Alleged 800 Crore Fraud
Chairman of Rotomac Pens Vikram Kothari on Sunday refuted the reports that he had gone missing after allegedly defaulting on repaying Rs 4,232-crore loans from five public sector banks.
“I am very much in Kanpur with my family, running my business here,” Kothari said. “So far as the issue of loans is concerned, I have been in talks with banks for long. Three meetings have taken place with the banks. The matter is pending with the tribunal,” he added.
Kothari was declared a defaulter over a year ago and an FIR was lodged by the officials of the Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) after his cheques worth Rs 600 crore bounced, which Kothari denied. “Show me one cheque of mine that has bounced. This is slanderous. I believe in the judicial system,” he said.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
6. Trudeau to Meet IIM Students and Film Personalities Today
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who arrived in New Delhi on Sunday 18 February will visit Ahmedabad on 19 February.
He is scheduled to take part in an arm-chair discussion at IIM Ahmedabad with students from the institute and neighbouring colleges.
Trudeau will be in Mumbai on Tuesday 20 February. He is on a week-long visit to India, his first as Prime Minister. Trudeau’s day-long programme in Mumbai includes meetings with several business leaders and a women business leaders’ roundtable, followed by an armchair discussion at the Canada-India Business Forum.
Trudeau’s visit to India includes stops in Delhi, Agra, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, and Amritsar.
(Source: Indian Express)
7. PM Modi Meets Manohar Parrikar As Hospital Rubbishes Rumours About Ill Health
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who is being treated at Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital, on 18 February.
PM Modi, who was in Mumbai to inaugurate the Global Investors' Summit today, took time off his schedule to visit Mr Parrikar, who is being treated for "mild pancreatitis", news agency IANS reported.
The Goa Chief Minister was admitted in the Mumbai hospital on 15 February. The Hospital authorities clarified on Sunday that the Chief Minister is "responding well to treatment".
"We reiterate that the honourable chief minister of Goa is being treated and is responding well to the treatment," the statement by hospital vice president Ajaykumar Pande said.
(Source: NDTV)
8. Richard Branson-Backed Firm Plans World’s First Operational Hyperloop In Mumbai
Travelers between Mumbai and Pune may soon get rid of their traffic worries, as British business tycoon Richard Branson plans to develop the world’s first operational hyperloop on the route by 2025.
Branson’s investee company Virgin Hyperloop One has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Maharashtra government to develop and construct a Hyperloop between Mumbai and Pune, reducing the travel time to cover the 140-km distance between Mumbai and Pune to 14-25 minutes, from 3-4 hours at present.
The Hyperloop is a proposed system of transport that would see pods or containers travel at high speeds through a tube that has been pumped into a near-vacuum.
The company will take three years to construct a test track. This test track will also be part of the production track. Commercial operations will start in 6-7 years, said Branson.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
9. Kamal Haasan Calls on Karunanidhi, Rajinikanth; Says Meeting People He Likes
Days ahead of taking the political plunge, veteran filmstar Kamal Haasan met DMK President M Karunanidhi and superstar Rajinikanth on Sunday, and said he is calling on those “whom I like” before the formal launch of his party on 21 February.
After meeting the fellow actor earlier in the day, Haasan called on 93-year old Karunanidhi at his Chennai residence on Sunday night.
Karunanidhi’s son and DMK working president MK Stalin received Haasan and greeted him.
Emerging from the brief meeting with Karunanidhi, Haasan told reporters he called on the former chief minister to get his blessings and inform him about his political journey.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
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