Mumbai, May 26 : The country’s forex reserves rose by a whopping USD 4.036 billion to life-time high of USD 379.310 billion in the week ended May 19, helped by a surge in the foreign currency assets, the Reserve Bank said.
Last week, the reserves had declined by USD 443.6 million to USD 375.27 billion.
Foreign currency assets (FCAs), a major component of the overall reserves, increased by USD 3.996 billion to USD 355.097 billion in the reporting week, RBI said.
Expressed in US dollar terms, FCAs include the effects of appreciation/depreciation of non-US currencies, such as the euro, pound and the yen, held in the reserves.
Gold reserves remained stable at USD 20.438 billion.
The special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund increased by USD 15 million to USD 1.469 billion.
The country’s reserve position with the IMF, too, rose by USD 25.2 million to USD 2.305 billion, the RBI said.
Lucknow, May 26 : A special CBI court directed BJP stalwarts L K Advani, M M Joshi and Uma Bharti to appear before it on May 30 for framing of charges in the Babri Masjid demolition case in light of the Supreme Court order restoring the serious offence of criminal conspiracy against them.
Special CBI judge S K Yadav also asked BJP leader Vinay Katiyar, VHP’s Vishnu Hari Dalmia and a one-time Hindutva firebrand Sadhvi Ritambara to present themselves before the court in person on that day.
He said no application for adjournment or exemption shall be entertained.
The judge gave the directions after Vimal Kumar Srivastava and Manish Tripathi, representing the six accused, moved an application seeking their exemption from personal appearance for today only on the ground they had prior commitment.
CBI lawyers Lalit Kumar Singh and R K Yadav opposed the plea contending that the court had yesterday indicated that it may frame charges against the accused today and that they should be present on the May 30.
After hearing the arguments, judge Yadav allowed the application for exemption keeping in view the interest of justice on the condition that they should be present before the court on the next date.
The court which is hearing two separate cases, has already fixed May 30 for framing of charges against Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, Mahant Ram Vilas Vedanti, Baikunth Lal Sharma alias Prem Ji, Champat Rai Bansal, Dharma Das and Satish Pradhan in the other matter.
The apex court had on April 19 directed that Advani (89), Joshi (83), Bharti (58) and other accused in the case would be prosecuted for criminal conspiracy in the politically sensitive 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case. It had also ordered day-to-day trial to be concluded in two years.
The top court, which had dubbed the demolition of the medieval-era monument as a “crime” which shook the “secular fabric of the Constitution”, allowed the CBI’s plea on restoration of criminal conspiracy charge against the four BJP leaders, including Katiyar (62), besides Sadhvi Ritambara (53) and Dalmia who is in his late 80s.
However, the Supreme Court had said BJP leader Kalyan Singh, who is the Rajasthan Governor and during whose tenure as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh the disputed structure was razed, is entitled to immunity under the Constitution as long as he holds the gubernatorial office.
It had transferred the case against Advani, Joshi, Bharti and three other accused from a Raebareli court to Lucknow for a joint trial in the demolition case.
When you feel particularly exhausted, it can definitely feel like you are also lacking in brain capacity. Now, a new study has suggested this could be because chronic sleep deprivation can actually cause the brain to eat itself.
New research, conducted by Michele Bellesi of the Marche Polytechnic University in Italy and published in the Journal of Neuroscience, analysed the brains of mice who had regular sleep, spontaneous wake, sleep deprivation and chronic sleep deprivation.
Using block-face scanning software, the scientists measured the synapses and cell processes in the mouse’s frontal cortex. Specifically looking at cells called astrocytes cells, the researchers found that the sleep-deprived mice showed more activity with these cells.
The findings suggest astrocytes start breaking down more of the brain’s debris.
“We show for the first time that portions of the synapses are literally eaten by astrocytes because of sleep loss,” Mr Bellesi told the New Scientist. He added that it is not necessarily a bad thing as it could just be the brain’s way of “cleaning” up old brain “debris”.
The study also looked at the effect on microglial cells which account for around 15 per cent of cells found within the brain. These cells scavenge around for plaques, damaged or unnecessary neurons or agents in the brain and are also found in the spinal cord.
The study showed that chronic sleep restriction (which in this case was five days of being kept awake) led to increased signs of microglial activation. Because low-level sustained activation of the microglial cells can lead to serious brain disorders, Mr Bellesi said these results were more concerning.
“We already know that sustained microglial activation has been observed in Alzheimer’s and other forms of neurodegeneration,” he said.
Dehradun, May 25 : Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat today launched a campaign on water harvesting and conservation on the occasion of Water Day here, saying the campaign cannot achieve its objective without people’s participation.
The Chief Minister released publicity material on water harvesting and conservation and also flagged off a rath with the message for Kumaon region.
People’s awareness holds the key to the success of such campaigns, Rawat said in his address.
“There are 20 lakh toilets in Uttarakhand with a population of 1.10 crore. On an average one person uses about 7-10 litres of water daily in the toilet. If each one of us saves at least one litre of water every day one crore litres of water will be saved in a day. It will be a big achievement,” he said, seeking their full cooperation for the success of the drive which will conclude on May 30.
Ahmedabad, May 25 : The parents of several National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test examinees, competing for MBBS seats, moved the Gujarat High Court for holding the exam afresh with same questions in Gujarati and English languages.
The group of 40 to 45 parents of students, who had taken the CBSE-conducted test in Gujarati language filed the petition in the court contending that the question paper in Gujarat was more difficult than those in English.
The vacation bench of Justice A J Shastri before whom a plea was made to hear the petition on an urgent basis, acceded to the request and slated the hearing of the matter on May 26.
The petition by the parent group said by providing question papers of different difficulty levels for a common merit list was the breach of students’ right to equality guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution.
“Hence, the NEET exam conducted on May 7 should be annulled so that a fresh examination is held with same set of questions given to examinees of both medium,” said the petition.
The petitioners said the candidates appearing from Gujarati medium were given a totally different set of questions which were tough, and hence these candidates are not likely to score high marks, even when the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) prepares a common merit list for them.
“Since the CBSE will prepare a common merit list based on marks scored by candidates irrespective of which language they took the test, candidates from Gujarati medium will lag behind due to difference in difficulty level of different question sets,” the petition said.
The NEET 2017 was conducted in ten languages.
New Delhi : India and Germany, which worked together on treating osteoarthritis with ayurveda, will collaborate further in the field of alternative medicine, the government said on Wednesday.
“The Union Cabinet has approved a Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) between Germany and India regarding cooperation in the sector of alternative medicine,” an official statement said. The collaboration will also enhance employment, it said.
While India has well-developed systems of traditional medicine which hold tremendous potential in the global health scenario, Germany has considerable interest in such a system of medicine, it said.
Noting that the AYUSH Ministry had taken many initiatives for promoting ayurveda in Germany, the statement referred to the collaborative research project between the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) and the Charite University in Berlin on osteoarthritis of the knee.
“The results of the trial are encouraging and the clinical trial demonstrates significant improvement in patients. The study has been completed successfully and is under publication,” the statement said.
Initiation of collaborative research, training and scientific capacity building in the field of alternative medicine under the JDI between the two countries would contribute to enhanced employment opportunities in the AYUSH sector, it said.
The financial resources necessary to conduct research, training courses and conferences will be met from the existing allocated budget and existing plan schemes of Ministry of AYUSH.
A delegation led by AYUSH Minister Shripad Yesso Naik had visited Germany in October last year to participate in the second European World Ayurveda Congress.
During the visit, Naik met German Parliamentary State Secretary Ingrid Fischbach and the two sides agreed to begin the process of drafting and negotiating a JDl in the field of AYUSH and natural medicine.
New Delhi : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has refused to make public the list of loan defaulters with public sector banks despite an order of the Supreme Court in 2015 to make this information public.
The case relates to an RTI application filed by activist Subhash Agrawal who had sought to know the list of people who had defaulted in the loan of Rs one crore and above.
According to the government, the gross non-performing assets (NPA) of the public sector banks stood at Rs 6.06 lakh crore as on December 31, 2016.
The RBI had denied the information citing the clauses of economic interests of the state, the commercial confidence and the information held in fiduciary capacity.
It had also cited the provisions of Section 45-E of the RBI Act, 1934 which prohibits disclosure of credit information.
On December 16, 2015 the apex court had clearly rejected these arguments of the RBI, in a matter filed by another RTI applicant, and ordered disclosure of defaulters’ list, upholding a Central Information Commission (CIC) order.
Still, the Bankers’ Bank cited same arguments to deny information to Agrawal, who escalated the matter to the CIC.
During the hearing, the RBI also said the Supreme Court is hearing a matter in which reports have been sought in a sealed envelop and hence any decision should be avoided.
A two-member CIC bench gave reprieve to the RBI as it agreed to not pass any order till the pending matter, where disclosure of defaulters having dues of over Rs 500 crore towards the banks, was decided by the apex court.
The bench, comprising Information Commissioners Manjula Prasher and Sudhir Bhargava, did not accept Agarwal’s plea that a case was already decided by the Supreme Court in which clear directives have been given and is a law of land, and not a pending case.
In 2015, the apex court had stated that the RBI is supposed to uphold public interest and not the interest of individual banks.
The RBI is clearly not in any fiduciary relationship with any bank, it had said.
“The RBI has a statutory duty to uphold the interest of the public at large, the depositors, the country’s economy and the banking sector,” it had said while directing the RBI to disclose the list of defaulters.
The court had said that the RBI is duty bound to comply with the provisions of the RTI Act.
“The baseless and unsubstantiated argument of the RBI that the disclosure would hurt the economic interest of the country is totally misconceived,” the court had said.
The apex court had said that the facts reveal that banks were trying to cover up their underhand actions, they are even more liable to be subjected to public scrutiny.
It had passed the order of disclosure after hearing the arguments of the RBI which had sought refuge under the Section 45E of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 which says disclosure of any information relating to credit information submitted by banking company is confidential.
It had said the RTI Act, 2005 is a general provision which cannot override specific provisions relating to confidentiality in earlier legislation in accordance with the principle that where there are general words in a later statute it cannot be held that the earlier statutes are repealed altered or discarded.
Rejecting these arguments, the apex court had ordered the disclosure of information relating to loan default and other such details sought by various applicants.
Some of these arguments, rejected by the Supreme Court, were put by the RBI before the CIC during the hearing of Agrawal’s case.
Nineteen people have been killed and at least 50 people have been injured following an explosion at Manchester Arena where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing.
Manchester Arena, the largest indoor arena in Europe, opened in 1995 and has a capacity for 21,000 people, according to its website.
Footage shows thousands of panicked young people fleeing the arena in panic after an explosion went off at around 10.40pm.
Eyewitnesses said the explosion sounds were heard outside the auditorium after the artist had finished her show and left the stage, with people claiming on social media they believed the bangs were a bomb.
A concert-goer named Josh told the BBC there was huge panic and confusion as people tried to flee the arena, some reportedly covered in blood and many in tears.
He said: “She finished her last song .. and we heard like a really basey bang, and all I can remember is just everyone … was just running out… people were covered in blood, some people were having a fight, it was quite scary.”
Defying the denial of permission to hold a protest rally, thousands of Dalits have swamped New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, protesting against the Uttar Pradesh government’s alleged silence on the Saharanpur caste-based riots.
The Dalit leaders spearheading the protest had reportedly approached the Delhi Police for permission to hold an assembly of around 15000 Dalits from Uttar Pradesh to protest against the alleged ‘selective’ police action against Dalits in the recent Saharanpur violence. However, the infuriated leaders decided to go on with their agitation after the administration denied there request.
The protestors, led by a newly formed Dalit outfit the Bheem Army and comprising youths from Saharanpur district and nearby towns, were joined at Jantar Mantar by members of the All India Students Association, student wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist).
“We demand cancellation of charges pressed against Chandrashekhar Azad (Bheem Army’s founder member) and strong action against so-called upper caste men who rioted and ransacked Dalit villagers’ property,” AISA National President Sucheta De told IANS.
Jerusalem: State-owned Israel Aerospace Industries said on Sunday it has closed another major deal worth $630 million with India to supply advanced long-range air and missile defence systems for four ships of the Indian Navy. The deal, a major boost to the Make in India campaign, will be jointly executed with the Indian government’s Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), and comes close on the heels of Israel’s largest defence contract ever worth $2 billion to supply the Indian Army and Navy with missile defence systems.
IAI said the $630-million contract is for supplying Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LRSAM) systems. The LRSAM is a joint development by IAI and India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation. It comprises several key state-of-the-art elements, advanced phased-array radar, command-and-control system, launchers and missiles with advanced radio-frequency (RF) seekers.
The system provides the ultimate protection against a variety of aerial, naval and airborne threats. It is currently operational with the Indian Air Force, Indian Navy and Israel Defence Forces. The Indian Army is also likely to deploy it soon. The LRSAM was last week successfully tested in India as part of operational interception trial aboard Indian Navy ship “demonstrating again the system’s operational capabilities in a representative scenario with genuine target”, a statement from IAI said.
The all-powerful GST Council finalised tax rates on Friday for services under the Goods and Service Tax (GST) regime, scheduled to kick-in from July 1.
Healthcare and education would be exempt from GST.
There will be four rates for services at 5, 12, 18 and 28%, similar to tax slabs for goods.
For the quarter ended March 31, 2017, IDBI Bank reported a loss of Rs 3,199.76 crore and if it was not for a tax writeback of Rs 1620.02 crore the losses would have been higher. The bad performance battered the shares of the bank, which closed 7.77% lower than the previous day’s close.
Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) soared 80% to Rs 44,752.59 crore at the end of the March quarter from Rs 24,875.07 crore a year ago. The bank reported gross NPA of Rs 35,245.33 crore a quarter ago. Provisions jumped 39.54% to Rs 6,209.58 crore from Rs 4,450.15 crore year on year.
The only silver lining is the positive growth both in the net interest income (NII) and the Net Interest margin (NIM). The growth in the NII which is the core income of the bank grew 14.44% to Rs 1,633.29 crore from Rs 1,427.24 crore in the year-ago period. NIM for the full year climbed eight basis points to 1.75 % during the quarter. However, the other income which includes fees or the non-core income of the bank declined 21.17% to Rs 1,061.52.
Rating agency S&P said in a release, “We expect earnings to remain weak over the next 12-18 months, largely because of IDBI’s high credit costs (given its weak asset quality and low reserve coverage) and low net interest margins (NIMs).”
IDBI Bank’s performance has been weak over the past two years with stressed asset quality and high credit costs straining its earnings. Its NPLs spiked to 21.3% as of March 31, 2017, from 15.2% in the previous quarter. The bank reported a loss of Rs 5,070 crore for full fiscal 2017.
New Delhi : Consumers stand to gain from the GST rates announced for daily consumption items which will also help keeping a check on prices, Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said today.
FMCG firms Dabur and Emami welcomed the rates on commonly used consumer items stating it would be beneficial but said more clarity is needed to understand overall impact.
“The move will benefit consumers at large as they will pay less. Free movement of goods will ensure easy availability and keep prices under check,” Paswan told PTI.
On the first day of a two-day meeting of the GST Council, headed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, it has been decided that commonly used products like hair oil, soaps and toothpaste will be charged with a single national sales tax or GST of 18 per cent.
These items at present attract 22-24 per cent tax incidence through a combination of central and state government levies.