Junior Digest

Chidambaram said the economy will suffer a setback of Rs 1.5 lakh crore as 80% of the Small and Medium Enterprises had closed down.

Terming the demonetization as “ill-conceived”, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Sunday said the economy won’t grow at more than 6 to 6.5% for the next two fiscals due to the damage caused by the move. Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan had categorically rejected the idea of demonetization, he claimed, adding that NDA government “must have consulted some RSS pracharak” before taking the decision.

Speaking at the second anniversary function of Telugu daily ‘Mana Telangana’ in Mumbai, Chidambaram said the economy will suffer a setback of Rs 1.5 lakh crore as 80% of the Small and Medium Enterprises had closed down. “If 10% of bank officers were dishonest earlier, thanks to demonetization, 50% of the bank officers became dishonest. So the very exercise generated more corruption, not less corruption. So they changed the narration to cashless economy now,” he said. “…you take it from me, the economy will not grow at more than 6 and 6.5% in 2017-18 and 2018-19. It will take two years for the economy to recover. People have lost confidence in currency. People are not spending. “You have unnecessarily interrupted the economic story of this country by this thoughtless, ill-conceived demonetization,” Chidambaram said.

Earlier, addressing a meeting of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee, the senior Congress leader said those who should have been consulted were not consulted before taking the decision. “The finance secretary was not consulted, the banking secretary was not consulted and the Chief Economic Adviser was not consulted, and then who was consulted? They must have consulted some RSS pracharak,” he alleged. Several past RBI governors had disapproved of the idea, he said.

“We had Raghuram Rajan as Governor for three years, he did not think demonetization was the answer and he categorically told the Government no, don’t do demonetization. Then a new Governor comes and in 64 days he agrees for demonetization.” As much as 2,400 crore notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, worth Rs 15.44 lakh crore, were rendered invalid, and with the capacity of all four printing facilities if they operated round-the-clock being 300 crore pieces a month, to replace all 2,400 crore notes, it will take eight months, he said.

At the end of three months post-demonetization, half of the ATMs were not working and “most ATMs don’t have currency,” Chidambaram alleged, adding that everyday 11 crore people were standing in queues for hours to withdraw their own money. As to government’s aim of having a 100% cashless economy, he said 80% of transactions in Germany and Austria still take place in cash, 60% in Australia, 56% in Canada and 46% in the US.

“History books will record along with Zimbabwe, North Korea, Libya…India demonetised its currency…It is a shame…May be this government thought these are the most prosperous countries in the world,” he added. “First they talked about demonetization and now they are saying remonetisation. Of the Rs 15.44 lakh crore worth of money demonetised every rupee has come back to RBI. Now you are remonetising….this is not ‘notebandi’ but ‘notebadli’,” Chidambaram said. He said would have resigned as Finance Minister had the Prime Minister of the day insisted on demonetization. “They (Government) said this is to put an end to corruption. I looked at the new notes, has it been written (on them) not valid for bribe giving?” Chidambaram quipped. “We delivered 7.5% average growth over 10 years (during UPA rule). Here they (NDA) have impacted India’s growth,” the former finance minister said.

Naxals allegedly damaged a 1000-year-old idol of Lord Ganesha located atop a densely forested Dholkal mountain in Chhattisgarh’s insurgency-hit Dantewada district, police said. The vandalised idol was found at the bottom of the hill on Friday, they said.

Police suspect involvement of naxals in vandalising the idol citing that ultras were frustrated with the frequent movement of tourists and devotees to the place.

“We have started a probe in the case,” Dantewada Superintendent of Police Kamlochan Kashyap said.

After some locals who had gone on Thursday to visit the place reported that the idol was missing, a team of police and district administration rushed to the area. Kashyap along with Dantewada Collector Saurabh Kumar reached there for investigation.

“During the search, the broken idol was found lying at around 1,000 feet down the hilltop. Probably it was pushed down from it’s place,” he said.

Prima facie it appears that naxals were involved in the incident as according to villagers their movement was witnessed a few days back on the mountain range.

Even the informers had tipped off that ultras were frustrated with the frequent visit of tourists and devotees to the place, the officer said.

The SP ruled out any attempt to steal the idol citing that the 4-feet idol was placed on a steep vertical hill and it was not possible for some persons to lift it from there.

It is presumed that the idol was made during the time of Nagvanshi dynasty in the 9th or 10th century on a ‘dhol’ shaped mountain range. The mountain range lies 14 kms deep inside forest from Faraspal police station of the district, around 450 kms away from Raipur. One has to reach to the place on foot through forest route as no road is available there.

Meanwhile, the state s Tourism and Culture Minister Dayaldas Baghel said an inquiry has been initiated into the incident.

Prime facie it appears that the crime has been committed by some anti-social elements, said the minister, adding, archaeological department and district administration has launched probe into the matter. The state government is developing Dholkal mountain as a trekking spot since large number of tourists visit there.

Serena Williams pushed sentiments aside in an emotion-charged 6-4 6-4 defeat of sister Venus to win the Australian Open on Saturday and a record 23rd grand slam title in the professional era. Tortured by nerves in a tense family affair, Serena had to produce some of her best tennis to overcome Venus who won the crowd at Rod Laver Arena by scrapping hard to the end.

The American’s seventh title at Melbourne Park was won with an aggressive charge to the net and a desperate defensive backhand from Venus that floated into the tramlines. Williams slumped to the ground, with hands in the air and eyes wide with joyous disbelief, before congratulating her sister for inspiring her run in Melbourne.

“She’s an amazing person, there’s no way I would be at 23 without her,” the second seed Serena said, cradling the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup at the trophy ceremony. “There’s no way I would have anything without her. She’s the only reason the Williams sisters exist, so thank you for inspiring me to be the best that I can be.”

The win moved her past Steffi Graf on the list of all-time slam winners and she now sits just one shy of Margaret Court’s long-standing record of 24. The victory also wrested back the world number one ranking from Angelique Kerber who swiped it away during her winning run to the U.S. Open championship.

“Serena Williams, that’s my little sister, guys,” she said beaming. “Congratulations Serena on number 23, I’ve been right there with you, some of them I’ve lost with you. Your win has always been my win, you know that. I’m enormously proud of you, you mean the world to me.”

At 35, an age at which most former champions have enjoyed life after tennis for several years, Serena’s powers appear undiminished and she will now train her sights on Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 major titles.

Rightly or wrongly, many will feel Serena’s top ranking in history is already assured, with Court’s haul split between the amateur and professional eras and the American’s silverware amassed despite numerous physical setbacks.

In the ultimate throwback tournament, Serena met her sister on the same Rod Laver Arena court where 14 years before she had edged her in three sets to claim her first Melbourne Park crown. Eight years had passed since their last grand slam decider at Wimbledon in 2009, and their combined ages in Melbourne added up to the ‘oldest’ major final ever contested.

They walked down the corridor silently prior to the match, with Serena tuned into headphones and Venus focusing only ahead. It was a tense start and neither player was able to hold serve until Venus took the fifth game. Serena was the worst afflicted by the nerves, and she smashed her racket in a rage in just the third game after she slipped behind the baseline when chasing down a ball.

She double-faulted three times to be broken a second time, causing a gasp from the crowd. But galvanised by her serve, Serena soon settled and the blistering groundstrokes from the baseline began to find their mark as she surged to a 5-3 lead before sealing the set by thumping a pair of aces.

With Serena renowned as one of the best front-runners in the game, Venus showed her readiness to scrap, and she saved three break points to hold in the third game. But she was never on safe ground, with Serena feasting on her second serve.

Serena pounced in the seventh game, firing a searing backhand return to break and served out to love to come within a game of the title. Having dragged Serena to 15-30 at 5-4 on her serve, Venus dropped her racket in despair as she hammered a forehand into the net to give up match point. Serena needed no further reason and after a furious exchange of shots, she charged in to the net swinging to claim yet another major title.

Mikhail Gorbachev has urged Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump to strongly denounce nuclear war in the face of the “militarisation of politics and the new arms race”.

The 85-year-old, who was the eighth and final leader of the Soviet Union and its Communist Party, said he believed it looked “as if the world is preparing for war”.

The Cold War-era politician responsible for glasnost made the comments in a piece for Time magazine ahead of Theresa May’s first meeting with Mr Trump .

“The world today is overwhelmed with problems. Policymakers seem to be confused and at a loss,” he begins.

“But no problem is more urgent today than the militarisation of politics and the new arms race. Stopping and reversing this ruinous race must be our top priority.

“The current situation is too dangerous.”

The Russian-Ukrainian describes how troops, tanks and armoured personnel carriers are being brought to Europe.

He also writes about how Nato and Russian forces and weapons, once deployed at a distance, are now at “point-blank” range to one another.

The frequently vocal critic, once a sceptic of Boris Yeltsin’s presidency, also said state budgets were struggling to fund people’s essential social needs, but that military spending is growing.

He talks of submarines whose “single salvo” is capable of devastating half a continent.

“Politicians and military leaders sound increasingly belligerent and defence doctrines more dangerous,” said Mr Gorbachev.

“Commentators and TV personalities are joining the bellicose chorus. It all looks as if the world is preparing for war.”

Mr Gorbachev, who is credited with aiding the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Cold War, played a part in nuclear disarmament in the 1980s.

Eighty per cent of nuclear weapons accumulated during the Cold War years have apparently been decommissioned and destroyed.

Mr Gorbachev also called for a repeat of the November 1985 summit between he and Ronald Reagan in Geneva, which concluded that “nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought”.

According to a BBC article, in September 2016, the US had 1,367 strategic nuclear warheads, Russia had 1,796 and the UK had 120.

“I think the initiative to adopt such a resolution should come from Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin – the Presidents of two nations that hold over 90 per cent of the world’s nuclear arsenals and therefore bear a special responsibility,” he said, before quoting President Franklin D Roosevelt.

“The time to decide and act is now.”

Mr Gorbachev’s comments follow two US congressmen submitting a bill restricting Mr Trump’s ability to launch a first nuclear strike, and details of a failed UK nuclear test.

Unconfirmed reports also say China has moved long-range missiles to the Russian border.

Nikki Haley was sworn-in as America’s Ambassador to the United Nations, scripting history to become the first from the influential Indian- American community to serve on a Cabinet rank position in any US presidential administration. The 45-year-old former South Carolina Governor Haley was been sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence. Haley, a rising Republican star, was approved overwhelmingly by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with wide bipartisan support, 96-4. She will replace Samantha Power. Haley turned in her resignation as South Carolina governor minutes after she was confirmed as President Donald Trump’s Cabinet pick.

The two-term governor faced questions from Democrats over her lack of experience with global affairs but won plaudits from senators for her handling of prickly issues like Russia and UN actions toward Israel during her confirmation hearings.

She is the first woman to be confirmed to Trump’s Cabinet. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, the Republican chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said Haley is a proven leader who will be a “fierce advocate” at the UN for American interests.

With this, Haley becomes the first Indian-American to serve in a presidential administration at a Cabinet level position.

While nominating her, Trump had said, “Governor Haley has a proven track record of bringing people together regardless of background or party affiliation to move critical policies forward for the betterment of her state and our country.

“She is also a proven deal-maker, and we look to be making plenty of deals. She will be a great leader representing us on the world stage,” Trump had said. Haley has already created history by becoming the first women Indian-American Governor of a US State.

After Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, she is only the second ever Indian-American to be elected as the Governor of a State. Haley would now be replaced by Lt Gov Henry McMaster as governor and will complete her term that ends in 2018. “Governor Haley appears up to the task and seems to understand this as well,” said Senator Ben Cardin, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as he voted to approve Haley’s nomination as the next US Ambassador to the UN.

“What Governor Haley lacks in foreign policy and international affairs experience, she makes up for in capability, intelligence, and a track record of building coalitions in South Carolina,” Cardin said.

Once a fierce critic of Trump, Haley in November was selected as the first woman and first minority to serve in the Trump Administration.

The daughter of Indian immigrants from Punjab, Haley had said she wouldn’t support one of Trump’s major campaign proposals to create a registry of Muslims in the US and a ban on Muslim immigration and travel but suggested the administration’s views had changed on the issue.

Lucknow : Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu and National champion Sameer Verma began the new season on a resounding note by winning the women’s and men’s singles crowns respectively at the USD 120,000 Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament here today.

In fact, India scooped up three titles out of the five events in the tournament.

Top seed Sindhu, who has been in rampaging form last season, brushed aside Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska in the summit clash, while Sameer, who had reached the finals of Hong Kong Super Series, defeated compatriot B Sai Praneeth 21-19 21-16 in a 44-minute final.

Second seeds Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy, who had won Grand Prix titles at Brazil and Russia, also lay claim to their maiden GPG title in mixed doubles after beating compatriots Ashwini Ponnappa and B Sumeeth Reddy, seventh seeds, 22-20 21-10 in the finals.

In the women’s singles final, Sindhu didn’t break any sweat as she took just 30 minutes to outplay Mariska for her maiden Syed Modi title. She had lost the finals to former World No. 1 Saina Nehwal in 2014 edition.

The girl from Hyderabad led right from the start and never allowed her younger opponent to pose any threat. She entered the break at 11-5 and 11-6 in the first and second games respectively and never looked back.

In the end, it was a couple of returns going to net from the Indonesian which sealed the issue for Sindhu.

Sameer, on the other hand, fought back from 5-11 down in both the games to outwit fellow Indian Praneeth, who looked slightly in discomfort with his right shoulder and also committed too many unforced errors to hand over the match, despite earning early leads.

In the first game, Sameer erased a deficit of 10-15 to eventually edge out Praneeth, who succumbed to his rivals brilliant smashes and accurate placements.

In the second game, Praneeth once again zoomed to a 6-3 lead after Sameer kept hitting the shuttle out.

The Madhya Pradesh shuttler tried to gather a couple of points at his opponent’s forecourt but he committed a few unforced errors and Praneeth also dominated the net play to move into the break at 11-5 advantage.

However, just like in the opening game, Sameer once again scripted a comeback and levelled the scores when his rival hit wide. He then produced a cross court smash to take the lead.

Praneeth seemed off colour after that as his shots went wide and long and also he failed to retrieve some of the returns of Sameer, who sealed the match with a cross court smash.

The Election Commission had requested the RBI to increase the weekly withdrawal limit from Rs 24,000 to Rs 2 lakh.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has rejected the request of the Election Commission to enhance the weekly cash-withdrawal limit, imposed after demonetization, for those contesting Assembly elections in five states, prompting an angry reaction from the poll panel.

The Commission had on Wednesday requested RBI to enhance the withdrawal limit of candidates to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 24,000 per week imposed post demonetization as the nominees would find it difficult to meet their campaign expenditure.

But RBI said that it was not possible for it to hike the limit at this stage.

An apparently peeved Commission has now written back to RBI Governor Urjit Patel expressing “serious concern about the cursory manner in which the issue has been dealt with”.

“…(It) appears that the RBI has not realised the gravity of the situation…It is reiterated that it is the constitutional mandate of the Commission to conduct free and fair elections and to provide level-playing field to all candidates…in order to facilitate proper conduct of elections, it is imperative that directions issued by the Commission are complied with,” the poll panel said.

It urged the central bank to reconsider the proposal.

On Wednesday, the Commission had told RBI that it has been apprised of the problems candidates were facing due to withdrawal limits imposed after the note ban.

It said the returning officer of the constituency would issue certificate that the person was a candidate in the fray and the contestant be allowed to withdraw Rs 2 lakh cash per week from the bank account opened especially to meet poll expenses.

The EC said the facility be extended till March 11, the day of counting. Candidates are bound to open an election account for meeting poll-related expenditure which is monitored by the EC.

The Commission said that with a weekly withdrawal limit of Rs 24,000, a candidate would be able to withdraw Rs 96,000 in cash during the election process which lasts three to four weeks.

It reminded the central bank that as per law, candidates contesting Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab can spend Rs 28 lakh each for electioneering.

The limit in Goa and Manipur is Rs 20 lakh each. The poll panel said despite paying amounts through cheques, candidates still need hard cash for petty expenses. Also the issue is further adversely effected in rural areas where banking facilities are negligible.

Donald Trump has signed an executive order calling for a “large physical barrier” between the US and Mexico – the order will jump-start the process of building the wall, which was one of the President’s primary campaign promises.

“So badly needed. You folks know how badly needed it is as a help… I believe the steps we will take, starting right now, will improve the safety of both of our countries,” Mr Trump said at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). “A nation without borders is not a nation. Beginning today, the United States gets back control of its borders – gets back its borders.”

He is also expected to take actions this week to limit legal immigration – including more rigorous restrictions to refugee acceptance (an already intense process) and blocking the issuance of visas to people from Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

“Big day planned on national security tomorrow,” Mr Trump tweeted on Tuesday night. “Amoung [sic] many other things, we will build the wall.”

The President signed the orders during a ceremony at DHS headquarters, honouring the newly confirmed Gen John Kelly as director.

New Delhi, Jan 25 :  Suspecting the possibility of sabotage in the recent spate of train derailments, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has written to Home Minister Rajnath Singh seeking a detailed probe by the National Investigating Agency into the incidents.

In a letter dated January 23 to the Home Minister, Prabhu sought an NIA probe into the recent spate of train mishaps and listed six incidents of “possibility of criminal interference by outsiders”.

In the letter, he made a mention of Hirakhand Express derailment near Kuneru station in Andhra Pradesh, two goods trains that went off the track earlier this month on the Koraput-Kirandul section, “cooker bomb” at Ghorasahan station, detection of deep cuts on tracks near Kanpur on January 1 and the obstruction on tracks on a rail bridge between Barauni-Samastipur stations on Monday.

Citing the derailment of Indore-Patna Express in Kanpur in which around 150 people were killed, he said: “Bihar police unearthed a conspiracy to train some persons in the country to tamper with railway tracks to cause train derailments and (their) possible involvement in the accident near Kanpur.”

“Requesting all to be extra vigilant to foil nefarious designs of these anti-people elements trying to subvert system, dastardly inhuman acts(sic),” Prabhu tweeted today.

The minister has also directed railway security personnel to be careful and asked the public to give information of any unusual activity by anti-national elements near stations to law enforcement agencies.

On January 1, Railway Protection Force Director General SK Bhagat had written to the CBI requesting for a probe into the suspected involvement of outsiders in making deep cuts on tracks near Kalyanpur, Mandhana stations near Kanpur.

There is a marked increase in derailments in the recent past with strong indications of “outside interference” on track to derail trains on busy routes, according to railways.

A major mishap was averted last night by an alert loco pilot of Jan Shatabdi Express who saw a 15-feet rail piece on the track and stopped the train near Diwa in Mumbai.

Washington, Jan 28 : US President Donald Trump has said that he had an hour-long phone conversation with his Mexican counterpart Enrique Pena Nieto on bilateral trade and the contentious wall issue, a day after the two had a blowup over who would foot the bill for the proposed border .

“I will say that we had a very good call. I have been very strong on Mexico. I have great respect for Mexico. I love the Mexican people. I work with the Mexican people all the time. Great relationships. But Mexico has outnegotiated us and beat us to a pulp through our past leaders,” Trump told reporters yesterday at a joint news conference with visiting British Prime Minister Theresa May.

“They’ve made us look foolish. We have a trade deficit of USD 60 billion with Mexico. On top of that, the border is soft and weak, drugs are pouring in, and I’m not going to let that happen,” he said, adding that he talked with his Mexican counterpart for about an hour this morning.

“We are going to be working on a fair relationship and a new relationship. But the United States cannot continue to lose vast amounts of business, vast amounts of companies, and millions and millions of people losing their jobs. That won’t happen with me. We’re no longer going to be the country that doesn’t know what it’s doing,” Trump said in response to a question.

“We are going to renegotiate our trade deals and we are going to renegotiate other aspects of our relationship with Mexico, and in the end, I think it’ll be good for both countries,” he asserted.

Trump described the call as “very, very friendly”, and said he looks forward to the negotiations over the coming months.

“But I’m representing the people of the United States and I’m going to represent them as somebody should represent them, not how they’ve been represented in the past where we lose to every single country,” Trump said.

Meanwhile, the Mexican government said that President Pena Nieto and Trump had agreed to stop making public statements about the US leader’s border wall plan and will seek to resolve differences as part of bilateral talks.

“With regard to the payment of the border wall, both Presidents acknowledged their clear and very public differences in position on this sensitive issue,” the Mexican statement said.

“The Presidents also agreed at this point not to speak publicly about this controversial issue,” it added.

The White House statement included near identical language on the border wall, but didn’t mention a pledge not to speak publicly about the issue.

On Thursday, Trump had tweeted that If Mexico is unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall, then it would be better to cancel the upcoming meeting between him and Pena Nieto.

The Mexican President reacted, saying, “I’ve said time and again: Mexico won’t pay for any wall.” He later canceled his trip to Washington planned for January 31.

New Delhi, Jan 25 : Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli was among the eight sportspersons who were today picked for the prestigious Padma Shri, the country’s fourth highest civilian award.

Besides Kohli, the seven other sportspersons named for the award are Rio Olympics bronze medallist wrestler Sakshi Malik, Paralympians Mariyappan Thangavelu and Deepa Malik, gymnast Dipa Karmakar, Indian hockey captain P R Sreejesh, discus thrower Vikas Gowda and blind cricket team captain Shekar Naik.

Kohli recently took over as the captain of the Indian cricket team in all the three formats of the game after Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepped down as skipper of the limited-overs side. The prolific batsman is among the most feared batsmen in world cricket right now.

Sakshi Malik won a bronze in the women’s 58kg wrestling while Thangavelu and Deepa Malik bagged a gold and silver in the men’s high jump T-42 and women’s shot put F53 categories respectively at the Rio Paralympics.

Dipa Karmakar finished fourth in women’s vault gymnastic event in Rio Olympics while Sreejesh was the captain of the Indian hockey side that reached the quarterfinals.

Gowda, the reigning Commonwealth and Asian champion, failed to advance beyond the qualifying round in men’s discus throw in Rio.

The eight sportspersons were among 89 Padma Awardees announced by the government on the eve of the Republic Day.

There were no sportspersons in the list of Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan awardees.

New Delhi : President Pranab Mukherjee today batted strongly for simultaneous elections to Parliament and Assemblies and backed the demonetisation drive, two issues on which the Government has focused its attention.

He asked the Election Commission to carry forward the idea of simultaneous polls in consultation with political parties.

In his Republic Day eve address to the Nation, the President also asserted that the country’s strength lies in is pluralism and diversity and that India has traditionally celebrated the argumentative” Indian; not the “intolerant” Indian.

“Multiple views, thoughts and philosophies have competed with each other peacefully for centuries in our country. A wise and discerning mind is necessary for democracy to flourish,” he said.

Mukherjee underlined that strengths of India democracy but cautioned against disruptions in Parliament and State Assemblies.

“We have a noisy democracy. Yet, we need more and not less of democracy,” he said.

But, he said, it is right time to acknowledge that systems are not perfect and those imperfections have to be recognised and rectified.

“The settled complacencies have to be questioned. The edifice of trust has to be strengthened. The time is also ripe for a constructive debate on electoral reforms and a return to the practise of the early decades after independence when elections to Lok Sabha and state assemblies were held simultaneously.

“It is for the Election Commission to take this exercise forward in consultation with political parties,” Mukherjee said.

The President said the depth and breadth of Indian democracy sparkles in the regular elections being held in panchayati raj institutions.

“And yet, our legislatures lose sessions to disruptions when they should be debating and legislating on issues of importance. Collective efforts must be made to bring the focus back to debate, discussion and decision-making,” he said.

On demonetisation, the President said it may have led to “temporary” slowdown in economy but will bring more transparency in the system.

“Demonetisation, while immobilising black money and fighting corruption, may have led to temporary slowdown of economic activity. As more and more transactions become cashless, it will improve the transparency of the economy,” Mukherjee said.

Visakhapatnam : Investments worth over Rs 2.82 lakh crore were commissioned in Andhra Pradesh in the past one year and the state aspires to clock a 15 per cent growth rate next fiscal, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu said today.

Inviting businesses to invest in sectors like minerals, infrastructure and railways, Naidu said the state aspires to make it to the list of top 10 states in global rankings for ease of doing business.

“India is growing at 7.2 per cent, Andhra Pradesh’s growth rate is 12.23 per cent. This year onwards, we want to reach 15 per cent… As of today, we are number one in Ease of Doing Business ranking in India by World Bank and DIPP. We want to be among top 10 in the world in ease of doing business,” Naidu said at the Investment Summit here.

The Chief Minister said at the summit last year that the state had signed 328 MoUs worth Rs 4.67 lakh crore, which created employment for 9.58 lakh people. Further, 927 projects have come entailing investments of Rs 5.03 lakh crore with an employment potential of 10.05 lakh.

“So far, we are able to materialise… nearly Rs 659 projects have been cleared and Rs 2.82 lakh crore investments have come to Andhra Pradesh in last one year, this is the biggest investment. No other State has got this investment. We are in close competition with Gujarat,” Naidu said.

Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated with the creation of a separate state of Telangana in June 2014.

As per the World Bank and DIPP report released in October 2016, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana had jointly dislodged Gujarat to emerge as the best states to do business in the country.

In 2015 Index, Gujarat featured at the top, with Andhra Pradesh grabbing the second position and Telangana 13th.

The actor John Hurt has died aged 77. In a wide-ranging and diverse career, Hurt played roles in a number of blockbuster films, including Elephant Man, Alien and Harry Potter.

He also appears in the film Jackie, a biopic about the widow of John F Kennedy, which is currently in cinemas.

He had previously suffered from pancreatic cancer but was given the all-clear in 2015.

The Chesterfield-born actor is survived by his wife Anwen Rees-Myers, to whom he was married for 12 years.

Hurt, who is known for his role as Mr Ollivander in the Harry Potter films, and has also starred in Hellboy and Doctor Who. In one of his best-known scenes, filmed for the 1979 Ridley Scott horror Alien, Hurt died on-screen after an alien erupted from his chest. He was also lauded for his portrayal of Quentin Crisp in

He first revealed his diagnosis in June 2015. In October of that year he revealed doctors had successfully treated the cancer, saying he was “thrilled” at his recovery.

He has previously said he was not concerned at the prospect of dying.

“I’m can’t say I worry about mortality, but it’s impossible to get to my age and not have a little contemplation of it,” he told Radio Times in August 2015.

“We’re all just passing time, and occupy our chair very briefly. But my treatment is going terrifically well, so I’m optimistic.”

Hurt, who was knighted, received two Academy Award nominations, a Golden Globe and four Bafta awards, including in 2012 receiving the award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema.

Dubai, Jan 25 :  Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, would light up tonight in tri-colours – saffron, white and green – to mark 68th Republic Day of India.

“Tonight we celebrate India’s 68th Republic Day with a spectacular LED illumination of the Indian National flag on #BurjKhalifa! #India,” the official Twitter account of Burj Khalifa tweeted in both English and Arabic languages.

The building in Dubai, which stands at 823 metres, was named in honour of the ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of the United Arab Emirates Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Dubai is one of the seven emirates of the UAE.

Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will be the Chief Guest at the Republic Day parade tomorrow.