New Delhi, Mar 27: Alarmed by cascading pollution levels, the Supreme Court on Monday proposed a roll out of BS6 fuel across 13 leading metros by April 1, next year.
A division bench, headed by Justice Madan Bhimrao Lokur, said, the Centre may consult OMCs (Oil Manufacturing Companies) to reply to the proposal suggested by it.
Observing that at present, the diesel price was lower than petrol by only Rs 10 per litre, the apex court asked the Centre to file a detailed reply on the proposal for differential pricing of diesel for commercial, private use.
MOPNG (Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas) confirmed that BS6 fuel will be made available in Delhi and NCR (National Capital Region) from April 1, next year.
Previously, the apex court in an earlier order had slapped 1% green cess on diesel vehicles with engine capacity of over 2000cc keeping in view the fact that pollution levels are increasing at an alarming rate.
The Supreme Court also asked the Union of India to reply on the proposal to extend green cess on small and medium diesel cars.
EPCA contended that diesel cars were not sufficiently taxed to deter buyers from profiting from lower oil prices. Diesel cars must be disincentivised as it was a polluting fuel, the EPCA submitted.
New Delhi, Mar 27: Charging the Narendra Modi Governemt with compromising the privacy of individuals by leaking user information on the Narendra Modi app, the Congress on Monday said the counter allegations by the BJP that the Opposition party was indulging in ‘data theft’ were an attempt to divert attention from the issue.
Talking to reporters here, AICC spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, ‘we have said repeatedly that the biggest assault on individual privacy has occurred under the watch of the Narendra Modi Government. Not only people’s money, but people’s privacy is also in question.
Even as startling revelations that the Narendra Modi app, run by the BJP is sharing data of millions of users with American companies emerge, the Modi Government mocks and flouts the ‘Right to Privacy’ with brazen impunity. While the Prime Minister’s Office, PMO India app, asks users to voluntarily part with their identity on 14 data points, the NaMo app asks for a sweeping access to 22 data points. The NaMo app records audio, video, contacts of your friends and family and even tracks your location via GPS. No wonder, Modi ji is like the ‘Bigg Boss’ who with brazenness likes to spy on Indians. The BJP whose IT (Identity Theft?) Minister does daily press conferences on the issue of data security and democracy, has much to answer to the people of India on the unscrupulous means by which Shri Narendra Modi’s personal app is accessing data and passing on data of more than 50 lakh Indians,’ he alleged.
Describing the BJP allegations that the Congress was indulging in ‘data theft’ through its mobile app, Mr Singhvi said. ‘the Modi Government is resorting to deflectionary and diversionary tactics. The Congress application had just 15,000 downloads against the 50 lakh Indians who downloaded the NaMo app. Also, the Congress application was discontinued as most of the users wanted to register offline.’
Accusing Mr Modi of misusing the Prime Minister’s position to build personal database with data on millions of Indians via the NaMo app promoted by the government, Mr Singhvi said, ‘Why does Mr Modi, in his own book ‘Exam Warriors’ urge you to download the NaMo app. Is he now planning to snoop in on minors? Mr Modi is misusing the Prime Minister’s position to build personal database with data on millions of Indians via the NaMo app promoted by Government. If as PM he wants to use tech to communicate with India, there is no problem in that. But use the official PMO app for it, not the NaMo app. This data belongs to India, not to Mr Modi.
Shockingly, data of atleast 13 lakh NCC cadets which include personal mobile phone numbers and email ID’s are being given to the Prime Minister’s Office for an interaction.’
Citing in this regard the report of a committee of experts appointed by the government on the issue of data protection, Mr Singhvi said, ‘importantly, a Government appointed Committee of Experts (CoE) to look into a framework for data protection, headed by Justice (retd) BN Srikrishna has made scathing observations in a paper released in November 2017, against the Government and has shockingly implied (according to the media reports) that the Modi Government is collecting personal data illegally. The committee, which is currently in the process of conducting consultations, has also considered the SC judgment on privacy, says in its paper “The public and private sector are collecting and using personal data on an unprecedented scale. While data can be put to beneficial use, unregulated and arbitrary use of data, especially personal data, raise concerns relating to centralisation of databases, profiling of individuals, increased surveillance and a consequent erosion of individual autonomy.”
Alleging that under the Modi Government, not only the personal data of citizens was under serious threat, but there were multiple reports of data breaches in banks, Mr Singhvi said, ‘astonishingly, under the Modi Government, not only the personal data of citizens is under serious threat, but multiple breaches in the banks. In an atmosphere where every single day there has been a bank fraud worth thousands of crores of rupees being reported, have resulted in one single question – how safe is our money in banks?
Banks and PSU’s have reported multiple breaches in recent past. A newspaper report on Monday said two online security experts have claimed that the Aadhaar database of two public-sector enterprises leaked select data and the vulnerability was fixed only a month after attention was drawn to it. This exposes their names, the 12-digit Aadhaar number and information of the services they have linked their Aadhaar card to. These services include bank details, policy details and other private information. This was corroborated by the UIDAI statement released on Sunday.
“It was left up there for more than a month — even though it had been reported to them directly,” claim the security experts. On February 23, 2018 a report had claimed that there was a data breach which had hit the the Punjab National Bank, whereby sensitive credit, debit card details of 10,000 customers were leaked. Quick Heal, a reputed software company in October 2017 had also claimed that there was a massive data breach in 6,000 government offices including banks. Earlier in 2016, as per media reports — 32 lakh debit/credit cards of various Indian banks were compromised. The worst-hit was the State Bank of India along with certain private banks.’
He also charged the present Government of breach of Aadhaar data of individuals.
‘In April 2014, the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had attacked Aadhaar and the UPA Government on its possible ‘security threat’. Life has now come full circle for the BJP. Just like numerous other issues, their blatant hypocrisy on Aadhaar is exposed. In January, this year, when a reputed newspaper in a sting exposed how 1 crore Aadhaar details can be accessed in just 10 minutes, by paying just Rs 500 in Chandigarh, the UIDAI had then filed an FIR against the reporter. Now the editor of the reputed media house has also been replaced.
We have seen it in May 4, 2017, when the Modi Government is on record in Supreme Court, accepting data breach in the Aadhaar scheme. Now the Attorney General in Supreme Court, while arguing that Aadhaar data remains safe and secure, says that the Aadhaar data remains secure behind a complex that has 13-ft high and five-feet thick walls, which is laughable and ludicrous, to say the least. On November 20, 2017, the UIDAI had accepted on record that –“More than 210 central and state government websites publicly displayed details such as names and addresses of Aadhaar beneficiaries”. Earlier too, ‘Centre for Internet and Society’, a Bengaluru-based organisation (CIS) in a study published on May 1, 2017, had found that data of more than 130 million Aadhaar card holders has been leaked from just four government websites. Therefore this is a serious issue. Clearly, neither our money, nor our Aadhaar details or our personal details are secure under the Modi Government.’
New Delhi, Mar 26 : La Nina, a phenomenon associated with the cooling of Pacific waters, will be neutral during this monsoon, raising hope for normal rainfall this year, a senior government official said today.
La Nina is widely believed to be good for monsoon while on the contrary El Nino, which is associated with heating of the Pacific waters, is seen to have a negative impact on it.
” The La Nina is currently moderate and it will turn neutral at the onset of monsoon and will continue to remain so during the season,” M Rajeevan, secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, said.
The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), a phenomenon associated with the sea surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean, is also likely to be positive, Rajeevan said.
He, however, refused to comment whether the monsoon will be normal.
“There are several parameters that have to be looked into before giving a forecast of a normal monsoon,” Rajeevan added.
However, there have been years when there was an El Nino phenomena but the country still received a good monsoon.
The southwest monsoon is considered as lifeline of the country as it not only brings rains in the country where agriculture is a major contributor to the economy, but also fills up the reservoirs.
New Delhi, Mar 26 : The government organised a national conference on Down syndrome here today, to provide parents and families information about latest developments in education and skilling of people with the chromosome disorder.
A book, titled ‘Twilights Children’, based on the lives of persons suffering from Down syndrome was released on the occasion.
Down syndrome is a chromosomal condition associated with intellectual and learning disabilities. Delayed development and behavioural problems are often reported in children suffering from it.
“The objective of this conference was to provide excellent opportunities to the parents to obtain information about latest development in education and skilling of persons with Down syndrome. Moreover, assessment/screening sessions were also conducted for the children with it,” the ministry said in a statement.
The conference was organised by the National Trust, under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
Seoul, March 25: Top officials from South and North Korea will meet next week on the countries’ border to prepare for the inter-Korean summit meeting planned for next month, the South said on Saturday.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry said North Korea has accepted Seoul’s proposal to hold the talks on March 29 to discuss the date and agenda for the summit between President Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un of North Korea.
The Moon-Kim meeting would be the third inter-Korean summit, following similar meetings in 2000 and 2007.
On Thursday, Seoul notified Pyongyang via a border communication channel of its proposal for talks next Thursday on the northern side of the border truce village of Panmunjom, saying the South’s three-member delegation will be led by Cho.
“North Korea delivered its agreement via the border communication channel today, saying it will send a three-member delegation headed by Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Committee for Peaceful Reunification,” the ministry said in a release, reports South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.
Brussels, Mar 25: The European Union (EU) has confirmed that its Ambassador in Russia has been recalled and expected to return to Brussels at the weekend, an Euronews report said.
It comes as the Russian deadline for 23 British diplomats is looming, over the UK spy attack.
A convoy of vehicles left the British Embassy in Moscow on Friday ahead of a Russian deadline.
The bloc’s leaders expressed their support for UK Prime Minister Theresa May.
Theresa May, British Prime Minister said: “I welcomed the agreement last night from the EU Council, that they accepted, the agreed, the United Kingdom’s government’s assessment that it was highly likely that Russia was responsible for the attempted murder that took place on the streets on Salisbury and that there was no plausible alternative explanation.
Beijing, Mar 25: China has warned the US it will defend its interests on trade, Chinese state media says, after US President Donald Trump backed tariffs on Chinese goods.
The comments came in a phone call between China’s vice-premier Liu He and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the BBC News reported on Saturday.
Mr Trump has announced plans to impose tariffs on up to $60bn (£42.5bn) of Chinese goods, accusing China of intellectual property theft.
The move has rattled markets and stoked fears of a trade war.
New Delhi, Mar 25: One of the largest global asset management organisations, Morgan Stanley Investment Management said that there is no boom in the Indian Economy.
The true boom that we saw in India was between 2003 and 2007 which was last decade.
In an interview with CNN-News18 which will be telecast on Saturday night, Ruchir Sharma, Chief Global Strategist of Morgan Stanley Investment Management said, “That was the time when the global economy was booming and our exports were growing at 30 per cent a year.
Whether it’s the consumption of your goods or cement or construction or real estate, every single thing today is lower, the magnitude is the only thing by which it differs, by how much lower, like construction, real estate are really in the dumps.”
He further said, “What we have now basically is a sort of steady incremental story.
Pune, Mar 25 : For the first time in India, Psychometric test for working, self-employed and business women was launched in Pune with a view to assess their entrepreneurship skills before investing in a new venture, informed Dr Anant Sardeshmukh, Director General of Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA).
In an interview to UNI, Dr Sardeshmukh said,”The objective of this test is to identify entrepreneurship characteristics among women and prepare for the development of the same. After the test, they can have a fair idea whether they can plunge in entrepreneurship and if there is any short coming. This clarity will further help them boost their confidence and morale. It will also help the Chamber to facilitate and guide the women interested in starting their business or even upgrade the established business.”
“This test, useful for working, aspiring and business women, will help them to find out whether they can be an entrepreneur. What entrepreneurial characteristics they have and what are minimum needs for development. This test measures abilities, orientations and personality factors. A development plan is prepared for the skills necessary for successful entrepreneurship,”he said.
This pilot project was launched to celebrate the ‘ International Woman’s day’ by MCCIA in association with Jnana Prabodhini last month with a view to give clarity, thus make choice about the career and to enhance various skills required for starting or running the different types of businesses. The test, takes three hours to complete, is available in written format in English and Marathi languages. Test report will be sent through an email after eight working days after the test is solved, he elaborated.
In this program, a person’s strengthes and weaknesses to do business can be chalked out. On that basis, weaknesses can be overcomed by various skilled developmental programmes of the MCCIA. “There is a huge demand for such test from all quarters of society for various types of businesses and our second batch is ready for testing this month,”he added
When asked about the necessity of such a programme, he said such initiative was the need of the hour as Indian economy is passing through a mixed phase. There are challenges of climate change (which include economic and social challenges) , pollution and employbility. The solution lies in excellence, innovation and entrepreneurship. The Chamber’s functioning is supported by value systems. MCCIA will help build the ecosystem for different stakeholders, he said.
He further informed this novel program was launched on the occasion of the completion of the one year of the Diamond grade Rating awarded to MCCIA in March 2017. MCCIA is the first “state level” regional Chamber to be accredited with the highest rating by the National Accreditation Board for Education and Training (which accredits Business Membership Organizations, Industry Associations and Chambers) under Quality Council of India (QCI) , Government of India.
The Accreditation process has been developed by the Ministry of MSME, GIZ (Germany), Quality Council of India and is based on and aligned to International Best practices, in Governance, Operations, Services, and Performance Measurement and Reviews. The rating is the Hall Mark of Quality, Credibility, and capability of the organization. This rating offers opportunities to link with national and international agencies, makes available loans to members from financial institutions at competitive rates and reduced processing fees, he informed.
Syrian rebel fighters on Friday left one pocket of battered Eastern Ghouta and reached a deal to quit another as the regime drew close to regaining full control over the key enclave after a more than month-long battle.
A blistering Russian-backed assault since February 18 on the last opposition bastion near Damascus had splintered rebel territory into three shrinking pockets, each held by different factions.
Damascus and its ally Moscow have implemented a “leave or die” strategy with deadly air strikes on the enclave as they look to end six years of opposition control.
State television said the town of Harasta had “been emptied of terrorists” after a deal that saw fighters from Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham and their families bussed to northwestern Idlib province, still largely rebel-held.
The evacuation extended regime dominance to over 90 percent of the bombed-out Ghouta enclave that the rebels have clung to through years of punishing government siege, a Britain-based war monitor said.
President Bashar al-Assad’s forces look set to expand their control soon over another key area after Islamist group Faylaq al-Rahman struck a deal to evacuate starting at 0700 GMT on Saturday.
The agreement will see a southern stretch of territory that includes the towns of Zamalka, Arbin and Ain Tarma cleared, while talks are under way over the third and final pocket, around Ghouta’s main town of Douma.
The withdrawal deal came after Russian air strikes using “incendiary munitions” hit the town of Arbin late Thursday, killing 37 civilians, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. AFP reporters saw similar munitions fall on Douma.
But Russia denied it was carrying out any such strikes.
New Delhi, Mar 23 : Tata Steel, one of the leading steel producers in the world with an annual crude steel capacity of 27.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), on friday announced that it has won a bid to acquire bankrupt Bhushan Steel Ltd, for an undisclosed sum of money.
Though the amount is not disclosed by TATA Group, but sources said the all-cash deal was worth over Rs 35,000 crore.
On the completion of the acquiring process, this will help Tata Steel to become India’s biggest steel maker.
While announcing the bid, Tata Steel in its statement said, ‘Tata Steel Limited (Tata Steel) hereby informs that it has been declared as the successful resolution applicant by the Committee of Creditors (CoC) of Bhushan Steel Limited (BSL) on March 22, 2018, subject to obtaining necessary regulatory approvals, including approval from the NCLT and the Competition Commission of India.
‘Tata Steel has accepted the Letter of Intent for BSL under the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 (IBC),’ the statement added.
As per the estimates, Bhushan Steel will add 5.6 million tonnes of capacity to Tata Steel’s current 13 MTPA production capacity.
BSL, which was on the RBI’s first list of 12 companies to be referred to the bankruptcy court, claims to be India’s third largest secondary steel producer, with an annual capacity of 5.6 million tonnes.
Washington, Mar 23 : US National security adviser HR McMaster has resigned and will be replaced by former US ambassador and Fox News analyst John Bolton, President Donald Trump has announced in a tweet.
“I pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Adviser. I am very thankful for the service of General HR McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/19.”
“The two have been discussing this for some time. The timeline was expedited as they both felt it was important to have the new team in place, instead of constant speculation,” a White House official said.
“This was not related to any one moment or incident, rather it was the result of ongoing conversations between the two.”
“After 34 years of service to our nation, I am requesting retirement from the US Army effective this summer after which I will leave public service. Throughout my career it has been my greatest privilege to serve alongside extraordinary servicemembers and dedicated civilians,” McMaster said in a statement released by the White House.
“I am thankful to President Donald J Trump for the opportunity to serve him and our nation as national security adviser. I am grateful for the friendship and support of the members of the National Security Council who worked together to provide the President with the best options to protect and advance our national interests,” the statement said.
Trump and Bolton have been discussing for weeks how he could replace McMaster. According to a source familiar with those negotiations, Bolton promised Trump “he wouldn’t start any wars” if he was selected.
Shortly after the news broke, Bolton said on Fox News that he wasn’t expecting an announcement to be made Thursday afternoon.
Bolton’s hard edged, hawkish views on issues like North Korea, Iraq and Syria make him a controversial pick to become the next national security adviser — particularly considering that talks with North Korea may soon be possible.
Seoul, Mar 22 : Japan, China and South Korea are considering setting a proposed summit among the three countries for early May, an executive at the office of South Korean President Moon Jae In has said.
If the tripartite summit, to be hosted by Japan, is arranged, Moon would visit the country for the first time since he took office in May 2017.