Archives for July 2018

PNB fraud: Choksi denies any truth in allegations

July 30, 2018 by Nasheman

Fugitive diamond jeweller Mehul Choksi, who is wanted by Indian investigative agencies in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, has denied “any truth in the allegations”.

In a statement issued to a Caribbean newspaper ‘Antigua Observer’, Choksi through his attorney David Dorsett said: “I can say categorically, that there is no truth in those allegations.”

On or about July 24, the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) issued a press statement in response to an online story from an Indian media outlet reporting on certain allegations made against Choksi by the Indian authorities and the media.

According to this CIU statement on Wednesday, Choksi was granted citizenship by registration in November 2017 and he swore the Oath of Allegiance in Antigua on January 15, 2018.

The CIU also said that Choksi’s application was granted “after robust due diligence and international investigation by reputable agencies, including the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) and the CARICOM Implementing Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS)”.

The CIU also said that “the 2017 investigation revealed no derogatory information about Choksi”.

The owner of the Gitanjali group firms further said that in January 2018, “I had need to visit the US to receive medical treatment. Having received treatment I am still in a state convalescence.”

“That being the case, I have decided to reside in Antigua and Barbuda, the country of my citizenship, and to abide by the laws of the country,” he said.

His remarks came three days after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said it had written to the Antiguan authorities seeking details of Choksi’s whereabouts in connection with the PNB fraud case.

On Tuesday it was revealed that Choksi had moved to Antigua from the US several weeks ago using an Antiguan passport.

The revelation came from Antiguan authorities in response to a CBI diffusion notice circulated to foreign countries through Interpol.

The CBI came to know of it last week and shared the information with the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Both the CBI and the ED have been probing the multi-crore fraud allegedly committed between 2011-2017 by Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi.

Choksi also said that “I can, however, state that I lawfully applied to be registered as a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda under the Citizenship by Investment Program.

“During the course of my application I did all that was lawfully required of me to do,” he claimed, adding, “My application for citizenship was in due course approved.”

Choksi also claimed that his application was motivated by his desire to expand his business interest in the Caribbean and to obtain visa free travel access to 130 countries.

“That remains my reason for choosing to become a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda,” he said.

The red corner notice (RCN) request from the CBI to the Interpol against Choksi is still pending.

Earlier in July, the Interpol issued the RCN against fugitive diamond jeweller Nirav Modi, his brother, a Belgian national, Nishal Modi and an executive of his firm Subhash Parab.

Three children starve to death in New Delhi

July 27, 2018 by Nasheman

India’s public was in shock on Thursday as authorities confirmed three children starved to death in the national capital of the fastest-growing economy in the world.

Mansi, 8, Shikha, 4, and two-year-old Parul were declared dead in a New Delhi hospital on Tuesday, bringing malnourishment and hunger within India into sharp focus.

The disbelief was so great that authorities opted for a second postmortem to confirm the children had indeed died of starvation.

Police accounts said the children were left to fend for themselves because their father, Mangal Singh, was missing and their mother, Beena, struggled with “mental health issues”.

Reports confirmed the minors died of “gross malnutrition”.

“The forensic test that was done at our hospital clearly suggests the children who were looking marasmic died of hunger. The pictures depicted gross malnutrition, there was no hint of fat anywhere on their bodies,” Dr Amita Saxena, medical superintendent at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital in New Delhi, told Al Jazeera.

“When we opened their bodies up, the stomach was empty, the bladder and the rectum were empty, as well. There were no signs to show that the kids had eaten anything in the past eight to nine days,” she added.

The children’s mother Beena, 29, is struggling to answer police queries, Constable Sateesh at Mandawali police station, where a case has been registered, told Al Jazeera.

Nikhil Dey from Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, a peasant and workers’ organisation in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, described the case as a “tragedy beyond words”.

“Starvation deaths are happening under the radar in many villages across India. But these Delhi deaths are glaring because they took place in the national capital, where people have so much in terms of wealth, money and availability of resources,” Dey told Al Jazeera.

“The parents of the kids – a rickshaw puller and a mentally unstable person – these are double, triple-vulnerable Indians with young children in a big city.”

According to 2011 government data, 65 million Indians live in slums that lack basic facilities. Multiple starvation deaths were reported this year in Jharkhand, one of India’s poorest states.

Dey said the crisis is caused by rising inequality and a failure of the implementation of public distribution systems.

“Wealth is increasing in the hands of the one percent and is flowing less and less to those at the bottom. Our public distribution systems need to worry about the terrible tragedies that result out of these exclusions,” he said.

Up to 670 million Indians, who comprise the poorest half of the population, saw just one percent increase in their wealth while the richest one percent cornered 73 percent of the national income generated in the country last year, according to a 2018 report by anti-poverty charity Oxfam.

Blockchain can add $5 bn to Indian economy in 5 years: Nasscom official

July 27, 2018 by Nasheman

By increasing productivity and reducing cost, Blockchain technology has the potential to create the value of up to $5 billion in India in the next five years, a top official of IT industry’s apex body Nasscom has stressed.

“The Blockchain ecosystem is evolving in India. Creating awareness on how this technology is simpler and easier to use with the existing social media and Cloud technology can go a long way in helping the country realize its potential,” KS Viswanathan, Vice President (Industry Initiative), Nasscom, told IANS in an interview.

Based on the distributed storage of data, Blockchain technology can enhance the speed of transactions while increasing transparency. It is widely recognized as having the potential to transform several sectors of the economy, including banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) industry, travel, retail, healthcare, and supply chain, among others.

But despite its potential, the response of Indian organizations to adopt this technology has been far from enthusiastic.

The primary factors that are holding back the widespread deployment of this technology in India is lack of awareness, unavailability of adequate skilled persons and insufficient computing infrastructure, Viswanathan, who also head Nasscom’s 10,000 Startups initiative, said.

“There are currently just 20-30 good Blockchain startups in the country,” Viswanathan said, adding that one way to increase investment in Blockchain is to invest in startups.

To create awareness on the importance of the technology and develop skill sets for Blockchain adoption and deployment in India, Nasscom in February tied up with Blockchain Research Institute (BRI), Canada.

The two entities agreed to collaborate on various activities, including joint webinars and knowledge sharing.

The industry body earlier this month also launched a platform, called FutureSkills, for skills development in eight varied technologies — Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR), robotic process automation, Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data analytics, 3D printing, Cloud computing, and social and mobile.

This platform was launched with the aim of up-skilling two million technology professions and skilling another two million potential employees and students over the next few years.

While cybersecurity was later added to the list as the 9th skill, Viswanathan said that Blockchain will be added to the list as the 10th skill by October this year.

In collaboration with BRI, Nasscom also started the first Nasscom Industry Partnership Programme (NIPP) Blockchain challenge from June this year.

The shortlisted teams will come together for a 36-hour session in Bangaluru, to be held on July 28-29, to explore new opportunities for co-creating innovative solutions in the areas of Blockchain technology.

For the challenge, eight large corporates including Fidelity Investments, Larsen & Toubro Infotech (LTI), ICICI Bank, Amdocs, SAP Labs, Wipro and IBM (which is also the knowledge partner) have joined the initiative as strategic partners.

“Boosting skill levels, creating awareness on how this technology is simpler and easier to use with the existing social media and Cloud technology, organizing multiple hackathons and getting international research papers on Blockchain published are among the priorities that Nasscom is focusing on to increase deployment of the technology,” Viswanathan said.

He said that time is not yet ripe for India to think about a regulatory framework specifically for Blockchain as it can come under the ambit of regulations on data security and privacy.

CID probe begins into sale of infants at Ranchi shelter home

July 27, 2018 by Nasheman

Jharkhand Police’s CID has begun investigations into a case involving the sale of several newborns at the Nirmal Hriday home of the Missionaries of Charity here, official sources said on Friday.

The Crime Investigation Department’s Inspector Mohammad Nehal, appointed the Investigating Officer, began the probe on Thursday and took into custody documents and a copy of the FIR from Kotwali police station.

A CID official said after going through the case files, shelter home officials and the couples who “purchased” the babies will be questioned.

The racket in the sale of infants at the Ranchi shelter home came to light on July 3, with reports of the sale of at least six children to childless couples in the past one year. A police case was registered on July 4.

The Missionaries of Charity is a philanthropic organization founded by Mother Teresa.

The FIR said that a child born to an unwed girl staying in the home was sold to a couple from Uttar Pradesh. Two sisters of Nirmal Hriday, Konsilia and Meridian, were questioned in the case and police claimed they “confessed” to their crime.

Sister Konsilia and a staffer of Missionaries of Charity were arrested and four children recovered, based on their information.

The Missionaries of Charity claimed implication in a false case.

NDMC to install 75 water ATMs

July 27, 2018 by Nasheman

New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) Vice Chairman Karan Singh Tanwar on Friday announced that the civic body will install 75 water ATMs in the city, as part of an ongoing project.

“We’ve collaborated with Jana Jae to undertake an increase in the number of Water ATMs inside and outside of strategic areas including tourist places, hospitals, parks, and slums,” he said.

“We aim to provide clean drinking water to our citizens at very affordable prices and also reduce the wastage. In addition, this initiative will also cut down plastic usage and waste”, he added.

Water in these ATMs will be available for Rs 2 per glass.

Paper glasses will be available at every ATM and

GST replaced ‘Congress legacy tax’ with ‘good and simple tax’: Jaitley

July 27, 2018 by Nasheman

Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said the GST has replaced the ‘Congress Legacy Tax’ — which was 31 percent for most goods — with a ‘good and simple tax’, adding that the existing 28 percent slab will be phased out following further improvement in revenue collections.

“It is an opportunity to celebrate the biggest tax reform since Independence, which has replaced ‘Congress Legacy Tax’ with a ‘good and simple tax’,” he said in a Facebook post.

“The pre-GST tariff was a Congress party legacy. The standard rate for central excise plus VAT plus CST (Central Sales Tax) was 12% + 14% + 2%. To this, if the cascading effect of the tax on tax was added, the eventual tax payable on a commodity was 31 percent.

“Items of household use – from mineral water, hair oil, toothpaste, soap, dairy, to construction material and white goods – were all taxed at 31 percent. The total number of goods falling in this category was 235. This 31 percent tax was Congress party’s gift imposed on India. This tax was the ‘Congress Legacy Tax’,” he said.

The Minister added that the day GST was implemented, several items earlier proposed to be put in the 28 percent category (where the 31 percent items were adjusted) were brought down to 18 percent.

“Within a record period of thirteen months, the GST Council has almost phased out the 28 percent category. It is only a matter of time that the final obituary of the ‘Congress Legacy Tax’ is written. Only the luxury-sin tax would remain,” Jaitley said.

Around 177 items were shifted from the 28 percent slab on November 10, 2017, and another 15 items on July 21 this year.

“If the entire category of all the slabs is taken, the past one year has seen a reduction of tax in 384 commodities with no increase on a single product. India has never witnessed such mass tax reduction since Independence. Lesser rates and higher collection is the result,” the Minister said.

He added that bulk of the items remaining in the 28 percent category were luxury items or in goods.

“The other items outside the luxury-sin goods category are cement, air-conditioners, large screen televisions and a handful of others. Hopefully, with further expansion of revenues, these few items may also witness a change of category,” he said.

“Similarly in the services category, which has now become a part of the GST, on four different occasions 68 different categories of services have witnessed their rates reduced. The net revenue loss which the government has suffered on account of the reduction of tax on goods and services is about Rs 70,000 crore,” he added.

Jaitley said the revenue burden was entirely borne from the share of the Central government since state governments had been guaranteed a 14 percent increase over their pre-GST revenues for the first five years.

Kerala CM: Cyber bullies face action for trolling college girl

July 27, 2018 by Nasheman

A 19-year-old Bachelor of Science student from Kochi was trolled on social media for selling fish after college hours. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday directed the state police to register a case against the cyber bullies.

Hanan Hamid, a final year graduate studying Chemistry in a college near Kochi had attracted attention after it came to light that she was eking out a livelihood by selling fish and also doing odd jobs as a junior artiste in films.

She did all this to take care of her ailing mother, who is separated from her husband.

After the vernacular media highlighted her travails, the cyber bullies trolled Hamid for faking it as they spotted her with celebrities like superstar Mohanlal.

They even went a step further suggesting that she was doing all that just to land a role with Mohanlal’s son Pranav Mohanlal.

There was no respite in bullying despite her passionate pleas that she was “not a fake and a genuine hardworking girl.”
It was only after TV channels reported her travails that on Friday Kerala State Women’s Commission chairperson M.C. Josephine took suo motto cognizance and registered a case against these bullies.

The Commission also asked state police chief Loknath Behra for a report.

Vijayan wrote on his Facebook page on Friday that entire Kerala is with Hamid as she is the “epitome of dedication, commitment and hardwork”.

“The social media is a double-edged sword and Hanan need not look back , and she can go forward strongly as Kerala will be always with her,” the Chief Minister wrote.

It was soon after Vijayan’s post, that the direction came from his office to the police to see that a case be registered against all the “bullies” and also directed Ernakulam District Collector to see that she is given all the support.

Former Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan also came out in support of Hamid and said that it was most unfortunate that a section in the social media is making life miserable for someone like her, “who at this young age is shouldering several responsibilities and has become a role model”.

“A case should be registered against all those who have verbally abused this girl,” said Achuthanandan.

Modi enquires about Karunanidhi’s health, offers assistance

July 27, 2018 by Nasheman

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday spoke to DMK leaders M.K. Stalin and M.K. Kanimozhi to inquire about the health of party President M. Karunanidhi and offered necessary assistance.

“Spoke to Thiru M.K. Stalin and Kanimozhi. Enquired about the health of Karunanidhiji and offered any assistance required. I pray for his quick recovery and good health,” Modi tweeted.

The Prime Minister’s remarks came a day after it was revealed that the 94-year-old veteran leader was suffering from urinary tract infection and is being treated at home.

Modi is currently on his five-day, three-nation tour of Africa.

The Kauvery Hospital which is monitoring his health said in a statement on Thursday that there has been a slight decline in Karunanidhi’s health due to age-related ailments.

“He is currently being treated… with intravenous antibiotics and fluids. He is being monitored and treated round the clock by a team of medical and nursing professionals, who are providing hospital-level care at his home,” Kauvery Hospital’s Executive Director Aravindan Selvaraj said.

India, China agree to maintain border tranquility

July 27, 2018 by Nasheman

India and China reiterated their commitment to maintaining peace and tranquility along their border by enhancing communications between their militaries during a meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the annual BRICS Summit here.

“Both leaders have reaffirmed once again their readiness to give their militaries the necessary directions to enhance communications between them and to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas,” Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said at a media briefing here on Thursday evening.

Indian and Chinese troops were in a face-off position for over two months on the Doklam plateau at the India-Bhutan-China tri-junction last year.

The stand-off began in June when Indian troops stalled a road building by the Chinese Army in the area, citing the disputed status of the region and its close proximity to India’s artery in the northeast.

New Delhi objected to Chinese road building in Doklam because of the disputed status and its proximity to the Siliguri Corridor which links India’s northeast to the rest of the country.

The stand-off ended in August after both sides retreated from the point of the face-off.

Thursday’s meeting was the third between Modi and Xi after their informal meeting in Wuhan, China, in April initiated by Xi, and on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Summit (SCO) last month.

During the Wuhan meet, both Modi and Xi pledged to keep the India-China border quiet and personally guide their respective armies to avert a Doklam-like military stand-off in future.

According to Gokhale, during the meeting in Johannesburg, both sides saw “forward movement in the sense of delegations going to have specific talks on imports by China”.

He said that a delegation representing the Indian pharmaceutical industry will visit China on August 21-22.

Beijing had given the approval to import of generic Indian cancer-treatment drugs earlier this year.

“In addition, a number of Indian mills in the non-Basmati rice sector have been cleared by a Chinese delegation on the grounds of phytosanitary and quarantine requirement,” the Indian Foreign Secretary said.

Following the Modi-Xi meeting in Qingdao, the 2006 Protocol on phytosanitary requirements for exporting rice from India to China was amended to include the export of non-Basmati varieties of rice from India.

Gokhale described the bilateral meeting as “very productive”.

“The two leaders will meet again on the margins of the G20 Summit in Argentina at the end of this year,” he added.

Modi and Xi earlier in the day participated in the 10th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Summit here.

PNB fraud: Choksi denies any truth in allegations

July 27, 2018 by Nasheman

Fugitive diamond jeweler Mehul Choksi, who is wanted by Indian investigative agencies in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, has denied “any truth in the allegations”.