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Rahul ‘won’t allow conspiracy to annihilate Constitution’

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 In a veiled attack on the BJP-RSS, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday asserted that he and his party will never allow to succeed those who are conspiring to annihilate Indias Constitution.

“The Constitution of India is the identity of both our struggle and existence. This is our philosophy and our pride. Its colour is in our colours,” tweeted Gandhi in Hindi on the occasion of Constitution Day.

“Those who are conspiring to annihilate it, let them be aware that neither they have the ability nor I and Congress party will ever allow them to do that,” added Gandhi who during his campaigns in the ongoing Assembly elections to five states has been accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party-Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh (BJP-RSS) of “attacking the Constitution”.

Constitution Day is celebrated every year on November 26 to mark adoption of the country’s Constitution. While the Constitution was adopted on November 26, 1949, it came into effect on January 26, 1950.

IANS

No homework for Classes 1, 2; cap on bag weight: Ministry

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 The Centre has asked the states and UTs to ensure that there is no homework for students of Classes 1 and 2 and the guidelines capping the weight of school bags for classes 1-10 are adhered to.

“The Ministry has instructed all states and Union Territories to formulate guidelines to regulate the teaching of subjects and weight of school bags in accordance with Government of India regulations,” read the circular sent out by the Education Secretary of Lakshadweep A. Hamza to school principals, on the basis of a directive by the Union HRD Ministry.

Schools would not ask the students to bring any additional books or materials that could increase their burden of weight, a HRD ministry official said. All the states and UT education departments have been directed on these lines.

The guidelines said school bags for students in Class 1 and 2 should not be above 1.5 kg.

The weight limits stipulated for Classes 3 to 5 (two to three kg), Classes 4 and 5 (four kg), Classes 8 and 9 (4.5 kg), and Class 10 (five kg).

It also directed that Classes 1 and 2 students should be taught only one language and Maths and Classes 3 and 4 only Language, Environmental Studies, and Maths.

The circular was issued just days back, he added.

IANS

RBI may transfer Rs 1 trillion of excess reserves to government

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The Reserve Bank has ‘more than adequate’ reserves and that it can transfer over Rs 1 trillion to the government after a specially constituted panel identifies the ‘excess capital’, says a report.

An RBI board meeting had last Monday decided to form a committee, which is likely to be announced later this week.

“We expect the proposed committee on the RBI’s economic capital framework (ECF) to identify Rs 1-3 trillion which is 0.5-1.6 per cent of GDP as excess capital,” analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a note Monday.

The brokerage report said as per its stress tests, the central bank can transfer Rs 1 trillion to the government if the transfer is limited to passing excess contingency reserve and can go up to Rs 3 trillion if the total capital is included.

Giving a break-up, the report said Rs 1.05 trillion can be transferred if the contingency reserve is capped at 3.5 percent of the RBI book. It further said this level will be 75 percent higher than the average of BRICS economies, excluding India.

Additional forms of transfers can include Rs 1.16 trillion from the contingency reserves if one restricts to yield rise of 4.5 percent as against 9 percent at present.

Limiting the appreciation cover in RBI’s currency and gold revaluation account to 25 percent (Rs 53.25 per US Dollar) will release about Rs 72,000 crore to the government, it said.

It also said capping the overall reserves at 20 percent of the RBI’s book as against 28.3 percent now and higher than 18 percent recommended by the Usha Thorat panel will be able to release Rs 3.11 trillion.

The statutes do not prohibit transfer of excess capital to the government, it said, pointing out that the RBI Act places no bar as long as government maintains Rs 5 crore of reserve funds under Sec 46 of the RBI Act.

While Section 47 enjoins the RBI to credit its annual surplus to the national exchequer, after provisions, it does not place any restrictions on further transfers, it added.

The RBI’s contingency reserves at 7 percent are higher than the BRICS (excluding India) average of 2 percent, it said, adding the revaluation reserves are also on the higher side relative to BRICS central banks.

As per a press statement after the nine-hour marathon board meeting, the government and RBI will be jointly deciding on the panel constitution and also its terms of reference.

Following widespread criticism from many quarters, finance minister Arun Jaitley had said over the weekend that government did not need any support from the RBI’s reserves for the next six months.

However, multiple reports had claimed that the government is eyeing the extra cash which will help it in the run-up to the elections.

This comes amidst falling GST collections and little borrowing window left for the government, as it has already used up close to 96 per cent of borrowings as of end October.

By taking the money from the RBI, the government will only increase its fiscal deficit, as it will have to issue bonds to the central bank.

The government for the second year in a row has pegged fiscal deficit at 3.3 per cent of GDP this fiscal year.

Many analysts are expecting government to overshoot this by at least 20-30 bps by March.

PTI

Rs 37 lakh looted in Gurugram

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 Three bike-borne men on Monday looted Rs 37 lakh from the cashier of a cocking gas agency here in an upscale residential area of Gurugram, police said.

The incident occurred in the South City Phase 1 around 12 noon. The gas agency belongs to BJP district spokesperson and local councillor Kuldeep Yadav’s family.

“Sushil Lathar, cashier of Urvashi Enterprises, was about to move in a Creta car towards a bank to deposit Rs 37 lakh in cash. Three men came on a bike and snatched the bag containing the amount after threatening to shoot him,” said a senior police officer.

“The cash could not be deposited in the bank the previous three days due to bank holidays. I sent my cashier to deposit the amount but the money was looted outside my house,” Mahender Singh Yadav, owner of the LPG agency, told the police.

Cashier Lathar said he may have seen two of the three miscreants earlier somewhere but could not recognise them.

CBI gets sanction to prosecute Chidambaram in Aircel-Maxis deal case

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 The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday told a Delhi court that it has received requisite sanction from the competent authority to prosecute former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in the Aircel-Maxis deal case.

The investigation agency, however, sought more time to get prosecution sanction against other accused in the case.

The special court was hearing the anticipatory bail plea of former Minister and his son, and the matter of taking cognisance of the chargesheet.

The CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have opposed the bail plea of the father and son.

Special Judge O.P. Saini, meanwhile, extended the interim protection from arrest of Chidambaram and his son Karti till December 18.

The CBI and the ED are investigating how Karti Chidambaram allegedly managed to get clearance from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in the Aircel-Maxis deal in 2006 when his father was the Union Finance Minister.

The ED on October 25 filed a charge-sheet in the case naming Chidambaram and a few others.

The CBI had on July 19 filed a chargesheet against 18 persons in the case, including the former Finance Minister and Karti.

On August 29, 2014, the CBI had filed a charge-sheet in the case alleging that between July 2004 and September 2008, Dayanidhi Maran, as Minister in the UPA-I government, used his influence to help Malaysian businessman T.A. Ananda Krishnan buy Aircel by coercing its owner Sivasankaran to part with his stake.

Sivasankaran alleged that Maran favoured the Krishnan-owned Maxis Group in the takeover of his company. In return, he alleged, Maxis made investments through Astro Network, a sister concern, in Sun Direct TV Pvt Ltd (SDTPL), stated to be owned by the Maran family.

However, a special court had dropped charges against Dayanidhi Maran, his brother Kalanithi and others in the alleged kickback of Rs 742 crore in the Aircel-Maxis deal, saying the “perception or suspicion” was not backed by concrete evidence.

IANS

PM to address two election rallies in Telangana

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 The BJP’s campaign for next month’s Assembly elections in Telangana is set to gather further momentum with Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to address two election rallies in the state on Tuesday.

Modi will address the first meeting at Nizamabad at 11 a.m. and will then reach Mahabubnagar to address another meeting in the afternoon, state BJP leaders said.

These meetings are expected to intensify the campaign of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the December 7 elections to the state Assembly.

According to BJP’s Telangana unit president K. Laxman, Modi will again campaign in Telangana on December 3. He will address a public meeting in Hyderabad.

BJP President Amit Shah on Sunday addressed four public meetings in different parts of the state. He is scheduled to address more meetings on November 28 and December 2.

The BJP is contesting all 119 Assembly seats on its own.

IANS

India to play football friendly against Oman

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India will be playing an International Friendly against Oman on December 27 in Abu Dhabi as part of their preparation for the forthcoming AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019, it was announced on Monday.

As per the October FIFA Rankings, Oman are currently ranked 84 in comparison to India on 97.

All India Football Federation General Secretary Kushal Das said it’s important that the National Team plays “stronger opposition” in their quest to prepare better for the Asian Cup.

“Oman are a very strong team. We were drawn against them in the FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifiers and are aware of their quality and strength. It will be the perfect test for our boys as they gear up for the Asian Cup,” Das said.

“I need to thank the Oman Football Federation for agreeing to play the match in Abu Dhabi,” he added.

National coach Stephen Constantine highlighted the “need to strike a rhythm.”

“It’s now a question of trying to establish a rhythm and making sure we all know what we have to do. In our last game against Jordan, the circumstances were exceptional and that was a good learning experience for all the players,” the coach stated.

Constantine explained that Oman will be very similar to Bahrain and UAE, both of whom India will be facing in the group stage of the AFC Asian Cup.

“Oman will be in some ways very similar to Bahrain and UAE which is why we wanted to play them so that we can get a good idea of what we are going to face in the group stages,” he maintained.

India last played Oman in the FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifiers (in 2015) and lost 1-2 in Bengaluru and 0-4 in Muscat.

Constantine, however, said that the team is a “completely different” outfit now.

“After 3 years, we are a completely different team and I believe we are getting better. It should be a great game for us,” he said.

India will play Thailand in their first match of the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 at the Al Nahyan Stadium on January 6.

IANS

Netherlands win FIH Women’s Hockey Champions Trophy

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The Netherlands outclassed Australia 5-1 to win its seventh Women’s Hockey Champions Trophy at the Wujin Hockey Stadium here.

With the win on Sunday, the reigning world champion has kept its record intact during the tournament and extended its winning streak to 43 matches, reports Xinhua news agency.

“We are always challenging ourselves to be the best we can be. We focus on our performance, not that of our opposition,” head coach Alyson Annan told the official website of the International Hockey Federation.

Apart from the team trophy, the Dutch players also reaped three individual awards of the tournament. Eva de Goede was crowned Best Player, Marijn Veen as Best Scorer and 22-year-old Marijn Veen as Rising Player.

The Best Goalkeeper award went to China’s Ye Jiao, who had excellent performance in the tournament although China lost 6-0 to Argentina to finish fourth.

The tournament featured only six teams, including world’s top four of the Netherlands, Britain, Australia, Argentina as well as Asian Games champion Japan and host China.

Australia finished second, followed by Argentina, China, Britain and Japan.

IANS

Maneka bats for harassment watchdog in police stations, hospitals

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 Union Minister Maneka Gandhi on Monday asked her Home and Health counterparts Rajnath Singh and J.P. Nadda to immediately constitute Internal Complaint Committees (ICC) under the Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act, 2013, in all police departments and hospitals.

“I have been informed that while the ICCs have been put in place in most government offices, the same have not been constituted in the offices of police organisation in the states,” the Women and Child Development (WCD) Minister said in her letter to Singh.

In her letter to Nadda, she raised the same issue of absence of ICCs in some hospitals under the central and state governments.

“I request you to look into this matter and issue suitable directions to the central government hospitals and state health departments to ensure that ICCs are immediately constituted and notified by all hospitals,” Gandhi told Nadda.

She also noted in both the letters that the police and hospital authorities should be advised to use the training material available on the WCD website to sensitise their staff as well as members of the ICCs.

“We have created a fully integrated complaint management system wherein any women can complain regarding sexual harassment to us on our website which has been integrally linked to all ministries, all state governments and most of the districts in the country.

“The National Commission for Women has also set up a separate cell to handle complaints of sexual harassment at workplace,” she wrote.

 

IANS

A big earthquake might be waiting to strike Delhi NCR

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If a large magnitude earthquake occurs in the near future in the northwest (NW) Himalayas region as predicted by a recent study, the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi would suffer very heavy damage.

The 2001 earthquake in Bhuj in Gujarat, which claimed about 10,000 lives, had shown that the destruction by an earthquake is caused by two different types of waves: Shear Waves, confined to about 70 to 100 km from the epicentre and which adversely affect the foundations and basements of structures; and Rayleigh Waves that travel with a velocity between 2.5 to 3 km per second and produce a different type of destructive effect.

These Rayleigh Waves from earthquakes of magnitude above 7.5 become active at a distance beyond 150 to 200 km or more from the epicentre and adversely affect tall structures (height more than 17 meters) as was observed at Ahmedabad city located at a distance of about 320 km from the Bhuj earthquake’s epicentre. Another very important observation was that all structures with “stilted” floors (where the ground floor is used for vehicle parking) were severely damaged. A similar damaging effect by Rayleigh waves was observed in Mexico City, located about 500 km from the epicentre of the 1985 earthquake.

The Himalayan states had been visited by a number of large magnitude earthquakes and a recent study suggests the NW region (mostly Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and parts of Kashmir) is ripe for one. The Delhi NCR escaped major damage from the destructive Rayleigh Waves from past earthquakes because, prior to 1950, there were no high rise buildings there.

But the situation is now different. With its satellite townships of Noida, Greater Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad and Faridabad, NCR Delhi forms a big cluster of high-rise buildings with flyovers, bridges and elevated roads. It is also known that some of the high-rise structures have collapsed during construction itself. Many high-rise buildings have stilted floors. As was witnessed in Ahmedabad after the Bhuj earthquake, all these structures could suffer heavy damage in case of a large magnitude earthquake in the NW Himalayan region with its epicentre in the range of 270 to 350 km from NCR Delhi.

The Himalayan fault is known to have a potential to generate earthquakes up to a magnitude of 8 or more. The foundations in Delhi are not on solid rock but there is excess of soil and crushed rock (murrum) on the ground. In case of a powerful earthquake in the Himalayas, the long scissors of Rayleigh Waves could wildly chop the tall concrete structures in Delhi and neighbouring areas. The possibility that these buildings may collapse like a pack of cards in “Ahmedabad Fashion” cannot be ruled out.

In the opinion of some international expert seismologists, the world could see an increase in the number of strong earthquakes in 2018 and the next few years due to the periodic slowing of the Earth’s rotation. There is a clear correlation between the speed of the earth’s rotation and global earthquake activity, said Roger Billham of the University of Colorado and Rebecca Bendick of the University of Montana, who recently presented their research at a conference in the US.

Fluctuations in the Earth’s rotation are tiny — changing the length of the day by several milliseconds — but could be enough to release vast amounts of underground energy, they have said. It has been reported that on five occasions in the past century, a 25-30 percent increase in annual number of earthquakes (of magnitude 7 or greater) coincided with a slowing in the mean rotation velocity of the Earth.

The slowing down of Length of Day (LoD) normally lasts for six years, after which the earth enters a period of enhanced seismicity. In this century, the LoD started in 2011 and now the year 2018 could be considered a period of higher seismic activity. While the research did not indicate precisely when and where these future earthquakes will occur, it showed that most of the intense earthquakes that responded to changes in day length seemed to occur near the equator.

A destructive earthquake is an extreme geophysical event and 2018 had already been witness to some climatic and atmospheric extremities. These include no water in Johannesburg and to some extent in Rio de Janeiro; thermal high of 48.2 degrees (C) in Churu (Rajasthan) and Gadchiroli (Maharashtra); and an all-time high value (45 degree C) in Vancouver (Canada) that claimed 28 lives. It has also been a record year of snowfall in Europe, America and China-Japan, with 20 causalities.

Currently, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in India are experiencing heavy snowfall up to about 1-1.5 meters. The year 2018 also appears to be an extremity as far as air accidents go. Until June, there were four accidents in Havana (Cuba), Algeria, Kathmandu (Nepal) and Moscow (Russia) together taking 488 lives.

Considering the expert opinions accounting for climatic and atmospheric extremities and keeping in view the reduction in the length of day due to slowing down of earth rotation, it could be assumed that the predicted large magnitude earthquake in the Himalayas could occur most probably in 2018 or its proximity.

 

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