Raising ongoing demand for conferring Bharat Ratna on Veer Savarkar, the Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday informed the Lok Sabha that recommendations for this award is received regularly but no formal recommendation for it is necessary.
NATIONAL HEADLINES
BSNL: Nearly one lakh BSNL employees are eligible for the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) out of its total staff strength of about 1.50 lakh. The effective date of voluntary retirement under the present scheme is January 31, 2020.
Goa: The Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry has sent a letter to Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant stating it would form a committee to look into the decision to exclude Karnataka’s Kalasa-Banduri project on Mahadayi River from the need for environmental clearance.The letter, dated November 18, was in response to a memorandum submitted on November 4 by an all-party Goa delegation led by Sawant, officials said here today. Goa recently protested over a reported Central permission to Karnataka to go ahead with the Kalasa Banduri project which aims at providing drinking water to three north Karnataka districts by diverting Mahadayi water.
Lynching: Only Rajasthan and Manipur have passed bills on action to be taken against those involved in lynching but the legislations are yet to get the President’s consent, the Lok Sabha was informed today. Union minister of state for home Nityananda Rai said the Centre, following a Supreme Court directive, has issued two advisories to state governments to check incidents of lynching.
The Indira Gandhi Prize: The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2019 will be conferred on renowned naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough.His name was selected for the prize by an international jury chaired by former president Pranab Mukherjee, the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust announced today.
Indian Railways: The Indian Railways has cut away the Railway Board by 25 per cent, cutting down its strength from 200 to 150 by transferring director-level officials and above to zones in a long-pending move to enhance efficiency, according to an official order. The transferred officers are from across railway cadres – 10 each from IRSE and IRTS, seven from IRAS, six from IRSME, five each from IRSEE and IRSSE, three each from IRSS and IRPS and one from RPF.
Stockholm: A Swedish prosecutor says the alleged rape investigation involving WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is currently in prison in Britain, has been discontinued.
Bank fraud: In a staggering rise in bank fraud, the country’s public sector lenders reported embezzlement of over Rs 95,760 crore in the first six months (April-September) of the current financial year (2019-20) with the number of cases reaching 5,743.
Ramdev: Baba Ramdev in a recent TV interview had declared that the followers of social activist Periyar E V Ramaswamy were following intellectual terrorism. Ramdev conducting free five-day Yoga camp in Udupi.
J&K: Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy Tuesday informed the Lok Sabha that 765 people were arrested for their involvement in stone-pelting incidents in Jammu-Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370.
Maoist link: Days after the arrest of two Communist Party of India-Marxist student members under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for their alleged Maoist links, a Senior party leader has stirred up a controversy by stating that the ultras were receiving help from Islamic militant organisations based in Kozhikode.
INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES
Pakistan: A special Pakistani court today reserved its judgement in the high treason case against former dictator Gen. Pervez Musharraf and said that the verdict will be announced on November 28, according to media reports. The previous Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government had filed the treason case against the 76-year-old ex-army chief Musharraf in 2013 over the imposition of extra-constitutional emergency in November 2007.
China: Ford Motor is considering making its new electric Mustang Mach-E in China, depending on how the trade war between Washington and Beijing plays out, CEO Jim Hackett said.
Donald Trump: A majority of Americans believe President Donald Trump should be impeached and removed from office for his controversial Ukraine actions, according to the first poll after the launch of public hearings in Congress. Fifty-one per cent of those asked said they think Trump should be tried and convicted in the US Senate, while another six per cent favour impeachment but not removal, according to the ABC News-Ipsos poll released on November 18.
Iran: The UN’s nuclear watchdog said on November 18, that Iran’s stock of heavy water for reactors was in excess of the limit set under its agreement with world powers. The International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement that Iran’s heavy water production plant was in operation and that its stock of heavy water was 131.5 tones, above the 130-tonne limit.
MARKET TODAY
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Reliance Jio: Reliance Jio on Tuesday said it will hike its tariff rates in the next few weeks. The statement from the Mukesh Ambani-led company comes a day after Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea Ltd announcing a hike in call and data charges from next month. Meanwhile, Jio added 69.83 lakh new users to its network in September this year while Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel lost over 49 lakh users, according to TRAI data.
Passenger Vehicles Sales: Automobile dealers’ body FADA today said retail sales of passenger vehicles in October increased 11 per cent to 2, 48,036 units due to festive demand during the month. Two-wheeler sales increased 5 per cent to 13,34,941 units last month. Commercial vehicle sales, however, declined 23 per cent to 67,060 units. Three-wheeler sales saw an increase of 4 per cent to 59,573 units last month.
Tariffs Hike: Telecom operators Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel, will hike tariffs starting December 1, the companies said in a surprise announcement on18th November. The first telecom tariff hike in several years follows record second-quarter losses reported by the two operators.
Budget: The government is setting the tone for 2020-21 Union Budget with a clear focus on steps to encourage private investment, sources said. If welfare schemes were at the centre of Budget-making in the past few years, private investment, economic growth, and tax incentives are expected to be the dominant themes now, they pointed out.
