NATIONAL
Nirbhaya case: A Delhi court on January 17 issued fresh death warrants for February 1, at 6 am against the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case. Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora was hearing a plea by one of the four death row convicts in the case, Mukesh Kumar Singh, seeking postponement of the date of his execution scheduled for January 22. Public Prosecutor Irfan Ahmed informed the court that Mukesh’s mercy plea was rejected by President Ram Nath Kovind on January 17. Then the warrant was issued.
KoPT: Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT), the oldest operating port in India, is expected to present its own tableau, under the aegis of the union shipping ministry, in the upcoming Republic Day parade in New Delhi on January 26. The oldest surviving major port in the country, which completed 150 years in November last year, will showcase its rich history under the tagline of ‘Glorious Past Vibrant Future’.
Punjab: The Punjab Assembly on January 17 passed a resolution by voice vote against the Citizenship Amendment Act, after Kerala. The resolution moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Brahm Mohindra was passed after over three hours of discussion. The SAD sought inclusion of Muslims in the list of communities that could be granted citizenship under the amended law.
Punjab: The Punjab Assembly on January 17 ratified a bill to extend reservation to the SCs and STs in legislatures for another 10 years. The motion to ratify the Constitution (126th Amendment) Bill 2019, was moved by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. The bill was passed by the Assembly unanimously without any debate.
INTERNATIONAL
China: Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor has agreed to buy General Motors’Â car plant in Maharashtra, two sources aware of the matter said. Great Wall, one of the biggest sellers of sports-utility vehicles (SUV) in China, is expected to pay about $250 million to $300 million to acquire the plant, one of the sources said.
China: For the first time, the per capita GDP of China, has exceeded the $10,000-mark in 2019, a top official said on January 17. The per capita Gross Domestic Product in 2019 reached 10,276 US dollars at the average exchange rate, exceeding the 10,000-dollar mark, Director of the National Bureau of Statistics, Ning Jizhe said.
ECONOMY
RIL: Reliance Industries on January 17 posted a quarterly net profit of Rs 11,640 crore on a consolidated basis, up 13.5 percent year-on-year (YoY) for the quarter ended December 31, 2019. Revenue; however, decreased by 1.4 percent YoY to Rs 168,858 crore.
Tax Department: The tax department today raised the GST collection target to Rs 1.15 trillion over the next two months and Rs 1.25 trillion for March month after checking fraudulent input tax credit claims. The decision was taken in a high-level meeting chaired by Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey held on January 17.
ED: The Enforcement Directorate today filed a charge sheet against former Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd CMD Sanjay Singal and others in a multi-crore money laundering case linked to an alleged bank loan fraud. The charge sheet was filed before Special Judge Arun Bhardwaj.
Air India: The Centre is going to issue the expression of interest (EoI) and the share purchase agreement (SPA) for debt-ridden Air India’s privatization within the next three to four days, a senior government official said on January 17. The official said that “a group of ministers, headed by Union home minister (Amit Shah), had on January 7 approved the EoI and the SPA for the airline”.
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British Monarch has appointed 114 barristers and solicitors as new Queen’s Counsel in England and Wales. Read full news