National Political News:
1. Intelligence agencies have warned that 10 Pakistani suspected LET/JEM terrorists have infiltrated into India via the Gujarat cost. Abandoned Pakistani fishing boats have been found near Sir Creek on the Kutch Coast of Gujarat.
Shivratri celebrations all over north India including Rajasthan and Gujarat have been put under heightened security because of intelligence inputs.
2. Art of living, a spiritual organization headed by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is organizing a world cultural festival on the banks of river Yamuna. A sum of over Rs. 25.6 Crores has been spent on its preparations. The festival has been inaugurated by PM Modi and a large number of international and national dignitaries are attending the celebrations.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered the organizers to pay a sum of Rs. 5 crores on account of ecological damage to the area for organization of the festival.
3. Aadhar bill passed in parliament as a money bill. The statutory backing to Aadhar makes it the world’s largest cash transfer programme. The biometric based identity scheme makes Rs. 3.5 Lakh Crores worth of central welfare benefits and services quicker and more reliable to execute.
4. India and IMF host a conference on “Advancing Asia” inaugurated by PM Modi in New Delhi. IMF views India’s rapid economic growth as being the fastest in the world. PM Modi desired at the conference that quota reforms be initiated at the IMF in the face of changing global realities. These reforms shall give India and other emerging economies greater say in the running of world multilateral bodies.
International Political News:
1. Hillacity, the capital of Old Babylon in Iraq, predominantly Shia dominated has come under attack from Islamic state suicide bombers. A explosive laden fuel tanker has been rammed into a Iraqi check point at the city entrance, killing 60 and injuring many more in violent explosions.
2. The American election scene moves on as Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton secure their respective primaries in the state of Louisiana. Clinton also wins the primaries in Mississippi but loses Michigan, Kansas and Nebraska to her rivals Bernie Sanders and Senator Cruz. Donald Trump has had to cancel his Chicago rally in the face of growing protest against his politics of division against the Muslims and other minorities.
3. Pakistan’s North West frontier town of Charsadda is the scene of bomb blast killing 17 in crowded court premises. A suicide bomber blew himself up as a revenge against the hanging of assassin of Salman Taseer, the assassinated governor of Pakistan Panjab.
4. Tunisian town of Ben Guerdan in North Africa, near the Libyan border, stormed by dozens of Islamist fighters attacking army and police posts killing 50 people.
5. North Korea fires a short range 500 km ballistic missile into sea. Japan and South Korea protest against the action. US and South Korea are technically at war with North Korea since 1950-53. The Korean War ended in an armed truce and not a peace agreement.
Business News:
1. Vijay Mallya also known as king of good times has fled to London ahead of the ED probe into the various loans taken by him from Public Sector Banks during the UPA tenure.
2. At the Government’s Gyan Sangam meet at Gurgaon for Public Sector Banks, the merger of various PSB’s to create a fewer number of internationally competitive banks on agenda.
3. Market friendly reforms announced by the government in Oil and Gas sector to usher in new oil exploration regime by relaxing old controls to bring in new investment.
Mining law – MMDR Act has also been relaxed to allow takeover of companies having captive mines.
The Realty bill has been passed by the Rajya Sabha which will bring in new reforms in the sector to cut down delays in delivery of homes to buyers and to put 70% of buyer money in Escrow account for construction. Moreso disclosure of all project details and the price to be quoted on carpet areas instead of super areas are mandated in the passed Bill which is considered buyer friendly.
Science and Technology:
1. A galaxy, 13 billion light years away named as GN-Z11 has been located in the direction of constellation Ursa Major by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The Universe is just 400 million years old. Thus the space time graph stands extended immensely.
Sports:
1. India take home the cricket’s Asia Cup by beating Bangladesh in the finals. India scored 122 for 2 wickets in the allotted overs with Bangladesh replying at 120 for 5 wickets.
2. Real Madrid boosted by Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal beat AS Roma in the last 16 to enter the quarter finals of soccer’s Champions Cup.
3. Tennis super star Maria Sharapova reveals having failed a drug test at the Australian Open. The banned drug is Meldonium used for treating diabetes and magnesium deficiency. The World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) had banned this drug from Jan 1 this year. Sponsor Nike suspends all dealing with her in the wake of the doping controversy.
