8pm NEWSFEED |
- Prashant Kishore Presented Election’24 Plan. Decision Within A Week
- Bypolls: TMC Grabs Both Seats In W.Bengal, Cong. Wins 2, Lalu’s Party Wins In Bihar
- European Union Undermining Its Trade With South-East Asia: Report
- HDFC Bank Q4 Net Profit Rises 22.8 PC To Rs 10,055 Crore
- ‘Spreading Hatred Since Decades’: BJP’s Tarun Chugh Hits Back At Cong Over Sonia Gandhi’s ‘Virus Of Hate’ Remark
- May Month To Be Dedicated To Women’s Health Issues In Himachal: Anurag Thakur
- Pakistan: PTI Lawmakers Attack Punjab Assembly Dy Speaker In Session To Elect CM
- We Fulfilled Our Promise: Kejriwal Lauds Punjab Govt’s Decision Of Providing 300 Units Of Free Electricity
- Congress Top Brass In Huddle With Prashant Kishor
- Harbhajan Singh To Contribute His Rajya Sabha Salary Towards Education, Welfare Of Farmers’ Daughters
- In 5th Straight Weekly Fall, India’s Forex Reserves Dip By $2.47 Billion
| Prashant Kishore Presented Election’24 Plan. Decision Within A Week Posted: 16 Apr 2022 05:40 AM PDT New Delhi: Close on the heels of the poll rout in the five states where the Assembly elections were held recently, interim president of Congress Sonia Gandhi held a meeting on Saturday with the election strategist Prashant Kishore where he presented the election’24 plan. The meeting took place in the backdrop of speculations running rife about Kishore joining Congress. After the meeting was over, Congress leader KC Venugopal, while talking to the media said, “Prashant Kishor has given a detailed presentation on 2024 polls strategy to the Congress chief. The plan presented by him will be looked after by a group set up by Cong chief. The group will submit report within a week’s time to party chief for a final decision.” He further said, “Every detail will be informed within a week’s time,” on being asked whether Prashant Kishor will work as a strategist in the Congress party or will he join the party. In the meanwhile, AAP Rajya Sabha MP-elect Raghav Chadha speaking on the election’24 plan meeting between Prashant Kishore & Congress said, “Congress Party cannot give an alternative to the country. Only Arvind Kejriwal can challenge PM Narendra Modi and BJP. Congress is like a dead horse, there is no point flogging a dead horse.” |
| Bypolls: TMC Grabs Both Seats In W.Bengal, Cong. Wins 2, Lalu’s Party Wins In Bihar Posted: 16 Apr 2022 05:22 AM PDT Trinamool Congress has won big in Asansol Lok Sabha and Ballygunge assembly seats, the most keenly watched among the five bypolls for which votes were counted today. Actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha, the Trinamool Congress’s candidate from Asansol Lok Sabha seat, won the bypoll with a huge margin, registering the party’s first-ever electoral victory in the constituency. In the Ballygunge Assembly segment, Trinamool’s Babul Supriyo, who switched from the BJP, emerged a winner. Lalu Yadav’s party has won in Bihar and Congress in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. TMC candidate Baabul Supriyo collected his certificate after winning in Ballygunge Assembly by-polls. |
| European Union Undermining Its Trade With South-East Asia: Report Posted: 16 Apr 2022 05:22 AM PDT After decades of support for globalization and free trade, the European Union (EU), in recent times has started adopting an inward approach which is impacting its trade with south-east Asia in particular, a media report said. In the 2022 State of Southeast Asia survey, produced annually by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, when the region’s opinion-formers were asked who they considered the leading champion of free trade, the EU fell to fourth place, several percentage points behind China, Asia Times reported. The fall in EU’s approval ratings with regard to free trade is an ongoing trend since 2019 with analysts pointing out that the fall in ratings stems from the EU’s own actions, the report said. In the 2021 State of Southeast Asia survey, some 29.5 per cent of Indonesian respondents said the EU was the main champion of global free trade, the highest share of any country. Trust fell to only 12.2 per cent in the 2022 survey. “The European Union’s non-tariff barriers are often seen by critics as mercantilist, protectionist measures by proxy,” Rahul Mishra, a senior lecturer at the University of Malaya’s Asia-Europe Institute was quoted as saying. In mid-March, Brussels increased tariffs on stainless steel products from Indonesia after alleging that they benefited from unfair subsidies, including some from China’s Belt and Road investment program. On top of existing anti-dumping tariffs, Indonesia will now face an overall tariff of 30.7 per cent, up from 21.4 per cent previously. Jakarta denied its firms received uncompetitive subsidies, including from China, and charged the EU investigation with not listening to the arguments put forward by Indonesia’s diplomats the report said. Previously in 2019, the EU slapped what were ostensibly protectionist tariffs on imports of certain types of rice from Cambodia and Myanmar after protests from farmers in Italy and Spain which lasted from early 2019 until January 2022. However, arguably the biggest bust-up over free trade has come from the EU’s plans to phase out palm oil imports, a particular problem for Indonesia and Malaysia, the world’s two largest exporters of the product commonly used for biofuel. The EU asserts that palm oil production is unsustainable and is a major driver of deforestation. Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur counter that they are making their palm oil sector more sustainable, and contest claims that it has such a drastic impact on deforestation as Brussels claims, the report said. Both Southeast Asian countries have threatened to take their case against the EU to the World Trade Organization (WTO) over what they consider to be a protectionist move to help Europe’s own vegetable oil producers, the report further said. As a result of the recent protectionist measures, it is little surprise that the EU’s image as a defender of free trade has been dented the most in the Southeast Asian countries on which it has slapped protectionist tariffs. Igor Driesmans, the EU ambassador to the ASEAN bloc, when asked about the protectionist measures, responded that in all of these cases when faced with unfair trade practices, the EU acted within the rules of the WTO. “The EU remains a great supporter of free trade, multilateralism, and the rules-based international order,” Driesmans stated as quoted by Asia Times. Lately, the war in Ukraine has precipitated “an end to the globalization we have experienced over the last three decades,” Larry Fink, the chief executive of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management company was quoted. Decoupling from Russia is underway, but there are many in Europe who argue that the EU needs to look at its trade relations with other states that could potentially up-turn the global order, the report said. Similar to US President Donald Trump’s “trade war” with China that started in 2018, this could benefit Southeast Asian economies, especially if decoupling means moving European investments and import contracts away from China, the report said. On the other hand, it could imperil the basis of global free trade as we’ve known it since the early 1990s, a system that has allowed ASEAN’s share of global GDP to surge from 1.5% in 1990 to 3.7% by 2019, according to World Bank data. |
| HDFC Bank Q4 Net Profit Rises 22.8 PC To Rs 10,055 Crore Posted: 16 Apr 2022 05:10 AM PDT India’s largest private sector lender HDFC Bank on Saturday posted Rs 10,055.20 crore net profit for the quarter ended March 2022 as against Rs 8,186.5 crore recorded in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, registering 22.8 per cent year-on-year growth. The bank’s profit before tax during the fourth quarter of 2021-22 rose by 20.3 per cent year-on-year to Rs 13,044.7 crore. After providing Rs 2,989.5 crore for taxation, the bank earned a net profit of Rs 10,055.2 crore during the quarter under review. HDFC Bank’s net revenue, which is the sum of net interest income and other income, rose by 7.3 per cent to Rs 26,509.8 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 from Rs 24,714.1 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Net revenues, excluding trading income, grew by 10.4 per cent to Rs 26,550.2 crore for the quarter under review from Rs 24,059 crore for the corresponding quarter of 2020-21. The bank’s net interest income, interest earned less interest expended, for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 grew by 10.2 per cent to Rs 18,872.7 crore from Rs 17,120.2 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2021. Advances were up 20.8 per cent, with the growth coming across products and segments, HDFC Bank said in a statement. The bank’s core net interest margin stood at 4 per cent on total assets, and 4.2 per cent based on interest-earning assets during the quarter under review. |
| Posted: 16 Apr 2022 03:12 AM PDT Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National General Secretary Tarun Chugh on Saturday slammed the Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi’s ‘virus of hate’ remark and said that the grand old party has been “spreading hatred” since decades for vote bank politics. “Congress kept the virus of hatred, to its zenith for decades, destroyed the country’s culture for vote bank politics, that Congress is advising us today,” Chugh told ANI. Further attacking the Congress, Chugh said that the party, under whose regime, there were four riots every year and the infamous Shah Bano judgment was passed is talking about communalism today. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has a clear policy which is ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, and Sabka Vishwas’,” he added. “I will make a request to Sonia Gandhi ji, choose your words as wisely as you can. If you look into the heart of the Congress, if there is any organization that spreads communalism the most, then it is the Congress,” he further said. “The task of spreading the infection is done by the top leadership of the Congress. Rahul Gandhi said that Hindutva is like ISIS and Boko Haram, the virus of hatred. Ten big riots in the country in which thousands of people died, all these riots happened during the rule of Congress party, be it in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bhagalpur or others,” he stated. Taking a jibe at the Congress over the Karauli violence, the BJP leader added, “Congress’ Shahzad Poonawalla had said that the virus of hatred is absolutely present among us. Its most formidable face was seen in Karauli, Rajasthan, when anti-Hindu violence took place, and there the police remained a mute spectator to the Rajasthan administration and even today the main accused is absconding.” Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday lashed out at the Centre and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) saying that a virus of hatred, bigotry, intolerance, and lies is engulfing the country today. |
| May Month To Be Dedicated To Women’s Health Issues In Himachal: Anurag Thakur Posted: 16 Apr 2022 02:56 AM PDT Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Saturday said that the upcoming month of May will be dedicated to women in Himachal Pradesh when attention would be given to the women-related issues. Speaking to the reporters here on completion of four years of Mobile Health Service, Thakur said, “Har Ghar Har Dwaar Haspatal, an initiative taken four years ago on April 14, 2018, with 3 vehicles to provide healthcare facilities to people in the villages. Today, after 4 years I can say that more than 7 lakh people have received free checkups and free treatments. This has helped people save crores of rupees. We will dedicate a complete May month to the women. During this one month, attention would be given to the women-related issues, and all sorts of tests would be conducted.” The Union Minister further stated that the mobile healthcare services that had begun with three vehicles in 2018 have now increased to 32 and have reached 6,400 villages across the state. “We have reached nearly 6,400 villages through these 32 vehicles. Our focus is to increase it further,” he said. Earlier, addressing on the occasion, the Minister said that Tuberculosis is a grave problem and the state aimed at removing it by 2021, however, due to the pandemic, there was a shift in the priorities. “Tuberculosis is a grave problem, world’s 1/4 of TB patients are in India. There’s stigma around people suffering from it. PM Modi kept the goal to eradicate TB by 2025. In Himachal, we aimed to remove it by 2021 but covid shifted our priorities,” he said. Asked about the Aam Aadmi Party leaders’ visits to Himachal Pradesh in the run-up to the state Assembly polls, Thakur said, “They have no ground here, their unit is finished.” Earlier this month, Himachal Pradesh Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Anup Kesari joined the BJP. |
| Pakistan: PTI Lawmakers Attack Punjab Assembly Dy Speaker In Session To Elect CM Posted: 16 Apr 2022 02:49 AM PDT A chaos ensued in Pakistan’s Punjab Assembly after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) lawmakers threw “lotas (round vessel)” at Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari as he arrived to chair the session for the election of the Chief Minister, reported local media. The PTI lawmakers set off a ruckus in the Assembly as they brought “lotas” to the House and started chanting “lota, lota (turncoats)”, lashing out at dissident PTI members, who parted ways with the party and decided to support the Opposition, reported Geo News. The lawmakers of the ruling party also threw “lotas” at Mazari and then attacked him despite the presence of security guards. Mazari was also slapped by PTI members, following which, he was escorted by Sergeant-At-Arms, reported Samaa TV. Notably, Punjab Chief Minister’s office has been vacant for nearly two weeks since former Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, who was removed from his position last week, accepted Usman Buzdar’s resignation on April 1. Today’s session for the Chief Minister’s election is being held in line with the orders of the Lahore High Court (LHC), wherein it rejected PML-N leader Hamza Shahbaz’s plea to hold the early elections and restored the powers of the Deputy Speaker, according to Geo News. The PML-Q candidate Pervaiz Elahi, backed by PTI, and the Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly, Hamza Shehbaz, are stated to be in a close contest for the post of the Chief Minister. Exuding confidence in their victory in the CM election, the joint Opposition has claimed to have the support of 200 members in the house of 371. Notably, a candidate needs the support of 186 members to become the chief minister. |
| Posted: 16 Apr 2022 02:11 AM PDT Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday lauded the Punjab government’s decision to provide 300 units of free electricity to every household in the state and said that AAP does not make false promises unlike other political parties and does what it says. AAP had promised before the Assembly elections in the state to provide 300 units of free electricity which the party announced to fulfill on the day it completed its one month at the office in Punjab. “Bhagwant ji, many congratulations for this wonderful decision. We fulfilled our first promise. We do what we say. We don’t make false promises like other parties,” Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi. The AAP supremo further said that the Punjab government will not let there be a lack of money come in the way of the progress of the state. “Now an honest, patriotic government with clear intentions has come. Will save money by ending corruption. Will not let there be a lack of money in the progress of Punjab,” he added in his tweet. AAP MP Raghav Chadha also lauded the Punjab government for fulfilling its poll promise of providing free electricity in the state and tweeted, “What we said, we did. After Delhi, people of Punjab will also get free electricity.” The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab on Saturday announced 300 units of free electricity for every household from July 1, according to the State Information and Public Relations Department. Notably, the AAP government in Delhi provides 200 units of free electricity to the people. |
| Congress Top Brass In Huddle With Prashant Kishor Posted: 16 Apr 2022 01:44 AM PDT Close on the heels of the poll rout in the five states where the Assembly elections were held recently, interim president of Congress Sonia Gandhi is holding a meeting on Saturday with the election strategist Prashant Kishor. The meeting is taking place in the backdrop of speculations running rife about Kishor joining Congress. Kishor had previously held parleys with the former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and the party’s national general secretary Priyanka Gandhi. However, there had been no forward movement. According to sources, Gandhi called an urgent meeting at her residence. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Ambika Soni, Digvijaya Singh, Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken and KC Venugopal are also present at the meeting with Kishor. The meeting is also taking place in the backdrop of Congress’ poll preparations for Gujarat and Himachal Assembly elections this year. After the recent poll debacle in five states, Congress is seeking to restart negotiations with Kishor. The results of five Assembly polls came as a shock to Congress which was hoping to do well to revive its prospects for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and to fend off the emerging challenge from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Trinamool Congress to replace it as the fulcrum of anti-BJP politics in the country. “PK (Prashant Kishor) can be seen taking an advisory role instead of joining Congress. Talks between Prashant Kishor and the Gandhis had collapsed after Mamata Banerjee’s West Bengal victory in the state Assembly elections for which he was a strategist,” said a senior Congress functionary. In the past, Prashant Kishor has worked with Congress for the 2017 Punjab Assembly elections. He was credited with helping Congress and Captain Amarinder Singh win 77 out of 117 seats in the 2017 Punjab elections. Kishor gained acclaim owing to the BJP’s landslide victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections. |
| Posted: 16 Apr 2022 01:21 AM PDT Former cricketer and Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab Harbhajan Singh on Saturday said that he will contribute his Rajya Sabha salary to the education and welfare of the daughters of farmers. “As a Rajya Sabha member, I want to contribute my RS salary to the daughters of farmers for their education & welfare,” Singh tweeted. The Rajya Sabha MP further said that he has joined the House to “contribute to the betterment” of the nation. “I’ve joined to contribute to the betterment of our nation and will do everything I can. Jai Hind,” he added in his tweet. The former cricketer was elected unopposed as the Rajya Sabha member from Punjab. He had said that he will promote sports as he has been entrusted a responsibility that he will fulfill sincerely. Notably, Aam Aadmi Party had nominated five candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections in March this year. All of the party candidates were elected unopposed. |
| In 5th Straight Weekly Fall, India’s Forex Reserves Dip By $2.47 Billion Posted: 16 Apr 2022 01:11 AM PDT India’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves dipped by $2.47 billion in the week ended April 8, registering the fifth straight week of fall, as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appears to keep selling dollars to prevent a slide in the value of rupee amid high import bills for petroleum products. According to the RBI’s weekly statistical supplement, India’s forex reserves fell by $2.471 billion to $604.004 billion for the week ended April 8. This is the fifth straight week of fall in the country’s forex reserves. In the last five weeks under review, the country’s forex reserves have declined by $28.5 billion. For the week ended April 1, the forex reserves had declined by $11.17 billion, the steepest weekly fall ever. India’s forex reserves have declined sharply after touching an all-time high of $642.453 billion on September 3, 2021. India’s foreign currency assets dipped by $2.082 billion to $537.645 billion during the week ended April 8. The foreign currency assets had slumped by $10.727 billion in the previous week. The foreign currency asset is the biggest component of the forex reserves. Expressed in US dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-dollar currencies like Euro, UK’s Pound Sterling and Japanese Yen held in the foreign exchange reserves. The value of gold reserves dipped by $215 million to $42.519 billion during the week under review. It had dropped by $507 million during the week ended April 1. The other two components of the forex reserves also declined. The value of India’s Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) fell by $141 million to $18.738 billion. India’s reserve position in the IMF fell by $34 million to $5.101 billion during the week ended April 8, the RBI data showed. |
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