BJP’s ‘second act of use & throw’: Shiv Sena won’t blink on power sharing

At the meeting of the Sena’s MLAs, party chief Uddhav expressed ‘disappointment’ over CM Fadnavis’ statement

With ally Shiv Sena unwilling to blink, Maharashtra Chief Minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday held a meeting with eight of the 13 newly elected Independents and legislators of three of the smaller parties. The majority mark still eludes the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by 26 legislators in a House of 288, despite these 13 MLAs vowing support to a Fadnavis-led BJP government.

The next Maharashtra Assembly needs to be convened by November 10. The term of the previous Assembly expires on November 9. The Shiv Sena rejected media reports that it has softened its stand on its two key demands of ‘50:50’ power-sharing formula and rotational CM tenure. It accused the BJP of enacting a ‘second act’ of the ‘use and throw’ policy in dealing with its ally.

“The (reports that) Sena has softened (its stand), has compromised and relinquished equitable distribution of posts, are all rumours,” Sena MP Sanjay Raut tweeted. “Whatever was decided (between BJP and Sena), will happen,” said Raut. Raut later in the day also meet Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar at the latter’s residence in Mumbai. Raut said he had gone to meet Pawar to wish him on the occasion of Diwali, but also discussed the current political scenario of Maharashtra.

The developments during the course of the day made it evident that a Fadnavis-led BJP government is set to face stiff opposition not just from the Congress and NCP, but also from the Sena..

‘We have to stop RCEP’: Farmers plan nationwide protest against trade deal

The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee said that they will burn effigies depicting the China-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership or RCEP, to mark their protest

Farmers’ organisations have planned a nationwide protest on November 4 to demand that the government keep agriculture out of a 16-nation trade agreement currently being negotiated in Thailand.

The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee, an umbrella organization of about 250 farmers unions from across the country, said that they will burn effigies depicting the China-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership or RCEP Deal, to mark their protest and warn the government. Farmers won’t be able to compete should the country agree to cut duties for agricultural and dairy products in the proposed trade pact, said V.M. Singh, a convener of the the farmers’ group.

Imports of dairy and agricultural products including wheat, cotton and oil seeds would affect the livelihood of millions of Indian farmers, he said. The government should defer signing of the agreement and hold consultations with farmers, state governments and other stake holders before taking a final decision, said Singh.

“We have to stop RCEP,” he said. It is not clear yet what terms India will agree to in order to join what could become the world’s largest trade deal. The final stage of negotiations have begun in Bangkok and Indian trade minister Piyush Goyal will travel for the ministerial meeting there on November 1. The nations are seeking to conclude the negotiations by November end...

WhatsApp hacked to spy on govt officials in 20 countries, including India

The revelation comes as more than a dozen Indian journalists and human rights activists said on Thursday they were also targeted

Senior government officials in multiple US-allied countries were targeted earlier this year with hacking software that used Facebook-owned instant messaging app WhatsApp to take over users’ phones, according to people familiar with the messaging company’s investigation.

Sources familiar with WhatsApp’s internal investigation into the breach said a “significant” portion of the known victims were high-profile government and military officials spread across at least 20 countries in five continents. The hacking of a wider group of top government officials’ smartphones than previously reported suggests the WhatsApp cyber intrusion could have broad political and diplomatic consequences.

WhatsApp filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against Israeli hacking tool developer NSO Group. The Facebook-owned software giant alleges that NSO Group built and sold a hacking platform that exploited a flaw in WhatsApp-owned servers to help clients hack into the cellphones of at least 1,400 users.

While it is not clear who used the software to hack officials’ phones, NSO says it sells its spyware exclusively to government customers. Some victims are in the US, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Mexico, Pakistan and India, said people familiar with the investigation. Reuters could not verify whether victims from these countries included government officials. The revelation comes as more than a dozen Indian journalists and human rights activists said on Thursday they were also targeted....

AGR payments: Reliance Jio slams peers, questions telecom sector stress

Says incumbents have enough resources, monetisation opportunities pay up

Reliance Jio on Wednesday attacked incumbent operators, saying it disagreed with “the threatening and blackmailing tone” of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) letter. In a letter on Tuesday night, the COAI had written to Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, claiming that the Supreme Court (SC) judgment on the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) will lead to a monopoly in the sector and the government’s digitisation programme will suffer.

The Supreme Court (SC) had on October 24 agreed with the Department of Telecom’s (DoT’s) definition of the AGR, asking the telcos to pay dues and interest amounting to Rs 1.33 trillion within three months.

In its letter of protest addressed to COAI Secretary General Rajan Matthew, Reliance Jio said it had taken “strong umbrage at the COAI exploiting the legitimate payout obligations to create alarmist propaganda”. It also alleged “it appears that this sum was used for expanding some other business as per their (incumbents’) commercial decisions”.

A top executive of Jio said: “We do not agree to the contention of the incumbents that they are not in a financial position to pay their legitimate dues.” In its letter, Jio said, “operators have capacity and enough monetisation possibilities to comfortably pay government dues”…

Twitter banning political ads globally from Nov 22, says CEO Jack Dorsey

Dorsey said the company would share the final policy by November 15, and will start enforcing it from November 22 to provide current advertisers a notice period before the change goes into effect

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey on Thursday said that the microblogging platform would stop all political advertising globally, becoming the first mainstream social media company to do so.

In a series of tweets, Dorsey explained the reasons for the decision. Saying that internet advertising was “incredibly powerful” and effective for commercial advertisers, it posed “significant risks to politics, where it can be used to influence votes to affect the lives of millions”. Political ads on social media platforms have been a growing cause for concern globally, especially since reports of foreign interference in the 2016 US Presidential elections surfaced.

“These challenges will affect ALL internet communication, not just political ads. Best to focus our efforts on the root problems, without the additional burden and complexity taking money brings. Trying to fix both means fixing neither well, and harms our credibility,” said Dorsey. Dorsey said the company would share the final policy by November 15, and will start enforcing it from November 22 to provide current advertisers a notice period before the change goes into effect.

Among the biggest platforms for political ad spending, companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google have made efforts to bring transparency to the process by releasing political ad spending data globally, including in India’s general elections this year…

ISIS still a threat, may seek vengeance post-Baghdadi’s death: US

The Pentagon also released video of airstrikes on a group of unknown fighters on the ground who opened fire on the helicopters that ferried US forces in for the assault on Baghdadi’s compound

A top American General has said the Islamic State is still dangerous and it could attempt a retribution attack after the killing of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a US raid.

The head of US Central Command, General Kenneth McKenzie, speaking to reporters after the Pentagon released video and photos of the US special forces raid that resulted in the death of Baghdadi, acknowledged that the terror group’s leadership may be disjointed and that it could take some time for it to recuperate, but that doesn’t mean it is not a threat. “ISIS is first and last an ideology so, we’re under no illusions that it’s going to go away just because we killed Baghdadi. It will remain, McKenzie said at a Pentagon news conference.

“They will be dangerous. We suspect they will try some form of retribution attack, and we are postured and prepared for that. But we should recognise that, again, since it’s an ideology, you’re never going to be able to completely stamp it out, he said. Among the images released by the Defence Department was a black-and-white footage of US troops approaching on foot the high-walled compound in northwestern Syria where Baghdadi was holed up.

The Pentagon also released video of airstrikes on a group of unknown fighters on the ground who opened fire on the helicopters that ferried US forces in for the assault on Baghdadi’s compound in Syria’s Idlib province. Responding to a question, McKenzie said, It will take them some time to reestablish someone to lead the organisation. And during that period of time, their actions may be a little bit disjointed.”

Pentagon releases footage of raid on Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s hideout

The Pentagon also released video of airstrikes on a group of unknown fighters on the ground who opened fire on the helicopters that ferried US forces in for the assault on Baghdadi’s compound in Syria

The Pentagon on Wednesday, released a series of footages, depicting the complete US special forces raid that ended in the death of Islamic State (IS) chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Among the images released by the Defence Department was grainy black-and-white footage of US troops approaching on foot the high-walled compound in northwestern Syria where Baghdadi was holed up.

The compound was razed by the US forces after the raid, leaving it looking like “a parking lot with large potholes,” said Marine Corps General Kenneth McKenzie, commander of US Central Command. Releasing a few short videos of the strike, US Central Command Commander Gen Kenneth Mckenzie told reporters at a Pentagon news conference that after the raid, Baghdadi’s compound looked “pretty much like a parking lot with large potholes.” The compound was destroyed in a way to ensure that it would not become a shrine or memorable in any way. It’s just another piece of ground now, he said.

The isolated compound was located in Northwest Syria’s Idlib province

“We believe Baghdadi actually may have fired from his hole in his last moments. The other people that were engaged on the objective were behaving in a threatening manner with suicide vests approaching the raid force and that causes you to make some decisions, particularly when they don’t respond to Arabic language commands to stop, warning shots, and the progression of escalation that that our special operators are so very good at,” McKenzie said. Giving details of the operation, the American general said the US forces cleared significant debris from the tunnel and secured Baghdadi’s remains for DNA identity confirmation…

R K Mathur sworn-in as the first Lt Governor of Union Territory of Ladakh

The oath of office was administered by chief justice of Jammu and Kashmir high court Geeta Mittal at a simple function held at Leh.

Former defence secretary R K Mathur was on Thursday sworn-in as the first Lt Governor of strategically located Union Territory of Ladakh, which came into existence after the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir.

Mathur, who will be turning 66 later this month, was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court Gita Mittal at a function held at Sindhu Sanskriti auditorium at Tisuru. The warrant of appointment was read by a senior official at the function after which the oath ceremony took place.

Mathur, an IAS officer of 1977 batch from Tripura, later inspected a guard of honour of local police. A post graduate in Industrial Engineering from IIT, R.K Mathur retired as Defence Secretary in 2015 and was appointed as Chief Information Commissioner in December the same year. He completed his tenure in November last year after attaining the age of 65 years. Ahead of the swearing-in, the Union Home Ministry revoked notification of December last year of imposition of President’s rule in the undivided Jammu and Kashmir.

The Centre on Wednesday night appointed Umang Narula, an IAS officer of 1989 batch, as advisor to Mathur besides posting S S Khandare, an IPS officer of 1995 batch, as ‘Head of Police’ in Ladakh. With a population of nearly three lakh, Ladakh is strategically located as it shares borders with Pakistan as well as China.

Israeli spyware used to spy on Indian journos, activists: Whatsapp confirms

The hackers allegedly used an Israeli technology, Pegasus develeoped by Israeli firm, NSO to the conduct cyberespionage

In a startling revelation, WhatsApp has confirmed that at least two dozen journalists, academicians, Dalit and human rights activists, in India have been targeted for surveillance for a two week period until May 2019, The Indian Express reported. The hackers allegedly used an Israeli technology, Pegasus developed by Israeli firm, NSO to conduct cyberespionage. WhatsApp contacted the users and alerted them that their phones had been under surveillance.

The social media firm declined to comment on the identities and “exact number” of those targeted for surveillance in India when contacted by The Indian Express. But a WhatsApp spokesperson confirmed to the daily that the company was aware of those targeted and had contacted all those suspected of being under surveillance. “Indian journalists and human rights activists have been the target of surveillance and while I cannot reveal their identities and the exact number, I can say that it is not an insignificant number,” the spokesperson said.

The Indian Express reached out to Home Secretary A K Bhalla and Electronics and Information Technology Secretary A P Sawhney for comments, but the efforts went unanswered.

US-China trade deal may not be ready for signing in Chile: Official

White House spokesman Judd Deere said both sides were still working to complete work on the interim deal

An interim trade agreement between the United States and China might not be completed in time for signing in Chile next month as expected but that does not mean the accord is falling apart, a US administration official said on Tuesday.

US and Chinese negotiators are working to complete a text for the agreements for US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to sign at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Chile Nov. 16-17.

“If it’s not signed in Chile, that doesn’t mean that it falls apart. It just means that it’s not ready,” the administration official said. “Our goal is to sign it in Chile. But sometimes texts aren’t ready. But good progress is being made and we expect to sign the agreement in Chile.”

Trump, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and other top US officials have all said good progress is being made on the deal after a nearly 16-month trade war, while also noting that it would be fine if the deal was not finalized by the APEC summit. White House spokesman Judd Deere said both sides were still working to complete work on the interim deal.

“As the president said several weeks ago, we have reached a phase-one agreement with the Chinese and both sides are working to finalize the text for a signing in Chile,” he said. US stocks turned negative after Reuters reported the administration official’s comments, as investors bet the closely watched trade talks were further away from resolution…

Read More: US China Trade War

Delhi chokes as pollution levels remain ‘severe’ for second straight day

On Wednesday morning, the Delhi air quality index was 422 — a little worse than Tuesday’s AQI of 414 at 8 pm, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.

Delhi air pollution: There is no respite from severe air pollution in Delhi as air quality remained in the “severe” category on Wednesday morning. The air quality was similar to what it was on Tuesday, the day it slipped into the “severe” category in the city and the adjoining areas.

At 6 am, the city’s overall air quality index (AQI) was 422 — a little worse than Tuesday’s AQI of 414 at 8 pm, according to the Central Pollution Control Board. An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor, and 401-500 severe. Above 500 is severe-plus emergency category.

Delhi’s air quality took a hit after Diwali night due to a combination of firecracker emissions, stubble burning and unfavourable meteorological conditions.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on on Tuesday appealed “with folded hands” to Punjab and Haryana to take concrete steps against stubble burning to prevent the national capital from becoming a “gas chamber”.

His statement came after latest NASA images showed a drastic spurt in crop residue burning in the neighbouring states. The stubble plume from north-west regions has become one of the significant factors adversely affecting Delhi’s air quality.

Govt sets up panel of secretaries to help ease stress in telecom sector

The committee, led by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, will have secretaries from finance, law, telecom ministries

The government has set up a committee of secretaries (CoS) under Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba to suggest measures to mitigate financial stress in the telecom sector, which is looking at a payout of Rs 1.33 trillion to clear statutory dues.

The Supreme Court (SC) had on October 24 agreed with the Department of Telecom’s (DoT’s) definition of adjusted gross revenue (AGR), asking the telcos to pay dues and interest within three months. The telcos had subsequently appealed to the government to reduce the amount and also extend the deadline or provide a moratorium.

The CoS will comprise representatives from the ministries of finance, law and telecom. Sources in the government said it will consider issues such as deferment of spectrum auction for two years and reduction in spectrum usage charges, and take a relook at the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) charges.

For spectrum auction charges, telcos will have to fork out Rs 49,040 crore in the next two years. While the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has suggested that USOF charges — paid to make telcos take their services to rural areas — be 3 per cent, and not 5 per cent…

A manager tried to halt Boeing 737 Max production on safety before crashes

At least one whistle-blower also told the committee that the company sacrificed safety for cost savings

A Boeing Co. manager sought to halt production of the 737 Max over safety concerns before the first of two fatal crashes that led to the jet’s worldwide grounding, a top House lawmaker charged Tuesday.

Representative Peter DeFazio, the chairman of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, included the new allegations in a prepared statement for a hearing Wednesday at which Boeing Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg will testify. The CEO testified Tuesday before a Senate committee about the Max, which has been banned from flying since March.

“We now know of at least one case where a Boeing manager implored the then-vice president and general manager of the Boeing 737 Max program to shut down the 737 Max production line because of safety concerns, several months before the Lion Air crash in October 2018,” DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat, said in his prepared opening statement, which was released by the committee.

DeFazio’s accusations pile pressure on Muilenburg as the embattled CEO prepares for a second day of grilling on Capitol Hill. Muilenburg is fighting to save his job amid heightened scrutiny from Boeing directors. He’s also trying to salvage the US industrial titan’s reputation following months of bruising disclosures about shortcomings in the design and certification of the Max, Boeing’s best-selling jet. The crashes killed 346 people….

Terrorists kill five migrant labourers from West Bengal in Kashmir

The attack happened on a day a delegation of parliamentarians from the European Union is visiting Kashmir to talk to locals

Five migrant labourers from West Bengal were shot dead by terrorists in Kulgam district of south Kashmir on Tuesday, police said. Another labourer was critically injured by the terrorists, they said. All the victims hailed from Murshidabad district of West Bengal, the police said.

The attack happened on a day a delegation of parliamentarians from the European Union is visiting Kashmir to talk to locals and ask them about their experience after the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370 of the Constitution in August.

Since the Centre’s decision on Article 370, terrorists have been targeting truckers and labourers, mainly who have come to the Valley from outside Jammu and Kashmir. On Monday, a trucker from Udhampur district was killed by militants in Anantnag, police said. This was the fourth truck driver to be killed by militants since August 5. On October 24, terrorists killed two non-Kashmiri truck drivers in Shopian district.

On October 14, two terrorists, including a suspected Pakistani national, shot dead the driver of a truck having Rajasthan registration number and assaulted an orchard owner in Shopian district. The driver was identified as Sharief Khan. Two days later, Punjab-based apple trader Charanjeet Singh was killed and Sanjeev injured when terrorists attacked them in Shopian district. The same day, a brick kiln worker from Chhattisgarh was shot dead by militants in Pulwama district.

Scientists say it’ll take $300 billion to halt global warming for 2 decades

The sum is not to fund green technologies or finance a moonshot solution to emissions, but to use simple, age-old practices to lock millions of tons of carbon back into the soil

$300 billion. That’s the money needed to stop the rise in greenhouse gases and buy up to 20 years of time to fix global warming, according to United Nations climate scientists. It’s the gross domestic product of Chile, or the world’s military spending every 60 days.

The sum is not to fund green technologies or finance a moonshot solution to emissions, but to use simple, age-old practices to lock millions of tons of carbon back into an overlooked and over-exploited resource: the soil. “We have lost the biological function of soils. We have got to reverse that,” said Barron J. Orr, lead scientist for the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. “If we do it, we are turning the land into the big part of the solution for climate change.”

Rene Castro Salazar, an assistant director general at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, said that of the 2 billion hectares (almost 5 billion acres) of land around the world that has been degraded by misuse, overgrazing, deforestation and other largely human factors, 900 million hectares could be restored.

Returning that land to pasture, food crops or trees would convert enough carbon into biomass to stabilize emissions of CO2, the biggest greenhouse gas, for 15-20 years, giving the world time to adopt carbon-neutral technologies…

Read More: Global Warming

Goyal lauds PM for ‘path breaking improvements’ in India’s biz environment

India has remarkably improved in ease of doing business, reported World Bank in its ease of doing business 2020 survey

After India jumped 14 positions to be ranked 63rd in the World Bank’s ease of doing business, Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the “path breaking improvements” in the country’s business environment.

“India has jumped from 77th to 63rd rank in the Ease of Doing Business Rankings released just now by the World Bank. Congratulations to PM @NarendraModi ji for the path breaking improvements in India’s business environment for nation’s prosperity and job creation,” he tweeted. India has remarkably improved in ease of doing business, reported World Bank in its ease of doing business 2020 survey. The country is placed in 63rd position among 190 countries.

According to the report issued by World Bank on Thursday, India appeared among the top 10 improvers for the third time in a row. The Bank lauded New Delhi for a “remarkable reform effort”. “In economies on the list of 10 top improvers, leaders of India and China adopted the Doing Business indicators as a core component of their reform strategies,” said the World Bank.

It also praised Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign which focused on attracting foreign investment, boosting the private sector, manufacturing in particular, and enhancing the country’s overall competitiveness…

India rises 14 places to 63rd in global Ease of Doing Business rankings

Nation surges 56 places to reach 52nd spot in ‘Resolving Insolvency’, but repeats dismal performance on ‘paying taxes’ and ‘enforcing contracts’

India has risen 14 places to the 63rd spot in the World Bank’s latest ease-of-doing-business global rankings in 2019, after jumping ahead by 23 and 30 places in the past two years, respectively.

The World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business 2020’ report, released on Thursday, showed India’s rank in ease of doing business jump from the 77 place among 190 countries. India had broken into the club of 100 nations easiest to conduct business two years ago when it managed to jump 30 spots from the 130th position.

The World Bank has named India as ‘one of the economies with the most notable improvement’ for the third year in a row, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and neighboring Pakistan and China. “Given the size of India’s economy, these reform efforts are particularly commendable,” the report said. In 2015 the government’s goal was to join the 50 top economies on the ease of doing business ranking by 2020.

India has been adjudged the ninth-best performing nation in reforming the business environment. The country improved its rankings in 7 of the 10 sub-categories used by the World Bank to judge business climate, as compared to 6 last year.

Resolving insolvency easier

Among categories, the country had the best performance in ‘Resolving Insolvency’ where it jumped by 56 places to become the 52nd easiest place to address bankruptcy. Streamlined procedures allowed by the implementation of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) are largely to thank for this…

Google accused of creating a surveillance tool to curb worker dissent

Company says it’s an effort to curb calendar, meeting spam

Google employees are accusing the company’s leadership of developing an internal surveillance tool that they believe will be used to monitor workers’ attempts to organize protests and discuss labor rights.

Earlier this month, employees said they discovered that a team within the company was creating the new tool for the custom Google Chrome browser installed on all workers’ computers and used to search internal systems. The concerns were outlined in a memo written by a Google employee and reviewed by Bloomberg News and by three Google employees who requested anonymity because they aren’t authorized to talk to the press.

The tool would automatically report staffers who create a calendar event with more than 10 rooms or 100 participants, according to the employee memo. The most likely explanation, the memo alleged, “is that this is an attempt of leadership to immediately learn about any workers organization attempts.”

A representative for Alphabet Inc.’s Google said, “These claims about the operation and purpose of this extension are categorically false. This is a pop-up reminder that asks people to be mindful before auto-adding a meeting to the calendars of large numbers of employees.”

Amazon found selling clothes from factories other retailers blacklist

After a deadly 2013 factory collapse, most big US apparel companies agreed to steer clear of dangerous plants in Bangladesh. Not Amazon.

After a 2013 factory collapse killed more than 1,100 people in Bangladesh, most of the biggest U.S. apparel retailers joined safety-monitoring groups that required them to stop selling clothing from factories that violated certain safety standards. Amazon.com Inc. didn’t join. According to a Wall Street Journal investigation, the site today offers a steady stream of clothing from dozens of Bangladeshi factories that most leading retailers have said are too dangerous to allow into their supply chains.

A yellow gingham toddler top embroidered with flowers was among those clothes, listed on Amazon for $4.99 by a New York City retailer. The Journal traced the top to a factory in Chittagong, Bangladesh, that has no fire alarms and where doors are of a type managers can lock and keep workers in. A laborer at the factory, 18-year-old Nasreen Begum, said she spends 12-hour days there stitching shirts with 300 others. “You’re trapped inside until the time you complete the orders,” she said.

The Journal found other apparel on Amazon made in Bangladeshi factories whose owners have refused to fix safety problems identified by two safety-monitoring groups, such as crumbling buildings, broken alarms, and missing sprinklers and fire barriers. U.S. retailers such as Walmart Inc., Target Corp. , Costco Wholesale Corp. and Gap Inc. have agreed to honor bans imposed by those two groups, to have their supply chains inspected and to disclose to the groups the factories that supply them.

The Journal found clothing including pants, sweaters, clerical robes, fishnet body stockings and other items, that originate from blacklisted factories and end up on Amazon. Amazon has become a major player in apparel, a force with which other retailers must compete in a market where customers often seek the lowest price. It may have overtaken Walmart last year as Amer

Assembly Election Results LIVE: Hooda to meet Sonia; BJP summons Khattar

Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly Election Results 2019: The results of the Maharashtra, Haryana elections 2019 and bypolls will be out today. Catch Vidhan Sabha election results 2019 LIVE updates

Congress veteran leader and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda flashes the victory sign as he leaves from a counting centre, in Rohtak, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019 | Photo: PTI

Assembly Election Results 2019 Live Updates: The counting of votes for the recently-held Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly polls, as well as bypolls for 51 Vidhan Sabha and two Lok Sabha seats across 18 states, is currently underway. Once the counting of votes is over, the Election Commission of India (ECI) will declare the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly election results.

With the Haryana assembly heading for a fractured mandate, senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda urged non-BJP outfits to join hands. “This mandate is against the BJP. The JJP, INLD and others, including the Independents, should join hands with the Congress to keep the BJP at bay,” he said.

Assembly elections 2019 exit polls have predicted that the Maharashtra Assembly poll results will be in favour of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance. Tight security is in place at counting centres in both states. An election official told PTI on Wednesday that around 25,000 personnel had been deployed on counting duty in Maharashtra.

Hooda to meet top Cong brass in Delhi for talks on forming govt in Haryana

Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda will reach Delhi Thursday evening and hold meetings with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and top party leaders to strategise on forming the government in the state, sources said. Gandhi has already spoken with Hooda and given him the go-ahead to work towards forming the government, they said….

Blow to Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea as SC rules out AGR definition change url

The two telecom providers will now have to pay Rs 50,000 crore to the Department of Telecommunications

Supreme Court on Thursday rejected telecom companies’ appeal against the Union government’s definition of Adjusted Gross Revenue. The apex court will later decide on the timeframe for the operators to pay AGR.

The definition of AGR has been a long standing issue between the Department of Telecommunications and the Telecom Service Providers (TSPs), in particular, on some items that the TSPs strongly believed should not be included while calculating AGR since these are not part of the core telecommunications services.

In a major blow to telecom majors Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the existing definition of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) will prevail. This implies that the two telecom providers will now have to pay Rs 50,000 crore to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

The issue had been dragging for the past 14 years with the telecom providers and DoT locked in battle over the definition of AGR. While the telecom providers insisted that AGR only included revenue from core operations, DoT maintained that AGR also included revenue from operations, other than core ones…

Kerala bypoll results: Congress-led UDF leading in 4 of 5 Assembly seats

The Konni Assembly seat is also witnessing an intense fight between Congress candidate P Mohanraj and CPI-M candidate KU Jenish. Mohanraj is leading by 540 votes.

Counting of votes to the five Assembly constituencies was underway, which began at 8 a.m. and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) was leading in four and the CPI-M in one.

Check Kerla election results live updates here

In the Vatiyoorkavu Assembly seat in the state capital, young CPI-M candidate and Thiruvananthapuram Mayor V.K. Prasanth was leading by a slender margin of 226 votes against former Congress Legislator K. Mohankumar. The Konni Assembly seat is also witnessing an intense fight between Congress candidate P. Mohanraj and CPI-M candidate K.U. Jenish. Mohanraj is leading by 540 votes.

At Aroor, which is the only sitting seat of the Left, its CPI-M candidate Manu C. Pulickal is trailing by 265 votes against Congress leader Shanimol Usman. On the expected lines, at Ernakulam, Congress candidate T.J. Vinod is leading by 365 votes against Left supported independent candidate Manu Roy. And, in Manjeswaram, the Indian Union Muslim League candidate M.C. Kamarudheen is racing ahead with a lead of 1,181 votes…

Telangana bypoll results: TRS takes early lead in Huzurnagar Assembly seat

S Saidi Reddy of TRS established a lead of 2,476 votes in the first round over his nearest rival Padmavathi Reddy of the Congress party

Ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has taken initial lead in the bye-elections to Huzurnagar Assembly constituency, where the counting of votes began on Thursday.

Check election results live updates here

S Saidi Reddy of TRS established early lead of 2,476 votes in the first round over his nearest rival Padmavathi Reddy of opposition Congress party. Election Commission officials said there will be a total of 22 rounds of counting. They have arranged 14 tables for the counting process, which is likely to be completed by 1 p.m. The constituency, with over 2.36 lakh voters, had recorded 84.75 per cent polling in the bye-election held on October 21.

A total of 28 candidates were in the fray in the bypoll, necessitated by the resignation of state Congress chief Uttam Kumar Reddy following his election to Lok Sabha from Nalgonda constituency in the recent polls.

The Congress Party fielded Uttam Kumar Reddy’s wife Padmavathi Reddy. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) also fielded their candidates in the first bye-election since TRS retained power in December 2018. In 2018, Uttam Kumar Reddy had retained Huzurnagar seat by defeating Saidi Reddy of TRS with a margin of 7,466 votes.

Assembly Election Result LIVE: BJP ahead in Maharashtra, on edge in Haryana

Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly Election Results 2019: The results of the Maharashtra, Haryana elections 2019 and bypolls will be out today. Catch Vidhan Sabha election results 2019 LIVE updates

Assembly Election Results 2019 Live Updates: The Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly election results will be out today. Counting of votes for Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha election results and Haryana Vidhan Sabha election results, besides bypolls held for Assembly seats across states, started at 8 am.

The Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections 2019 and the bypolls were held on Monday. While Haryana recorded a voter turnout of 65 per cent, a little over 61 per cent voters cast their votes in Maharashtra.

Assembly elections 2019 exit polls have predicted that the Maharashtra Assembly poll results will be in favour of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance. Exit polls of Assembly elections have made similar predictions for the BJP in Haryana, where the party is pitted against the Congress and regional parties like the Indian National Lok Dal and the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP).

Click here for full coverage on Maharashtra elections results 2019 and Haryana assembly election results 2019 Tight security is in place at counting centres in both states. An election official told PTI on Wednesday that around 25,000 personnel had been deployed on counting duty in Maharashtra….

PM Narendra Modi joked that media trying to trap me: Abhijit Banerjee

Prime Minister calls meeting with Abhijit Banerjee excellent; professor thanks Modi for unique experience

Abhijit Banerjee, this year’s Indian-born Economics Nobel Laureate, met Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on Tuesday morning. Soon after, Modi tweeted that it was an excellent meeting and that “India is proud of his accomplishments”. Banerjee shared the Nobel with co-researchers Esther Duflo, who he’s married to, and Michael Kremer. Duflo, the youngest Economics Nobel winner, wasn’t present at the meeting with the PM.

“Excellent meeting with Nobel Laureate Abhijit Banerjee. His passion towards human empowerment is clearly visible. We had a healthy and extensive interaction on various subjects. India is proud of his accomplishments. Wishing him the very best for his future endeavours,” the PM wrote on his personal Twitter handle, @narendramodi.

Banerjee was prompt to thank the PM, though not on social media. Speaking to the media later, he said, “Thank you, PM… that was a unique experience.” Responding to how the conversation with Modi had gone, Banerjee laughingly quipped he wouldn’t get into any controversial subject as he had been warned by the PM. But, the professor spilled the beans by saying the PM had started the conversation by cracking a joke on how the media was trying to trap him to say “anti-Modi things”. He went on to say, “The PM has been watching TV and watching you guys. And he knows what you are trying to do.”

On a more serious note, Banerjee described the meeting with Modi as “cordial” and “good”. “The PM was kind enough to give me quite a lot of time and to talk a lot about his way of thinking about India, that was unique,” he said. He added that while “one hears about policies, one rarely hears about the thinking behind them”…

Nilekani steps in as Infosys investors fume over whistleblower complaints

EY, Shardul Amarchand to conduct probe; CEO, CFO recuse themselves

Infosys co-founder and company Chairman Nandan Nilekani has once again emerged as the man of the moment even as the firm he leads grapples with another crisis-like situation and an erosion of more than Rs 53,000 crore in market cap following allegations of unethical practices.

As soon as the markets opened on Tuesday after a holiday, Nilekani swung into action by informing the exchanges that the company was conducting an investigation into the complaints of a whistle-blower. Sources in the know said he attended an audit committee meeting at the Infosys campus on Tuesday. D Sundaram, Punita Kumar-Sinha, and Roopa Kudva are members of the committee.

“The chairman is in control of the situation and is engaged with all stakeholders to assuage the concerns of investors,” said a person familiar with the development. Nilekani steps in as Infosys investors fume over whistleblower complaint.

The company is also learnt to be looking into the circumstances in which confidential financial information was recorded and stored as claimed in the whistle-blower’s letter. However, this hardly helped the situation with the company’s share prices plunging 16.21 per cent to settle at Rs 643.30 on the BSE. This is the sharpest intra-day fall in Infosys shares in more than six years. It erased the IT major’s market cap by Rs 53,131 crore and dragged it below Rs 3 trillion.