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.

China plans to replace Hong Kong’s Carrie Lam as protests drag on: Report

The pro-Beijing leader has faced sustained criticism from protesters in the semi-autonomous city

International News: Beijing is drawing up a plan to remove Hong Kong’s beleaguered chief executive Carrie Lam, the Financial Times reported Wednesday, after nearly five months of pro-democracy unrest.

The pro-Beijing leader has faced sustained criticism from protesters in the semi-autonomous city. So far the central government in Beijing has given its support to her and the Hong Kong police, calling the demonstrators “rioters” and condemning the violence.

But according to the FT report, which quoted unnamed figures briefed on the deliberations, the Chinese government is drawing up a plan to replace her with an interim chief executive. However, sources told the newspaper that the plan would be dependent on the situation in the city first stabilising so that Beijing is not seen as giving in to violence.

Lam’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.Hong Kong has now been battered by 20 weeks of protests and with no political solution in sight, clashes have intensified each month. Earlier this month, Lam — who has refused to grant any major concessions to protesters — invoked a colonial-era emergency law to ban face masks, setting off a new wave of protests and vandalism that shut down much of the city’s transport network..

Hong police fire tear gas and water cannon as crowds defy rally ban

Authorities had forbidden the march in Tsim Sha Tsui, a densely-packed shopping district filled with luxury boutiques and hotels, citing public safety and previous violence from hardcore protesters

Hong Kong police fired water cannon and tear gas on Sunday as crowds held an illegal march, with hardcore protesters throwing petrol bombs and trashing busineses, capping a week of anger after the recent stabbing and beating of two pro-democracy protesters.

Authorities had forbidden the march in Tsim Sha Tsui, a densely-packed shopping district filled with luxury boutiques and hotels, citing public safety and previous violence from hardcore protesters. But tens of thousands joined the unsanctioned rally regardless, showing the movement can still keep pressure on the city’s pro-Beijing leaders after nearly five months of Hong Kong Protest  and political unrest.

In a familiar pattern, the huge rally began peacefully. But it soon descended into chaos as smaller groups of hardcore protesters hurled petrol bombs at police, subway entrances and at Chinese mainland bank branches as well as vandalising multiple shops.

Police responded with repeated volleys of tear gas, rubber bullets and baton charges. Throughout the afternoon a water cannon truck chased protesters down Nathan Road, one of the city’s busiest shopping thoroughfares, leaving it streaked with blue dye from the vehicle’s turrets.

The dye, used to identify protesters, also contains a painful pepper solution. As the protesters fled the streets, frontliners stayed behind to slow the advance of riot police, setting fire to makeshift barricades. Tensions were running high after the leader of the group organising the weekend rally, Jimmy Sham, was hospitalised by men wielding hammers earlier in the week…

NASA orbiter finds no trace of Chandrayaan-2 lander ‘Vikram’ on moon

On September 7, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) attempted a soft landing of Vikram on the uncharted lunar south pole, before losing communication with the lander

NASA has found no evidence of Chandrayaan-2’s Vikram lander in the images captured during a latest flyby of its Moon orbiter of the lunar region where India’s ambitious mission attempted a soft landing, the US space agency said. On September 7, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) attempted a soft landing of Vikram on the uncharted lunar south pole, before losing communication with the lander.

“The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter imaged the area of the targeted Chandrayaan-2Vikram landing site on October 14 but did not observe any evidence of the lander,” Noah Edward Petro, the Project Scientist for the LRO mission, told PTI in an exclusive email interaction.

Petro said that the camera team carefully examined the images and employed the change detection technique — using a ratio of an image from prior to the landing attempt to the one acquired on October 14. This approach, he said, is used for finding new meteorite impacts on the Moon that also helped locate the recent Beresheet lander.

“It is possible that Vikram is located in a shadow or outside of the search area. Because of the low latitude, approximately 70 degrees south, the area is never completely free of shadows, John Keller, Deputy Project Scientist LRO Mission, told PTI….

Pak’s support to terror groups chief obstacle to dialogue with India: US

“Pakistan’s harbouring of terrorist groups like Lashkar-e- Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammed, which seek to foment violence across the Line of Control, is destabilising,” Wells said

The US on Tuesday said it supports a direct dialogue between India and Pakistan as outlined in the Shimla Agreement, asserting that the “chief obstacle” to talks remain Islamabad’s continued support to extremist groups that engage in cross-border terrorism.

“We believe that direct dialogue between India and Pakistan, as outlined in the 1972 Shimla Agreement, holds the most potential for reducing tensions,” Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Alice G Wells told Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.She said during 2006-2007 backchannel negotiations, India and Pakistan reportedly made significant progress on a number of issues, including Kashmir.

“History shows us what is possible,” Wells said in a prepared statement submitted to the Congressional subcommittee on the eve of the hearing “Human Rights in South Asia: Views from the State Department and the Region”. “Restarting a productive bilateral dialogue requires building trust, and the chief obstacle remains Pakistan’s continued support for extremist groups that engage in cross-border terrorism,” she said.

The United States, Wells said, welcomes Prime Minister Imran Khan’s recent unambiguous statement that terrorists from Pakistan who carry out violence in Kashmir are enemies of both Kashmiris and Pakistan. “Pakistan’s harbouring of terrorist groups like Lashkar-e- Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammed, which seek to foment violence across the Line of Control, is destabilising, and Pakistani authorities remain accountable for their actions,” she said in a warning to Pakistan….

Concerned over human rights abuse, religious discrimination in Pakistan: US

It urged the Pakistani government to uphold the rule of law and the freedoms enshrined in the country’s Constitution

Describing shrinking space for civil society and media freedom in Pakistan as “troubling”, the United States on Tuesday said it remains “deeply concerned” over reports of human rights abuses and discrimination faced by people in the country because of their faith. It urged the Pakistani government to uphold the rule of law and the freedoms enshrined in the country’s Constitution.

Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Alice G Wells in a prepared statement to Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation of the House Foreign Affairs Committee hoped that the reforms Pakistan is undertaking under its current IMF plan will lay the foundation for better economic management and growth, leading to an improvement in the democratic system and human rights situation.

“In recent years, we have observed some troubling trends within Pakistan, including shrinking space for civil society and media freedom. Pressure on the media and civil society including harassment, threats, and financial and regulatory action, has increased over the past year,” she said in a prepared statement submitted to the Congressional subcommittee on the eve of the hearing “Human Rights in South Asia: Views from the State Department and the Region”…

Piyush Goyal says most trade issues with US resolved, announcement soon

Minister bats for ‘much larger engagement’ like a bilateral trade agreement

India and the US have resolved most of their broad trade differences and the countries must look at a much larger deal like a bilateral agreement, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday.

Addressing senior members of American industry at a conclave organised by the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), Piyush Goyal expressed optimism about the bilateral relationship that he said “is at their best ever now”. “We have almost resolved the broad contours of what we are going to announce. I do not see any great difficulty in closing the gap on the first announcement,” he said.

He, however, refused to give a deadline on the current trade talks taking place between the countries. “Trade negotiations are complex. You need to have a lot of back and forth, which is going on. We’ve had a little pause because all of us were busy in different areas. But it’s on track and everything is moving smoothly,” he said.

A trade arrangement with the US was expected during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s six-day visit to that country last month. However, with Modi by his side, US President Donald Trump had last month promised a trade deal with India “very soon”, with a larger deal down the line…

Exit polls: BJP all the way in Maharashtra and Haryana, Cong distant second

The BJP, confident of securing a two-thirds majority in both the states, will meet on Tuesday to take stock of the exit polls

Haryana Election : All exit poll data has predicted a return of Bharatiya Janata Party-led governments in Maharashtra and Haryana on Monday. The exit polls, however, differed in the extent of the victory of the BJP and its allies, and that of the defeat of the Congress, and other Opposition parties. The votes will be counted on Thursday.

The BJP, confident of securing a two-thirds majority in both the states, will meet on Tuesday to take stock of the exit polls as well as its internal assessments. The party is expected to showcase the Assembly poll wins as vindication of the Narendra Modi government’s policies at the Centre, especially scrapping of provisions of Article 370 and efficient implementation of its social welfare schemes, but also a defeat of the Opposition’s criticism on economic slowdown.

With some exit polls predicting the BJP could reach the halfway mark on its own in Maharashtra, a point of interest will be how it accommodates its ally, the Shiv Sena, in the government, and whether it agrees to have the Sena’s youth leader Aditya Thackeray as deputy to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The BJP’s wins will strengthen Fadnavis as well as Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar. The BJP and Sena did not have a pre-poll alliance for the 2014 Assembly polls..

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: Malegaon recycles the ‘unrecyclable’ ahead of polls

As Malegaon’s residents queue up to vote for the Assembly polls on Monday, an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 of them are unified in their concern for survival of the fledgling industry

Elections usually bring with it communal tensions in this city famous for its power looms and small-budget movies. The bridge over the Girna river on Mumbai-Agra highway divides the city’s Hindu and Muslim habitations, while symbiotic business ties of the two communities unite them to keep violence at bay.

As Malegaon’s residents queue up to vote for the Assembly polls on Monday, an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 of them, mostly Muslims and some Hindus, who earn their livelihoods from recycling ‘single-use plastic’, are unified in their concern for survival of the fledgling industry.

In Malegaon, only a handful are associated with the film industry. The textile industry is the biggest employer. An estimated 150,000 power looms operate in the city. Lesser known is Malegaon’s plastic recycling industry. As traders associated with the business like to put it, men, women, and children, the most abjectly poor of the city, help recycle plastic that is considered ‘unrecyclable’ anywhere else in the country.

Safety norms, whether to do with the health of workers, or toxicity of the material, are least concerning among people busy making ends meet. A recent National Green Tribunal order has asked the administration to disconnect electricity supply to units to prevent further polluting activities…

Read More: Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

South Africa targets billions siphoned off to US, UK, UAE by the Guptas

 The bulk of Guptas’ assets in South Africa are expected to be auctioned off to repay creditors as the brothers had fled to Dubai

South African authorities are to launch a fresh attempt to seize the billions of rands that Indian-origin Gupta brothers illegally took out of the country after allegedly acquiring it through irregular deals with state departments, a media report said.

According to the report in Sunday Times, the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) has enlisted the assistance of American law enforcement agencies after the US Treasury last week imposed sanctions against the three Gupta brothers South Africa  — Ajay, Atul and Rajesh — and an associate, Salim Essa.

The US Treasury has said the Gupta family were “members of a significant corruption network and it leveraged overpayments on government contracts, bribery and other corrupt acts to fund political contributions and influence government actions”.

Originally from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, the Gupta family amassed a fortune in IT, media and mining industries over the past two decades in South Africa, allegedly through their closeness to former president Jacob Zuma, who himself is facing corruption charges. The bulk of Guptas’ assets in South Africa are expected to be auctioned off to repay creditors as the brothers had fled to Dubai. But the AFU is now setting its sights on the money that was siphoned off to the US, the UK and the UAE, the report said.

Among the allegations being probed by the AFU is how money was laundered into two Texas-based bank accounts held by nephews of the Gupta brothers — Ashish and Amol Gupta, it said...

Maharashtra, Haryana elections LIVE: Ajit Pawar, Nitin Gadkari cast votes

Haryana and Maharashtra elections 2019 LIVE updates: The polling for 90 Assembly seats of Haryana and 288 seats of Maharashtra started at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm

Voting for the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections is currently underway. These elections are being held to elect state legislative Assemblies in Maharashtra and Haryana. While the BJP and its allies will look to retain power in both the states, the Opposition is hoping to turn the tables by taking advantage of any anti-incumbency.

The polling for 90 Assembly seats of Haryana and 288 seats of Maharashtra started at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm. The counting of votes will take place on October 24.

Maharashtra Assembly elections 2019: Key facts

Total candidates – 3237

Number of constituencies: 288

Number of polling booths: 96,661

Harayana Assembly elections 2019: Key facts

Total candidates – 1169

Number of constituencies: 90

Number of polling booths: 19,578

In Harayana, the Assembly election will witness a multi-cornered contest among the BJP, Congress, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and Jannayak Janta Party (JJP). In Maharashtra, BJP is contesting in alliance with Shiv Sena. Congress is contesting the polls in alliance with Nationalist Congress Party.

Among the most prominent candidates in Maharashtra are Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and his predecessors from the Congress — Ashok Chavan (Bhokar in Nanded district), and Prithviraj Chavan.

Among prominent figures in the Haryana election are Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, JJP’s Dushyant Chautala and INLD’s Abhay Singh Chautala....

London Mayor condemns plans to hold anti-India march over Kashmir on Diwali

He said that his City Hall office would be working with Scotland Yard to ensure a “robust” policing plan was in place for such a march

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has condemned plans to hold an anti-India march here on the Kashmir issue on Diwali next Sunday, saying it would deepen divisions in the UK capital and called on the organisers and prospective participants to cancel the protest rally. According to Met Police details on the permissions sought for the proposed march, an estimated 5,000-10,000 protesters plan to commence their march from Richmond Terrace near Downing Street and converge outside the Indian High Commission in London.

In response to a letter by Indian-origin London Assembly member Navin Shah, Mayor Saqib Khan said, “I absolutely condemn the plans for a protest march to take place on the auspicious day of Diwali, in the vicinity of the Indian High Commission in London.” “This march will only deepen divisions at a time when Londoners need to come together. That is why I am calling on those organising the march and all those considering taking part in it to think again and cancel their plans,” said the Pakistan-origin London Mayor in the letter dated October 18. He said that his City Hall office would be working with Scotland Yard to ensure a “robust” policing plan was in place for such a march.

In response to Shah’s request to consider seeking permission to ban the protest due to public disorder fears, he added: “As you know, the power to ban marches of this nature lies solely with the Home Secretary, not with me as the Mayor of London. I am copying this letter to both the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, and the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Cressida Dick, so they can clearly see the extent of my concerns about this march.” Shah, in his letter, recalled the violent clashes outside the Indian mission on August 15 between diaspora groups marking Independence Day and British Pakistani and separatist groups…

Maharashtra police ties up with AI firm to prevent spread of fake news

It has been monitoring various social media platforms since 20 days to monitor cases of violation under the Model Code of Conduct (MCC)

In the run-up to the Maharashtra State Assembly Elections, the Maharashtra Police has tied up with Logically, an extended intelligence (artificial and human intelligence)-powered tech firm, to detect and prevent the spread of fake news.

The company helps detects fake news, logical fallacy, and inaccuracies. It has been monitoring various social media platforms since 20 days to monitor cases of violation under the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).

These violations are then reported to the Election Commission of India (ECI). “Logically is confident of adding capabilities and capacity to the existing governmental and regulatory processes,” the company said. After evaluating the effectiveness of its collaborative approach during the polls, the company, along with the cyber cell, intends to continue improving its technical approach and scale this POC (Proof of Concept) in tandem with police departments of other states. The company has tools to detect and track problematic content. It also has 20 fact-checkers and verification experts, who are keeping tabs on fake news. It has set up a war room in the Maharashtra Cyber Office at World Trade Center, which forms the central hub of all detection, tracking, reporting activities…

Read Full Article: Maharashtra Police

Recalling when and what went wrong necessary: FM on ‘worst phase’ remark

Conceding that there were some “weaknesses” in his regime, former PM Manmohan Singh had on Thursday said the Modi government should stop blaming the UPA for every economic crisis

Recalling when and what went wrong during a certain period is absolutely necessary, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said, targeting former prime minister Manmohan Singh for accusing the NDA government of always trying to put the blame on its rivals. Conceding that there were some “weaknesses” in his regime, Singh had on Thursday said the Modi government should stop blaming the UPA for every economic crisis, as five years were sufficient time to come up with solutions.

“I respect Dr Manmohan Singh for telling me not to do the blame game. But recalling when and what went wrong during a certain period is absolutely necessary to put it in context, now that I’m being charged that there’s no narrative at all about the economy,” Nirmala Sitharaman told a group of Indian reporters here on Thursday. She was responding to a question on allegations by Singh that the government was always trying to put the blame on its opponents instead of finding solutions.

The senior Congress leader’s comments at the press conference in Mumbai came after Sitharaman at an event at the Columbia University in New York held the Manmohan Singh-Raghuram Rajan combination responsible for subjecting public sector banks (PSBs) to their “worst phase”.

Govt probing Flipkart, Amazon over alleged predatory pricing: Piyush Goyal

CAIT had in a letter on Monday urged Goyal to order an audit into the business model of all e-commerce firms

The government is probing Wal- Mart-owned Flipkart and Amazon over the alleged predatory pricing, commerce minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. Warning of stringent action as per the law for any violation, he said detailed questionnaires have been sent to these companies and their response is awaited. According to media reports, the e-commerce majors have grossed up over $3 billion in gross merchandise value during the festive sales held over the past fortnight, which typically see over half of their annual sales.

“E-commerce companies have no right to offer discounts or adopt predatory prices. Selling products cheaper and resulting the retail sector to incur losses is not allowed,” Goyal told reporters. They are also not permitted to own products and sell them, he said and that they are only platforms helping sellers connect with potential buyers. Without specifying the exact transgressions, Goyal said his ministry has received complaints from the traders body CAIT alleging violations of norms by these players.

“A detailed questionnaire has been sent to them. Today or tomorrow, a supplementary questionnaire will also be sent,” he said and reminded that he had earlier also warned these e- commerce players. “We will take stringent action against them, if there is violation of any law in letter or in spirit. The law is clear. Action will be taken as per the law,” he said….

Stop blaming UPA for every economic crisis: Manmohan Singh responds to FM

The NDA government should have learnt from the UPA’s ‘mistakes’, and provided ‘credible solutions’, Manmohan Singh said

Conceding that there were some “weaknesses” in his regime, former prime minister Manmohan Singh said on Thursday that the Narendra Modi government should stop blaming the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) for every economic crisis, as five years was sufficient time to come up with solutions.

Addressing a conference ahead of Maharashtra elections, he was replying to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s comments in the US, where she said the banking sector passed through its worst phase during the tenures of Singh and former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government should have learnt from the UPA’s “mistakes”, and provided “credible solutions”, Manmohan Singh said.

Had the NDA government learnt from the mistakes, fraud-accused jeweller Nirav Modi and other loan defaulters would not have fled with public money, or the banks’ situation would not have gone from “bad to worse”, Singh said. “You cannot claim year after year that the fault lies with the UPA , you have been in office for five-and-half years and that is long enough period for a government committed to public welfare to do some credible things.”

Self-drive car sharing service ‘Ola Drive’ launched: All you should know

SoftBank-backed Ola intends to host a fleet of 20,000 cars by 2020

Ride-hailing firm Ola on Thursday unveiled ‘Ola Drive’, a self-drive car-sharing service. The service has been initially rolled out for users in Bengaluru with Hyderabad, Mumbai, and New Delhi to follow shortly.

To build and scale up the service across several Indian cities, Ola ride intends to host a fleet of 20,000 cars by 2020, 50 per cent more than the fleet size of the entire industry put together. Initially, the SoftBank-backed company plans to invest about $200 million for the new platform and aims to increase this investment up to $500 million in the next couple of years, said the firm.

The development would further deepen Ola’s battle with US rival Uber to capture the mobility market in India as well as take on early self-drive car-rental players such as Mahindra-backed Zoomcar and Revv, which counts Hyundai Motors among its investors. With over 200 million subscribers, the company said that ‘Ola Drive’ has the largest user base for a car-sharing service in the country.

“Ola has been deep-rooted in India’s mobility landscape, building technology-enabled transportation solutions for millions of users. Our expertise in serving millions of customers through a large fleet of vehicles across 250 plus cities has been instrumental in making ride-hailing a norm in India,” said Arun Srinivas, chief sales and marketing officer, at Ola. “Ola Drive has been built on the same DNA and will play a transformative role in defining India’s car-sharing market in the next decade.”

Sitharaman dubs India ‘the best place for investors’, promises more reforms

Responding to a question on why investors should allocate funds for India, she said that even if the court system is a bit delayed, India is a transparent and open society

Investors can find no better place in the world than India that has a democracy loving and capitalist respecting environment, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said. She also assured international investors at an interaction session at the IMF’s headquarters that the government was continuously working to bring reforms.

“It (India) is one of the fastest growing (economies) even today. It has the best skilled manpower and a government that is continuously doing what is required in the name of reforms, above all democracy and rule of law,” Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday.

Responding to a question on why investors should allocate funds for India, she said that even if the court system is a bit delayed, India is a transparent and open society. The rule of law works and there are a lot of reforms happening, even those to cut down delays, she said. “So you will not have anything better… democracy loving, capitalist respecting environment… in India,” Sitharaman said at the event hosted by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry in association with the US India Strategic and Partnership Forum.

Responding to questions from major insurance companies, who urged her to remove the cap on investment in this sector, she said the government needs to understand what the expectations of the sector are other than removing of the cap...

A long list of economic problems await Hong Kong. How they can be fixed

Many in the city question the political will of Hong Kong’s government officials to take bold, aggressive action in a range of policy areas

Past Hong Kong’s present political strife, a considerable rundown of monetary issues anticipate the city’s present and future rulers. Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s CEO, on Wednesday uncovered in excess of 220 activities in lodging, land supply and vocation support, in an acknowledgment that monetary arrangement has a task to carry out in lightening a portion of the city’s disappointments. She additionally recognized that Hong Kong entered a downturn in the second from last quarter and cautioned of a “phenomenal” financial test.

That is a beginning, however onlookers state the long-standing development model – as a low-charge, low-guideline entrepot for money and exchange – has turned into a component in the political turmoil, as opposed to the fundamental arrangement.

Immense salary imbalance, markets constrained by insiders and a spiraling average cost for basic items – particularly of lodging – are at this point signs of Hong Kong‘s image of private enterprise, close by the “world’s freest economy” name perpetually granted by The Heritage Foundation, a preservationist inclining U.S. arrangement gathering.

From utilizing the city’s monetary capability to breaking the strength of aggregates and increasing the expectation of open offices, there exists a scope of proposition from business analysts and different specialists for a path forward. In certain regions, the administration is now pushing forward. In others, a principal move – and the political accord to make it – is required....

China to remove business restrictions on foreign banks, brokers: Report

China has stepped up efforts to open its financial sector amid a festering trade war with the United States, with increased access to its financial sector among a host of demands from Washington

International News: China will remove business restrictions on foreign banks, brokerages and fund management firms, a cabinet meeting chaired by premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday said, according to state television.

China has stepped up efforts to open its financial sector amid a festering trade war with the United States, with increased access to its financial sector among a host of demands from Washington. The country caught traders off-guard with a surprise injection into the financial system via loans to banks, ahead of data on Friday which is expected to show a further slowdown in the domestic economy.

The People’s Bank of China added 200 billion yuan ($28 billion) of one-year cash through the medium-term lending facility. It kept the interest rate steady. The economy has been under pressure amid a prolonged trade dispute with the US and a slowing domestic economy, prompting the central bank to ease monetary policy by lowering corporate borrowing costs and cutting banks’ reserve ratios this year. Data released this week showed that China’s factory deflation deepened and imports and exports fell last month…