Nine killed, 1 fireman injured in fire at Mumbai medical store

Nine killed, 1 fireman injured in fire at Mumbai medical store

Nine persons, including five children, were killed and a fireman was injured when a firebroke out at a medical store in a chawl in suburban Andheri this morning, police said.

Among the five deceased children was a 3-month-old infant, they said.

The fire occurred early this morning at 'Wafa' medical store located on the ground floor of a chawl in Juhi Galli on Wireless Road in Andheri, Mumbai police spokesman Ashok Dudhe said.

Eight persons were initially killed in the blaze. Later, a seriously injured woman also succumbed to her burns at a hospital, police said.

The families of the victims were staying on the first and second floors of the premises, he said.

According to police and fire brigade officials, the electric wiring and other power installations in the 120 sq ft medical store caught fire. The blaze then spread to other floors of the ground plus two-floor chawl in which nearly 17-18 people were staying.

Prima facie, the police and fire officials suspect that because of a very small internal staircase in the chawl, the victims were trapped inside the premises and got engulfed in the fire. Read more.

China accuses US of ignoring facts over India's NSG bid

China accuses US of ignoring facts over India's NSG bid

China accused the US of ignoring facts over India not getting entry into the NSG and claimed that the plenary meeting of the elite grouping in Seoul did not discuss the accession of any specific country.

China's assertion came in response to the remarks by US Under Secretary for Political AffairsTom Shannon that India failed to get entry into Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) due to China-led opposition.

Shannon had said one country can break consensus in the 48-nation atomic trading bloc and insisted that such member should be held accountable.

"With regard to the US officials comments on the NSG we want to point out that this official shows no regard to facts," Chinese Foreign Ministry official Hong Lei told a media briefing.

"In the plenary meeting in Seoul India' accession was not on the agenda of the meeting. It did not discuss the accession of any specific country into the group," Hong said.

"The news release of the plenary meeting said meeting discussed the technical, legal and political questions concerning the accession of relevant countries," he said.

On Shannon's comment that China's motives in the South China Sea (SCS) was intended towards Indian Ocean, Hong said "we are strongly dissatisfied with that" remark. Read more.

7th Pay Commission: Pay hike cheer for govt employees

7th Pay Commission: Pay hike cheer for govt employees

The Cabinet on Wednesday approved recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commissionon pay and pensions in a decision that will boost consumption by putting extra disposable income in the hands of the central government’s 4.7 million employees and 5.3 million pensioners.

On an average, the hike in basic pay and pension will be 2.5 times the existing structure. However, the existing dearness allowance will merge with the basic pay.

This could revive demand in a struggling economy but could also lead to inflation, prompting Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to call the impact of the decision “a mixed bag”.

The Cabinet, however, deferred a revision in allowances. A committee headed by Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa will look into recommendations in this regard because there was resentment among employees over suggestions to scrap four allowances. Till then, the existing allowances will continue.

Jaitley said the panel would be given four months to look into the recommendations on allowances and then the government would take a call. There would be no clarity on when the allowances would be revised till the panel studied the recommendations, he said.

The pay panel had recommended abolishing 52 allowances altogether and subsuming another 36. Read more.

China pulls up chief negotiator for limited global support for anti-India position at NSG

China pulls up chief negotiator for limited global support for anti-India position at NSG

The Chinese leadership has pulled up Wang Qun, its lead negotiator and Director General of the Arms Control Division at the Foreign Ministry, for failing to drum up significant global support for China's position in Seoul which blocked India's entry into the NSG.

Highly placed Western and Chinese sources said that Wang Qun had told Beijing that at least one third of the NSG nations would endorse China's position. However, the position was totally in the reverse, with as many as 44 nations backing India and China only having the support of four nations.

Beijing now fears that the fallout of the NSG outcome could have an impact on a crucial verdict expected soon from the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in a case brought by the Philippines concerning China's territorial reclamation activities in the South China Sea.

As things stand, Beijing's stance flies in the face of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) of which it is a signatory. China's big fear now is India could use the same ploy that Beijing used in Seoul at the NSG plenary and back The Hague Court's decision which is likely to go against China.

Highly-placed sources said that the global support for India's position at the NSG could well be leveraged by New Delhi to back the enforcement of The Hague Judgment - a scenario which could isolate China and could even trigger its exit from UNCLOS. Read more.

Nifty reclaims 8,200 on 7th Pay Commission approval; Brexit woes ease

Nifty reclaims 8,200 on 7th Pay Commission approval; Brexit woes ease

Benchmark indices ended near day’s high after the Cabinet today approved the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission. Investors’ sentiments were further boosted due to recovery in global stocks after near term Brexit concerns eased.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose 216 points to end at 26,740 and the Nifty50 gained 76 points to close at 8,204. Among broader markets, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices surged between 0.9%-1.2%, outperforming the benchmark indices.

ALSO READ: 7th Pay Commission: Cabinet approves big pay hike for government employees

Commenting on today's development, Motilal Oswal, CMD, Motilal Oswal Financial Services said "Just ahead of Monsoon, the 7th Pay commission will set the snowball impact in the economy. This is a well expected positive move, this will help achieve GDP growth target quicker. The Auto, consumer durables and FMCG sector would see much higher demand. The small concern could be that this may push inflation a bit higher”.

The Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, a move which will boost consumption by putting extra disposable income in the hands of the central government’s 4.7 million employees.

The Cabinet has also approved the National Mineral Exploration Policy (NMEP) on Wednesday, which will pave the way for auction of 100 prospective mineral blocks, boosting India’s mining potential.

The Cabinet cleared the model Shops and Establishment Act that would allow cinema halls, restaurants, shops, banks and other such workplaces to be open 24X7. Read more.