Amid Doklam standoff, India-China trade war looms: Chinese media

The article said that China 'could easily retaliate' with restrictions on Indian products

A trade war seems to be looming between India and China after New Delhi imposed anti-dumping duties on 93 Chinese products amidst a military standoff in Doklam area, two state media reports here said on.

An article in The Global Times, part of the ruling Communist Party's publication group, urged Chinese firms to "reconsider the risks" of investing in India and warned New Delhi to be "prepared for the possible consequences for its ill-considered action."

The article said that China "could easily retaliate" with restrictions on Indian products, but added that it "doesn't make much economic sense" for the country.

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It cited figures from the Indian embassy in China to show that Indian exports fell by 12.3 per cent year-on-year to $11.75 billion while India's imports from China rose by 2 per cent to $59 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $47 billion.

According to the Indian Commerce Ministry, the trade deficit with China last year mounted to over $52 billion when the bilateral trade stood at $70 billion.

"A trade war between China and India seems to be looming after the latter moved last Wednesday to impose anti-dumping duties on 93 products from China," the report said.

"If India really starts a trade war with China, of course China's economic interests will be hurt, but there will also be consequences for India," it said.

The report on trade comes as India and China have been locked in a tense military standoff in Doklam in the Sikkim sector. Read more

In Lucknow, Modi echoes Indira Gandhi but doesn't announce any gains

Modi said his opponents have become "politically irrelevant'

Breaking News : Prime Minister. Narendra Modi today addressed a massive public rally in Lucknow, to launch his campaign for Uttar Pradesh assembly polls. He didn’t announce any new ‘gains’ after the 50-days of note ban ‘pain’, and only cursorily referred to the promises he made on the New Year’s Eve.

Modi said his opponents have become “politically irrelevant”, and even echoed former prime minister Indira Gandhi. She had famously said in her 1971 election campaign, where her party’s slogan was “Garibi Hatao’, remove poverty: “Wah kahate hain Indira hatao, hum kahate hain garibi hatao’’ (my opponents call for Indira’s removal, I want poverty to be removed).

In Lucknow, Modi said all opposition parties have joined forces against him. He said that the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party never see eye to eye but have in once voice criticized the note ban decision. “Wah kahate hain Modi hatao, main kahata hoon kaladhan hatao, bhrashtachar hatao (they say remove Modi, I say end black money, end corruption),” the PM said.
Modi impressed upon party workers and the public how the large gathering at the rally was proof that the BJP had already won the assembly polls. It was reminiscent of the large public rallies that Modi had addressed all across Bihar in the assembly polls in the state in October-November, where he would present the large crowds that turned up for his public meetings as a fait accompli for the elections. However, the coming together of Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal, Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal United and Congress ensured the BJP and its allies were decimated in the polls.(more)

No vacation for ministers and bureaucrats this holiday season

Ministers and bureaucrats in the Narendra Modi government have no time to let their hair down this holiday season. There’s nothing official about it, but the unwritten directive from the top is “no leave”, says a central government official. “Holiday is the biggest luxury in this government... there’s no platform for such thoughts at all,” is how the official describes the mood in the corridors of power. According to another official, “there’s an air of doubt and caution after demonetiSation. Nobody wants to risk going on an overseas trip at least, in the fear of attracting scrutiny.’’

Holidays have hardly been part of the narrative ever since Modi took charge as Prime Minister in May 2014. In fact, in reply to a Right to Information query a few months ago about Modi’s leave, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said he had not taken a single day off so far. However, this year-end might mean a greater work load on both ministers and bureaucrats as a lot of deadlines are bunching up.

For instance, the PM had set year-end as a goalpost for the demonetisation pain to ease. Ministers are also learnt to have been told to create awareness about the benefits of digital transactions; some are going to their respective constituencies to drive home the message of cashless payments. Also, the committee headed by former chief economic adviser Shankar Acharya is slated to submit a report on the feasibility of changing the financial year — from April-March to January-December — at year-end. In addition, the Union Budget has been advanced by a month to February 1 this time, making it impossible for the government to take it easy. Add to that the many state elections, especially Uttar Pradesh, early 2017, which will keep the top leadership on the road, but the destination will be rallies and not sunny beaches. (more)

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After daughter's Rs 500-cr wedding, I-T raid at Reddy's mining company

Since hosting his daughter's lavish wedding, in which he apparently splurged Rs 500 crore, Bellary mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy has been on the income-tax radar. The I-T department on Monday raided Reddy's Obulapuram mining company in Bellary.

Reddy had hosted the opulent wedding at the Bangalore Palace grounds on November 16.

Earlier, Reddy, then state tourism minister in the B S Yeddyurappa-led Karnataka government, had been arrested in 2011 on the charges of illegally mining iron ore and jailed for over three years. He is said to have made Rs 5,000 crore through iron ore mining in Bellary. The criminal charges against him relate to the Andhra Pradesh branch of the multi-billion dollar mining empire that he runs with family and two brothers.

The five-day wedding extravaganza that he hosted earlier this month included ceremonies held against the backdrop of lavish settings. The ostentatious wedding had stirred up a huge row over its timing, when people across the country were reeling under cash crunch after the central government's move to demonetise high value currency notes.

Palace grounds, which plays host to grand weddings, presented almost a surreal picture as Reddy's daughter Bramhani entered into a wedlock with Rajeev Reddy, the son of a leading businessman from Andhra Pradesh, with rituals conducted by a battery of priests from the famous Tirumala temple.Read more

Indian Navy probes leaked data of Scorpene subs

Indian Navy probes leaked data of Scorpene subs

At midnight on Tuesday, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was woken up by a phone call to tell him that an Australian newspaper had just reported the leakage of key operational details of India’s newest submarines, the Scorpene.

A short while earlier, The Australian, a reputed Melbourne based daily, had broken the news that 22,400 pages of detailed documents relating to India’s Scorpene submarines has been leaked, apparently from the French shipbuilder, DCNS, which is the vendor for India’s six Scorpenes.

The report in The Australian says: “the DCNS documents detail the most sensitive combat capabilities of India’s new $US3 bn ($3.9bn) submarine fleet and would provide an intelligence bonanza if obtained by India’s strategic rivals, such as Pakistan or China.”

ALSO READ: Indian Navy analysing Scorpene data leak

Each page of the leaked documents, which are available on The Australian’s website, is annotated in red with the stamp: “Restricted Scorpene India”.

Parrikar says, upon learning of the leak at midnight, he ordered the navy chief personally to inquire into what this meant for the security of the Scorpene fleet.(more)

Dipa Karmakar's death-defying vault and why she sticks to it

Dipa Karmakar's death-defying vault and why she sticks to it

Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar has been scripting history ever since she became the country's first woman gymnast to qualify for the Olympics, but to do so she has had to master perhaps the most perilous vault known to the sport.

Karmakar, who turns 23 on Tuesday, became the first Indian to make the cut for the individual vault finals in her debut Olympic Games and in the process she managed to perform her much-appreciated 'Produnova' vault cleanly to secure 14.850 points after two attempts.

ALSO READ: 2016 Rio Olympics: Who is Dipa Karmakar? All you need to know

However, every time she attempts the Produnova she puts her life and limbs at risk. Described as the "most difficult and dangerous manoeuvre in women’s gymnastics" by The Wall Street Journal, it currently has a 7.0 D-score and thus provides a leg-up for any gymnast able to perform it successfully.

Read our full coverage on the 2016 Rio Olympics

Old bridge on Mumbai-Goa highway collapses; 2 buses, other vehicles missing

Old bridge on Mumbai-Goa highway collapses; 2 buses, other vehicles missing

At least two buses and several other vehicles went missing near Mahad city after a bridge on the Savitri River collapsed early on Wednesday due to torrential rains in the Konkan region.

The bridge, more than seven decades old and a critical link to the Mumbai-Goa national highway, crashed around 1 a.m. due to the flood waters rushing into the river.

Two state transport buses with 11 passengers each were missing and there was no contact with either their drivers or the passengers, Raigad Collector Sheetal Ugale said.

Since the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation buses — which started from Mumbai — did not arrive at their scheduled Mahad depot, Ugale appealed people to get in touch with the concerned authorities about their missing relatives.(more)

Rahul Gandhi shouldn't have resorted to denunciation of RSS: SC

Rahul Gandhi shouldn't have resorted to denunciation of RSS: SC

The Supreme Court on Tuesday observed that Rahul Gandhi, who blamed RSS for assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, should not have resorted to "collective denunciation" of an organisation and will have to face trial in the defamation case against him if he does not express regret.

"We have held it may be historically correct but the fact or the statement has to meet the test of public good. You can't make collective denunciation," a bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and R F Nariman said.

The bench said that "freedom is not crippled or curbed. What is curbed is freedom of speech. What the writers, politicians, critics or antagonists say, you must have great magnitude to swallow."

The bench questioned the speech made by Rahul and wondered "why he made a speech quoting wrong historical fact".

The apex court said that they have applied their mind and Rahul Gandhi will have to face the trial in the case.

"What we have to see is the petitioner's allegations come under Section 499 (defamation) of IPC or not. Judgement is already there. You have to face trial, if you don't express regret," the bench said.

It also said "the purpose of law is not to convert people into litigants. Purpose of law is that people obey law. Peace and harmony should prevail rather than chaos."(more)

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.