Long queues again? ATMs go dry as many states face cash crunch: Top updates

Several states are facing a cash shortage despite currency flows in the economy at the pre-demonetisation level

A cash crunch has been reported in several states of India -- Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana. People are facing a huge monetary crisis, with a majority of automated teller machines (ATMs) running out of cash. In Bihar's Patna several ATMs have gone 'out of service' causing inconvenience to the locals.

Taking stock of the situation, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said: "We have reviewed the currency situation in the country; there is more than adequate currency circulation and it is available with the banks... a temporary shortage caused by the sudden and unusual increase in some areas is being tackled.

Here are the top developments in the crisis caused by a sudden shortage of cash across several states and what the government is saying:1. Life gets miserable for many Indians, especially traders: Despite the currency flow in the economy going back to the pre-demonetisation level, ATMs are going dry making life miserable for many residents, especially traders. Many are running from one ATM to another in search of currency notes.

ALSO READ: Demonetisation redux? ATMs again running dry across states amid cash crunch

2. Some ATMs not dispensing more than Rs 5,000: Only one ATM at State Bank of India’s branch had cash, but the machine was dispensing only up to Rs 5000 cash and that too only in the form of Rs 100 currency notes, according to The Times of India report.

The people in Delhi, on the other hand, said that most of the ATMs are dispensing only Rs 500 notes.

3.Hyderabad, Varanasi office-goers face troubles: In Hyderabad, office goers have told news agency ANI, that they have been unable to withdraw cash from ATMs in several parts of the city since yesterday. There are reports from Varanasi as well of people saying there is no cash at ATMs since yesterday, said TOI report.

However, people in Madhya Pradesh claimed that they have been facing a cash crunch for the last two weeks.

4. Govt's meeting with RBI on cash shortage across states: The finance ministry held a meeting with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), banks, and state government officials on Thursday to take stock of cash availability after receiving complaints of the dearth of money in some states. The non-release of funds by the Centre is being cited as one reason for the cash crunch.

Father of girl allegedly raped by BJP MLA beaten by UP cops, dead; updates

The father of the girl who had been taken into police custody for protesting outside Yogi Adityanath's residence died early this morning

An 18-year-old woman on Sunday tried to immolate herself near Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's residence, after alleging that she had been raped by a legislator of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The immolation bid took place outside the Golf Club gate of the chief minister's residence. The woman alleged that she was raped in June last year by Kuldeep Singh Sengar, the MLA of Unnao district's Bangermau constituency, around 90 km from Lucknow. She also accused the Unnao police of not taking any action and registering a case on her complaint, Vijay Sen Singh, in-charge of the Gautampalli police station, said.

In the latest development, the girl's father, who had been taken into police custody for protesting outside Adityanath's residence, died early this morning.

1. Father of alleged rape victim dies in police custody: Father of the woman who said that she was raped by a BJP MLA and his accomplices, passed away, allegedly in police custody, after he was arrested on Sunday.

He was admitted to hospital last night by Police after he complained of abdominal pain & vomiting. He passed away in early morning hours: Dr Atul, District hospital, Unnao on father of rape victim. The victim along with her family had attempted suicide outside CM residence, y'day pic.twitter.com/UqBoSI6EfI

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) April 9, 2018

2. 'Man died of vomiting and abdominal pain': "The man was admitted to the hospital last night after he complained of abdominal pain and vomiting. He passed away in the early morning hours," Dr Atul, District hospital of Unnao said about the father of the alleged rape victim.

3. "Arrest the rapist or I'll kill myself": The girl told mediapersons, "that the BJP MLA should be arrested, and until he is not, I am not going back home… I will take my life otherwise… I was threatened that if I tell anyone my family members will be killed and thrown away.

4. Girl's father was beaten by BJP MLA's brother: The 18-year-old girl claimed that her father sustained multiple injuries after he was beaten up by the BJP MLA's brother and some of his accomplices a few days ago.

5. Magisterial inquiry to be conducted: If lapse found on the side of police, action will be taken.The incident happened while the man was in judicial custody, said DIG.

6. UP police had beaten the girl's father: Two police officers and four constables suspended and 4 accused of beating the rape victim's father arrested: Pushpanjali Devi, SP of Unnao. (more)

Kapil Mohan, the man who kept traditions alive at Mohan Meakin passes away

Mohan, chairman of Mohan Meakin, the maker of Old Monk rum, passed away on Saturday following a cardiac arrest at Mohan Nagar, near Ghaziabad

Kapil Mohan hardly ever downed a peg. Yet, the dark rum in a fat bottle his company brewed was the favourite evening companion for millions cutting across age, class and continents.

Mohan, chairman of Mohan Meakin, the maker of Old Monk rum, passed away on Saturday following a cardiac arrest at Mohan Nagar, near Ghaziabad. He was 88. He was the man behind famous brands like Old Monk, Solan No.1, and Golden Eagle, before age and competition caught up.

The teetotaller, who drew strength primarily from other spirits — of the holy kind — ran the company under his watch for over four decades. Only a year ago, he passed on the executive control to his nephews Hemant and Vinay, though he continued to be the chairman.

Pushed to the helm, following the death of his elder brother V R Mohan in the early 1970s, Kapil saw the emergence of the dark rum packed in the iconic squarish hard glass bottle as a global brand.

Till the mid 2000s, it was the largest-selling liquor brand in the country, with heavy patronage from military canteens. Old Monk held its own even as other brands such as Golden Eagle Beer were weathering the onslaught of Vijay Mallya-led United Breweries group and other competitors.

Yet, much of that market dominance seemed to have been achieved by word of mouth, than through conscious marketing efforts. “We do not advertise. I will not, and as long as I am in this chair, we will not (advertise),” Mohan had said in an interview in 2012. “The best way of my advertising is the product: When it comes to you and you taste it, you look at the difference and ask what is it. That is the best advertisement.”

Mohan was the president of the municipal committee in Himachal Pradesh’s Solan, where the company had its distillery and brewery. In fact, one of the secrets of the success of Old Monk and other brands was the fact that the water was sourced from the same natural spring in Solan as it was 150 years ago, when the facilities were first set up. People close to him say the Padma Shri awardee was averse to change and wanted things done the traditional way. (more)

Xiaomi announces third Indian manufacturing facility in Noida

Xiaomi has become fastest growing smartphone brand in India with a growth rate of nearly 300 per cent year-on-year

Smartphone maker Xiaomi on Tuesday announced its third manufacturing plant in India and the first facility for power banks in partnership with Hipad Technology in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

Along with this, Xiaomi also announced the launch of two new power banks- 10000mAh Mi Power Bank 2i and 20000mAh Mi Power Bank 2i.

Extending its commitment to the Make in India initiative, Mi Power Bank 2i will be assembled at Hipad Technology's facility in Noida. Hipad Technology's manufacturing unit is a dedicated Power Bank facility for Xiaomi and is spread across 2.3 lakh square feet. The starting production capacity for the facility is nearly seven power banks per minute during its operational hours.

Xiaomi entered India in July 2014 and quickly announced plans to establish its first manufacturing plant for its smartphones. Today, the company has two smartphone manufacturing plants in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh and more than 95 per cent of its smartphones sold in India are assembled locally.

Earlier this year, Xiaomi met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and spoke at length about delivering on Make in India initiative.

"Xiaomi India has seen exponential growth in India and today it enjoys market leadership in the smartphone segment. I believe a key reason for our success in the smartphone segment has been our commitment to India. We want our India Mi Fans to enjoy the best quality technology at an affordable rate, and manufacturing locally helps us achieve our vision. We are extending our commitment of building a truly localised company and hope to bring the ecosystem of world's best power banks to India with our partners Hipad Technology," said vice president Xiaomi and managing director Xiaomi India, Manu Jain.

10000mAh Mi Power Bank 2i features an elegant double anodised aluminium design that is lightweight and 14.2mm slim. Boasting up to 85 per cent conversion rate, it can charge a standard smartphone multiple times. For instance, 10000mAh Mi Power Bank 2i can charge Mi A1 up to 2.2 times or Redmi Note 4 up to 1.5 times. (more)

NTPC blast shows how health safety, environment standards are lacking

So far, the explosion at NTPC's Unchahar plant has claimed over 29 lives

The explosion in a boiler at NTPC’s Unchahar plant in Rae Bareli district has to this point claimed more than 29 lives.

For a rustic like India, which has commercial disasters like the Bhopal fuel leak, this incident another time shows how health

Ntpc boiler blast : safety and surroundings requirements are lacking. Incidents just like the chlorine gasoline leak at Jamshedpur (2008), a toluene fireplace at a Ranbaxy manufacturing facility in Mohali (2003) and a chlorine fuel leak in Vadodara (2002) are a number of the black spots in India’s business records.

according to the countrywide Crime information Bureau, 831 have been killed during 2014-15 in industrial explosions on my own.

• Rae Bareli : NTPC blast toll reaches 29, families of victims look for bodies and answers

INDUSTRIAL BLACK SPOTS

June 27, 2014: A fire after a blast at a GAIL (India) underground gas pipeline in Nagaram, Andhra Pradesh, kills 18 and injures 40

October 29, 2009: Fire at IndianOil’s oil depot tank holding 8,000 kilolitre in Jaipur kills 12 lives and injures 200

September 23, 2009: Collapse of a 275-metre chimney being constructed at Vedanta’s Bharat Aluminium plant kills at least 45

July 27, 2005: An offshore platform of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation in Bombay High gutted, killing at least 4

December 3, 1984: A methyl isocyanate leakage from a Union Carbide India plant claims more than 2,500 lives and affected more than 100,000

December 27, 1975: A blast at Chasnala Colliery in Dhanbad kills 372 miners

May 28, 1965: Explosion at Dhori colliery near Dhanbad kills close to 300 miners

December 10, 1954: One of the first major industrial disasters of Independent India; flooding at Newton Chikli Colliery in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, kills 63

April 14, 1944 (Bombay Explosion): Fire after an explosion on a freighter carrying gold, ammonium and 1,400 tonnes of explosives kills around 800

वीडियो : जंगली जानवरों के बीच पली-बढ़ी 'मोगली गर्ल' अब बन रही इंसान

वीडियो : जंगली जानवरों के बीच पली-बढ़ी 'मोगली गर्ल' अब बन रही इंसान

उत्तर प्रदेश के बहराइच जिले में हजारों एकड़ में फैले घनघोर जंगल में जानवरों के बीच से पुलिस को एक ऐसी बच्ची ('मोगली गर्ल') मिली है, जो जानवरों की तरह ही हरकतें करती है और वैसी ही आवाजें भी निकालती है.

जनपद बहराइच में मोतीपुर पुलिस को रात में गश्त के दौरान जंगल में ऐसी लड़की मिली, जो जानवरों के बीच रहती थी. पुलिस के जवानों ने उसे बंदरों के बीच से निकालकर जिला अस्पताल पहुंचाया, जहां लड़की का इलाज किया जा रहा है. इलाज के बाद उसमें अब थोड़ा बदलाव देखा जा रहा है. लड़की जंगल में पुलिस को बिना कपड़ों के मिली थी.

एसआई सुरेश यादव 25 जनवरी को कतर्नियाघाट सेंक्चुरी के मोतीपुर रेंज में गश्त कर रहे थे. मोतीपुर थानाध्यक्ष राम अवतार यादव ने बताया कि जब पुलिस टीम रेंज के खपरा वन चौकी के पास पहुंची तभी जंगल में बंदरों से घिरी एक निर्वस्त्र चार वर्षीय बच्ची दिखाई दी. निर्जन वन में अकेली बच्ची को देख पुलिस कर्मी दंग रह गए.

एसआई सुरेश ने उसे साथ लाना चाहा तो बंदर विरोध पर उतर आए और चीखना शुरू कर दिया. बच्ची भी पुलिस कर्मियों को देख बंदरों की तरह ही चीखने लगी, लेकिन पुलिस कर्मियों ने कड़ी मशक्कत के बाद उसे साथ लिया और जिला अस्पताल लाकर भर्ती कराया. बच्ची के शरीर पर जंगली जानवरों के काटने के जख्म थे. बच्ची न तो इंसानी भाषा समझ पाती है और न ही बोल पाती है. फिलहाल डॉक्टर उसका इलाज कर रहे हैं.
लेकिन डॉक्टरों को देखते ही वह चिल्ला उठती है, जिसकी वजह से मेडिकल व नर्सिंग स्टाफ को इलाज में काफी दिक्कतों का सामना करना पड़ रहा है.

एसओ राम अवतार ने बताया कि इस मामले में न तो कोई केस दर्ज है और ना ही उसके परिजनों का अता-पता चल रहा है.Read more

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11-year-old Pakistani girl writes to Modi, asks him to take steps towards peace, friendship

Aqeedat Naveed congratulated Modi on UP poll victory

Congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) historic mandate in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections, an eleven year old Pakistani school girl wrote to him saying that he should now focus towards winning more hearts of Indians and Pakistanis alike, by becoming a bridge of peace between the two nations.

In her letter, Aqeedat Naveed highlighted the need for peace between India and Pakistan, and said that Prime Minister Modi can help speed up the process, reports DunyaNews.

"Once my father told me that winning of hearts is a marvelous job. Perhaps you have won the hearts of Indian people, therefore you won the election in UP. But I must tell you if you want to win more Indian and Pakistani hearts, you should take steps towards friendship and peace. Both countries need good relation. Let's make a peace bridge between India and Pakistan. Let's decide that we will not buy bullets, will buy books. We will not buy the guns, will buy the medicine for the poor people," Aqeedat wrote in the two-page letter.

Also Read : Congress debacle in UP raises questions about Rahul Gandhi's elevation to party chief

She further emphasised that the choice between peace and conflict lies open for both the nations, and signed off by congratulating the prime minister for the UP polls victory.

The fifth grader, who hails from Lahore, had earlier written a letter to Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj as well on the matter of peace and has also received several responses from officials in New Delhi. 

UP elections 2017: Poll promises have not changed in 15 years; here's why

Pihani, a cluster of villages near Lucknow, illustrates why the state has not developed

Pihani, UP Elections 2017 : For 16 years, Kailash Rai (not his real name), 49, has been commuting six hours every working day between his home in the state capital Lucknow and the government degree college where he teaches in Pihani, 135 km to the northwest.

A political-science lecturer, Rai cannot move with his family to Pihani, a cluster of over 100 villages (called a kasba) in Hardoi district, with less than 40,000 families as per Census 2011. When he started working there in 2000, it lacked the basic public facilities–regular power supply, good roads, public transport and good medical services.

Pihani remains an economic backwater. In the ongoing assembly elections, UP’s incumbent and contesting politicians are still promising the basic facilities they did 16 years ago: Electricity, buses and jobs, along with laptops and free data for poor youth.

a government degree college, a state-run industrial training institute (ITI) and two private degree colleges–more than the Indian average of 27 colleges per 100,000 youth in the 18-23 age group, according to the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2014-15. But it has been unable to produce talent to run local educational institutions, banks and medical centres.

UP has the highest number of colleges in any Indian state (6,026), according to AISHE 2014-15, but it has been unable to produce qualified workforce to drive development, as IndiaSpend reported on February 11, 2017.

UP is India’s most populous and youngest state–its median age is 23–and the flaws in its development model typified by Pihani explain why its towns and village clusters (blocks with a population of less than 250,000 in 2011) cannot cope with the aspirations of its people, especially with regard to education and employment.

Pihani’s dropout rate of 36% at elementary school level exceeds UP’s overall rate of 21%. Like other village clusters in the state, connections to bigger cities are limited because there are few railway links, hardly any feeder roads to highways or efficient public transport services. Less than half the houses in the villages have electricity. (more)

Sops in the offing? Modi prepares note ban narrative for New Year's eve

The next 50 days could define the rest of Prime Minister Modi's tenure

Breaking News : After 50 days of “pain” will come the “gain”, so said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 13 November in his public speeches in Goa and Belgaum.

The people have kept the faith in Modi’s promise beyond the expectations of even the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Bank officials, lawyers and businessmen getting caught with tranches of currency notes, and visuals of old currency notes being burnt or thrown in ponds has satisfied the public need to see those with black money suffer.

Visuals in the media of queues outside ATMs (Automated Teller Machines) in big cities like Delhi and Mumbai have also served the same purpose – “the rich” have suffered.

But now comes the test for the Modi government, primarily for the PM himself since he has taken ownership of the note ban decision.

From now to elections in five states, particularly Uttar Pradesh from mid-February onwards, the Modi government needs to keep the political narrative in its favour, particularly as the expected gains are unlikely to match the initial estimates.

The PM’s fist post demonetisation interview will be shown today at 8pm on the TV Today network. The PM is also expected to deliver an address to the nation either on Friday or on the New Year’s Eve. This will be followed by a huge public rally in Lucknow on 2 January. Read more.

PMO stamp in Cabinet rejig

PMO stamp in Cabinet rejig

Among many political, administrative and ideological messages in the changes in the council of ministers that Prime Minister Narendra Modi carried out, the most important was the unambiguous stamp of his office.

The sweep of influence of the Prime Minister’s Office in Tuesday’s rejig was rarely witnessed in the past three decades.

In expanding this influence of the central government, the PM was assisted by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah.

The changes in the Cabinet worked at several levels.

They were definitely done with an eye on electoral compulsions — Dalits and Other Backward Classes found increased representation. New ministers were inducted from states that are either electorally crucial for the BJP (Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat) or are going to polls in the near future (Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh).

Also, alliance building was kept in mind. Allies like Republican Party of India (A)’s Ramdas Athawale and Apna Dal’s Anupriya Patel were made ministers.

There was an effort for more efficient political management, not only to reach out to Opposition parties but other stakeholders, like the media, as well as assuage different camps within the BJP.

A straight-talking M Venkaiah Naidu was made in charge of the information and broadcasting ministry, while Arun Jaitley, seen as a liberal voice in the Sangh Parivar and the party, was divested of that portfolio. Read more.

With eye on UP polls, PM Modi to launch 2nd anniversary celebrations

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a public rally in Saharanpur in western Uttar Pradesh (UP) to mark two years of his government on May 26. Several senior Cabinet ministers and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah, too, will address a series of public meetings in UP. The state, which was the key to the BJP reaching simple majority in the Lok Sabha in 2014, is due for Assembly polls in early 2017 and this will be the party’s unofficial launch of its UP election campaign.

The PM will also visit his Lok Sabha constituency in Varanasi as part of the fortnight-long two-year anniversary celebrations. The BJP considers western UP its stronghold and the focus of the PM’s speech will be to highlight his government’s schemes for farmers, especially sugarcane growers, of the region.

There is also the possibility of increasing UP’s representation in the council of ministers. The party, in an effort to consolidate its Jat support base in western UP, has asked Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh to merge his party with the BJP. Singh, at least until now, is insistent that the two parties have a seat-sharing arrangement for the UP Assembly polls. Read more.

How Prashant Kishor has upended the UP elections by proposing Priyanka Gandhi for CM

Prashant Kishor’s formula for the Congress’s resuscitation in Uttar Pradesh is as follows: Rahul Gandhi; if he demurs, then Priyanka; and if she also doesn’t want to lead the party in the state, then Sheila Dikshit. This is a sure way of shooting down the chances of at least one person. Even assuming that the venerable Dikshit – who has proven credentials as a chief minister and administrator, having bucked incumbency three times (a record not many Congress CMs can boast of) to lead the Delhi Congress – is willing to re-enter the snake-pit of UP politics at the age of 75-plus, what should we really expect from her? Every mohallaBrahmin who is a secret Congress sympathiser will be ready to jump into the fray – if it is to be Sheila Dikshit, why not me?

UP Elections : Two things are obvious. One, that Sonia Gandhi has retreated completely from decision making. She merely initials suggestions emanating from Tughlak Lane and 10 Janpath is merely a re-tweeting authority where a retweet is an endorsement. The leadership transition is happening even as we speak. In this process, many are deeply unhappy. They had invested in 10 Janpath and that piece of real estate is rapidly becoming worthless. The older leaders in the party knew and trusted the moves made by 10 Janpath. They don’t understand alternate poles of power like Prashant Kishor. No rebellion yet, but sabotage cannot be ruled out.

The second follows the first. If Sonia Gandhi is retreating, Rahul Gandhi cannot leave the running of the party and allow himself to be boxed in. If he becomes party president after May 19, as is generally expected, Priyanka will have to willy-nilly take charge in UP. To that extent, Dikshit etc are red herrings: no doubt they are conscious of it as well.

What is clear is the Kishor strategy of disruption. The Congress was nowhere in the reckoning in UP. Now suddenly people have begun talking about the party, there is discussion and speculation and the games have begun.Read more about this Article.

Maritime India Summit: To invest Rs 1 lakh crore to double port capacity, says PM

The Centre has firmed up a comprehensive plan to increase India's port capacity to 3,000 million tonnes (MT) by 2025 from the present level of 1,400 million tonnes. To meet this target, the government has envisaged an investment of Rs 1 trillion to meet this target, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in his inaugural speech at the maiden Maritime India Summit 2016 on Thursday.

The proposed plan includes development of five new ports in addition to the existing 12 major ports and the ongoing development at three new ports, the Prime Minister said. A slew of initiatives, including the Sagarmala project — which will allow leveraging of the 7,500-km long coastline — will help revive and restore India's position in the global maritime sector, he added.

Speaking about the initial efforts taken by the Centre, Modi said that major ports had added 165 million tonnes capacity with record addition each year in last two years. The traffic in major ports showed 4% growth in the same period despite global slowdown. Operating margins, which were on a decline, also saw an improvement. In the year ended March 2016, operating profit of 12 major ports increased by nearly Rs 6.7 billion, he said.

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Furthermore, he said that the Jawaharlal Nehru Port alone had posted a net profit of Rs 10 billion, helped by 12% increase in efficiency. This is just a beginning as the government wants to do more, he added. “We are enhancing our own capacities of execution and implementation of ports,” Modi noted.

Modi said the Centre is engaging with the immediate and regional neighbours to promote shippingand maritime security.

Assuring assistance on all fronts, the Prime Minister invited investors to come to India with an open mind, “This is the right time to come to India and even better time to come via sea route. Do not miss it.”Read More.