PM likens opposition to Pakistan; attacks Manmohan, Chidambaram, Rahul

Breaking News : In an aggressive speech, with oodles of sarcasm thrown in, more reminiscent of his election campaign speeches in the run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today equated opponents of ‘note ban’ of trying to shield the corrupt, just as Pakistan starts firing on Indian border posts to distract Indian Army so that infiltrators can sneak into Jammu and Kashmir under its cover.

The PM also attacked Congress leadership, particularly former PM Manmohan Singh and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi. Questioning the former PM's integrity, Modi expressed surprise that there was no blot on Singh even when he has been part of India's economic policy think tank since the early-1970s.

The PM was speaking at the foundation laying ceremony of Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya Cancer Centre in Varanasi, his Lok Sabha constituency. Modi said when he announced ‘note ban’ decision he didn't think it was possible that politicians and political parties would be so unashamed as to come out openly to defend the corrupt.

“Now I understand for whose benefit these protests (by the opposition) are taking place,” he said. Apart from likening the opposition to Pakistan, he also said his opponents reminded him of a gang of pickpockets at work at a village or town fair. He said the disruptions in Parliament during the winter session was to alert and protect the corrupt. Modi said when a pickpocket is at work in a village fair his associate distracts the police by misleading them and shouting that the pickpocket has fled in the other direction. “This is exactly the strategy being employed now to protect the corrupt,” the PM said at the event at the Banaras Hindu University.

The PM’s comments come a day after Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi demanded at a public rally in Mehsana in Gujarat that he come clean on allegations that he had received over Rs 40 crore in cash payments from individuals associated with the Sahara India Group and Aditya Birla Group when he was the chief minister of Gujarat. The BJP rubbished the allegations, and said these stem from the Congress Vice President’s frustration at successive electoral defeats.(more)

'Demonetisation may have cost banks Rs 3,000 cr per day'

On Wednesday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) withdrew its previous directive that required deposits above Rs 5,000 in old currency notes be justified to two bank officers. To understand the impact of this move, Business Standard spoke to the HARVINDER SINGH, general secretary of the All India Bank Officers Confederation.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has withdrawn its previous directive that required deposits above Rs 5,000 in old currency notes to be explained to bank officers. What do you make of this?

Breaking News : We have been pleading before RBI and Ministry of Finance that instructions issued for general public must be always clear. What was happening was that instructions issued through electronic media or notifications were reaching banks much later than when the people at large were coming to know. There was time gap between the implementation of the instructions issued by the RBI/government because when the instructions reach banks, they would have to modify their systems so that the instructions are implemented.

For example, one instruction came that we will permit withdrawal of 2.5 lakhs per family where there are marriages. Lot of conditionality were put. But these instructions were made viral during the mid of the day but actually these instructions were received by banks two days after. For these 2-3 days bank officers were facing a lot of problem.

Right from the day this policy of demonetization was declared we have been pleading with the RBI and government that you consult with us. We will give you the ground level problems. We will give you suggestions for smoother implementation. But no opportunity was ever granted to us.Read more.

Ind vs ENG: विराट कोहली की कप्‍तानी में टीम इंडिया ने तोड़ा जीत का 29 साल पुराना रिकॉर्ड

भारत ने इंग्‍लैंड को चेन्‍नई टेस्‍ट में एक पारी और 75 रन से हरा दिया है। इस जीत के साथ ही टीम इंडिया ने पांच टेस्‍ट की सीरीज 4-0 से जीत ली।

भारत ने इंग्‍लैंड को चेन्‍नई टेस्‍ट में एक पारी और 75 रन से हरा दिया है। इस जीत के साथ ही टीम इंडिया ने पांच टेस्‍ट की सीरीज 4-0 से जीत ली। भारत ने लगातार दूसरे टेस्‍ट में इंग्‍लैंड को पारी से हराया है। चेन्‍नई टेस्‍ट बिना हारे भारत का लगातार 18वां टेस्‍ट मैच है। यह नया रिकॉर्ड है। इससे पहले भारत ने 29 साल पहले लगातार 17 टेस्‍ट मैच बिना हारे खेले थे। विराट कोहली की कप्‍तानी में सितम्‍बर 2015 के बाद से भारत ने लगातार पांचवीं टेस्‍ट सीरीज जीती है। इस विजयी रथ में खास बात यह भी है कि भारत ने एक भी मैच नहीं हारा है। यहां तक देश हो या विदेश किसी भी जगह पर कोई भी टीम सितम्‍बर 2015 के बाद से भारत को टेस्‍ट में हरा नहीं पाई हैं। भारत ने इस दौरान दक्षिण अफ्रीका, वेस्‍ट इंडीज, न्‍यूजीलैंड को हराया है। इससे पहले भारत ने श्रीलंका को 2-1 से हराया था।

चेन्‍नई टेस्‍ट में इंग्‍लैंड ने टॉस जीतकर पहले खेलते हुए मोईन अली (146) की शतकीय पारी के बूते 477 रन बनाए थे। इसके जवाब में भारत ने करुण नायर(303 नाबाद) और केएल राहुल (199) के शतकों के बूते 7 विकेट पर 759 रन बनाकर पारी घोषित कर दी थी। इसके जवाब में इंग्‍लैंड दूसरी पारी में 207 रन पर सिमट गया। मेहमान टीम दूसरी पारी में रवींद्र जडेजा (48-7) की गेंदबाजी के आगे घुटने टेक बैठी। इसी के साथ एंथनी डी मेलो ट्रॉफी टीम इंडिया के नाम हो गई। भारत ने साल 2008 के बाद पहली बार इंग्‍लैंड को टेस्‍ट सीरीज में हराया था। इसके बाद टीम इंडिया को लगातार तीन टेस्‍ट सीरीज में अंग्रेजों ने हराया था।

रवींद्र जडेजा को उनके शानदार कैच के लिए ‘बेस्ट कैच ऑफ द मैच’ के खिताब से नवाजा गया। वहीं नाबाद 303 रन की पारी खेलने वाले करुण नैयर को मैन ऑफ द मैच चुना गया। कप्‍तान विराट कोहली को मैन ऑफ द सीरीज चुना गया। उन्‍होंने इस सीरीज में 655 रन बनाए, जिसमें एक दोहरा शतक भी शामिल है। 22 टेस्‍ट मैच के बाद सबसे ज्‍यादा जीत के मामले में कोहली दुनिया में तीसरे नंबर पर आ गए हैं। उनके नेतृत्‍व में टीम इंडिया ने अभी तक 14 टेस्‍ट जीतेेहैं। वे इंग्‍लैंड के माइकल वॉन, मार्क ब्रेयरली और एल हेसेट के बराबर हैुंं। यह रिकॉर्ड ऑस्‍ट्रेलिया के स्‍टीव वॉ के नाम हैं जिन्‍होंने 17 मैच जीते थे।

Cyrus Mistry gives up the battle but set for a bigger war with Tatas

After a bitter eight-week boardroom battle against Ratan Tata’s “illegal coup”, ousted Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry on Monday quit from the boards of six listed companies, including Tata Motors and Indian Hotels. He vowed to shift his fight to a “larger platform” as the “coercive action taken by Tatas against various stakeholders was making him uneasy”.

In an interview to Business Standard, Mistry promised to take his fight against the Tatas to a legal forum but did not give details. “In the past eight weeks, I saw a lot of coercive action from the Tatas towards shareholders, debt holders and employees, which is making all the three uncomfortable. In various representations to shareholders, I had said it was not about me or about my position. My resignation proves that," Mistry said.

He would, however, continue to remain a director on the board of Tata Sons. The announcement of Mistry’s resignation came after he attended a “routine” Tata Sons board meeting during the day. Monday’s board meeting brought Mistry and his former mentor, Tata, in the same room for the first time (since October 24) but they did not speak to each other, according to sources.

“The interests of employees, shareholders and other stakeholders of the Tata group would be better served by (me) moving away from the forum of extraordinary general meetings (EGMs),” Mistry said in a two-page letter. “But, the time has come to take matters to their logical conclusion. I will work on protecting the interests of the Tata group and realising the vision of our founder Jamsetji Tata, until my last breath,” he added.

"Mistry can move the National Company Law Tribunal against Tata Sons for oppression of small shareholders. He can also move the Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India) if he has information that the Trusts had indulged in inside-trading or did not follow corporate governance norms,” said R S Loona, a Mumbai-based corporate lawyer. (more)

Now, banks asking for source of funds deposited in old currency

A day after the Union government announced that bank customers would now need to provide satisfactory explanation while depositing more than Rs 5,000 in old currency notes, every bank has come out with its own way to evaluate its customers.

At one of the Central Bank branches in the national capital, the bank manager appeared reluctant to accept old currency in the denomination of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000. “This new scheme is to fix the bank officials. They will ask me why I took money in old currency,” said the visibly upset manager, who did not wish to be identified.

The manager was asking each customers to write an application detailing why she didn’t deposit the money before December 20. The bank has also designed a form asking the customers to fill details like name, account number, and since when she had held an account at the branch.

The customers were also being asked about the details of their last deposit. Some customers were asked to attach copies of their PAN, along with their application letters.

The customers in their applications mentioned various reasons for not depositing the money earlier. However, long bank queues and December 30 being the initial deadline for depositing cash were the most cited reasons on the application forms.

At another public sector bank, the branch manager was yet to begin the process of accepting old currency notes above Rs 5,000 in total value. “I am yet to get directions from my seniors,” the manager said on the condition of not being identified. But the manager was clear that no old currency would be accepted if the customer didn’t have any concrete reasons.

“I will ask for evidence of hospitalisation or travel because I don’t want to face any inquiry in the future,” the manager said.

Private banks, a few of which are under scrutiny over money laundering to businessmen, are more sceptical. The second-largest private bank has come out with a form asking customers to detail the source of funds, besides other details.

Read more about Trending News :

• Shortage of new notes: Several discrepancies emerge in RBI, Govt figures
• Demonetisation: The curious case of cash shortage and currency hoarding
• Cyrus Mistry gives up the battle but set for a bigger war with Tatas
• China returns underwater drone to US after spat with Donald Trump
• Modi govt to offer tax benefit to promote cashless economy
• Modi vs Rahul: Note ban battle reaches UP and here are the highlights

BSNL unlimited call offer: All you need to know about the plans

Telecom major BSNL is all set to take on rivals Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio with its Rs 149 monthly unlimited voice call plan for mobile subscribers.

BSNL will roll out an unlimited local and national voice call plan to any network with a bit of free data for Rs 149 or less next month.

BSNL is all set to give a tough competition to other telco companies by its new offerings. It has recently announced unlimited calling offer that starts at a price of Rs 99 for its pre-paid customers along with limited free data usage.

Here are the top 4 schemes that the customers must know before actually availing the offer:

1. Rs 99 offer: This scheme offers free unlimited voice calls (local) and free STD calls from BSNL to BSNL along with 300MB of data. The plan is valid for 28 days and is applicable in Kolkata, Assam, Assam, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

2. Rs 149 offer: BSNL is also offering unlimited voice calls and free STD BSNL to BSNL calling along with 300MB data which is valid for 28 days. This is applicable for Himachal Pradesh and Kerala circles.

3. Rs 119 offer: This plan gives free unlimited local voice calls and free STD BSNL to BSNL calls; with 300MB data which is again valid for 28 days. This will be applicable in Uttaranchal, and Uttar Pradesh east and west circles.

4. Rs 339: This scheme gives unlimited local voice calls along with free STD BSNL to BSNL calls and 1GB data. It is valid up to 28 days.

Meanwhile, Reliance Jio is offering a Rs 149 plan under which it will offer free calls to all network in the country for 28 days without any roaming charges. The plan also includes 300MB of 4G data during the day and unlimited usage at night. Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular also attemped to match Reliance Jio'd scheme by offering free calls and limited mobile internet priced at around Rs 150 and Rs 350, respectively. Click Here to see more offers of the Airtel, vodafone, idea cellular.

Note ban: PM Modi silent on gains, hints pain may last little longer

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a well-attended public rally in Kanpur, the precursor to what many expect to be his game changing rally in Lucknow on January 2. The Lucknow public rally will come at the end of his promised 50 days of “pain” of note ban.

He had earlier promised that days of pain would lead to “gain” for the public. However, the PM on Monday seemed to be suggesting that the pain might last a little bit longer, and he didn’t for once utter the word “gain” in nearly an hour long speech, and exhorted people to be willing to suffer inconveniences for a few more days for a brighter future of the country.

The PM railed against the Opposition for not letting Parliament function, for obstructing his fight against black money and corruption and for lying and trying to mislead people. Modi said India, post-note ban, was divided into two halves – a small minority of politicians trying to protect black money, corruption and dishonesty, and the other half comprising the hardworking and honest poor and middle classes of the country who are fighting this battle to reclaim their right.

The PM said he congratulated the Election Commission for having demanded from political parties to come clean on their donations. He said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) welcomes the move, and he had requested at the ‘all party meeting’ before the winter session of Parliament to have a discussion on making political donations transparent.

Taking a dig at the Congress party’s lack of commitment to stopping black money, the PM said that party had a treasurer Sitaram Kesri, about whom Congress leaders themselves said how he didn’t maintain any accounts of donations received by the party. “Na khaata na bahi, jo Kesri kahe wahi sahi,” the PM said, adding this is how the Congress conducts its politics.(more)

• Modi has given 60% of India's wealth to 1% of the population: Rahul on note ban
• New rules: You can deposit more than Rs 5,000 in bank accounts only once till 30 Dec