Top stories on January 5 in a capsule
PM Narendra Modi walks up to Manmohan Singh in Rajya Sabha, shakes hands
_________________
CM Mamata Banerjee launches West Bengal emblem
Two days after getting approval from the Centre, chief minister Mamata Banerjee launched the official emblem of West Bengal government on Friday. The emblem, conceptulaised and designed by the CM herself, was unveiled by her in May last year and sent to the Centre for approval. Speaking on the occasion Banerjee said, "This is a historical moment. The emblem is a new feather in the state's cap. From now on, we'll use it in all government works, official stationery, displays and documents. It can be used immediately after the official notification is issued on Friday. The departments would take some time to materialise it."
India estimates a growth level of 6.5% for 2017-18 fiscal
The Central Statistics Office on Friday predicted a 6.5%
economic growth for the fiscal year of 2017-18. The economy had showed a 7.1% growth in the 2016-17 fiscal. The economy had
showed a growth of 6.3% in the September quarter after reviving from a three
year low 5.7% in the June quarter. The Reserve Bank of India also retained its
forecast for the current fiscal at 6.7%. These number come ahead of the Union
budget, which will be presented on February 1st this year.
_____________________
Budget on Feb 1, next parliament session on Jan 29
The budget session of the Parliament will begin on January 29, while the budget will be presented on 1st February. The long budget season will be held in 2 parts with a recess. The first part of the session will end on February 9, while the second part of the session will start on March 5 and end on April 6. The productivity of the Lok Sabha was 91.58% while that of the Rajya Sabha was 56.29% in this winter session. 17 bills were introduced and 12 bills were passed by both the houses in the winter session.
Bus services hit as Transport Union protests in Tamil Nadu
The State Transport Worker’s Union of Tamil Nadu held a strike on Friday, leaving 19,000 buses off the road and around 2 crores commuters were left stranded. There were incidents of stone pelting being reported from Aynavaram bus depot. The transport employees has been demanding for a 2.57 % hike in their salaries at par with other state transport corporations, however the government has conceded only for 2.44 %. Later in the day, the Madras High Court directed members of the transport unions to call off the strike and resume work immediately.
Break your silence!: Jignesh Mevani slams PM Modi
Newly-elected Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani, in his latest speech, targeted PM Modi for his silence over the recent Maharashtra Dalit riots and accused the BJP of framing him as an anti-communal. “The BJP is scared and they are targeting me because of the Gujarat elections,” Mevani said. The 39-year-old Dalit leader also said he would lead a youth rally on January 9 to the PM’s office.
______________
Parliament’s Winter Session ends, Triple Talaq Bill stalled
The Winter Session of the Parliament
ended on Friday, without reaching a conclusion on the much debated Triple Talaq
Bill. The ruling party of NDA failed to garner a majority in the Rajya Sabha,
as the opposition raised demand for the bill to be passed to a Parliamentary
Standing Committee for review. The bill will be further discussed in the Budget
Session 2017-18.
Uber Co-founder Travis Kalanick to sell $1.4 billion worth of his shares
Uber's co-founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick is planning to sell $1.4 billion of stock in the company, or 29 percent of his stake, media reports said. Kalanick would be doing this as a part of a tender offer between Softbank and Uber that will value the company at $48 billion. Kalanick had wanted to sell as much as half of his stake in the company, but had to limit that amount due to agreements between the company and its buyers.
_________________
Honeypreet’s mother slaps 5 crore notice on Rakhi Sawant
Honeypreet Insan’ mother Asha Taneja has sent a five crore defamation case to Rakhi Sawant and has also asked her to apologise in 30 days. Asha claimed that Rakhi Sawant defamed her daughter by alleging that she had links with Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan. Earlier in an interview, Rakhi Sawant had claimed that she was close to Gurmeet Ram Rahim and this did not go down well with his ‘adopted daughter’. “I realised that Honeypreet was uncomfortable seeing my close proximity with Gurmeet and even feared that I may become her ‘sautan’ (lover’s wife) by marrying him,”
Sensex, Nifty surge to record highs
Indian equity benchmarks on Friday ended on lifetime highs led by gains in telecom and private sector lenders. BSE Sensex closed higher by 184 points to 34,153, while the Nifty 50 rose 54 points to close at 10,558. The report by rating agency Fitch stating that India will be fastest growing economy over the next five years also boosted sentiment. Banking & financials, telecom and auto stocks pushed the market higher.
US moves to alienate Pakistan, cuts security assistance
US President Donald Trump led government on Friday, stopped security aid to Pakistan, after criticizing it for providing a ‘safe haven’ for terrorists. Pegged at a net amount of $1.15 billion, the move comes a day after Trump accused Pakistan of just giving ‘lies and deceit’ to the US. Commenting on the situation, Pakistan Foreign Minister Khwaja Asif said, “Pakistan does not want aid, whether the US blocks it or not.”
