Morning briefing: Ghulam Ali invited by Delhi after Mumbai concert is cancelled

GN Bureau | October 8, 2015


#Ghulam Ali   #Mumbai concert   #women pilots   #Isro   #GPS system   #Sensex   #corruption   #Bihar Poll   #Income tax   #Maggi  

The Arvind Kejriwal government has invited Pakistani singer Ghulam Ali to perform in the national capital after his concert in Mumbai was cancelled due to Shiv Sena protests, saying "music has no boundaries". Delhi Culture Minister Kapil Mishra said the Pakistani Singer is welcome to come to Delhi for holding a performance.

The concert in Mumbai was cancelled after Shiv Sena threatened to disrupt it, warning that no artiste from that country will be allowed to perform in the city till terror emanating from across the border is stopped.

IAF to induct women pilots in fighter stream
Indian Air Force will induct women pilots in fighter stream soon, IAF chief Arup Raha said on Thursday.Till now, women pilots have been flying transport aircraft and helicopters."We are now planning to induct them into the fighter stream to meet the aspiration of young women of India," the IAF chief. Indian Air Force is celebrating its 83rd anniversary today.

Isro meet today on more accurate Indian GPS system
Isro is hosting a meeting of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) community, the user community and the academia at the Isro Satellite Centre in Bengaluru today (Thursday). The GNSS user meet 2015 aims to explore various avenues to utilise the Indian satellite-based navigation services for the country’s socio-economic benefits. It involvs location and navigation device manufacturers, mobile phone manufacturers and global information system (GIS) technology developers presenting to them the advantages of using the IRNSS technology over the current GPS technology. During the two-day meet, Isro will demonstrate how the seven IRNSS constellation satellites once operational by July next year, will be significantly more accurate than the American GPS system. Isro's system with  special embedded software reduces errors caused by atmospheric disturbances,  resulting in a superior quality location accuracy than the American GPS system.

Sensex down over 100 points, Nifty tests 8,150 levels
The S&P BSE Sensex slipped over 100 points after starting the day on a string note on Thursday. The Nifty50 also pared gains after starting on a strong note, but was still trading above its crucial psychological support level of 8,150 levels. At 10 am Sensex was 26916.50, down 119 points. Most Asian markets were mixed in trading. Japan's Nikkei was trading with a downtick of 0.6 per cent while the South Korean Kospi inched higher by 0.12 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 0.55 per cent while China's Shanghai Composite which opened after a gap of a week, inched higher by 3.6 per cent. Overnight US Markets closed with smart gains after data showed that US consumer borrowing advanced at a solid pace in August, as Americans took out more auto and student loans. The US Federal Reserve said that consumer borrowing rose by $16 billion in August, pushing the total to a fresh record of $3.47 trillion.

Review of rural job scheme after complaints of corruption
The government has ordered a nationwide review of the Rs 35,000 crore rural employment guarantee scheme programme to see if it meets the objectives of generating jobs and creating durable assets. Teams of four officials will visit the gram panchayats, talk to the local people and evaluate the impact of the National Rural Employment Generation Scheme (NREGS) and other rural development projects. The first phase of the exercise will be carried out in 76 districts across all states and Union Territories. The government has received complaints of corruption and pilfering of funds even after an electronic funds management system and biometric authentication of workers were put in place for disbursal of payments to workers. In several cases, states used machines instead of hiring workers. Besides, only 28 per cent of the payments were made on time to workers during 2014-15, reports Economic Times.

Cyber attacks on Indian companies
Indian companies are witnessing increase in number of cyber attacks. The incidents  have surged to 6,284 thus far in the current financial year from 2,895 reported cases in FY15, according to a report by PriceWaterhouscoopers (PwC). According to the report, financial losses due to such attacks have risen 135% in the past year. Industry estimates put such losses at $4 billion annually. The motives for the attacks include economic advantage to espionage and even disruption and destruction of companies. The attacks have become more sophisticated in the last few years, which means defences also need to be better.

No merit in Nepal's complaint that it is being 'choked': India
India sees no merit in Nepal's complaints that it was being "choked" and deprived of essential supplies amid continuing trouble in the Himalayan state over its Constitution which is regarded here as "rigid". Nepal's Ambassador here Deep Kumar Upadhyay again spoke of an Indian blockade of his country, which he claimed, was being denied of essential supplies such as petroleum products by India, a charge dismissed by New Delhi. As many as 5375 cargo vehicles were awaiting entry into Nepal from the Indian side but were unable to proceed further because of trouble on the Nepalese side of the border. India maintains that the concerns of Indian-origin Medheshi population about the new Nepal Constitution were legitimate and needed to be addressed now, failing which the trouble will keep coming back with a spillover into this country.

Narendra Modi to address election meetings in Bihar today
Prime minister Narendra Modi will address rallies in the poll bound Bihar on Thursday. The Bharatiya Janata Party's star campaigner will address back-to-back rallies in Bihar's four districts, Munger, Samastipur, Begusarai and Nawada today. The BJP, which is banking on Modi's charisma to win over Bihar. The state will elect a new 243-member Assembly in staggered polls to be held between October 12 and November 5. The counting of votes will be held on November 8.

Income tax department employees to hold strike today
Over 50,000 employees of the Income Tax Department will go on a day-long countrywide strike today to protest the delay in promotions and appointments of tax officers in the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).The staff demands are timely promotion in cadres and providing required infrastructure is not met, the work of budget collection and taxpayer services are "bound to fail" in the coming days.

Maggi hearing today at consumer panel
The  National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) will today hear food giant Nestle's arguments on fresh tests conducted on its popular Maggi noodles, and take up the larger class action suit filed against the Swiss giant by the end of next month.

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