Evening digest: Kerala CM writes to PM Modi against crackdown on beef

GN Bureau | October 27, 2015


#kerala   #beef   #Kerala Chief Minister   #Kerala Bhavan   #Maruti Suzuki   #Exim Bank   #President Pranab Mukherjee   #Geeta   #Maharashtra   #sedition law   #RBI   #Internet bots   #Madhya Pradesh   #drought  

Kerala government has dismissed the charges that beef curry was served at Kerala House in Delhi. The Kerala government has filed a complaint over entry of activists without permission. Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy wrote to prime minister Narendra Modi while MPs from the state staged protest outside Kerala Bhawan in the national capital. Chandy also called inquiries made by the Delhi Police into Kerala House's beef procurement illegal and unlawful. Police officials had questioned Kerala House and canteen staff on where the meat was being sourced from. "Kerala house is where all the ministers and government officials stay. Delhi Police should not have entered the premises. The raids were wrong. This is not a commercial establishment," he said.

Meanwhile,  Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi has reacted strongly to the allegations that his force had conducted an illegal raid at Kerala House in Delhi over allegations that beef was being served at a restaurant operating there.

“We had received a PCR call that beef is being served at Kerala Bhavan, following which our officers went there and made inquiries...They were told that nothing of this sort was being done. Thereafter our police officers gave instructions to security staff of Kerala House to keep an eye for any mischief,” Bassi said. “Were well within our rights to make inquiries, nothing illegal done, whenever such call received we've no option but to conduct inquiry,” he said, adding that the police acted according to law under Delhi Agricultural Cattle Preservation Act,1994.

Maruti Suzuki reports 42.08% rise in Q2 net profit

Maruti Suzuki on Tuesday reported a 42.08 per cent rise in net profit for the quarter ending September 30, 2015. The firm posted a net profit of Rs 1,225.56 crore in the second quarter of the current fiscal compared to Rs 862.54 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2014. Total income rose to Rs 14070.85 crore in the quarter under review compared with Rs 12,497.03 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2014. Total income rose to Rs 14070.85 crore in the quarter under review compared with Rs 12,497.03 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2014.

Sensex ends 108 points down; Nifty below 8,250
Extending losses for the second consecutive session, the domestic markets ended the day in red on Tuesday as companies posting disappointing earnings such as Lupin fell, while investors turned cautious ahead of US Federal Reserve meeting later in the day and Bank of Japan policy meet later in the week. The S&P BSE Sensex ended the day 108.52 points lower at 27,253.44, while broader CNX Nifty fell below its crucial support level of 8,250 to end at 8,232.90, down 27.65 points. Market breadth was negative with 17 of 30 Sensex stocks ending the day in red.

Exim Bank co-promotes project development firm in Africa
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President Mukherjee meets Geeta
President Pranab Mukherjee met Geeta, the hearing and speech impaired girl who returned to India at Rashtrapati Bhawan in Delhi today. The members of the Edhi Foundation were also present. Meanwhile, there's now hope for Pakistani boy Ramzan to finally go back to his home country and reunite with his mother in Karachi. According to the Prime Minister's Office, the Indian government has begun re-assessing the case of 15-year-old Mohammad Ramzan who has been stranded in India for about two years.

Maharashtra withdraws controversial circular on sedition law
The Maharashtra government on Tuesday withdrew the controversial circular on sedition law, which says that charges can be imposed on anybody who, by words, signs or visible representation, criticises politicians or elected representatives belonging to the government. The state government informed Bombay High Court that it had withdrawn its controversial circular on sedition law. The Bombay High Court had on October 20 extended its interim order restraining state government from acting on its controversial circular issued to prevent misuse of IPC section 124-A which deals with sedition.

Business confidence up only slightly
he Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) surprise 50 basis points rate cut at the end of last month has improved business sentiment only a little, according to the MNI India Business Report for October, released on Tuesday. The MNI India Business Sentiment Indicator, a gauge of current sentiment among BSE-listed companies, rose to 62.3 in October from 61.4 last month. However, that puts the index back to where it was in August this year, which suggests that while business confidence has improved, the improvement has been marginal. Note that this index is still well below the level it was in January 2014. MNI is part of the Deutsche Boerse group and carries out business sentiment surveys across the world. Business confidence has been supported by lower interest rate costs for firms, which has led to the survey’s Interest Rates Paid Indicator declining to a series low of 39.2 in October from 44.7 in September. A reading below 50 denotes contraction, while one above 50 indicates expansion.

Internet bots clog information highways
The threats from bots, or software that run automated (and mostly repetitive and annoying) tasks over the Internet, favoured by hackers, spammers and impersonators, account for almost half of Internet traffic, according to the latest Bot Traffic Report by Imperva, a firm specializing in cyber and data security products. Almost half of the bot traffic is bad or malicious, the report found.

MP declares drought in 35 districts, seeks Rs2,400 crore aid
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