Indu Malhotra to be 1st woman lawyer to directly become Supreme Court judge

Indu Malhotra will be the first women lawyer to be directly appointed as a judge of the apex court

The Supreme Court collegium has recommended the name of senior advocate Indu Malhotra as the first woman lawyer to be directly appointed as a judge of the apex court, sources said on Thursday.

Along with her, Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice K M Joseph, who was part of the bench which in 2016 had quashed the imposition of President's Rule in the state, has also been cleared for elevation to the apex court.

Malhotra, who was designated as a senior advocate in 2007, would be the first woman lawyer to be directly appointed as a judge of the top court, instead of being elevated from a high court.

She will be the seventh woman judge since independence to make it to the Supreme Court. At present, Justice R Banumathi is the lone woman judge in the apex court.

The first woman to be appointed as a judge of the apex court was Justice M Fathima Beevi in 1989.

Thereafter, Justice Sujata V Manohar, Justice Ruma Pal, Justice Gyan Sudha Misra and Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai made it to the top court as judges.

India GDP to grow faster in FY18 at 7.5%: Moody's

Moody’s said the inflation rate in India has steadily declined to 3 per cent as of April

The Indian economy will grow at 7.5 per cent in the current fiscal, which rate will accelerate to 8 per cent in about four years, US rating agency Moody’s said on Wednesday ahead of the release of GDP figures for 2016-17 later in the day.

“We expect marginally faster growth in India. According to our forecast the economy will grow 7.5 per cent in fiscal year 2017 (2017-18) and 7.7 per cent in fiscal year 2018 (2018-19),” Moody’s Investors Service said in its Global Macro Outlook.

“Overall, we continue to believe that economic growth will gradually accelerate to around 8 per cent over the next three to four years,” it said,

The American agency also said that the negative impact of the November 8 demonetisation of high-value currency on the economy was limited in size and duration.

“The ruling BJP’s victory in the Uttar Pradesh state elections indicates that the government has remained politically popular despite the demonetisation exercise,” the report said.

The government has pushed through major reforms like further liberalising foreign direct investment (FDI) rules in a number of key sectors, the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme for food, fertiliser and kerosene subsidies, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and a National Bankruptcy Code.

“Together, these will help reduce inefficiencies and improve trend growth over the long run,” Moody’s said.

The rating agency, however, cautioned that “persistent banking sector weakness from a high proportion of delinquent loans on bank balance sheets will weigh on growth, if not resolved, by constraining credit for investment-related activity”.

“Private sector investment has remained weak despite progress on reforms, suggesting that some hurdles to investment remain binding in many cases.”

Moody’s said the inflation rate in India has steadily declined to 3 per cent as of April, owing to weaker food price inflation.

“We believe that the inflation rate will rise to around 5 per cent by the end of this year, once the effect of this temporary factor fades,” it said. | READMORE…

And the winner of 'Indian Idol 9' is L.V. Revanth

Hyderabad-based playback singer L.V. Revanth was on Sunday night declared to be the winner of the season of the singing reality show 'Indian Idol'.

26-year-old Revanth, has won a prize money of Rs. 25 lakh and a contract with Universal Music.

Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar handed over the trophy to Revanth with other judges Anu Malik, Farah Khan and Sonu Nigam in attendance.

The season finale witnessed three contestants - L.V. Revanth, Khuda Baksh and PVNS Rohit - battle it out to win the title of Indian Idol.

The first runners-up was Khuda Baksh, the second runners-up was PVNS Rohit.

Revanth had a terrific journey on the show by singing songs like 'Moh Moh Ke Dhaage' from 'Dum Laga Ke Haisha' for the semi-finals.

He hails from Vishakhapatanam and is not a new comer to the world of singing as he had lent his voice to one of the biggest projects including the regional version of 'Baahubali'.

His song 'Manohari' also made him win the IIFA Utsavam award.

Read More

26/11 Mumbai attack carried out by our own terror groups: Pakistan ex-NSA

At the same time, he, however, said the Pakistani government had no role in the attack

Pakistan's former national security adviser Mahmud Ali Durrani today said the 26/11 Mumbai attack was carried out by a terror group based in Pakistan and called it a "classic" example of cross-border terror.

At the same time, he, however, said the Pakistani government had no role in the attack.

Durrani was speaking at a conference on combating terrorism at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis.

26/11 Mumbai strike, carried out by a terror group based in Pakistan, was a classic trans-border terrorist event, he said. Read more

Md Siraj asks father to stop driving autos after bagging Rs 2.6 cr IPL deal

He also wants to buy a house for his family

IPL Auction 2017 : The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 auction spread smiles in a Hyderabad neighbourhood. There was a good reason too. Mohammed Siraj, the younger son of auto driver Mohammed Ghaus was picked up by Sunrisers Hyderabad for a staggering Rs 2.6 crore.

As reporters made a beeline outside the cricketer's modest rented family house, he explained how he plans to use his money now."My father drove auto all these years but never let financial pressure of the family affect me or my elder brother. A bowling spikes costs a lot and he would just get the best for me. I want to buy a house for them now in a good locality," Siraj told The Quint.

While Siraj wants his father to stop driving autos, his father wishes otherwise. "I will drive the auto as long as I have the strength. Why should I depend on sons?" Ghaus was quoted as saying by Mumbai Mirror.

Interestingly, Siraj was often admonished by his mother Shabana Begum who worked as a house maid for showing lack of interest in studies. He discontinued studying while in intermediate, whereas, his brother went ahead to become an IT professional.

"He brought many mementos and sometimes cash prizes as well. However, I never knew he would become so big. It's all God's blessings," the proud mother told Mumbai Mirror after the auction.

Although his family did not keep a track on his career properly, Siraj slowly earned the reputation of a pacer in Hyderabad cricket circle. Read more

Want to come to India but passport suspended: Vijay Mallya

Can't Attend Court, Passport Was Cancelled, Claims Vijay Mallya

Liquor baron Vijay Mallya on Friday informed a Delhi court that he wants to come to India but is unable to travel back as his passport has been suspended by Indian authorities.

Mallya made the submission through his counsel before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sumit Dass in a case lodged for allegedly evading summons in connection with a FERA violation matter.

On July 9, the court had cancelled the exemption from personal appearance granted to him and had directed him to appear before it.

In his application moved through senior advocate Ramesh Gupta, Mallya requested the court that some time be given so that his appearance can be secured.

The counsel submitted the copy of an email sent by Mallya, stating that his passport was suspended on April 23, 2016 without giving him any opportunity of being heard.

Enforcement Directorate (ED), however, told the court that Mallya is already evading proceedings in several other cases and sought time to reply to the plea moved by him on Friday.Read More

Is it a good time to buy Infosys?

Is it a good time to buy Infosys?

Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS’) last week’s decision of not pursuing its plan to separate and list a new bank –Williams & Glyn (W&G) – hit Infosys in trade on Tuesday with the stock plummeting 3% in intra-day deals to its eight-month low of Rs 1,028 levels on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

Click here to track Infy's stock price movement

Since then, it has recovered and is trading at Rs 1,046 levels, down nearly 1.5% around noon deals. By comparison, the Nifty 50 index was trading lower by 0.7% at 8610 levels, while the Nifty IT index slipped 1.3% to 11,029 levels.

Also Read: I am disappointed, says Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka in a letter to employees

Given the RBS’ decision, Infosys would see a ramp down of around 3,000 resources. The likely impact on revenue could be around $50 million, reports suggest. This comes at a time when Infosys recast its annual revenue guidance for FY17 while announcing its results for the June 2016 quarter to 10.5 – 12% in constant currency (CC) terms, as against a market expectation of 11.5 – 13.5%.

While the decision dented sentiment on Tuesday, analysts had already warned regarding such Brexit-related shocks.

Also Read: Infosys sticks to 2020-vision despite cut in FY17 outlook

Analysts at Nomura, for instance, had cautioned in their July report that the Brexit impact are not incorporated in the guidance and could cause downside risks going ahead.

“While the company has not seen any delay in decision making on account of Brexit, it remains cautious in the near-term given the potential for a high degree of volatility and uncertainty across industries, especially in the financial services which could lead to softer demand in the coming quarters as companies decide on their future strategy regarding the UK and Europe. However, over the longer term, the company sees possibility of additional opportunities,” wrote Ashwin Mehta and Rishit Parikh of Nomura in their July post Q1 result report on Infosys.Read More

Amit Shah not to be next Gujarat CM: BJP

Amit Shah not to be next Gujarat CM: BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday cleared the air on party president Amit Shah being appointed as the next Chief Minister of Gujarat after Anandiben Patel offered to resign from the post on Monday.

It was also announced that the next chief minister would be from the existing party MLAs inGujarat.

"There is no such consultation going on in the party. He (Amit Shah) is party's national president and under his leadership the party has reached great heights. The party needs his leadership. The CM will be from the existing legislators", said Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu after the BJP's parliamentary board meeting.

He, however informed that Shah would be present in the meeting of legislature party to be held in Gujarat on Thursday to decide the next chief minister.

"He will chair the meeting of state legislature party and hold consultation with the stakeholders to decide on the next chief minister of Gujarat," Naidu told reporters here.

Former BJP president Nitin Gadkari and national general secretary Saroj Pandey would also be present in the meeting as central observers.

Calling Anandiben Patel an "inspiration" for many across the country, Naidu said that she headed the government in "satisfactory" manner.

'Pakistan group uses disfigured celebrity faces to campaign against use of pellet guns in Kashmir'

'Pakistan group uses disfigured celebrity faces to campaign against use of pellet guns in Kashmir'

Pellet guns were first introduced to Jammu and Kashmir police in 2010 during Omar Abdullah government. The use of such guns, however, has shot to the forefront after protests against the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani saw the use pellets for crowd control. (more)

Kashmir gets out of hand

Kashmir gets out of hand

Funerals of militants have become a public expression of rage and alienation in Kashmir. While the Union home ministry’s official estimate for the number of militants in the Valley is now a little less than 200, against over 3,500 in the 1990s, the army and paramilitary report an unprecedented rise in local support to insurgency.

This is manifested in efforts by villagers to hamper counter-insurgency operations in the Valley, including by women. Army units have been reporting efforts to snatch weapons, something unprecedented. Earlier north Kashmir Valley used to be the centre of insurgent activity. It is now south Kashmir.

Militants, dead and alive, are present in public consciousness everywhere. Burhan Lions, Aabid Khan Qalandars and Khalid Aryans were the names of cricket teams that played IPL-type matches in south Kashmir this April. These teams were named after militants from the region killed in army action. The cricket matches went ahead as scheduled and neither the police or army tried to disrupt an activity that glorified slain militants. Read More

Bangladesh attacks: No NSG team to Dhaka

Bangladesh attacks: No NSG team to Dhaka

Government sources have confirmed that media reports about an NSG team heading to Bangladesh, to assist in the post blast analysis of the attack at the Eid prayer gathering in Kishoreganj on Thursday and the Gulshan cafe attack last week, are false.

"These are baseless reports, no truth in them," said the government source to ANI when asked about movement of the NSG team.

Earlier, media reports had stated that the Special Forces establishment of Bangladesh Attacks had approved India's request for inspection by NSG teams of the blast site to gather "first hand understanding of the situation."

The National Security Guard, is India's elite counter terrorism force that specialises in hostage rescue missions, countering hijack situations among other special operations.

NSG teams were last seen in action during the Pathankot terror attack, wherein six terrorists were neutralised.

An explosion took place during an Eid prayer at the Sholakia field of Kishoreganj town around 9:45 a.m. local time on Thursday, where people gather each year for Eid congregation. It is said to be the country's largest Eid congregation.

The attack came days after the terror attack on Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's upscale Gulshan area, claimed 22 lives, including 17 foreigners. The attack drew worldwide condemnation.

SC admits plea challenging Salman Khan's acquittal in hit and run case

SC admits plea challenging Salman Khan's acquittal in hit and run case

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan wanted the Supreme Court to hear the 2002 hit-and-run case against him on merit, his lawyer said on Tuesday.

"The honourable Supreme Court had on the last date asked us whether Salman would consent to the Supreme Court hearing the case on merits. On Tuesday, we informed the honourable Supreme Court that we had taken instructions from our client Salman Khan and the matter should be heard on merits."

"Accordingly, leave is granted and the final hearing will take place in due course," Salman's lawyer Anand Desai, from DSK Legal, said in a statement to IANS.(more)

'No to Trump, yes to Hillary': Indian diaspora in the US tells New Delhi

'No to Trump, yes to Hillary': Indian diaspora in the US tells New Delhi

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), given its recent anti-immigrants election campaign in Assam and the perception that the Republican administrations have been friendlier towards India, should have found an alter ego in Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. But the Indian diaspora in the United States, even its more prosperous sections, have conveyed to the BJP’s overseas arm that they were unlikely to support Trump in the US presidential elections due in November.

Overseas friends of BJP chief Vijay Chauthaiwale was in the US in the latter half of June. He travelled across the US to meet representatives of Indian diaspora associations. There are literally dozens of associations of each linguistic group. The Rockefeller Foundation — Aspen Institute Diaspora Programme (RAD) survey in July 2014 — had identified 224 important diaspora associations of Indian linguistic, regional and religious groups.

Chauthaiwale also had a meeting with Thomas Shannon, the Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs in the Barack Obama administration. Shannon was on a four day visit to India in end-June and early July and met Indian political leaders, diplomats and academics.

The feedback, from talking to American politicians and Indian diaspora, was unanimous. That Donald Trump, despite the upswing in India-US relations during the Republic administration of George W Bush from 2000 to 2008, cannot be supported because of his anti-immigration stance and xenophobic statements.

In contrast, Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton is familiar with India and has visited the country several times. Former US President Bill Clinton met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the funeral of Singapore leader Lee Kuan Yew. The Clintons had a 45-minute meeting with the PM during his maiden US visit in September 2014. India-US relations had improved during the second term of Bill Clinton, with him visiting India during the tenure of Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2000. Read More

36 lakh Iraqi children at risk, due to surge in violence: Unicef

36 lakh Iraqi children at risk, due to surge in violence: Unicef

The grievous rise of conflict in West Asian country -- Iraq has left 36 lakh children, which is one in five of the country’s children at risk of death, injury, sexual violence or abduction, according to a recent report by United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef).

In a report titled A Heavy Price for Children, the UN children's agency said that the number of children in Iraq were at serious risk of death or wartime exploitation had increased by 13 lakh in the past 18 months.

The report said that 47 lakh Iraqi children --- a third of all, need humanitarian aid, with deteriorating conditions following the fierce military operations in Fallujah and around Mosul. As the scale and complexity of the humanitarian crisis in the country, reeling from nearly four decades of conflict, insecurity and neglect, where the impact on children worsens every day.

The report quoted the Unicef Iraq Representative, Peter Hawkins as saying: "Children in Iraq are in the firing line and are being repeatedly and relentlessly targeted. We appeal to all parties for restraint and to respect and protect children. We must help give children the support they need to recover from the horrors of war and contribute to a more peaceful and prosperous Iraq." Read More

7th Pay Commission: Cabinet approves big pay hike for government employees

7th Pay Commission: Cabinet approves big pay hike for government employees

The union cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, a move which will boost consumption by putting extra disposable income in the hands of the central government’s 4.7 million employees.

The Seventh Pay Commission (7th CPC) had recommended a 23.5 per cent increase in pay, pension and allowances under a ‘business as usual’ scenario. It had envisaged an increase in pay of Rs 39,100 crore, increase in allowances of Rs 29,300 crore and increase in pension of Rs 33,700 crore, taking the total financial impact for 2016-17 to Rs 1.02 lakh crore.

The pay panel revisions are in force retrospectively from January 1, 2016.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said before the budget that he would provide Rs 1.1 lakh crore and the budget documents showed that Rs 1.06 lakh crore has been provided for.

The centre is likely to provide additional details later in the day at a post-cabinet media briefing. It is not yet known if the Government Employees has cleared 7th CPC recommendations in-toto or if there are some changes.

As per the initial reports, the minimum pay has been set at Rs 18,000 per month while the maximum pay has been capped at Rs 2.5 lakh per month.

Jaitley is facing massive spending commitments this year not only due to the 7th CPC payout but also in infrastructure and agricultural sectors.

Read More Topics:

How the 7th Pay Commission will benefit govt employees

Military seethes at Pay Commission suggestions

Before roll out of Seventh Central Pay Commission, 20 civil services seek fair representation

India cuts RBI governor shortlist to four, officials say

India cuts RBI governor shortlist to four, officials say

By Douglas Busvine and Rupam Jain

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The government has narrowed down its list of candidates to become the next governor of the Reserve Bank of India to four, a senior government official told Reuters.

A new Monetary Policy Committee also will be chosen soon, the official said.

The moves seek to ensure policy continuity after RBI chief Raghuram Rajan shocked markets 10 days ago when he announced he would not seek reappointment in September.

The failure of negotiations on his possible return had sparked fears that Rajan's departure could put at risk the inflation-targeting central banker's gains in stabilising Asia's third-largest economy over the past three years.

Sending a reassuring message to markets, the official said that the list of candidates to replace Rajan had been whittled down to four - three of them central bank veterans, with the other the head of the country's largest commercial bank.

The four were current RBI Deputy Governor Urjit Patel, former deputy governors Rakesh Mohan and Subir Gokarn, and State Bank of India Chair Arundhati Bhattacharya.

Another official from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office said that Rajan was expected to join the search committee to appoint three external members of a new six-member RBI Monetary Policy Committee.

The objective was to ensure that the MPC is constituted as soon as possible, before the appointment of Rajan's successor, both officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

"We are very hopeful that the present governor will be a member of this search committee," the first official said, adding that if all goes well the new panel would be formed by Aug. 1.

If that timetable holds, it would mean that the MPC is in place in time for the last bi-monthly policy meeting that Rajan is expected to chair in early August.

The central bank held rates earlier this month after an uptick in consumer price inflation, but maintained its easing bias, meaning it is more likely to reduce interest rates than to raise them in future.

Under the finance bill passed this year, three members of the MPC would be RBI insiders, headed by the governor.

The three external members would be chosen by a search committee comprising Modi's cabinet secretary, the RBI governor, the secretary of the finance ministry's department of economic affairs and three outside experts chosen by the government.

The makeup of the MPC, which would assume responsibility for setting interest rates, was the result of a hard-fought compromise between the RBI and the finance ministry. The RBI governor's vote would be decisive in the event of a tie. Read More

PM Modi to meet Chinese president; will attempt to win support for NSG membership

PM Modi to meet Chinese president; will attempt to win support for NSG membership

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday in the Uzbekistan capital Tashkent in an attempt to win Beijing's support for India's membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

Modi will be meeting President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit meeting that is currently on in Tashkent. The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic, and military organisation which was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Highly placed sources said that the meeting between PM Modi and President Xi Jinping would be an exclusive one-on-one discussion, where the top agenda would be to seek China's support for India's membership in the NSG.

China, till now, has been playing the role of a dampener on the issue of clearing the way for India's admission to the NSG, by repeatedly stating that it is not on the agenda of the grouping which began its plenary session in Seoul, South Korea, yesterday.

On the other hand, the United States has called on the participating governments of the NSG to support India's application for membership.

State Department spokesperson John Kirby said in a press briefing that Washington has not changed its stand regarding India's application for membership to the elite group. Read more.