Morning Brief: Rahul Gandhi’s Aide Promotes Fake Accounts; Inflation Projected At 4.5 Per Cent; India Test Fires Prithvi-II

Good morning, dear reader! Here’s your morning news and views brief for today.

Rahul Gandhi's Aide Promotes Fake Accounts

In a video that went viral on the social media on Wednesday, Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s aide and head of the party’s digital communication, Divya Spandana, is seen telling workers that creating multiple accounts on social networking sites was fine because an account is a “machine, not a person".

Addressing workers in Kannada, she says, "Fake accounts are bots, it's a robot, a machine, not a person”. A worker is them heard saying: "It's very wrong, Ma'am". She turns to him and says, "You can have many accounts if you want...there is nothing wrong in having many accounts."

Prime Minister’s Dig At Renuka Chowdhury

The Upper House witnessed some light moments during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address on Wednesday. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu rebuked Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury for laughing during Modi's speech.

The Prime Minister interrupted and said, "Chairman sir, I request you to not say anything to Renukaji. After Ramayan serial, we have got the privilege of hearing this kind of laughter today. Modi’s sarcastic remark was followed by thumping of desks by the members of the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies in the house.

Collegium Will Send Back Justice Joseph’s File If Government Returns

The Collegium will send back the recommendation to elevate Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice K M Joseph to the Supreme Court for the issuance of the Presidential warrant if the government returns the proposal, the Indian Express has reported. The Collegium is of the view that it will “not send any other names for elevation to the Supreme Court, at least until as long as this Collegium is in place”, the daily quoted a source as saying. The Collegium consists of the Chief Justice and four seniormost Judges Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph. Its composition will change after Justice Chelameswar retires in June.

India Successfully Test Fires Prithvi-II Missile

India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile on Wednesday from a launch complex at the Integrated Test Range in Odisha’s Chandipur. The test was conducted by the Strategic Forces Command, responsible for the management of the country's nuclear weapons stockpile. Inducted into the Armed forces in 2003, the nine-metre-tall Prithvi-II is the first missile to have been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation. The missile was randomly chosen from the stock. The test launch came after successful trial of Agni-5 on 18 January and Agni-1 missile on 6 February.

Inflation For 2018-19 Projected At Around 4.5 Per Cent

The Reserve Bank of India has projected inflation for 2018-19 to be at around 4.5 per cent, Governor Urjit Patel said. The bank on Wednesday kept its main repo rate at 6.00 per cent. In its statement, the bank said inflation could reach 5.1-5.6 per cent in April to September, and then 4.5-4.6 per cent in October to March.

Government Gives Approval To Build 12 Nuclear Reactors

The government has given administrative and financial approval for the construction of 12 nuclear power reactors in the country, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. Ten reactors of the 12 approved by the government will be indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) with a capacity of 700 MW each, and the remaining two will be Light Water Reactors (LWRs). While two PHWRs each will be set up in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Haryana, four will be established in Rajasthan. Two LWRs, each having a capacity of 1,000 MW, will come up at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu.

US To Announce ‘Toughest’ Sanctions On North Korea

US Vice President Mike Pence has said that his country will soon announce the "toughest sanctions ever" on the North Korean regime and will not let Kim Jong-un "hijack" the upcoming Olympics with provocative missile launches.

"I'm announcing today that the United States will soon unveil the toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on North Korea ever," he said, without giving further details. In Japan before attending the opening ceremony of the Winter Games in South Korea, Pence reiterated that Washington would "intensify its maximum pressure campaign" on North Korea and will work with its allies.

MUST READ OPINIONS AND COLUMNS

Why India Should Intervene In Maldives: New Delhi should remember that if one petty dictator in the region is allowed to go scot-free after harming India’s interests, there will be more of them in future.

The Making Of Subprime In Sustainability: To measure true progress towards a sustainable future, there is an urgent need to develop a global ESG data capture and disclosure framework that is robust, transparent and verifiable.

The Unbearable Triteness Of Being Against Everything: The Centre must continue the project to unify India, of which simultaneous polls are a key component, regardless of the political dispensation in power and without apologia.

SWARAJYA SPECIAL

Rates, Policy Props Moving In Favour Of Senior Citizens In A Young Indian Demographic: If, in the coming months, interest rates move higher, the skew against the working age population will worsen.

We hope you enjoyed reading our morning brief. Have a great day ahead!

Swarajya Apps: Enjoy reading morning brief and all other articles from Swarajya on your mobile. Download our app here on Android and iOS.