Morning Brief: Benami Property, Modi’s Next Target; Jaitley Rejects Capital Gains Tax; Agni 5 Test Today

Good Morning, Swarajya Readers! Here's What You Need To Know Today.

Benami Property Next Target, Says Modi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi indicated on Sunday that the war on black money will soon move to the next phase and target benami property holders. Delivering his last Mann Ki Baat episode of the year, he said there would be no “poorna viraam (full stops)” in the “campaign against corruption and black money”.

Jaitley Rejects Long-Term Capital Gains Tax: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday clarified that the government has no intention to impose tax on long-term capital gains from share transactions. Following demonetisation the currency has lost its earlier “anonymity”, Jaitley said and added the funds now available with the banks have strengthened the Indian banking system.

Cash Withdrawal Restrictions May Continue Beyond 30 December: Restrictions on cash withdrawal from banks and ATMs are likely to continue beyond 30 December as currency printing presses and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have not been able to keep pace with the demand of new currency notes. The government and RBI has not specified when the restrictions will be withdrawn.

India Ready To Test-Fire Agni 5: India is set to test its indigenously-developed intercontinental surface-to-surface nuclear capable ballistic missile 'Agni-5' from the Wheeler Island off Odisha coast today (Monday). Sources at the Defence Research and Development Organisation said range coordination has reached its final stage for the fourth test of Agni-5 missile.

Google Tax May Hurt Start-Up Ecosystem, Say Experts: Tax experts have warned that the equalisation levy, also known as Google Tax, which the government is imposing on online advertising revenue earned in India by non-resident e-commerce companies, is expected to adversely affect the startup ecosystem going forward.

Nine Nobel Laureates For Vibrant Gujarat Summit: At least nine Nobel laureates, including Indian-origin structural biologist Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, have agreed to be part of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, starting from 9 January next year. This is for the first time that the Gujarat government has been organising such a knowledge sharing event during the summit which is otherwise an investment-oriented event.

32 Injured in Sabarimala Stampede: At least 32 people were injured after a stampede that broke out at the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala Sannidhanam on Sunday evening. The stampede occurred when a rope, which was used as a barricade, snapped in the rush of pilgrims, police said.

Why Pakistan Threatened Nuclear Retaliation Against Israel: Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif threatened Israel that his country could use nuclear weapons after a fake news report that his Israeli counterpart had threatened "nuclear retaliation" for Islamabad's role in Syria against ISIS, highlighting the serious problem proliferation of fake news poses.

Pakistan Releases 220 Indian Fishermen: Pakistan on Sunday released 220 Indian fishermen held for trespassing into its territorial waters as a “goodwill gesture” to its nuclear-armed rival India. The freed fishermen are expected to cross over into India on Monday. Pakistan is expected to release 219 others next week.

MUST READ OP-EDS

Atal Behari Vajpayee’s Politics Of Agreement: He practised the politics of agreement, not resistance. No other contemporary Indian politician had such a capacity to look at India and the world holistically.

Rural Market For Indian Start-Ups: What They Should Learn From Grown Start-Ups: In the years they have been around, neither Flipkart nor Ola found ways to truly disrupt the rural marketplace – India’s most parched market – and arguably that offering the most potential.

Changes Of 2016 Will Lead To New Beginnings And Fresh Opportunities: Unlike 2015, when regulatory movement remained the dominant theme across the year, 2016 was replete with business transformations.

A New Black Economy Must Not Become The New Normal: It would be the more difficult part of the demonetisation drive, because with new history having begun, the onus of prevention against the ills of black money will squarely lie on this government.

SWARAJYA SPECIAL

How Media’s Silence On Banerjee’s Appeasement Politics Is Undermining Its Credibility: The mainstream media’s deafening silence on recent communal incidents has led to a steady erosion of its credibility.

With Jung Gone, Both Centre And Delhi Governments Need To Wind Down Their ‘Jang’: Delhi and Delhi-ites deserve a better and less complicated administrative system. All parties with a stake in Delhi need to act in a mature fashion and find a solution to this.

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

SUBSCRIBE NOW: The December issue of our magazine is out now. The cover story focuses on how Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a huge economic and political risk – Demonetisation: The Great Gamble. Get a copy home and enjoy reading Swarajya in print. Subscribe here to start receiving your copies for just Rs 349.

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