Morning Brief: Jayalalithaa Suffers Cardiac Arrest; Modi Seeks Resolute Action Against Terror; Rate Cut On Cards?

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

J Jayalalithaa Suffers Cardiac Arrest: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa suffered a cardiac arrest on Sunday evening and is said to be critical. President Pranab Mukherjee was among a host of leaders, who wished her a speedy recovery. Her supporters are in a state of shock as security arrangements in the state have been beefed up.

Modi Seeks Resolute Action Against Terror Backers: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called for “resolute action” not just against forces of terrorism but also against those who support, shelter, train and finance them. He was speaking at the sixth Heart of Asia Conference in Amritsar, where Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said the Taliban insurgency would not survive a month if it lost its sanctuary in Pakistan.

Pakistan-Based Terror Groups Pose Grave Threat: The Heart of Asia Conference on Sunday adopted a joint declaration calling for "concerted regional and international cooperation" to eliminate terrorism. It named Pakistan-based terrorist groups including the Jaish-e-Muhammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba as grave threats to peace in South Asia. However, Pakistan's foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz said it is simplistic to blame only one country for the recent upsurge in terrorism.

India-Afghanistan To Set Up Air Transport Corridor: To avert bottlenecks created by Pakistan in land connectivity between Central and South Asia, India and Afghanistan are planning to set up an air transport corridor. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the plan after talks with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the Heart of Asia conference.

RBI To Issue New Rs 50 And Rs 20 Notes: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced on Sunday it will issue new sets of Rs 50 and Rs 20 notes that would carry the year of printing, 2016, on the reverse side of the currency. All older notes will continue to be legal tender.

Another Rate Cut On Cards? A large number of bankers and markets are betting on Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel going in for a 0.25 per cent interest rate cut at its next policy review on Wednesday, with an aim to cushion the impact of demonetisation.

Probe Underway Over Suspicious Declarations: An investigation is underway after the Income Tax department rejected two sets of declarations of Rs 2 lakh crore and Rs 13,860 crore after an inquiry found that the declarants were “persons of suspicious nature” and “very small means”, the Finance Ministry said on Sunday.

Inconsistencies In Jan Dhan Accounts: The Income Tax department has found "various inconsistencies" in cash deposits in Jan Dhan accounts and detected about Rs 1.64 crore deposited by people who have never filed returns as their income shown is below the taxable limit. The government on Sunday cautioned such account holders not to allow their deposits to be misused in the wake of the demonetisation move.

Congress Demands White Paper On Demonetisation: Claiming the demonetisation move to be the "biggest scam of India", Congress has demanded a white paper from the Narendra Modi government, and a probe into it by a Joint Parliamentary Committee.

Minister Giriraj Singh Calls For New Law On Sterilisation: After notebandi (demonetisation), there is an urgent need to make laws for nasbandi (sterilisation) in the country, Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Sunday. He said there should be a law to control population for the “country’s development and social cohesion”.

ISRO To Launch Remote Sensing Satellite: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch PSLV-C36 carrying remote sensing satellite RESOURCESAT-2A from Sriharikota on 7 December. Meanwhile, Bengaluru-based aerospace company TeamIndus is gearing to put its spacecraft on Moon to explore the lunar surface. ISRO will lift the TeamIndus spacecraft on 28 December 2017.

MUST READ OP-EDS

Make Way For A Revamped Version Of Garibi Hatao: A slogan like garibi hatao can only reinforce the government’s claim to champion for a level-playing field by taking on even the so-called power elite.

Time To Brush Up On Your Science Fiction: Start-ups and incumbents that understand the power and utility of these technologies will be able to write the new rules of business and define not just industry standards but industries themselves.

Where Do MFIs Go From Here? The writing on the wall is loud and clear. The MFIs must change the ways in which they have been working.

Talking Turkey: Merkel - Europe’s Face Of Liberalism: With Britain sitting in the departure lounge of the European Union and France’s Francois Hollande wisely announcing he won’t run for the presidency again with his abysmally low popularity rating, Merkel remains the only major leader left standing.

SWARAJYA SPECIAL

There’s A Gaping Loophole At Centre Of Demonetised Note Deposit Scheme: There is no checking whatsoever for fake currency, and in some parts of the country, fake notes may well be a significant part of bundles.

The Great Gamble: With demonetisation, the Prime Minister has taken a huge risk — both economic and political. He must succeed, because this move could transform both our economy and our society.

Take Note: Toll Plazas Big Pointers For Cash Movement: Toll plazas on the national highways are the test case to figure out if adequate currency stocks have reached everywhere.

From TV Show To Visual Scripture: Thirty Years Of Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan: Much like the idea of Ram, Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan is like an unexplained natural phenomenon that clicked despite all odds and impossibilities.

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

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