Morning Brief: Modi Slams Opposition; Manmohan Singh Under Fire; Single Entrance For Engineering Courses?

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

Modi Slams Opposition For Providing Cover To Dishonest: Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised political parties for opposing his demonetisation drive, comparing the opposition protest in Parliament to “cover fire” provided by Pakistan to “push infiltrators into India”. He said the chaos was created to provide “cover to the dishonest”.

Manmohan Singh Under Fire: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday slammed his predecessor Manmohan Singh for the poor state of India economy during an event in Varanasi. He ridiculed Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, saying he is "learning how to make speeches", mocking at his threat of causing an "earthquake".

Rs 1,250 Crore Assets Seized Over Rose Valley Chit Fund Scam: The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday attached assets to the tune of Rs 1,250 crore, including eight hotels and a Rolls Royce luxury car, in connection with its money laundering probe in the Rose Valley chit fund scam case where thousands of people were allegedly cheated in West Bengal and Odisha.

Fake Currency Racket Mastermind Arrested: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested the ring leader of a fake Indian currency note racket, Abdul Salam, who was deported by Saudi Arabia on Thursday. In another case, the NIA filed a charge sheet against eight people for allegedly attempting to carry out a terror strike using explosive devices similar to those used by ISIS cadres.

Post NEET, Single Entrance For Engineering Courses? The Human Resource Development Ministry is considering single national entrance test for engineering courses after successfully introducing a similar move for medicine, National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). In a separate move, the ministry is also recommending smart classes in government schools.

Google-RailTel Free WiFi Landmark: Udhagamandalam (Ooty) station in Tamil Nadu is the 100th to get free WiFi service under a Google-RailTel, partnership, which is aiming to provide this service to 400 stations throughout India. In January, Google launched its first free WiFi services at Mumbai Central station.

67.54 Lakh Non-Filers Under I-T Department Scanner: The Income Tax Department has identified an additional 67.54 lakh potential non-filers who carried out high-value transactions in 2014-15 but did not file return of income. Non-filers have been identified based on data analytics carried out by the Systems Directorate of Central Board of Direct Taxes.

India Trails Bangladesh And Nepal In Internet Download Speed: India is 96th in terms of download speed, trailing Bangladesh and Nepal, and 105th in terms of average bandwidth availability. With poor internet security records, it tops the world in terms of 'ransomware' attacks that target banks and establishments with sensitive, confidential information.

Trump For Boosting Nuclear Capability Of US: America must massively boost its nuclear capability until the “world comes to its senses”, President-elect Donald Trump said on Thursday. His comment marks a jarring departure from President Barack Obama’s rhetoric, who in a famous speech in Prague in 2009 called for the elimination of nuclear weapons.

Syria Army Take Control Of Aleppo After Four Years: Scoring its biggest victory against opposition forces since the civil war erupted in 2011, the Syrian army said on Thursday it has retaken full control of the country’s devastated second city Aleppo. Syrian TV showed uniformed soldiers and civilians shouting slogans in support of President Bashar Assad following the announcement.

MUST READ OP-EDS

Demonetisation Has Placed A Large Kitty In The Hands Of Banks: The government can also use this new infusion of debt for targeted financing of priority sectors: micro, small and medium enterprise, infrastructure and renewable energy.

In It For The Short Haul: Legislators who spent crores of rupees to get elected to the UP assembly know that they have a little less than five years to recoup their investment.

Red Signals From China: Analysts are divided on the future of the Chinese economy, with those predicting a smooth landing presently in a minority. China has, several times in the past, proved the Cassandras wrong. But this time a turbulent transition seems unavoidable.

Leading Ladies — Allowing The Feminine To Flow: Shaping our humanity is not the exclusive privilege of just one sex. In leadership – both business and political – women must have a role because they are the gentler part of humanity.

SWARAJYA SPECIAL

West Bengal Is Turning Into A Communal Tinderbox, Thanks To Mamata Banerjee: Banerjee’s blatant appeasement of Muslims has emboldened the minority community to attack Hindus at many places across the state.

Don’t Shoot The RBI Governor; His Record Is Better Than That Of US Fed Or ECB: Whether it is D Subbarao, or Raghuram Rajan or, now Urjit Patel, the RBI as an institution has delivered a much better track record than some of its western counterparts.

Shrinking IDS: Lesson For Modi Government Is That There’s No Honour Among Thieves: In executing the new IDS, the government needs to act on the assumption that there is no honour among thieves.

J&K Domicile Row: Why Kashmiri Leaders, Without Any Exceptions, Are Anti-Jammu And Anti-Hindu: One thing is absolutely clear: Kashmiri leaders, without any exception, are not just separatist and half-separatist, but they are also rabidly anti-Jammu and anti-Hindu.

Remembering Sarada Devi: Mother, Saint, Revolutionary: Today is the birth anniversary of Holy Mother Sarada Devi. We remember and celebrate Ma Sarada for her exceptional life and legacy.

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

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