Morning Brief: Terror Can’t Be New Normal, Pakistan Told; GST-Demonetisation Game Changers; 90 Per Cent ATMs Recalibrated

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

Terrorism Can’t Be The New Normal, India Warns Pakistan: India on Thursday issued a veiled but clear threat to Pakistan, saying it took the Nagrota terrorist attack “very seriously” and would do everything required for national security. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said the government is awaiting detailed information about the Nagrota attack before it decides on the next steps, and added that terrorism cannot be the new normal.

GST And Currency Swap Are Game Changers, Says Jaitley: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday termed as “game changers” the pulling out of high-value old notes as well as Goods and Services Tax (GST), rejecting apprehensions that the Indian economy would suffer due to demonetisation. GST is expected to be rolled out from 1 April next year.

90 Per Cent ATMs Recalibrated: Nearly 90 per cent of the two lakh ATMs deployed across the country have been recalibrated to dispense the new Rs500 and Rs2,000 notes, it was announced on Thursday. ATM manufacturer, NCR Corporation managing director, Navroze Dastur said the rest of the ATMs would be recalibrated over the next 10 days to dispense new notes.

Government Plans Aadhar-Based App For Financial Transactions: The government is gearing up to facilitate Aadhaar-enabled financial transactions through mobile phones as part of its drive to convert the country into a cashless economy. The Unique Identification Authority of India has planned to increase biometric authentication capacity through Aadhaar bypassing credit and debit cards, PIN and password.

Automation To Cause Major Job Losses, Says Mohandas Pai: Due to increasing automation and improvement in technology, about 20 crore middle class young people would have no jobs or less jobs by 2025, industry veteran T V Mohandas Pai said on Thursday. "We are going to have demographic nightmare," he said at AIMA's National HRM Summit.

New Currency Notes Worth Rs 4.7 Crore Seized In Bengaluru: The Income Tax department on Thursday confiscated over Rs 4.5 crore, mostly in new notes, from two individuals, during a surprise check in Bengaluru for fresh currency stashes. While Rs 4.7 crore of the seized money was in the new Rs 2,000 banknotes, the rest of the Rs 30 lakh comprised Rs 100 and demonetised Rs 500, the officials said.

RSS Agenda Is Not Against Any Religion, Says Bhagwat: Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat claimed that the organisation has survived challenges due to its deep-rooted beliefs in tradition and with its sole agenda of shaping "good human beings". He clarified that the organisation’s agenda was not meant to subvert any religion but to inculcate better virtues in the society.

China Urged To Change Stand On Masood Azhar: The Indian government has urged China to reverse its technical hold on India's request to get Masood Azhar designated as terrorist by the UN, Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar said on Thursday.

Jio Extends Free Data-Voice Offer: In what could be an escalation in the telecom sector’s price war, Reliance Industries announced on Thursday a three-month extension to an offer of free data and voice services by Jio, under the Happy New Year plan. The company also announced it was launching next week its Jio-Money Merchant Solutions.

Cyclone Nada Weakens, Bringing Relief To Tamil Nadu: Chennai witnessed heavy rain as Cyclone Nada weakened into a "Deep Depression" on its way to Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in the Bay of Bengal. The storm is still weakening and may make landfall in the very early hours of Friday near Cuddalore, officials said.

Hackers Used Bengaluru Server To Compromise Congress Twitter Handle: Preliminary investigation into the hacking of the Twitter handle of Congress and its vice-president Rahul Gandhi has revealed that the server from where the hackers had logged in was based in Bengaluru. However, the IP address they used was found to be in Norway or Sweden.

MUST READ OP-EDS

Demonetising Politics Of Pandemonium: It is for the media and society together to ensure that the politics of pandemonium is totally rejected, devalued, in that sense demonetised and finally driven away, lock stock and barrel.

RBI Monetary Policy: Caution Is Key For The MPC: The monetary policy will have to be guided much more by the assessment of the real economy. The MPC action will be watched, so will its assessment of the economy.

Reason Why You Should Now Expect Growth-Oriented Policies: The urban poor are quite accustomed to facing much bigger difficulties than scrapping of some currency notes, and the rural folk routinely deal with droughts, floods and late payments for their produce. But, this time, they have hope.

Citizens Into Subjects: India’s nationalism gave us democracy and converted subjects into citizens. Are we now contemplating to turn citizens into subjects?

The Emergence Of A Smart And Connected World: While opportunities are aplenty for the technology ecosystem in India, there are challenges, too. Democratisation of technology paves the way for a better and enriched society, fosters inclusive growth and spurs economic growth.

SWARAJYA SPECIAL

Banerjee Is A Non-Entity Beyond Bengal’s Borders: It is high time Banerjee realises that she is chasing a pipe dream. She should concentrate on Bengal and pull the state out of the morass.

The Three Goof-Ups That Modi Government Could Have Avoided In Demonetisation: Narendra Modi may still escape opprobrium if he gets the situation fixed by 30 December.

Innovation Nation: The Indian Right’s Real Idea Is Disruptive Innovation: The Right’s ideas are innovative, disruptive and are overturning the status quo.

Cash Crisis: Pain May End Only By January-End; 30 December Deadline Can’t Be Met: The only thing that can be said with certainty is that the cash crisis won’t end by Narendra Modi’s promised 30 December.

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

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