Morning Brief: Aadhaar Not A Must For Air Tickets; Companies Law Amendment Bill Passed; IGNOU To Offer Indic Courses

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

Bill To Amend Companies Law Passed: With a view to boost corporate governance standards and ease of doing business, Lok Sabha on Thursday passed a bill by voice vote to amend the existing companies law. Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal, who moved the Companies (Amendment) Bill 2016, said the amendments would improve “ease of doing business ranking” for India. It would also facilitate in initiating strict action against defaulters, he said. Meghwal also allayed concerns raised by some members that the amendments will dilute the objectives of the 2013 law. The bill will now go to the Rajya Sabha.

IGNOU To Offer Courses On Vedic And Indic Studies: The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is set to start degree and certificate programmes in Vedic and Indic studies. According to sources, the university will offer certificate and degree courses in three languages Hindi, English and Gujarati, in association with the Swaminarayan sect. The university will soon constitute a Chair named after the sect, which have lakhs of followers. The Chair on dharshan (philosophy) and adhyatma (spirituality) will be called BAPS Swaminarayan Peeth. The constitution of the Chair is a part of a deal signed between the university and BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha.

No Plans To Make Aadhaar Mandatory For Air Tickets, Says Government: The government has no plans to make Aadhaar number mandatory for booking air tickets, a group of MPs were told. At a meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on home affairs, headed by P Chidambaram, top officials said no decision has been taken by the government in this regard, an MP who attended the meeting said. The parliamentarians were assured by the officials, led by Union home secretary-designate Rajiv Gauba, that Aadhaar data is safe and there is no chance of it falling in wrong hands as the main server is placed in a foolproof system.

Nitish Kumar To Seek Trust Vote Today: The new Janata Dal (United)-National Democratic Alliance government of Nitish Kumar will seek trust vote at a day-long special session from 11 am today (28 July) at the Bihar assembly. In the 243-member assembly, Nitish Kumar needs the support of 122 members for a majority. The Chief Minister's party has 71 legislators, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 53. BJP allies have five seats. Meanwhile, Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress appeared to have lost its confidence regarding support from a section of Nitish Kumar's legislators, with RJD's Raghuvansh Prasad Yadav saying they want lawmakers to vote according to their conscience.

Zakir Musa Named Al Qaeda Commander In Kashmir: One of the most prominent faces of Kashmir militancy, Zakir Musa, has been named by terror outfit Al Qaeda as the head of its first unit in the Valley. The announcement represents the first time a major international militant group has declared its presence in Kashmir. Musa, who was regarded as being close to Burhan Wani and belonged to the same outfit Hizbul Mujahideen, has been an advocate of establishing Islamic law – Sharia – in Kashmir. According to a report in The Guardian, the Global Islamic Media Front said the cell will be called Ansar Ghazwat-Ul-Hind and it was set up as a step “taken after Burhan Wani’s death’’.

Shia Waqf Board Stakes Claim To Babri Masjid: Even as efforts are underway for an out of court settlement in the Ramjanambhoomi-Babri mosque land dispute case, the Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board has decided to stake its claim on the disputed land in Ayodhya and become a party in the ongoing 60-year-old title case. The board has decided to challenge a 1946 order of a Faizabad court, which awarded the ownership of the Babri mosque to the Sunni Central Waqf Board. The board chairman Waseem Rizvi claimed that the Meer Baqi, who was a Shia, had constructed Babri mosque in 1527. “Time has come that Board should stake its claim on the disputed land and become a party in all ongoing cases related to the Ayodhya dispute,” said Rizvi.

WHO Seeks War On Hepatitis In India And South-East Asia: India and countries in the South-East Asia region should enhance awareness and actions to eliminate hepatitis, which kills over 400,000 people in the area every year, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday said. “Each year, viral hepatitis infects millions of people across the region, causing the death of around 410,000 persons— more than HIV and malaria combined. It is also a major cause of liver cancer and cirrhosis, contributing to premature morbidity and mortality, and undermining economic growth and the push to achieve health and wellbeing for all,” she said. WHO regional director for South-East Asia, Poonam Khetrapal Singh said that viral hepatitis is a major public health problem in the region and every person has a stake in controlling and eliminating it.

If Trump Orders, Will Launch Nuclear Strike On China, Says US Naval Commander: President Donald Trump would be obeyed if he ordered a nuclear strike against China, the commander of the US Pacific Fleet has said Thursday. "The answer would be yes," Admiral Scott H Swift said when asked if he would obey such a command. "Every member of the US military has sworn an oath to defend the Constitution of the US against all enemies foreign and domestic and to obey the officers and the president of the US as the commander in chief appointed over us," he said. Tensions have been high between the US and China over activity in the South China Sea. In May, a US warship sailed close to a Chinese artificial island in the sea, which China claims exclusive rights to.

MUST READ OPINIONS AND COLUMNS

RBI’s New Normal: If RBI were a purist “inflation targeter”, there would be no space for rate cuts (or hikes) if, as we argue, inflation is already at 4 per cent. All considered, we expect RBI to cut the policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 6 per cent on 2 August.

Preparing For The AI Apocalypse: The spat between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg points to important questions about the future of AI. The disagreement has more than a whiff of clashing egos to it – unsurprising, given that both men are giants of the tech world and global economy.

No Logic In Extending Length Of Patents: Granting a longer term for drug patents will result in delays in the entry of generic versions and could adversely affect access to affordable medicines.

The Growth Of Our Domestic Economy Needs To Be Pursued Over Foreign Entanglements: While great power competition will continue, India must ensure that no State is able to exercise undue influence on it, and that any non-State actor is deterred by its institutional capacity for retaliation. India should pursue its permanent interests, building alliances with all.

SWARAJYA SPECIAL

Doklam Standoff: The Real Reasons And How Far Can It Be Taken: There is no alternative for India but to do more than lip service to its dire need for better infrastructure and military capability for a two-front conflict. Doklam will not be the last time it will face intimidation.

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

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