Morning Brief: Amarnath Yatra Terror Attack; NITI Aayog’s Growth Blueprint; More Trouble For Sharif

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

Seven Killed In Attack On Amarnath Pilgrims: At least seven people were killed and 16 injured when suspected militants attacked a bus ferrying Amarnath pilgrims in Anantnag district of south Kashmir on Monday. All the victims were from Gujarat, state Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said, pointing to a possible targeted strike against a chartered bus from that state. Five of the dead were women. Meanwhile, divisional commissioner Mandeep Bhandari said the Amarnath yatra will continue from Jammu.

India Won’t Be Bogged Down, Says Modi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the nation in condemning the killings of seven Amarnath pilgrims, saying he was “pained beyond words” and “India will never get bogged down by such cowardly attacks and the evil designs of hate”. Congress president Sonia Gandhi said, “the attack on the devotees of Lord Shiva is a crime against humanity. The entire nation is in shock.” Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, Bharatiya Janata Party national president Amit Shah, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah were among the leaders who condemned the attack.

India-US-Japan Begin Naval War Games: Amid growing Chinese assertiveness in south Asia, India, Japan and the US on Monday launched their trilateral ‘Malabar’ naval exercise, seeking to forge “deeper” military ties. As many as 95 aircraft, 16 ships and two submarines from the three countries are taking part in the Naval exercise, an Indian official said. USS Nimitz, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, will figure in the five-day exercise in the Bay of Bengal that is aimed at “achieving deeper military ties between the three nations.” The Malabar exercise is taking place amid the military standoff between armies of the India and China in the Sikkim sector and Beijing ramping up its naval presence in South China Sea.

Nearly 6,000 NGOs May Lose FCRA Licence: As many as 5,922 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) can lose their licence to receive foreign donations with the Home Ministry serving them show cause notices on Monday for not filing annual income and expenditure records for five consecutive years. Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, Indira Gandhi National Open University, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur, Ramakrishna Mission Ashram, Delhi College of Engineering, Punjabi University (Patiala), Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Khadi Gramodyog Samiti, Oxfam Trust and Mayo College Central Council Society are among those who were served the notices.

NITI Aayog’s Blueprint For Driving Growth: Government think tank NITI Aayog has called for shifting workers from agriculture to industry and encourage small enterprises to grow big with a view to accelerate economic growth. Addressing the National Conference of Chief Secretaries, NITI Aayog vice chairman Arvind Panagariya said underemployment is probably the biggest economic challenge India faces today, “Our enterprises are excessively small and they have remained so.” Panagariya said that raising productivity requires creating a policy environment that will help our enterprises grow bigger.

Mahagathbandhan Rift Deepening: The rift in Bihar’s ruling alliance seemed to deepen on Monday over differences on how to handle corruption charges against Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, even as senior coalition partner Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) backed him and ruled out his resignation. The RJD’s 80 MLAs in Patna unanimously decided to back Tejashwi and his father, party chief Lalu Prasad, who are facing charges in an alleged land-for-hotels scandal that saw the Central Bureau of Investigation raiding their homes and other properties last week. The focus is now on Bihar’s Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar who is expected to announce his party’s stand today (Tuesday).

Indian Railways To Procure More From Small Businesses: Indian Railways has firmed up an action plan to increase participation of the micro and small enterprises (MSEs) sector in the public transporter’s procurement. It has taken a major step to promote MSEs by reserving 358 items including cleaning apparatus, stationery and leather items exclusively for procurement from the MSE sector. Besides, in a relief to the MSEs, the sector has been exempted from paying tender cost and earnest money deposit for participating in the railway tender. There are a total of 9,973 MSE vendors registered on the Indian Railways procurement portal and Rs 4,400 crore worth of materials are procured in a year from the sector.

Panamagate: More Trouble For Nawaz Sharif: In a major setback to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, a Supreme Court ordered probe panel in its final report on the Panamagate on Monday recommended filing of a corruption case against him and his children after finding “significant” disparities in their income and actual wealth. The report added there was a “significant gap-disparity” between the declared sources of income and wealth accumulated by Sharif, his sons Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz and his daughter Maryam Nawaz. Opposition parties immediately demanded the Prime Minister’s resignation. Pakistan Tehree-e-Insaaf leader Imran Khan said Sharif had lost moral authority and should step down.

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Why The Dollar Is Still King: If one looked at economic risk factors such as economic growth rate, the safety and stability of the banking system, America’s fiscal deficit and government debt, the US does far better than the eurozone nations. In terms of economic fundamentals, the US dollar ticks many boxes.

Shaping The Future Of Manufacturing In India: A second version of “Make in India” is on the anvil to consolidate the ground for further growth in selected manufacturing sectors. India should embrace digital technologies to achieve the target of becoming a global manufacturing hub.

China’s Road In Doka La Is Headed For Thimphu: China has maintained some presence in roads and dirt tracks existing between Batang La and Doka La for more than a decade. China intends to create a rift between India and Bhutan and establish independent diplomatic relations with the latter.

SWARAJYA SPECIAL

Destroyed By The Media, And Then Ignored: Victims Of False Rape Accusations: It’s time lawmakers addressed the injustice suffered by men due to inadequacies in the law, and it’s important the media tells both sides of the story.

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

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