Morning Brief: Government Vows One Crore New Jobs; UP-AP Pass GST; Large Scale IT Job Losses Ruled Out

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

Government Vows One Crore Jobs In Two Years: Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said on Tuesday that the government intends to provide employment to one crore people in the country in the next two years. The Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment also noted that the government’s skill development initiative has contributed towards creating a skilled workforce in the country. “Employer-employee relationship has been cordial after the Narendra Modi-led government came to power, so I am fully confident that we will provide one crore people with employment in the next two years,” he said.

Tax Raids: Day Of Reckoning For The Corrupt, Says Jaitley: More than 50 places were raided around the country on Tuesday as part of investigations including two senior opposition leaders, P Chidambaram and Lalu Yadav. "The day of reckoning has come for many...they all will be accountable" said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Chidambaram’s homes were searched as part of an investigation into alleged criminal misconduct based on approvals of foreign investment deals. In Lalu Yadav's case, nearly 100 tax officials and policemen raided properties including in Delhi and Gurgaon that are allegedly proxy owned by the politician and his children.

India Shining In Renewable Energy Investment: India has overtaken the US to become the second-most attractive country after China for renewable energy investment, according to a report by UK accountancy firm EY. In an annual ranking of the top 40 renewable energy markets worldwide in terms of allure, China was ranked at the top. “A combination of strong government support and increasingly attractive economics has helped push India into the second place,” the accountancy firm said. India, it said, has added more than 10 gw of solar capacity in the last three years, starting from a low base of 2.6 gw in 2014. Also, there was a record new wind capacity of 5.4 gw installed in 2016-17.

Operation Clean Website Launched: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday launched a new website “Operation Clean Money”, a programme to bring illegal wealth on books. The move comes after more than 91 lakh Indians were brought into the tax net while detecting undisclosed income worth Rs 23,144 crore in the six months after demonetisation. Post demonetisation, there has been a hike in collection of personal income tax, the Finance Minister said, adding that the new portal will help honest tax payer.

Large Scale IT Job Losses Ruled Out: The information technology (IT) industry has assured the government that there will be no large scale job losses, IT secretary Aruna Sundararajan said on Tuesday. The sector, which continues to demonstrate 8-9 per cent growth, may see some cases where contracts are not renewed as part of the regular annual appraisal cycle. Sundararajan said the industry is undergoing a shift in the job profile given the advent of cloud, big data and digital payments. This comes in the backdrop of IT majors initiating annual performance reviews, a process that weeds out bottom performers or non-performers.

Uttar Pradesh And Andhra Pradesh Pass GST: The Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh assemblies have cleared the goods and services tax (GST) 2017. UP assembly unanimously passed the state GST bill with all the major political parties giving the go-ahead with a voice vote. In Andhra Pradesh, Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu introduced the bill in the assembly where the members gave the green signal to the landmark bill. He later introduced the GST Bill in the legislative council where too it was given the green light.

Government Considering Booting Out Congress From Official Bungalows: The Union government is considering evicting Congress from its headquarters in central Delhi, the Urban Development Ministry has said. The grand old party occupies four bungalows, including its head office at 24 Akbar Road, in the national capital, exceeding what it is entitled to, the ministry said in response to a Right to Information (RTI) query. The Directorate of Estates under the ministry said the allotment for the four was cancelled with effect from 26 June 2013.

Triple Talaq Is A Matter Of Faith, AIMPLB Tells SC: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Tuesday defended triple talaq in the Supreme Court, saying it was being practised for 1,400 years and was a matter of faith just like Ram Lalla’s birthplace. “Triple talaq is not a question of equity and good conscience but of faith. Can’t bring constitutional morality into it,” board’s lawyer Kapil Sibal said. He also said while Hindu laws protected all customs “in Muslim law they say customs violate Constitution”. In a Hindu majority state, Muslims, who were a minority, should be protected.

MUST READ OP-EDS

Aadhaar: The Fine Balance Between Identity And Anonymity: Given the complexity of modern society, reliable identity is critical to our daily existence. The alternative – complete anonymity – is clearly undesirable as it does damage to the myth of the nation-state.

The Coming Disruption In Transportation: Uberisation will soon also usher in the use of driverless autonomous vehicles, owned not by private individuals or cities, but by fleet owners and large companies. This phenomenon is spreading fast in Indian cities, and is already extending to logistics and trucking.

No Quick-Fix Solutions For Accumulated NPAs: The amendment to the Banking Regulation Act has failed to provide relief from the government’s latest scheme for cleaning up accumulated NPAs. Banks are unlikely to get aggressive with NPA resolution unless there is capital within sight.

Too Many Spies Spoil The Intelligence Broth: The government needs to bring all intelligence agencies under some form of parliamentary oversight. India needs an exclusive intelligence chief who can provide integrated intelligence assessments to the government through the NSA.

SWARAJYA SPECIAL

The 2014 Mandate: An Unequivocal Expression Of Hindu Modernity: The 2014 mandate was about a desire for development without Westernisation. A desire to prosper without compromising on identity.

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

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