Morning Brief: New Call To Crush Maoists; Delhi Metro Hikes Fares; Warren Buffet Upbeat On India

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

Rajnath Singh Calls For Aggressive Strategy Against Maoists: Home Minister Rajnath Singh has called for an aggressive strategy to crush the Maoists, which should instill “fear” in them. He asked the states affected by Maoist violence to “take ownership” of the operations launched against the left extremists. He said measures to “choke” their finances must be the first step. He said this in his inaugural address to a conclave of chief ministers and top officers of 10 Maoist-hit states, following the killing of 25 Central Reserve Police Force personnel by naxalites in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district.

Justice Karnan ‘Sentences’ Judges To Five Years Imprisonment: Calcutta High Court judge Justice C S Karnan, who is facing contempt charges, on Monday 'sentenced' Chief Justice of India J S Khehar and seven other judges of the Supreme Court to five years rigorous imprisonment. While handing down the 'sentence' he said the eight judges have "jointly committed the offences punishable under the SC/ST Atrocities Act of 1989 and amended Act of 2015." Justice Karnan also added another Supreme Court judge Justice R Banumathi in the list against whom the order was passed for having restrained his judicial and administrative work along with CJI Khehar.

About 2,000 CoBRA Commandos To Be Deployed In Sukma: About 2,000 commandos from the Central Reserve Police Force’s (CRPF) special guerilla warfare CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) battalions will be deployed in and around the Sukma district of Chhattisgarh to quell the Maoists and their arsenal. The paramilitary will very soon airlift at least 20 to 25 companies of the CoBRA from their current bases in West Bengal, Bihar, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh to the Bastar region, a top official said. The CoBRA comprises highly trained commandos who operate only on intelligence inputs and who can neutralise the enemy and destroy their hideouts with minimal collateral damage, the official said.

Delhi Metro Increases Fare By 66 Per Cent: After eight years of its launch, the Delhi Metro has increased its fares – bringing up the minimum ticket price from Rs 8 to Rs 10. The maximum fare will be Rs 50 instead of the current Rs 30. The hike – which is up to 66 per cent – was announced by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation or DMRC after a board meeting on Monday. It brings Delhi Metro's fare on par with Chennai and Bengaluru. With a base fare of Rs 5, only Kolkata now pays less. The new fares, which cuts down the existing 15 fare slabs to six, will come into effect from Wednesday. A second fare revision will take place on 1 October.

AAP Suspends Mishra; Kejriwal tweets ‘Truth Will Prevail’: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, “Truth will prevail”, breaking his silence following allegations of corruption levelled against him by sacked minister of his cabinet Kapil Mishra. Mishra was yesterday suspended from the party's primary membership for an indefinite period after he made a sensational revelation that he'd seen Kejriwal accepting Rs 2 crore from a cabinet colleague. Mishra said he would go to the Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday morning to give "proof" of his allegations and file an FIR in this regard.

New Push To Expand Regional Air Connectivity: Union Minister of State for Aviation Jayanta Sinha said on Monday that the central government has embarked upon a plan to bring 200 airports under the regional air connectivity scheme. “Under the Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) regional air connectivity scheme, 33 airports have been already included since its launch last year in addition to 75, taking the total to 108. We intend to take the number to 200,” Sinha said at an interaction at Bharat Chamber of Commerce in Kolkata. For this, we will have multiple rounds of bidding, he said, adding the government was also keen to reduce the subsidy burden.

Monsoon Just A Week Away: A German research institute on Monday predicted that the south west monsoon will hit central India between 14 and 22 June. On the basis of their early forecast method, scientists at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research claimed that monsoon is likely to set over the central part of India and the Eastern Ghats on or around 18 June with an error margin of four ­days. The prediction comes with 73 per cent probability. The Indian Meteorological Department is yet to come out with its forecast on the onset of monsoon on the Kerala coast.

Theresa May Vows To Cut Immigration Numbers: The British Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed to stick to her party's pledge to cut the migration figures down to "tens of thousands", evoking a strong reaction from Liberal Democrats who warned that her tough stand will damage ties with countries like India. The Prime Minister said it was important to hit this target given the pressure immigration had put on public services and those on lower incomes. The pledge to bring immigration below 100,000 will form part of her Conservative Party’s manifesto for the 8 June general election.

Warren Buffet Keen To Invest In India: American business magnate Warren Buffet said the potential for India is incredible currently and he is open to investing in good businesses in the country. He was speaking after Berkshire Hathaway’s annual general meeting. He further added India is a huge and enormous market for anyone to ignore. Buffet, who was all gung-ho about India, said that India has a terrific future due to the brain power it has, and future generations in India will live better than the current.

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PM Modi Is Already Delivering On Many Of The Big Promises Made During The Campaigns: Big, bold promises during an election campaign are usually trumped by political realities once elections are over. But in India’s case, three years into his government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is already delivering on many of the big promises made during the campaign.

There Has Been No Aadhaar ‘Data Leak’: The government has categorically asserted that not even a single example exists of a breach or leak of data from UIDAI. As UIDAI keeps data encrypted all the time with the highest encryption standards, the probability of leak is almost zero.

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Slow Down And Stop Breaking Things: Facebook, Google etc are now custodians of the common good, with the associated ethical considerations that need to put the brakes on ‘going fast and breaking things’. Simply creating stiffer penalties for those who breach Internet systems and profit from doing so will not be enough.

SWARAJYA SPECIAL

Nitish Kumar’s Wrong Turn In 2013 Has Left Him And His Party Powerless Before Lalu Yadav: Nitish Kumar’s best course of action, even now, is to rebuild ties with the BJP, rework the coalition in Bihar, and focus on taking that state to new heights. He will be senior partner in this alliance and master of his own destiny as pre-eminent leader in a big state.

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

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