Morning Brief: New India Emerging, Says Modi; Parrikar Back As Goa Chief Minister; Lifeline For Start-Ups

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

Modi Says A New India Is Emerging: A “new India” is emerging and it stands for development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday, a day after the Bharatiya Janata Party’s resounding poll victory in Uttar Pradesh. “I have seen the deluge of poll-centric dreams, I envision a new India. We want 125 crore Indians collectively striving to make New India,” he said while addressing a victory rally in New Delhi.

Parrikar Appointed Goa Chief Minister: Governor of Goa, Mridula Sinha, has appointed former chief minister and incumbent Defence Minister of India, Manohar Parrikar, as the new Chief Minister of the state. The Governor has asked Parrikar to prove majority on the floor of the Assembly within 15 days of taking oath. This comes after BJP concluded hectic negotiations with regional parties and independents to stitch up the numbers to form a government.

Amarinder Singh To Take Oath On 16 March: Punjab Congress President Captain Amarinder Singh would be sworn in as the next chief minister of Punjab on 16 March. It would be his second stint as the chief minister; he earlier held the office from 2002 to 2007. He was unanimously elected as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party on Sunday after which, he met the state Governor and staked his claim to form the government.

BJP Claims Majority In Manipur: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has produced a list of 32 MLAs – claiming a majority in Manipur's 60-member assembly – to Governor Najma Heptullah and furnished letters of support from regional parties. BJP, which won 21 seats, claimed the support of National People's Party (4 MLAs), Naga People's Front (4), LJP (1) and two others – lone independent Ashab Uddin and T Robindro Singh, who was elected on a Trinamool ticket. Chief Minister Ibobi Singh also met the governor and staked his claim.

Saifullah Was A Caliphate Soldier, Claims Pro-IS Channel: A purported message posted by a pro-Islamic State (IS) Telegram channel has identified Saifullah, who was killed in an encounter in Lucknow last week, as a soldier of the caliphate. This is the first time that any IS supported channel on Telegram has owned up Saifullah, who was part of the alleged terror module, which planted a bomb on a train near Bhopal on 7 March. The website also posted a photograph of Saifullah describing him as a “soldier of the Khilafah from India.”

Don’t Differentiate Between Good And Bad Terrorists, India To UN: India has told the United Nations (UN) that all terrorist groups must be treated “like terrorist organisations and their activities (be) universally opposed”, renewing its call to the world to not differentiate between good and bad terrorists. “The Taliban, the Haqqani Network, Al Qaeda, Daesh, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, and others of their ilk are all terror organisations, many of them proscribed by UN,” said Syed Akbaruddin, Indian permanent representative to United Nations.

Jethmalani Calls Justice Karnan A ‘Lunatic’: Senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani, has written a scathing letter to justice C S Karnan of Calcutta High Court, calling him a “lunatic” and asking him to pray for pardon for every “stupid action” he has so far indulged in. A seven-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India J S Khehar had issued a warrant order, directing Justice Karnan’s presence on 31 March. Justice Karnan had ignored earlier summons in connection with contempt proceedings initiated against him for accusing several judges of the Madras high court, where he had earlier served, and an SC judge of corruption, nepotism and casteism.

50,000-Year-Old Archaeological Remains Discovered: The excavation carried out in the Narmada valley at Mehtakhedi village under Khargone district in Madhya Pradesh has led to the discovery of 350 archaeological remains which the experts claim to be 50,000 years old. Anupam Rajan, commissioner, Archaeology department of Madhya Pradesh under which the institute functions, said the work to explore micro relics was being carried out by dissolving and filtering the soil obtained from the excavation.

Rs 5 Crore Lifeline for Start-Ups: Start-ups in India will soon be able to take loans of up to Rs 5 crore without collateral through a credit guarantee scheme prepared by the government. “The scheme will help us address the most basic challenge of startups: access to capital. The corpus of the fund will also be guaranteed by the government,” a senior government official has said. The scheme is awaiting cabinet approval and is likely to become functional soon under the supervision of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.

MUST READ OP-EDS

The Message From Voters In Uttar Pradesh: That BJP has registered two landslide election victories in Uttar Pradesh in last three years suggests a tectonic shift is underway in voting patterns of the state.

Turning Innovations Into Enterprises: To be successful, a start-up requires a unique concept, capabilities, capital and culture. The link between innovation and growth provides justification for the government to invest in innovation and entrepreneurship

Remaking Of Brand BJP In Modi-Shah Era: Brand BJP for now appears freshly repackaged, recast, no baggage, less cumbersome, plenty of opportunity and an incentive to experiment. Result: Win or lose, BJP is the party to beat today.

Innovation Is Alive And Well In India: Science is well in India; there’s hope for innovation in the country; and all is well with the world.

SWARAJYA SPECIAL

This Is At Least A Two-Term BJP Govt In UP: One Term Till 2019, Another Till 2022: The deadline for the new BJP government in UP to deliver on governance is not 2022. It’s 2019.

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

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