08:58 Modi pitches India as favourite investment destination in Singapore:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that financial inclusion has become a reality for 1.3 billion Indians as he pitched India as a favourite destination for investment at the Fintech Festival in Singapore.
Modi became the first world leader to address the festival which was launched in 2016 and is in its third edition.
“Financial inclusion has become reality for 1.3 billion Indians. We have generated more than 1.2 billion biometric identities- Aadhaar or foundation- in just a few years,” Modi said at the event.
The Singapore Fintech Festival is already the world’s largest event on financial technology or fintech. In 2017, the event drew as many as 30,000 participants from over 100 countries.
The SFF involves a three-day conference, and exhibition of FinTech firms and capabilities, a global competition of FinTech solutions and a platform for matching entrepreneurs and investment capital.
Modi said through Aadhaar and cellphones, his government has launched Jan Dhan Yojana and opened 330 million new bank accounts in three years.
“These are 330 million sources of identity, dignity and opportunities. Less than 50 per cent of Indian had bank accounts in 2014. Now, it is nearly universal. So today, more than a billion biometric identities, more than a billion bank accounts and more than a billion cell phones give India by far the biggest public infrastructure in the world,” Modi said.
“We are in an age of a historic transition brought about by technology. From desktop to cloud, from Internet to social media, from IT Services to Internet of Things, we have come a long way in short time,” he said.
— PTI
08:35 Top film body expels Alok Nath amid rape allegations:
The Cine and TV Artists Association said it has expelled Alok Nath, a month after the actor was accused of rape by a writer-producer.
Vinta Nanda, best known for the hit ’90s TV show “Tara”, had accused Nath of raping her more than once 19 years ago.
In a statement released on Twitter, CINTAA, which has previously sent show-cause notice to Nath, said, “In view of the various allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against Mr Alok Nath, after due diligence and consideration, the Executive Committee of CINTAA has decided to expel him from the Association.”
When contacted, Nath said he is yet to receive any official communication. “I have not received anything from CINTAA yet,” he said.
Besides Nanda, actor Sandhya Mridul also accused Nath of sexual harassment at an outdoor shoot years ago.
Nath, who has repeatedly denied the claims, has also filed defamation case against Nanda.
Nath is famous for shows like “Buniyaad” and films such as “Hum Aapke Hain Kaun!” and “Hum Saath Saath Hain”.
— PTI
07:59 India a tough trade negotiator: Trump:
US President Donald Trump described India as “very good negotiators” as he celebrated Diwali in the White House along with top Indian-Americans and said he is “grateful” for his friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The United States has deep ties to the nation of India and I am grateful for my friendship with Prime Minister Modi,” Trump said before lighting the ceremonial diya in the historic Roosevelt Room of the White House. It is the second consecutive year that Trump has celebrated the largest festival of India and Indian Americans in the White House.
“We’re trying very hard to make better trade deals with India. But, they’re very good traders. They’re very good negotiators. You would say right. The best. So we’re working. And it’s moving along,” Trump said referring to the India-US trade deal negotiations that have started between the two largest democracies of the world.
“Modi is my friend and now her (Ivanka) friend and has great respect for India and the Indian people that I can say,” said the US President as he introduced his daughter to the audience, who was present in the room.
“Absolutely,” replied Ivanka, who had visited India last year. She was the first top official of the Trump Administration to travel to India.
— PTI
00:22 Crucial hearing on Rafale deal in SC today:
The sensitive pricing details of the 36 Rafale fighter jets, submitted by the Centre in a sealed cover, is scheduled to be examined by the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph will hold a crucial hearing in the case during which the petitioners, who have sought a court-monitored investigation into the deal, will also make submissions.
The Centre had on Monday handed over a 14-page document titled ‘Details of the steps in the decision making process leading to the award of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft order’ to the petitioners in the case.
The government had also filed in the court in a sealed cover the pricing details of the Rafale jets.
The petitioners are likely to respond to the contents of the documents in which it has been stated by the government that the deal for 36 Rafale jets were negotiated on ‘better terms’ and the Defence Procurement Procedure laid out in 2013 were ‘completely followed’.
The Centre has also said the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approval was secured before the deal was inked with France.
The details of the decision-making process and pricing were placed in the court in compliance with its October 31 order.
India signed an agreement with France for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft in a fly-away condition as part of the upgrading process of the Indian Air Force equipment. The estimated cost of the deal is Rs 58,000 crore.
The Rafale fighter is a twin-engine Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation.
The petitions seeking the probe in the Rafale deal were first filed by advocates Manohar Lal Sharma and Vineet Dhanda.
Later, Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh had also filed a petition.
Former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan had also filed a joint petition in the apex court. — PTI
Source: Rediff