10:50 Blow for Modi govt as SC reinstates Alok Verma as CBI chief: The Supreme Court of India has dealt a blow to the Narendra Modi government by reinstating the Alok Verma as the CBI director.
Verma had moved the SC against the Centre’s decision to divest him of powers and sending him on leave.
Verma had sought the quashing of three orders of October 23, 2018 — one by the Central Vigilance Commission and two by the Department of Personnel and Training — as being without jurisdiction and in violation of Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution.
Incidentally , Verma’s two-year tenure as CBI director ends on January 31.
10:34 Another top-level executive quits Infosys:
Another top-level executive of India’s second largest software services company, Infosys has tendered his resignation after close to a two decade-long stint.
Sudip Singh, the global head of the energy, utilities, resources and services unit of Infosys has quit the company.
However, Infosys declined to comment on Singh’s exit.
Singh was managing a portfolio of around USD 1.5 billion under his vertical.
This comes after consulting global head Ken Toombs quit in October last year.
Prior to Toombs, in August, the most prominent company executive M D Ranganath had put in his papers as the Chief Financial Officer.
Singh has the distinction of growing the business from a mere USD 100 million to nearly USD 750 million in revenues. — PTI
10:12 Mumbaikars hit as BEST buses go off roads:
Over 33,000 employees of Mumbai’s civic transport undertaking BEST went on an indefinite strike since midnight over their demands, including higher wages, paralysing bus services and causing inconvenience to nearly 25-lakh daily commuters.
Responding to a call given by their union leaders, the agitating staff did not take out any bus from all 27 depots on Tuesday, even as the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport administration and an industrial court declared the strike as “illegal”.
The BEST has a fleet of over 3,200-red-colour buses which criss-cross the metropolis and also operate services in the neighbouring Thane district and Navi Mumbai. It is the second-biggest mode of transport in Mumbai after local trains, which ferry over 80-lakh passengers every day.
The employees are demanding higher salaries, merging budget of the loss-making BEST with that of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, deliberations on new wage agreement, resuming appointments on compassionate grounds and bonus equivalent to that of the civic body employees.
With its employees having gone on strike, the cash-strapped BEST is likely to face a loss of Rs 3 crore per day, a source said.
Shashank Rao, leader of the BEST Workers’ Union, which has called the strike, alleged that the transport body’s administration showed a lackadaisical approach in resolving the stalemate and that the employees had no option but to go on strike.
An industrial court had on Monday declared the strike as illegal and restrained the labour unions and BEST staffers from going ahead with their protest. But, Rao said they had not received the copy of the court order till they went on strike.
Meanwhile, some commuters opposed the strike, saying it was always the passengers who bore the brunt of the feud between the BEST administration and its employees. “Why torture innocent passengers? What wrong have we done to BEST employees and their management?” asked Anita Nayak, a Ghatkopar resident who commutes by bus everyday to go for work in suburban Mulund. — PTI
10:00 Trump to address the nation on border wall issue on Tuesday:
United States President Donald Trump said he will “address the nation” on Tuesday night on his demand for a wall along the Mexico border to prevent illegal immigration, the differences over which has resulted in a partial government shutdown for over a fortnight.
Multiple television media outlets reported that they have received a request from the White House to disrupt their prime-time coverage Tuesday night for an Oval Office address to the nation by Trump.
Trump, who is at loggerheads with the Democrates over funding of the wall project, tweeted, “I am pleased to inform you that I will Address the Nation on the Humanitarian and National Security crisis on our Southern Border. Tuesday night at 9:00 P.M. Eastern.”
He is also scheduled to visit the Southern border on Thursday, the White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said. — PTI
09:57 India’s expulsion of Rohingya shows disdain for international laws: Amnesty India:
Amnesty India on Monday said that the Indian government’s expulsion of Rohingya asylum-seekers to Myanmar shows a disdain for international laws.
On January 4, the UN Refugee Agency said a family of Rohingya asylum-seekers from Rakhine state, registered with the UNHCR in India, was sent back to Myanmar after being detained in Assam, where they had been serving a prison term since 2013 for illegal entry into India.
Amnesty India issued a statement saying it regretted India’s decision to repatriate the asylum-seekers to Myanmar, where conditions are not conducive for their return.
“The fact that the government ignored the UNHCR’s requests for access to the family, who were registered as asylum-seekers, is deeply concerning. The government’s actions indicate a blatant disregard for the international refugee protection mechanism and the mandate of the UN Refugee Agency,” Abhirr V P, senior campaigner, Amnesty India, said. — PTI
09:38 Govt to table upper caste quota bill in Parliament today:
Social Justice Minister Thavarchand Gehlot is likely to table in Parliament today the bill, which provides a 10 per cent quota in government jobs and education for “economically weaker” sections in general category.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has issued a whip to its MPs, asking them to be present in Parliament on Tuesday as it seeks to push for the passage of the bill, a top government functionary said.
In a major move ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Union Cabinet Monday cleared a 10 per cent quota in government jobs and education for “economically weaker” sections, meeting a key demand of upper castes, a staunch BJP support base which has shown signs of a drift from the party.
The BJP termed the Narendra Modi government’s move as “historic” while the Opposition questioned its timing with the Congress dubbing it a “election gimmick”.
However, opposition parties extended its support, reflecting the bill’s political significance.
The government has also extended Rajya Sabha proceedings during the winter session of Parliament by a day till January 9 to enable the House to take up the bill.
09:10 Modi, Trump talk over phone, discuss key bilateral issues:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States president Donald Trump held a telephonic conversation during which they took positive note of bilateral cooperation in areas of defence, counter terrorism and energy, officials said.
During the conversation, they exchanged new year greetings and expressed satisfaction at the continued growth of the India-US strategic partnership in 2018, they said.
They also appreciated developments such as the launch of the new two plus two dialogue mechanism and the first ever trilateral summit of India, US and Japan.
The two leaders also took positive note of the growing bilateral cooperation in defence, counter-terrorism and energy, besides the co-ordination on regional and global issues, the officials said.
During the conversation that took place last evening, Modi and trump also agreed to continue to work together for further strengthening of India-US relation in 2019. — PTI
08:30 Gita Gopinath joins IMF as its 1st female chief economist:
Mysore-born Gita Gopinath has joined International Monetary Fund as its chief economist, becoming the first woman to occupy the top IMF post.
Gopinath’s joined last week at a time, when she believes the world is experiencing a retreat from globalisation, posing challenges to multilateral institutions.
The John Zwaanstra professor of International Studies and Economics at Harvard University, Gopinath, 47, succeeds Maurice (Maury) Obstfeld as Economic Counsellor and Director of the IMF’s Research Department. Obstfeld retired December 31.
Announcing her appointment on October 1, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde described her as “one of the world’s outstanding economists with impeccable academic credentials, a proven track record of intellectual leadership and extensive international experience.”
The 11th chief economist of the IMF, Gopinath in a recent interview to The Harvard Gazette described her appointment at the IMF as a “tremendous honour” and said the appointment of the first ever woman for this position speaks highly of IMF’s Managing Director Lagarde.
“She is phenomenal, not just in her leadership of the IMF but as a role model for women around the world,” she said.
Identifying some of her top priorities at the IMF, Gopinath told The Harvard Gazette that she would like the IMF to continue to be a place that provides intellectual leadership on important policy questions.
“Among the research issues that I would like to push, one would be understanding the role of dominant currencies like the dollar in international trade and finance. We could do more on the empirical side to try to understand countries’ dollar exposures and on the theoretical side in terms of the implications for international spillovers, consequences of dollar shortages, etc,” she said.
Most countries invoice their trade in dollars and borrow internationally in dollars. This is a central part of the international price system and the international financial system and it will be exciting to explore its consequences in greater depth with the IMF, she said.
Gopinath considers the perceived retreat from globalisation as one of the top challenges being faced by the IMF. — PTI
00:03 Trump to visit US-Mexico border on Thursday:
US President Donald Trump will visit the US-Mexican border this week, his spokeswoman said on Monday, in the latest bid to pressure Congress over border wall negotiations that have led to a partial government shutdown.
He will “travel to the Southern border on Thursday to meet with those on the frontlines of the national security and humanitarian crisis,” Sarah Sanders said in a tweet.
There was no further information on where Trump would travel.
The visit was announced as the White House and Democrats controlling the lower house of Congress refused to cede significant ground in what has become one of the biggest political challenges of Trump’s turbulent presidency.
Trump is demanding more than $5 billion to fund construction of what he calls a “wall” to stop illegal immigrants. Democrats have dismissed the project as a political stunt.
In retaliation Trump has refused to sign a wider spending package — leaving swaths of the government without funding and hundreds of thousands of employees facing delays in their paychecks.
The standoff has morphed from a debate over how to stem illegal immigration to a powerplay between the president and a Democratic Party enjoying control of the House of Representatives following their victory in November’s mid-term legislative elections.
Source: Rediff