08:06 Trump says he plans to end India’s preferential trade treatment:
Arguing that India had failed to assure America that it would provide equitable and reasonable access to its markets in numerous sectors, US President Donald Trump on Monday informed the US Congress about his intent to terminate the designation of India and Turkey as a beneficiary developing country under the Generalised System of Preferences programme.
In a letter to the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, Trump said he was determined that New Delhi had “not assured” the United States that it would “provide equitable and reasonable access” to the markets of India.
“I will continue to assess whether the Government of India is providing equitable and reasonable access to its markets, in accordance with the GSP eligibility criteria,” Trump said in his letter, a copy of which was released to the press.
In a separate letter, Trump also informed the Congress of his intent to terminate the GSP beneficiary designation of Turkey. This was primarily because the economy of Turkey had improved a lot in the last four-and-a-half decades, he said.
Trump’s letter to Pelosi could be seen as a major setback in India-US bilateral relationship, in particular in the arena of trade and economy.
In a separate statement, the US Trade Representative said India’s termination from GSP followed its failure to provide the US with assurances that it would provide equitable and reasonable access to its markets in numerous sectors.
Under the United States GSP programme, certain products can enter the US duty-free if the beneficiary developing countries meet the eligibility criteria established by Congress.
The GSP criteria include, among others, respecting arbitral awards in favour of US citizens or corporations, combatting child labour, respecting internationally recognised worker rights, providing adequate and effective intellectual property protection and providing the US with equitable and reasonable market access.
— PTI
00:17 Political slugfest breaks out over data theft charge:
A political row broke out over alleged data theft of Andhra Pradesh voters by an IT firm in Hyderabad with the ruling Telugu Desam Party on Monday alleging a cyber conspiracy and seeking transfer of the case registered by the Telangana police to the neighbouring state.
As Telangana police citing preliminary probe claimed the IT company got ‘illegal’ access to details of voters, TDP supremo and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu alleged it was part of a conspiracy to help opposition YSR Congress headed by Jaganmohan Reddy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and KCR (Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao were helping Jaganmohan Reddy in executing this ‘cyber conspiracy’, he alleged in his teleconference with TDP leaders.
“It is atrocious to steal our data and give it to our rivals,” he said.
Naidu alleged, “The Bihari gang led by (political strategist and JD-U leader) Prashant Kishore is giving such evil advise to the YSRC.”
The YSRC, however, questioned how confidential data related to the state government went into private hands.
“Why is Chandrababu so scared of the investigation? The data theft is part of a plan to remove names of those against the government from the electors list,” YSRC leader and chairman of the Public Accounts Committee Buggana Rajendranath Reddy alleged.
The case against the firm was registered on Saturday on a complaint from a data analyst alleging that TDP cadre were using certain mobile phone and tab-based applications especially ‘Seva Mitra’ app for ‘advancing their party’s electoral prospects’.
It drew protests from Andhra Pradesh ministers and TDP legislators on Sunday with IT Minister N Lokesh in a tweet alleging that Telangana police was harassing the IT firms that have been hired to curate information whose complete rights were held by the TDP.
Hitting back, Telangana Rashtra Samiti working president K T Rama Rao on Monday asked why the TDP was afraid of a probe if it had not done anything wrong.
Naidu should be ‘ashamed of’ his party’s criticism of the Telangana government, Rao said and dared him to face the probe.
“If you have not done the theft, Chandrababu Naidu ji...why should you fear?” he asked.
“It is the TDP which committed the wrong. The (AP) government which is supposed to keep personal data a secret, gives that data to a party, how should it be seen,” he told reporters in Hyderabad.
Rama Rao, son of Telangana CM, also alleged the TDP tried to defame the TRS government on social media through ‘a paid campaign’.
Cyberabad Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar told reporters in Hyderabad that police have issued a notice to the Amazon Web Services, with which the database was said to have been stored, seeking the data.
‘Prima facie, the investigation has revealed’ that the company got access of personal information and sensitive dataof individuals related to Aadhaar, electoral roll, government schemes and voters information of various political parties ‘which can be misused for illegal purposes like alleged deletion of voters’, he said. — PTI
Source: Rediff