QBullet: Cyclone Vardah To Hit Andhra, Tamil Nadu Today; Modi Warns Racketeers

1. Modi Issues Warning as Racketeers Make Hay

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday vowed to crush black money hoarders, the renewed thrust coinciding with the daily discovery of stacks of new notes in places far removed from bank vaults while many law-abiding citizens return empty-handed from ATMs.

“I will not allow those who have exploited the poor to remain rich,” Modi told a gathering of 50,000-odd in Bahraich, about 105 km from Lucknow by air. He addressed the election rally over a mobile phone after poor visibility prevented his helicopter landing at the venue.

The pledge on cash hoarders comes at a time several BJP leaders have started expressing concern about what they feel is a let-up in the initial public support for demonetisation.

(Source: The Telegraph)

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2. Cyclone ‘Vardah' to Hit AP and TN Today; Navy on Alert

The severe cyclonic storm Vardah is likely to make a landfall between Andhra Pradesh's Nellore and Tamil Nadu's Chennai by Monday afternoon and cause heavy rainfall in the region.

Heavy rains ranging from 15 to 20 cm are expected along the south coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema region, besides moderate rainfall in Prakasam, Guntur and Anantapur.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who cancelled his Gulf tour in the wake of the cyclone threat, held a teleconference with the officials of the coastal districts and asked them to be on high alert. He has asked the electricity department to gear up to restore power supply within hours, in the event of breakdown of power supply.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam held a review meeting with the state disaster management authority and put the administrators and all field officers in the coastal districts on high alert.

(Source: The Hindustan Times)

Also Read: Almost 1400 Tourists Rescued From Andaman After Cyclone Vardah

3. Cash Crunch: 20,000 Tonnes of Currency Paper to be Imported Soon, 9 Firms on Radar

A high-volume limited tender is expected to be issued, possibly as early as next week, for the import of currency paper from a clutch of foreign firms to meet the requirement of the country's four security printing presses following the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on 8 November.

Following a Finance Ministry meeting, chaired by Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das on Saturday, officials told The Indian Express that the import order could be in the range of 20,000 tonnes, far higher than the approximately 8,000 tonnes imported over the current year.

(Source: The Indian Express)

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4. UP Polls: Congress Plays Ball With Hard-Nosed Samajwadi Party

The Congress is ready to almost halve its initial demand of seats in a possible alliance with the Samajwadi Party that might prove a game-changer in next year's Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, sources told HT.

The two parties are locked in back-channel talks to tap what they feel is massive public anger – especially among the poor – triggered by the Centre's shock recall of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes a month ago.

The Congress may settle for 70 of the state's 403 seats, down from its initial demand of 120-130, sources added.

(Source: The Hindustan Times)

5. Sasikala is the Tallest Leader in AIADMK Posters

Visible symbols of the AIADMK have undergone a dramatic change over the past few days with VK Sasikala assuming a dominant presence in posters and banners, sometimes overshadowing the images of late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and relegating Chief Minister O Panneerselvam to the background.

From someone who kept away from the spotlight while shadowing the late Chief Minister for over three decades, Sasikala has turned into the central figure that even senior partymen are projecting.

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An early poster with an image of a smiling Sasikala put up by a little-known functionary outside the party headquarters in Chennai on Wednesday, urged her to continue the golden rule of ‘Amma'.

Cooperative Minister Sellur K Raju even got calendars with Sasikala's image printed for the New Year. A huge hoarding that was briefly placed on Anna Salai in Chennai, had life-size photos of MGR, Jayalalithaa and Sasikala captioned ‘Then, Now and Tomorrow'.

(Source: The Hindu)

Also Read:
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6. CBI Likely to Question Manmohan Singh Over AgustaWestland Scam

The CBI is likely to question former prime minister Manmohan Singh along with the former PMO officials over the Agustawestland VVIP chopper scam, News 18 reported quoting sources.

The CBI arrested former IAF chief SP Tyagi for alleged bribes in the Rs 3,600 crore chopper deal.

However, Tyagi's defence lawyer claimed that it was the PMO which asked to review the service ceilings.

The former prime minister's then principal secretary TKA Nair and former national security adviser MK Narayanan are among the ones who are likely to be questioned in connection to the case.

Read the full story on The Quint.

Also Read:
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7. What Ails Bihar

Bihar has the highest dependence on private health-care services among Indian states, the lowest government spending on health and an estimated 22 lakh households face "catastrophic" health expenditure, a new analysis of central government data has suggested.

The analysis, based on the Union statistics and programme implementation ministry's National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) data, says Bihar spends Rs 348 per person per year on health, less than half India's average of Rs 724 per person per year.

The analysis has found that private doctors are the most important source of treatment in both rural and urban locations, although the average expenditure per hospitalisation in the private sector is Rs 25,000, about four times higher than an average of Rs 6,100 in a public hospital.

(Source: The Telegraph)

Also Read: Govt's Biggest Blunder: Not Exempting Pvt Healthcare From Note Ban

8. Govt Plans Equal Abortion Rights for Single Women

In a move that will make it easier for single women to safely and legally terminate unwanted pregnancies, the Health Ministry has recommended recognising “failure of contraceptive“ and “unplanned pregnancy“ as lawful reasons for abortion among all women, married or otherwise.

At present, the law recognises these two reasons for abortion only in case of “married“ women.

The relief is part of a series of recommendations made by the Health Ministry for amendment of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act. The proposal is likely to be taken up by the Cabinet soon after the ongoing Parliament session ends, sources said.

(Source: Times of India)

Also Read: Bloody Reality: More Than 10 Million Women Secretly Abort in India

9. Legislation on GST May Miss Winter Session

The four pieces of legislation required to be passed by Parliament for the roll-out of the Goods and Services Tax will not be tabled in the Winter Session as the sixth meeting of the Goods and Services Tax Council on Sunday failed to reach a consensus while Monday's meeting has been shifted to 22-23 December.

The Winter session ends on 16 December.“Our target is 1 April and we stand by it,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters following the meeting on Sunday.

“The luxury of time is not available to us. 1 April is the first possible day for the GST to be implemented and the last day is constitutionally defined as 16 September. So the difference is just five months and 15 days. That's why we don't have the luxury of time.”

(Source: The Hindu)

Also Read: The ‘Common Man-Friendly' GST Rate Plan Saves Your Pocket's Day!

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