Morning Brief: India On Alert After Ransomware Attack; UJALA Scheme Going Global: Monsoon Arrives

Ransomware Attack: India Issues Red Alert: Cyber security agency Computer Emergency Response Team of India (CERT-In) has issued a red-coloured ‘critical alert’ in connection with the WannaCry attack, and warned users to not pay the ransom. The ransomware worm which stopped hospitals, shops, car factories and schools over the weekend worldwide, with Asia having escaped the worst so far, could wreak fresh havoc on Monday when employees log back on, cyber security experts warned. The head of the European Union's police agency said Friday's cyber attack hit 200,000 victims in at least 150 countries and that number could grow when people return to work on Monday.

Modi To Inaugurate India’s Longest River Bridge: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate India’s longest river bridge, capable of withstanding the weight of a 60-tonne battle tank, in Assam close to the border with China on 26 May. The construction of the bridge is seen as an attempt by India to shore up its defence infrastructure along the Sino-Indian border. It is also part of the Centre’s endeavour to improve connectivity in the region. It is 3.55 km longer than the Bandra-Worli sea link in Mumbai, making it the longest bridge in India. The construction of the bridge began in 2011 at a project cost of Rs 950 crore.

India Achieves Major Power Accessibility Milestone: India has major strides in its ambitious plan to provide electricity to every household. It has climbed to twenty-sixth spot in World Bank’s electricity accessibility ranking in the current year from ninety-ninth spot in 2014, Minister of State for Power, Coal and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal said during the Vienna Energy Forum. “It is truly very redeeming feature and satisfying for me that Prime Minister’s vision particularly to take electricity to every home, particularly to make energy affordable is being furthered very rapidly,” the minister said.

Ram Temple In Ayodhya By Next Year, Says Swamy: The Ram Temple will be constructed at Ayodhya by next year, Bharatiya Janata Party Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy said on Sunday. Swami hoped that the ongoing hearing in the Ram temple-Babri Masjid case in the Supreme Court should be over by November this year, paving way for the constructing of Ram Temple. “I hope by next year Ram Mandir will be constructed at Ayodhya,” he said while addressing Narad Samman Samaroh organised by the Vishwa Samwad Kendra – an affiliate of BJP’s ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh.

NCERT Textbooks To Undergo Revamp: Textbooks produced by National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) are set to go for an overhaul. NCERT director Hrushikesh Senapaty said the council will review all its books as they were created over a decade ago and need to be updated. “These books were created in 2007 and there is a lot of information that needs to be updated," he said. NCERT said it was ready to supply books to all Central Board of Secondary Education schools and that scarcity of books was artificially created.

Amarnath Yatra Security Stepped Up: Against the backdrop of the prevailing unrest in Kashmir, the Indian Army has decided not to take any chance during the upcoming Amarnath Yatra. More than 14,000 security personnel from the Army, paramilitary and the local police will be deployed all along the 300-km pilgrimage route. This strength is more than double the number last year. The yatra will begin on 29 June and end on 7 August. The security forces will also step up search operations in the coming weeks to flush terrorists out of their hideouts in the villages along the route of the yatra, said officials.

UJALA Scheme Going Global: India’s path-breaking UJALA scheme is going global. Indian Embassy in London and Vedanta Group will be among the first to adopt the scheme of replacing all their old lamps with energy-saving LED bulbs in the UK. Minister of State for Power, Coal and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal presented them with their first set of LED bulbs during the launch of the Energy Efficiency Services Limited’s expansion plans in the UK, which have been branded as ‘UK Joins Affordable LEDs for All’. “UJALA offers a great business opportunity in the UK, which can also become a base to foray into other countries in Europe,” Goyal said.

Monsoon Arrives In Andamans Early: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the southwest monsoon has covered the Nicobar Islands and the entire south Andaman Sea, three days ahead of its normal onset date. IMD director general K G Ramesh, however, said it was too early to forecast whether the monsoon would hit the Kerala coast ahead of schedule. The normal onset date over Kerala, termed as the official arrival of the seasonal rainfall in India, is 1 June. However, Mahesh Palawat, chief meteorologist with the Skymet, a private weather forecasting agency, said monsoon is likely to hit Kerala on 1 June with an error of one-two days.

China Pledges Billions Of Dollars For Silk Road Initiative: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday pledged to pump billions of dollars into the new Silk Road initiative during the two-day “Belt and Road” conference, which India has chosen to give a miss. All of India’s neighbours, except Bhutan, sent high-level delegations to the event, with Sri Lanka represented by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Xi pledged a major funding boost to the ambitious project, including an extra 100 billion yuan ($14.50 billion) into the existing Silk Road Fund, 380 billion yuan in loans from two policy banks and 60 billion yuan in aid to developing countries and international bodies in countries along the new trade routes.

MUST READ OP-EDS

Three Years Of The ‘Pradhan Sevak’: Over the past three years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ministers have set new records for productivity and hard work. Modi has emerged as the boldest incumbent since Indira Gandhi.

GST Enters The Last Mile, All Eyes On Srinagar: Going forward, the Centre and states are enjoined in a three-legged race – one which they can win only if they coordinate their actions. It is in this backdrop that Srinagar will play host to the finance ministers. Yes, the final outcome of this key crucial GST Council is very important as the scheduled roll-out of the GST depends on it.

NPA Ordinance: The Last Act Of Bad Loan Resolution? For quite some time, RBI has been tightening the noose around those banks which are refusing to see the writing on the wall. The NPA ordinance empowers RBI to directly intervene in bad loans resolution.

Aadhaar Arguments: For And Against: Aadhaar could be the answer to various problems faced by millions of Indians who desperately want to be on the grid – not off it. Resolving data breach, privacy issues would be the constructive way forward on Aadhaar, which will lead to a more inclusive India.

SWARAJYA SPECIAL

Decoding PM Modi’s Speech In Sri Lanka: Seeking A Radically Positive Engagement: The Prime Minister’s speech was an excellent mix of spontaneous love for his own people and a humane realisation of the agony and aspiration of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

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