Morning Brief: Use Technology To Speed Up Judicial Processes, Says Modi; Sindhu Avenges Rio Loss

Good Morning, Swarajya Readers! Here's What You Need To Know Today.

Modi Advocates Technology To Ease Judicial Processes: Prime Minister Narendra Modi advocated the use of technology for speedy delivery of justice, pledging complete cooperation from the government to strengthen the judicial system. He was speaking at the valedictory function of the 150th year celebrations of Allahabad High Court. The Prime Minister said the use of technology would save time and ensure that lawyers make sharp arguments in court that would help judges in taking decisions faster.

Rs 4,300 Crore For Jammu-Srinagar Ring Road Projects: The central government has sanctioned Rs 4,300 crore for the construction of ring roads – one each in Jammu and Srinagar – to decongest traffic in the two cities of Jammu and Kashmir. “Tender has been floated for the Jammu ring road while tenders for the Srinagar ring road will be floated in the next two months and within three months, the work will start on both the projects," Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said at a rally, held after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the state-of-art Chenani-Nashri tunnel – the longest in India.

Adityanath Approves Rs 47 Crore Package For Bundelkhand region: A Rs 47 crore-package to ensure immediate availability of drinking water in the parched Bundelkhand region was approved by the Yogi Adityanath government. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister also said that if needed, the state government would make available additional funds under this head, but there should not be any problem of drinking water for the people and the cattle in Bundelkhand region.

Policeman Killed In J&K Grenade Attack: A joint party of Jammu and Kashmir Police and paramilitary forces was attacked in Nowhatta by militants, killing a policeman and wounding 11, among them three from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). “One jawan of the J&K Police was martyred in the attack. Eleven – eight policemen and three CRPF personnel – were injured,” CRPF public relations officer Rajesh Yadav said. Sunday’s grenade attack is the second in Srinagar in as many days, hinting that militants have managed to sneak into the capital in recent days.

UP Government Expected To Waive Off 1.5 Crore Farm Loans: Coming good on the poll promise, Uttar Pradesh (UP) Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is expected, in the next few day, to take the final call on waiving agriculture loan to farmers. UP Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi said a list of 1.5 crore farmers has been finalised and sent to the Chief Minister. Farm loan waiver was one of the biggest pre-poll promises that the Bharatiya Janata Party had made to the electorate of the state.

Upgrading Security Features For High Value Notes: The government is planning to change security features of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes every three to four years in accordance with global standards. “Most of the developed countries change security features of their currency notes every three to four years and therefore, it is absolutely necessary for India to follow the practice,” a Home Ministry official said. Recovery of a large number of fake notes after demonetisation has prompted the government to look for ways to check the crime.

BSNL Offers Special Data Package To Counter Jio: Giving competition to Mukesh Ambani-owned Jio, state-owned BSNL announced an attractive scheme which provides 10 GB of data per day. The offer will be available at a cost of Rs 249. However, the plan does not come with free calling 24×7. The BSNL free voice calling will only be available after 9pm at night till 7am in the morning. However, the users will be able to make calls without this restriction on Sundays.

Probe Ordered After 400 CRPF Jawans Fall Ill Due To Suspected Food Poisoning: The Kerala Government has ordered an inquiry after 400 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans at Kerala’s Pallipuram fell ill due to suspected food poisoning. They were admitted to various hospitals after they complained of upset stomach and vomiting. They were served fish for dinner. As many as 109 jawans were under observation at Trivandrum Medical College Hospital, where Health Minister K K Shylaja visited them.

Sindhu Avenges Rio Loss, Beats Marin To Claim India Open Super Series Title: Olympic silver-medallist P V Sindhu defeated Carolina Marin in the women's singles final to win her maiden India Open Super Series title on Sunday. Sindhu avenged her Olympic final defeat to Marin in an imperious fashion with a straight game 21-19, 21-16 win at a packed Siri Fort Sports Complex. In a pulsating contest, which was a repeat of the Rio Olympic final where the Spaniard prevailed in three games, Sindhu put up an all-round show in front of the home fans.

MUST READ OP-EDS

GST And The New Federal Polity: The limitation of Parliament’s powers had made some of the MPs participating in the GST debate in the Lok Sabha uncomfortable. It is important to note that the states have given up their rights to taxation; exactly why GST Council was described as an institution born out of collective pooling of sovereignty.

Arrogance Of Indian Politicians Is Evident In Their Misdeeds: At one time, leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi proved that offering an apology when you are clearly in the wrong made you grow in stature. Clearly, the times have changed. The arrogance of Indian politics and our politicians is evident in their misdeeds.

Why Be Concerned With Data Privacy? Recent reports of security leaks at global organizations have exposed the extent to which online activities of users could possibly be tracked. Here are certain steps that could be taken to safeguard consumers’ digital existence.

Who Cares About Interest Rate, Stance Of RBI’s Policy? Clearly, the challenge before the RBI in its first bimonthly monetary policy of the new fiscal year is how to tackle the deluge of liquidity.

Managing Surplus Liquidity: Demonetisation led to an abnormal surge in frictional liquidity. Like the cap in injection of liquidity through term repo and repo, we can also have a cap on absorption of liquidity.

SWARAJYA SPECIAL

The Finance Bill 2017: Much Flak For Doing The Right Thing: There was obviously no scope for debate within media or among Parliamentarians on the subsequent amendments to the Finance Bill. The powers offered to tax officers to undertake search with less safeguard than hitherto is a risk.

We hope you enjoyed reading our morning brief. Have a great day ahead!

SUBSCRIBE NOW: The March issue of our magazine is out now. The cover story focuses on the growth of intelligence in machines. Can man evolve and adapt himself to co-exist with this new “Species”? Or are we heading towards Anarchy? – Future Shock. Get a copy home and enjoy reading Swarajya in print. Subscribe here to start receiving your copies for just Rs 349.

Swarajya Apps: Enjoy reading this morning brief and all articles from Swarajya on your mobile. Download our Android and iOS Apps.