Morning Brief: Festive Season Terror Alert Sounded; 582,000 Rohingyas Crossed Into Bangladesh, Says UN

Good morning, dear reader! Here’s your morning news and views brief for today.

Home Ministry Sounds Festive Season Terror Alert, Asks States To Boost Security: In a country-wide advisory, the Union Home Ministry has asked state governments to be extra vigilant during the ongoing festival season against attempts by terrorists and subversive elements to disrupt peace and ignite communal tension. The ministry asked all states to deploy additional forces in crowded places such as markets, railway stations, bus terminals and religious places to foil attempts by terrorists to carry out attacks. The state governments were also asked to be alert during the festivals against provocative sloganeering, especially near religious places, by subversive elements, a Home Ministry official said. However, the official said, there was no specific inputs about any plan by terrorists trying to disrupt peace anywhere in the country.

Fresh Focus On Infrastructure Investment And Bankruptcy Reforms: India’s economic affairs secretary Subhash Chandra Garg has said that generating more investment in the infrastructure sector and bankruptcy reforms are two key focus areas for the government. He was part of a delegation which attended the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in the US. “To my mind one of the biggest policy priorities is to increase investments, get investment in infrastructure. That story is very very important,” he said, while detailing about his priorities. Unfolding of the bankruptcy reforms is another area top on his agenda. “The other thing which you look very keenly to see how it unfolds is the new regime of bankruptcy reforms,” he said. Resolving insolvency and broken funds would help the banking sector to improve its performance, Garg said.

Jaitley Launches Gold Options Trading: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday launched gold options trading on the leading commodity bourse Multi Commodity Exchange and said this is one of the steps towards formalising trade in the yellow metal. “Indians are great buyers of gold. This new product will be extremely successful,” he added. Jaitley also said that it will help in the government’s drive to formalise gold trading in India. “I am sure more it formalises, better it is for consumers, jewellers and those trading in this. That’s in consonance with the business environment for future that we see for us.” This is the first product for options trading that the regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India has allowed after 14 years of commencement of commodity exchanges in the country.

New ONGC Bid To Revive Ageing Oilfields: Bids will soon be invited from oilfield service providers by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to enhance output from some of its ageing fields under a long-term contract whereby winners will get a predetermined fee for existing and incremental production, company executives said. ONGC’s Executive Committee is expected to give the proposed policy a final shape this month, following which the company would float a tender inviting bids in another two months or so, the executives said. Last December, ONGC signed agreements with Schlumberger and Halliburton for enhancement of production from its matured fields of Geleki in Assam and Kalol in Gujarat respectively. A successful auction could mean billions of dollars of investments into ONGC’s fields over the next few years besides an increase in output.

Government Plans Flat 12 Per Cent GST On All Restaurants: The GST Council is likely to back a reduction in the levy on restaurants from 18 per cent to 12 per cent and withdrawal of the input tax credit facility available to eateries. The proposed change in the tax rate, discussed by a specially constituted group of state finance ministers, follows complaints that restaurants were pocketing the benefit of input tax credit for taxes paid by suppliers and the tax burden on those eating out was high. "It is one segment that was not passing on the benefits to consumers," said a senior officer. If the change goes through, there will be two slabs for restaurants – 5 per cent for those with a turnover of up to 1 crore that opt for the composition scheme and 12 per cent for others.

Calcutta High Court Stays Withdrawal Of Central Forces From Darjeeling: The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered an interim stay on the Centre’s plans to withdraw central paramilitary forces (CPFs) from trouble-torn Darjeeling until 27 October. The West Bengal government had moved the high court, seeking a stay on the central notification of withdrawing CPF companies. On 15 October, the Union Home Ministry had informed the West Bengal government that it intended to withdraw 10 of the 15 companies of paramilitary forces from the hills. The figure was later revised to seven after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee vehemently opposed the move and called up Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The court then told the Centre that it should have a strong rationale and justify the grounds for withdrawal. It also said that there must be good reasons for deployment and withdrawal of central forces and ordered an interim stay on the withdrawal till 27 October.

High Court Upholds Life Ban On S Sreesanth: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday decided to restore the life ban imposed on India’s fast bowler S Sreesanth by the country’s cricket board. A division bench of the court in Kochi said that it cannot conduct a judicial review of the life ban imposed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and therefore upheld the appeal. Sreesanth was slapped a life ban by the BCCI in 2015 after the Kerala pacer was charged with corruption during the 2013 Indian Premier League. He was charged with spot-fixing while playing for Rajasthan Royals. In August this year, the Kerala High Court revoked the BCCI’s decision to impose a life ban on Sreesanth. Last year a special court in Delhi had acquitted him in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing case. Following the verdict, the medium pacer took to Twitter and dubbed the court's decision as the "worst ever".

582,000 Rohingya Crossed Into Bangladesh, Says UN: The United Nations said on Tuesday that more than 582,000 Rohingya refugees have now fled Myanmar to Bangladesh since late August, warning that thousands more were still stranded at the border. The UN said between 10,000 and 15,000 new refugees have arrived at the border in the last 48 hours alone, fleeing violence in Myanmar, where Rohingya villages are being burned to the ground. The UN said a jump of 45,000 in its estimated number of newly arrived refugees to 582,000 was due partly to improved access to some areas where many had previously gone uncounted. That figure does not include the thousands currently in no man's land.

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SWARAJYA SPECIAL

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