Morning Brief: Hindus Migrating From WB’s Asansol: Report; Congress’ Poster Spotted In Cambridge Analytica’s Office; Lookout Notice Issued Against Punjab CM’s Son-In-Law

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

Swarajya Conversations With Raksha Mantri Nirmala Sitharaman

Abhijit Iyer-Mitra and Anand Ranganathan spoke with the Minister of Defence Nirmala Sitharaman for Swarajya Conversations. From India’s nuclear doctrine to Nirav Modi scandal and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s chances in the 2019 elections, the Defence Minister spoke on all of that and more. Watch the conversation here.

Hindus Migrating From WB’s Asansol After Riots, Says Report

Following violence on Ram Navami in West Bengal's Asansol, members of the Hindu community in the town are “moving to safer locations”, ABP News has reported. Violence was reported after a Ram Navami procession in the area was targeted with stones. Members of the Muslim community prevented the Hindus participating in the procession from singing, the Indian Express said in its report. One person was killed while several others were injured in clashes between the two communities. Deputy Commissioner of Police sustained injuries in his forearm as members of a community hurled bombs at him and other police officials.

This was not an isolated incident. Ram Navami processions were targeted in many parts of the state. On Sunday, one person was killed and five policemen were injured in clashes during a procession in Purulia. While the state descended into chaos, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was politicking in New Delhi.

Congress’ Poster Spotted In Office Of Cambridge Analytica’s CEO

A video has emerged showing Congress party’s campaign poster in the office of Cambridge Analytica’s Chief Executive Officer Alexander Nix. The video is part of a British Broadcasting Company documentary series called ‘Secrets of Silicon Valley’. Journalist Jamie Bartlett had posted the video on micro-blogging site Twitter. In the video, Nix is seen standing to welcome Bartlett and in the backdrop is the poster of the Congress. The poster has the party’s hand symbol and the slogan “Development for all". The video clip comes a day after whistleblower Christopher Wylie, in a testimony to a British Parliamentary Committee, said that India’s Congress party was a client of Cambridge Analytica. The British firm is accused of improperly gaining access to data of over 50 million Facebook users to influence elections.

Lookout Notice Issued Against Amarinder Singh’s Son-In-Law

A lookout notice has been issued by the Central Bureau of Investigation against Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s son-in-law Gurpal Singh and other senior officials of Simbhaoli Sugars in connection with the Rs 109.08 crore fraud alleged by the Oriental Bank of Commerce. These officials have been charged with criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery under Prevention of Corruption Act for causing loss to the bank. The Hapur-based Sugar Company, which runs one of the largest sugar mills in the country, has been accused of fraudulently diverting funds received as loans for sugarcane farmers and self-help groups.

Earlier, the CBI had carried out searches at eight premises and registered office of the company in Delhi, Hapur and Noida. The probe focuses on two loans - Rs 97.85 crore which was declared fraud in 2015 and another corporate loan of Rs 110 crore which was used to repay the previous loan.

IT Ministry Issues Notice To Facebook

The Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology has issued a notice to Facebook, asking whether the personal data of Indian voters and users has been compromised by data mining firm Cambridge Analytica. The Ministry has also asked it to specify whether the data has been used to manipulate the Indian electoral process. Facebook has been asked to respond to the notice by 7 April. This development comes soon after a notice was issued to Cambridge Analytica.

Small Savings Interest Rates unchanged For April-June Quarter

The government has decided to keep interest rates on small savings schemes, including National Savings Certificate and Public Provident Fund, unchanged for the April-June quarter. The interest rate for the Senior Citizens Savings Scheme, which is paid quarterly, has been retained at 8.3 per cent. While interest on savings deposits has been retained at 4 per cent annually, PPF and NSC will have an annual interest rate of 7.6 per cent. Kisan Vikas Patra will fetch an interest rate of 7.3 per cent and mature in 11 months. Interest rate of 8.1 per cent will be offered on the girl child savings scheme Sukanya Samriddhi. Term deposits of 1-5 years will have an interest rate of 6.6-7.4 per cent and the five-year recurring deposit is pegged at 6.9 per cent.

Four Terrorists Killed In J&K’s Rajouri

Four terrorists were killed in a gunfight with security forces on Wednesday in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district. The terrorists infiltrated into the Indian territory from across the Line of Control about four-five days ago with the help from the Pakistani forces. After the Indian Army detected their movement, it launched a search operation in the Sunderbani tehsil of the district. The encounter broke out in the Nowshera-Sunderbani belt after the group of infiltrating terrorists was intercepted by the security forces early on Wednesday. Three bags containing ammunition and explosives were recovered from outside a camp in Sunderbani.

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

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