Morning Brief: 17 Soldiers Martyred In Uri Strike; Blasts In Manhattan; UNGA Session Kicks Off

Uri Attack

17 soldiers were martyred early on Sunday in a fidayeen attack on the Indian Army battalion headquarters in northern Jammu and Kashmir, close to the Line of Control. The other 19 were left injured. Four militants entered the military compound at 4 am and caught the sleeping soldiers unawares.

Typical cliched statements of condemnation came from the top leaders in the government, followed by high-security review meeting. Prime Minister assured the nation that those behind the despicable attack won’t go unpunished.

A section of the security establishment wants the government to consider “limited but punitive cross-border strikes”. Such suggestions were made after 26/11 also but plans didn’t materialise. It’s hard to see what other retaliation option can the experts suggest that wasn’t done in 2008.

Until the government decides its response (or lack thereof), let us keep those soldiers and their bereaved families in our thoughts.

Manhattan Blast

Terrorism rocked the streets of New York too. Saturday night’s blast in the Chelsea district in Manhattan injured 29 people. However, they have all now been released from the hospital. A second device— reportedly a pressure cooker attached to wiring and a mobile phone— was found four blocks from the site of the explosion, and was removed safely.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the blast was obviously an act of terrorism. However, no organisation has claimed the responsibility so far and it is believed that it was a lone-wolf attack.

UNGA

World leaders are arriving in New York to attend the United Nations’ 71st General Assembly. After an explosion that took place just a couple of miles away from the assembly venue, security in the city has been increased. Tomorrow, President Obama will address the assembly for the last time.

According to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, the most pressing matter to be discussed at the General Assembly is the world’s refugee crisis.

Expanding DBT

The government plans to double the number of schemes under DBT to 147 by March and has launched pilots for paying subsidy on food, kerosene and fertiliser directly via bank accounts of beneficiaries. Currently, benefits under 74 schemes of 17 departments and ministries are paid directly.

Reforming the subsidy regime will also help lower the fiscal deficit apart from bringing in more transparency. The government claims it has saved Rs 14,872 crore by offering subsidy on cooking gas directly to consumers and DBT is now being extended to kerosene on a pilot basis. It also claims that as many as 1.6 crore bogus ration cards have been eliminated, helping to save about Rs 10,000 crore in the subsidy bill annually.

Suicide

According to prison officials, the accused in the murder of Infosys techie S. Swathi at the Nungambakkam railway station, P. Ramkumar, committed suicide yesterday evening by “pulling and biting into a live electric wire” inside the Puzhal Central Prison.

Alleging foul play in his death, several politicians including Leader of Opposition M.K. Stalin, have demanded an independent probe into it

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Rediscovering The Golden Mean [R. Jagannthan]: As we enter our third year of our second life, we commit ourselves again to the original ideals of Swarajya under Khasa Subba Rau and Rajaji: to be truly modern without losing touch with the genius that is uniquely Indian.

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