Morning Brief: Big Joy On Way For India After Demonetisation; Quake Hits New Delhi; Banks Cut Lending-Deposit Rates

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

A Big Joy On Way For India: The Narendra Modi government put a strong defence in Parliament of its decision on demonetisation on Wednesday. Comparing the implementation of the demonetisation decision with labour pain, Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said, "A mother undergoes huge labour pain while giving birth to a child. But when she hears the cries of the newborn, she feels the greatest joy."

Earthquake Rocks North India: New Delhi and parts of north India were shaken by an earthquake at around 4.30 am on Thursday. According to initial reports the earthquake had its epicentre in Haryana with a magnitude of 4.2 on the Richter scale.

12,500 ATMs To Be Recalibrated Every Day: Banks have been asked to recalibrate 12,500 ATMs every day, as India embarked on this massive exercise. The process to recalibrate more than 2.5 lakh ATMs across the country will enable them to dispense the new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 denomination currency.

Moody’s Affirms India Rating: India's sovereign rating was affirmed at 'Baa3' by Moody's Investors Service on Wednesday, with a positive outlook. Moody’s expects policymakers to continue reforms to achieve balanced growth and reduce the government's debt load.

Banks Cut Lending And Deposit Rates: After a surge in liquidity as customers continue to deposit old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, banks have begun to cut both their deposit and lending rates. While Axis Bank has cut its lending rate, State Bank of India and Kotak Mahindra Bank have lowered their deposit rates.

“Trump Will Approve Bill To Declare Pakistan A Terror State”: US President-elect will approve a Congress bill to declare Pakistan a terror state when the legislation reaches him, said Donald Trump’s advisory council member and prominent businessman Shalabh Kumar. “The Indo-US partnership is expected to touch new heights under Trump Presidency,” he said.

Befitting Response Threat By Sharif: Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Wednesday that any effort to harm the country’s security will be met with a "befitting response". Meanwhile, Pakistan army chief General Raheel Sharif said that 11 Indian soldiers were killed in cross-border firing on 14 November. They were inspecting military exercises in Punjab province, bordering India.

Key Tata Sons Meeting Today: With an intent of taking away proxy powers of former chairman Cyrus Mistry linked to voting and attending shareholder meetings of group companies, the Tata Sons board will meet today in Mumbai. It is not clear whether Mistry will attend the meet.

Jallikattu Ban Stays: On Wednesday, the Supreme Court refused to lift a ban on jallikattu (taming the bull) and dismissed Tamil Nadu government’s petition seeking a review of the judgment. A bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Rohinton Nariman said the 2009 law that permitted jallikattu violated the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.

Anger And Awe Over Lavish Wedding: Former Bharatiya Janata Party politician Gali Janardhan Reddy is drawing anger and awe in equal measure. While the lavish wedding of his daughter Brahmani to Rajeev Reddy on Wednesday have hogged the limelight, it has prompted an activist to file a complaint about it with income tax authorities.

MUST READ OP-EDS

GST Offers Opportunity To ‘Go Digital’: As businesses take steps to adapt to the new GST regime, it is an opportunity to ‘go digital’ and redefine the business processes.

Cynical Practice And The Death Of CSR: CSR has always been firmly pegged to return on investment through the action and perception of better community relations — even recently-mandated CSR in India for companies of a certain size and profitability.

Demonetisation: If Rural Cooperative Banks Sink, So Will Farmers: A society which loses faith in its own currency is in a dangerously precarious situation. Majority of the masses believe this bold reform is about striking at the root of the black money menace and still support the PM.

Brexit And The Luxury Brands Of Britain: Luxury brands, like many others, will just have to sit tight and watch. After all, what is a couple of years in the grand schema of luxury brands that have lasted or intend to last for centuries?

SWARAJYA SPECIAL

Demonetisation: Ignore The Leadership Dividend At Your Own Peril: For the common people, this inner feeling of having taken a revenge through Modi cannot be described in words.

Demonetisation: Why Modi Holds The High Cards In Fight With Opposition: There is little doubt Modi holds some high cards in this eyeball-to-eyeball with his political rivals. The chances are more than 50:50 that his opponents will blink first.

‘All India Judicial Services’ May Not Be The Answer To Problems Of The Judiciary: Expecting efficiency and quality without accountability is at best an illusion. Performance appraisals should be transparent and be available in public domain.

Modi’s Bet May Pay Off: Economy To See V-Shaped Recovery From First Quarter Of 2017-18: Whichever way one looks at it, the Indian economy seems on course for a V-shaped recovery in the first half of 2017-18. Narendra Modi has probably made the right call both economically and politically.

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

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