Morning Brief: BJP Wins Big In Maharashtra; Airtel Buys Telenor; Nano Plant Lockdown Bid Foiled

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

BJP Wins Big In Maharashtra Polls: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continued its political dominance in Maharashtra with resounding electoral victories in key municipalities and zilla parishads across the state. It won eight of the 10 municipal elections that were held on 21 February. The Shiv Sena, its erstwhile ally, won in Mumbai and Thane.

Sukhoi-BrahMos Integration A Step Closer: The Indian Air Force (IAF) is ready to become the only air force in the world with a supersonic cruise missile system. According to reports, India will achieve this unique capability when IAF's frontline fighter aircraft Sukhoi-30 MKI will test fire a 2,500 kg BrahMos air-to-ground missile in April. In June 2016, the IAF had flown with a 'dummy bomb' and had been preparing for the actual test firing since then.

Maharashtra’s New Digital Push: Maharashtra government would scale up the digital partnership between the state and Microsoft, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said after a meeting with Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella. The objective of expanding the digital transformation in the tribal belt to other core sectors including administration, he said, was to bring an overall quality change in lives of people across sections especially in core areas of health and education, and to open up doors for livelihood.

Rs 2,400 Crore Push To Promote J&K Tourism: In a major thrust to promote tourism in Jammu and Kashmir, the centre along with the Jammu and Kashmir government will be investing Rs 2,400 crore over the next five years ­– with a focus on unexplored and new regions like Kargil. Maintaining that Kashmir is as “safe” as any part of the country, J&K Tourism Secretary Farooq Shah urged tourists to visit ‘India’s own Switzerland’.

Airtel Acquires Telenor’s India Operations: Bharti Airtel said on Thursday it will acquire Telenor’s India operations in a no-cash deal. With this, the country’s biggest telecom company has strengthened its spectrum holding in seven circles of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh (east), Uttar Pradesh (west), and Assam. While the companies refused to speak on the size of the deal, sources in the know pegged Bharti’s cost of acquisition at Rs 1,600 crore.

Kerala To Launch Registry Of Sex Offenders: In a first-of-its-kind move, the Kerala government will launch a registry of sex offenders, Governor P Sathasivam said in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. The registry will contain all identification details of sex offenders and would be kept in public domain, he said while detailing plans to check atrocities against women in the state. “It will be the first in the country,” he added.

Hizbul Mujahideen Militants Kill Three Soldiers in Kashmir: A heavily-armed group of Hizbul Mujahideen militants ambushed an Army patrol in a village in South Kashmir’s Shopian district on Thursday, and escaped after killing three soldiers and injuring five others. A woman hit by a stray bullet inside her house during the gunfight also died.

Nano Plant Lockdown Bid Foiled: Gujarat Police on Thursday foiled a bid to lock down Tata Nano plant by detaining OBC leader Alpesh Thakore and his supporters, who were demanding jobs for local youths in industries in the state. Thakore had yesterday given a call to lock down the plant at Sanand, as part of his agitation against industries, which he claimed are not employing local youths.

New Gujarat Bill Adds More Power To Prohibition Law: Following heated debate in the Gujarat Assembly, the state government on Thursday passed a bill to make the present liquor law more stringent. Opposition Congress attacked the BJP government for taking the measure with an eye on Assembly polls slated for later this year. The bill proposes tough action against bootleggers, tipplers as well as officials who help culprits in escaping during raids on liquor dens.

Tax-Free Gratuity Cap Doubled For Private Sector Employees: Tax-free gratuity ceiling for private sector employees is set to be doubled. They will soon be able to withdraw up to Rs 20 lakh in tax-free gratuity after the Centre decided to amend a law and double the amount, bringing them at par with central government staff. Presently, private sector employees can get tax exemption of up to Rs 10 lakh in gratuity after five years of continuous employment.

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In Spite Of The Faultlines: As Trump finds solutions in bans and vilifying faiths, let the Indian model tell the world that there is something more evolved and more cultured right here, in India, the land of sages and spiritualism.

The GST: So Far So Good, But Not Good Enough: The average number of rates for lower middle-income countries is 1.7. The GST council has approved four rates: 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent. The proposal departs from the expert view that an ideal GST should have a few exempted commodities and a single rate for all commodities.

Throttle The ‘Insatiable Vice’ Of Corruption: Today, our politics has become so divisive and toxic that everything becomes ‘suspect’. There is no business house that does not seek a favour from the government of the day.

The Complex Question Of Share Buybacks In The IT Sector: The current trigger for the frenetic activity in India has been the Cognizant buyback announcement, leading to the desperate need to jump onto the bandwagon.

China’s Weapons Of Trade War: China controls key components in global supply chains and production networks. A trade war between the US and China would hurt both sides, but there is reason to believe that the US has more to lose.

SWARAJYA SPECIAL

Science And Nonbelief: Edis’ Rebuttal Shatters Collins’ Theories – All But One: The moral law, which is universal, is Collins’ strongest argument for the existence of a theistic God. Other arguments based on science, especially cosmology, seem to fall to the ground.

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

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