Morning Brief: Cash Crunch Set To Ease, Says SBI Report; Call To Delay Budget; Molestation Case Breakthrough

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

Cash Crunch To Ease By February-End, Says SBI Report: The Reserve Bank of India replaced as much as 44 per cent of the currency extinguished by demonetisation with new notes by 30 December, according to a State Bank of India report. India’s currency supply is likely to return to near normal by February-end and growth is likely to bounce back faster than earlier expected, said the report.

President Mukherjee’s Warning On Growth: President Pranab Mukherjee has cautioned that the currency replacement policy announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8 November may lead to temporary slowdown of the economy. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said government’s measures to eliminate the shadow economy and tax evasion are expected to have a positive impact on the country’s gross domestic product and fiscal consolidation in the long run.

Gadkari Seeks Funds To Fix Urban Traffic Woes: Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari is calling for the creation of a dedicated Rs 5,000 crore fund to decongest city roads and address frequent traffic snarls. “The situation is pretty bad at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bengaluru... I have written a letter to the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to allocate funds under a separate head to decongest city roads,” Gadkari said.

Opposition Calls For Postponing Budget: Opposition parties approached the Election Commission, asking it to prevent the government from presenting the Union Budget on 1 February, just three days before the commencement of Assembly polls in five states. They argued that the government may announce “populist” schemes which would give it an unfair advantage in the elections.

Plea For CBI Probe Into Jayalalithaa’s Death Rejected: The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a petition filed by expelled All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam member Sasikala Pushpa seeking an impartial probe into the mysterious death of party chief Jayalalithaa. She had filed a petition demanding a probe by Central Bureau of Investigation into the former chief minister’s death.

Bedi Cancels Puducherry Social Media Ban: An order by Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy that banned the use of social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Twitter for official communication was struck down by the state’s Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi on Thursday. “If Puducherry has to be a progressive UT, it cannot be retrograde in communications. Hence @CM_Puducherry’s order stands cancelled:@PMOIndia (sic),” she said on Twitter.

Narendra Modi-Nitish Kumar Bonding: Prime Minister Narendra Modi had strong words of praise for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the latter’s move to impose prohibition on alcohol in the state. “I want to appreciate Nitish Kumar for the effort he has undertaken to save future generations from alcoholism,” said Modi as he shared stage with Kumar at Prakash Parv, the 350th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Gobind Singh.

Molestation Case Breakthrough: Police arrested four men for allegedly molesting a woman on a street in Kammanahalli, in the early hours of 1 January. Bengaluru police commissioner Praveen Sood said, “Four out of six persons have been arrested in the heinous act. They had been stalking the girl for a few days. After their celebration in name of New Year, they molested her.”

Osama Bin Laden’s Son ‘Global Terrorist’: The US has designated Al Qaeda leader Hamza bin Laden, the son of the terror group’s slain leader Osama bin Laden, as a “global terrorist”. The designation by the State Department imposes sanctions on foreign nationals who pose a serious risk to US interests.

New H-1B Visas Bill Moved In US Congress: A bill backing key changes in the H-1B programme that allows skilled workers from countries like India to fill high-tech jobs in the US has been re-introduced in the US Congress by two legislators, who claim that it will help crack down on the work visa abuse. The legislation, they argued, will ensure that these jobs remain available for the best and brightest talent from around the world.

MUST READ OP-EDS

We Are All Accountable: If demonetisation was a failure, it was not because of an incorrect decision taken by our prime minister or government. It is us, the people as a whole, who are more responsible.

How To Go About Chasing Black Money: The focus of any sustainable reform of the taxation structure must be on reducing flows of tax evasion, not going after existing caches of black money

Charting Our Artificial Intelligence Future: In the great software of the universe, we will remain a beautiful bug, and AI will increasingly become a normal feature.

10 Venture Capital Dealmakers To Watch In 2017: It is unlikely that venture capital investors will throw caution to the wind – the focus will remain on getting more exits out of the door.

SWARAJYA SPECIAL

Insulting Own Legacy: Presidency Univ Doesn’t Invite PM Modi For Bicentennial Celebrations: Aravindan Neelakandan reminds the University of its own history which it seems to have conveniently forgotten.

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

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