Morning Brief: India’s Exports Jump 8.3 Per Cent; Blow To Congress In Karnataka; Waqf Scam Probe

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

India’s Exports Surge 8.3 Per Cent: India exports have recorded a 8.32 per cent rise to $24 billion in May compared to $22.1 billion in the corresponding month a year ago. Strong performance by petroleum, engineering, textiles and gems and jewellery sectors propelled the country's exports growth during the month. India's imports also increased by 33 per cent to $37.85 billion in May this year. Meanwhile, a nearly three-fold jump in gold imports at $4.95 billion led to widening of trade deficit during the last month. It was $6.27 billion in May 2016.

Congress Loses Trust Vote In Karnataka Legislative Council: In a major embarrassment, Karnataka's ruling party Congress on Thursday lost a trust vote against Legislative Council chairman D H Shankaramurthy by one vote, with Janata Dal (Secular) coming to the rescue of the saffron party. The Congress, which moved a motion seeking Shankarmurthy's ouster got 36 votes in favour of the motion and 37 votes against it. Hence, Shankaramurthy of Bharatiya Janata Party will continue as chairman of the council. For the first time in the history of Karnataka Legislative Council a no confidence motion was moved against the sitting chairman.

TDP MP Diwakar Reddy Banned By Four Airlines: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) lawmaker J C Diwakar Reddy, who damaged airport property and created a ruckus at the Visakhapatnam airport, after being denied a boarding pass for arriving late, has been banned by IndiGo, Air India, SpiceJet and Jet Airways. However, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathy Raju, who was also present at the airport at the time, said the lawmaker had arrived at the airport on time. The incident comes just months after another parliamentarian, Shiv Sena's Ravindra Gaikwad had beaten up a 63-year-old Air India manager and bragged about it.

US Brands Karnataka-Born IS Operative A Global Terrorist: Karnataka-born Islamic State operative Mohammad Shafi Armar and two others have been declared as specially designated global terrorists by the US. The state department imposed sanctions Armar, Oussama Ahmad Atar and Mohammed Isa Yousif Saqar Al Binali as they posed “significant risk of committing” acts of terrorism that threaten US national security. Armar, a resident of Bhatkal in Karnataka, was earlier a member of the banned Indian Mujahideen. Indian security agencies believe Armar recruited nearly three dozen Indian members for IS.

Rajasthan Farmers Launch Indefinite Protest Rallies: After Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, now it is farmers from Rajasthan who are up in arms. Hundreds of Bhartiya Kisan Sangh farmers demanding loan waivers launched an indefinite mahapadav (sit-in) at eight cities in Rajasthan on Thursday. “Farmers in hundreds are sitting across the state at divisional headquarters in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Ajmer, Kota, Bikaner, Bharatpur and Sikar,” B N Chaudhary, a BKS functionary, said. They are also demanding rise in minimum support price based on input cost, calling of special session of the state assembly for discussion of their issues, formulating farmer-friendly agricultural policies and implementation of some irrigation projects.

Reliance And BP To Invest Rs 40,000 Crore In KG Basin: Strengthening a long-standing relationship, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and British oil major BP will invest Rs 40,000 crore ($6 billion) to produce 30-35 million cubic metres a day of gas from new fields in the Krishna-Godavari Basin, RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani and BP chief executive Bob Dudley said. The big announcement follows increasing comfort with the policy and pricing regime for natural gas after prolonged acrimony during the previous government that halted investment in one of the most promising oil and gas basins.

Crackdown On Jobs With Fake Certificates: The Centre has told all government departments to dismiss those employees who got jobs using forged scheduled or backward caste certificates. As per the existing norms, if it is found that a government servant had furnished false information or produced a false certificate in order to secure appointment he should not be retained in service. According to official data, over 1,800 appointments, a majority of them in financial sectors like public sector banks and insurance companies, were allegedly secured through fake caste certificates.

Adityanath Recommends CBI Probe Into Waqf Scam: Soon after Uttar Pradesh decided to disband Shia and Sunni waqf boards, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday night recommended a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged irregularities committed by the two bodies in the state. "The chief minister recommended a CBI probe into alleged scam worth crores in Shia and Sunni waqf boards," Minister of State for Waqf Mohsin Raza said and added that former minister for minority affairs Azam Khan and his wife had featured prominently in the corruption complaints.

MUST READ OPINIONS AND COLUMNS

Narendra Modi’s Challenge In Washington: There are new opportunities, if only Indian policy mandarins remain open to new possibilities. If Modi could convey this message to Trump effectively during his visit, he would have accomplished a whole lot.

Instead Of Farm Loan Waivers, Invest More In Agricultural Infrastructure: Instead of spending such large sums to deal with the recurring problem of farm loan waivers, the government would be better off devoting resources to stepping up investment in agricultural infrastructure and price support. Not only will it revive agriculture, it will also generate employment in the rural economy.

Finally A Goods And Services Tax. But What Lies Ahead? The experience of the past eight months has shown how the Central and state governments can effectively work together. The GST council can now serve as a template for reforming other such institutions of cooperative federalism, starting with the inter-state council, which was rendered toothless from the very outset.

Retreating On The Monetary Policy Front: All hell broke loose on 8 February when the RBI, in an unusual move, decided to change its monetary stance from accommodative to neutral. Following its hasty shift in monetary policy stance, RBI is in a tight spot. It is now looking for a respectable way out.

SWARAJYA SPECIAL

Sofa Spectacle: Dear Kerala Minister, Keep The Sofa, Spare Our Temples: Kerala minister Kadakampally Surendran took a sofa meant for the chief of the Sringeri Mutt off the dais at the Padmanabhaswamy temple. He did this, he said, to ensure equality. What exactly was the need for this act of contempt inside the very premises of the temple?

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

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