Morning Brief: BJP Says Modi Is As Pure As Ganga; Bogus Disclosures Blow; NEET In Eight Languages

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

Modi Is As Pure As Ganga, Says BJP : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday strongly dismissed as "utterly baseless" and "shameful" Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's allegations that Narendra Modi as Gujarat chief minister had taken money from Sahara and Birla groups and said the Prime Minister is as "pure" as the Ganga. In its proceedings so far, the Supreme Court has dismissed the documents as "fictitious".

RBI U-Turn On Rs 5,000 Deposit Rule: In a major U-turn by Reserve Bank of India (RBI), people will not be questioned over the deposit of Rs 5,000 and above as it was said before. The move is the latest in a series of alteration of rules pertaining to banks after the government recalled high-value bills.

Bogus Disclosures: According to the new figures released by the government, the total disclosure of unaccounted income under the Income Disclosure Scheme is likely to be revised downwards to around Rs 55,000 crore after some declarations were found bogus.

NEET In Eight Languages: The Union Health Ministry said the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admission in medical colleges will be held in eight languages – Hindi, English, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu – for the academic year 2017-18.

Banerjee ‘Queen Of Corruption’: The Bharatiya Janata Party branded West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as “queen of corruption”, accusing her of not being interested in fighting corruption, but shielding it. This comes after Banerjee targeted the Centre for the income tax raids at the residence of Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary P Rama Mohana Rao.

Companies Can Pay Wages Digitally: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a draft ordinance to empower states and allow industries to pay wages digitally, through a direct bank transfer to accounts or by cheque, in a bid to encourage cashless transactions in the country.

Nirbhay Cruise Missile Test Fails: India’s first home-grown subsonic cruise missile, Nirbhay, failed during a trial on Wednesday with the weapon system deviating from the pre-designated trajectory, forcing the development team to abort the mission mid-air. The missile has undergone four tests in the past four years, but it is yet to perform as expected.

Cash Withdrawal Restrictions May Last Longer, Says SBI Chief: State Bank of India (SBI) chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya said the restrictions on cash withdrawal from banks are expected to continue for some more time. Bhattacharya said she does not expect the restrictions to go overnight until the banks get more cash.

Big Win For ABVP: Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has won the Ranchi University union elections on Wednesday, completing a sweep in all five state universities in Jharkhand. The BJP is in alliance with the Akhil Jharkhand Chhatra Sangh in Ranchi University, but won the other four campuses independently.

MUST READ OP-EDS

To Become A Cashless Economy, India Must Reach Out To Those At The Bottom Of The Digital Divide: It is imperative that digital payments cater to the lowest common denominatorof those at the bottom of the digital divide and have only a feature phone.

The New Frontiers Of Virtual Reality: Virtual Reality can fundamentally change the way individuals, groups and organisations interact, and for those interested in experiencing and sharing its powerful benefits, it offers an exceptional opportunity, perhaps unlike any other medium.

Electoral Funding: Not Just The Money, Honey: The fact that Mayawati has been UP chief minister four times and Mulayam Yadav three times that their voters are not guided by the charges made against their leader.

Can Punishment Change Human Behaviour? It’s time we reform punishment systems, using this knowledge, and bring in models that have sustained behavioural change as the end point.

SWARAJYA SPECIAL

Why The Ratan Tata-Cyrus Mistry Spat Will Force The Tata Group To Shrink: The Tata Group has to shed its losers, invest in its winners, and separate shareholding from management to become a truly global, transparent and ethical group.

Managing Cash: How RBI’s Structural Weakness Left It Clueless: Was the RBI unprepared to handle the necessary operations which had to follow the currency swap? If yes, why?

What Exactly Is Preventing A Congress-SP Coalition In Uttar Pradesh? For one, Akhilesh Yadav had hinted at an arrangement where in 2019, Mulayam would be the prime ministerial candidate, and Rahul Gandhi, the deputy.

Decoding Cyrus Mistry’s 19 December Statement: A Battle To Inherit The Tata Empire? Notwithstanding the public spat, this battle is not about corporate governance or ethics alone. This dharmayudh is about deciding who will inherit the Tata Empire!

Nadar Controversy Shows Why Shedding Colonial Narrative Is Key To Rewriting India’s History: Only when our curriculum is formulated on the basis of local histories and Indic resistance movements to colonialism, evangelism and social stagnation, that real history can be put on record.

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

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