Morning Brief: Union Budget Advanced By A Month; India Slams OIC; Powerful Quake Jolts Italy

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

Union Budget Advanced By A Month

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the Union Budget will be presented about a month in advance to ensure speedier implementation of projects and asked the states to align their plans accordingly. Generally, it is presented at the end of February every year.

Modi made the announcement at the 16th interaction of PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation), which he chaired.

India Slams OIC For Raking Up Kashmir

India on Wednesday slammed the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for making misleading references to the Kashmir issue, stating that the bloc has no locus standi to comment on internal matters of a country.

The Ministry of External Affairs said the resolutions adopted by the OIC contain factually incorrect and misleading references to internal matters of India. It further added that Kashmir is an integral part of India and strictly advised the OIC to refrain from making such references in future.

New Zealand Backs India's NSG Bid

Indicating its support ahead of the Nuclear Suppliers Group’s Vienna meet in November, New Zealand on Wednesday affirmed its constructive contribution towards India's bid to join the NSG. The two countries called for stopping cross-border terrorism and agreed to strengthen their political, defence and security relationship.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, who is on a state visit to India, also assured of his country's 'consistent support' to New Delhi's bid to become a member of the reformed UN Security Council.

Powerful Earthquake Jolts Italy

A 6.1-magnitude earthquake hit central Italy, including Rome, on Wednesday, just two months after a powerful temblor that killed nearly 300 people. There were unconfirmed reports of damage to buildings but no immediate reports of victims.

Italy's National Volcanology Center reported the epicenter of the earthquake to be near Perugia. The epicentre was about 10km below the surface, which is relatively shallow.

Karnal Singh Appointed ED Chief

Karnal Singh has been appointed as Director General of Enforcement Directorate (ED). The appointment committee of the cabinet approved Singh, a 1984 batch IPS officer of Union Territories cadre, as ED chief till 31 August 2017.

The post was vacant after the government had curtailed the tenure of Rajan S Katoch, the previous ED director, in August 2015. Since then the additional charge of the post of Enforcement Director was assigned to Singh.

MUST READ OP-EDS

Technology Is Not Here To Take Our Jobs: While technological advance has invariably created more jobs than it has destroyed, the rate of advancement this time is so great that job destruction will outstrip job creation.

Kerala’s Poverty Is The Lack Of Ambition: Like in West Bengal, Communism is taking its toll. One can start a technology park in Kochi but how will it operate among trade unions and hartals?

Environment Can Fight Bird Flu:The recurrence of avian influenza proves that this virus is firmly entrenched in our ecosystem. The government must recognise the role played by climate change in spreading the disease.

SWARAJYA SPECIAL

Kerala Claims To Be A ‘Digital State’, But Is Sticking To Its Primitive Ways: It confirms the proclivities of the political leadership towards the obdurate philosophies that unfortunately define the governance of the day.

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

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