India News
NITI Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya resigns
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Handpicked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2015 to head the revamped version of the Planning Commission, Panagariya wants to return to academia, take up his teaching assignment at Columbia University in New York
In what would come as a major personal setback to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a time when the Indian economy isn’t showing any great signs of resurgence, Arvind Panagariya has resigned from his role as vice-chairman of the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog. An economist of repute, Panagariya will serve in the NITI Aayog till August 31, before returning to his previous teaching role at Columbia University in New York.
In January 2015 when the six decade old Planning Commission was scrapped by the Union government and replaced with the NITI Aayog, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had handpicked Panagariya for the post of its vice-chairman. The revamped think tank, although with powers that were far more curtailed than the ones enjoyed by the Planning Commission, was to act as a policy think tank for the Modi administration and guide it on key reforms in sectors like the economy, agriculture, federal responsibilities, et al.
However, at a time when the government continues to face tough questions on its two main reform measures – demonetisation and the GST regime – Panagariya’s exit could come as a personal setback for Modi.
Going by the convention followed by the erstwhile Planning Commission, the term of the NITI Aayog vice-chairman was to be co-terminus with that of the Prime Minister, who is the Chairperson of the body.
What triggered Panagariya to actually put in his papers is not known. The official reason being stated is his desire to return to academia but that does not seem entirely believable. “My leave in Columbia University is coming to an end on September 5 and I decided to join back,” was all that Panagariya said about his resignation on Tuesday.
Going by Panagariya’s record in office, he seemed perfectly in-sync with the Modi government’s actions on the economy and general policy legislation – something that previous heads of the Planning Commission didn’t always seem to care about while speaking on the initiatives of respective governments of their time.
Sources say Panagariya, despite the unwavering support of the Prime Minister, had several detractors within the Union government, and perhaps more importantly, in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. His advice to the government to revamp labour laws and take an aggressive step on elimination of subsidies of all kinds was something that the RSS and some members of the BJP and its government did not find palatable.
At NITI Aayog, Panagariya oversaw several critical reforms that the Modi wanted to bring about, including the merger of the railway and general budgets, change of financial year from April-March to January-December and the elimination of the 5-year plan system of policy making.
Panagariya, a PhD from Princeton University, is a protégé of internationally renowned economist Jagdish Bhagwati and was Professor of Economics and of Indian Political Economy at the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University before he was persuaded by Modi to return to India and head the NITI Aayog.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
India News
Tiger death toll reaches 10 in Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu
The death of the 10 tigers including 6 cubs has caused great controversy. The enviornmentalists are demanding a high level inquiry into the ongoing deaths of tiger in Mudumalai, a tiger reserve.
Ten tigers have died over 35 days in Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu according to the National Tigers Commission. A team of National Tiger Commission crime Branch went to Ooty to investigate the matter. The team included Central Forest Animal Research Centre Senior Scientist Ramesh Krishna Murthy, Central Forest Animal Crime Prevention Unit South Zone Director Kripa Shankar and Inspector General Murali Kumar.
The death of the 10 tigers including 6 cubs has caused great controversy. The enviornmentalists are demanding a high level inquiry into the ongoing deaths of tiger in Mudumalai, a tiger reserve. The forest department has not been able to find the two mother tigresses of the dead tiger cubs.
As the mother tiger never leaves her cubs more than 200 metres away. An investigation is being conducted. It may be possible the dead tigers may have been hunted. The National tigers Commission crime Branch will investigate the reason for the tiger deaths IN the Nilgiri district forrest area.
After the investigation is over, the team will visit the Chinna Coonoor area. Four tiger cubs had previously died in the area. A tiger cub was found dead in the sgur forest area in China Coonoor in the Nilgiris on September 19. On examining the dead cub the forest veterinarian of Mudumalai Tiger Reserve said he was severely dehydrated.
According to the Forest Secretary Supriya Sahu the cub could not be saved despite restless effort of the team. On November 14 information of the tiger cub’s movement was recieved in the Chinnacoonoor area of Nilgiris.
Immediately a team along with trackers from Muddumalai tiger reserve reserve camped in the region and started monitoring. During the monitoring process it was found there are four cubs in the region. A female tiger was seen by the villagers last month. The cubs were monitored regularly as they thought the cubs might be in the nearby areas.
India News
Chhattisgarh: Rahul Gandhi says PM Modi also has a remote control but he presses it secretly
The Congress MP said when he questioned PM Modi on Adani in the Lok Sabha and his Lok Sabha membership got cancelled.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched Mukhyamantri Gramin Awas Nyay Yojana in Chhattisgarh through a remote control. He said PM Narendra Modi also has a remote control but he presses it secretly. Rahul Gandhi waved a remote control at the event in Chhattisgarh and said BJPs remote controls are all secret. Gandhi said the Congress party presses the remote control in the open. But the BJP presses secretly and the public sector becomes private and Adaniji gets Mumbai airport.
The Congress MP said when he questioned PM Modi on Adani in the Lok Sabha and his Lok Sabha membership got cancelled. He attacked the BJP government at the Centre after PM Modi addressed a rally in the poll bound Madhya Pradesh and said the Congress party has rusted like iron. PM Modi said Congress would push back Madhya Pradesh in the sick category whereas 1.5 crore people came out of poverty under the BJP rule in the last five years.
According to PM Modi the Congress and its allies have supported the bill out of hesitation and compulsion as they understood the power of Nari Shakti. PM Modi said Modi means the guarantee of fulfilling guarantees. Rahul Gandhi repeated what he had said in the Lok Sabha during his intervention on the women’s reservation bill.
He said there are only 3 OBC bureaucrats working for the government of India. Rahul Gandhi said caste census is the X-ray of Hindustan. The caste census will determine how many Dalits, SC/STs are there. Gandhi said the government is running away from caste census. He promised the congress will do a caste census.
In all Congress ruled states the public is at the centre and the government is not run by Adaniji. Talking to the media on Sunday Rahul Gandhi said he was confident Congress is winning the election in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. In Rajasthan the fight would be close Gandhi predicted.
India News
Bihar: Dalit woman stripped naked over Rs 1,500 loan, money lender, son booked for assault
The accused have not been arrested so far, and police have initiated a search for them.
In yet another shocking incident, a Dalit woman was assaulted in Bihar’s Patna district by a money lender and his son on Saturday, according to the police. The victim alleged that the accused also urinated on her and tried to disrobe her for not making recurring interest payments on a Rs 1,500 loan that her husband had taken.
According to the victim, Pramod Singh and his son Anshu Singh summoned her to their house on Saturday night mentioning that they had detained her husband and that he would be allowed to go only after the interest on the loan he took from them was fully repaid.
When she reached Singh’s house, her husband was not there. They had lied to her about detaining her husband. The father and son beat her up and tried to disrobe her, and the son also urinated upon her, the woman told the police.
The woman also mentioned that the Rs 1,500 her husband took on loan years ago had already been repaid with interest, but the money lender continued to seek interest from them at regular intervals.
According to reports, police have registered a case against Pramod and Anshu Singh under IPC sections related to assault and misbehaving with a woman, as well as under sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The accused have not been arrested so far, and police have initiated a search for them.
Patna Rural SP Imran Masood asserted that the woman was undergoing treatment for her injuries at a primary healthcare centre. The woman’s brother-in-law told The Indian Express that the poor people of the village have been trapped by money lenders and that it is like a goonda bank. He explained that as most of them are illiterate and cannot get loans from banks, they have to depend on these money lenders and face humiliation.
