Putting an end to the suspense over the top post, a crucial BJP meeting on Wednesday decided Devendra Fadnavis to be the next Maharashtra Chief Minister. Reportedly, Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde will be the Deputy Chief Minister along with NCP’s Ajit Pawar. 

BJP Maharashtra President Chandrashekhar Bawankule said that Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar will take oath on Thursday at 5 pm at Azad Maidan in Mumbai. Also, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the swearing-in ceremony. After being named as the chief ministerial pick, Devendra Fadnavis addressed a party event, where he reiterated PM Modi’s ek hai to safe hai slogan. 

Reportedly, at the BJP meeting, Fadnavis’s name for the top post was proposed by former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who was sent as the central observer to Mumbai. The proposal was unanimously seconded by senior BJP leaders like Sudhir Mungantiwar and Pankaja Munde.

This development follows nearly two weeks after the Mahayuti received a massive mandate securing 230 out of 288 seats in the Assembly elections. Nonetheless, the coalition had not been able to decide the contours of the new government after Shinde Sena’s initial insistence on being made the Chief Minister again.

Earlier, discussions moved forward after Eknath Shinde publicly said that he wouldn’t be a hurdle to government formation and declared that he would abide by the decision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

Devendra Fadnavis was majorly seen as the chief architect of the BJP’s biggest ever victory in Maharashtra, winning 132 of the 149 seats it contested. Additionally, the RSS has also been rooting strongly for Fadnavis for the top post in Maharashtra.

Devendra Fadnavis became the Chief Minister for the first time at 44 in 2014, making him the second-youngest after Sharad Pawar. During that time, the BJP was in coalition with the then undivided Shiv Sena.

Following the 2019 Assembly election, as the Shiv Sena walked out of the alliance amid a tussle over rotational chief ministership, the Fadnavis-led BJP joined hands with Ajit Pawar. Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the Chief Minister and Ajit Pawar as the Deputy Chief Minister. Nonetheless, the government lasted for around 80 hours as Ajit Pawar returned to the NCP fold.

After Eknath Shinde’s rebellion led to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in 2022, he agreed to be the Deputy Chief Minister under Shinde. 

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today said that the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill will strengthen governance in the Indian banking sector besides enhancing consumer’s and customer’s convenience with respect to nominations and protection of investors.

The Finance Minister moved the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, for consideration and passing in Lok Sabha. The aforesaid bill seeks to improve governance standards and provide consistency in reporting by banks to the Reserve Bank of India. Furthermore, the amendments will also ensure better protection for depositors and investors and will also improve the quality of services in the public sector banks.

After the bill is passed, the Banking Regulation Act will allow up to four nominees for depositors. This will include provisions for simultaneous and successive nominations, offering greater flexibility and convenience for depositors and their legal heirs, especially concerning deposits, articles, safe custody and safety lockers.

Reports stated that the proposed amendments seek to increase the tenure of directors other than the chairperson and full-time directors in cooperative banks from eight years to ten years. Altogether 19 amendments are proposed in the Banking Laws Amendment Bill 2024. In order to ensure consistency in reporting by banks, the bill provides for reporting to RBI on the last day of every fortnight instead of Fridays.

Under the aegis RBI Act, scheduled banks must maintain a certain level of average daily balance with the RBI as cash reserves. This average daily balance is based on the average of the balances held by banks at the closing of business of each day of a fortnight.

Notably, a fortnight is defined as the period from Saturday to the second following Friday (including both days). The said Bill changes the definition of a fortnight to the period from the first day to the fifteenth day of each month or the sixteenth day to the last day of each month. Additionally, the bill also changes this definition under the Banking Regulation Act where non-scheduled banks are required to maintain cash reserves.

The bill further redefines substantial interest in a company, currently it refers to holding shares of over Rs 5 lakh rupees or 10 per cent of the paid up capital whichever is less, this has been proposed to be hiked to Rs 2 crore. The Centre is also empowered to alter the amount through a notification.

The proposed bill also allows a director of a central cooperative bank to serve on the board of a state cooperative bank. At present, directors can hold positions in only one institution and not more.

The structure of the cooperative bank necessitates this as unless a person is elected to one layer of the cooperative, they can’t get into the next layer and as a result, they will necessarily have to hold a position at more than one place.

The said bill also provides that any person whose shares or unclaimed/unpaid money is transferred to the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF), he can claim the transfer or refund. At present, if money in any account remains unpaid or unclaimed for seven years, it is transferred to the IEPF.

S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister on Tuesday stated that bilateral relations between India and China were on the course of some improvement after the Successful disengagement agreement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha on India-China ties and the border truce reached in October, S Jaishankar said that India-China ties have been abnormal since 2020 when peace and tranquillity in the border areas were disturbed as a result of Chinese actions. He added that the recent developments that reflect our continuous diplomatic engagement since then have set our ties in the direction of some improvement.

The External Affairs Minister also reiterated that India remains committed to engaging with China to arrive at a fair, mutually acceptable framework for boundary settlement. His remarks come nearly two months after India and China announced the major border breakthrough to resume patrolling along the LAC, effectively ending the longstanding standoff that erupted after the 2020 Galwan Valley clash.

Jaishankar in his address also said that in the months following the 2020 Galwan Valley clash, they were focusing on a situation that had not only seen fatalities for the first time in 45 years but also a turn of events serious enough for heavy weaponry to be deployed in close proximity to the LAC.

He mentioned that while a determined counter-deployment of adequate capability was the government’s immediate response, there was also the imperative of a diplomatic effort to defuse these heightened tensions and restore peace and tranquillity.

The External Affair Minister went on to list a series of agreements reached in the past between India and China, including those signed in 1991, 1993, 1996, 2003, 2005, 2012 and the last one in 2013 to reach an understanding on border defence cooperation.

He added that the purpose of his recalling these agreements is to emphasize the elaborate nature of our shared efforts to ensure peace and tranquillity and to highlight the seriousness of what its unprecedented disruption in 2020 implied for our overall relationship.

Notably, the current agreement pertains to patrolling in the Depsang and Demchok areas. Previously, the militaries of the two countries had pulled back from four of six friction points in eastern Ladakh, including the Galwan Valley, after the clash.

The Indian and Chinese armies in November completed one round of patrolling in Demchok and Depsang and also agreed to carry out one coordinated patrol every week in the areas where tensions have persisted.

In order to maintain ongoing stability, talks will continue at the local commanders level, involving brigadiers and officers of similar ranks. Earlier on October 31, Indian and Chinese troops engaged in the Customary exchange of sweets on the occasion of Diwali.