SMS returns to mobile phones, internet returns to govt hospitals in Kashmir

Current Affairs
Broadband web access was reestablished in government-run emergency clinics and SMS office on every single cell phone from Tuesday 12 PM in Kashmir, after more than four-and-a-half long stretches of suspension.
Internet providers, landline and cell phones were snapped crosswise over Jammu and Kashmir on August 4, a day prior to the Center's declaration to scrap the unique status of Jammu and Kashmir and gap it into two association regions.
Despite the fact that most administrations, aside from portable web, were reestablished in Jammu inside seven days, Kashmir saw landlines and post-paid administrations being reestablished in stages. "It has been chosen to reestablish web availability to all administration clinics with impact from 12 PM of December 31 other than completely reestablishing SMS on cell phones," Jammu and Kashmir organization representative Rohit Kansal told correspondents here.
Be that as it may, Internet and prepaid versatile administrations in Kashmir are yet to be reestablished. On December 10, he had said machine-based SMSes were empowered for cell phones in Kashmir so as to encourage understudies, grant competitors, merchants and others, and that reclamation of full message administrations was a piece of the procedure.

"Ceaseless endeavors of the administration have been to encourage and push ahead however much as could be expected and as fast as would be prudent, and as far back as August 5, we have been advancing toward this path both in Jammu and in Kashmir. We have been moving dynamically forward and we will attempt to guarantee however much and as fast as could be expected," Kansal said in light of an inquiry regarding rebuilding of Internet administrations...Read More

Drugmakers from Pfizer to GSK to hike US prices up to 10% on over 200 drugs

Current Affairs
Drugmakers including Pfizer Inc , GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Sanofi SA are wanting to climb U.S. list costs on in excess of 200 medications in the United States on Wednesday, as per drugmakers and information broke down by social insurance look into firm 3 Axis Advisors.
Almost the entirety of the cost increments will be underneath 10%, and around half of them are in the scope of 4 to 6%, said 3 Axis fellow benefactor Eric Pachman. The middle cost increment is around 5%, he said.
More cost builds are required to be reported not long from now, which could influence the middle and range. Taking off U.S. physician endorsed medicate costs are required to again be a focal issue in the presidential political race. President Donald Trump, who made cutting them down a center vow of his 2016 crusade, is running for re-appointment in 2020.
Many marked drugmakers have vowed to keep their U.S. list cost increments underneath 10% per year, under tension from lawmakers and patients.
Drugmakers frequently arrange discounts on their rundown costs in return for positive treatment from human services payers. Subsequently, wellbeing safety net providers and patients seldom follow through on the full rundown cost of a medication.
Pfizer will climb costs on in excess of 50 medications, including its malignancy treatment Ibrance, which is on track to acquire almost $5 billion in income this year, and rheumatoid joint pain sedate Xeljanz. Pfizer representative Amy Rose affirmed the organization's arranged cost increments. She said the organization intends to expand the rundown costs on around 27% of its portfolio in the United States by a normal of 5.6%.

Of the drugs with builds, she said 43% of them are sterile injectibles, and huge numbers of those expands are under $1 per item...Read More

After attack on its embassy in Iraq, US to send more troops to Middle East

Current Affairs
The United States has said it is sending hundreds additional soldiers to the Middle East after a horde of ace Iranian demonstrators raged its government office compound in Iraq, setting flames and reciting "Passing to America!"
Enraged by US air strikes that killed two dozen paramilitary contenders on Sunday, several nonconformists spilled through checkpoints in the high-security Green Zone Tuesday, requesting the ouster of American soldiers from Iraq and voicing devotion to an amazing Iranian general, Qasem Soleimani of the Revolutionary Guard Corps.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the assault was "coordinated by psychological oppressors," one of whom he named as Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Muhandis has been recognized as second-in-direction of the Tehran-sponsored Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary gathering which incorporates Kataeb Hezbollah, the gathering that was focused in the US air strikes.
Guard Secretary Mark Esper said in an explanation that around 750 soldiers from a quick reaction unit of the 82nd Airborne Division are set up to send throughout the following a few days to the locale. "This organization is a fitting and preparatory move made in light of expanded danger levels against US staff and offices, for example, we saw in Baghdad today," he said.

The US had just flown a fast reaction group of Marines into Baghdad to fortify its international safe haven after the assault Tuesday, which left smoke and flares ascending from the government office entrance and further elevated pressure among Tehran and Washington. Esper's declaration is the most recent move by Washington to step up its safeguards in the area since US President Donald Trump in May 2018 hauled out of a global atomic arrangement with Iran and re-forced devastating financial authorizations.

MSE sentiment down for the third quarter in a row: CRISIL-SIDBI survey

Current Affairs
Hit by a drawn out financial droop, the business opinion among smaller scale and little undertakings (MSEs) slid pointedly to 106 in the quarter finished September 30, from 120 in the April-June quarter, as indicated by CRISIL-SIDBI study (CriSidEx).
The perusing on the file for January-March 2019 was 122; it was 128 in the October-December 2018 quarter and 124 in the July-September 2018 quarter. Amish Mehta, head working official, CRISIL, said the discoveries for the September 2019 quarter should be seen with regards to macroeconomic variables, for example, generation cuts via vehicle makers affecting usage of parts.
There was likewise a decrease in both volume and acknowledgment in item connected divisions, for example, steel, and a log jam in utilization, affecting pearls and adornments industry and lodgings, he said. The study demonstrated the desire from the following quarter — October-December — is higher than genuine estimation in the quarter in center. The distinction between perusing for the December 2019 quarter (129) and the genuine (106) is greatest, up until now.
The generation and limit use is probably going to stay stable the following quarter as 28 percent of members from assembling MSEs anticipated an expansion underway, 65 percent saw it as unaltered, and 7 percent anticipated that it should be lower.

Contracting was quieted as just 7 percent of the MSEs detailed increases to their representative base in SQ8, contrasted and 16 percent in SQ7, while 87 percent kept up the base and 6 percent announced decreases. Loan specialists have a worse than average point of view toward the business circumstance...Read More

Delhi elections 2020: Voters' slips to have QR code to help identification

Current Affairs
Innovation will be a significant part in the forthcoming Delhi surveys as voters' slips will convey QR code to encourage balloters and accelerate their distinguishing proof, authorities said on Monday.
The CEO Office here had as of late said that Delhi will be the primary state/UT in which a corner application will be utilized in each surveying station without precedent for the nation.
"This most recent mechanical development will make the survey procedure quick through utilization of QR (Quick Response) Code perusing of voter slips of voters," a senior authority said.
This arrangement will help in quicker distinguishing proof of voters. The application will give the status of voters holding up in the line to the general population, who can design their visit to surveying station in like manner for their benefit. Stall application will likewise give voter turnout consistently on surveying day, the authority said.
Sources stated, a proposition is likewise being considered to permit conveying cell phones to stalls to download QR code from the voters helpline application, if a voter neglects to bring the slip, including, the telephone in the wake of filtering the produced QR code would be kept in a storage before making of choice.

It is only a proposition starting at now, a source said. To make political decision available, there will be arrangement of Braille EPIC, Braille photograph voter slip, incline, wheel seat, volunteers, gesture based communication and pick and drop' offices and so on., for voters with handicap. The office is notwithstanding the other essential courtesies at surveying stations, authorities said.....Read More

10-year bond yields rise on RBI's special open market operations

Current Affairs
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday purchased Rs 10,000 crore of 10-year securities from the auxiliary market, while undercutting Rs 8,501 crore of term securities, in the exceptional open market tasks (OMO), held for the second time this schedule year.
Curiously, rather than the 10-year security yields descending, it expanded around 5 premise focuses to close at 6.55 percent after the OMO. The possibility of such OMO is to cut down longer term yields, while pushing up transient yields. The ascent in yields is regardless of the cut-off for the 10-year coming at 6.4874 percent. The cut-off yields for the shorter development papers to between 5.39 percent and 5.51 percent for three papers. The RBI chose not to sell a specific paper, maybe due to bring down yields offered by the market.
"After the OMO, state government sell off schedule came, which demonstrated states would acquire some Rs 25,000 crore extra in the following three months. This scared the market," said the head of treasury of a bank.
A week ago, the RBI had purchased its full quantity of 10-year bonds, however sold just Rs 6,825 crore in total of momentary bonds developing in the following year. As indicated by a senior security seller, the yields rose after the OMO was done to mirror the essentials and to mirror the way that yields should have been higher when there is a reasonable dread of in any event Rs 50,000 crore of additional borrowings preceding the end of the money related.

"The OMO declarations cut down yields from 6.75 percent to 6.55 percent. You can't anticipate that the yields should go down much further thinking about that the RBI had stop in December," said the security seller....Read More

No decision on passenger and freight fare hike, says Railway Board

Current Affairs
Railway Board Chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav has said no decision has been taken to increase passenger and freight fares.
On Thursday, Yadav had said the railways was in the process of “rationalising” its passengers and freight fares.
He told reporters here on Saturday the railways will work towards providing better facilities to its passengers and would run more trains.
“No decision has been taken to increase the passenger and freight fares. In the New Year, the Railway will try to give better facilities to its passengers and also focus on running of more trains,” Yadav said.
The railway board chairman further said that efforts are on to ensure that after next five years, passengers do not have to face difficulties due to waitlisted tickets. He also informed a private train operator is needed on Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Kolkata rail sections.

"For this, private train operators will be invited and the necessary approval of the government has been obtained," he said....Read More

Navy plans to build 24 submarines, 6 of them nuclear powered: Report

Current Affairs
To strengthen its underwater fleet, the Indian Navy plans to build 24 submarines, including six nuclear attack submarines, a parliamentary panel was told.
The Navy also told the panel that Medium Refit Life Certification (MRLC) of submarine Sindhuraj has been held up since the Russian side has not been able to submit bank guarantees and integrity pact due to sanctions imposed by the US.
In its report tabled this month, the Navy stated that there are presently 15 conventional submarines and two nuclear submarines in its fleet. The Indian Navy has two nuclear submarines INS Arihant and INS Chakra, with the latter being leased from Russia.
Majority of the conventional submarines are over 25 years old. Thirteen submarines age between 17 and 32 years, it said.
“Eighteen (conventional) + six SSN (nuclear attack submarines) are planned...,” it stated.

The Indian Ocean Region, the area of operations of the Indian Navy has witnessed rising activities of the Chinese Navy. On its part, the Indian Navy has been revamping its infrastructure, including procuring new ships....Read More

Future is green: 2020 may see re-birth of electric vehicles, say experts

Current Affairs
The year 2019 was a mix of ups and downs for the electric vehicle (EV) sales in the country. The coming year is expected to be better, with the entry of more electric cars and Chinese entities’ entry, bringing down the average cost.
The second phase of the Rs 10,000-crore scheme of the central government, termed Faster Adoption and Manufacturing for Hybrid and Electric vehicles (FAME II), offers higher incentives to higher powered products. It excludes lead acid battery-powered two-wheelers and mandates that e-scooters should have 80 km per charge and a minimum top speed of 40 kmph, with at least 50 per cent localisation in manufacturing. This has left a large share of two-wheelers out of the incentive, says CRISIL Research.
Recently, Union minister Prakash Javadekar told Parliament about 285,000 buyers of electric/hybrid vehicles had been supported by a subsidy of Rs 360 crore under FAME.
Sohinder Gill, director-general, Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV). said, “The year 2019 was full of turmoil for the EV industry. Sudden policy shock by the government in March 2019 led to a decline in sales of electric two-wheelers under FAME II. It has made companies becoming less dependent on government subsidies.”

The number of electric two-wheelers sold under FAME in the first six months of this financial year (April to September) saw a 94 per cent decline to around 3,000 units, from 48,671 units in the same period last year. The number sold without FAME incentive in the period went up to around 49,000 units, 2019, from around 10,000 during the same period last year, said SMEV.Low-speed lithium battery vehicles without the FAME incentive cost around Rs 55,000. The high-speed electric two-wheeler costs around Rs 80,000 after the incentive applied, said sources....Read More

Year in Review: Citizenship Act to Ayodhya verdict, key decisions of 2019

Current Affairs
In the year 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) came back to power at the Centre with a bigger mandate than in 2014, gaining a sway across the nation to win 303 seats in the Lok Sabha. In less than 70 days of the government's second term in office, the Narendra Modi-led regime scrapped Article 370, which gave a special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir, paving the way for bigger ideas to be implemented in the months to come.
Before that, on February 12, the Union Cabinet had cleared key amendment to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, making it easier for buyers to take over stressed assets.
The Supreme Court also did not hold back, the then Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi, making a number of landmark judgments -- from the long-awaited Ayodhya title suit to Sabarimala. Towards the fag end of the year, a few legislation brought by the government, such as the Personal Data Protection Bill and the Bill to set up a unified authority for regulating all financial activities in international financial services sparked controversy, and the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Bill drew opposition from politicians and citizens alike.
The rest of the year was also quite eventful, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh performing ‘Shashtra Puja’ upon the first delivery of the Rafale fighter jet, brushing aside the Congress’ criticism, CJI Gogoi was cleared by a panel of sexual harassment allegations. And the Cabinet approved strategic divestment in BPCL and SCI in its bid to meet its FY20 divestment target of Rs 1.76 trillion.

Days before curtains come down on 2019, Business Standard takes a look at the key decisions and ideas that shaped the year...Read More

NPR will be buried if 10 more states oppose it like Kerala, Bengal: Karat

Current Affairs
CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat on Thursday said if ten more chief ministers stick to their promises and put work on National Population Register on hold like those of Kerala and West Bengal did, the Centre's plan to have an NPR would be "buried".
"Twelve state governments have so far announced that they will not take up the NPR. What Kerala and West Bengal have done should be done by 10 (more) chief ministers," he said, referring to the Kerala and West Bengal governments' orders putting the NPR work on hold in their respective states.
Karat was speaking in a seminar organised to protest against amendments in the Citizenship Act.
"The Narendra Modi government has planned a 'Trishul' (attack) against the Constitution. First thing was the CAA, second is the National Population Register and the third one is the National Register of Citizens. All three are interconnected. All three are one single package and cannot be separated," he said.
After witnessing the widespread protests across the country against the Citizenship Amendment Act, the BJP government, however, has understood that it needs to tread cautiously in implementing the NRC, said Karat.
"Accordingly, they (BJP) have now adopted a manoeuvre and claim that the NPR has nothing to do with the NRC," he added.
"You read the citizenship Act and the rules, it is there in the black and white. The NPR is only for the purpose of creating a national register of citizens. There is no NRC without an NPR," he said.

"To foil the BJP's game plan, we must concentrate on getting the NPR scuttled because once the NPR is created, you cannot stop the NRC and that is a legal process. It is there in the law," he said....Read More

CAA, NRC 'may affect status' of Muslims in India: US Congressional report

Current Affairs
The amended citizenship law along with a National Register of Citizens (NRC) being planned by the Narendra Modi government "may affect the status" of Muslim minority in India, a report by US Congressional Research Service (CRS) has said.
The December 18 report also said that for the first time in independent India's history, a religious criterion has been added to the country's naturalization process.
The CRS is an independent research wing of the US Congress which prepares reports periodically on issues of domestic and global importance for the lawmakers to take informed decision. These are not considered as official reports of the US Congress.
"In tandem with a National Register of Citizens (NRC) planned by the federal government, the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) may affect the status of India's large Muslim minority of roughly 200 million," said the CRS in its first ever report on the amended Citizenship law.According to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, non-Muslim refugees who came to India till December 31, 2014, to escape religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be given Indian citizenship.
Since both houses of Parliament approved amendments to the citizenship law earlier this month, protests - sometimes violent - have taken place across the country during which many protesters have died, especially in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.

"India's Citizenship Act of 1955 prohibited illegal immigrants from becoming citizens. Among numerous amendments to the act since 1955, none contained a religious aspect," the CRS said in its two-page report...Read More

GoAir cancels flights due to delayed aircraft deliveries by Airbus

Election News
Budget carrier GoAir, which cancelled multiple flights earlier this week, on Thursday said the delay in aircraft deliveries by Airbus has added to its operational challenge.
The Wadia group-owned airline cancelled as many as 40 flights this week on account of shortage of staff and inclement weather, among others issues.
"GoAir has placed order of 144 Airbus A320Neo aircraft and experienced delivery delays during the month of November and December, adding to its operational challenge," the airline said in a clarification issued on Wednesday.
It also said that due to inclement weather in North India, the airline experienced extensive flight delays and diversions leading to cancellations of flights as its crew approached its flight duty time limits (FDTL) in the last two-three days.
The cockpit and cabin crew duty and rest norms are governed by the aviation safety regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

The anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests wherein GoAir crew members were unable to report for duty further exacerbated the issue, the airline added.....Read More

Bombay Shaving Company raises Rs 45 crore in Series B funding round

Election News
Men’s skincare brand Bombay Shaving Company (BSC) has raised Rs 45 crore in Series B funding round led by Sixth Sense Venture Partners. Existing investor Colgate Palmolive Asia Pacific, a subsidiary of consumer goods giant Colgate-Palmolive, participated in the round too.BSC said it has also created Rs 20 crore worth of exit opportunities for 30 angels and early employees. This fundraising has taken the total capital raised by BSC to Rs 80 crore.
“We are thrilled to have Sixth Sense join this journey. They are a top consumer fund with insight into public markets, which is invaluable for us,” said Shantanu Deshpande, founder, and CEO at Bombay Shaving Company. “We don’t believe in large fund infusions, however, exits for angels and early employees is an extremely positive outcome. Wealth creation is what drives us.”
Launched in 2016, BSC started as a direct-to-consumer premium experiential shaving regimen, but has quickly expanded into skin, beard and bath categories. The firm, which also sells its products on e-commerce platform Amazon, has a portfolio of over 45 SKUs (stock-keeping units) across shaving, bath and body, skin, and beard care categories.
The firm plans to use the newly-raised funds in brand building, expand its presence in the larger skincare category and penetrate deeper in shaving. As an omnichannel brand, BSC said it will focus on offline expansion with its current footprint of 3,000 stores to 10,000 stores in the coming months. BSC currently has more than 2.5 lakh customers and aims to become Rs 100-crore brand in the next 12-15 months.

"BSC team has impressed us with the portfolio, brand building, understanding of consumer and digital expertise," said Nikhil Vora, founder at Sixth Sense Venture Partners. “We love to invest in spaces where we believe we can grow with the sponsors for a long period....Read More

Boeing messages disclose 'very disturbing picture' of 737 Max planes

Election News
A new batch of messages between Boeing Co. employees on the development of the 737 Max paints a “very disturbing picture” of concerns about the plane, according to an aide to a House committee.The documents were turned over to the Federal Aviation Administration on Monday, the agency said in a statement. The disclosure came the same day that Boeing ousted its chief executive officer.
At least some of them were written by the same Boeing pilot whose 2016 messages were released in October and were the subject of sharp questioning by lawmakers, according to a person familiar with their contents who wasn’t authorized to discuss them.The communications haven’t been released publicly. The staff of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee are still reviewing the messages and didn’t provide specific details about what they contain.
“But similar to other records previously disclosed by Boeing, the records appear to point to a very disturbing picture of both concerns expressed by Boeing employees about the company’s commitment to safety and efforts by some employees to ensure Boeing’s production plans were not diverted by regulators or others,” a committee aide said in a statement.
“The committee will continue to review these and other records provided by Boeing as part of the committee’s ongoing investigation,” the aide said.
Boeing brought the emails to the FAA and Congress “as part of our commitment to transparency with our regulators and the oversight committees,” the company said in a statement.

“As with prior documents referenced by the committee, the tone and content of some of these communications does not reflect the company we are and need to be,” the company said. Boeing has made changes to enhance safety, it said....Read More

Lenders call for bids to rescue shadow bank Altico as crisis deepens

Election News
Loan specialists to an Indian shadow bank at the focal point of an industry emergency since it began defaulting three months prior have called for restricting offers from potential rescuers by mid-January, individuals acquainted with the issue said.
Altico Capital India Ltd. is one of the most recent got up to speed in the country's shadow banking emergency, which has developed as moneylenders previously reeling from one of the world's most exceedingly terrible awful advance heaps shy away from expanding more credit.
The shadow bank began defaulting on its advantage reimbursements in September, and its loan specialists are sharp for it to get a value mixture for any obligation rebuilding intend to be cleared, the individuals stated, asking not to be recognized as the talks are private.
Advance Growth at Indian Shadow Banks Seen Hitting Decade Low Potential financial specialists and leasers in Altico, which centers around land loaning and considers Clearwater Capital Partners as a part of its primary investors, are hanging tight for due ingenuity reports and will accept a last approach the valuation and choose any goals plan before the finish of January, as indicated by the individuals.
A representative for Altico declined to remark. There was no quick answer to a messaged solicitation for input to a Clearwater representative and to lead loan specialist State Bank of India, and calls went unanswered.

Alitco's terrible credits spiked to 23.8% of its advance book in the July-September quarter, adding to worries of recuperation for the moneylenders.....Read More

German IIT-M student asked to leave India for taking part in CAA protest

Election News
A German understudy at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras has said he was approached to leave India for challenging the new citizenship law that has started agitation the nation over.
"1933 to 1945; We Have Been There," said a notice Jacob Lindenthal, conveyed when he joined others in Chennai to challenge the Citizenship (Amendment) Act a week ago. Lindenthal had a semester left of his post-graduation in Physics and he was planned to leave India in May 2020
Lindenthal told news associations IIT-Madras and migration authorities requested that he leave Chennai on Monday. "There were evidently organization issues with my visa. In the wake of administering these out, I was broadly examined by the movement official concerning my political sentiments. At that point I was educated about the choice (requesting that he leave)," he was cited by News18.com as saying.
He included that he would counsel his legal counselor and choose the following strategy.
An understudies' body, ChintaBar, tweeted in solidarity with Lindenthal.
Refering to sources, The Indian Express detailed that an IIT official had sent a report about Lindenthal's support in the fights to "higher-ups." When reached by the paper, IIT authorities said they were ignorant of the "episode" including Lindenthal.

Reports said an outsider partaking in a political movement or dissent is an infringement of visa standards.....Read More

Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani adds $18 billion to his fortune in 2019

Election News
It's been a decent year for Asia's most extravagant man, Mukesh Ambani. The Indian head honcho added nearly $17 billion to his riches as of Dec. 23, the most in Asia, taking his total assets to about $61 billion, as indicated by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. In correlation, Alibaba Group originator Jack Ma's total assets developed $11.3 billion, while Jeff Bezos lost $13.2 billion.
The flood in Ambani's fortune this year was filled by a 40% bounce in the portions of his Reliance Industries Ltd., an aggregate that is rotating more toward shopper contributions than its center oil refining and petrochemicals organizations. The meeting in the stock is more than twofold the increases for India's benchmark S&P BSE Sensex file during the period. Financial specialists are heaping cash on Reliance, wagering more current organizations, for example, media communications and retail could before long open worth. With an objective of building a neighborhood internet business monster to challenge any semblance of Amazon.com Inc. in India, Ambani has spent nearly $50 billion - generally obligation - on a remote bearer that is become India's No. 1 inside three years of introduction.
"Mukesh Ambani changed the story for Reliance Industries" as a pioneer in oil and gas as well as in telecom and retail, and potentially soon in web based business also, said Chakri Lokapriya, boss venture official at TCG Asset Management, which directs $3 billion in resources in Mumbai. "He effectively recognized, contributed and executed quickly to make this new story," Lokapriya said. "We accept this can conceivably twofold investor esteem throughout the following four years."

The fresher organizations are probably going to contribute half of Reliance's profit in a couple of years, from about 32% now, Ambani said in August. A delegate for Reliance didn't answer to an email looking for input on Ambani's riches....Read More

Elect govt that listens to students: Priyanka at Jharkhand

Jharkhand Election News
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday hit out at the BJP over police action at university campuses and urged voters of Jharkhand to elect a government that will listen to students.
Claiming that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise has failed in Assam, she said the government has now brought the amended Citizenship Act which is facing the ire of students.
"Students have hit the roads in the country and are facing police batons," she said while addressing a poll rally here.
The Congress general secretary also appealed to voters to elect a government that will "listen to students, waive farm loans, provide security to women and protect your (tribal) culture and tradition."
She alleged that the Jharkhand government is creating a land bank to give it to the rich.
Mentioning that the Congress has always protected tribal culture and tradition, Priyanka Gandhi said, women are being assaulted in the country.
The fifth and the final phase of assembly polls in Jharkhand will be held on December 20.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)....Read More

Jharkhand Assembly election: Exit polls predict Congress-JMM defeating BJP

Jharkhand Election News
The five stage surveying for the 81-seat Jharkhand Assembly finished up on Friday evening with leave surveys showing a hung get together. Leave surveys anticipated the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)- drove union in the number one spot, and officeholder Raghubar Das-drove Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prone to miss the mark regarding the greater part mark.
The fifth and last period of surveying in 16 get together voting public of Jharkhand went off calmly, Election Commission authorities said in Ranchi. An expected 70.83 percent of the absolute 40.05 lakh voters practiced their establishment till 5 pm when the surveying finished, they said.
As per the India Today-Axis leave survey, the BJP was on course to win 22 to 32 seats in the Jharkhand Assembly. It said the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) collusion could win 38 to 50-seats, while the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) liable to win 2 to 4-situates, All Jharkhand Students Union 3 to 5-seats and others 4 to 7 seats. The leave survey said the JMM-drove coalition could corner 37 percent of the votes to the BJP's 34 percent.

diagram The Times Now leave survey said the JMM-drove collusion could win 44-seats and the BJP 28. The IANS-CVoter-ABP leave survey anticipated 31 to 39-seats for the JMM-drove partnership and 28 to 36-seats for the BJP. As the leave surveys streamed in, AJSU's Sudesh Mahato said his gathering was not shut to working with the BJP in future. The AJSU had gone separate ways with the BJP in the approach the surveys. It had won 5-situates in the 2014 Assembly surveys. BJP competitor and Jharkhand Agriculture Minister Randhir Singh is looking for re-appointment from Sarath voting public, while another saffron party chosen one and Women and Child Development Minister Louis Marandi is set in opposition to JMM working president Hemant Soren in Dumka....Read More

Jharkhand Assembly Election Results Primer: BJP faces uphill task as exit polls favour JMM-led alliance

Jharkhand Election News
The checking of decisions in favor of 81 Jharkhand Assembly situates, which went to surveys in five stages from 30 November to 20 December, will start at 8 am on Monday. The Jharkhand Assembly Election Results will be reported on 23 December, when meaning the 81 seats which surveyed in five stages from 30 November to 20 December will hold.
The BJP is wanting to hold control in Jharkhand following mishaps and winning less seats in both the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly political decision when contrasted with the 2014 surveys in the two states. Notwithstanding, a few of the NDA partners, including BJP's present Jharkhand collusion accomplice AJSU challenged the 2019 Assembly surveys individually. Slam Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and the Nitish Kumar-drove Janata Dal (United) additionally challenged the surveys solo.
Counting to start at 8 am; BJP faces tough undertaking as leave surveys support JMM-drove allianceSecurity jawans stand monitor at a surveying station during the principal period of Jharkhand Assembly surveys, in Maoist-hit Latehar locale.
The Opposition Grand Alliance drove by Hemant Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and which incorporates Congress and RJD, be that as it may, is wanting to unseat the BJP. Furthermore, two of the three leave surveys have favored the JMM-drove collusion.

Times Now and India Today-Axis My India leave surveys have anticipated that the Opposition union is probably going to tempest to control while the decision BJP is relied upon to be confined to only 30 seats. Notwithstanding, the IANS-CVoter-ABVP leave survey anticipated a hung Assembly, wherein case littler gatherings like the JVM(P), AJSU and Independent up-and-comers are probably going to play kingmakers in the ancestral state. It is essential to take note of that the vast majority of the BJP partners, including AJSU, LJP, JD(U) challenged the political race alone....Read More

Voting underway in 16 seats as Jharkhand holds elections for last phase

Election News
Surveying for the fifth and last period of the Jharkhand get together decisions in 16 voting public started on Friday.
The destiny of 237 up-and-comers, including two priests and a previous CM, will be chosen in this last stage. The surveying that started at 7 am in all gathering sections will end at 3 pm in five voting public of Borio (ST), Barhait (ST), Litipara (ST), Maheshpur (ST) and Sikaripara (ST).
Voters in the remainder of the gathering sections can practice their establishment till 5 pm. Different seats where surveying is being held in this last stage are Rajmahal, Pakur, Nalla, Jamtara, Dumka (ST), Jama (ST), Jarmundi, Sarath, Poreyahat, Godda and Mahagama. All bodies electorate are spread more than six locale in the Santhal Pargana area of the state.
On the whole, 40,05,287 electorate, including 19,55,336 ladies and 30 third sexual orientation voters, are qualified to make their choice, Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer Vinay Kumar Choubey said.
Sufficient security powers have been conveyed, he said. Of 5,389 surveying stations, 396 in Naxal-influenced regions have been set apart as "basic" while 208 have been proclaimed "touchy".
On the whole, 1,321 surveying stations in non-left wing fanaticism influenced regions have been set apart as "basic" while 1,765 pronounced "delicate". The Election Commission has set up 8,987 polling form units, 6,738 control units and 7,006 VVPAT machines.
Inside and out, 249 surveying stations have been set apart as model stalls.

Upwards of 133 surveying stations have ladies staff while 1,347 have webcasting offices, Choubey said. BJP competitor and Jharkhand Agriculture Minister Randhir Singh is looking for re-appointment from Sarath....Read More

Tatas plan to move SC vacation bench for early stay against NCLAT order

Election News
Tata Sons, the holding organization of the salt-to-programming combination, is taking a gander at moving toward the excursion Bench of the Supreme Court for a stay against the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) request to invert the status of the organization from private to open restricted and reestablishing Cyrus Mistry as an executive on its board and on three gathering firms, an individual near the issue disclosed to Business Standard.
The NCLAT request on transformation of the organization back to open constrained and Mistry's restoration as executive on certain sheets was with quick impact. Quick to get an early remain, the $110-billion Tata gathering dislike to hold up till January 6, 2020, when the nation's top court revives after the winter break. Councils, for example, the NCLAT have capacity to rebuff for scorn under Section 425 of the Companies Act 2013. Notwithstanding, for reestablishing Mistry as official administrator of Tata Sons, the Tribunal has allowed a four-week window.
The administration excessively is getting dynamic on the most recent advancement in Corporate India. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) will look at whether the techniques were trailed by Tata Sons and the Mumbai Registrar of Companies (RoC) before the transformation of the organization's status from open to private constrained under the authority of N Chandrasekaran, a senior government official said.

"Usage must be after assessment. The RoC is basically a vault with no basic leadership powers… We are experiencing the request and in the event that we discover any realities have been passed up a great opportunity in the request, we will put them before the Tribunal," another authority called attention to. In principle, the RoC can roll out the improvement, in the wake of following certain systems. In any case, legal advisors contended that an inversion in the status of the organization would be intense....Read More

Best of BS Opinion: Indo-US defence ties, IUC regime, and more

Election News
The national capital district was in virtual lockdown and parts of the nation saw fights among police and protestors and a series of captures. Be that as it may, in the budgetary capital, the Sensex proceeded with its unreasonable richness and in Kolkata the Indian Premier League barters proceeded with it patterns of breaking offer records.
On the assessment pages, journalists handle the issues that the Indian government ought to be taking a gander at also. Kanika Datta summarizes the perspectives.
Here's an assortment of Business Standard Opinion pieces for the afternoon.
Indo-US resistance ties stay solid notwithstanding dissension over exchange and human rights. New Delhi would do well not to put this to test, says Ajai Shukla.
China is moving to coordinate its money related markets with worldwide markets and influence its monetary heave further. Shyam Saran portrays these endeavors and asks where this leaves India, "presently decreased to looking indignantly at its tempestuous navel".
Our top alter clarifies why the administration should be controlled on assortment targets, given the steady underperformance of the Goods and Services Tax.

The telecom controller's choice to broaden the between associate charge system is a decent one at the same time, the second alter alerts, there is a need to guarantee that the market doesn't get twisted moving forward, says our second alter.....Read More

Musharraf alleges 'personnel vendetta' after Pak court's death penalty

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Pakistan's feeble previous despot on Wednesday said capital punishment given to him by a court in a conspiracy case depends on a "faculty grudge".
It was Pervez Musharraf's first response to Tuesday's court decision, which had just been decried by the nation's amazing military. Musharraf's supporters have held little rallies the nation over in his help since the court condemned him to death in the wake of seeing him as liable of forcing a crisis disregarding the constitution.
In the video discharged by his gathering, Musharraf said "there is no case of such a choice wherein neither the respondent and nor his legal advisor was offered authorization to state something with all due respect." He said the court that held his preliminary in interims from 2014 to 2019 dismissed his solicitation to record an announcement in Dubai, where he has been living since 2016, when he left the nation to get therapeutic treatment.
Musharraf's wellbeing has seen good and bad times, and he was again taken to an emergency clinic this month. He said the court decision against him was sketchy and that the matchless quality of rule of law was not kept up.
"I will say that there was no compelling reason to hear this case under the constitution however this case was taken up and heard on account of work force grudge of certain individuals against me and one individual was focused for this situation," he said.
Without refering to names, he said that the individuals who acted against him "are appreciating high positions and they abuse their office".

He adulated the individuals and military of Pakistan for remaining by him after the court condemned him to death for forcing the highly sensitive situation in his residency as president when he was additionally holding the situation of the military boss....Read More

Lawless impeachment will be political suicide for Democrats, says Trump

Election News
President Donald Trump spread out a rankling assault continuously Wednesday against House Democrats' vote to arraign him, saying the gathering demonstrated "profound scorn and scorn for the American voter" and would pay for it in the 2020 political race.
"This rebellious, fanatic indictment is a political suicide walk for the Democratic party," Trump told a horde of supporters in Battle Creek, Michigan, as the last count of a vote to reprimand him was being relied on the House floor. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic administrators "have marked themselves with an unceasing sign of disgrace," he included.
Back in Washington, the House received two articles of prosecution against the president as he talked at the assembly, offering an exceptional split-screen display of the political hardship partitioning the country. Underscoring the political retribution for Trump, he went through the night in Battle Creek - a Republican fortress that helped him win the generally Democratic state in 2016.
The setting offered the president a responsive crowd to make his reply. At the point when a dissident upset his discourse, the group booed noisily and the president blamed the occasion's security protects for not being progressively physical in evacuating the lady, who he called "sickening."
"You got the opportunity to get somewhat more grounded than that, people," Trump said.

The main bit of the discourse addressed a scope of issues inconsequential to arraignment. As votes were depended on the first of two articles of denunciation - that Trump manhandled the intensity of his office - he was adulating F-35 military pilots. At the point when the House received the article, he was pouncing upon the "abnormal media." The disappointment Trump has shown mirrors the potential mischief prosecution does to his re-appointment crusade....Read More

Bengal peaceful, Mamata to conduct protest rally in Kolkata today over CAA

Election News
West Bengal was serene with no crisp occurrence of brutality over the new citizenship law revealed so far on Thursday, police said.
Be that as it may, stray episodes of conflicts between bunches supporting the altered Citizenship Act and those contradicting it were accounted for on Wednesday. Five people were harmed when unrefined bombs were heaved at a dissent walk taken out against the new citizenship law in North Dinajpur locale, a cop said.
The instigators had blocked NH 34 for two hours against the occurrence.
The state had seen savagery and fire related crime from December 13 to 17 during fights the new citizenship law.
In excess of 350 individuals have been captured for their supposed inclusion in the viciousness. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has been at the bleeding edge in contradicting the new citizenship law and the NRC, is on Thursday planned to lead a dissent rally in Esplanade zone in the core of Kolkata.
She had taken out three dissent walks in Kolkata and Howrah from December 16 to 18. The Left gatherings are likewise booked to hold a dissent walk against the new citizenship law from Ramlila Maidan to Lady Brabourne College in the city.

Scholarly people are scheduled to take out another dissent walk from Ramlila Maidan to Hogg Market.....Read More

Samsung Electronics board chairman held for sabotaging union activities

Election News
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd board Chairman Lee Sang-hoon was condemned to 1-1/2 years prison on Tuesday for undermining real association exercises, a South Korean court said.
Lee and around 25 different litigants were accused of disrupting association exercises by subcontracted laborers at Samsung Electronics' fix unit, Samsung Electronics Service Co Ltd. At the point when association exercises occurred at Samsung Electronics Service in 2013, Samsung Group's currently old world class methodology office created and actualized methodologies to thwart the association's activity, Seoul Central District Court dominated.
Samsung officials and representatives were, to various degrees, associated with discovering delicate data about endorsers to persuade them to leave the association, instigating the conclusion of subcontracting firms with dynamic associations and postponing exchanges among work and the board. The decision pursues a week ago's decision by a similar court that allowed a 16-month prison term to Samsung Electronics Vice-President Kang Kyung-hoon on charges of association busting exercises at now-outdated subsidiary Samsung Everland, an entertainment mecca administrator and part of Samsung C&T.
"We submissively acknowledge that the organizations' understanding and view towards trade guilds in the past missed the mark regarding society's desires," Samsung Electronics and Samsung C&T said. A teacher at Seoul National University, Park Sang-in, depicted the decisions as "a further sign of progress for South Korean legal framework, which recently gave indulgent sentences to indicted businesspeople".

Samsung's new pioneer, Jay Y. Lee, needs to "construct modern relations which are in accordance with worldwide models", the teacher included....Read More

As Boeing halts 737 MAX production, Airbus can't make jets fast enough

Election News
As Boeing Co. stops generation of its ambushed 737 Max, worldwide adversary Airbus SE is thinking about an altogether different issue: speeding yield of its opponent limited body.
Supposed "stretch" adaptations of the A320neo fly have started a request free for all as carriers gobble them up to supplant expensive twin-passageway planes on longer courses or pack in seats on shorter legs. Be that as it may, to accomplish that adaptability Airbus has brought to the table a wide scope of lodge designs that is made gathering undeniably increasingly intricate.
More slow form rates on the top-estimated A321 variation imply that the European organization needs to lift conveyances 75% this month contrasted with November with meet entire year creation targets. It's an indispensable test for Airbus - not exclusively to solidify its favorable position over a thrashing Boeing, yet in addition to augment comes back from its most costly thin bodies as interest for significantly progressively worthwhile wide-body models moves past its pinnacle.
"The A321 matters in light of the fact that as a stretch it ought to be by a wide margin the most elevated edge airplane of the Airbus thin bodies," said Sash Tusa, an examiner at Agency Partners in London. The expanded notoriety of single-path types on longer courses could mean they come to represent seventy five percent of the complete estimation of planes conveyed in a given year, up from half already, he included.

Airbus is focusing on 860 conveyances over its aircraft extend for 2019, 20 less than the underlying objective after the organization recognized in October that its plants were bogged down. Each missed fly will wipe in any event 10 million euros ($11 million) off benefit, Citi Research investigator Charles Armitage gauges.....Read More

Anti-citizenship Act stir: No fresh violence reported in West Bengal today

Election News
No crisp episode of viciousness over altered citizenship law was accounted for in West Bengal on Wednesday morning, police said.
In any case, a senior cop and two other faculty were harmed when a gathering of instigators flung unrefined bombs at them in Sankrail territory of Howrah area on Tuesday night.
Howrah City Police Deputy Commissioner of Police (Headquarters) Ajeet Singh Yadav was harmed in the two his legs in the wake of being hit by chips of the bomb however was released from an emergency clinic after he was regulated therapeutic guide.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is booked to partake in a dissent walk against citizenship law from Howrah Maidan to Dorina Crossing in Esplanade territory of Kolkata on Wednesday.
She has held two dissent walks in north and south Kolkata on Monday and Tuesday separately.
The state has seen pitched fights against the citizenship law since December 13.
Police has ventured up vigil over the state and upwards of 354 dissenters were captured for savagery.

A few trains going through West Bengal were either dropped or short-ended because of the fights.....Read More

SC refuses to allow Jharkhand ex-CM Madhu Koda to contest Assembly polls

Election News
The Supreme Court on Friday wouldn't permit previous Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda from challenging the up and coming get together decisions in the state. A seat of Justices N V Ramana and V Ramasubramanian looked for a reaction from the Election Commission on the request of Koda testing his preclusion by the survey board in 2017 for not recording political race costs.
The survey board had excluded Koda from challenging decisions for a long time. At the start, the insight showing up for Koda said that it has been a long time since he has been precluded and the top court ought to enable him to challenge the forthcoming surveys. "You yourself is liable for the postponement. You should sit tight for another year. We can't enable you to challenge the races at this stage. We have to hear the opposite side (EC)," the seat said and gave notice to the survey board.
On November 13, the pinnacle court had consented to hear the supplication of Koda testing the survey board choice after his guidance said that the last date for documenting designation for the up and coming get together surveys was November 18. Koda was excluded by the survey board in September, 2017 for a long time from challenging races for neglecting to document subtleties of costs identified with the 2009 Lok Sabha surveys, which he won from the Singhbhum electorate of the state as an Independent up-and-comer.
Koda, an Independent MLA, filled in as the central clergyman of Jharkhand from 2006 to 2008. He has been indicted in a coal square designation trick case and has been given three-year prison term. He has likewise been charged in tax evasion cases enrolled by the Enforcement Directorate and lopsided resources case enlisted by the state cautiousness division.

He was first captured in 2009 from Chaibasa region of the state by the watchfulness division.....Read More

Keep the tribals happy: Forest-dwellers hold the key in Jharkhand elections

Election News
Tribals' disappointment with the moderate usage of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), which offers formal acknowledgment of woodland inhabitants' property rights, could be a central factor in more than 62 of the 81 Assembly bodies electorate in the Jharkhand state races, an autonomous research bunch said.
The examination depends on the way that the quantity of SC/ST voters qualified for land rights under the FRA was more than the edge of triumph in the last political race in 58 of the 62 seats considered FRA-delicate.
Almost 70% of the populace in voting demographics spread crosswise over Jharkhand — Chakradharpur, Gumla, Latehar and Simdega, for instance — have a place with the SC/ST class.
Dissecting the aftereffects of the 2014 Assembly decisions in these 62 bodies electorate, scientists reasoned that any ideological group that guaranteed successful execution of the FRA and different laws ensuring land privileges of tribals could vanquish the officeholder Bharatiya Janata Party.
The FRA, which became effective in 2006, is basic to the employments of in any event 3.8 million SC/ST voters in Jharkhand, 52% of 7.3 million voters, as indicated by the 2014 democratic insights.

Of the SC/ST voters, 75% (2.9 million) have a place with STs, discovered experts Tushar Shah and Archana Soreng, the two individuals from the NGO organize Community Forest Resource-Learning and Advocacy (CFR-LA), who led this examination autonomous of CFR-LA...Read More

India is 112th in WEF rankings on gender gap, Bangladesh does better

Election News
India is 112th among countries positioned regarding the hole among sexes, and it was among the last five for ladies' wellbeing and endurance and financial support, said a yearly overview on Tuesday.
Iceland remained the world's most unbiased nation on the World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Report. India descended the stepping stool from its 108th position a year ago to rank beneath nations like China (106th), Sri Lanka (102nd), Nepal (101st), Brazil (92nd), Indonesia (85th) and Bangladesh (50th).
Yemen is positioned the most noticeably awful (153rd), while Iraq is 152nd and Pakistan 151st. "The time it will take to close the sex hole limited to 99.5 years in 2019. While an enhancement for 2018 - – when the hole was determined to take 108 years to close - despite everything it implies equality among people crosswise over wellbeing, instruction, work and legislative issues will take in excess of a lifetime to accomplish," the WEF said.
Geneva-based WEF, a worldwide association for open private collaboration, said the current year's improvement can to a great extent be credited to a noteworthy increment in the quantity of ladies in governmental issues. The political sexual orientation hole will take 95 years to close, contrasted with 107 years a year ago. Around the world, ladies presently hold 25.2 percent of parliamentary lower-house seats and 21.2 percent of ecclesiastical positions, contrasted with 24.1 percent and 19 percent, individually a year ago.

Be that as it may, the financial open door hole has compounded, augmenting to 257 years, contrasted with 202 years a year ago. The report said probably the best challenge to shutting this hole is ladies' under-portrayal in rising jobs, for example, distributed computing, building and information and AI....Read More

Those involved in arson can be identified by their clothes: PM on CAB stir

Election News
Accusing the Congress and its allies of fuelling violence over the amended Citizenship Act, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the opposition's actions prove that the decision to pass the bill was "1,000 per cent correct", and those indulging in arson "can be identified by their clothes".
"The Congress and its allies are stoking fire over the Citizenship Act, but people of northeast have rejected violence," he said during an election rally here."The country is watching; people's faith has been cemented in Modi after the Bill was cleared by Parliament. Their (Opposition) actions reflect that the decision to pass Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Parliament is 1,000 per cent correct," the prime minister said.
Protests have been raging against the law in northeast and West Bengal, where several railway stations, trains and buses were set afire by mobs over the last two days."People who are setting fire (to property) can be seen on TV... They can be identified by the clothes they are wearing," he said without elaborating.
Condemning the overseas protests held by Congress, he said, "For the first time, the Congress did what Pakistanis has been doing for long."A large number of people had gathered outside the Indian High Commission in London on Saturday to protest the amended Act and what they branded as Modi government's "failures".

"You will be surprised at the events that had unfolded near the Indian High Commission in London after the verdict was announced on Ram Janmabhoomi and the abrogation of Article 370. People from Pakistan, those settled in London, had staged demonstrations outside our embassy," he said."Did any Indian stage demonstration near the Embassy? If there is any issue, a person goes to the Embassy, meets the officials, who then send the documents to the central government," Modi explained...Read More

Jharkhand polls: Phase-IV voting on Monday; 2 ministers' fate to be decided

Election News
The fate of state Labour Minister Raj Paliwar and Land and Revenue Minister Amar Kumar Bauri will be decided in the fourth phase of polling in Jharkhand on Monday.
BJP candidate Bauri will lock horns with NDA ally AJSU Party nominee Umakant Razzak in Chandankiyari seat while the saffron party's Paliwar will contest JMM candidate Hussain Ansari in Madhupur constituency.
Jharia seat will witness a direct fight between two women candidates of the same family.The BJP has nominated Ragini Singh, wife of sitting saffron party MLA Sanjeev Singh who is behind the bars in the murder case of his cousin Niraj Singh of the Congress.The Congress has fielded Niraj Singh's widow Purnima Niraj Singh in the seat.
A total of 47,85,009 electorate, including 22,44,134 women and 81 third gender voters, are eligible to cast their franchise in the 15 Assembly seats that are going to polls in the fourth of the five phases, state Chief Electoral Officer Vinay Kumar Choubey said on Sunday.A total of 221 candidates, including 23 women nominees, are in the fray in the elections.
The highest number of 25 candidates will lock horns in the Bokaro seat while the least number of eight nominees will contest the Nirsa constituency, he said.Voting will commence at 7 am and end at 3 pm at Jamua, Bagodar, Giridih, Dumri and Tundi seats while polling will continue till 5 pm in rest of the constituencies, Choubey said.

Polling will be held in Deoghar (SC), Jamua (SC), Chandankiyari (SC), Madhupur, Bagodar, Gandey, Giridih, Dumri, Bokaro, Sindri, Nirsa, Dhanbad, Jharia, Tundi and Baghmara constituencies spread across four districts of the state.Of the 6,101 polling stations, 4,296 are located in rural areas, the CEO said....Read More

Jharkhand election: Polling for penultimate phase begins

Election News
Polling for the fourth phase of the five-phased Jharkhand Assembly election began in 15 constituencies on Monday.
The voting began at 7 am, Election Commission (EC) officials said.
It will conclude at 3 pm at Jamua, Bagodar, Giridih, Dumri and Tundi, while for the rest of the seats, the voting will continue till 5 pm, they added.
The seats going to the polls in this round are Deoghar (SC), Jamua (SC), Chandankiyari (SC), Madhupur, Bagodar, Gandey, Giridih, Dumri, Bokaro, Sindri, Nirsa, Dhanbad, Jharia, Tundi and Baghmara, spread across four districts.
Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vinay Kumar Choubey on Sunday said armed forces were deployed in the Naxal-hit areas.
Of the 6,101 polling stations, 587 were "critical" and 405 "sensitive" in the Naxal-affected constituencies, while the non-Naxal-hit seats had 546 "critical" and 2,665 "sensitive" polling stations, he said.
A total of 47,85,009 voters, including 22,44,134 women and 81 third-gender voters, are eligible to decide the fate of 221 nominees, including 23 women candidates.As many as 34,106 voters were aged 80 years and above, while there were 66,321 differently-abled voters, the CEO said.

He said 2,504 wheelchairs and 4,039 volunteers will help the differently-abled voters, adding that a transport facility was being provided to bring them to the polling stations and drop them back.Webcasting facilities will be there in 2,122 polling stations, while 183 model polling stations were set up and only women personnel will conduct polling in 70 polling stations, the CEO said.More than one electronic voting machine (EVM) will be used in four Assembly constituencies as there are more than 16 candidates in these seats, he added....Read More

UK elections: Johnson headed for majority, Labour loses ground in heartland

Election News
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson looks set to return to 10 Downing Street with a comfortable majority and a victory for his Get Brexit Done message in the General Election based on forecasts as early results poured in on Friday.
The first sign of what the results held in store came with a definitive exit poll released at the close of voting at 2200 GMT on Thursday, which predicted the Johnson-led Conservative Party winning 368 seats, with the Labour Party way down at 191 in a predominantly Tory blue versus Labour red contest.
The forecast not only pegged the Tories way past the 326-mark required for the all-important majority in the 650-member House of Commons, but also meant Johnson's so-called divorce agreement struck with the European Union (EU) to take the UK out of the 28-member economic bloc set to be turbo-charged to go full speed ahead.
This has been a hard-fought election in a very cold time of the year because we needed a functioning Conservative majority, said Priti Patel, the senior-most Indian-origin minister in Johnson's last Cabinet, in response to the exit poll.We are committed to deliver on priorities and getting Brexit done is a priority. The deal is there, we want to move forward, she said.
The Opposition Labour Party, which looked set for one of its worst performances since 1935 as the so-called red wall of the party's heartlands towards the north of England looked set for significant knockdowns, conceded that voters seemed to have voted strongly on the basis of Brexit.

Brexit has dominated this election. If the results are anywhere near the exit polls, this is an extremely disappointing result, admitted Labour's shadow chancellor John McDonnell.The first couple of results were some relief for the Labour Party as its candidates clinched the traditionally held Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Central and Houghton and Sunderland South seats, albeit with reduced majority...Read More

'They want it': Trump approves US-China trade deal to halt Dec 15 tariffs

Election News
President Donald Trump signed off on a phase-one trade deal with China, averting the Dec. 15 introduction of a new wave of U.S. tariffs on about $160 billion of consumer goods from the Asian nation, according to people familiar with the matter.
The deal presented to Trump by trade advisers Thursday included a promise by the Chinese to buy more U.S. agricultural goods, according to the people. Officials also discussed possible reductions of existing duties on Chinese products, they said. The terms have been agreed but the legal text has not yet been finalized, the people said. A White House spokesperson declined to comment.
The administration has reached out to allies on Capitol Hill and in the business community to issue statements of support once the announcement is made, they said. Before meeting his trade advisers, Trump engaged with members of the Business Roundtable, which represents some of the largest U.S. companies, people said.
Global stocks hit a record high and bond yields climbed on optimism over trade. On Thursday, Trump tweeted that the U.S. and China are “VERY close” to signing a “BIG” trade deal, also sending equities higher. The yuan surged the most in a year.
“They want it, and so do we!” he tweeted five minutes after equity markets opened in New York, sending stocks to new records.

Trump changed his mind on deals with China before. Negotiators have been working on the terms of the phase-one deal for months after the president announced in October that the two nations had reached an agreement that could be put on paper within weeks.The U.S. has added a 25% duty on about $250 billion of Chinese products and a 15% levy on another $110 billion of its imports over the course of a roughly 20-month trade war...Read More