Faizabad district is now Ayodhya

UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath rechristened Faizabad district after Ram’s Ayodhya—a move seen as meant to compensate for the delay in the construction of the temple and thicken the saffron coating on the BJP’s plans for next year’s Lok Sabha polls.

The chief minister also announced the setting up of a new airport to be named after Ram and a medical college in the name of his father, Dashrath, in Ayodhya district. So far, Ayodhya has been a town in Faizabad district. The Yogi government had given a peep into its plan last year when it upgraded Faizabad municipal board to a municipal corporation and named it Ayodhya Municipal Corporation.

Yogi scaled up the Deepawali celebrations in the city. He said he has more plans for the city, especially one for cleaning up Saryu river. “Every time I come to Ayodhya, the seers say that the drains falling into the Saryu should be stopped. Under Namami Gange, money has been sanctioned to ensure that drains in Faizabad and Ayodhya will not fall into Saryu,” he said.

“We want to develop Ramji’s Paidi on the lines of Hariji’s Paidi in Haridwar. Along with developing Ramji’s Paidi, we are also carrying out other programmes. In the coming days, Ayodhya will be developed even further. We are also making a new medical college. It will be named after Raja Dashrath. We are also making an airport here. It will be named after Maryada Purushottam Bhagwan Ram,” he said.

Lord Ram loomed larger over the Deepotsav celebrations the Yogi government launched last year. The PM was present at the Queen Hu memorial where Korean First Lady laid the foundation of a grand memorial for the Queen of Korea who, according to legend, belonged to Ayodhya.

PM Narendra Modi tweeted: “It is a matter of immense joy and pride that Mrs. Kim Jungsook, First Lady of the Republic of Korea visited Ayodhya and also wore traditional Indian clothing. The people of India deeply appreciate this gesture. @moonriver365.” “Ayodhya and South Korea have an ancient link. This link forms the cornerstone of historical and civilisational bonds between India and the Republic of Korea. @moonriver365,” he said.

Services PMI Up : October 2018

Buoyed by new business orders, India’s services sector activity expanded at the quickest pace in three months in October.

The Nikkei/IHS Markit Services Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 52.2 in October from 50.9 in September, driving the rate of job creation to the second-strongest in over seven and-a-half years, surpassed only in April this year A print above 50 means expansion, while a score below that denotes contraction. October marked fifth successive month of expansion.

The PMI services activity index is based on a survey of purchasing executives of more than 400 service providers divided into five categories: consumer services, transport & storage, information & communication, financial & insurance and real estate & business services.

Growth in business activity was recorded in three of the five monitored categories and led by information & communication. Declines were evident at finance & insurance and real estate & business services companies.

A sister survey last week showed strengthening manufacturing activity in October, improving the Composite PMI Output Index from 51.6 in September to 53 in October.

Improved order flows supported the pick-up in output amid favourable market conditions, greater client bases and fruitful advertising.

On the job front, Indian service providers continued to add to their payrolls and the sector witnessed the secondstrongest increase in employment since March 2011.

Anecdotal evidence indicated that hiring was boosted by greater levels of new business and improved demand conditions. Employment increased in all sub-sectors bar finance & insurance where a slight reduction was seen. The upturn was led by information & communication.

On the prices front, cost-inflationary pressures eased, resulting in a softer increase in selling prices.

India’s N-triad operational

India’s long-awaited nuclear triad, or the capability to fire nuclear weapons from land, air and sea, is now finally operational almost five decades after it was first conceived for credible strategic deterrence and 20 years after the Pokhran-II tests.

PM Modi announced that the country’s first indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant had successfully completed its “first deterrence patrol”, which signifies the underwater predator has undertaken its maiden long range mission with “live” nuclear-tipped missiles. “In an era such as this, a credible nuclear deterrence is the need of the hour. The success of INS Arihant gives a fitting response to those who indulge in nuclear blackmail,” the PM tweeted, in a fairly unambiguous message to Pakistan. The over a month-long patrol by INS Arihant (which means annihilator of enemies), armed with the 750-km range K-15 missiles, incidentally, comes at a time when a Chinese submarine is once again prowling the Indian Ocean Region.

China has deployed at least eight submarines, alternating between nuclear and conventional diesel-electric boats, in the IOR under the guise of anti-piracy patrols since December 2013. While INS Arihant’s missiles are dwarfed by the over 5,000-km range submarine-launched ballistic missiles present with the US, Russia and China, Modi had Pakistan in mind when he said the N-submarine was a counter to nuclear blackmail.

India for long has had the land-based Agni missiles, with the over 5,000-km Agni-V inter-continental ballistic missile in the process of being inducted, and fighter jets juryrigged to deliver N-weapons.

But INS Arihant gives it much more nuclear teeth and credibility. The triad’s underwater leg in the shape of nuclear-powered submarines armed with ballistic missiles, called SSBNs in naval parlance, is considered to be the most secure, survivable and potent platform for retaliatory strikes. This is especially required for a country like India with a declared “no first-use” nuclear policy. Unlike land-based missiles and fighter-bombers that can conceivably be destroyed in pre-emptive enemy strikes, SSBNs can remain undetected in deep seas for months at end. The endurance of SSBNs is only limited by the physical and mental endurance of their crews. Conversely, it is far easier to detect conventional submarines because they have to surface or “snorkel” every few days to get oxygen to re-charge their diesel-electric batteries.

“Today is historic because it marks the completion of the successful establishment of the nuclear triad. India’s nuclear triad will be an important pillar of global peace and stability,” said Modi. “True to its name, INS Arihant will protect the 130 crore Indians from external threats and contribute to the atmosphere of peace in the region,” he added. The PM went on to congratulate the crew and “all involved in the achievement which puts India among a handful of countries having the capability to design, construct and operate SSBNs”.

India is building far bigger nuclear submarines with longer-range missiles than a “baby boomer” like INS Arihant, which is propelled by an 83 MW pressurised light-water reactor at its core, under the secretive Rs.90,000 crore ATV (advanced technology vessel) programme. INS Arighat, the second SSBN under-construction at the ship-building centre at Vizag, was “launched” in November last year and is slated to become operational by 2020.

Hyperloop declared a public infra project

The Pune-Mumbai Hyperloop project being executed by the Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority has been declared a public infrastructure project by the state government.

The state had issued a government resolution in this regard. The original project proponent — the consortium of DP World FZE and Hyperloop Technologies Inc — will publish a detailed project report, which can be challenged by other bidders under the ‘Swiss Challenge’ method to be implemented under the Maharashtra Infrastructure Development Enabling Authority Act, which was passed in March this year.

PMRDA commissioner Kiran Gitte said this move will help expedite clearances for land and other technical matters. Under Swiss Challenge, any bidder that submits a bid 10% better than the original will bag. Gitte said the Maharashtra government was the first in the country to declare Hyperloop an infrastructure project.

PMRDA officials said the audit firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers has been appointed the transactional adviser to help implement the project. PwC has been tasked with checking the economic, legal and project viability, and also assist the PMRDA in implementing the project.

Now that the project is a public infrastructure project, the central government will have to decide under which Act this project will fall. The Centre will also decide whether or not amendments can be made to the Metro Act. The safety features of the project will be examined by Niti Aayog.

“Once the bidder is finalized, the first step will be to construct the 11.4 km demonstration track from Gahunje to Ozarde,” an official said.

Avni shot dead

T1, the elusive “maneater” of Pandharkawda, known to locals and wildlife lovers as Avni, lost over a year’s battle of survival on Friday night. The tigress’s end came mired in controversy over violation of protocols.

The five-year-old big cat was shot dead around 11 pm by Hyderabad-based sharpshooter Shafath Ali Khan’s son Asghar, allegedly without making any effort to tranquillise the animal.

Also, Asghar did not have the permission to shoot Avni. The orders issued by A K Misra, principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife), were in the name of his father and wildlife veterinarian M Navin Kumar.

Neither Shafath Ali Khan nor Navin Kumar was present at the spot. In fact, there was no veterinarian or any senior forest officer with the hunting team. Kumar, reportedly, was never seen during the entire two month-long hunt.

T1 was blamed for killing 13 villagers, though there are four tigers in the “problem area”. There is no scientific evidence that T1 killed all 13.

On Friday, when news came of T1’s presence in compartment number 149 in Borati nullah, Asghar, along with four forest department field staffers, reached the spot and shot the tigress dead. Yavatmal CCF PG Rahurkar claimed, “Asghar fired a dart first. Then he shot T1 in self-defence as it charged on the team seated in an open Gypsy.”

Rahurkar, however, could not justify how a “tranquillising attempt” was made in the night, which is against the National Tiger Conservation Authority protocol which states that darting should be done only after sunrise and before sunset. The team should have followed the big cat and waited for sunrise before attempting any action, according to the protocol.

The CCF confirmed that there was no wildlife vet or any senior forest officer with the team, but avoided comment on how the “schedule drug” to sedate T1 was handled, that too without a registered and authorised vet, under the Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1984. Sources who were part of the team filing T1’s spot panchnama said it looked as if the dart was manually pierced into the tigress’s body “ostensibly to show that it was tranquillised before being shot”. They said, “There was not a single scratch mark on the body. The bullet had pierced the heart and lungs, killing the tigress on the spot.”

PCCF Misra claimed, “T1 was sighted by many passersby as Friday was a bazaar day. A team led by Asghar was stationed there and it sighted the animal several times. When team member Sheikh Mukhbir shot the dart, the animal charged at the team. Hence, she was shot by Asghar from 8-10 metres in self-defence.”

The department has ordered a probe into the episode after the controversy, Rahurkar said. “Statements of team members are being recorded,” he added.

The sources said the two 10-month-old cubs of T1are said to be in Borati area. As of now, there is no concrete plan to capture them. “The forest department violated its own order upheld by the high court and the Supreme Court, which stated that tranquillising efforts would be made first. However, during the last two months of operation, not a single attempt was made to dart the tigress,” Karnataka veterinary expert Prayag H S said, adding, “Only forensic and ballistic tests can reveal the truth.”

PMRDA proposes to extend Metro line till Hadapsar

The PMRDA has proposed to extend the 23 km Hinjewadi-Shivajinagar Metro line till Hadapsar, for which the chief minister’s nod is expected in the next month. “In view of the increasing citizens’ demand for connecting the two industrial hubs, Hinjewadi and Hadapsar, we have decided to extend the Metro line. The elevated Metro line up to Hadapsar was initially proposed by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation in their survey. We have decided to implement it as per the passenger survey and feasibility,” PMRDA commissioner Kiran Gitte said.

The Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority expects the chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the PMRDA chief, to formally approve the proposal in the next month. “The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is preparing a detailed project report (DPR) for it,” Gitte said.

The PMRDA had appointed DMRC as DPR consultant for the Hinjewadi Metro in 2015, which had suggested that the line be extended till Hadapsar to achieve the targeted ridership for the Hinjewadi Metro. “This was approved by the PMRDA in December 2016,” the official said.

On April 26 this year, the PMRDA resolved to prepare the DPR of the extended 11.8 km Metro line from Shivajinagar to Hadapsar. “The entire project should be commissioned and put to service within the next four years. While the present Hinjewadi-Shivajinagar line will have 23 stations, there will be additional 12 stations between Shivajinagar and Hadapsar. The integration of the other two metro lines being implemented by the Maha-Metro will be at the Shivajinagar Civil court,” a PMRDA official said.

With the extended Metro line, the cost of the project will also rise. “Considering the average cost of Rs.260 crore for every kilometre of Metro line, the extended line will cost around Rs.3,000 crore more,” the official said.

For the first phase, the tenders have been approved for the implementing agency. “We will have to decide on the implementing agency for the extended Metro line. If the same bidder wishes to continue, they will be allowed to carry out the project,” the official said.

The PMRDA has handed out 4.7 hectare in Balewadi for commercial monetization to the bidder so that the proceeds can be utilized for the project. While another 18 hectare was given in Mann, of which 30% has been allowed for monetization, while the remaining 70% has been earmarked typically for car maintenance. “Another shed is expected to come up at Hadapsar and talks are on with the MIDC,” the official added.

Presently, the PMRDA is conducting geo-technical investigation at several locations along the existing route, among other surveys. For the entire process 57 cars will be utilized for the entire route as initially only six cars with three coaches were planned. “We have planned three cars that will operate every 2.5 minutes and will cater to 30,000 passengers in one direction in an hour” the official said.

PM promises loans for small businesses in less than 1 hour

PM Narendra Modi unveiled a 12-point action plan for micro, small and medium enterprises—including subsidised loans, higher procurement and easier labour and green rules —as he sought to address the concerns of small businesses, many of whom have been critical of demonetisation and the goods and services tax.

The outreach comes against the backdrop of a credit crunch, sluggish manufacturing activity and increased competition from imports, especially from China. The announcements have political implications, too, as the Centre looks to counter opposition attacks that jobs have not grown, ahead of the state and 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

In this age of globalisation, the 12-point action plan will strengthen micro, small and medium enterprises and help write a new chapter for them,” Modi said, announcing the measures he described as “Diwali gifts” for the sector, which is the largest employer after farming.

In the action plan, the provision for a 2% interest subsidy for new or incremental loans of up to Rs.1 crore taken by MSME units through a new portal that promises to approve loans in 59 minutes is seen to be most significant. There will be an additional 2% subsidy for small exporters for pre- and post-shipment credit, the PM announced in what was seen as an attempt to boost exports and bridge the current account deficit to ease pressure on the rupee that has depreciated around 15% in 2018.

The subsidy — which came with steps to ease cash flow due to payments held up with large buyers — is seen as a move to address credit woes of small businesses that have been adversely impacted by the liquidity crunch in the system after IL&FS defaulted on repayment and banks and mutual funds became wary of lending to the sector.

Apart from credit, the bouquet of steps focused on enhanced market access for which the government has decided to tap public sector companies and government departments. As part of the scheme, PSUs have been asked to procure 25% of their goods from small enterprises, instead of 20% at present, with a new quota of 3% purchases introduced for women entrepreneurs. Similarly, Modi asked all state-run firms to register on the government e-marketplace, or GeM, the online procurement platform for government agencies, and also get their vendors to register.