Dalit agitation death toll mounts

Agencies
April 3, 2018

New Delhi/Bhopal/Lucknow/Jaipir, Apr 3 : At least seven people were killed and many injured in violence on Monday as Dalit protesters went on a rampage during a nationwide bandh against the dilution of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

While five people were killed in cross-firing in Madhya Pradesh alone, one each died in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, according to officials there.

Curfew was imposed in several places and hundreds were detained.

Fifteen companies or 1,700 personnel of Rapid Action Force were rushed to UP, MP and Rajasthan. Two companies of the BSF were sent to Punjab.

Transport, mobile and internet services were hit in many states with over 100 trains getting affected due to protests.

Some states had ordered closure of educational institutions as a precaution.

Incidents of arson, firing and vandalism were reported from many states.

Appealing for peace, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the government was committed to ensuring the welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and guaranteeing them full protection of law. "I am deeply pained by the acts of violence and loss of precious lives in some parts of the country," he said.

In Madhya Pradesh, two died in Gwalior, two in Bhind and one in Morena.

Sources said that one person was killed in Muzaffarnagar in UP, when pro-bandh supporters opened fire while forcing closure of shops. Another person received bullet injuries and was admitted to the hospital, where his condition was stated to be critical.

Police detained nearly 400 people, including former BSP MLA from Meerut Yogesh Verma .

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath appealed for peace and urged the people not to vitiate law and order.

The CBSE has already postponed Class 12 and Class 10 examinations scheduled to be held on Monday in Punjab at the request of the state government.

The Supreme Court had on March 20 diluted certain provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, in a bid to protect 'honest' public servants discharging bona fide duties from being blackmailed with false cases under the Act.

Western UP districts having sizable Dalit population witnessed large scale violence.

Dozens of vehicles were torched in Muzaffarnagar, Meerut. They also attacked scribes and molested women, sources said.

BSP supremo Mayawati attributed the violence to ''outside criminal elements'' and asked the government to identify such people and punish them.

In Rajasthan, Pawan Kumar, a youth, died in police firing after protesters attacked a police station in Alwar and tried to set it ablaze. "A youth sucummbed to injuries. He along with other protestors had beaten up the police and were trying to burn the police station," N R K Reddy (ADG Law & Order) confirmed.

Meanwhile Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje appealed for peace in the state.

In Punjab, the Indo-Pak bus service too was hit. The Lahore-bound bus from Delhi was made to go off the road at Sirhind, while the Delhi-bound bus from Lahore was stopped at Amritsar.

In Gujarat, though there have been no reports of any loss of life or major incidents of violence, crowds stopped vehicules on highways and in the cities and got into scuffles with the police.

Comments

shaji
 - 
Tuesday, 3 Apr 2018

This shows utter failure of Central Govt.  Looting, arson, unrest, killing of innocents, destruction of publice + Govt properties etc is going on all over India and Central Govt is unable to control it.  The only thing it doing is rise in fuel prices to bring profit to business tycoons.  Govt should step down immedaitely taking moral responsibilities of death of scrores of innocents.  Goondas and Terrorists of sangh parivar are taking law in their own hand and POlice is silently watching it. Its really shame.  Its as if Police is supporting these terrorists. If this continues, i think economy of India will go down.  President should interfere and take necessary action.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

Mumbai, Jul 30: Counterfeiting incidents have increased 24 per cent in the country in 2019 over the previous year, creating an over Rs 1 lakh crore hole in the economy, according to a report.

The report also said counterfeiters are having a free run due to the pandemic-driven disruptions to organised supply chains and the resultant spike in consumer demand.

According to the report by ASPA, a self-regulated industry body of anti-counterfeiting and traceability solutions providers, counterfeiting has risen steadily in the last few years, and exploiting the pandemic as a cover for their activities.

Between February and April 2020, over 150 incidents of counterfeiting cases were reported, mostly about fake PPE kits, sanitisers and masks taking advantage of the high demand for these products, it noted.

"There was a 24 per cent increase in counterfeiting in 2019 over 2018, leading to the loss of more than Rs 1 lakh crore to the overall economy," said Nakul Pasricha, president of Authentication Solution Providers Association.

The association works with global authorities like the International Hologram Manufacturers Association, Counterfeit Intelligence Bureau of the Interpol, and domestic industry lobbies like Ficci, he said.

Counterfeiting is a universal issue and is 3.3 per cent of global trade, according to the OECD data, impacting social and economic development across the world.

The report lists the currency, FMCG, alcohol, pharma, documents, agriculture, infrastructure, automotive, tobacco, lifestyle and apparel, as the 10 sectors impacted most by counterfeiting.

Among these, currency, alcohol and FMCG continue to be the top three sectors with the highest counterfeiting in the last two years. The FMCG sector is most vulnerable, as counterfeit incidents rose 63 per cent between 2018 (79) and 2019 when the reported cases jumped to 129.

Within the states, the fakers have a free run in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bengal, Punjab, Jharkhand, Delhi, Gujarat, and Uttarakhand, calling for urgent actions to frame anti-counterfeiting policy measures.

According to the report, UP continues to be on top followed by Bihar, Rajasthan, and together these three states represent almost 45 per cent of all counterfeiting reported in the last two years.

What is more alarming is that counterfeiting is not limited to high-end luxury items today, as common everyday items as fake cumin seeds, mustard cooking oil, ghee, hair oils, soaps, baby care vaccines and medicines are aplenty in the markets.

"There is an urgent need for building and nurturing authentication ecosystems in the country with the active involvement and active participation of all stakeholders," said Pasricha.

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News Network
February 19,2020

Washington, Feb 19: US President Donald Trump has said he is "saving the big deal" with India for later and he "does not know" if it will be done before the presidential election in November, clearly indicating that a major bilateral trade deal during his visit to Delhi next week might not be on the cards.

"We can have a trade deal with India. But I'm really saving the big deal for later," he told reporters at Joint Base Andrews Tuesday afternoon (local time).

The US and India could sign a "trade package" during the visit, according to media reports.

Asked whether he expects a trade deal with India before the visit, Trump said, "We're doing a very big trade deal with India. We'll have it. I don't know if it'll be done before the election, but we'll have a very big deal with India."

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, the point-person for trade negotiations with India, is likely to not accompany Trump to India, sources said. However, officials have not ruled it out altogether.

In an apparent dissatisfaction over US-India trade ties, Trump said, "We're not treated very well by India." But he praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said he is looking forward to his visit to India.

"I happen to like Prime Minister Modi a lot," Trump said.

"He told me we'll have seven million people between the airport and the event. And the stadium, I understand, is sort of semi under construction, but it's going to be the largest stadium in the world. So it's going to be very exciting... I hope you all enjoy it," he told reporters.

Meanwhile, the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) in a report said the latest quarterly data depict continuation of overall positive bilateral trade trends. The third quarter data reflects some downslide in growth rates.

"It may be due to several reasons, including the unexpected economic slowdown in India's economic growth, impact of US-China trade war, GSP withdrawal from the US side and retaliatory tariffs on specific US goods from the Indian side," USISPF said.

According to the report, the data available for the first three quarters of 2019 (January-September) pulled the overall growth rate in cumulative bilateral trade down to 4.5 percent from 8.4 percent registered for the first two quarters.

Goods and services trade performance in third quarter was dismal at -2.3 percent, in contrast with the impressive 9.6 percent growth witnessed for the first two quarters of the year; while trade in services was up two percent goods trade dropped five percent, the report said.

The cumulative US-India trade in goods and services (USD 110.9 billion) for the first three quarters of 2019 increased 4.5 percent with US exports and imports growing at four percent and five percent respectively.

The US exported USD 45.3 billion worth of goods and services to India in the first three quarters 2019, up 4 percent from the corresponding period in the previous year; and the US imported USD 65.6 billion worth of goods and services from India, up five percent from the previous year's USD 62.5 billion level for the same period, it said.

The USISPF has projected that the total bilateral trade can touch USD 238 billion by 2025 if the current 7.5 percent average annual rate of growth sustains; however, higher growth rates can result in bilateral trade in the range of USD 283 billion and USD 327 billion.

The US remains the top trading partner for India in terms of trade in goods and services, followed by China. While the bilateral trade between US and India is approximately 62 percent in goods and 38 percent in services, the bilateral trade between India and China is dominated by goods.

China had a huge trade surplus of USD 58 billion with India, indicating Beijing's strength in the Indian market, especially in sectors, such as electronics, machinery, organic chemicals, plastics and medical devices.

The US goods exports to India, in comparison, were mainly concentrated in mineral fuels, precious stones, and aircraft. The US faces tough competition with China in the Indian market in areas such as electronics, machinery, organic chemicals and medical devices.

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Agencies
April 23,2020

New Delhi, Apr 23: With an increase of 1,229 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the total number of cases reached 21,700, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday.

The tally is inclusive of 16,689 active cases, 4,325 patients have been cured/discharged and migrated, while 686 patients who have died due to the deadly virus.

According to the ministry's data, Maharashtra is on the top of the list with most COVID-19 cases, 5,652 cases of which 789 patients have recovered and 269 patients succumbing to coronavirus.

Gujarat and Delhi are second and third on the list respectively with Gujarat having 2407 cases of which 179 patients have recovered and 103 deaths. Meanwhile, in Delhi, the tally stands at 2248 cases of which 724 patients have recovered and 49 patients have died from COVID-19.

Rajasthan's tally stands at 1,890 cases with 230 patients cured while 27 deaths have been reported as of Thursday.

Madhya Pradesh has 1695 cases of which 148 patients have recovered and 81 deaths reported. Tamil Nadu, on the other hand, stands with 1629 cases of which 662 patients have recovered and 18 have died due to the deadly virus.

Goa has seven cases reported of which all seven patients have recovered from the coronavirus.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on April 14, that the nationwide lockdown would be extended to May 3.

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