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Oppn stalls RS on Gaza issue, House adjourned twice

July 18, 2014

Gaza issueNew Delhi, Jul 18: A vociferous opposition led by Congress and Left parties today stalled proceedings in Rajya Sabha during Question Hour demanding immediate discussion on killings of innocent women and children in Gaza.

While the government said it was ready for a discussion on the issue on Monday, the Opposition wanted it to be held immediately, leading to two adjournments till noon.

Soon after the House mourned the death of 298 passengers in a Malaysian airline crash in Ukraine, Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) said a similar reference on the killing of innocent people in Gaza should have come from the Chair.

"United Nations has done it. We are a member of UN," he said, adding that according to the UN, 75 per cent of those killed are civilians. 46 per cent ofthose killed are women and children and 12 per cent are below 5 years of age.

On humanitarian grounds, a reference must be made from the Chair, he pleaded.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Prakash Javedkar said while the issue of a reference on the killings in Gaza was a matter between Yechury and the Chair, the government is ready for discussion on Gaza on Monday.

"We are ready for discussion on Monday. On Monday at 12.00 O'Clock the discussion will take place," he said.

This did not satisfy the Opposition benches which said the discussion could be taken up today and the External Affairs Minister can reply on Monday.

Pramod Tiwari (Cong) asked why the government was running away from a discussion.

Citing the unanimous resolution passed by Parliament condemning US attack on Iraq during Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, Yechury said India has strategic relations with United States and yet the issue was discussed and a resolution passed.

"Our opinion should be recorded. Please do not delay it further," he said. "Allow discussion now and let the Minister reply on Monday," he said.

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government has agreed for a discussion on Monday and hence the Question Hour should be allowed today.

Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said there was small gap between what the Opposition benches were demanding and what the government has agreed to. "Let us bridge this gap," he said.

This did not satisfy the Opposition members who kept demanding a discussion today itself. Kurien then adjourned the House for 15 minutes.

When the House met again, similar scenes were witnessed with Congress, SP and Left parties demanding that a discussion on the Gaza be taken up today.

As Kurien took up the first listed question, Opposition members led by Yechury and Anand Sharma (Cong) shouted "no, no".

As Kurien's plea for order in the House and taking up of Question Hour went unheeded, he adjourned the House till noon.

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Oppn stalls RS on Gaza issue, House adjourned twice

New Delhi, Jul 18: A vociferous opposition led by Congress and Left parties today stalled proceedings in Rajya Sabha during Question Hour demanding immediate discussion on killings of innocent women and children in Gaza.

While the government said it was ready for a discussion on the issue on Monday, the Opposition wanted it to be held immediately, leading to two adjournments till noon.

Soon after the House mourned the death of 298 passengers in a Malaysian airline crash in Ukraine, Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) said a similar reference on the killing of innocent people in Gaza should have come from the Chair.

"United Nations has done it. We are a member of UN," he said, adding that according to the UN, 75 per cent of those killed are civilians. 46 per cent ofthose killed are women and children and 12 per cent are below 5 years of age.

On humanitarian grounds, a reference must be made from the Chair, he pleaded.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Prakash Javedkar said while the issue of a reference on the killings in Gaza was a matter between Yechury and the Chair, the government is ready for discussion on Gaza on Monday.

"We are ready for discussion on Monday. On Monday at 12.00 O'Clock the discussion will take place," he said.

This did not satisfy the Opposition benches which said the discussion could be taken up today and the External Affairs Minister can reply on Monday.

Pramod Tiwari (Cong) asked why the government was running away from a discussion.

Citing the unanimous resolution passed by Parliament condemning US attack on Iraq during Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, Yechury said India has strategic relations with United States and yet the issue was discussed and a resolution passed.

"Our opinion should be recorded. Please do not delay it further," he said. "Allow discussion now and let the Minister reply on Monday," he said.

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government has agreed for a discussion on Monday and hence the Question Hour should be allowed today.

Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said there was small gap between what the Opposition benches were demanding and what the government has agreed to. "Let us bridge this gap," he said.

This did not satisfy the Opposition members who kept demanding a discussion today itself. Kurien then adjourned the House for 15 minutes.

When the House met again, similar scenes were witnessed with Congress, SP and Left parties demanding that a discussion on the Gaza be taken up today.

As Kurien took up the first listed question, Opposition members led by Yechury and Anand Sharma (Cong) shouted "no, no".

As Kurien's plea for order in the House and taking up of Question Hour went unheeded, he adjourned the House till noon.

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News Network
January 17,2020

New Delhi, Jan 17: A Delhi court Friday issued fresh death warrants for February 1, 6 am against the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case.

Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora was hearing a plea by one of the four death row convicts in the case, Mukesh Kumar Singh, seeking postponement of the date of his execution scheduled for January 22.

Earlier in the day, the Tihar jail authorities sought issuance of fresh death warrants against the four convicts.

Public Prosecutor Irfan Ahmed told the court that Mukesh's mercy plea was rejected by President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday.

The 23-year-old paramedic student, referred to as Nirbhaya, was gang-raped and brutally assaulted on the intervening night of December 16-17, 2012 inside a moving bus in south Delhi by six persons before being thrown out on the road.

She died on December 29, 2012, at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

New Delhi, Jul 30: India's gold demand in 2020 is expected to fall to the lowest level in 26 years with domestic bullion prices hitting a record high and as falling disposable incomes could curtail retail purchases, the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Thursday.

Lower demand by the world's second-biggest bullion consumer could limit a rally in global prices, which hit a record high earlier this month, although it could also reduce India's trade deficit and support the ailing rupee.

"Fast rising gold prices could act as headwinds," said Somasundaram PR, the managing director of WGC's Indian operations.

Local gold futures have jumped 35% so far this year after rising a quarter in 2019.

India's gold consumption in the first half of 2020 plunged 56% on-year to 165.6 tonnes. Meanwhile, the coronavirus-triggered lockdown also slashed demand by 70% in the June quarter to 63.7 tonnes, the lowest in more than a decade, the WGC said in a report published on Thursday.

Millions of Indians have lost their jobs or taken a pay cut after the country imposed a lockdown on its 1.3 billion people to curb the spread of the virus that has infected more than 1.5 million Indians.

Consumption is generally high during the June quarter due to weddings and key festivals such as Akshaya Tritiya, but lockdown restrictions kept shoppers indoors this year.

The weak demand in the first half could drag down India's gold consumption in 2020 to the lowest since 1994, when demand stood at 415 tonnes, Somasundaram said, adding that it is still difficult to provide an estimate for full-year demand as the coronavirus crisis is still unfolding.

"Indian demand has previously jumped as much as 300 tonnes in a quarter. Latent demand could come out in the second half," Somasundaram said.

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News Network
May 4,2020

Munbai/New Delhi, May 4: India expects bad debts at its banks could double after the coronavirus crisis brought the economy to a sudden halt, a senior government official and four top bankers said.

Indian banks are already grappling with 9.35 trillion rupees ($123 billion) of soured loans, which was equivalent to about 9.1% of their total assets at the end of September 2019.

"There is a considered view in the government that bank non-performing assets (NPAs) could double to 18-20% by the end of the fiscal year, as 20-25% of outstanding loans face a risk of default," the official with direct knowledge of the matter said.

A fresh surge in bad debt could hit credit growth and delay India's recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

"These are unprecedented times and the way it's going we can expect banks to report double the amount of NPAs from what we've seen in earlier quarters," the finance head of a top public sector bank told Reuters.

The official and bankers declined to be named as they were not officially authorized to discuss the matter with media.

India's finance ministry declined to comment, while the Reserve Bank of India and Indian Banks' Association, the main industry body, did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

The Indian economy has ground to a standstill amid a 40-day nationwide lockdown to rein in the spread of coronavirus cases.

The lockdown has now been extended by a further two weeks, but the government has begun to ease some restrictions in districts that are relatively unscathed by the virus.

India has so far recorded nearly 40,000 cases of the coronavirus and more than 1,300 deaths from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.

'RIDING THE TIGER'

Bankers fear it is unlikely that the economy will fully open up before June or July, and loans, especially those to small- and medium-sized businesses which constitute nearly 20% of overall credit, may be among the worst affected.

This is because all 10 of India's largest cities fall in high-risk red zones, where restrictions will remain stringent.

A report by Axis Bank said that these red zones, which contribute significantly to India's economy, account for roughly 83% of the overall loans made by its banks as of December.

One of the sources, an executive director of a public sector bank, said that economic growth had been sluggish and risks had been heightened, even ahead of the coronavirus crisis.

"Now we have this Black Swan event which means without any meaningful government stimulus, the economy will be in tatters for several more quarters," he said.

McKinsey & Co last month forecast India's economy could contract by around 20% in the three months through June, if the lockdown was extended to mid-May, and growth in the fiscal year was likely to fall 2% to 3%.

Bankers say the only way to stem the steep rise in bad loans is if the RBI significantly relaxes bad asset recognition rules.

Banks have asked the central bank to allow all loans to be categorized as NPAs only after 180 days, which is double the current 90-day window.

"The lockdown is like riding the tiger, once we get off it we'll be in a difficult position," a senior private sector banker said.

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