Emergency meet to discuss Jet Airways crisis

Employees of cash-starved Jet Airways alleged that non-payment of salaries had adversely affected their psychological condition, which may put the safety of the airline’s flight operations at risk. In a communication to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the Jet Airways Aircraft Maintenance Engineers’ Association (JAMEWA) sought the aviation regulator’s intervention in recovering the dues. Jet Airways’ engineers, pilots and senior management have not been paid for January and February, besides 87.5 per cent of their December salary is also due. Meanwhile, civil aviation minister Suresh Prabhu has called for an emergency meeting to discuss the issue as Jet Airways struggles to make payments to its creditors and has been forced to cancel flights.

Net direct tax collection crosses Rs 10 trillion

The net direct tax collection figure has crossed the Rs 10 lakh crore mark as on March 16. The collection during April-January of this fiscal stood at Rs 7.89 lakh crore as against Rs 12 lakh crore targeted for the entire fiscal of 2018-19. The government had earlier estimated the mop up from direct tax collection at Rs 11.5 lakh crore, which was revised upwards by Rs 50,000 crore in the Interim Budget for 2019-20. The government has been putting on a brave face on meeting the direct tax collection target. In the Budget, it revised customs collection target from Rs 1.12 lakh crore to Rs 1.30 lakh crore. The GST collection is pegged at Rs 6.43 lakh crore for 2018-19, which is lower than the targeted Rs 7.43 lakh crore. But the GST collection is expected to increase to Rs 7.61 lakh crore.

Pramod Sawant sworn in as Goa CM

Goa Speaker Pramod Sawant was sworn in as the new chief minister of the coastal state just before 2 am on March 19, capping a day of hectic parleys between the BJP and its allies. After multiple postponements of the oath-taking ceremony on March 18, the day when his predecessor Manohar Parrikar was cremated with state honours, Sawant was sworn in by Governor Mridula Sinha at the Raj Bhavan. Sinha administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 46-year-old MLA from Sankhalim in North Goa. The governor also administered oath to 11 other ministers, including those from the BJP’s allies Goa Forward Party (GFP) and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP).

‘Agri revolution key to 9-10% GDP growth’

India cannot achieve 9-10 per cent GDP growth without revolution in the farm sector, said NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant. He said there is a need to boost investment in the agriculture sector as well as to introduce new technology and market reforms. Kant also stressed on scrapping Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee and some old laws such as Essential Commodities Act, which restrict movement of farm produce. However, he said agriculture is a state subject and the Centre has limited role in it. “In India, 50 per cent of our population is dependent on agriculture. If India’s GDP has to grow at 9-10 per cent for the next 30 years, then it cannot be without bringing revolution in the agri sector,” he said.

Abducted Indian engineer returns home

Ten months after being kidnapped in Afghanistan’s Baghlan province, one of the seven Indians has returned to India, the foreign ministry said. It said India continued to work closely with the Afghan government for the safe and early return of the remaining six people. The seven Indian engineers were kidnapped by the Taliban in the restive northern Baghlan province on May 6. India has been requesting the Afghan government to secure their release. The engineers were working on a project for the construction of a power sub-station and were kidnapped by the Taliban from the vicinity of Cheshma-e-Sher. India has been carrying reconstruction activities in Afghanistan and has provided at least $2 billion aid to the war-torn country.

India’s fuel demand rose 3.8 per cent in Feb

India’s fuel demand rose 3.8 per cent in February as free cooking gas connections spurred LPG consumption, while petrol and diesel use continued to rise. Fuel consumption in February totalled 17.41 million tonnes as compared to 16.77 million tonnes in the same month last year, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell of the oil ministry showed. Consumption rose for the third month in a row as ensuing general elections are likely to spike demand further. With retail prices moderating, petrol consumption soared 8 per cent to 2.25 million tonnes while the government push to give every household a cooking gas connection led to LPG demand spiking by 14.2 per cent to 2.2 million tonnes. Diesel saw consumption rise by 2.7 per cent to 6.7 million tonnes.

Centre gives nod for a slew of name changes

The Centre has given its consent for changing the name of a village in Nagaland, taking to 22 the number of name-change proposals, including those of towns and railway stations, to be cleared in the past year. After the home ministry’s go-ahead, the ODL Mangkhi village in Tuensang district of Nagaland will be known as Mungankhun village. The Centre has given its no-objection to renaming of 22 villages, towns and railway stations since December 2017. Among the 22 cleared proposals are Arikkod as Areekode in Malappuram (Kerala); Laxman Garh (Adawala) as Adawala in Rajasamand (Rajasthan); Landgewadi as Narsinhagaon in Sangali (Maharashtra); Samphur as Sanphure in Kiphire (Nagaland) and Pindari as PanduPindara in Jind (Haryana).

HC stays order holding EVM as ‘information’

The Delhi High Court has stayed an order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) which held that electronic voting machines (EVMs) fall within the definition of ‘information’ under the RTI Act. Justice V.K. Rao sought the response of the CIC and an applicant, who had sought access to an EVM maintained by the Election Commission (EC) under the RTI Act, on a plea filed by the poll panel. The EC had filed a petition challenging the CIC’s February 12 order holding that the EVM, which is available with the EC in a material form, is an information under the RTI Act. Advocates representing the EC said that EVM does not fall under the scope of the RTI Act, which is primarily concerned with documentary records and representative models.

UK court issues warrant against Nirav Modi

In response to a request by the Enforcement Directorate for Nirav Modi’s extradition in a money laundering case, officials said that a London court has issued an arrest warrant against the fugitive diamantaire. They said the investigative agency has been recently informed about the issuance of the warrant by the Westminster Magistrate Court against Modi and he is expected to be put under formal arrest by the London Metropolitan police soon. Modi, 48, is accused of siphoning Rs 13,500 crore from Punjab National Bank through fraudulent letters of undertaking and letters of credit in connivance with his uncle Mehul Choksi and bank officials. Modi and Choksi left India before the details of the fraud came to light in January 2018.

Speaker nixes third vote on May’s deal

Embattled British Prime Minister Theresa May’s crisis over Brexit has worsened as House of Commons Speaker John Bercow disallowed any attempt to hold a third vote on her withdrawal agreement with the EU which has already been voted down by MPs twice. Bercow ruled that he would not allow another vote on the government motion if it remained “substantially the same” after it was defeated by a huge 230-vote margin in January and a smaller 149-vote margin last week. He said parliamentary conventions dating back to 1604 meant MPs could not be asked to vote on precisely the same subject twice, indicating that he had allowed the second vote as the government had claimed some changes to the controversial Irish backstop clause offered an improved deal for Britain's exit from the EU.

Cyclone Idai death toll could hit 1,000

The number of people killed in a powerful storm and preceding floods in Mozambique could exceed 1,000, the president said on March 18, putting the potential death toll greatly more than current figures. Eighty-four deaths have been confirmed so far in Mozambique as a result of Cyclone Idai, which has also left a trail of death and destruction across Zimbabwe and Malawi, with vast areas of land flooded, roads destroyed and communication wiped out. Speaking on Radio Mocambique, President Filipe Nyusi said he had flown over the affected region, where two rivers had overflowed. Villages had disappeared, he said, and bodies were floating in the water. “Everything indicates that we can register more than 1,000 deaths,” he said.

China eyes partners to fund BRI projects

Ahead of its planned second forum to promote the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China has announced plans to seek global partners to join the project that drew criticism over its predatory loans leaving smaller countries in huge debt. China will be holding the second Belt and Road Forum (BRF) in April, which Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated would be bigger than the one held in 2017. India boycotted the first BRF meeting over its objections that the BRI flagship project, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), traversed through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Newsmakers

A Myanmar court has sentenced prominent ethnic Rakhine leader Aye Maung to 20 years in jail for treason, a verdict likely to intensify anger amid fighting between the ethnic group and the army. Maung, the former chairman of the Arakan National Party, was sentenced over an allegedly inflammatory speech made in January 2018.

The annual Templeton Prize, which recognises outstanding contributions to “affirming life’s spiritual dimension”, was awarded to Brazilian Marcelo Gleiser - a theoretical physicist dedicated to demonstrating science and religion are not enemies. Gleiser joins Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama and dissident Soviet author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn as recipients of the prize, first awarded in 1973.