Demonetization took India forward by 3 years – SBI

The demonetization of currency notes late last year has doubled the number of card transactions and helped push India’s payment digitisation by three years, State Bank of India said in a note. “Even after seven months post demonetization, the transaction value is quite large and approximately double of what it had been corresponding month last […]

Demonetization hits real estate builder prices, but not resale flats – report

Demonetization of 500- and 1000-rupee notes hurt the real estate sector in North India, while its impact on the sector in South India was negligible, according to Magicbricks’ PropIndex for Jan-March 2017. The report, brought out by the eponymous real estate classifieds site, also found that the builders were more willing to reduce prices in the aftermath of […]

Supreme Court dismisses Center’s reasons for not appointing Lokpal

The Supreme Court has dismissed the government of India’s stand that it cannot appoint the Lokpal as there was no leader of the opposition. The court’s decision came on a bunch of petitions seeking the appointment of a Lokpal is likely to lead to the first ever appointment of an anti-corruption ombudsman in the country. […]

Mayank Gandhi delivers scathing message to Arvind Kejriwal

[polldaddy poll=9732930] Former compatriot and head of Aam Aadmi Party Maharashtra, Mayank Gandhi has assailed Arvind Kejriwal in an acerbic letter that traces the AAP leader’s rise and fall over the last five years. Gandhi, who left the organization after founder members like Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan were “humiliated and expelled” three years ago, […]

Glaucus questions stock price of Hong Kong-listed Fullshare Holdings Ltd

Glaucus Research Group, a California-based short seller, said it was selling Hong Kong-listed developer Fullshare Holdings due to peculiar trading patterns seen in the stock’s counter. “Fullshare is supposedly a commercial and residential property developer, but this business is tiny compared to its market capitalization. In FY 2016, Fullshare generated a paltry RMB 132 million […]

There’s no Lokpal because there’s no opposition leader, says govt

The Prime Minister’s office today said the government has not appointed a Lokpal at the center yet as there is no leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha. According to the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act passed in 2013, the center is supposed to appoint a Lokpal as an ombudsman for corruption related issues. “The […]

Nearly a quarter of all food samples tested found fake or adulterated

Over one-fifth of all food samples tested in India’s government labs in the last year were found to be fake or adulterated, according to numbers compiled from various state government food testing facilities by union government’s department of consumer affairs. Exempting Gujarat, which accounted for nearly 23% of the samples, the total percentage of fake and adulterated […]

No exemption to Tamil Nadu on NEET: Health Minister

Exemptions to the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test cannot be given to any place or zones inside India as a common entrance test is required under the law, Faggan Singh Kulaste, junior minister in charge of health and family welfare said. “Section 10D of Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 prescribes conducting of a uniform entrance examination namely […]

PNB, Corp Bank most aggressive in going after big debtors; SBI, BoB more relaxed

Punjab National Bank, the third largest public sector bank in India, and smaller cousin Corporation Bank can teach bigger siblings like State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda a thing or two about going after big loan defaulters, an analysis of Reserve Bank of India data shows. In the last four years, these two banks […]

Narada sting operation probe handed over to CBI

The Calcutta High Court has handed over the investigation into the sting operation conducted by ‘Narada News’ to the Central Bureau of Investigation. The agency has been told to complete a preliminary investigation within 72 hours. The move follows complaints that the state police faced a conflict of interest in investigating the tapes, which purportedly […]

NDA-ruled states lead in digitization of public distribution systems

States ruled by the National Democratic Alliance have taken the lead in implementing digital ration shops with the introduction of electronic point of sale machines, while non-NDA states have lagged behind in introducing this crucial anti-pilferage measure, data obtained from the food and consumer affairs ministry showed. Out of the seven states that have introduced the system, five […]

Anti-corruption activists to conduct ‘Ghotala Yatra’ in Delhi on Thursday

An umbrella group of anti-corruption groups will conduct a ‘Ghotala Yatra’ or ‘Scam Procession’ at Delhi’s Mandi House area tomorrow. The rally, with the cry ‘freedom from corruption’ will start at 11 AM and be followed by a sitting protest at Jantar Mantar — the traditional venue for protests in the capital. Among the organizations […]

Most UP MLAs saw big increases in wealth in 5 yrs, but some lost big

The average Uttar Pradesh MLA saw their wealth increase by 82% in the five years during their tenure in the state assembly from 2012 to 2017, an analysis of their wealth submissions by Association for Democratic Reforms found. The analysis was based on the filings made by 311 of the 404 existing members of the […]

UPA-era procurement delays kept us back – BSNL CMD

BSNL Chairman and Managing Director Anupam Shrivastava blamed delays in procuring key equipment for the present backward condition of the state-owned telecom operator. The company, which was once profitable and dominated India’s telecom sector, has run up huge losses in the last several years, while private telecom companies have reaped tens of thousands of crores […]

BSNL JE 2016 recruitment frozen after complaints to DoT – CMD Shrivastava

BSNL Chairman and Managing Director Anupam Shrivastava said the recruitment of Junior Engineers (JEs) into the telecom company has been frozen by the Department of Telecom on the basis of complaints. “It is being held up by the Department of Telecom… due to complaints,” Shrivastava said in response to questions by candidates who have qualified […]