Triple Talaq bill passed in the Lok Sabha

28th December 2017

The Lok Sabha today passed the Triple Talaq bill by voice vote. The bill was passed after the House rejected a string of amendments moved by various opposition members. The bill will now be tabled in the Rajya Sabha. 

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights of Marriage) Bill, 2017, which makes instant triple talaq illegal and void and awarding a jail term of up to three years to the husband, was introduced in the Lok Sabha earlier today amid protests by several opposition parties. 

The bill, prepared by an inter-ministerial group headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, makes instant triple talaq or talaq-e-biddat in any form - spoken, in writing or by electronic means such as email, SMS and WhatsApp "illegal and void" and provides for a jail term of three years for the husband. 

What it entails: 

*A Muslim man who resorts to Talaq-e-Biddat or instant talaq would be jailed for three years and custody of any minor children would be granted to the affected woman. 

*The draft bill says, "any pronouncement of talaq by a person upon his wife, by words, either spoken or written or in electronic form or in any other manner whatsoever, shall be void and illegal". 

*A Muslim man who resorts to Talaq-e-Biddat or instant talaq would be jailed for three years and custody of any minor children would be granted to the affected woman. 

Earlier, BJP's Meenakshi Lekhi called for a law against maulvis who oversee instant triple talaq. She said talaq-e-biddat has nothing to do with religion. She further said women are the biggest minority in this country and this is why they have been oppressed in the society. 

Earlier, speaking in the Lok Sabha Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the legislation meant to ensure gender justice to women is affected by instant divorce. The Congress has sought the bill to be sent to the Standing Committee, while few other opposition parties like the AIMIM and Biju Janata Dal have called the legislation an "injustice to Muslim women". 

India is one of the few countries where the practice of instant divorce has survived and some Muslim groups have said that while it was wrong, the law should be reviewed by the community itself.

India’s civil codes are designed to protect the independence of religious communities. Unlike most Hindu civil laws, which have been codified and reformed, Muslim personal laws have largely been left untouched.

Members of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board said the government had no right to outlaw instant triple talaq, as it was directly interfering with the Muslim personal law.

Zakia Soman, founder of a Muslim women’s group, the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, said once triple talaq becomes a legal offence, victims could approach the police and the legal system to initiate action against offenders.

Speaking on behalf of the government, MoS MJ Akbar called into question the credibility of All India Muslim Personal Law Board for opposing the move. He asked 'who made them community representatives?'

India's AAD Supersonic Interceptor Missile scores a direct hit and is a grand success

28th December 2017

India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed Advanced Air Defence (AAD) supersonic interceptor missile, capable of destroying any incoming ballistic missile in low altitude, from a test range in Odisha.

This was the third supersonic interceptor test carried out this year in which an incoming ballistic missile target was successfully intercepted, within 30 km altitude of the earth’s atmosphere by an interceptor.

“It was a direct hit and grand success,” defence sources said after the test launch.

The earlier two tests were conducted on March 1 and February 11, 2017, as part of efforts to have a full-fledged multi-layer Ballistic Missile Defence system.

“Today’s test was conducted to validate various parameters of the interceptor in flight mode and it was all success,” the sources said.

The target missile-- a Prithvi missile-- was launched from launch complex 3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near here.

After getting signals by tracking radars, the interceptor AAD missile, positioned at Abdul Kalam Island --previously known as Wheeler Island -- in the Bay of Bengal, roared through its trajectory to destroy the hostile target missile in mid-air in an endo-atmospheric altitude, defence sources said.

The interceptor is a 7.5-meter long single stage solid rocket propelled guided missile equipped with a navigation system, a hi-tech computer and an electro-mechanical activator, the sources said.

The state-of-the-art interceptor missile has its own mobile launcher, secure data link for interception, independent tracking and homing capabilities and sophisticated radars.

India should silence Pakistan's rogue army once and for all

How Indian army can silence Pakistan's rogue army once and for all 

By Gurmeet Kanwal

https://idsa.in/

On December 23, an officer and three soldiers of the Sikh regiment were ambushed and killed by the Pakistan army in the Rajouri sector of LoC. Their bodies were reportedly mutilated. The Indian Army responded appropriately.

Pakistan's rogue army has mutilated the bodies of Indian soldiers many times in the past in flagrant violation of the honour code of soldiering and the provisions of the Geneva Convention.

Despite the gravest of provocations over three decades of Pakistan's war for Jammu and Kashmir by asymmetric means, India showed immense strategic restraint. After the terrorist attacks at the IAF airbase at Pathankot and the Army camp at Uri, the Army conducted surgical strikes at several terrorist camps across the LoC in September 2016 and caused extensive damage.

Since then, the policy has changed to one of tactical assertiveness under the umbrella of strategic restraint. The aim was to inflict punishment on the Pakistan army to raise its cost for the sponsorship of terrorism across the LoC as an instrument of state policy.

The experience since then, including a major increase in the number of infiltration attempts and violations of the mutually agreed ceasefire of November 2003, shows that the new policy has not worked effectively enough. Hence, it is necessary to formulate a comprehensive national-level strategy to counter Pakistan's war for Kashmir. 

The political aim should be to raise the cost for the 'deep state' for waging a continuous war, with a view to eventually making the cost prohibitive. Indian diplomacy should aim to isolate Pakistan in the international community and have Pakistan branded as a terrorist state by the UN Security Council. India should take the first step in this regard and itself make a declaration to this effect.

The aim of pro-active measures in the economic field should be to choke Pakistan's economy. The imposition of unilateral economic sanctions and those by the UN Security Council should be considered. India could also use its buyer's clout with defence MNCs to ensure that companies that sell weapons and defence equipment to India refrain from supplying these to Pakistan.

The military aim should be to inflict punishment on the Pakistan army deployed on the LoC for every act of terrorism on Indian soil for which there is credible evidence of the army's involvement or that of the ISI. For each subsequent act of terrorism the scale and the intensity of the dose should be increased by an order of magnitude. The level of military retaliation should be carefully calibrated to avoid escalation to large-scale conflict, which is not in India's interest.

Operations should include artillery strikes to destroy bunkers on forward posts; stand-off PGM strikes on brigade and battalion HQ, communications and logistics infrastructure, ammunition dumps and key bridges; and, raids by Special Forces and border action teams. Every Pakistani post through which infiltration takes place should be reduced to rubble.

Firepower-heavy operations should be supplemented by covert operations by Special Forces as Pakistan is not inclined to bring to justice the leaders of terrorist organisations like the LeT and the JeM, terrorists whom they call 'strategic assets'.

When the Pakistan army begins to hurt and bleed, the 'deep state' will realise the futility of its nefarious designs on India. While Pakistan may not give up its claims on J&K, it will be forced to come to the negotiating table to discuss a long-term solution to the dispute through peaceful means.

The writer is Distinguished Fellow, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi. Views are personal.

Published in https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/how-indian-army-can-silence-pakistans-rogue-army-once-and-for-all/articleshow/62261370.cms

Indian will be the World's No.3 economy by 2032

China is likely to overtake the United States as the world's No.1 economy in 2032, and India will be in number 3, Japan in number 4, Germany in 5 and Brazil in 6.

However, India will be leaping ahead of both the UK and France by the end of 2018, a new report shows.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) consultancy's annual World Economic League Table put India in fifth place, before France in sixth and the UK in seventh in 2018.

However, come 2032, India will be in number three, Japan in number four, Germany in fifth and Brazil in sixth. 

Previous reports had shown that China would take the top spot by 2031, but the predicted negative impact on the U.S. economy of President Trump has been 'less severe' than expected, CEBR said.

CEBR said that China would take the top spot on year later than previously thought as the negative impact of President Trump has been less severe than expected

'Because the impact of President Trump on trade has been less severe than expected, the USA will retain its global crown a year longer than we anticipated in the last report,' the report said. 

India's ascent is part of a trend that will see Asian economies increasingly dominate the top 10 largest economies over the next 15 years.

'Despite temporary setbacks ... India's economy has still caught up with that of France and the UK and in 2018 will have overtaken them both to become the world's fifth largest economy in dollar terms,' said Douglas McWilliams, CEBR deputy chairman.

McWilliams said India's growth had been slowed by restrictions on high-value banknotes and a new sales tax, a view shared by economists polled by Reuters. 

While Britain looks set to lag behind France over the next couple of years, Cebr predicted that Brexit's effects on Britain's economy will be less than feared, allowing it to overtake France again in 2020.

Russia was vulnerable to low oil prices and too reliant on the energy sector, and looked likely to fall to 17th place among the world's largest economies by 2032, from 11th now. 

Oliver Kolodseike, senior economist and report co-author, said: 'The interesting trend emerging is that by 2032 five of the ten largest economies will be in Asia while European economies arefalling down the ranking and the USA loses its top spot.

'Technology and urbanisation will be important factors transforming the world economy over the next 15 years.'

A Reuters poll of economists in late October suggested global economic growth in 2018 looks likely to quicken slightly to 3.6 percent from 3.5 percent this year - with risks to that forecast lying on the upside.

Lalu Prasad's conviction & A. Raja's acquittal

Lalu Prasad's conviction & A. Raja's acquittal 

With the acquittal of Spectrum Raja and Kannimozhi, there was a sudden resurgence in the forces that subverted all systems of Governance in India since Independence. 

Not withstanding the fact that A.Raja was arrested on 2 February 2011, when the UPA was in power and was in fact in prison for 15 months, DMK and Congress are doing their best to pass this whole episode off as a BJP's conspiracy. 

The same narrative is being peddled by Lalu's gang right now-accusing BJP for sending Lalu to Jail. Other caste and local issues will be clubbed together to make it seem as though grave injustice is being done to the "accused" for political reasons.

In Tamilnadu, in addition to the above, the popular Tamil card will also be used-as though this whole episode was a drama enacted by the BJP against Tamils. 

People in Tamilnadu generally dont believe that A.Raja was an honest Minister. Even the judgement says that evidence is lacking for prosecution. This 2G case has to be revived and taken up to ensure that the right judgement is served, as in the case of Sashikala. 

There has been ample evidence to show that the entire system of allocation of licenses was deliberately flawed. This was the basis for the original conviction and cancellation of Licenses.

Subverting existing systems is an even bigger crime than the "presumed" figure of financial loss in the 2G spectrum allocation. Once the systems are compromised, the very role of the Minister is reversed dangerously. 

A Minister is appointed solely to ensure proper Governance. The Minister has to ensure that the current systems and procedures are followed perfectly and meticulously. The Minister should also ensure the systems in place are transparent and can not be manipulated in the future.

One judgement has vitalized and galvanized the corrupt forces who have already united to taken on the BJP. This is dangerous for India.

It is clear that the BJP government has to do more on corruption and prosecution of the corrupt, as this was the main reason for the 2014 election victory. Like Dr.Subramanian Swamy said - Finance Ministry needs a purge and we must now fight corruption on a "war footing."

India-Swiss deal to allow tax-related data sharing from Jan 1, 2018

India-Swiss deal to allow tax-related data sharing from Jan 1, 2018

India signed an agreement with Switzerland on 21st Dec 2017 that would allow automatic sharing of tax-related information from January 1 next year, the CBDT said.

"With the completion of the parliamentary procedure in Switzerland and signing of mutual agreement, India and Switzerland are set for automatic exchange of information for the period beginning from January 1, 2018," the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said.

The policy-making body for the Income Tax Department said the agreement was signed by CBDT chairman Sushil Chandra and Swiss Ambassador to India Andreas Baum at the North Block here.

A joint declaration for the implementation of Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) was signed last month between the two sides here and it provided that both countries would start collecting data in accordance with the global standards in 2018 and exchange it from 2019 onwards.

While Switzerland has conformed to the global standards on automatic exchange of information with the signing of the declaration, India, on its part, has promised to safeguard the confidentiality of the data.

"It will now be possible for India to receive from September, 2019 onwards, the financial information of accounts held by Indian residents in Switzerland for 2018 and subsequent years, on an automatic basis," the government earlier said.

Switzerland, which has always been at the centre of the debate on black money allegedly stashed by Indians abroad, used to be known for very strong secrecy walls till a few years ago around its banking practices.

A huge global pressure has resulted in Switzerland relenting on the tough secrecy clauses its local laws gave to the banks.

Official sources said that several information requests on details about Indians who had accounts in Swiss banks were still pending.

The AEOI conforms to a norm set by global economic body he Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for tax transparency.

Upto 44% increase in Long Haul Truck distance coverage after GST due to dismantling of Check Posts

The useless oppostion and the pathetic commies and chrislamists condemn GST regularly and try their best to make it as though Commercial Tax in India started only after Modi came to power.

The below piece of statistic is also clear proof that not has GST rationalized & made easier commercial taxation in India but it has also contributed hugely to free movement of Trucks and removed most of the bottlenecks in Freight Movement within the country.

This also results in huge fuel and time savings for the nation.

Trucks have started covering greater distances since the nationwide implementation of a unified tax regime, which led to the dismantling of interstate border check-posts, a study by the government showed. 

Trucks are travelling 300-325 km a day, an up to 44% increase from the average of 225 km a day before July 1, when the goods and services tax was introduced, according to data collated by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. 

Previously, long-haul trucks and cargo carriers spent as much as 20% of their transit time idling at interstate check-posts, where local transport authorities monitored the collection of sales tax and verified documents related to consignments, vehicles and drivers. 

"With the dismantling of state checkposts, freight transit time has come down. There are no delays on account of octroi," said Shyam Maller, executive vice-president (sales & marketing) at VE Commercial Vehicles, .. 

"With the dismantling of state checkposts, freight transit time has come down. There are no delays on account of octroi," said Shyam Maller, executive vice-president (sales & marketing) at VE Commercial Vehicles, a Volvo Group and Eicher Motors joint venture. 

A study of freight transit time on the 1,660 km stretch between Chennai and Kolkata shows that of the 50-65 hours taken to cover the distance, 10-15 hours were spent at border check-posts, 5-6 hours were wasted on account of congestion and 1-3 hours were lost at toll centres before GST was implemented. 

However, some transporters said the improvement in truck movement hasn't been as much as expected and not all barriers have been cleared to facilitate seamless movement of goods. 

"On some routes, per day movement has gone up by 40-45 km but our trucks have the potential to do much more, at least 450 km per day," said Bal Malkit Singh, chairman (core committee), All India Motor Transport Congress. 

"Two major bottlenecks remain: RTO posts have not been abolished in all states, checks continue at interstate borders. Besides, a lot of time is wasted at toll plazas." 

Still, the enhanced utilisation of trucks and the simpler tax structure under GST have helped to reduce logistics costs to 10-12% of the total value of goods from 14% earlier. Logistics account for 10% and 8% of the total value of goods in BRIC nations and major developed countries, respectively. 

Road Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari had earlier indicated that the logistics sector would stand to gain the most from the new indirect tax regime as costs would come down by 20%. While seamless interstate flow of goods would enable the use of higher tonnage trucks and thereby reduce transportation costs, optimised warehousing solutions under GST would further bring down logistics costs. 

Companies previously maintained warehouses in every state on account of varying tax structures. 

"A lot of consolidation is happening in the logistics sector as companies no longer need to maintain warehouses in every state," said Maller. "The hub-andspoke model will become more efficient in the coming days." 

All this because for the first time in India we have a Prime Minister who is bold enough to implement what is necessary for the good of the country. This is what the commies and associated crooks cant stand.