Gold Slips Below Rs 32,000 on low Demand

The prices of gold is experiencing downward train in a country like India that is obsessed with the precious metal.
Gold prices fell by 20 rupees to 31,980 rupees per 10 grams at the bullion market today on easing demand from local jewellers along with subdued global cues, extending its fall for the third straight day.
However, silver recovered by 100 rupees to 40,300 rupees per kg on scattered enquiries from industrial units. Traders said, besides the fall in demand from local jewellers and retailers at the domestic spot market, a weak trend overseas on a firmer dollar, while investors focused on the US jobs data due later in the day for fresh catalysts, kept pressure on gold prices.
Gold prices fell 0.12 percent to 1,310 US dollar an ounce, and silver by 0.15 percent to 16.37 US dollar an ounce in Singapore.

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Data leak: India to Continue Probe Despite Cambridge Analytica Closure

The government will continue with its enquiry into the Cambridge Analytica data leak issue despite the firm announcing closure of business. 
Sources said, the ongoing probe will continue as the liability of the company existed prior to the closure announcement. 
The UK based data analytics and political consulting firm has been under fire in various countries for allegedly harvesting data from almost 87 million Facebook users and leveraging them for political campaigns.
The government had issued notices to both Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, confronting them with questions on data breach issue. The last date for the two companies to respond is 10th of this month.
Yesterday, the British firm announced that it was immediately ceasing all its operations and filing for insolvency in Britain and the United States.

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India Bans Imports of Oxytocin

The Central government has banned the import of Oxytocin and asked the customs department to prevent any attempt to smuggle it into the country.

The move comes after the Prime Minister's Office held a meeting to check the "harmful effects of Oxytocin" as cases of its misuse by some dairy owners and farmers to boost milk production and increase the size of vegetables had come to light.

The Central Board of Excise and Customs, in an order issued recently, has banned all imports of Oxytocin in any name with immediate effect. It said all bona fide requirements of Oxytocin would be met by indigenous production.

There were some reports in the Media regarding misuse of oxytocin injection. However, scientific data on the extent of such practices was not available. The Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) had earlier said that no ill effects have been observed in the animals in experiments carried out on the use of oxytocin.

In view of the reports of misuse of oxytocin by dairy owners in milch animals, the manufacture and sale of oxytocin injection was regulated under section 26 A of the Drugs and Cosmetic Act, 1940 published vide notification number G.S.R. 29 (E) dated 17.01.2014.

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Another Bumper Crop in Offing!

Government has estimated that the foodgrain production will touch a new record of 277.49 million tonnes in 2017-18 crop year as against 275.11 million tonnes last year. 

According to the second estimate for 2017-18 released on Monday, Pulses production is pegged at a record 23.95 MT this year, up by 0.82 MT, from 23.13 MT last year. 

The wheat production is estimated to decline by 1.40 MT to 97.11 MT from the record of 98.51 MT achieved in 2016-17. 

The production of coarse cereals is estimated at record 45.42 MT this year as against 43.77 MT in 2016-17 crop year. 

However, oilseeds production is pegged lower by 1.39 MT at 29.88 MT in 2017-18 as against 31.28 MT during 2016-17. 

The Agriculture Ministry said, as a result of near normal rainfall during monsoon 2017 and various policy initiatives taken by the government, the country has witnessed record foodgrains production in the current year.

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Chabahar port : Historic Deal Finalized

Iran has awarded a much-awaited agreement to India over the management of part of its strategic Chabahar port. The historic move could enable India to dodge Pakistan and reach markets in Afghanistan, Central Asia and beyond.

The agreement was signed during a visit to New Delhi by President Hassan Rouhani would lease the operational control of Shahid Beheshti port – phase one of Chabahar port - to India for 18 months, said Press TV, 

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi who oversaw the signing of the agreement together with Rouhani later told reporters in a joint press conference that the expansion of connectivity was important for New Delhi. Modi also emphasized that his country was interested in the construction of a rail link between Chabahar and Iran’s southeastern city of Zahedan – a crucial link that India would need to expand its reach northward. 

"We will support the construction of the Chabahar-Zahedan rail link so that Chabahar gateway's potential could be fully utilized," he said.

"We want to expand connectivity, cooperation in the energy sector and the centuries-old bilateral relationship."

Rouhani for his part emphasized that Chabahar could reinforce Iran and India’s historical ties by serving as a bridge connecting the subcontinent to Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe.

“We are ready to sign bilateral and trilateral agreements to turn the transit route passing through Chabahar into a strategic pathway serving the reinforcement of regional ties,” he said.

On a related front, Iran’s Minister of Road and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi said Iran and India would jointly operate Shahid Beheshti port, adding that New Delhi would invest as much as $87 million in the project.  Akhoundi emphasized that this would be part of a total investment of $2 billion that India would make in Iran’s port and rail projects.  

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India, Iran Ink Nine Agreements in Different Areas

India and Iran have reiterated their commitment to combat terrorism in all its forms and stressed that there can be no justification for any act of terrorism. 

In a joint statement issued after the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in New Delhi, the two leaders expressed their conviction that the fight against terrorism should not only seek to disrupt and eliminate terrorists and terrorist organizations but should also identify and address conditions conducive to terrorism as well as extremist ideologies. 

The two sides also urged for an immediate end to all support and sanctuaries enjoyed by terrorist groups and individuals. They said, States that aid, abet and directly or indirectly support terrorism should be condemned. 

India and Iran welcomed the growing interaction between their National Security Councils and agreed to enhance regular and institutionalized consultations between them and others concerned on terrorism and security. Both sides also expressed interest in enhancing cooperation possibilities in maritime domain.

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Talks with Iranian President Fruitful : PM Modi

The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has termed his talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani as fruitful.
India and Iran on Saturday signed nine agreements in different areas after delegation-level talks between PM Modi and President Rouhani in New Delhi. 
The fields in which the agreements were inked include extradition treaty, Chabahar port, medicine and agriculture. 
In a joint statement, Modi said, he had a fruitful discussion with Dr. Rouhani on a wide range of issues of mutual interest. He said, the Iranian President's visit will further deepen and strengthen bilateral ties. 
Modi also said, both countries would like to see a prosperous and terror-free Afghanistan. He said, India and Iran are connected by common Sufi strain and want the region to be free of terror. 
The Prime Minister also thanked Mr Rouhani for providing leadership in developing Chabahar Port which is a gateway to Central Asia.
Both leaders also released a special postal stamp. Earlier in the day, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj called on the visiting dignitary and discussed ways to strengthen co-operation in energy, connectivity, IT, education, culture and people-to-people contact. 
The Iranian President was accorded a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan Saturday morning. He also visited Rajghat to pay tributes to Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi.
Rouhani will meet President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu later on Saturday.
The Iranian President, who is on three-day visit to India, arrived in New Delhi last night after his stay in Hyderabad.

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India's First Radio festival in Delhi Today

The first ever radio festival of India is being held in New Delhi today to mark World Radio Day. The festival is being organized by International Association of Women in Radio and Television, in collaboration with UNESCO. 
In the inaugural session, Paralympian Deepa Malik in her address said, radio talks about positivity and it is pivotal in celebrating sports. 
She said, at every crucial point of her life, Radio was an integral part. Ms Malik said, a documentary made on her life by All India Radio boosted her self-confidence and help create a hero out of a differently abled woman. 
Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Anju Nigam, Director General of AIR Fayaz Sheheryar, Director General of Door Darshan Supriya Sahu and UNESCO representative to India Shigeru Aoyagi addressed the gathering. 
The festival includes live performances, an exhibition, and slotted panel discussions. Apart from touching on the theme for World Radio Day 2018 - radio and sports - the festival is also examining the potential of the medium as a platform for social change, ways to make it more creative and will trace the journey of music on the radio.

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Tussle Over Andhra Pradesh Getting Interesting

The tussle between Bharatiya Janata Party and Telugu Desam Party over the special status to the state is getting interesting day by day. Days after the TDP launched offensive against the ruling party at center, BJP has retorted by saying that the Andhra Pradesh received utmost priority during last three and half yrs under Modi government.

The BJP on Saturday said, Andhra Pradesh has received utmost priority and importance under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government.

In a joint press conference in New Delhi, party spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao and Party's AP President and Visakhapatnam MP K. Hari Babu presented a list of institutions, projects and funds sanctioned for the state by the NDA government and asserted that the Centre has taken utmost care of the state.

“The state has received priority and the Centre is committed to its development,” the Rao said,

Referring to the charges made by MPs from AP representing TDP and YSRCP, Rao said it was all propaganda. Hari Babu said, the State has been provided funds for which is entitled to and the rest is under implemetion. The Party also refuted the criticism that the Centre has not done much for development of the State.

Hari Babu said that in a meeting held on Thursday, two major issues --- the revenue deficit the state had inherited at the time of bifurcation and the implementation of special package -- have been sorted out and concerns over other proposed projects and institutions were also addressed

The Centre will bear all revenue deficit for the entire period of the 14th finance commission and a total of Rs 22,113 crores will be paid to Andhra Pradesh as grant for the five- year period

The Centre has released a sum of Rs 1,269 crore to AP under different heads in the last few days with the gross grant including Rs 417.44 crore for the Polavaram multipurpose project, one of the contentious issues between the allies TDP and BJP, he said.

TDP MPs, along with YSR Congress, in both Houses of Parliament have been protesting for the last few days demanding implementation of all promises made by the NDA government under the 2014 Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.

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Kerala, Punjab & Tamil Nadu Top NITI Aayog's Health Index

Kerala, Punjab and Tamil Nadu topped the list of Healthy State progressive report released by NITI Aayog today among the larger states in terms of overall performance. The NITI Aayog released the report in New Delhi this afternoon.

While releasing the report, CEO Amitabh Kant said that Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh were the the top three three states in the terms of annual incremental performance. He said, the health index has been evolved through comprehensive study and inputs from World Bank India and Ministry of Health. Mr Kant said, State and Union territory have been ranked in three categories namely larger states, smaller states and Union territories.

He said, among smaller states Mizoram ranked first followed by Manipur and Goa in terms of annual incremental performance. The NITI Aayog CEO said, among Union territories Lakshadweep showed best overall performance as well as highest annual incremental performance. He said, the study of incremental performance of states will ensure the government for better health outcomes.

The report said about one third of the states has registered a decline in there performance in 2016 as compared to 2015. It said, common challenges for the states is to address vacancies in key staff, establishment of Cardiac Care Units and quality accreditation of public health facilities. Speaking on the occasion, Member (Health) in the NITI Aayog, Dr Vinod Paul said, absolute and incremental changes in health outcomes as measured by the Health Index, promotes cross-learning between states and captures the spirit of cooperative and competitive federalism.

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Thank God, 22 Indian Sailors Are Now Free

An oil tanker, with an all Indian crew of 22 members that went missing off the coast of Benin in north-west Africa, has been released by pirates after four days.

Officials said, all the crew members, who endured the over four-day ordeal, are safe. Director General of Shipping Malini Shankar said, the ship, 'Marine Express', has been released and is back under the command of the captain. She said all 22 crew members are safe and the ship has resumed further sailing.

The Marine Express was at the anchorage Cotonou in the Gulf of Guinea in Benin when it was taken over by pirates on 1st February.

In a tweet, Swaraj said she is happy to inform that Merchant Ship "Marine Express" with 22 Indian nationals on board has been released. The Minister thanked the government of Nigeria and Benin for their help and support in the release of an oil tanker with 22 Indian crew.

Yesterday Swaraj had spoken to her Nigerian counterpart to seek assistance in tracing the missing oil tanker. An official said all the crew members, released by pirates are safe and the ship has resumed sailing. The vessel was at the anchorage Cotonou in the Gulf of Guinea in Benin when it was taken over by pirates on 1st February.

It was immediately not clear if a ransom was paid to secure the release of the vessel and the cargo. The Marine Express was at the anchorage Cotonou in the Gulf of Guinea in Benin when it was taken over by pirates on February 1.

All the communication systems on the vessel were switched off by pirates before making it sail. In a Facebook post, the ship manning agent Anglo Eastern said the Panama-flagged vessel was the subject of a “pirate attack and seizure”, and also confirmed the safe release. The cargo of 13,500 tonnes of gasoline remains on board, the post added.

An official at the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) had earlier confirmed that the waters in which the vessel was taken over are infested with sea pirates. There had been a few incidents where the pirates had let off hijacked vessels and crew after siphoning-off the on board cargo without demanding any ransom.

In respect of this incident, DGS officials were in contact with the Indian mission in Nigeria, which was coordinating rescue efforts with local agencies. The ship went missing less than a month after another vessel, ‘MT Barret’, disappeared off the coast of Benin in January, and was later confirmed to have been hijacked. The 22 crew members of MT Barret, most of whom were Indians, were reportedly released after a ransom was paid.

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SC Gives an Earful to Khaps

Taking a strong exception to the diktats passed by Khaps on matters of marriage, Supreme Court has come out strongly against honour killings. Apex court said that even if a young adults marry within the prohibited degree of relation there are courts and law to declare it null and void.

CJI Dipak Misra warned that Khaps should not become self-appointed conscience keepers when there is law and courts to deal with marriages prohibited by law. He said that irrespective of tradition, gotra, if there is illegality in marriage, its is for law and courts to deal with it and not Khaps.

The court said that a marriage between two adults was governed by the law. The Supreme Court bench said it would set up a high-level committee consisting of senior police officers to deal with issues relating to intervention in marriages by bodies such as khap panchayats.

The SC had in the past said if an adult man and woman marry, no khap, panchayat, individual or society can question them. In a democracy, if an adult girl or boy gets into marriage, no khap, no individual or no society can question them.

Khap panchayats or associations are notorious for attacking men and women opting for inter- caste marriage. Khaps are caste or community organisations in villages which at times act as quasi-judicial bodies and pronounce harsh punishments based on regressive and age-old customs and traditions.

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India Joins Ashgabat agreement

India has joined Ashgabat Agreement on the establishment of an International Transport and Transit Corridor between the Iran, Oman, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The agreement was signed in April 2011, which envisages facilitation of transit and transportation of goods between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. 

External Affairs Ministry said the accession to the Agreement would diversify India’s connectivity options with Central Asia and have a positive influence on its trade and commercial ties with the region. Turkmenistan, as depository state of Ashgabat Agreement, informed India yesterday that all the four founding members have consented to the Accession of India. 

India’s accession to the agreement will come into force on 3rd of this month. India had deposited the Instrument of Accession with Turkmenistan in April 2016.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had given its approval for India to accede to the Ashgabat Agreement on March 23, 2016

The Ashgabat Agreement has Oman, Iran, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as founding members. Kazakhstan has also joined this arrangement subsequently. Accession to the Agreement would enable India to utilise this existing transport and transit corridor to facilitate trade and commercial interaction with the Eurasian region. Further, this would synchronise with our efforts to implement the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) for enhanced connectivity. 

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India Announces World's Largest Health Programme

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Union Budget 2018-19 in the Parliament on Thursday, where he had a challenge to not just realise the 'New India' dream by spurring growth, but also meet expectations of millions of people and different sections of society and businesses of the country.
World's largest government-funded health programme - 'National Health Protection Scheme' was announced. It will cover 10 crore poor and vulnerable families by providing upto Rs 5 lakh per family per year. The government will launch 'Revitalising of Infrastructure and Systems in Education' by 2022 with a total investment of Rs 1 lakh crore in next 4 years.
This budget is significant as it was Modi government's fifth and final full budget. It is also the first one after GST implementation. Clearly, the focus is on low-cost farming. He said besides 'ease of doing business', the government is also focusing on 'ease of living' now. “
Higher Minimum Support Price of all crops shall be increased to at least 1.5 times that of the production cost.Hardwork of farmers resulted in a record production of more than 275 million tonnes of food grain and about 300 million tonnes of horticultural produce,” FM  said.
The Finance Minister expressed hope that economy will grow at 7.2 percent to 7.5 percent in the second half of 2017-18. He exuded confidence that India is on track to grow at 8 percent.
He proposed to raise institutional credit for agriculture to Rs 11 lakh crore for 2018-19. National Livelihood Mission allocated Rs. 5,750 cr in 2018-19.
Bamboo is green gold and restructured National Bamboo Mission will be launched with an allocation of Rs 1,290 crore to promote bamboo sector in a holistic manner, Jaitley said.
Air Pollution in Delhi NCR is a cause for concern, special scheme will be implemented to support Govts of Haryana, Punjab, UP and Delhi NCT to address it and subsidize machinery for management of crop residue, FM said.
By 2022, every block with more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000 tribal people will have 'Ekalavya' school at par with Navodaya Vidyalas.
Government plans to construct 2 crore more toilets under Swachh Bharat Mission, he informed.
Jaitley said the government has successfully implemented series of structural reforms as a result of which India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. He said FDI has gone up and Indian economy is now a 2.5 trillion economy.

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Bravo India! Government Says Country Cannot Become Refugee Capital of World

The central government has taken a very bold stance that must be applauded by every right thinking citizen. The Centre has told the Supreme Court that it does not want the country to become the refugee capital of the world.

  Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told this to a bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, which was hearing a fresh plea by two Rohingya refugees alleging that the BSF was using chili and stun grenades to stop the refugees from entering India.

The ASG said he needed time to respond to the allegations made by the refugees. He, however, said not everyone can be allowed to cross the border and these matters are best left to the government to decide.

The lawyer appearing for the refugees said the government must be prevented from stopping more Rohingyas from entering India because of the persecution faced by them in Myanmar. The court gave the Centre time till the 7th of March to respond to the fresh plea.

The Rohingya crisis has sparked a debate in the country for a time and has occupied central space in the national debate from time to time. There are two groups in India – one that see Rohingyas as "refugees” and another as “illegal infiltrators". A majority opinion inclines towards the view that Rohingya Muslims are certainly not entitled to the refugee status.

For one, India is an extremely densely populated country and it doesn't need more people. . India has accepted Tibetan refugees because Tibet was occupied by China. Besides, there was a humanitarian and cultural basis to what we did. Rohingyas cannot claim any such affinity.

The Indian government has already termed them as illegal immigrants who "will be deported". It is true that some organizations, mainly human rights bodies, are raising pith in the name of humanitarian cause about the planned deportation of Rohingyas from India. But it is because they want to appear politically correct in the world. The arrival of Rohingyas carry a concern with them that there are terrorists hiding in that big pool of people. Besides, India is not signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention therefore it is not obliged to accept them.

The government of India must be lauded as it has maintained its stand that the "issue of national security is involved with regard to illegal immigration which our country cannot undermine". The government had on August 9 told Parliament that more than 14,000 Rohingyas, registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, stay in India. However, aid agencies estimate there are about 40,000 Rohingyas in the country.

Illegal immigrants cannot claim fundamental rights which are otherwise available even to non-citizens, the Centre had told the Supreme Court early this month in its fresh response to the PIL of two Rohingya refugees challenging their deportation to Myanmar.

The National Human Rights Commission had in August issued a notice to the Centre, saying "India has been home to refugees, for centuries" and from the human rights angle, its "intervention is appropriate" in the matter.

The latest stand of the government has to be seen in this light.

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A Barbaric and Dastardly Act

The suicide blast that killed at least 95 people and wounded 158 others in Kabul is a barbaric and dastardly act. It reminds us that Taliban terrorism has not disappeared from the war-ravaged country Afghanistan completely. This follows the cowardly terror attack on the children and civilians in Jalalabad on 24 January.

India has strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in Kabul. The attacks have targeted innocent civilians and the wounded under treatment. There can be no justification for such reprehensible attacks. The perpetrators of these attacks and their supporters should be brought to justice. Indians stands in solidarity with the government and the people of Afghanistan at this difficult times of mindless violence and terror imposed on them.

The attackers drove an ambulance laden with explosives past a police checkpoint into a street that was only open to government workers. The driver passed through one checkpoint by claiming to be escorting a patient to the hospital. He set off the explosives at the second checkpoint. It happened near the old Interior Ministry building and offices of the European Union and High Peace Council.

Government offices, businesses, a school and a hospital are close to the site of attack. The vibrations of the attack could be felt several kilometres away.

Witnesses say the area - home to foreign embassies and the city's police headquarters - was crowded with people when the bomb exploded today. Plumes of smoke were seen from around the city. The International Committee of the Red Cross said the use of an ambulance was harrowing.

Just four days ago, explosions and heavy gunfire rocked Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel on Sunday killing at least 40 people. The victims also included a number of foreigners. The heavily-guarded luxury hotel was popular among foreigners and Afghan officials.

The siege started on Saturday night and lasted 13 hours. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack which saw more than 150 guests flee.

Witnesses said the gunmen were dressed in army uniforms, but it was unclear how many were involved. The government said three gunmen were killed while witnesses said four were involved and the Taliban said five.

The Intercontinental Hotel, an imposing 1960s structure set on a hilltop and heavily protected like most public buildings in Kabul, was previously attacked by Taliban fighters in 2011. While it shares the same name, the hotel in Kabul is not part of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), which issued a statement in 2011 saying that "the hotel Inter-continental in Kabul is not part of IHG and has not been since 1980".

The assaults being carried out by Haqqani Network terrorists underlines the need to effectively deal with the issue of safe havens to terrorists in our neighbourhood.   

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Thanks President!

One has to thank the US President Donald Trump as he announced that he was open to citizenship for 'Dreamers' in 10-12 years. This is for the first time that President Trump has indicated that he was open to a path to citizenship for America's so-called "Dreamers" in 10 to 12 years.

The move will certainly welcomed by millions of people all over the world especially in India as it may also benefit thousands of Indian-origin undocumented immigrants.

Some 6,90,000 undocumented immigrants, who were illegally brought to the US as children, are likely to get benefited. Among them include several thousand people of Indian descent.

The term "Dreamers", which is used for the undocumented immigrants living in the US illegally, came from the DREAM Act, a bipartisan legislation that was first proposed in 2001 to provide citizenship to them under certain conditions. The bill was never passed.

Trump told reporters during an impromptu news conference at the White House before he left for Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos.

Trump called this as an "incentive" for the immigrants for the hard work. However, a senior administration official later said no final decision has been taken yet over the issue.

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Total Eclipse of Moon to take place on January 31

   A total eclipse of the moon will occur on January 31, 2018.  This is the first eclipse of the year, with a rare coincidence of a blue moon and a super full moon. The full moon on that day happens to be the second full moon of the calendar month of January, termed as a blue moon.  Further, the moon will be at perigee on January 30, as such the full moon will occur when the moon is near the closest to earth in its orbit. Hence, this full moon will be a little bigger and brighter than the regular full moon, popularly referred to as a super moon.

    During totality, the moon will completely enter the earth’s umbral shadow and may look reddish. The sunlight, comprising of seven colours, fall on the earth’s atmosphere. The blue, violet and green portion of it are scattered most and are filtered out, the red and orange portion of it are scattered less, get bent by refraction in the earth’s atmosphere, fall on the moon’s surface during totality making it reddish in colour to look from the earth.

    The eclipse will begin as a partial eclipse from h. 17-18 IST and will continue up to h. 20-42 IST. The total eclipse will start from h. 18-21 IST and will end at h. 19-38 IST. The duration of the eclipse will be 3 h 24 mts and the duration of totality will be 1 hr 17 mts.  The ending of the total and partial phases of the eclipse will be visible from all places of India. However the entire eclipse, from beginning to end of the partial and total phases, will be visible only from north eastern part of the country including Kolkata. The beginning of the partial phase will not be visible from the rest part of the country, as the partial eclipse will start before the moonrise timings of the most of the places of India. Similarly, the beginning of the totality phases of the eclipse will not be visible from the places along the extreme western coast of the country including Mumbai.

   The eclipse will be visible in the region covering North America except the eastern part, western South America, Asia including India, Australia, the Middle East, northern Scandinavia, eastern Europe and eastern Africa.

   The next eclipse of the Moon will occur on July 27-28, 2018, which will be a total lunar eclipse and will be visible in India.

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Aadhaar Data Breach: Much Ado About Nothing

Yet another news turned out to be false. The Unique Identification Authority of India has denied the media reports that said that for 500 rupees one could have access to billion Aadhaar details. UIDAI has called it a case of misreporting and assured that there has not been any data breach.

The explanation may help put to rest the fears among people and nay-sayers on Aadhaar. There were reports of Aadhaar details being made available on payment of as low as Rs. 500. Some anonymous sellers were offering unrestricted access to Aadhaar details for 500 rupees over WhatsApp, the report said.

The UIDAI has said that the reported case appears to be instance of misuse of the grievance redressal search facility and assured that it maintains complete log and traceability of the facility and any misuse can be traced and appropriate action taken.

The grievance redressal search facility gives only limited access to name and other details and has no access to biometric details, it insists. According to UIDAI, the Aadhaar data including biometric information is fully safe and secure. 

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Has Pakistan Come to Senses?

Pakistan seems to have come to senses after steadfast and resolute stand taken by India. The Indian forces have given a resolute and befitting reply to Pakistani soldiers who know the language of bullet. It is good that our forces have started speaking the only language that the Pakis know.

Such is the insecurity in Pakistani camp that their Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) called on his Indian counterpart and expressed concern for the Indian retaliation.
“DGMO level talks on behest of Pakistan’s DGMO was held on 17 Jul 2017. During the talks the Pak DGMO raised the issues of targeting of Pak Army troops which resulted in the death of four Pakistani soldiers and one civilian in Athmuqam Sector of Pakistan occupied Kashmir opposite Indian Keren Sector, Kupwara District,” says the press statement by Col Aman Anand,PRO (Army).
The statement says, “Indian DGMO in response highlighted that all ceasefire violations were initiated by Pakistan Army and the Indian Army only responded appropriately to them. Apart from these, firing by Indian troops was initiated against armed intruders when attempting to infiltrate from close proximity of Pak posts along the Line of Control (LC).

“DGMO also put across emphatically that the trend of infiltration along the LC continued with active support of Pak forward posts impacting peace and tranquillity along the LC and also the internal security situation. This was evident from continued attempts of sniping and targeting of our troops undertaken through cross border actions duly supported by Pakistani Army troops,” it said.

DGMO made it implicit that Indian Army reserved the right to retaliate appropriately to any incident of violation of ceasefire but is sincere in its effort of maintaining peace and tranquillity along the LC provided there was reciprocity

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