INDIAN MUSLIMS HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR FROM CAA, NRC: PM MODIPrime Minister Narendra Modi has finally publically addressed the tensionsfestering in the country over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act as well as theNational Register of Citizens (NRC). As protests grip the country over thealleged communal connotations of the two exercises, PM Modi assured votersin Delhi that no Indian Muslim will be affected by the CAA and the NRC.Prime Minister Narendra Modi was addressing crowds at a BJP rally in Delhi'sRamlila Maidan ahead of the assembly elections in Delhi. Slamming the AamAadmi Party for failing to provide adequate welfare for the people of Delhi,the prime minister's focus soon shifted to the controversial issue ofcitizenship. "A lie is being spread that this government had brought the lawto snatch people's rights," the prime minister said and dared rivals to findanything discriminatory in his work.Exclaiming from the stage in Delhi, PM Modi held the opposition (primarilyCongress) and "Urban Naxals" responsible for spreading misinformation aboutthe CAA and the NRC. He urged voters to respect the mandate that the BJP hadbeen given in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as well as respect those MPs whowere responsible for the passing of the CAA.Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused his rivals of stoking fears amongpeople and misleading Muslims over the amended citizenship law and assertedthat his government's schemes have never done any discrimination on thebasis of religion.Using the occasion to dare the opposition, PM Modi said, "I challenge thosespreading lies to go review the work I am doing and if there is even a whiffof communalism, please tell the nation."He also said that fake information was being spread about people being heldin detention centres post the NRC exercise. Assuring the Muslim community,PM Modi said, "Those Muslims who were born on Indian soil should not beconcerned by CAA and the NRC. They have nothing to do with these twothings."This is the first time the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made a publicstatement about the Citizenship (Amendment) Act since it was passed. Whileearlier the PM had tweeted asking people to not engage in violence, onSunday he addressed the fears surrounding the CAA and the NRC.A STEP BACK FROM NATIONWIDE NRS?In what appeared a justification of nationwide National Register of Citizens(NRC), Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said there was a world ofdifference between an infiltrator and a refugee.Infiltrators never "reveal" their identity and refugees never "hide" whothey are, PM Modi said at the BJP rally yesterday.As he sought to assuage concerns of minority Muslims on CAA, PM Modi alsoindicated a certain step-back on the NRC, which was read by many as acounter to Shah and what the BJP's election manifesto proposed.Modi said "rumours and lies" were being spread on the subject of CAA andNRC. "I want to tell the 130 crore people of India that ever since mygovernment came to power in 2014...from then until now... there has been nodiscussion on NRC anywhere. We only had to implement it in Assam to followSupreme Court directives," he saidCritics have all along been saying that implications of CAA, which providesfor citizenship to non-Muslim illegal immigrants from three Islamiccountries, when read with NRC spell "danger". The growing pan-India angerand dissent also prompted the government to issue a clarification, this evenwhile BJP leaders accused opponents of "fomenting and escalating trouble".While BJP leaders claim protests will run out of steam and "die a naturaldeath" but discomfort in NDA allies like Asom Gana Parishad, JD-U, LJP andAkali Dal and supporters like BJD, YSR Congress is giving a sense thatperhaps somewhere the saffron party and its government "either misjudgedor failed to anticipate political side-effects of CAA".Youth and students at the forefront of the protests, filling in the void ofa wanting Opposition, is something perhaps Prime Minister Modi and Shah maynot have anticipated.Notably, Shah has on several occasions, including in the Parliament,promised a countrywide NRC to weed out illegal immigrants. Don't try toconnect the citizenship Bill with NRC "par maan ke chaliye NRC aane wala hai(but keep it in mind that NRC is about to come)," he told the Parliament.The same was reiterated by BJP working president JP Nadda as recently asThursday. "The Citizenship (Amendment) Act will be implemented, so will bethe NRC in future," he said. Introducing NRC in a "phased manner in otherparts of the country", is also part of the BJP's election manifesto for the2019 Lok Sabha elections.PM MODI, AMIT SHAH HAVE 'DESTROYED' FUTURE OF COUNTRY'S YOUTH: RAHULCongress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi andHome Minister Amit Shah have "destroyed" the future of the country's youthand are "hiding behind hate" to escape their anger over lack of jobs andstate of economy.Gandhi said they can only be defeated by responding with love towards everyIndian."Dear Youth of India, Modi & Shah have destroyed your future. They can'tface your anger over the lack of jobs and damage they've done to theeconomy. That's why they are dividing our beloved India and hiding behindhate. "We can only defeat them by responding with love towards everyIndian," Gandhi said on Twitter.UNREST MAY HIT NEIGHBOURS: B'DESHThe Citizenship (Amendment) Act and National Register of Citizens areIndia's "internal issues", Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen hassaid, but voiced concern that any "uncertainty" in the country is likely toaffect its neighbours.Amid raging protests over the controversial citizenship law across India,Momen hoped that the situation "cools down" and the neighbouring country"can get out of it". "The CAB and the NRC are internal issues of India.Indian government assured us again and again that these are their domesticissues, they are doing it because of legal and other reasons," Momen saidwhen asked about the CAA and the protests against it, especially in thenortheastern states.Prime Minister Narendra Modi while talking to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinahad assured that under no circumstances it will affect Bangladesh, Momensaid. The minister asserted that his country trusts India. However, he said,"When there was an economic downturn in the US, it affected many countriesbecause we live in a global world. So our fear is that if there is someuncertainty in India, it might affect its neighbours."INDIA, IRAN AGREE TO ACCELERATE WORK ON CHABAHAR PROJECTIndia and Iran on Sunday agreed to accelerate work on the strategic Chabaharproject as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held wide-ranging talkswith his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif on regional and global issues ofmutual interest.The Chabahar port - being jointly developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan -is considered a gateway to golden opportunities for trade with central Asiannations by the three countries. It is located on the Indian Ocean in theSistan and Baluchestan province of Iran.Jaishankar, who is on a two-day visit to Iran, co-chaired the 19th JointCommission Meeting with Zarif. He is also expected to call upon IranianPresident Hassan Rouhani."Just concluded a very productive India-Iran Joint Commission Meeting withmy co-chair FM Zarif," Jaishankar tweeted after the meeting. "Reviewed theentire gamut of our cooperation. Agreed on accelerating our Chabaharproject," he said.The meeting comes after the US provided a rare exemption to India fromsanctions on the Chabahar port in Iran as Washington said it recognised thatthe strategic project was a lifeline for war-torn Afghanistan to gethumanitarian supplies from India.Jaishankar thanked Zarif for "his cordial welcome and hospitality." "Had avery good conversation on the regional and global picture with the Iranianforeign minister. India and Iran will work together closely on their sharedinterests," he tweeted.FATF'S 150 POSERS TO PAK OVER ACTION ON ERRANT MADRASASA global watchdog for terror financing has sought more clarifications anddata from Pakistan on action taken by it against madrasas belonging to thebanned outfits, weeks after Islamabad submitted a report to the Paris-basedbody detailing steps taken by the country to curb terrorism and moneylaundering.In March, Pak govt seized control of 160 madrasas, 32 schools, two colleges,four hospitals linked to JuD and its 'charity' wingThe Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which kept Pakistan on the Grey Listfor an extended period till February 2020, had warned in October thatIslamabad would be put on the Black List if it did not comply with theremaining 22 points in a list of 27 questions. Pakistan submitted a reportcomprising answers to 22 questions to the FATF on December 6.In response to the report, the FATF's Joint Group has sent 150 questions toPakistan, seeking some clarifications.AFGHANISTAN'S GHANI WINS MAJORITY IN PRESIDENTIAL POLL: PRELIMINARY RESULTSAfghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani was on track to win a second termSunday, after election officials announced he had scored a majority in thepresidential polls.But despite Ghani's apparent clean win, the fallout from the bitterlycontested September 28 election looked set to continue, with top rival ChiefExecutive Abdullah Abdullah saying he would contest the result.According to the Independent Election Commission, Ghani won 50.64 percent ofthe vote in the September 28 poll, easily besting Abdullah, who scored 39.52percent.Candidates now have the right to file any complaints they may have beforefinal results are announced, probably within a few weeks.As soon as the result was announced, Abdullah's office said in a statementhe would contest it. "We would like to make it clear once again to ourpeople, supporters, election commission and our international allies thatour team will not accept the result of this fraudulent vote unless ourlegitimate demands are addressed," the statement read.CAA STIR: ISLAMIC OUTFITS SUSPECTED BEHIND UP VIOLENCE; TOLL RISES TO 17Blaming "outsiders" for the violence during protests against the amendedCitizenship Act, the UP government on Sunday said six people from WestBengal associated with Islamic outfits PFI and SIMI have been arrested, evenas the death toll rose to 17 in the state.The toll in Kanpur rose to three on Sunday with the death of a 30-year-oldman who was injured in Friday's anti-CAA protests.The UP Police in a statement on Sunday said that 879 people have beenarrested and 5,312 taken into custody as a preventive measure. So far, 164cases have been registered, it said.IG (Kanpur range) Mohit Agarwal said the role of AIMIM workers and SIMIactivists was being suspected behind the violence. "Cases have beenregistered against a large number of SIMI workers," he said.ADG Kanpur zone Prem Prakash told reporters that they are looking into thepossible angle of ISI funding.SRINAGAR MUSLIMS AGREE TO RAZE MOSQUE FOR BRIDGE SAKEIn an exemplary act, Muslims in Srinagar have agreed to the demolition of a40-year-old mosque to allow the completion of a long-awaited bridge over theJhelum river, officials said on Sunday.They said the project had been pending since 2002 due to a few bottlenecks,including the mosque and residential and commercial structures.The demolition of the mosque began on Saturday, 24 hours after the signingof an agreement between Srinagar District Development Commissioner ShahidIqbal Choudhary and the managing committee of Masjid Abu Turab atQamarwari's Rampora area. This is the second instance when efforts of theofficer to resume stalled projects have borne fruit. Earlier this month, hesuccessfully negotiated with the management of the historic Damdama SahibGurdwara at Zainakote, enabling resumption of expansion work on theSrinagar-Baramulla national highway.The officials said the District Development Commissioner held a series ofmeetings with the mosque management to resolve the major land acquisitionissue, preventing the completion of the 166-metre two-lane bridge connectingQamarwari with Noorbagh.MANAGING WITH REPLICAS: 17.3 LAKH ARMY MEDALS AWAITEDDarshan Singh Dhillon holds seven medals in his hand. One, says the retiredcolonel, is original and the others are "fakes brought for Rs 250 from amarket in Delhi".In April this year, Dhillon filed an application under the Right ToInformation (RTI) Act to know whether there were others like him, waitingfor their medals.After four months, and an appeal, the response he received was startling:The Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence (Army) replied in Augustthat 17.33 lakh service medals of Army personnel are "in the waiting list"as on July 31, 2019. This included "33,035" medals for Commissioned Officersand "17 lakh (approx)" for Personnel Below Officer Rank (PBOR).Says Dhillon, a bomb disposal expert whose medals include those for serving"eight years in the North-East and six years in J&K": "Medals are to beawarded, not bought from markets. They are precious, not a commodity. Amedal on our chest is just not a piece of metal, it sums up the history ofour life, it gives a glimpse into what we did for our country. Of my sevenmedals, not a single one came on time."SLOWDOWN, HIGH NPAS TAKE TOLL AS PSU BANKS' MARKET SHARE SEES 4 PER CENTDECLINEPublic sector banks have lost further market share to private banks in thelending business as they curtailed their exposure to stress-prone sectors aspart of clean-up exercise and the ongoing slowdown depressed demand forcredit.While the share of private banks in total credit rose to 34.7 per cent as ofSeptember 2019 compared with 31 per cent in September last year, the shareof public sector undertaking (PSU) banks contracted from 61 per cent inSeptember 2018 to 57 per cent by September 2019.The outstanding credit of PSU banks showed a rise of just 1.84 per cent fromRs 55.5 lakh crore in September 2018 to Rs 56.6 lakh crore in September2019, according to data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).The outstanding credit of private banks rose 21.65 per cent to Rs 34.2 lakhcrore from Rs 28.1 lakh "This (losing market share) is the result ofselective lending undertaken by the government-owned banks, with the intentto curtail the exposures to the stress-prone sectors. Furthermore, privatebanks benefit from their competitive strengths in risk pricing andoperational efficiency, in the retail lending space," said a report by CareRatingFurthermore, the announcement of mergers in the public banking space has ledto a shift in focus of PSU banks from expanding business to operationalisingthe mergers.RIL TEARS INTO GOVT AFFIDAVIT ON ARAMCOReliance Industries (RIL) has mounted a strong counter to the governmentpetition in the Delhi High Court (HC) seeking to block its $15-billion dealwith Saudi Aramco, saying the petition is an abuse of process as noarbitration award has fixed any final liability of dues on the company.In a counter affidavit, RIL said it was a 'falsehood' that the arbitrationtribunal had passed an award requiring the company and its partners to pay$3.5 billion to the government. It said the petition was an abuse of processas "it portrays that a sum of money is due and payable under the final awardand purports to compute the money payable on a basis neither found in thearbitration award nor disclosed in the petition."The government, it said, has calculated on its own volition the revisedfigure of its share of profit from oil and gas production, allegedly due byextrapolating the purported finds.The affidavit came in response to the government moving the Delhi HC,seeking to block RIL selling a 20 per cent stake in its oil-and-chemicalsbusiness to Saudi Aramco for $15 billion, in view of dues of $3.5 billion inthe Panna-Mukta and Tapti oil and gas fieldsREGISTERING A COMPANY? STARTING A BUSINESS GETS JUST A LITTLE BIT EASIERRegistering a company? Soon there will be one fewer thing to worry about,with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) planning to give a bank accountnumber to each company as soon as it is incorporated.The move is part of the government's push to better India's ranking on theWorld Bank's ease of doing business index, especially on the criterion ofstarting a business, a senior government official told Business Standard. Ingiving ranking on ease of doing business, the World Bank has 10 parameters,of which starting a business is one.While India's ranking in the World Bank's Doing Business Report 2019 rose 14places to 63, the parameter of starting a business has been dragging itsperformance down. Among 190 countries, India was ranked 136 - an improvementof one rank in ease of starting a business.Already four banks, including three private ones, have come on board. Thegovernment has written to all public sector banks to be part of the newscheme.Once it is registered, the government allots a company a directoridentification number, name, incorporation certificate, permanent accountnumber, TAN (Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number), goods andservices tax registration number, among other things. Adding a bank accountto this list is directed at giving a head start to companies and saving themprecious time in dealing with the formalities of opening a bank account.CUTTACK ODI: INDIA PIP WI BY FOUR WICKETS TO WIN SERIES 2-1Skipper Virat Kohli's masterly 85 set up India's successful chase as thehosts pipped West Indies by four wickets in the third and final ODI tocomplete a 2-1 series win. Chasing 316 for victory, India got off to astrong start but lost Kohli at a crucial juncture before eventuallyprevailing with eight deliveries to spare.Earlier, West Indies posted an imposing 315/5 with skipper Kieron Pollardand Nicholas Pooran capitalising on a strong start, hitting 10 sixes betweenthem.A strong start was imperative to pull off such a big chase and India got thesame from KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma who raised 122 runs for the openingstand.Rohit Sharma made a run-a-ball 63 and Rahul scored 77 but it was Kohli whotook India close to victory once the openers departed.