MODI INAUGURATES MUSEUM DEDICATED TO FORMER PMs

Every government formed after Independence has contributed in taking India to the heights that it has achieved today, PM Narendra Modi said on Thursday while asserting that barring one or two exceptions, the country has a proud tradition of strengthening democracy.

Inaugurating “Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya” (Prime Ministers’ Museum) dedicated to all previous PMs, Modi, however, said every PM contributed immensely to the fulfillment of the goals of constitutional democracy.

The museum project has been mired in controversy right from its inception in 2018 as a number of scholars and activists expressed apprehension that the Congress PMs, especially those from the Nehru-Gandhi family, might not be given the recognition that is due to them in the proposed museum. A quick tour of the museum, however, showed that the organisers had tried to maintain a balance. While the imposition of Emergency by Indira has found mention in the section dedicated to her, the victory of India against Pakistan in the 1971 war under her leadership also has been given a good display.

BATTLE WITHIN US PANEL ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ON PUTTING INDIA ON RED LIST

Behind the exchange of words on the state of human rights in each other’s countries between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is a more intense battle being fought in the corridors of United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) as it prepares a report to be submitted to the US State Department on April 25.

Twice in the past successive years, the USCIRF wanted the US State Department to treat India as a “Country of Particular Concern (CPC)” which would bracket it with egregious human rights abusers such as China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. And, both times two different US administrations have rejected its recommendation and kept India a rung below the red list.

This time the battle within USCIRF on the India chapter is more intense than in the past amidst insider accounts that one USCIRF Commissioner has “been turned” and is understood to be insisting on several changes in the draft under preparation.

On Wednesday, Jaishankar held a press conference in Washington to rebut Blinken’s comments a day earlier.

KARNATAKA MINISTER ESHWARAPPA TO QUIT, BOMMAI SAYS NO PRESSURE

Karnataka minister K S Eshwarappa, who is facing charges of abetment to suicide in connection with the death of a civil contractor in Udupi, on Thursday announced stepping down from his position, ending days of defiance.

Addressing a press meet in Shivamogga, Eshwarappa said, "I have served as the rural development and panchayat raj minister in the Karnataka government. I have taken a decision today to resign from my ministerial position." He further said he would tender his resignation letter to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday.

Meanwhile, the opposition Congress stepped up its attack on the beleaguered Eshwarappa demanding his arrest as the next step.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai clarified that Eshwarappa decided to resign on his own and there was no pressure from the party high command.

PAKISTAN PM SHEHBAZ SHARIF SENDS BAISAKHI GREETINGS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent a congratulatory letter to the new Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday after his April 11 phone call on his election. The latter also put out a tweet welcoming Sikh delegates to Pakistan on Baisakhi.

“This Punjabi festival symbolises much more than merely the start of the harvesting season. It is a sign of hope, renewal and growth. Congratulations to all those celebrating this spring festival,’’ he tweeted.

COVID DASHBOARD – INDIA

As of 0800 IST / April 15

from mohfw.gov.in ,

New Cases on Thursday 949

Active Cases 11,191  (+133)

Total Deaths (Deaths Yesterday) 5,21,743 (6)

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

======================

RUSSIA WARNS OF N-DEPLOYMENT NEAR SWEDEN AND FINLAND IF THEY JOIN NATO

One of Russian President Putin’s closest allies warned Nato on Thursday that if Sweden and Finland joined the US-led military alliance then Russia would deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles in an exclave in the heart of Europe. Finland, which shares a 1,300-km border with Russia, and Sweden are considering joining the Nato alliance. Finland will decide in the next few weeks, PM Sanna Marin said on Wednesday.

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said that should Sweden and Finland join Nato then Russia would have to strengthen its land, naval and air forces in the Baltic Sea. Medvedev, who was Russian president from 2008 to 2012, also explicitly raised the nuclear threat by saying that there could be no more talk of a “nuclear free” Baltic — where Russia has its Kaliningrad exclave sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania. Medvedev said he hoped Finland and Sweden would see sense. If not, he said, they would have to live with nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles close to home. Russia has the world’s biggest arsenal of nuclear warheads and along with China and the US is one of the global leaders in hypersonic missile technology.

Nato did not immediately respond to Russia’s warning.

Still, the possible accession of Finland and Sweden into Nato would be one of the biggest strategic consequences of the war in Ukraine. Finland gained independence from Russia in 1917 and fought tagainst it during WWII during which it lost some territory.

Sweden has not fought a war for 200 years. Foreign policy has focused on supporting democracy and nuclear disarmament.

NO FOREIGN CONSPIRACY BEHIND IMRAN OUSTER, SAYS PAK ARMY

Pakistan’s military on Thursday plainly denied that there had been discussion at a National Security Committee meeting last month about a “foreign conspiracy aimed at regime change in Pakistan”, as claimed by former PM Imran Khan. In a wide-ranging press conference, Major General Babar Iftikhar, the army’s spokesperson, said that Pakistan’s institutions are fully capable of thwarting international conspiracies but the minutes of the national security committee meeting did not contain the word “conspiracy”.

“As far as the military’s response about the NSC meeting, a statement was issued which clearly shows what was concluded in that meeting. The words are in front of you, the words are clear. Was there any word such as ‘conspiracy’ used? I do not think so,” Iftikhar said, noting that the government can declassify the minutes of the NSC meeting if it desires.

The spokesperson said that the cipher from the Pakistan ambassador to the US was also received by the ISI and it briefed the NSC based on that cable. He explained that demarches are given not just on conspiracies but for many reasons. “In this case it was given for undiplomatic language and is equal to interference,” he explained. He also clarified that the US had never asked for any military bases in Pakistan — countering Imran’s narrative that he was “targeted” by Washington for refusing this demand.

Commenting on Khan’s Moscow visit, Iftikhar said the army was on board. “It was in no, one’s wildest dreams that they would announce war when the PM was there, which was obviously very embarrassing. ”

SHANGHAI COVID-19 CASES HIT RECORD HIGH, XI REITERATES URGENCY OF CURBS

China’s financial hub Shanghai reported over 27,000 Covid cases on Thursday, a new high, a day after President Xi Jinping said that the country must continue with its strict “dynamic Covid clearance” policy and pandemic control measures. Shanghai is battling China’s worst outbreak since the virus first emerged in Wuhan in late 2019, with its 25 million residents remaining largely under lockdown, though restrictions were partially eased in some areas.

Wider curbs to stop the spread of the highly infectious Omicron variant have led to logistical and supply chain disruptions that are taking a growing economic toll, adding to expectations that China’s central bank will soon announce more stimulus measures.

The lockdown in China’s key financial hub, now in its third week, has spawned some of the most anti-government criticism in years on the country’s tightly controlled social media.

The crisis is one of the biggest tests yet for Xi. who made a veiled reference to the outrage on Wednesday, saying the country needed to stick with its zero-tolerance approach. He said it was necessary to overcome “paralyzing thoughts” and “war weariness” while preventing any imported cases and local virus flare-ups.

THE REST

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4 TERRORISTS KILLED IN SHOPIAN ENCOUNTER; 2 SOLDIERS DIE IN ROAD ACCIDENT

Four Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district on Thursday, while two Army personnel lost their lives as their vehicle met with an accident on the way to the site of the gunbattle, officials said.

On receiving information about the presence of terrorists at Badigam in Shopian's Zainapora area, the security forces had launched a cordon-and-search operation, a police official said.

During the operation, the terrorists fired upon the forces, which led to an encounter, he added.

Inspector general of police, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said the slain ultras were members of proscribed terror outfit LeT.

CHOUHAN JUSTIFIES ACTION AGAINST RIOTERS

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday warned that his government would not spare anyone found indulging in riots and also justified the demolition of “illegal structures” belonging to those allegedly involved in the recent violence in Khargone.

Curfew was clamped in Khargone on Sunday evening following incidents of arson and stone-throwing during Ram Navami celebrations. The police have so far arrested 121 people in connection with the violence. “The houses of persons belonging to the SC community were set ablaze (by rioters in Khargone). Why shouldn’t action be taken against such people?” Chouhan asked.

DELHI CAUTIOUS AS COVID CASES BEGIN TO RISE

The Delhi government has issued a fresh advisory for schools in the national capital, directing them to close the entire premises or specific wings temporarily if any student or staff tests positive for COVID-19.

The directorate of education also said that students and staff must wear masks and maintain social distancing to the extent possible.

The advisory came amid reports of a few students testing positive for COVID-19 across the national capital and NCR.

Noting a 'slight' rise in COVID-19 cases, deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said earlier in the day that he has directed the education department to issue guidelines on Friday in this regard.

However, both Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Sisodia maintained the government is closely monitoring the situation, and asked people not to panic as there is no rise in hospitalisation.

Delhi reported 325 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, while the positivity rate stood at 2.39 per cent, according to data shared by the city's health department.

Reports of infections from schools have sparked concerns, weeks after they opened for completely offline classes following a two-year gap due to the pandemic.

‘WHY JUST DELHI, WILL SEND MY OFFICERS TO ISRAEL IF NEEDED,’ PUNJAB CM MANN

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has countered Opposition chatter about his bureaucrats meeting Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi with a defiant: “I will send them to Israel if needed!”

Earlier this week, Opposition parties in Punjab accused Arvind Kejriwal of running the state by “remote control” after his meeting in Delhi with Punjab’s chief secretary and the power secretary. Bhangwant Mann was not present at this meeting on Monday.

Mann told reporters Thursday: “If needed, for training purposes, I will send my officers to Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and even Israel. Why should anyone object to that? They (the Delhi government) are specialists in education, power, health. Why shouldn’t I send the officers.”

CBSE TO GO BACK TO SINGLE BOARD EXAM NEXT YEAR

The CBSE has decided to restore the pre-pandemic single-exam format from the next academic year, which means the Class X and XII board exams are not likely to be split into two parts.

For the 2021-22 academic year, the CBSE had introduced a bifurcated format with two terms: the Term-I board exams were held in November-December last year, while the Term-II exams are scheduled to start on April 26. It is learnt that more weightage will be given The decision was taken after the board exams for the 2020-21 academic year had to be cancelled due to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Students were evaluated on their scores in previous exams, practical exams and internal assessments.

According to a senior official, the board decided to restore the single-exam pattern after receiving representations from schools. “CBSE never announced that the two-term exam format will be continued henceforth. It was a one-time formula. Now that schools are functioning in full capacity, the decision, for now, is to stick to the one-time exam format,” said the official.

DEMAT ACCOUNT TALLY JUMPS 63% TO 89.7 MILLION IN FY22, SHOWS DATA

The number of active demat accounts in the country jumped 63 per cent in the past 12 months to 89.7 million in financial year 2021-22 (FY22).

In the post-pandemic world, the number of demat accounts have jumped 2.2 times, while combined AUC too has doubled.

“The pandemic compelled everyone across the world to reconsider their spending and investment habits. The widespread availability of smartphones and low-cost data has pushed investing and trading into the digital realm. The use of eKYC and Aadhaar eSign has made opening a demat account a paperless and simple process. Currently, more than 80 per cent of our total customer base is millennials, more than 85 per cent from tier-2 and tier-3 cities, and 70 per cent are first-time investors,” says Ravi Kumar, chief executive officer of Upstox.

TATA'S SUPER APP 'NEU' TO HOST NON-GROUP BRANDS AS WELL: CHANDRASEKARAN

Tata Group chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran on Thursday said the group's recently launched super app Neu is on an open architecture and it will host non-group brands as well.

Stating that the app has received an overwhelming response in the past seven days of going live, Chandrasekaran said the app is on an open architecture and will host products and services from non-Tata group companies.

The super app brings together grocery-to-hotel-to-airline ticket booking and medicine on a single platform, rivalling similar products from Amazon and Flipkart.

Tata brands like Air Asia, BigBasket, Croma, IHCL, Qmin, Starbucks, Tata 1Mg, Tata Cliq, Tata Play, Westside are on the Tata Neu platform already. Vistara, Air India, Titan, Tanishq, Tata Motors will soon join.

ELON MUSK WANTS TO BUY TWITTER, MAKES A $43-BN OFFER

Twitter on Thursday said it will carefully review the "unsolicited, non-binding" proposal from Tesla CEO Elon Musk to acquire the micro-blogging platform for more than $43 billion.

Musk made an offer to buy 100 per cent of Twitter at $54.20 per share, a 54 per cent premium over the closing price of Twitter on January 28, 2022, the trading day before Musk began investing in the company. And is a 38 per cent premium over the closing price of Twitter on April 1, 2022, the trading day before Musk's investment in Twitter was publicly announced.

Musk, who acquired 9.2 per cent share in the micro-blogging platform for nearly $3 billion, is limited from buying more than 15 per cent of Twitter's stock.

"I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy," Musk said in the filing. "However, since making my investment I now realise the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company." In a letter to Twitter's board, Musk said he believes Twitter "will neither thrive nor serve societal imperative in its current form".

"If the deal doesn't work, given that I don't have confidence in management nor do I believe I can drive the necessary change in the public market, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder," he added.

RANBIR KAPOOR AND ALIA BHATT TIE THE KNOT IN MUMBAI

Bollywood stars Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt have tied the knot after dating for over five years. The wedding took place at Ranbir’s house Vastu in Mumbai’s Pali Hill on Thursday.

There was a lot of speculation about the wedding date and venue after the media got wind that Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt will tie the knot this week. Finally, on April 13, Ranbir’s mother Neetu Kapoor and sister Riddhima Kapoor Sahni confirmed that the couple will tie the knot on April 14.

IPL MATCH 24: GUJARAT TITANS TRUMP RAJASTHAN TO GO TOP

Skipper Hardik Pandya enhanced his reputation as a number four batter with an unbeaten 87 off 52 balls as Gujarat Titans trounced Rajasthan Royals by 37 runs in the Indian Premier League at the DY Patil stadium yesterday.

Hardik, whose strike rate and approach has been questioned at his new position, played responsibly when it was needed before displaying the power he is known for to lead Titans to 192 for four after being sent into bat.

The in form Jos Buttler (54 off 24) provided another flying start to Royals but the rest of the batting unit did not deliver as the innings ended at 155 for nine in 20 overs.

GT have now won 4 of their 5 matches while RR have 3 wins from 5

INDICATORS

(The Indian Markets were closed yesterday on account of Mahavir Jayanti)

Nasdaq 13,351 (-293) Dow 34,451 (-113), S&P 4,393 (-54)

US$-Rs. 75.95 GBP-Rs. 99.50, Euro-Rs. 82.50, UAE Dhm-Rs.20.67, Can$-Rs. 60.38, Aus$- Rs. 56.47

GBP 0.76 /US$, Euro 0.92 /US$, Jap.Yen 125.59 /US$, Aus$ 1.34 /US$, Sing 1.35 /US$, Bang Taka 84.54 /US$, Can$ 1.25 /US$, Mal Ring 4.22 /US$,

Pak Re 180.48 /US$, Phil Peso 52.16 /US$, Russian Rouble 82.44 /US$, NZ$ 1.46 /US$, Thai Baht 33.60 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 29.12 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 39,977

Dollar Index 100.30 Brent Crude 111.70 BDI 2,068

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,973 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 5,406 / 4,955, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 74,400

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The number one reason people fail in life is because they listen to their friends, family and neighbours. - Napoleon Hill

OFF TRACK

A man was driving down the road when a policeman stopped him. The officer looked in the back of the man's truck and said, "Why are these penguins in your truck?"

The man replied, "These are my penguins. They belong to me."

"You need to take them to the zoo," the policeman said.

The next day, the officer saw the same guy driving down the road. He pulled him over again. He saw the penguins were still in the truck, but they were wearing sunglasses this time. "I thought I told you to take these penguins to the zoo!" the officer said.

"I did," the man replied. "And today I'm taking them to the beach."