QBullet: 61% Voting in UP 3rd Phase Polling; Bad Loan Crisis Looms

A round-up of the biggest headlines from the national dailies.

(Photo: The Quint)

1. Polling for UP’s 3rd Phase Concludes, 61% Turnout Recorded by 5 pm

Uttar Pradesh held its third phase of polling on Sunday, concluding with a 61% voter turnout by 5 pm.

All major Yadav family members cast their vote and Rajnath Singh said he was confident of BJP’s win.

Also Read: What Do UP-wala Mumbai Cabbies Think of Uttar Pradesh Elections?

Interacting with the media in Lucknow, the four-time Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati claimed a wave in favour of the BSP and said her party was number one in the two rounds of balloting so far.

(Read the full story on The Quint)

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2. UP Elections: If Village Gets Graveyard, Should Get Cremation Ground too, Says PM Modi

Accusing the Samajwadi Party (SP) government in Uttar Pradesh of indulging in discrimination (bhedbhav), Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that if a village gets a graveyard, it should get a cremation ground too.

If there is electricity during Ramzan, it should be there on Diwali as well; and if there is electricity during Holi, it should be there on Eid too.

Stating that it is the government’s responsibility to ensure that there is no discrimination, he said there should not be any injustice on the basis of religion or caste.

Modi said the biggest problem in Uttar Pradesh is discrimination.

Discrimination is the root of injustice… Dalits say they are not getting their rights, OBCs are getting everything. OBCs say the government only gives the Yadavs. Yadavs say only those associated with the ‘family’ are getting their rights, and the rest goes to Muslims.

(Source: Indian Express)

Also Read:
UP Elections: 4,100 People Left Off Voters List in Kanpur
UP Polls: People in Kanpur Now Want Jobs Over a Clean River Ganga

3. Patna, Delhi Among Most Polluted Cities: Report

Air pollution is killing two people in India every minute, with the country's environment turning more toxic by the day, says a new study published in the journal 'The Lancet'.

According to the study, some of the worst polluted cities of the world are in India.

The study, released this week but based on 2010 data, estimates that, globally, 2.7-3.4 million preterm births may be associated with exposure to PM 2.5. South Asia, with 1.6 million preterm births, is the worst hit, the study added.

Delhi pollution levels spiked on Monday. (Photo: Reuters)

Also Read: NGT Orders CBI Probe Into UP Jal Nigam Over Ganga Pollution

The review by 48 scientists and experts from 16 international institutions has warned that air pollution has adverse health effects on people even when the concentration of pollutants meets WHO standards.

In the report, Patna and Delhi figure among the most polluted cities, both having an annual PM 2.5 concentration of more than 120 micrograms per cubic metres — about 12 times the WHO guideline.

(Source: The Times of India)

Also Read: India, China Accounted for Half of Deaths Due to Pollution in 2015
Move Aside Delhi, Kolkata May Have Worse Air Pollution

4. TN Governor Seeks Report on Assembly Incidents

Governor C Vidyasagar Rao has sought a report from the Assembly Secretary on the circumstances that led to the ruckus in the Assembly during the vote of confidence on Saturday.

On separate complaints from former chief minister O Panneerselvam and Leader of the Opposition MK Stalin, the Governor directed the Assembly Secretary to give a “factual report” on the happenings, a Raj Bhavan official said.

Stalin had alleged that extraordinary police presence was mobilised, giving an impression of a war-like situation around the Assembly complex and an atmosphere of terror.

Though he was the Leader of the Opposition, his vehicle was intercepted by police for checking. When the demands of the DMK for a secret ballot and postponement of the vote of confidence were not considered by the Speaker, he said DMK members had resorted to a protest.

(Source: The Hindu)

Also Read: TN Trust Vote: DMK Calls for Hunger Strike, MK Stalin Arrested

5. Bad Loan Crisis Continues: 56.4% Rise in NPAs of Banks

Gross non-performing assets (NPAs), or bad loans, of state-owned banks surged 56.4 percent to Rs 6,14,872 crore during the 12-month period ended December 2016.

They appear set to rise further in the next two quarters with many units, especially in the small and medium sectors, struggling to repay after being hit by the government’s decision to withdraw currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination.

The RBI headquarters in Mumbai. (Photo: Reuters)

Bad loans have now shot up by 135 percent from Rs 2,61,843 crore in the last two years, despite the Reserve Bank of India announcing a host of restructuring schemes. Bad loans now constitute 11 percent of the gross advances of PSU banks, while total NPAs, including those for public and private banks, were Rs 6,97,409 crore as of December 2016.

Efforts of banks to recover bad loans were hamstrung by the redeployment of many staffers to branches in November and December after high-value notes were scrapped.

(Source: Indian Express)

Also Read: Non-Performing Assets of Banks: Turning a Blind Eye Won’t Help

6. Govt Panel Suggests Removal of Domicile Provision Laws Relating to Work for Migrants

A working group on migration constituted by the Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation ministry has recommended that states should scrap the domicile or minimum duration of local residence provisions in laws relating to work or any other specified conditions of employment.

Domicile provisions in laws relating to work can place migrants at a disadvantage in terms of employment, the panel has said. In India, migrants constitute approximately 29% of the workforce.

A child labourer shows his hands smeared with what he says are chemicals as he sits inside a police station in New Delhi after being rescued. (Photo: Reuters)

In its report submitted last month to the ministry, the panel headed by Partho Mukhopadhyay, senior fellow, Centre for Policy Research, has also pushed for portability of public distribution system (PDS) benefits across fair price shop system, affordable housing options and setting up of migrant helpline to provide information about protections and benefits available to them.

(Source: Hindustan Times)

7. Government Plan: Make Sport Must in Schools, Have Marks

Starting in 2018, sport is likely to be integrated into the school curriculum. A sports ministry proposal to this effect is in the “finishing stage”, a senior ministry official said on Sunday.

According to the ministry’s plan, students will be marked on their involvement in sporting activities, and sport will be a subject they will have to pass. The policy is likely to be rolled out in phases, beginning with making it compulsory in Class 1 in 2018, and then introducing it in higher classes.

Schoolchildren eat their free mid-day meal, distributed by a government-run primary school. (Photo: Reuters)

Sports secretary Injeti Srinivas said “accepting the recommendation is easy, but implementing it is the challenge”.

There’s no issue of a Bill being passed (to implement the policy) either. Central Board of Secondary Education can take a decision and other state boards can accept it, like the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

(Source: Indian Express)

Also Read: Include North-East’s History in School: 12-Year-Old’s Appeal to PM
The Musahar Community in Bihar Struggles to Educate Its Children

8. Jet Airways Flight Loses ATC Mid-Air, Escorted by German Air Force

German Air Force planes escorted a Jet Airways aircraft with over 300 people on board after it lost touch with the Air Traffic Control during a flight from Mumbai to London on Thursday, as NDTV reported.

A Jet Airways passenger aircraft. Image used for representation. (Photo: Reuters)

The incident occurred in the German air space prompting their Air Force to escort the plane. However, communication was restored and the flight landed at London’s Heathrow airport without any untoward incident.

Jet Airways said the crew of the flight had been grounded, pending an investigation by the Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

(Read the full report on The Quint)

9. Woman Raped in South Delhi’s Hauz Khas

A man allegedly raped a 24-year-old student from a northeastern state at south Delhi’s popular Deer Park around 2.30 am on Sunday when she was returning home with a cousin after dinner at a restaurant in Hauz Khas Village.

The woman said in her complaint that the man, who she couldn’t identify, raped her twice at the park adjacent to the capital’s signature hangout.

Also Read: Priyadarshan Slams Reports That the Malayalam Actress Was Raped

The two cousins, who stay at a rented flat in Munirka, had gone to Hauz Khas with friends on Saturday night. After dinner, around 1am, the two women were trying to hail a cab to return home when two men approached them.

They struck a conversation and offered to drop them home, saying they have a car parked at a distance.

(Source: Hindustan Times)

Also Read: Malayalam Actress Rape Case: Kairali TV Slammed for Insensitivity
Malayalam Actress Rape Case: Police Make Two More Arrests