Category: News & Politics

News & Politics

Congress And JDS Hopeful Of Making A Coalition In Karnataka After Bypoll Results

HT News

Fate of BS Yediyurappa led BJP government in Karnataka will be decided by the result of 15 assembly seats. Bypolls for these seats were held on December 5 and the result is expected by today evening.

Why were the bypolls held in Karnataka?

15 MLAs of Congress-JDS coalition resigned in support of BJP thus bringing the coalition government to an end and paving way for BJP government. Out of the 15 assembly seats, 12 belong to Congress and 3 to the JDS. The bypolls are crucial for ruling BJP as well as for the opposition.

What is the present political equation in Karnataka?

With the result, the strength of Karnataka assembly would be 224 but the BJP has only 105 MLAs. It would need 7 MLAs to get majority in the new house. Congress has 66 MLAs and JDS has 35 seats. If the BJP fails to win 7 seats, its government would come in minority. Also, the opposition parties could again form a coalition to keep the BJP out of power.

What is the future of Karnataka government?

The BJP claims to win 13 out of 15 seats but in case, it fails to win the required number of seats, it could go out of power. Also, the Congress and JDS could come together to form a coalition to run the government. The opposition parties believe that they will defeat the BJP in the bypolls and again make a coalition on the lines of Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress experiment in Maharashtra.

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News & Politics Technology

New Alphabet Boss Is An Old Champ

HT News

Sundar Pichai was officially made CEO of Alphabet Inc. but in reality, he had been running the company for several years. The change in guard brought no change at the ground level because wasn’t a stranger to Google.

Meet Sundar Pichai

Curriculum Vitae of the 47-year old engineer from India reads like a typical Silicon Valley operator. He holds a Master’s degree from Stanford University, an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and a short stint in McKinsey & Co.

He joined Google in 2004 and soon was made responsible for Google’s most popular products including Gmail, the Chrome browser and Android. His colleagues call him collaborative and loyal. He once turned down offer of a big stock because he thought he had already been paid generously.

Pichai made head of Google

It was in 2015, when Larry Page and Sergey Brin created the Alphabet holding that Sundar Pichai was made Google’s boss. The founders handed total executive control of Google to Pichai to develop self-driven cars and technology that can improve quality of life.

Reputation of Sundar Pichai in Silicon Valley

He enjoys a positive image in the valley. He’s the guy that kept the cash flowing ag Google. But he was a lesser known guy partly because Larry Page and Sergey Brin were technically holding control of the company. The US Senate also asked Larry Page to appear and not Sundar Pichai. But it was Pichai who appeared before a House Judiciary Committee meeting.

Achievements of Sundar Pichai

He did more than simply keeping the lights on at Google. His work on popularizing artificial intelligence between customers and investors and … Read the rest

News & Politics

Thackeray Beckons Red Signal To Bullet Train Project After Stopping Work On Aarey Car Shed

HT News

After stopping work on the Aarey car shed a couple of days back, CM Udbhav Thackeray stalled the Rs. 1.1 lack crore Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project on the pretext of reviewing the project. Also, he promised brining out a White Paper on state’s finances. Cabinet expansion is also on his priority.

Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project

The Rs. 1.1 lack crore project is facing hurdles in land acquisition especially in the Palghar area of north Mumbai. The government has already acquired 548 hectares of the total requirement of 1,380 hectares. It is a joint project of Gujarat, Mumbai and Center. Stopping this project will bring the Maharashtra government in collision mode with the center.

Farm distress

Udbhav Thackeray demanded a compensation of Rs. 25,000 per hectare for distressed farmers during election campaigns. When reminded by the opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis about the compensation he replied that he expected the opposition leader to talk to the center for release of funds for farm distress.

Maharashtra taxes

Thackeray said that Maharashtra contributes 40-45% of the total revenue from taxes to the center. If the center waves the taxes for two years, Maharashtra can pay all its debt. He further said that he expected PM Modi to help in these difficult times.

Thackeray replied to Amitabh Bachchan

Replying to a tweet of Amitabh Bachchan on the need of Metro Thackeray said that people didn’t need metro for visiting hospitals but people wanted to live happy healthy. He highlighted that Aarey is about ecosystem and not trees.

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National News & Politics

What Does 4.5% GDP Say About The Country’s Economy?

HT News

The latest data released by National Statistical Office (NSO) revealed startling details about the country’s GDP. The economy grew at its slowest pace in 26 quarters in the July-September period of the current fiscal.

Highlights of the NSO data

• GDP grew by 4.5% in the September quarter
• It is slower than 5% in the previous quarter
• The manufacturer contracted 1% in September quarter
• Eight core sectors that account for 40% of index of industrial production contracted 5.8% in October

The data shows that the GDP remained slower despite the 4.3% expansion in the January-March quarter of 2012-13.The decline in manufacturing sector is the first in the nine quarters. It highlights lack of demand in the economy. The factory out with the core sector also contracted.

The eight-core sectors coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity witnessed the sharpest slide that shows that the weakness in economy has continued in the third-quarter too.

Political slugfest over economic slowdown

Former PM Manmohan Singh said that 4.5% GDP was unacceptable. But the chief economic adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian countered that the fundamentals of the economy continued to be strong. Economists also expect the economy to see some growth but they predict the economy to remain around 5.5-5.6% in 2019-20 fiscal year. But it is much lower than the 7% growth estimated earlier this year.

Former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg terms the current GDP like a recession than a slowdown for a country that has grown in excess of 7.5% per annum for 20 years.

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News & Politics Viral

Happy thanksgiving giving celebrated with thank fulness

HT News

Thanksgiving is said to be an annual national holiday in the United States. Whereas Canada celebrates this day as harvest and other blessings of the past year. It is believed by American, Thanksgiving is modelled on a 1621 harvest feast. According to them, it was shared by the English Colonists.

In1789, November 26, was declared thanksgiving day by George Washington. But this was not connected to the Pilgrim feast, it was then considered for the same year only.

How thanksgiving becomes official.

By 1789, thanksgiving was not officially set as a holiday. Thanksgiving was yet to get published officially. It then becomes a matter of interest for the common public.

It was advised by George Washington to consider the last Thursday of November as a thanking day. It was liked by the people and was considered a thoughtful idea. Lastly, It was the first president of the US, Abraham Lincoln who officially declared last Thursday of November as Thanksgiving day.


Why called as thanksgiving

It would be a common question, what could be the reason for calling last Thursday of every November as thanksgiving. The reason is people thanks for the last year of harvest, and also welcome for the coming year. Not only this, in the USA, it is often recognized as an event which took place when English Colonial held a fest to thanks native American for helping then to start their new lives in the US.

Thanksgiving Celebration

Celebrate thanksgiving as a legendary holiday. People organize the traditional fare for the celebration of thanksgiving. Thanksgiving particularly includes turkey, bread stuffing, potatoes, cranberries and also pumpkin pie. It is believed to celebrate it … Read the rest

International News & Politics

Imran Khan Believes That Trees Produce Oxygen At Night

HT News

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said something that is very serious but ended up making a joke of himself. Whether it was a tongue-slip or lack of knowledge, he made people laugh throughout the night.

Why did Imran Khan say?

“Trees produce oxygen at night,” said Pakistan PM Imran Khan while highlighting the drawbacks of removing earth’s green cover. He said that trees clean air but soon after he made a blunder that went viral. Going with the flow, he said trees produced oxygen at night.

How was Imran Khan caught red-handed?

Pakistan journalist Naila Inayat shared a 15-seconds video of Imran Khan with the caption “Trees produce oxygen at night: Einstein Khan shows the minister addressing an audience.”

Twitterati were first to react and some of them even demanded Nobel Prize for Imran Khan. People made mockery of the knowledge of Imran Khan. One Twitterati uploaded a page from school book of 7th standard showing that trees don’t produce oxygen at night.

Recently Sheikh Rashid from Pakistan made headlines by explaining an explosion. He said the breakfast exploded and set fire to the gas stove and the cylinder suffered.

Full text of Imran Khan

“70 feesad jo green cover tha, vokumhua, 10 saalokeandar. Uskenatayaj to aane the, kyunkidrakhthawa ko saafkartehai, oxygen detehairaat ko. Carbon dioxide ko absorb karte ha”

It is clear that Pakistan PM was highlighting a serious matter but ended up making a joke of himself. Any explanation from anyone can’t justify what has been said in a public meeting.

Source: https://bit.ly/2Ot7j3K

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News & Politics

Udbhav Thackeray Sends Son To Invite Sonia Gandhi But Calls Up To Invite Modi

HT News

Thackerays have prepared a long list of invitees for the swearing-in ceremony of the first Thackeray on the eve of 28th November at Shivaji Park in Dadar in central Mumbai.

First Thackeray to become chief minister

Udbhav Thackeray, son of Bal Thackeray and chief of Shiv Sena, is all set to become chief minister of Maharashtra after end of high-octane political drama of swearing-in and then resignation of Devendra Fadnavis. Udbhav Thackeray would become the 18th Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

List of invitees

Aditya Thackeray flew to New Delhi to invite Congress President Sonia Gandhi for the swearing-in ceremony. Former PM Manmohan Singh is also invited to the ceremony. Another VIP in the list of Thackeray invitees is Rahul Gandhi.

Udbhav Thackeray himself called up PM Narendra Modi to seek his blessings and invite him to be present at his swearing-in ceremony. It is going to be a historic event as Thackerays have 40,000 special invitees and 700 farmers.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee are on the list of invitees. Also, ex-UP CM Akhilesh Yadav and DMK chief are also invited to the ceremony. But only Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath and Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel have confirmed their presence.

Business leaders and Bollywood invitees

Thackerays want to start their first inning as CM with good notes and for this reason they have invited Mukesh Ambani and Ratan Tata to the ceremony. Also, there would be Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Anil Kapoor and Salman Khan from Bollywood.

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News & Politics

Devendra Fadnavis Goes BS Yeduyurappa Way In Maharashtra Politics

HT News

The drama that unfolded in Maharashtra reminds of 2018 Karnataka incident when BS Yediyurappa became chief minister for 56 hours. The fractured mandate of 2018 Karnataka election prevented BJP to form a majority government and its misadventure resulted in public humiliation.

Karnataka government formation in 2018

BJP secured only 105 seats from the 224 legislative assembly seats in Karnataka in 2018 elections. The other seats went to Congress 80 and JD(S) 37. With no party in the position to stake claim to power, BJP moved ahead. The majority mark in Karnataka is 113.

Governor VajubhaiVala invited Yediyurapp to form the government despite the other parties – Congress and JD(S) – claiming to have the majority to form the government. The aggrieved parties went to Supreme Court for help and the SC woke up at midnight to end the high-octane political drama of Karnataka. It ordered Yediyurappa to prove its majority in 24 hours and the former opted to resign instead of facing humiliation. But Yediyurappa again became the chief minister because the Congress JD(S) coalition could last only for 14 months.

2006 Memory

In 2006, HD Kumaraswamy defied his father and JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda to strike an alliance with BJP but failed to keep his promise of returning the power to BJP according to the power-sharing arrangement. Ajit Power did the similar thing with Sharad Pawar in 2019 and both met the same fate. In Maharashtra, AjitPawar resigned before floor test but Kumaraswamy ruled the state for 20 months.

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Hot News News & Politics

SC Again Fumes Over Pollution In Delhi

HT News

The Supreme Court fumed over the worsening air quality index of Delhi and the fact that 45% of city’s garbage remains unattended. The SC declared that the city was no longer liveable and became worst than the narark (hell).

A fuming bench of SC said that people were dying of various ailments like cancer caused due to pollution. It compared Delhi with a gas chamber and said that it is better the government killed people with explosives instead leaving them to die a slow death due to pollution.

What did SC rule on Delhi pollution?

The SC bench noted that Delhi was reeling under pressure but the governments were sitting idle. The took note of the fact that the capital was suffering due to inactivity of centre and state governments. It directed both the governments to set aside their differences and sit down to find an amicable solution to the problem of solution.

What did SC say about smog towers?

The SC said that the smog towers were the only solution available to control pollution and directed the Delhi government to quickly find places where these towers can be erected and make plans for making the towers.

What did SC say about pollution in neighbouring states?

The SC asked neighbouring states why they shouldn’t be fined for polluting the environment. Also, the bench asked all states and UTs to prepare a detailed report on pollution and action plan. It also directed the Central Pollution Control Board to prepare a report on water quality in rivers and steps taken to control water pollution.

Source: https://bit.ly/34oiwYO

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News & Politics

Repercussion Of Maharashtra And Haryana Elections Results In 2020-22 Rajya Sabha Re-Elections For BJP And Congress

HT News

Poorer than expected performance in Haryana and Maharashtra could disturb the Rajya Sabha strength of NDA especially after the losses in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan in 2018. But the silver lining in the dark sky is that the loss for BJP+ShivSena combine would be marginal.

Total number of Rajya Sabha seats in Maharashtra and Haryana

Together these seats send 24 MPs (Maharashtra 19 + Haryana 5)to Rajya Sabha.

From Haryana, the Indian National Congress has only MP but the Bhartiya Janata Party has 3 MPs. Subash Chandra of Zee group is the only independent Rajya Sabha MP from Haryana. It is to be noted that he is backed by BJP.

In Maharashtra, the Congress and Nationality Congress Party combine have 7 Rajya Sabha MPs, while the National Democratic Alliance has 11 MPs.

Upcoming Rajya Sabha elections

Haryana would elect its Rajya Sabha MPs in 2020 and 2022. Two MPs would be elected in each election. Maharashtra will elect 7 Rajya Sabha MPs in 2020 and another six in 2022. The remaining seats in both the states would go to poll in 2024.

BJP prospects in coming Rajya Sabha elections

Out of the 13 Rajya Sabha seats that would go for election in 2020 and 2022 in Maharashtra, NDA would get 7 seats and the Congress+NCP would bag 5.

In Haryana Rajya Sabha elections of 2020 and 2022, the Congress could get only one MP. Poor show in Maharashtra and Haryana will cost BJP in the coming Rajya Sabha elections.

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