Heena Sharma Blog

The Supreme Tuesday directed the Gujarat government to give Rs 50 lakh compensation, a job and accommodation to Bilkis Bano who was gang raped during the 2002 riots in the state. A bench headed by Chief Justice Rajan Gogoi was informed by the Gujarat government that action has been taken against the erring police officials in the case. A bench, also comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna, was informed by the state's counsel that pension benefits of the erring officials have been stopped and the IPS officer who was convicted by the Bombay High Court in the case has been demoted by two ranks. Bano had earlier refused to accept the offer of Rs 5 lakh and had sought exemplary compensation from the state government in a plea before the top court. The top court had earlier asked the Gujarat government to take disciplinary action in two weeks against the erring police officials, including an IPS officer, convicted by the Bombay High Court in the case. Read More

Two aircraft of IAF's aerobatic team Suryakiran crashed near the Yelahanka airbase here Tuesday, a day before the opening of the Aero India show, a top police official said. Both the pilots ejected to safety, Additional commissioner of Police (East) Seemanth Kumar Singh told PTI. It was not immediately clear whether the two aircraft collided before the crash. Article Source -> Business Standard

The Goa government has decided to charge fines between Rs 2,000 and Rs 10,000 from people for drinking and cooking in the open, state Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar said Thursday. The Tourist Trade Act will be amended suitably during the Goa Assembly session beginning on January 29 for this purpose, he informed. "People found creating nuisance like drinking in public or cooking in the open will be fined up to Rs 10,000. While an individual will be fined Rs 2,000, a group indulging in such an offence will be charged Rs 10,000," Ajgaonkar told reporters. In case the fine is not paid, the offender can face imprisonment of up to three months, he added. Business Standard

Banking services were partially affected for the second day on Wednesday, as a section of PSU bank employees came in support of the nation-wide strike call given by 10 central trade unions against the alleged anti-labour policies of the government. All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) and Bank Employees' Federation of India (BEFI) have supported the strike, which has impacted banking operation where these two unions are strong. However, the operation in SBI and private sector banks remained unaffected as other seven unions in the banking sector are not part of the strike. According to AIBEA General Secretary C H Vekatchalam, cash transactions, clearance of cheques, remittances, bills discounting and foreign exchange transactions were impacted. Cheques worth about Rs 20,000 crore could not be cleared by the clearing houses all over the country yesterday, he claimed. Read More Business Standard

Soon, rural India may have access to broadband services through cable networks. To boost rural internet connectivity, the ministry of information and broadcasting and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) proposed to provide broadband services through existing cable networks. According to ministry officials, the move has the potential to provide internet connectivity to nearly 190 million households that have television sets. A Times of India report says that about 100 million homes already have cable TV subscription. Trai chairman R S Sharma said that such a move can increase internet connectivity through fixed line networks from the existing 7 per cent, against the global average of 46 per cent. During the mid-December meeting of the ministry and TRAI with service providers, Sharma cited the instance of South Korea, which has implemented a similar proposal. For it to be implemented, the proposal will now be whetted on the financial implications of a

Have you linked your voter ID with Aadhaar yet? Soon, linking of voter ID with Aadhaar maybe made mandatory. According to a report published in Economic Times, the Election Commission, in a shift in its stand, is preparing to pitch for the mandatory, legally backed, linking of voter IDs with Aadhaar number . "The commission will propose amendments to the Representation of the People Act, 1951, that will require citizens to link their Electoral Photo ID Card (EPIC) with the 12-digit Aadhaar, while ensuring privacy protection," the report said. In October, EC informed the Madras High Court it had no object linking Aadhaar with electoral rolls and voter ID card as sought in a public interest litigation to check bogus and invalid entries. The commission, however, said a decision has to be taken keeping in view the recent Supreme Court order on the Centre's flagship Aadhaar scheme. Read More Business Standard

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is planning to launch a dedicated communication satellite for defence purposes next week. GSAT-7A is a communications satellite which can be used by the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army. Isro is all set to launch the communication satellite GSAT-7A on board the GSLV-F11 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on December 19, 2018. The satellite will weigh 2.2 tonnes and will be launched by the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV Mk II) rocket, said Isro. The satellite will be placed in the geostationary orbit and this communication satellite is expected to help the IAF interlink different ground radar stations, airbases and AWACS (Airborne Warning And Control System) aircraft. GSAT-7A is the 35th Indian Communication satellite built by Isro. The GSAT-7A spacecraft is configured on Isro’s standard I-2,000 Kg (I-2K) bus. The satellite is built to provide communication capability to the users in Ku-ban

Reliance Industries' Chairman Mukesh Ambani has emerged as the richest Indian for the 11th consecutive year with a net worth of $47.3 billion, according to Forbes magazine. Ambani is also the year's biggest gainer, adding $9.3 billion to his wealth amid the continuing success of his Reliance Jio broadband telco service. As per the 'Forbes India Rich List 2018 ', Wipro Chairman Azim Premji has retained the second spot, adding $2 billion to his wealth at $21 billion; while ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal moved a place ahead to the third slot with a net worth of $18.3 billion, increasing his wealth by $1.8 billion. Mittal is followed by the Hinduja brothers at with a net worth of $18 billion and Pallonji Mistry with $15.7 billion. Other business magnates making the top 10 list are Shiv Nadar ($14.6 billion), Godrej family ($14 billion), Dilip Shanghvi ($12.6 billion), Kumar Birla ($12.5 billion) and Gautam Adani ($11.9 billion). Read Compl