India

Patna, Aug 30 (IANS) A local court on Tuesday granted bail to BJP MLC Devesh Kumar in a liquor law violation case in Bihar.

Kumar was booked after he was found arguing with some in an inebriated state in Patli Path under Patliputra colony police station a month ago.

The BJP was in power in the state when the incident took place so the matter was brushed aside. But now, his detailed breath analyser report came positive on Monday when his party has assumed the role of the opposition in the state.

Since the MLC violated the ban for the first time, he was granted bail from the district court.

Kumar, on the other hand claimed that he went to the Patli Path to help one of his friends named Dr Sanjay Chaudhary who got involved in a verbal spat with some youths. He had nothing to do with that incident, he claimed.

Now, BJP's action is awaited in the matter.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Aug 30 (IANS) Congress on Tuesday questioned the Centre's silence on the Chinese fraud loan apps which has claimed 52 young lives and siphoned off Rs 500 crore through Hawala.

Addressing a press conference party spokesperson Gaurav Vallabh said it has been two years since the news of Chinese loan apps duping lakhs of Indians through its conspiracy of the debt trap surfaced.

He said: "An investigation between January and February 2021 found more than 1,100 digital loan apps available across play stores. RBI has accepted that at least 600 such apps were operating illegally. As per RBI, there was a jump of 12 times in loans on digital platforms between 2017 and 2020. Till now, 52 individuals in our country have committed suicide due to blackmailing by these loan apps. "

Vallabh also accused the Modi government of lying to the nation and lacking the courage to even talk against the Chinese aggression, and failing in international diplomacy.

He alleged that such apps have mushroomed since Covid struck in 2020. The Modi government has weakened the Indian economy pushing millions into poverty, he said.

"This is one of the main reasons why the lower and middle-income groups are forced to resort to such debt propositions. The other reason is the gross misdirection of focus for central agencies".

He said the modus operandi of the loan apps is make the user install the app from the app store or direct message. At the time of installation, the app asks for access to the user's phone book, photo gallery, messages, etc., without which the app will not be installed. The user is asked to provide AADHAAR or PAN Card for KYC purposes.

After providing a loan, the user is granted seven days' time for repayment of double the principal amount. But the user starts receiving phone calls after five days. Even if the user pays the entire amount, without his requirement, some more money is transferred into his account or repayment is not updated, forcing the user to pay the penalty for late payment.

"If the user fails to pay up, his/her morphed image is shared with his friends and family. If this doesn't work, using call centres, they abuse users with a warning to share their nude photographs."

The Congress spokesperson said the incompetence of the central government and agencies has led to multiple cases of suicides due to such debt traps. Chinese loan app companies have siphoned off Rs 500 crore from India through the hawala route.

"There has been no strategy, no focus by the Modi government in evaluating priorities. Certain Chinese apps were banned in 2020 but the action on such apps has been lackluster."

--IANS
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New Delhi, Aug 30 (IANS) Gautam Adani was already Asias richest man and now he is also the world's third richest person, overtaking LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault and becoming the first Asian person to take that spot, according to Bloomberg and its Billionaires index.

Adani, who runs one of India's top conglomerates, is now believed to be worth approximately $137 billion, the tracker shows.

That's after a surge this week placed him just behind Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, whose own fortunes are estimated at $251 billion and $153 billion, respectively, CNN reported.

Like other billionaires around the world, Adani has seen his wealth skyrocket during the pandemic.

The founder of the eponymous Adani Group controls companies ranging from ports and aerospace to solar energy and coal.

His fortune has grown exponentially since the start of the global health crisis, as investors bet on his ability to grow his business in sectors that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has prioritized for development.

Adani has also benefited from an uptick in coal usage, which has catapulted his ascent in recent months, according to Bloomberg.

He overtook fellow Indian tycoon to become the region's wealthiest person in February, CNN reported.

His shot up the global wealth rankings comes as some members of the world's 1 per cent give away more of their resources.

In July, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates announced he would devote $20 billion to the endowment of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and reiterated his intention to move "off of the list of the world's richest people".

Bill Gates is currently ranked the world's fifth most affluent person, according to Bloomberg's index, with a net worth of $117 billion, CNN reported.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Aug 30 (IANS) India seems to be enjoying the 'There Is No Alternative' (TINA) factor, as globally all countries are facing the churn and India seems to the best placed jurisdiction in terms of growth and inflation outlook in FY23, according to the SBI Ecowrap report.

This optimism is because China is also facing a bleak outlook on the back of a construction sector meltdown. In fact, report believes that the China story may now be facing clear headwinds and India is likely to benefit from such stark realities over the longer term.

The trends in prices of both retail and commercial real estate in China now show much deeper structural adjustment. The long-term trends in retail prices show that since 2016, prices have been steadily declining along the linear trend.

In 2022, even the nominal price index has witnessed degrowth which is a worrying sign. The real price index growth has been in negative growth since December 2021. Home sales in China have fallen for 11 months in a row, official data shows. That is the longest slump since China created a private property market in the late 1990s.

Chinese demographers are now predicting that negative population growth in China will be the dominant trend in the coming years for a long time and improving the overall quality of the population and changing economic development plans are vital to address the problem.

With ageing, size of the family will gradually shrink. The housing demand will eventually decline in the long run in China as seen in Japan. The future outlook of the construction sector in China over the long run structural factors such as demographic ageing and rebalancing of economy will eventually remove a substantial portion of demand.

India is likely to be the beneficiary as China slows down in terms of new investment intentions.

Since the default by Evergrande group, once hailed as the toast of Chinese infrastructure resurgence, the financial situation of the construction sector in China has steadily moved southwards.

The debt default by Evergrande group spread to other large and mid-tier construction companies. Listed developers' share prices have fallen US$55 billion during 2022, while the sector's dollar notes have fallen by more than US$35 billion. Bank loans to the real estate sector have dropped for the first time in 10 years.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Aug 30 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be visiting Delhi Police Headquarters on Tuesday, said officials.

However, his programme which was scheduled to take place at Adarsh Auditorium in the police headquarters has been cancelled.

Shah had planned to meet Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora, to felicitate police personnel and to discuss the national security action plan of 2024 and about the security arrangements made available for the G-20 summit.

"The programme of UHM to PHQ stands, however due to paucity of time the programme scheduled in Adarsh Auditorium stands cancelled," the Police Headquarters said.

Shah was all set to felicitate a number of police personnel, who won medals during the Commonwealth Games, national-level competitions and in World Police Fire Games.

"Mainly four points had to be discussed, of which the first was regarding the 2024 action plan to make the national capital a safe place. Second was security arrangements for the G-20 summit which is being monitored by Shah. Focus was on forensic and other related things. The police personnel, who have won laurels, were to be felicitated by Mr Shah," the official said.

The Union Home Minister wants the Delhi Police to focus on more forensic evidence to prove their cases before the concerned courts. In this respect, Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora was all set to brief Shah and would also convey to him about the need of equipment.

"We will tell UHM about the need for their own lab like the Central Bureau of Investigation. This is the main point to be briefed to Mr Shah which would give us more strength," the official said.

Both the Delhi Police Commissioner and the Union Home Minister are likely to discuss other sensational crime cases as well, including the Jahangirpuri case. This was their first official meeting.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Aug 30 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to the Delhi Police headquarters on Tuesday has been cancelled due to "unavoidable reasons", Police Headquarters said.

Shah was scheduled to visit the police headquarters to discuss national security, the action plan for 2024, and the security arrangements made available for the G-20 summit.

He also was to felicitate a number of police personnel, who won medals during the Commonwealth Games, national-level competitions and in World Police Fire Games.

--IANS
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