Daily News (In Short)-1-June-2015

#* Modi's Hillary: Sushma Swaraj proves she's his best performing minister
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has proved yet again why she is the best performing minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet, though the likes of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley are decidedly much closer to the PM.
The latest corroboration, if at all needed, came on 31 May when she held a freewheeling press conference where  she disclosed her success mantra: keep working but keep away from the media. She scored a perfect ten in her annual presser and emerged as a knight in shining armour for PM Modi as she defended him from repeated barbs from journalists about his frequent foreign trips.During her introductory remarks first she gave an elaborate primer of the Modi government’s achievements in its first year in office in the field of foreign policy and then she took questions (from 45-odd journalists) and wasn't stumped even once.  In contrast, just two days earlier her cabinet colleague Home Minister Rajnath Singh had committed a major faux pas at his press conference in New Delhi where he had said that India had entered an agreement with France to make nuclear weapons in India as part of PM Modi's 'Make in India' campaign.

#* Faster than China? India's road, rail drive could lay doubts to rest
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reformist, but hard-up government has begun a splurge on road and rail building that analysts say could remove doubts over whether economic growth in India really is overtaking China.Having roughly doubled spending allocations for roads and bridges in fiscal 2015/16, and raised the rail budget by a third, Modi is banking on India going faster."They have acknowledged that infrastructure is the big elephant in the room," said Vinayak Chatterjee, head of infrastructure services company Feedback Infra."Once these measures are implemented, the elephant would start dancing, and with it the overall economy."Modi's chief economic advisor, Arvind Subramanian, reckons growth could increase by more than one percentage point this year provided ministries don't underspend, though the central bank saw it adding just half a point.Data released on Friday showed the economy grew 7.5% in the quarter ending in March, easily outpacing China. Many economists suspect, however, that the government statisticians' new way of counting GDP overstates how well India is doing.

#* Mobile, railways, airlines, banking, other services to be costlier from today as service tax goes up to 14%
People will have to shell out more from June 1 (Monday) while using mobiles, eating out and travelling as the service tax rate goes up to 14%.Finance minister Arun Jaitley in his budget had proposed to raise service tax from 12.36% (including education cess) to 14%. The proposal takes effect from June 1.The tax is levied on all services, expect a small negative list.Some of the key services that will attract higher tax and hence become costlier are: railways, airlines, banking, insurance, advertising, architecture, construction, credit cards, event management and tour operators.Mobile operators and credit card companies have already started sending messages to subscribers conveying the increase in service tax rate which will have a bearing on the bills.According to railway ministry officials, fares for First Class and AC classes in passenger trains, besides freight charges, will go up by 0.5% from June 1.

#* OROP explained: Emotive issue for veterans and soldiers, but reasons for caution
One rank one pension (OROP) for military veterans was one of the first public promises made by Narendra Modi in September 2013 after being declared the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate. Although Congress party followed with its promise of implementing the OROP, Modi’s announcement at Rewari immediately won him the support of the majority of 2.8 million veterans in the country. The UPA government even allotted Rs 500 crore for OROP in the interim budget last year but not many trusted its intentions by then. Despite many assurances by various BJP ministers over past one year, the government has still not issued orders for implementation of OROP. Based on off the record briefings from senior ministers, most veterans expected PM Modi to formally announce it during the first anniversary rally at Mathura last week. His silence on OROP has caused much anguish among the veterans. The emotions are running high as some war heroes refused to attend a function at Pune on Thursday where the defence minister felicitated the veterans. An ex-servicemen organisation has announced a public protest rally, including a hunger strike, in Delhi on 14 June.

#* US envoy John Kerry breaks leg in bicycle crash in France
US Secretary of State John Kerry broke his leg in a bicycle crash Sunday after striking a curb and scrapped the rest of a four-nation trip that included an international conference on combating the Islamic State group. He planned to return to the United States on Monday.Kerry was staying overnight in a Swiss hospital overnight as a precaution, State Department spokesman John Kirby said, before flying to Boston for further treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital.
“The secretary continues to be in great spirits and active,” Kirby said. “He has done a range of phone calls including with the president.” Kerry, 71, fractured his right femur after crashing his bike near Scionzier, France, about 40 kilometers southeast of the Swiss border.

#* Bihar: Lalu Prasad Yadav plays the Manjhi card to cut Nitish Kumar to size
Patna: Even as the game of one-upmanship between Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad continues to keep the united Janata Parivar a now on-now off affair in Bihar, former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has emerged as a crucial player in the electoral calculations of all parties. He may not be a political heavyweight compared to the JD(U) or the RJD top guns but he has placed himself in a unique position where he becomes a bargaining chip all negotiations.In February this year, RJD chief Lalu Prasad had joined Nitish Kumar’s intensive campaign to remove Jitan Ram Manjhi as chief minister, blaming the Dalit leader for hobnobbing with the BJP leadership. Barely three months on, he is fighting hard to get Manjhi back in the Janata family at the risk of his friendship with Nitish. The latter is strongly opposed to the Dalit leader’s inclusion in the new formation. Manjhi, meanwhile, has been in constant touch with the BJP, keeping the speculation mill active about his moves.

#* TDP Legislator Trapped While Allegedly Offering Bribe, Arrested
HYDERABAD:  A legislator of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) was arrested on Sunday after allegedly being caught red-handed while trying to buy vote ahead of the legislative council elections in Telangana. Two more persons were also arrested.Revanth Reddy had gone to the house of Elvis Stephenson - a nominated legislator - in Secunderabad. He had reportedly been discussing the matter with Mr Stephenson for the last three days. The deal, the sources said, had been struck for Rs. 5 crore.Heat Wave Kills Around 1,400 in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana; Most of its Victims Are Poor
He was reportedly arrested by waiting personnel of the Anti-Corruption Branch, when he was about to hand over an advance sum of Rs. 50 lakh."The offence is cognizable and non-bailable nature and Sri A.Revanth Reddy (MLA) along with Bishap Sebastian Harry and one Uday Simha were taken into custody for further legal process.," said a statement from the Anti-Corruption Bureau.

#* With Surveillance Program Set to Expire, Senate Turns Toward Limits
WASHINGTON — The government’s authority to sweep up vast quantities of phone records in the hunt for terrorists was set to expire at 12:01 a.m. Monday after Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, blocked an extension of the program during an extraordinary and at times caustic Sunday session of the Senate.Still, the Senate signaled that it was ready to curtail the National Security Agency’s bulk data collection program with likely passage this week of legislation that would shift the storage of telephone records from the government to the phone companies. The House overwhelmingly passed that bill last month. Senators voted, 77 to 17, on Sunday to take up the House bill.Senator Rand Paul, right, spoke to members of the news media after leaving the Senate floor in Washington on Sunday.Rand Paul Takes On ‘Eye Roll’ Caucus to Oppose Data Gathering in Patriot ActMAY 31, 2015 News Analysis: A Gap in Surveillance, but Ways Around ItMAY 31, 2015 video Where’s Edward Snowden Now?MAY 29, 2015 Mr. Paul’s stand may have forced the temporary expiration of parts of the post-9/11 Patriot Act used by the National Security Agency to collect phone records, but he was helped by the miscalculation of Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, who sent the Senate on a weeklong vacation after blocking the House bill before Memorial Day.

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