The Congress on Monday backed out from approaching the Election Commission (EC) against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's controversial "graveyard and cremation ground" remark.

While senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said the EC should do its own work on the issue as it had the constitutional mandate, the party's head of legal cell KC Mittal said due to "unavailability of some senior leaders", the move was cancelled.

"The EC should think what action they would take on Modi's speech. It is not an ordinary institution. They have a duty to discharge. They had themselves warned before the elections that they will not allow this kind of campaign, which is divisive," added Sharma.

Sharma added that Modi should not provoke people and use language which is unacceptable.

However, Mittal told IANS that there were some difficulties which led to the cancellation of the Congress move to approach the EC.

"The meeting got postponed. Today (Monday) it was not possible, there were some difficulties, we'll see it later. The meeting with the commission was tentative (which was scheduled at 5:30 p.m.) and it was not confirmed. Moreover, some of our senior leaders were not available," he told IANS.

Asked if the party would approach the EC later when the senior leaders are available, Mittal said: "We'll inform you about it."

Earlier on Monday, Mittal said: "We will approach the Election Commission today (Monday) over his (Modi) remarks."

Modi on Sunday said the Uttar Pradesh government was playing politics of discrimination, while his flagship schemes benefit everyone irrespective of their caste and religion.

"If a village receives funds for a graveyard, then it should also get for cremation ground… If you provide uninterrupted power supply for Eid, then you should also do it for Holi," Modi said while addressing an election rally in Fatehpur, attacking the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh.

Steel demand is expected to improve in coming months on the back of increased spending on infrastructure and long-term government policies, Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh has said.

"The steel demand has grown 3.3 per cent during April -December 2016. This is expected to improve in the coming months, due to long-term government policies and increase in infrastructure spend," the minister said.
India has been a bright spot in global economy, he said, adding that World Steel Association has predicted the steel demand in India will grow at the rate of 5.7 per cent in 2017.

The government of India, he said, has provided extensive support to the domestic steel industry by way of various trade remedial measures in recent times, such as minimum import prices (MIP), anti-dumping and safeguard measures and quality control.

"The current scenario in the steel sector is well known, and hence the government will take all necessary measures as and when required to support the industry," the minster said.

MIP, he said, was notified as an emergency measure as other trade remedial measures such as anti-dumping rules and safeguard rules are process oriented and are time consuming in terms of implementation and impact.

"However, MIP was gradually phased out as and when suitable trade remedial measures were put in place," he added.

As on date, 124 out of 173 tariff lines, initially notified as MIP, are covered under anti-dumping duties in addition to the safeguard duties on Hot Rolled Coils and Plates.

MIP has also been withdrawn on February 4, he added. 

Steel demand is expected to improve in coming months on the back of increased spending on infrastructure and long-term government policies, Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh has said.

"The steel demand has grown 3.3 per cent during April -December 2016. This is expected to improve in the coming months, due to long-term government policies and increase in infrastructure spend," the minister said.
India has been a bright spot in global economy, he said, adding that World Steel Association has predicted the steel demand in India will grow at the rate of 5.7 per cent in 2017.

The government of India, he said, has provided extensive support to the domestic steel industry by way of various trade remedial measures in recent times, such as minimum import prices (MIP), anti-dumping and safeguard measures and quality control.

"The current scenario in the steel sector is well known, and hence the government will take all necessary measures as and when required to support the industry," the minster said.

MIP, he said, was notified as an emergency measure as other trade remedial measures such as anti-dumping rules and safeguard rules are process oriented and are time consuming in terms of implementation and impact.

"However, MIP was gradually phased out as and when suitable trade remedial measures were put in place," he added.

As on date, 124 out of 173 tariff lines, initially notified as MIP, are covered under anti-dumping duties in addition to the safeguard duties on Hot Rolled Coils and Plates.

MIP has also been withdrawn on February 4, he added. 

Actress Deepika Padukone, who travelled across the world to promote her global franchise film, xXx – Return of Xander Cage, has called travelling an "enriching experience".  

"Yes, we had an extensive promotion schedule and in the process, we travelled to a lot of places, met and interacted with people from all over the world and all of this has been an enriching experience for me", said Deepika.

Travel adds so much to one's life experiences. It always makes a person more enriched. You get acquainted with so many cultures, food habits and local customs, the actress said.

The actress feels happy about the experiences that she gained and admitted that she learnt a lot from interacting with people from different cultural backgrounds. 

Deepika Padukone would be next seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmavati alongside Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor.

Bollywood stars Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt, Karan Johar among others attended the pre birthday bash of actor Shahid Kapoor.

Mira hosted the party for her actor husband in suburban Juhu last evening.

The Haider actor will turn 36 this Saturday.

Shahid kept his look casual with a white tee and jacket teamed up with denims.

His Padmavati co-stars Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone made their presence felt at the bash. Others, who were present at the party were Sonakshi Sinha, Sidharth Malhotra, Farah Khan, Farhan Akhtar, Vishal Bhardwaj, Ekta Kapoor, Manish Malhotra, Saif Ali Khan's daughter Sara, Karan Johar, Sajid Nadiadwala, R Balki, Gauri Shinde and Varun Dhawan.

Surprisingly, his Rangoon co-stars Kangana Ranaut and Saif Ali Khan were not there.

Shahid will next be seen in the Bhardwaj-directed film which is scheduled to release this Friday. He also has Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmavati.

Bollywood stars Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt, Karan Johar among others attended the pre birthday bash of actor Shahid Kapoor.

Mira hosted the party for her actor husband in suburban Juhu last evening.

The Haider actor will turn 36 this Saturday.

Shahid kept his look casual with a white tee and jacket teamed up with denims.

His Padmavati co-stars Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone made their presence felt at the bash. Others, who were present at the party were Sonakshi Sinha, Sidharth Malhotra, Farah Khan, Farhan Akhtar, Vishal Bhardwaj, Ekta Kapoor, Manish Malhotra, Saif Ali Khan's daughter Sara, Karan Johar, Sajid Nadiadwala, R Balki, Gauri Shinde and Varun Dhawan.

Surprisingly, his Rangoon co-stars Kangana Ranaut and Saif Ali Khan were not there.

Shahid will next be seen in the Bhardwaj-directed film which is scheduled to release this Friday. He also has Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmavati.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday announced financial aid of Rs.5 lakh each to all sports bodies in the state nurturing Olympic talents.

The chief minister also loosened her purse strings for 13 top city clubs, each of which, she said, will get Rs.50 lakh from the state sports department for development of sports.

"The clubs and bodies that come under Olympic bracket, who produce national and international talents, will be given Rs.5 lakh each. I will tell Aroop Biswas (West Bengal Youth Affairs and Sports Minister) to allocate the funds," Banerjee said on the sidelines of a felicitation programme of eminent sports personalities here.

The Trinamool Congress chief, who has consistently opposed the central government's demonetisation drive, said it has taken a toll on sports sponsorship.

"It is difficult for them (sports bodies) to run. It is because they organise sporting activities. They just need that push from us. Sponsorship has ebbed. How will players and organisations run without sponsorship?"

Banerjee also said the budget allocation in the Sports Policy formed by the state in 2015 has been increased.

Enlisting her government's achievements in building sports infrastructure, Banerjee said: "We have built 16 new stadiums, refurbished 46 and built 23 youth hostels."

The chief minister also said that she will compose a theme song for the sports department, and emphasised that there is need for one since it will foster identity and a sense of pride.

Incidentally, the chief minister was earlier criticised by the opposition for handing out liberal doles for thousands of clubs, which, they alleged, was just another means of squandering scarce public money for political reasons. Nearly 12,000 clubs have so far got these grants that range from Rs.2 lakh to Rs.5 lakh.

Special awards were dished out during the day to archer Atanu Das, who impressed with his fifth place finish in the qualification round in Rio Olympics, sprinter Debashree Mazumdar, and paddlers Soumyajit Ghosh and Mouma Das.

Dipa Karmakar, who finished fourth in gymnastics at Rio and missed a bronze medal by the skin of her teeth, was feted for her feat with the 'Ananya Samman' (unique award).

"I am honoured to receive this award. Despite not being from the state, the affection and respect I have got from West Bengal is overwhelming," said gymnast Dipa Karmakar, whose coach Bisheswar Nandi was invited to set up an academy by the chief minister.

Banerjee even offered to help Karmakar, who is a resident of Tripura, if she faced any difficulty. "I have told Dipa that we will help her in case of any difficulty."

Former Davis Cup squad captain Naresh Kumar and soccer olympian Samar (Badru) Banerjee were given lifetime achievement award "Jiban Kriti Samman".

Mohun Bagan coach Sanjoy Sen was among those who received the "Kriraguru Samman" for best coach.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Rajasthan will be puzzled at the upcoming assembly session with unsettled internal disputes of party.

Over past few months, few of the party MLAs have bluntly condemned the state of affairs in the party and the government. One such legislator and senior BJP leader Ghanshyam Tiwari alone has submitted more than a 100 question to keep the government puzzled the entire session.

"100 is tha maximum number of questions a member can raise during a session at Rajasthan Assembly, however the limit is seldom utilized unless the member really wants to put the government on test," former state deputy speaker Ramnarayan Meena said.

Tiwari's differences with Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and party leadership in the state have been evident. His attack will not be limited with to questions and other tools like adjournment and motions will also be used this assembly session. Doing so he will also have sympathy of those dishearten after the last expansion of Raje government.

"Someone has to question the state of affairs in the government and even as not many can blatantly register their protest, those who protest are aware of our discontent too" says another party MLA.

As the BJP calls meeting of the party MLAs this Tuesday the issue of discipline within the ruling side of the house will be discussed.

"Every party calls together it's MLAs before the session, as the budget session begins at assembly on 23rd we have also called a MLA meet and are optimistic that all party MLAs will adhere" says Madan Rathore, deputy chief whip of BJP. 

On being questioned over the large number of questions being raised at the assembly by party members, Rathore says its duty of MLA to raise question at assembly but it must done with responsibility towards the people of their constituency.

BJP won with a mammoth majority in assembly elections three years ago and holds 160 of 200 MLA seats in the state. However since formation of the government the list of party MLAs diverting from party lines continues to extend. This assembly session the Raje government will also have to face the discontent at floor of the house.

Famine has been declared in parts of South Sudan, where UN agencies warned on Monday that war and a collapsing economy have left 100,000 people facing starvation.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the International Children's Fund (Unicef) and the World Food Programme (WFP) also called for urgent action as almost 5 million people urgently needed food, agricultural and nutrition assistance, Xinhua news agency reported.

The agencies said famine was currently affecting parts of Unity State in the northern-central part of the country, adding that a further 1 million people are classified as being on the brink of famine.

"A formal famine declaration means people have already started dying of hunger. The situation is the worst hunger catastrophe since fighting erupted more than three years ago," they said in a joint statement.

FAO Representative in South Sudan Serge Tissot said the famine had become a tragic reality in parts of South Sudan.

"Our worst fears have been realised. Many families have exhausted every means they have to survive," Tissot said.

"The people are predominantly farmers and war has disrupted agriculture. They have lost their livestock, even their farming tools. For months there has been a total reliance on whatever plants they can find and fish they can catch," he added.

According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) update released on Monday by the government, 4.9 million people — more than 40 per cent of South Sudan's population — are in need of urgent food, agriculture and nutrition assistance.

Jeremy Hopkins, Unicef Representative in South Sudan, said over 1 million children are estimated to be acutely malnourished across the country while over a quarter of a million children are severely malnourished.

The IPC report estimates that 14 of the 23 assessed counties have global acute malnutrition (GAM) at or above the emergency threshold of 15 per cent, with some areas as high as 42 per cent. 

The upsurge in violence since July 2016 has further devastated food production, including in previously stable areas.

Soaring inflation, up to 800 per cent year-on-year, and market failure have also hit areas that traditionally rely on markets to meet food needs. 

Urban populations are also struggling to cope with massive price rises on basic food items.

The Home Ministry on Monday forwarded to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) a court-issued request to bring back embattled liquor baron Vijay Mallya from the United Kingdom to India to face money laundering probe.

In a communication to the MEA, the Home Ministry has provided it details of the Mumbai special court order which approved the Enforcement Directorate's request to invoke the India-UK Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) to bring back Mallya to the country.

The External Affairs Ministry has been requested to forward the communication to the authorities in the UK to extradite Mallya to India, official sources said.

The Mumbai special court, which is entrusted with hearing cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), had last fortnight approved the ED's request to issue an order against Mallya under the India-UK treaty.

The court approved ED's request on the basis of the agency's investigation and attachment of assets in the criminal case where Mallya and his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) are alleged to have defrauded IDBI Bank to the tune of about Rs. 900 crore.

The move is a fresh blow to the beleaguered businessman as India, through the External Affairs Ministry, recently handed over to the UK an extradition request against Mallya, based on a CBI case in the same offence.

The CBI too is probing this alleged loan default case under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Besides the request under MLAT, the ED has also appended in the dossier the Non-Bailable Warrant (NBW) issued by the special court last year.

The 1992 India-UK MLAT has a clause through which the treaty can be invoked in a criminal probe seeking the "transfer of persons, including persons in custody, for the purpose of assisting in investigations or giving evidence" and it is understood that the ED considers this step a better legal tool than the regular extradition action to get a person under investigation by Indian probe agencies back to the country.

The ED has been wanting Mallya to join the probe in this case "in person" and had issued multiple summons to him but could not get success as Mallya, who is in the UK, never deposed before it.

The ED has virtually exhausted all legal options to bring Mallya back to India including the issuance of NBW, based on which it had made the requests for revocation of his passport and subsequent deportation bid, apart from seeking an Interpol warrant against him which has remained unsuccessful till now.

The central probe agency is also working to soon file its first charge sheet in the case even as it has attached assets worth Rs 9,661 crore in this probe case.

The ED had registered a criminal case in this deal last year under the provisions of the PMLA, based on a CBI FIR.

The government expects Rs.58,000 crore in dividend from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the next financial year, which is 12 per cent lower than what the finance ministry received last year, a senior finance ministry official said. During the last fiscal the Central Bank paid Rs.65,876 crore.

The expected payout from RBI in financial year 2017-18 does not factor in any special dividend from the central bank on account of demonetisation. The government did not want to make any imaginary assumptions, the official said.

However. experts believe that the lower amount estimated by the government proves that the demonetisation move has not benefited the government at all, but has added to the RBI's woes since it has to spent Rs.15,000 crore to Rs.18,000 crore for printing new currency.

The RBI pays a dividend to the government in August after closing its accounts in July. Over the past few years, the RBI has made it a practice to transfer the entire surplus generated through the central bank’s investment activities to the government.

However, the official added that the government has budgeted contribution of Rs.74,901 crore dividend from the central bank, nationalised banks and financial institutions for the next fiscal.

The RBI's main source of income is from commissions and discounts earned through currency market interventions and interest earned on bond holdings through open market operations or purchase and sales of government securities.

The surplus approved by the Reserve Bank of India board could be used to fund the government's fiscal deficit. The FRBM committee proposed a fiscal deficit target of 3 per cent for the fiscal year 2017-18. The government had kept the fiscal deficit for 2015-16 at 3.9 per cent of GDP but it was countered by the CAG in its report where it has recently noted that the fiscal deficit was actually higher at 4.3 per cent last year.

While presenting the Union Budget 2017-18 on 1 February, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government will sway slightly from its fiscal deficit target for the next financial year to 3.2 per cent of gross domestic product, from the previous aim of 3 per cent.

On the impact of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations on the government’s finances, the official said the Union Budget for fiscal 2017-18 did not account for an increase. The government, however, expects a higher outgo on account of these allowances. A committee headed by finance secretary Ashok Lavasa, which was set up to review the allowances, is yet to submit its report to the finance minister.

Sajid Nadiadwala who turned 51 on February 18, was pleasantly surprised as he received a mash-up of melodious songs from his films, created by his protege, actor Tiger Shroff.

The 'Heropanti' actor made a beautiful mash-up video which went viral on the internet and crossed a million views on YouTube in no time.

Tiger considers Sajid Nadiadwala his mentor as he was trained by the ace filmmaker for his debut movie, Heropanti.

The duo has teamed up for three films till now, out of which 'Heropanti' and 'Baaghi' have done fairly well at the box office while the third film will hit the floors later in 2017 

North Korea's ambassador to Malaysia on Monday refused to identify the remains of Kim Jong-nam, the elder half-brother of Pyoangyang's leader Kim Jong-un, who was killed in Kuala Lumpur last week.

Speaking in front of the North Korean embassy, Ambassador Kang Chol said an official document had been submitted to the Malaysian government, pointing out that "we did not know any other name except Kim Chol as written in the passport" of the deceased, Xinhua news agency reported.

The North Korean embassy called the press conference after Kang was summoned in the morning by the Malaysian Foreign Ministry. 

The Foreign Ministry defended its investigation on the deceased man, saying the probe had been conducted in a manner prescribed by Malaysian law.

Malaysia has recalled its ambassador in Pyongyang for consultation. 

Kim Jong-nam, 45, was allegedly killed by two women who splashed his face with a chemical at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on February 13. He was about to leave for Macau.

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has confirmed that the deceased North Korean man was Kim Jong-nam. 

People are apparently getting more aware about organ donation with 157 registering for it and about 1,200 inquiring about the same in just three days during the just concluded
Rose Festival in City Beautiful.

This was part of the awareness campaign for organ donation launched by the Post Graduate Institute of Medical and Research’s (PGIMER) Regional Organ and Tissue Transplantation Organisation (ROTTO).

Assisted by music and street plays, the focus of the campaign was on spreading the awareness about the conversion of registered donors, in the absence of which the motive of organ donation hits the dead block.

“The fact is that organ donation is not less because there are potential donors, but because the potential donors do not convert into actual donors due to the lack of knowledge, awareness and socio-cultural views," Dr Vipin Koushal, nodal officer, ROTTO (PGIMER) said.

The organ donation information was passed on to the visitors and the onlookers was made interested in street play, face painting, graffiti and signature campaign, quiz competition along with some live music and the impromptu dancing.

The slogan ‘Be the Change, Be an Organ Donor’ did hit the right cord as the visitors not only filled the form for organ donation but also helped in spreading awareness about it.

The volunteers attended to the visitors and even involved all the other stalls in the festival by visiting them individually and talking to them about the issue. The 45th Rose festival closed on a very positive note on Sunday.

A United Nation special envoy arrived in Pakistan on Monday to reduce tensions between Islamabad and Kabul following a surge of terrorist attacks in the country that claimed over 100 lives in a few days.

UN Secretary General's Special Representative for Afghanistan Tadamichi Yamamoto met Special Assistant to Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi and discussed the "situation in Afghanistan and efforts for promoting long-term peace and stability in that country," said a Foreign Ministry statement.

Pakistani military said it has targeted hideouts of a Pakistani Taliban group on the "Afghan side of the border", which had claimed responsibility for several attacks.

The Pakistani authorities also closed its border with Afghanistan. Reports suggest troops of the two countries have exchanged fire over the past two days.

Emphasising that Pakistan desires lasting peace in Afghanistan, Fatemi highlighted Pakistan's continued efforts for strengthening engagement with the Afghan government to enhance cooperation in diverse areas, including fight against terrorism, the ministry said.

He reiterated Pakistan's firm resolve for effective border management, underlining the need for cooperation by the Afghan side.

The Foreign Ministry's statement did not mention the current tension between Pakistan and Afghanistan, but diplomatic sources said that reducing the tension was on a key agenda point. 

Fatemi stressed the importance of a politically negotiated settlement as the most viable option for peace and stability in Afghanistan, for which Quadrilateral Coordination Group remained an effective forum.

Expressing appreciation for Pakistan's positive role for promoting durable peace and stability in Afghanistan, Yamamoto apprised Fatemi about various activities being undertaken by the UN for peace and development in Afghanistan.

The I-T department is likely to launch the second phase of 'Operation Clean Money' next month to close in on unaccounted money making its way into banks but may ignore standalone deposits below Rs.5 lakh for now.

The Income Tax department will appoint two data analytics firms in next 10 days to analyse the deposits in bank accounts before and after November 8 last year — the day the government decided to junk 86 per cent of the currency in circulation.

The exercise will attempt to link individuals with multiple accounts or PAN numbers who have deposited large sums of money, officials said.

The I-T Department has begun analysing accounts which show a pattern of deposits or have some common linkage like common address, PAN, telephone number, email address or name.

"Standalone low amount of deposits is not under scrutiny," an official said.

"The Tax Department may ignore deposits below Rs 5 lakh on a standalone basis for the time being," the official added.

The Tax Department had launched a massive operation to catch evaders who deposited unaccounted cash in junked 500 and 1,000 rupee notes in bank accounts post demonetisation.

In the first phase of the project code named 'Operation Clean Money', the department sent SMS/emails to 18 lakh people who made suspicious deposits over Rs.5 lakh during the 50-day demonetisation period.

Over 7 lakh people have replied in e-filing portal and acknowledged to have made such deposits.

The second phase of the project will begin next month after data analytics firm conduct Big Data analysis matching I-T data with the SFT report from banks, officials said.

"In next 10 days, government will get data from banks about deposits made by people before demonetisation and after demonetisation as part of statement of financial transactions (SFT) report from banks," an official said adding the I-T department will appoint two data analytics firms to analyse the same set of depositors in next 10 days.

Deposits of above Rs.2 lakh totalling Rs.10 lakh crore were made post-demonetisation. Of this, Rs.4.5 lakh crore is under verification, he said adding, the remaining deposits were made by government agencies and departments like PSUs, or by such people whose deposits matched with the income and the pattern of deposits made earlier – so these are not under scrutiny.

The data analytics firm will tally the post demonetisation deposit data with the Income Tax Returns (ITRs) and previous deposits to detect any anomaly and possible tax evasion.

The official said that data churning by the I-T department is likely to go on for at least two years.

"The idea is to complete the process without harassing people and reducing people-to-people interaction," he said.

However, the biggest challenge the I-T Department is facing is that a large number of people are not registered on the income tax portal.

The official said that field offices have been instructed to send letters to those not registered in e-filing portal asking them to get registered.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Monday urged the people of Arunachal Pradesh not to play politics with religion.

Addresing the 31st Statehood Day celebration at Indira Gandhi Park in Itanagar, Rijiju said the dreams of a developed Arunachal will remain elusive if the state is divided on communal lines.

"If we try to divide the state on communal lines, the dreams for a developed Arunachal will remain elusive. There are divisive forces trying to divide us on communal lines. We should keep a strict vigil on their conspiracy" Rijiju said.

Maintaining that no development is possible without peace, the union minister urged the youths to return to the mainstream for a peaceful life.

"Outside forces are trying to destabilise peace in the state and I appealed all youths to return to the mainstream for a peaceful life" Rijiju said.

He was referring to the insurgency problems in Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts of the state.

"Insurgent activities in any form will not be tolerated by the Centre", Rijiju added.

Also urging the people to unite for overall development, Rijiju said Chief Minister Pema Khandu has prepared a road map to take the state to a new direction and said people should join hands with the government in its mission.

"If we indulge in agitation and try to topple the government, no development is possible. Being an ambassador of the state, I assure you that I will work for the state's interest and will act as a voice of the people at the Centre," he said adding, if the central schemes are not executed properly, no development is possible in the state.

(With inputs from Agencies)