December 19, 2019
Front page
NCALT reinstates Cyrus Mistry: Set-back for Ratan Tata
In a major victory for Cyrus Mistry, who was evicted summarily from his position as Executive Chairman of the Tata Group of companies, Tata Son’s action to hastily ease him out of his post and appoint Mr. Chandrasekhar in his position has been held as illegal, hasty and oppressive. The National Company Law Board Appellate Tribunal (NCALT), has, however, said that the order will come into effect only after four weeks giving time for Tata Sons to approach the Supreme Court for relief.
The development has sent shock waves around the business world as the Tata group is the most valued company in India with interests from salt to software.
As per the latest news, Mr. Ratan Tata is mulling an appeal before the Apex Court.
SC refuses to stay CAA, but issues notice to the Union government
Responding to as many as 59 petitions before it challenging the CAA, the three-judge bench presided by the CJI turned down fervent pleas by the petitioners’ lawyers for stay on the Act. Instead, it issued notices to the Central government to file a response by January 12. The next hearing is on January, 22.
National
Students for and against CAA clash in Kerala campuses
Protests against the CAA continued to rock campuses around Kerala, but counter-protests by students of the Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad(ABVP) created an ugly confrontation. Students fought with each other physically exchanging blows and shouting invectives against each other. ABVP is an ideological off-shoot of the BJP that midwifed this controversial legislation.
Good words used .. Invectives, Midwife as verb, Off-shoot
SC rejects review petition in Nirbhaya case
As expected, SC rejected the review petition of one of the convicts. However, the convict got a further lease of life of seven days when the CBI court decided to ask the Tihar jail authorities to ascertain if the other convicts wanted to exhaust their last chance for a reprieve. The seven-day extension left the mother of the victim so distressed that she began to wail in the open court making the judge to comfort her with sympathetic words.
Good words used .. Ascertain, Exhaust, Reprieve, Wail
Center treading with caution in matter of framing CAA rules
The spontaneous outburst of anger against the CAA appears to have driven a sense of unease among the authorities who fear the situation might spiral out of control in the event of a slight provocation. The bureaucrats are keenly watching intelligence reports to assess public mood, and do not want to inflame passions by rushing through the framing of rules.
Good words used … Tread, Provocation, Inflame, Unease, Spiral out of control
Jharkhand voters keep their cards close to their chest
Pollsters are clueless about the way the voting has gone as no discernible sign of a swing in either direction is visible. The ruling BJP has pulled out all the stops to woo voters and neutralize anti-incumbency sentiments. On the other hand, the combined opposition under JMM banner are offering a dogged challenge to the BJP.
Good words and phrases used .. Keep one’s cards close to one’s chest, Discernible, Pull out all the stops, Dogged
Odisha under BJD refuses to support NRC
Naveen Pattanaik, whose BJD, supported the CAB in the parliament seems to have developed cold feet over the issue, and has now stated that state is averse to NRC and wouldn’t support it.
Good words and phrases used .. Develop cold feet, Averse to
Assam government employees skip office
Expressing their anger over the arrest of Aminul Haque, the state President of People’s Front of India(PFI), state government employees went on leave en masse, bringing government functioning to a grinding halt.
Crime rate against SC/ ST in Karnataka is high
A report suggests that SC/ ST citizens continue to bear the brunt of upper class anger against them. Cases of atrocities against them continue to remain high.
Good words and phrases used … Bear the brunt of, Atrocities
Kalasa-Banduri project stalls as MoEF keeps its earlier letter on hold
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF) has kept its earlier letter clearing the construction work in the Kalasa-Bhanduri project in abeyance. The letter had stated that the project didn’t need any environmental clearance. The project, being built on the Mahadayi river, had proved to the bone of contention between Goa and Karnataka, with the former opposing it, and the latter demanding it. Goa gets a reprieve as a result of this letter just released by MoEF.
Good words and phrases used …. Abeyance, Stall, Bone of contention, Reprieve,
International
President’s hour of disgrace approaches
With hours left for the voting in the House of Representatives, the impeachment of Trump seems almost a certainty. If passed, it will make Trump the third president in U.S. history to suffer such ignominy. Trump is crest-fallen, and very distraught as the Democrats close in on him with their impeachment motion.
Good words and phrases used … Ignominy, Crest-fallen, Distraught, Close in
Sri Lankan Supreme Court comes down heavily on custodial death
Terming the act of killing at the hands of police during custody a reprehensible and hideous crime, the Supreme Court has asked the State to pay a compensation of LKR 2mn (about Rs.8 lakh) to the victim’s family. The Court has strongly reprimanded the police against such tendency to smother an accused in custody.
Good words used .. Reprehensible, Hideous, Smother, Reprimand
Bangladesh doesn’t attend River talks with India
Aggrieved by the relentless hounding of the refugees who had come to India decades ago for succor, the Bangladesh government has expressed its displeasure by not sending its representative to the bilateral river talks.
An ominous funk descends on Pakistan as the news of Musharraf’s death penalty sinks in
Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a hurriedly-convened cabinet meeting to discuss the fall-out of the verdict that condemns Gen. Musharraf to death. There is palpable anger in the army as it can’t reconcile to one of its chiefs being put to death. General Musharraf now lives in Dubai in self-imposed exile, and any attempt to extradite him to Pakistan might lead to an explosive situation in the already volatile country.
Good words used .. Ominous, Funk, Palpable, Extradite, Fall-out
Beirut sees violent Shia-police confrontation
Some miscreants desecrated Shia religious signs. In no time Shia groups came to the streets to vent their anger. The duel with the police was deadly that left on its wake dozens injured.
God words used… On its wake of, Miscreants, Desecrated, Duel
Finance
Tata Sons grapples with the adverse NCALT verdict
The news of Cyrus Mistry’s restitution as Chairman of the Tata Group hit the business community like a bolt from the blue. The TATA Group has presence worldwide and has the legacy of the most trusted brand in the country and overseas. Legal experts and corporate gurus will now focus on filing a challenge in the Supreme Court to reverse the NCALT order. Quite likely the Tatas will appeal for and get a stay on the NCALT order. A bitter and long battle is ahead both for Mr. Mistry and Mr. Ratan Tata. Experts say, no matter what the Court decides, it is the body of shareholders whose choice of chairman prevails over every thing else. Here, Mr. Ratan Tata holds a distinct edge over his rival, and could use his clout to keep Mistry out of the affairs of the group.
Good words used .. Prevail, Edge, Legacy, Clout, Bolt from the blue
Infosys decides to pay off 8,00,000 USD to settle visa violation case
The IT giant Infosys has agreed to pay 8,00,000USD to bring the curtains down on a visa violation case against it in Calfornia. It is alleged that Infosys deputed its employees to work there in B-1 visas instead of H-1B visas.
Merger of banks could worsen cyber attacks risks
A retired executive director of the RBI has cautioned that amalgamation of banks could make them more vulnerable to cyber attacks. The banks should, therefore, beef up their security systems, so that the hackers can be kept at bay.
Good words and phrases used .. Amalgamation, Vulnerable, Beef up, Keep something at bay
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