29 JANUARY 2016

Ø  Amid fears that President Pranab Mukherjee might not give his assent to the controversial anti-terror Bill of Gujarat, the Ministry of Home Affairs has recalled the measure and decided to “rework it with additional inputs from the State government.” Though a Home Ministry spokesperson said the Bill was called back from the President’s office by the MHA, an official close to Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s office said it was done so at the behest of the State government.  The MHA had sent the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime Bill, 2015, cleared by the Assembly in March the same year, for the President’s approval in the second week of September. Mr. Mukherjee had been sitting on the Bill since then.

Ø  In long-pending reforms that came into effect on Wednesday, emerging economies gained more influence in the governance architecture of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). India’s voting rights increase to 2.6 per cent from the current 2.3 per cent, and China’s to six per cent from 3.8. Russia and Brazil are the other two countries that gain from the reforms. More than six per cent of the quota shares will shift to emerging and developing countries from the U.S. and European countries. The combined quotas — or the capital countries contribute — doubles to about $659 billion from about $329 billion. The reforms, which came into effect on Wednesday, were agreed upon by the 188 members of the IMF in 2010, in the aftermath of the global financial meltdown, and their delayed implementation has been a major concern for India. For the first time, the Executive Board will consist entirely of elected executive directors, ending the category of appointed executive directors. Currently, the members with the five largest quotas appoint an executive director, a position that will cease to exist.

Ø  India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday signed an $80 million loan agreement for improving the infrastructure in the two North-Eastern cities of Agartala and Aizawl, according to a government statement.