2 JUNE 2016

Ø  The Army recovered at least three more bodies from the debris in the Army’s Central Ammunition Depot (CAD) at Pulgaon in Maharashtra taking the death toll in Tuesday’s fire to 19, even as details continued to emerge of how the military may have narrowly escaped a much bigger disaster. The war preparedness of the Army could have been dramatically affected had the fire spread to other storage facilities in the vicinity.

Ø  With rainfall activity picking up across Kerala and heavy rainfall forecast over the next two days, weathermen are divided over the onset of southwest monsoon over the State. Though the India Meteorology Department is yet to announce the onset of monsoon over Kerala, private weather agency Skymet on Wednesday said weather conditions indicated its arrival. “It looks like the monsoon is here and has entered the Kerala coast,” said CEO Jatin Singh on the agency’s website.

Ø  The Minister said a new concept of “tourism police” was being considered. “We are raising a new police force for tourism and will provide it training, The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has prepared a concept paper, and it is being examined in the Ministry,” Mr. Singh said. A new thing which started this year is the exchange of marching contingents of the State police forces during the Republic Day parade. So far, 21 States have exchanged marching contingents with one another, A new task force on “technology,” comprising police officers from each State, was constituted, and it would soon begin its work.

Ø  Gen. Sharif added the border management with Afghanistan was improving and urged Kabul to take matching measures on its side of the border. He declared that the $46-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was a national project and it would be completed at any cost. The security situation in the country, especially in Karachi city and Balochistan province, is improving, he added.

Ø  In what the former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed described as a “watershed” and a “turning point” for his country, a new multi-party opposition platform was launched in London on Wednesday that pledged to fight for the restoration of democracy in the Indian Ocean nation. Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, former Vice-President who is now living in exile in the U.K., will head the shadow cabinet of the newly formed Maldives United Opposition. The Deputy Leader is Ali Waheed, currently Chairperson of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

Ø  The Union Cabinet has approved the setting up of India Post's payments bank at a total project cost of Rs. 800 crore. The India Post Payment Bank (IPPB), which will generate employment opportunities for about 3,500 skilled banking professionals, will set up 650 branches and 5,000 ATMs across the country. IPPB expects to break even by year seven of its operations. “The total fund requirement for the proposal is Rs. 800 crore, which will be split up as Rs. 400 crore equity and Rs. 400 crore as grant,” Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.