Congress attacks Modi over proposal for Army job cuts
New Delhi, Sep 12: Amid reports that the Army may cut 1.5 lakh jobs, the Congress on Wednesday came down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his extravagance on self promotion but keeping the Army cash starved.
Questioning if the proposal was true, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said it was in "BJP's DNA to seek political mileage from martyrdom of soldiers".
"If it is true that the Defence Ministry has a proposal that it wants the Indian Army to shed 1.5 lakh jobs, then isn't the Modi government guilty of destroying more jobs? 1.5 lakh families will be severely affected by this decision," Singhvi told the media here.
"If the government can spend Rs 5,000 crore in the last 4.5 years on publicity of the Prime Minister, why can't it spend that same amount for weaponry and ammunition for our armed forces?" asked Singhvi, citing media reports which claim the job cuts would enable the cash starved Army to save Rs 5,000-7,000 crore which could be used replenish its stock of weaponry.
Attacking further, the Congress asked why can't the Army be provided adequate funds when Modi had "spent Rs 35 lakh on his fitness videos, Rs 60 crore monthly on updating his pictures on petrol pumps, Rs 1,100 crore on a sprawling BJP headquarters, Rs 2,000 crore on his foreign travels.
"The Modi government has earned a windfall of Rs 11 lakh crore by levying central taxes on petrol-diesel, it squandered Rs 41,000 crore by overpaying in the Rafale purchase but it cannot spend Rs 5,000-7,000 crore on the Indian Army," Singhvi said.
Accusing the Modi regime of "systematically compromising" national security, the Congress leader blamed the government for the killing of 410 soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir (since 2014) and 243 troopers in Maoist attacks (since 2015).
He also cited excerpts from testimony of former Army Vice Chief Lt Gen. Sarath Chand to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence wherein it was stated that the Army doesn't have sufficient funds to pay for ongoing schemes, emergency procurement, weaponry for 10 days of intense war and future acquisitions among other issues.
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Sensex falls 155 pts as investors turn cautious amid India-Pak tensions
Mumbai, May 6 (PTI): Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower in a range-bound trade on Tuesday due to profit booking, mainly in banking and oil shares, and investors staying on the sideline amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan.
Snapping its two days of gains, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 155.77 points or 0.19 per cent to settle at 80,641.07. During the day, it dropped 315.81 points or 0.39 per cent to 80,481.03.
The NSE Nifty dipped 81.55 points or 0.33 per cent to 24,379.60.
The trading activity was range bound ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy decision and concerns over US-China trade negotiations, analysts said.
The Union Home Ministry has directed states and UTs to hold security mock drills in light of the rising Indo-Pak tensions after the Pahalgam terror attack.
Close to 300 'civil defence districts' with sensitive installations like nuclear plants, military bases, refineries, and hydroelectric dams will be covered by mock drills on air-raid warning sirens, civilian training for a "hostile attack" and cleaning of bunkers and trenches.
Among Sensex firms, Eternal, Tata Motors, State Bank of India, Adani Ports, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, Axis Bank and Sun Pharma were the major losers.
Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Nestle and Maruti were among the gainers.
"The domestic market has been consolidating in recent sessions following the strong recovery, driven by cautious sentiment amid India-Pakistan border tensions. Weak earnings growth for the current quarter has further impacted the market.
"Meanwhile, investors are closely monitoring India's bilateral trade negotiations with the US. Additionally, speculation around the US Federal Reserve is drawing attention, as no rate cuts are expected in the near term, affecting global trends," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
India's service sector activity accelerated slightly in April largely driven by a quicker increase in new order inflows, which also underpinned a faster expansion in employment, according to a monthly survey on Tuesday.
The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index reached 58.7 in April, up from 58.5 in March, indicating a sharp and stronger expansion in service sector output.
"Market volatility was further aggravated by escalating geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan, coupled with uncertainty surrounding the US Federal Reserve’s upcoming interest rate decision," Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said.
Looking ahead, progress on the U.S. trade deal could provide near-term support to the markets, he said. However, ongoing geopolitical concerns and the earnings season are likely to keep investor sentiment cautious in the near term, Khemka added.
The BSE smallcap gauge dropped 2.33 per cent and midcap index declined 2.16 per cent.
Among sectoral indices, realty tanked 3.49 per cent, power (2.64 per cent), services (2.53 per cent), utilities (2.36 per cent), industrials (2 per cent), capital goods (1.71 per cent) and consumer durables (1.59 per cent).
Auto and teck were the only gainers.
In Asian markets, Shanghai' SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled higher. South Korean and Japanese markets were closed due to holidays.
Markets in Europe were trading lower. US markets ended in the negative territory on Monday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 497.79 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 2.76 per cent to USD 61.85 a barrel.
The 30-share BSE benchmark climbed 294.85 points or 0.37 per cent to settle at 80,796.84 on Monday. The Nifty rose by 114.45 points or 0.47 per cent to 24,461.15.
