SC to hear on Nov 11 pleas challenging EC's decision to conduct pan-India SIR exercise
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on November 11 pleas challenging the Election Commission’s decision to conduct a pan-India Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said it will start hearing the pleas from November 11 onwards after advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for NGO, Association of Democratic Reforms, said the issue goes to the root of democracy.
The bench said though several important matters are listed from November 11 onwards, it would try to adjust the hearing of other matters to take up SIR matters.
Bhushan said urgency of the matter is because the SIR exercise has started in different states.
The top court is already hearing pleas challenging the validity of the poll panel’s decision to conduct the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar.
On October 16, the EC termed the Bihar SIR "accurate" and told the apex court that the petitioner political parties and NGOs are merely content with making "false allegations" to discredit the exercise.
The poll body also told the apex court that not a single appeal has been filed by any voter against name deletion since the publication of the final electoral roll.
It denied the allegation of the petitioners that there was a "disproportionate exclusion of Muslims" from the final electoral roll of the state prepared after the months-long SIR exercise.
On September 30, the EC, while publishing the final electoral list of the poll-bound Bihar, said the total number of electors has come down by nearly 47 lakh to 7.42 crore in the final electoral roll from 7.89 crore before SIR.
The final figure has, however, increased by 17.87 lakh from 7.24 crore electors named in the draft list issued on August 1, which had removed 65 lakh voters from the original list on various accounts, including deaths, migration and duplication of voters.
While 21.53 lakh new electors have been added to the draft list, 3.66 lakh names have been removed, resulting in a net increase of 17.87 lakh.
The first phase of elections in Bihar on 121 seats of the 243-member assembly got completed on Thursday, while the remaining 122 constituencies will go to polls on November 11. The counting of votes will be held on November 14.
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Minister Patil inaugurates Amazon’s Corporate Office in Bengaluru
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Minister for Large and Medium Industries M B Patil on Monday inaugurated Amazon’s newly constructed, fully equipped 11 lakh sq ft corporate office near Yelahanka here.
Built on a five-acre site approximately 15 kilometres from Kempegowda International Airport, Amazon said this is its second largest office in Asia.
The 12-storey campus will support over 7,000 employees across ecommerce, operations, payments, technology, and seller services in India, Amazon said in a statement.
Patil said this is Amazon’s 10th corporate office in the state. The company, which has shared a two-decade association with Karnataka, plans to invest USD 35 billion in India over the next four years.
"This investment is expected to support 15 million small businesses and generate lakhs of employment opportunities. Karnataka will receive a significant share of this investment," the minister said after inaugurating the new office.
The minister pointed out that Karnataka has an annual per capita income of over Rs 3.80 lakh, ranking highest in the country.
According to him, the state also stands second in annual GST contributions to the national exchequer, contributing Rs 1.6 lakh crore. Bengaluru has climbed to the 21st position globally in the Global Innovation Index and is the only Indian city to feature among the top 30 in the Tech-Cities Index.
Last year, the city recorded 14.6 million square feet of industrial leasing, the highest in the country, he said.
Of the 900 Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in India, nearly 35 per cent are located in Karnataka, he added.
In a statement issued by the minister's office, Patil said the state also leads in infrastructure required for e-commerce operations, with warehousing capacity of 42.48 lakh tonne and 233 cold storage units. Correspondingly, e-commerce transactions in the state are growing at 11 per cent annually.
To further promote industrial growth, projects such as dedicated freight rail corridors, multimodal logistics parks, dry ports and truck terminals have been planned. Patil urged Amazon and other global companies to leverage Karnataka’s industry-friendly ecosystem by enhancing their investments in the state, manufacturing here and exporting to global markets.
According to Samir Kumar, Country Manager, Amazon India, "India continues to be a long-term priority for Amazon, and Bengaluru has played a central role in our journey here. Over the years, the city has been home to some of our earliest technology and business teams, and today it remains a key hub for innovation and talent."
