News Digest: Ab Ki Baar, Online Bazaar for Modi Sarkar

Here are some important reports from the biggest newspapers of India.

1.) Ab ki baar, online bazaar for Modi sarkar

The Indian ecommerce space may soon have a new giant, if the government of India has its way. A portal called GeM, short for Government e-Marketplace, has been conceptualised by the government's central purchase arm to allow sarkari babus to make routine office purchases from cups and saucers to laptops and printers online, The Economic Times reports.

The project is being fronted by the Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals, an organisation that was set up in 1860, just three years after the first war of Indian independence.

2.) Flight cancellation fees to don base fare cap

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has told airlines that such fees cannot exceed base fares. In effect, that means everything collected above that fare should be returned to the customer.

DGCA has already held discussions with airlines on the new rules, which will be announced soon. Any booking site charges will also need to be included within the new limit. Analysts said airlines keep such charges at a high level in order to boost revenue via this route as they can't raise fares for fear of losing customers, The Economic Times reported.

3.) Punjab’s war on drugs is more a war on drug addicts

Punjab’s war on drugs has, in effect, turned into a war on its addicts, the most vulnerable rung at the bottom of the supply ladder. That’s one of the key findings of an eight-month-long investigation by The Indian Express of 6,598 FIRs made available last year under the Right to Information Act.

These FIRs were registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance (NDPS) Act from January 1 to December 31, 2014 in 152 police stations that fall under 14 of the 28 police districts in Punjab. An analysis of the numbers tells the story: At least 2,555 out of the 6,028 arrests — or 42.4 per cent — were for possession of 5 gm or less of heroin, 100 gm or less of intoxicant powder, 50 gm or less of opium, 1 kg or less of poppy husk and 100 or less capsules or tablets.

4.) Five states, one script: Congress leaders do not listen

The Congress may be setting the stage for a Rahul Gandhi takeover, for new faces in the Rajya Sabha and a reshuffle in the AICC — half of the general secretaries could be on their way out — but the party is battling rebellion in at least five states, four of which face elections over the next two years.

And the refrain heard in all: lack of communication with the central leadership. Speaking to The Indian Express, Uttarakhand Congress chief Kishore Upadhyay said that the Congress in the state will meet the same fate as the UPA Government did if the “rulers of the state” ignore the party’s workers. Upadhyay was considered close to Chief Minister Harish Rawat and this public “word of caution” clearly signals changing equations.

5.) Maharashtra stops Rs 98,000-cr bullet train project in its tracks

India’s Rs 98,000-crore bullet train project between Ahmedabad and Mumbai has run into an unexpected roadblock. The Maharashtra government is not allowing the Railways to build the most crucial station — Mumbai.

As per the Railways plans, the Mumbai station is to be constructed underground at the Bandra-Kurla complex (BKC) — the central business district in the western suburb. The plans were prepared by Japanese consultants, who surveyed all options and zeroed in on this area after speaking with state authorities, The Indian Express reports.

6.) This auto driver in Delhi helps lost children

Anil Kumar starts his day at 8am as he takes out his auto-rickshaw and roams around the streets of the Capital, looking for passengers. Well acquainted with the PCR staff, traffic police and beat officials, he greets them with a smile as he confidently manoeuvres on his daily route in southeast Delhi.

Apart from ferrying passengers, the 40-year-old resident of Sangam Vihar has taken up another responsibility. As he moves around Delhi in his auto, he keeps an eye on the roads looking for stranded children. Wherever he finds a kid roaming about, he stops and enquires if he has lost his way. He then makes sure the child reaches home.

Kumar has attached himself with the police and keeps enquiring about children who have gone missing from the area, with the hope of finding them on the road somewhere, The Hindustan Times reported.

7.) AIIMS breakthrough may lead to world’s first oral hepatitis B vaccine

Researchers at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) have developed nano-particles loaded with antigen protein segments that could lead to the discovery of an oral hepatitis B vaccine. The research was funded by the India’s Department of Biotechnology and published in the journal, Vaccine.

Studies in mice showed superior antibody response with higher antigen levels two months after a single dose. India has over 40 million Hepatitis B-infected patients, second to China. Each year, 100,000 people die of liver cirrhosis and failure related to viral hepatitis B and C in India, Hindustan Times reports.

8.) Pak tops in malware infection, India ranks 8th

At least four out of ten computers in Asia-Pacific countries are likely to be infected with malware, a study by Microsoft has found. While Pakistan tops the list of countries figuring in the Malware Infection Index 2016, India ranks 8th on the list.

The index, which was released on Tuesday, identifies the key malware threats in the region and ranks markets in Asia-Pacific according to how much they are affected. The index has also identified the top three most encountered malware as Gamarue, a malicious computer worm that is commonly distributed via exploit kits and social engineering; and Skeeyah and Peals which are trojans that try to look innocent to convince you to install them, the index reveals, The Times of India reports.

9.) 7 of 10 Indians non-vegetarians but numbers declining: Survey

Nearly seven out of 10 Indians are non-vegetarians but their proportion might be on the decline, a 2014 survey conducted by the Registrar General of India (RGI) released on Tuesday said. The survey indicated that the percentage of males above the age of 15 who ate meat, fish or eggs was 71.6%. The corresponding proportion of females was marginally lower at 70.7%.

The RGI had carried out the nationwide Sample Registration System survey in 2014. The last such survey, which was conducted in 2004, had put the proportion of non-vegetarians at about 75%, The Hindustan Times reported.

10.) Mathura mayhem: Scarred for life, children of cult recall ‘bade pitaji’

The violence at Jawahar Bagh in Mathura on Thursday has left 23 children permanently scarred with horrific memories of gunshots, screams and corpses. As the bullets flew, some of the children hid behind trees while some ran around aimlessly in the dark to save themselves.

The children were traced later by the district administration as they moved without family after the mayhem and shifted to the government children’s home in Firozabad. According to officials, guardians of five children have turned up but they have been asked to provide conclusive evidence to get their kids back.