Five must-read stories—December 31

Sahara, Birla diaries to be part of CAG audit

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has started an audit of all important search and seizure operations by the Income Tax Department during the last four years, reports The Times of India. This would include the two searches on the Sahara group and the Aditya Birla group where Congress has alleged some seized diaries contain details of alleged pay-offs to Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was Gujarat chief minister.

Israel issues severe travel warning for India, citing immediate threat of attacks

Israel has issued an "immediate and severe" travel warning for Western tourists in India, citing an immediate threat of attack on tourist targets during New Year celebrations, particularly in south-west part of India. A PTI report on NDTV.com.

RBI relaxes ATM withdrawal limit to ₹4,500 from ₹2,500 per day

As the 50-day deadline of the demonetisation exercise ended on Friday, the Reserve Bank of India relaxed the daily ATM withdrawal limit to ₹4,500 from the earlier cap of ₹2,500. However, the weekly withdrawal limit of ₹24,000 remains unchanged, reports The Economic Times.

Cash crunch ‘has many in BJP worried’

The continuing cash shortages, even weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to abolish large currency notes, are making allies and BJP members anxious, with some distancing themselves from the move ahead of a series of state elections. A Reuters report in The Tribune.

India netted only $1 million in FDI for defence sector

India attracted a little under $1 million in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the defence sector—the supposed pièce de résistance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make-in-India’ push—over the last three years according to new data, reports The Wire.