January 11: Top news at noon  

Arun Jaitley says GST, demonetisation will boost growth

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, speaking on demonetisation on Wednesday, said bold reforms were needed to transform the economy. Excessive paper currency has its own vices and leads to its own temptations. Said the FM on demonetisation, adding that after transient impact, demonetisation will lead to cleaner and larger GDP. Jaitley also claimed that GST and demonetisation would boost growth, and the impact would be seen this year.

Rahul Gandhi slams demonetisation, PM Modi at Jan Vedna Sammelan

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi said that demonetisation was a personal decision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that the BJP, RSS and the PM have weakened institutions like the RBI. Gandhi added that “achhe din” will come when Cong returns to power in 2019.

Russian intelligence has compromised material on Trump: Report

Russia "cultivated" and "supported" Donald Trump for years and has collected compromising information on his personal life and finances, multiple media reports said today, even as the President-elect dismissed the claims as a "political witch hunt". The allegations were presented to Trump and outgoing President Barack Obama last week by the heads of four premier US intelligence agencies, including FBI and CIA, and were part of the report on Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump responded by describing the news as fabricated.

SP faction declares names for teachers' constituency

The Samajwadi Party faction led by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has declared its candidates for Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections for graduate and teachers' constituency to be held on February 3. The notification for these polls was issued by the Election Commission yesterday and polling is to be held on February 3, while counting is to take place on February 6. Governor Ram Naik has advised the EC not to declare the results of these polls before March 11 as it could influence voters. However, no decision has been taken on this.

Post demonetisation, World Bank drops India's growth rate to 7%

The World Bank on Wednesday decelerated India's growth for 2016-17 fiscal to a "still robust" 7% from its previous estimate of 7.6% due to demonetisation, but asserted that the country would regain momentum in the following years with 7.6% and 7.8% growth. "The immediate withdrawal of a large volume of currency in circulation and subsequent replacement with new notes announced by the government in November contributed to slowing growth in 2016," the World Bank said in its latest report. "Spillovers from India to Nepal and Bhutan, through trade and remittances channels, could also negatively impact growth to these neighbouring smaller economies," the Bank noted.