NATIONAL 
EXPRESS

Guarantee of national minimum wage at 400 per day, one lakh rupees per year to every poor family, reservation of 50 per cent seats for women in central government jobs, legal guarantee for Minimum Support Prices and national caste census are the major highlights of Congress manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections. Party President Mallikarjun Kharge and senior party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi released the poll manifesto in New Delhi today. The Congress also promised the development of infrastructure and elimination of poverty by improving the fortunes of 23 crore people over the next decade. The party has also promised the abolition of application fees for government jobs, cashless health insurance up to 25 lakh rupees for universal healthcare and filling up around 30 lakh vacancies in sanctioned posts at various levels in the central government. The poll document also talks about carrying out investigations into the Electoral Bonds scheme. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Kharge said, his party’s manifesto is based on Paanch Nyay (five pillars of justice). They are justice for youth, women, farmers, and labourers as well as justice in opportunities as per population percentage. Replying to a media query, Rahul Gandhi claimed that this Lok Sabha election is going to be a much closer contest than propagated by the media and that the opposition will win. He also alleged that institutions are being undermined and Central agencies are being misused by the ruling BJP.

A Delhi court on Friday reserved order on an application moved by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal which sought direction to increase the number of legal meetings with his lawyers from two to five times a week. Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Court fixed the matter for passing of order on the 9th of April. On Monday, the court had sent Chief Minister Kejriwal to judicial custody till the 15th of April in connection with a money laundering case related to the alleged excise policy scam.

The death toll has risen to 10 while more than a thousand people have been injured in a powerful earthquake that hit earlier this week. The tremors severely affected the Hualien region with its mountainous terrain and the Capital Taipei. It caused the most damage in Hualien, where buildings fell, roads were blocked and train lines were disrupted, leaving the remote region even more cut off from the rest of Taiwan. This was the strongest earthquake which has affected Taiwan in 25 years. According to reports, 18 people are still missing including four Indian, Canadian and Australian. Meanwhile, an earthquake of 6.1 magnitude hit Japan yesterday.

The Reserve Bank of India has kept the repo rate unchanged for the seventh time in a row. Governor Shaktikanta Das announced the Bi-Monthly Monetary policy this morning. He said, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent. Consequently, the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) rate remains at 6.25 per cent and the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) Rate and the Bank Rate at 6.75 per cent. Mr Das said, the MPC also decided to remain focused on the withdrawal of accommodation to ensure that inflation progressively aligns to the target while supporting growth. The Governor said, real GDP growth for 2024-25 is projected at 7.0 per cent with Quarter 1 at 7.1 per cent; Quarter 2 at 6.9 per cent; Quarter 3 at 7.0 per cent; and Quarter 4 also at 7.0 per cent. Mr Das said, assuming a normal monsoon, CPI inflation for 2024-25 is projected at 4.5 per cent. Mr. Das said, that two years ago, around this time, CPI inflation had peaked at 7.8 per cent in April 2022. He said, that even though Inflation has come down significantly but it remains above the 4 per cent target given by the Government. Mr Das said, that food inflation continues to exhibit considerable volatility impeding the ongoing disinflation process. The RBI Governor informed that India’s Foreign Exchange Reserves reached an all-time high of US 645.6 billion dollars as of March 29, 2024. He added that, as compared to the previous three years, the INR exhibited the lowest volatility in 2023-24, and that the INR was the most stable among major currencies during this period.

The Election Commission today issued a notice to Aam Admi Party leader and Delhi Minister Atishi over her allegation that she was approached to join BJP to save her political career. She has been asked to submit her reply by Monday noon. In its notice, the Commission said that the voters tend to believe whatever is being said from a public forum by their leaders and in that sense the statements made by them affect the campaign discourse. The poll body added that it is expected that there must be a factual foundation to the statements made by the AAP leader and when the veracity of the statements made by her is contested then she must be able to back her statements on a factual basis. Earlier, the BJP had filed a complaint against Atishi over her allegations.

In IPL cricket, Punjab Kings defeated Gujarat Titans by three wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad last night. Punjab surpassed the target of 200 runs in 19.5 overs with the loss of seven wickets. For Punjab, Shashank Singh remained not out, scoring 61 from 29 balls. Earlier, put into bat first, Gujarat posted 199 for Four in the stipulated 20 overs. Shashank Singh has been declared as the Player of the Match. Today, April 5, Sunrisers Hyderabad will face Chennai Super Kings at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, at 7.30 PM.

A Delhi Court reserved an Order, today, on the interim bail plea moved by BRS leader K. Kavitha, who has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in the money laundering case connected with the alleged liquor policy scam. The special CBI judge Kaveri Baweja will pronounce the Order on Monday. Kavitha was remanded to judicial custody till the 9th of April.

In Uttarakhand, BJP National President Jagat Prakash Nadda addressed election rallies in Pithoragarh and Vikasnagar today. At Pithoragarh, rallying support for BJP candidate Ajay Tamta from the Almora parliamentary constituency, Mr. Nadda highlighted the tangible development witnessed in Uttarakhand over the past decade. He credited the BJP-led government, particularly Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for their relentless efforts in uplifting the State and the nation as a whole. Accusing the Congress of corruption, Nadda emphasized the choice between BJP’s development-driven agenda and the alleged malpractices of other parties. He underscored the importance of this election as a referendum on competing visions for the country’s future. Later at Vikasnagar in Dehradun, Nadda voiced similar sentiments while endorsing BJP’s Mala Rajya Lakshmi Shah for the Tehri parliamentary constituency. He lauded Prime Minister Modi’s leadership for ushering in a new era of politics centered on development rather than appeasement.

Today, gold was trading flat at the Multi Commodity Exchange for June contracts. The precious metal was 33 rupees down to trade at 69,766 rupees per ten grams. Silver futures for May contracts was up by 684 rupees to trade at 79,695 rupees per kilogram when reports last came in. In the global markets, gold was trading at 2,294 dollars and 14 cents per ounce at Comex. Silver was trading at 27 dollars and 13 cents per ounce in the intra-day session.

The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has delivered two Dornier 228 planes to the Guyana Defence Force. In a social media post, President of Guyana Dr Irfaan Ali said, the planes arrived at Cheddi Jagan International Airport last evening aboard two Boeing C-17 Globemaster military transport planes.

The World Bank has lowered the GDP growth forecast for Bangladesh by 0.1 percentage point to 5.7 per cent for the next fiscal year (FY2025). High inflation, a persistent balance of payments deficit, financial sector vulnerabilities, and global economic uncertainty has been disruptive for the post-Pandemic recovery of Bangladesh’s Economy, said the World Bank during the release of Bangladesh Development Update report in Dhaka on Tuesday. The World Bank, however, keeps the growth projection unchanged for the current fiscal year for Bangladesh. The bank said that urgent monetary reform and a single exchange rate regime will be critical to improve foreign exchange reserves and ease inflation. Greater exchange rate flexibility would help restore balance between demand and supply in the foreign exchange market, said the report. The World Bank suggested that structural reforms will be key to diversify the economy and build resilience over the medium and long term, including measures to raise government revenues to support investments in infrastructure and human capital. In Bangladesh, persistent inflation eroded consumer purchasing power, while investment was dampened by tight liquidity conditions, rising interest rates, import restrictions, and increased input costs stemming from upward revisions in administered energy prices, said Abdoulaye Seck, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh

Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee kept repo rate unchanged for 7th time in a row. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das today, April 5 announced the Monetary Policy statement and kept the Repo rate at 6.5%. He said, in the current Financial Year Real GDP rate is expected at 7 per cent while CPI inflation is at 4.5 per cent. Mr. Das said India’s foreign exchange reserves reached an all-time high of $ 645.6 Billion as of March 29, 2024. Global trade is expected to improve in 2024 but remains below average, he added. On the domestic front Governor said that demand is increasing in rural areas, the unorganized sector is improving and investment is increasing. About the international scenario he said, Geopolitical conditions and high levels of public debt in emerging economies are of great concern.