TRUMP'S TRIUMPH TRUMPET

TRUMP'S TRIUMPH TRUMPET

NEWS:

• US Presidential election results saw Donald Trump emerge victorious and he will be in sworn in as the forty-fifth President of the country in January 2017. 

• The Republican presidential nominee secured the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House. In doing so, he completed the biggest upset in modern political history, beating his Democratic challenger, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as one of the most promising fields of Republican candidates in a generation.

• While Clinton had a higher share of the popular vote than Trump, the Republican was able to take a series of battleground states including Florida, Ohio and North Carolina, before stunningly carrying Pennsylvania, a state that had not backed a Republican for president since 1988.

VIEWS:

• President Barak Obama on Wednesday said he was heartened by Donald Trump's call for unity after his stunning victory .

• Satya Nadella in a LinkedIn post congratulated president-elect Donald Trump, and said that Microsoft looks forward to "working with all those elected yesterday. Our commitment to our mission and values are steadfast, and in particular fostering a diverse and inclusive culture."

• "I pledge to every citizen of our land, that I will be a president for all Americans," Trump said. "And this is so important to me. He added: "It is time for us to come together as one united people."

THE MUSE:

• President-elect Donald Trump once said, “I will build a great, great wall on our southern border.” But it turns out that glorious promise may wind up being a modest fence.

• 'Americans have just screwed the world yet again,' said Syed Tashfin Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi who has several close friends in the US. 

• 'I'm very afraid, will there be more wars? Will America attack Muslim countries again?' asked Indonesian activist Alijah Diete as Donald Trump edged closer to a shock victory in the US election.

• Rebecca Gomez, 22, told NBC News. "I'm Mexican, but I was born in the United States. I'm afraid people won't care about that, though. I'm afraid they will be violent."

• Trump's radical views on immigration, if practiced in real life, will turn out to be a nightmare for Indians holding the H1B visas in the US. Given the implications, Indians followed the US elections closely. And as Trump delivered his victory speech, many took to Twitter to respond to the news and his seeming reformed, civil self.

MODI’S BIG BLOW ON BLACK MONEY

MODI’S BIG BLOW ON BLACK MONEY

News:

• Rs 500, Rs 1000 notes are banned and Rs 2000 notes are introduced from 12 AM 9th November 2016.

• Citizens have 50 days from November 10th to December 30 to return notes and Banks and Post offices.

Views:

• Prime Minister of India, Modi :  India takes a historic step to fight corruption, black money, terrorism and counterfeited currency. 

• Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley: A lot of black money will be forced into the banking system with the demonetization move.

• Former Attorney General of India and eminent lawyer, Soli Sorabjee: A bold and innovative move. However taxpayers nothing to worry about.

The Muse:

• Demonetization in Indian history: 
• The first was when Rs 1,000, Rs 5,000, and Rs 10,000 notes were taken out of circulation in January 1946, a year and a half before the country won independence from British.

• It was on 16 January 1978 that the country was told that the janata party coalition, which had assumed office a year earlier, has decided to scrap Rs 1,000. Rs 5,000, Rs 10.000 notes.

• History tells, nothing great resulted with the two previous demonetization steps in independent India in last 69 years.

• Former Finance Minister and senior Congress leader, P. Chidambaram: I don’t understand why Rs 2000 notes have been introduced when Rs 500 and Rs1000 have been demonetized.

• All India Bank Employees Association general secretary CH Venkatachalam:"Everyone knows that black money is mostly in foreign currency, in foreign banks, in gold or in properties and less in cash. Hence, this steps alone is not going to help in unearthing black money".