Good Morning, Swarajya Readers! Here’s What You Need To Know Today.

FRANKLY SPEAKING



Arnab Goswami interviewed PM Narendra Modi on Times Now which aired yesterday. This is PM’s first interview to an Indian private news channel since he moved to Raisina in 2014. Here are some excerpts of his conversation.



On frequent foreign visits. The world didn’t know me. The world wants to know who the head of the state is. If someone would want to know Modi through the eyes of the media, then he would be disillusioned on which Modi is the real Modi. If this happens, the country will be at a loss. Unless I meet all those leaders and engage them one to one, they wouldn’t know about India’s head of state.



On Pakistan. Those who have to work from the table, will work from the table and those who have to work at the border, will work at border with full strength. Each one will fulfill the responsibility entrusted to them. The country’s soldiers have full freedom to answer back in whatever manner they have to and they will keep doing that



On Rajan. Those who are creating controversies are being unjust to Raghuram Rajan. His patriotism is no less than any of ours. As much as I know him, whatever post he holds, wherever he is, he is someone who will continue to serve the country.



On Swamy’s attacks. I believe that such things are inappropriate. The nation won’t benefit from such publicity stunts. One should be more responsible while conducting themselves. Anyone who believes he is bigger than the system is wrong.



On wilful defaulters and economic offenders. I take this as an opportunity and I will show them what the law is.



On UPA scams. There are many things which are not visible. One can’t imagine the difficulty I am experiencing in taking out things from dirt. One who is working there knows the amount of dirt that exists and how certain things have been caught in a web.

MONETARY POLICY COMMITTEE



To give statuary backing to the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), the Centre government decided to bring the provisions of the amended RBI Act regarding the constitution of MPC into force yesterday. This paves the way to shift the responsibility of maintaining inflation targets currently from the RBI governor to a six-member panel, with the governor getting a casting vote in case of a tie.



MPC Members. The panel will have three members from RBI, including the governor, who will be the chairperson, deputy governor of RBI and one officer of RBI. The other three members will be appointed by the centre based on the recommendations of a panel headed by the cabinet secretary and will be experts in the field of economics, banking, finance or monetary policy. The panel will meet at least four times a year and will publicise its decisions after each meeting.



MPC will make sure that the CPI inflation remains within a range of four percentage points (From two percent to six percent).

INDIA JOINS MTCR



India formally joined the multilateral export control group, Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), as a full member yesterday. Foreign secretary S. Jaishankar signed the document of accession into MTCR in the presence of the ambassadors of France, Netherlands and Luxembourg.



India had applied for membership last year. None of its member countries voiced any objection thus paving the way for it to became the 35th member of the group. China is not a part of the MTCR regime.

SHIFTING THE CAPITAL



The Andhra Pradesh government has started shifting its offices and employees out of Hyderabad. The new offices are now located in Vijayawada and Guntur and a handful in Mangalagiri.



Construction of the Interim Secretariat Complex (ISC) at Velagapudi in Guntur district has also gained pace. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu wants the government to fully function from there.



The head offices inaugurated in Vijayawada yesterday include Anti-Corruption Bureau, Beverages Corporation, Rural Water Supply, Stamps and Registration, Panchayat Raj, Archaeology and Museums, Economics and Statistics, Higher (Collegiate) Education, Prohibition and Excise, Tribal Welfare and Women’s Empowerment Corporation, Planning Board and Sports Authority.

BREXIT FALLOUT



After its citizens voted to get out of the European Union, the UK is facing a lot of economic problems. The pound is at thirty-year low vis-a-vis the dollar. Yesterday, two ratings agencies, S&P and Fitch, downgraded the UK which means it will affect the government’s power to borrow in international financial markets.



EU leaders met in Berlin informally. Germany, France and Italy are insisting that the EU shouldn’t hold any informal talks with the UK until it triggers article 50, a formal request to leave the Union.



But PM David Cameron told the Parliament that he is not prepared to invoke the article, stressing it would be up to his successor, due to be chosen by October. However, the EU leaders want an immediate divorce.



Cameron will soon brief the EU leaders on the political fallout of the Brexit on the UK. 27 leaders are meeting today and tomorrow to discuss the UK exit.

MUST READ OP-EDS



Reckoning With The Lone Wolf: It is important to bring about greater coordination among countries and chalk out a strategy to exploit the fault lines between terrorist groups such as the Islamic State and al-Qaeda.



The Moving Hand Writes: For Britain, exiting the EU might turn out to be a bad decision only if other countries from Europe emulated its example.



Play It Again Sam: The Narendra Modi government is not easily rattled by disapproving noises. Its renewed efforts for NSG membership are worth following.

SWARAJYA SPECIAL



Why Devdutt Pattanaik Is Mostly Wrong: Contrary to the Devdutt Pattanaik’s perception, Hindu nationalists do not want to prove Aryans as natives of India. They know Aryan is a cultural term which applies to individuals and not a racial term applied to a collective.

We hope you enjoyed reading our morning brief. Have a great day ahead!



SUBSCRIBE NOW: The June issue of our magazine is out. Get a copy home and enjoy reading Swarajya in print. Subscribe here to start receiving your copies.



Swarajya on Android: Enjoy reading this morning brief and all articles from Swarajya on your mobile. Download the app now!