Morning Wrap is HuffPost India's selection of interesting news and opinion from the day's newspapers.
Main News
There are almost twice the number of India accounts and much more money with the India clientele of HSBC's Swiss private banking arm, than is publicly known. Details, unearthed by the Indian Express as part of a project with an international consortium of investigative journalists, shows hundreds of NRIs including an 84-year-old stenographer Annie Meneaud, born in Kannur, Kerala, whose account was opened in Dubai and had a balance of $100,020.
A press statement by the Ministry of External Affairs removes all doubt that in case of a nuclear accident in India, the bulk of damages will have to be borne by the Indian taxpayer. The position contradicts Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's own views on the matter in 2013 in which he condemned nuclear liability laws that prevented nuclear operators from seeking damages from equipment suppliers.
Bihar is heading towards a naked tussle for power after the former and current chief minister's have stated that they are gearing up for a show of strength in the Assembly. The drama here crucially affects the fortunes of the BJP, who it is alleged, is supporting dissension and according to exit polls bracing for a defeat in Delhi.
In its first ever meeting, NITI Aayog, the new economic planning body, will set up sub-groups of state chief ministers to review and reduce the number of national welfare schemes and promote skill development, in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plan of giving more powers to the states.
The Telegraph reports that controversial president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Narayanswami Srinivasan has resumed functioning as President , even after being upbraided by the Supreme Court last month for his conflict of interests. The paper reports that he is likely to contest elections again though others report this may not be so.
Off The Front Page
Hindus and Muslims in Burondi, a village in Maharashtra have signed a 100-year pact between themselves to maintain communal harmony. The pact, which has been notarised, lays down a code of conduct for members of both the communities to avoid communal strife in the village that has a population of 4,000.
In what is being described as a 'medical miracle,' doctors in Agra helped a woman, who was 'genetically male', deliver two healthy babies. The Times of India reports that Maya Sharma (name changed) who's never menstruated but had a uterus, went through treatments for three years to prepare for her delivery.
While they may be changing traditional business practices, taxi aggregators appear to be appreciating the significance of good old unions and are planning to form an association. This they hope will allow them to better represent themselves before various governments following the intense regulatory glare after the alleged rape of an Uber rider in Delhi last December.
Bharatiya Janata Party leaderSubramanian Swamy has labelled Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief-ministerial candidate Arvind Kejriwal and his partymen 'Naxalites,' and predicted that notwithstanding poll projections, Kejriwal wouldn't last in government for over a year.
India's Ministry of External Affairs, responded to an Indian's SOS through Twitter, and helped him bring a deceased aunt from Malaysia to India for cremation rituals.
Opinion
Dipankar Gupta provocatively argues in The Hindu that contrary to the expectations of rational choice theorists, voters flock to ballot booths for the visceral pleasure of ensuring that an 'enemy' be trounced rather than reward an incumbent for a job well done.
Vinay Bharat Ram in The Indian Expresscritiques the Make in India programme as well as RBI's limited easing of interest rates, by saying that "much of what we make is exported or sold domestically will depend upon the exchange rate; and how much we make will depend upon the interest rate."
Sudheendra Kulkarni in The Indian Express says that taking umbrage to Obama's tangential reference to India's history of religious tensions is akin to "... shoot(ing) the messenger."
Analysing the Kejriwal phenomenon, Manu Joseph in the Hindustan Times likens him to "a mainstream artiste."