General Knowledge

India and Pakistan should resolve their differences via dialogue, uphold peace – China

In a recent report, China showcased its intentions and wished for India and Pakistan to peacefully resolve their differences, better their trade relations and together uphold the peace, stability and development of the two neighbouring nations. A Pakistani correspondent raised the question seeking answers for the one year completion of the special status that has been applicable in Jammu and Kashmir. He further questioned the splitting of the region into two union territories i.e. Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. To these question, Wang Wenbin, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman replied saying that it is in the best interest of both the nations and the international community to co-exist peacefully.

“China closely follows the situation in the Kashmir region. Our position is consistent and clear. This issue is a dispute left over the history between Pakistan and India. That is an objective fact established by UN Charter, Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements between Pakistan and India… Pakistan and India are neighbours that cannot be moved away…. China hopes that they can properly handle the differences through dialogue, improve relations and jointly safeguard peace, stability and development of both countries and the wider region.”

Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are undergoing a transformation for the better – External Affairs Minister

S Jiashankar, the External Affairs Minister, said on Wednesday that Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are undergoing a transformation. This comes at a time when the region is completing its one year anniversary of the Centre’s decision to recall the special status. Using the social media platform, Twitter, S Jaishankar shed light on the implementation of progressive laws, social justice being provided in orderly and timely fashion, support and empowerment of the at risk communities. He also mentioned that the government has come up with various development plans in order to empower the people of the region in an attempt to transform the region.

The development of the education sector, creation of job opportunities within the region and progressive women’s rights are some other ways the government is trying to implement a change for the better he added. “A transformation is underway in Jammu and Kashmir and in Ladakh” he claimed. Ever since the decision of the Center to withdraw the special powers of J&K, Pakistan has been trying to garner international support for the issue, albeit, unsuccessfully. Tensions between the two countries rose as Pakistan reduced its diplomatic ties with India.

We have lost everything but our sacrifices will bear fruit – Sabramati Express victim kin

While the rest of the nation lit a million lamps in honour of the Bhumi Pujan for the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, one old lady, Radhaben Vaghela, adds fuel to the lamp lit by her in her home over 18 years ago. Radhaben’s daughter, Bhagavatiben Thakore, said, “Ever since they brought my brother’s body home, on February 28, 2002, my mother has kept the lamp burning.” 59 people had been reported burnt alive in the Sabarmati Express in Godhra. Rakesh Vaghela, was unfortunately one of the victims burnt alive on that day. Rakesh’s father, Sardarji Vaghela, is bedridden and paralysed and Radhaben also suffers from health issues. Rakesh’s widowed wife was given a Rs. 5 lakh as compensation for her loss, provided by the state. However she refused to share the amount with her husband’s family.

Pravin, Rakesh’s elder brother said, “I will be praying when they carry out bhumi pujan tomorrow. All our sacrifices will finally bear fruit. But we have lost everything”. His sister Bhagavatiben said, “Nobody has cared to enquire about our welfare after my brother’s death. No one has visited us. We were never affluent and my sister in law received the compensation.”

Ratan Tata criticized Mistry Group’s claim in the Supreme Court

Cyrus Investments had filed an affidavit against the Tata Trust Chairman, Ratan Tata on accounts for oppression. Responding to it, Ratan Tata said that these claims were bogus as the shareholder’s value had increased by 2100 times and portrayed the irony of the case. In the Supreme Court on Tuesday, Ratan Tata filed his reply wherein the Tata Group challenged the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal’s order. He argues that the appellate tribunal was given relief grants that were not even asked for by the companies in to begin with.

In his response, Ratan Tata said, “…as compared to their total investment of Rs. 69 crore from 1965 – by their own account was Rs 1 lakh crore at the time this case was filed before the NCLT (in December 2016)… Assuming without admitting in any manner, these figure as true, in Mistry Family’s own assessment and the value of their shareholding in the Tata Sons has increased by 2100 times.” He also stated that the Tata foundations were laid on emotional and passionate grounds and not with the intention of earning short term profits and returns solely.

SC demands Maharashtra to report the inquiry of the policemen involved - Palghar lynching

On Thursday, the Maharashtra state government was questioned by the Supreme Court to know what punishment has been given to the police personnel involved in the alleged lynching of two sadhus along with their driver in the district of Palghar on the 16^th of April.  The state government has been directed to get on record the charge sheets filed in the case and the inquiry status against the police in connection to the alleged crime. Petitions have been filed to seek the assistance of the NIA or CBI in the investigation and questioning of the police role in the matter.

The bench, head by Justices Ashok Bhushan and R Subhash Reddy, said, “Let the State bring the chargesheets on record … Let details of the inquiry, including the action taken against the police personnel as well as the inquiry report, be also brought on the record.” The case has been scheduled to have the matter for hearing after 3 weeks and the state government is supposed to submit their response by then. Advocate Shashank Shekhar Jha who is appearing for one of the petitioners has sought a CBI probe into the matter and claims that there has been no action taken against the police personnel involved.

CM Amarinder Singh: Biggest tragedy in recent times – after 113 die in hooch tragedy

Amarinder Singh, the Chief Minister of Punjab, has asked the state police chief to try those people involved in the hooch tragedy for murder, as the consumption led to the death of 113 lives in the state. He termed this incident as the biggest tragedy of recent times and has promised justice for the victims. The chief minister voiced his thoughts on the subject and has said that he will not tolerate any interference in the case, political or otherwise. He extended his support for the victims of the case by urging the legal bodies to enhance the punishment for spurious or illicit liquor manufacturing and smuggling under the Excise Act. This would see to the fact that repeat offenders are behind bars and will not be able to indulge in the crime easily again.

A more severe law like the Punjab Control of Organised Crime Act (PCOCA), suggested by Advocate General Atul Nanda during a cabinet meeting saw the approval of many ministers in an attempt to curb the organized crime including the manufacturing and smuggling of illicit liquor. The chief minister in the directives issued to the police and district officials said, “Finish off this business, clean up the border areas. This has to stop.”

Bill Gates warns the world of the impending doom brought by climate change

Billionaire, philanthropist and Microsoft co – founder Bill Gates has promised to give $250,000 to stop the spread of the growing corona virus pandemic around the world via his foundation. Bill Gates has been an advocate for being prepared at the times of a pandemic for years. He has also given a TED talk back in 2015 cautioning the world of a potential pandemic that would be result in taking the lives of people unseen before.

Raising awareness and cautioning the people of the growing climate change he said, "As awful as this pandemic is, climate change could be worse. If you want to understand the kind of damage that climate change will inflict, look at COVID-19 and spread the pain out over a much longer period of time. The loss of life and economic misery caused by this pandemic are on par with what will happen regularly if we do not eliminate the world's carbon emissions." He also added, “Within the next 40 years, increases in global temperatures are projected to raise global mortality rates by the same amount — 14 deaths per 100,000. By the end of the century, if emissions growth stays high, climate change could be responsible for 73 extra deaths per 100,000 people. In a lower emissions scenario, the death rate drops to 10 per 100,000."

UP CM: will not attend the inauguration of Ayodhya Mosque “as a yogi”, if invited

If invited for the inauguration of the mosque in Ayodhya, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that he will not go on accounts of him being a “yogi” or a Hindu. He also expressed his firm belief that no one will invite him to the mosque set to be built as part of the Supreme Court;s directives one year ago. As a Chief Minister Yogi claimed to not have any problems with any religion. He further added that political leaders attending roza or iftaar, wearing skull caps are only posing to further their idea of secularism.

In an interview with a news channel on Wednesday, just hours after having attended the Ram Mandir’s Bhumi Pujan in Ayodhya, Yogi Aditynath said, “If you ask me as a CM, then I will not maintain a distance from any religion or group. But if asked (to attend) as a Yogi, then I will definitely not go. I will not go because I am a Yogi. As a Hindu, I have a right to live according to my method of worship.”

$9 million relief grant released by the UN to help Beirut hospitals

The United Nations has given the devastated city of Beirut a sum of $9 million to tackle the immediate needs that followed after the explosion that left the entire world shocked. The hospitals and medical facilities were already over worked due to the pandemic and this relief grant will strengthen the city’s hospitals.  Farhan Haq, U.N. deputy spokesman, claimed that the UN is still assessing the damage and the needs of the people and hopes to hold a meeting to intimate the 193 UN member states with the results in order to launch an appeal to help Lebanon. “We’re trying to get the relevant figures ready as soon as we can” he said.

The money from the Lebanese Humanitarian Fund is to be followed by other additional funds from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Funds. The World Health Organization had reported the blast to have rendered 3 hospitals unusable and 2 other hospitals with significant damage. A total of over 500 hospital beds have been lost. Haq said the grant will look to expand and establish more intensive care units wherever required and provide trauma kits, medicines, medical supplies and ventilators.

Canada loses its last fully formed Arctic ice shelf

In just a matter of 2 days, the last fully intact ice shelf in Canada has lost over 40% of its area. At the end of July, the ice shelf collapsed. The Milne Ice Shelf is at the fringe of Ellesmere Island, in the sparsely populated northern Canadian territory of Nunavut. The Canadian Ice Service said via Twitter announcing the loss of the ice shelf, “Above normal air temperatures, offshore winds and open water in front of the ice shelf are all part of the recipe for ice shelf break up.”

A glaciologist at University of Ottawa, part of the team researching and studying the Milne Ice Shelf, Luke Copland said, "Entire cities are that size. These are big pieces of ice… This was the largest remaining intact ice shelf, and it's disintegrated, basically… The very small ones, we're losing them dramatically. You feel like you're on a sinking island chasing these features, and these are large features. It's not as if it's a little tiny patch of ice you find in your garden." The island of Manhattan in New York spreads across roughly 60 square kilometers. The area of the shelf that shrank was about 80 square kilometers.

Charge sheet filed against 2 minors in CID probe – Palghar Lynching Case

The Palghar mob lynching case is being probed by the Maharashtra CID. 2 minors have been incarcerated and a charge sheet has been filed against the 2 accused. On Friday in a juvenile court in Bhiwandi, Thane district, the charge sheets were filed. 2 charge sheets had been filed by the CID last month. One of the charge sheet spread across 4,955 pages and the other across 5,921 pages. The police have reported that in total 154 people have been taken into custody and another 11 juveniles detained in connection to the incident. A senior official of the state CID said, “The charge sheet against two minor accused was filed at the Bhiwandi juvenile court on Friday”

Officials reported that except for those two minors the remaining other 9 juveniles accused have been unnamed in the charge sheet filed. A car travelling to Surat on the 16^th of April to attend a funeral amid the lockdown was halted. The occupants were 2 monks and their driver who were mercilessly lynched by a mob of villagers in the Gadchinchale village in Palghar. The lynching took place under the pretense that the people traveling were child abductors. Charges of murder, use of criminal force and armed rioting were slapped on to the people involved.

A casual approach towards crimes against women cannot be tolerated – Bombay HC

Caution needs to be exercised when dealing with crimes against women said the Bombay High Court on Friday in response to the plea asking to lower the life term sentence to a 6 year imprisonment for a Mumbai man who was guilty of trying to kill his girlfriend for not wanting to marry him, although they had been in a close relationship for two years. Rejecting the plea of the accused, Arumugum Arundatiyar who has spent the last 6 years in jail, the two member bench of the HC, consisting of Justices SS Shinde and MS Karnik, said “We are conscious that the social impact of the crime against women cannot be lost sight of and per se require exemplary treatment.”

The Mumbai sessions court earlier had sentenced Arundatiyar to a life imprisonment. Arundatiyar had been seeing the young woman, who worked as a baby sitter, for almost two years. When she rejected his proposal to get married, he assaulted her twice. He stabbed her in the neck with a knife publicly and threatened to assault anyone who tried to interfere. He fled from the crime scene only to be arrested soon after.

United Launch Alliance and SpaceX given $653 million contracts by Pentagon

Elon Musk’s SpaceX and the United Launch Alliance (ULA) have been given $653 million in combined military launch contracts by the US Air Force under the Pentagon’s next generation, multibillion – dollar launch capability program. ULA is a joint venture between Boeing Co and Lockheed Martin Corp and has been awarded a $337 million grant for launch service orders beginning in 2022. Similarly the SpaceX initiative has been granted $316 million for the first out of the 34 missions in total to be conducted by the end of 2027.

Will Roper, the Air Force’s acquisition chief reported that 60% of the launch service orders will be received by ULA which is supposed to use its next generation Vulcan rockets. Musk’s SpaceX is supposed to use its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets and will get about 40% of those launch service orders. The National Security Space Launch Phase 2 is a program to reduce US’ reliability on Russian made rocket engines and an attempt to transition to US made rockets that will be capable of launching Washington’s most sensitive information to space.

Bombay HC orders JJ Hospital to show medical records of Rakesh Wadhawan: PMC Bank Fraud

The state run JJ Hospital has been ordered to submit a copy of Rakesh Wadhawan’s medical records. Rakesh Wadhawan had been arrested in the multi crore Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) bank fraud case. A bench headed by Justices R D Dhanuka and V G Bisht on Friday has ordered a special court based under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to hear and give its verdict before the 19th of August on an application filed by Wadhawan seeking to be transferred to a private hospital for treatment. Wadhawan is currently placed in the in Arthur Road prison in central Mumbai and has filed a petition to be moved to private hospitals like Lilavati, Nanavati or Criticare. Amit Desai, Wadhawan’s counsel, informed the court that the accused suffered from hypertension, diabetes, insomnia, pulmonary disorder, chronic UTI and has breathing issues. The jail authorities have been referring Wadhawan to government run hospitals but they were not well suited.

"We are seeking for Wadhawan to be shifted to a private hospital so that his life can be saved," Desai
claimed. To which the court replied, "We direct the J J Hospital to furnish all the medical records of the petitioner (Wadhawan) showing his health status, the treatment given so far to the petitioner without fail."

AAI to initiate corrective action after having received probe reports: Kozhikode plane crash.

‘Corrective action’ is to be taken by the authorities after receiving the reports of the probe on the Air India Express plane crash at the Kozhikode airport on Friday, said Arvind Singh who is the chairman of Airport Authority of India. The accident is being probed by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). The Kozhikode crash has resulted in the death of at least 18 people on board, including the two pilots of the aircraft. The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) were recovered from the crashed aircraft. Arvind Singh said that the official reason for the crash would only be clear once the reports come from AAIB.

He said, "This report will tell us about all the issues... we are awaiting the inquiry report and then we will take corrective action." Singh denied any rumours against the safety issues that were brought to the notice of the AAI in recent times. There had been 70 departures and arrivals that took place at the Kozhikode airport on a regular basis prior to the COVID – 19 pandemic. The plane that crashed was functioning under the Vande Bharat Mission program from Dubai to Kozhikode.

Kerala govt: TN govt should release water from dam in stages to deal with heavy rainfall.

The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday was asked by the Kerala government to allow the water from Mullaperiyar via a tunnel to Vaigai Dam in a phased manner for times when the water level reaches 136 feet in lieu of the Idukki district receiving heavy rainfall this season. In a letter written by Vishwas Mehta, Kerala Chief Secretary, the Tamil Nadu government is to inform the Keral state government 24 hours prior to the shutters being opened. In his letter Mehta said, "The state is receiving heavy rains especially in the Idukki district. The water level in the catchment area of Mullaperiyar has been steadily rising. The water level, which was at 116.20 feet on August 3 is up to 131.25 feet by 2 pm on August 7… We know the extent of damage when 23,000 cusecs of water were released in 2018. Hence, necessary steps should be taken to release water in a phased manner."

The Met office has given a red alert for Saturday and Sunday to showcase the extreme rainfall expected in the region. The excess shutters of Tamil Nadu – moitored Periyar dam is able to release 1,22,000 cusecs of water, Mehta claimed as per reports.

Private hospital in Patna locked down over alleged overcharging COVID cases

A private hospital which had allegedly billed a corona virus patient for Rs. 6.34 lakh, Wednesday was sealed by the Bihar government on Wednesday. The Bihar government has also asked 28 other private hospitals in the state capital to put in their detailed reports on each Covid patient and the amounts they were billed. JDM Hospital in Kankerbagh, the private hospital, has been sealed. 5 of its functionaries which include the Managing Director and a doctor have been charges with wrongful restrain, cheating, criminal breach of trust, criminal conspiracy and also under sections of the Epidemic Disease Act. A fact finding team issued by the state government said that the hospital had handwritten the bill given to the 48 year old Patna resident patient.

The charges for the treatment of the virus was not displayed by the hospital at its location. A covid treatment rate is to be set by the district administration for private hospitals. In a report, Manoj Kumar, District Program Officer, Patna, said, “We found that the hospital had not displayed its ventilator, ICU, room and other charges… The hospital had offered a hand written bill without giving any clear break up of treatment and facilities provided. We also learnt that patients would be confined and tortured if bills were not paid.”

Food security at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic to be discussed by NHRC core committee

A heated debate has emerged lately, regarding the food security crisis during the ongoing corona virus pandemic. The National Human Rights to Commission (NHRC) is all ready to voice its opinions on the matter affecting the lives of millions of people across the nation. A meeting has been summoned by the NHRC to gather information from different ministries to understand the governmental measures taken to acknowledge the issue. The meeting sought is supposed to take place on the 25^th of August. The Core Group on Right to Food and Nutrition is to issue an advisory to the centre and states on the topic at hand.

The NHRC in communication with the ministries said, “The prevalence of Covid-19 pandemic followed by the lockdown in the country has exposed the vulnerability and weaknesses of our already fragile food distribution systems and has driven the government to reduce social services, such as school nutrition programs, pregnant woman and infant protection programs (anganwadi services, PMMVY), that the most marginalized rely upon.” Furthermore the Commission has also expressed its concerns regarding the right to food which plays a vital role in the right to life under Article 21.

Tathagata Roy expresses his want to get back to his former role in Bengal BJP

Tathagata Roy, the former Meghalaya governor and BJP leader is looking forward to starting his career in politics from West Bengal for the second time. Roy is set to meet the BJP party leaders in Kolkata over the weekend to talk about his role in the new updated plan made by the party. Roy said,” I didn’t want to become governor. But the party decided and I had to follow that. Now, when it is over, I would like to get back to my slot… The politics of West Bengal is always so polarised that a third or fourth party practically has no chance… CPM has been tried out and rejected. The party will not get even 1% of the votes this time. Congress is a leaderless party and is extremely confused. So the fight is between Trinamool and the BJP. ”

The situation is polarized in favour of the BJP in the state of West Bengal, according to Roy. From the period 2002 – 2006 Roy was the West Bengal BJP president. He identifies himself as a right wing Hindu socio-political thinker, ideologue and writer on social media.

Kerala government: the shift to central digital platforms must not be forced

On being asked to move its local government accounts onto the Centre’s new digital platforms – eGramSwaraj and AuditOnline, the Kerala government has expressed it reservation. It claims to have a far better accounting and auditing system in order. Prime Minister Modi had launched the eGramSwaraj, created by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, to make sure the ‘complete digitization’ of panchayats was made possible. In its interim report, the 15^th Finance Commission, had suggested an allocation of Rs. 60,570 crore in the year 2020 – 2021 for the 3 sections of the Panchayati Raj Institution (PRIs). The 3 tiers being the district panchayat, block panchayats and gram panchayats.

The Kerala government wrote to the 15^th Finance Commission on the 17^th of August indicating the already existing three forms of audit. The state government has also suggested the allowing viewership privileges or developing interfaces to allow sharing of information across platforms to be standardized and enforced. The State said, “The eGramSwaraj focuses on schemes and expenditures, particularly in the context of the Central Finance Commission grants, as fiscal devolution from state funds is generally extremely poor in states.” Furthermore it also showcased Kerala’s already existing Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) and said there is no need for a new template.

Mayawati: request to all UP legislators to rise above politics, raises issue in lieu of public health

The BSP chief Mayawati on Friday requested all legislators to rise above politics and raise issues of public health. In a session with the UP assembly she urged them to focus on the poor state of law and order in the state. In a tweet she wrote: “It is my strong appeal to MLAs, both of the ruling party and opposition in Uttar Pradesh, to rise above party politics and effectively raise the issues of punlic interest in the House and make the government and administration accountable. This demand is in the wider public interest… Though the isse of development is largely missing from the agenda of the government, but do raise your voice on oppression of women and killings of members of Dalit, Muslim and Brahmin samaj and other atrocities, meaning the dismal state of law and order in UP. This is the demand of time.”

On Thursday marked the opening of the three day monsoon session of the legislature. Strict COVID – 19 protocols were followed throughout the session. Staff and members of the Assembly and Council had to wear masks and were made to maintain social distance from one and another on the first day.

Russian Opposition leader brought to Germany to be treated for alleged poisoning

Russian national Alexei Navalny was flown to Berlin on early Saturday after an alleged poisoning that resulted in him being in a coma. He is to be treated by the German capital’s main hospital. He was brought to Berlin by a plane organized by his supporters and contained all the necessary advanced medical instruments. Navalny’s doctors in Omsk had claimed that he was very unstable and deemed him unfit for transportation. However on the arrival and inspection of Navalny by the German physician revealed that he was fit enough to be transported. Allegations of resisting the transfer of the Russian leader was denied by the Kremlin which claimed it to be solely for medical purposes.

Navalny’s doctor since 2013 has been Ashikhmin and he claimed that Navalny was always regular with health checkups, didn’t have any preexisting conditions and has been in good health. Alastair Hay, an emeritus professor and an expert in toxicology said, “It takes a while to rule things out. And particularly if something is highly toxic – it will be there in low concentratrions, and many screening tests would just not pick that substance up.”

Social media giant Facebook under fire for ignoring hate speech by BJP leaders

Facebook has received a lot of criticism recently by the Wall Street Journal that accused the social media giant of ignoring hate speech rules by posts made by the politicians of the ruling BJP. In response Facebook said that it was “open, transparent and non partisan”. Several interviews with anonymous Facebook employees were cited by the Wall Street Journal in its reports. Reports claimed that Facebook’s senior India policy executive Ankhi Das, prevented a ban on BJP’s Telangana lawmaker Raja Singh, by intervening the internal content review process. The Telangana lawmaker, Raja Signh’s posts were targeted to the Muslim community.

The report also claimed that Das asked his employees and staff members to let the violations by the BJP politicians go unnoticed as punishing these violations would lead to the decrease in popularity of the company in India. Ajit Mohan, Facebook India’s Vice President and Managing Director released a statement in response to these allegations. He said, “We want to make it clear that we denounce hate in any form. Our community standards, which outline what is and isn’t allowed on Facebook, have clear and very detailed policies against hate speech.”

Delhi Court: Tahir Hussain provoked the Muslims to start a riot in Delhi

A Delhi court on Friday claimed that the suspended AAP (Aam Admi Party) Councilor instigated the Muslims that became violent and pelted stones at the Hindu community. A charge sheet has also been filed against him for the murder of the IB official Ankit Sharma during a communal riot in Delhi back in February. The police officials have yet not received the order against Hussain and other co – conspirators and have informed the Delhi court of the same. Metropolitan Magistrate, Purushottam Pathak claimed the court was to take into account all previous offences made by the accused since there is no time limit for obtaining a sanction against Hussain.

The judge in his order said, “I am of the opinion that there is sufficient material on record to take cognizance of the offences alleged to have been committed by accused persons. IO (investigation officer) has informed that in the present case a letter has been sent to the competent authority on June 22 but it was not clear as to how much time it will take for obtaining sanction. In this scenario… I deem it fit to tale cognizance of all the offences”

Fire breaks out in an underground power plant, kills 9: Telangana

On a late Thursday a fire broke out in an underground hydel power generation station of Srisailam Left Bank Hydel Power Station (SLBHP) in Telangana. 9 people were reportedly trapped underground and were found dead due to the thick smoke and flames that ravaged the tunnel. 3 of them seem to have succumbed sever burn injuries while the others seem to have succumbed due to the inhalation of the thick smoke, claimed officials of the Telangana power ministry. Telangana State Power Generation Corporation (TSGenco) claimed that there were 17 people in the underground tunnel when an electric short circuit led to the mishap.

Dr. Prabhakar Rao, TSGenco chairman, overlooked the rescue operation and said, “Thick smoke engulfed inside the tunnel, making it difficult for the rescue teams to reach the place.” 1.2 km long tunnel leads to the power station that caught fire. Fire extinguishers were of little help to control the fire and the ambulances could only travel upto the half kilometer mark inside the tunnel. Rescue teams had made 3 unsuccessful attempts at getting into the tunnel. The NDRF and other rescue bodies managed to enter the power plant only by Friday afternoon.

Swapna Suresh’s bail plea rejected by Special court in Kochi: Gold Smuggling case

On Friday, in Kochi, a special court heard and rejected the bail plea made by Swapna Suresh, the prime suspect in the Kerala gold smuggling case. The Enforcement Directorate registered a case against her in connection to the money trail of the illegal gold smuggled. They prime suspect, Suresh, had admitted to the ED of being involved in the hatching of the conspiracy and smuggling of the product from overseas. The special PMLA court rejected her plea for bail on these grounds. The ED rejected her application to bail as she had revealed her association in the crime and also mentioned the names of others involved.

The ED claimed that it was worried about the chances of tampering with the evidence that might occur due to Suresh being out on bail. It also shed light on the previous allegations made about Swapna Suresh having connections with the Kerala Chief Minister. The ED said that the investigation needs to be carried out in orderly fashion and the people involved in the crime have to be interrogated, regardless of their political influence. Previously the NIA court and an Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate had rejected her plea bails on separate occasions.

Chidambaram: JK parties should stand behind restoration of special status demand.

In a series of Tweets, the former Union Minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram said: “Salute the unity and courage of six mainstream Oppositon parties who came together yesterday (Saturday) to fight the repeal of Article 370… I appeal to them to stand resolutely behind their demand. Ignore the uninformed criticism of self-styled nationalists who do not read history but try to rewrite history. How will the government resolve the Naga issues if it is against making Special Provisions?” The National Conference along with 5 other political parties including its prime nemesis PDP, stated clearly that the center has no authority to make any constitutional change in the region of Jammu and Kashmir without factoring in the voices of the people of the region.

This resolution was termed as the Gupkar Declaration II and was passed around in the media. Farooq Abdullah the National Conference president, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, People’s Conference leader Sajjad Lone, State CPI (M) leader M Y Tarigami, JK Congress chief G A Mir and JK Awami National Conference senior vice president Muzaffar Shah. It has been over a year since the political parties made a combined statement.

Gandhi family leadership challenge opposed by Punjab CM

Recently the Congress party members had challenged the Gandhi family leadership, claiming it to be ineffective. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has opposed this motion claiming that it was not the right time to raise such an issue. Singh associated the success of the NDA party in the region to the lack of a strong and united opposition. He said, “The move by these Congress leaders to demand a re haul of the party at this critical juncture would be detrimental to its interests and the interests of the Nation. What the Congress needs is a leadership that is acceptable not just to a few but to the entire party, through its rank and file, and the nation at large.”

The veteran Congress leader stated that the Gandhis were the right fit to lead the Congress. He also expressed his opinion of Rahul Gandhi taking over once Sonia Gandhi retires. He added, “Sonia Gandhi should continue to helm the Congress as long as she wants.” Prominent Congress leaders have demanded a total structural reorganization of the party from Sonia Gandhi and was sent via a letter written about a few weeks ago.

Chinese solar equipment prices soar high for the first time since 2017

Indian producers are weary of the returns on their projects as the prices of Chines solar gear have risen for the first time in 3 years. Indian developers import approximately 85% of their equipment from China. A couple of unexpected events have led to the recent rise in prices. An explosion followed by damage to the production line at GCL Poly, a Chinese company that is responsible for about 30% of the entire world’s poly-silicon production. Floods broke in the southeast region of China, forcing a temporary shut down of another Chinese giant producing poly silicon, Tongwei. Due to these two recent unfortunate incidents the global solar equipment supply chain was disrupted.

A developer said, “This (increased) pricing is likely to remain the same for the next 16 to 18 months. Solar developers will see a significant drop in their returns.” An industry executive also added, “The problem is that the expectation over the past several years has been that of solar module prices progressively going down. It is going up or down relative to expectation.” He claimed that like every other commodity, the price of solar modules was also bound to increase over the years.

China shows no intent of backing down from Line of Actual Control

There seems to be no indication that China is showing signs of backing down from the region in the eastern parts of Ladakh. The Chinese have continued to build roads, helipads, bridges and other military infrastructure along the Line of Actual Control to support its troops at the frontline. A senior military official on Saturday said, “China is indulging in Ping-Pong tactics by shuttling the ball between diplomatic and military talks, without any serious attempt at conflict resolution. There is no change in the ground situation. China seems hell bent on its strategy to push the LAC westwards in Ladakh. It’s carrying out military infrastructure development at an exponential pace since its troops intruded into Indian territory at multiple points in the high altitude region in early May.”

As a measure of security, Indian has counter deployed in order to match the increasing build up of Chinese troops. There have been extensive diplomatic rounds that have been carried out by officials on both ends but to no probable solution. A deadlock still stalls between the two nation’s troops in the Pangong and Gogra region as well.

Bloomsbury India refuses to publish book on Delhi riots

During an unauthorized virtual pre-publication launch, Bloomsbury India received heavy backlash online for the book titled Delhi Riots 2020: The Untold Story. The authors of the book are Sonali Chitalkar, Monica Arora and Prerma Malhotra. Several allegations have been made to point out the inflammatory speeches made by BJP leaders that targeted anti citizenship law protesters that led to the violence on 23^rd February. Bloomsbury India has issued a statement withdrawing itself from publishing the book. The statement read:

“Bloomsbury India had planned to release Delhi Riots 2020: The Untold Story in September, a book purportedly giving a factual report on the riots in Delhi in February 2020, based on investigations and interviews conducted by the authors. However, in view of very recent events including a virtual pre -publication launch organized without our knowledge by the authors, with participation by parties of whom the publishers would not have approved, we have decided to withdraw publication of the book. Bloomsbury India strongly supports freedom of speech but also has a deep sense of responsibility towards society”

Over 100 flights to be introduced in domestic network by 5^th September: GoAir

The airline company, GoAir has laid the foundation of introducing over a 100 new flights in its regular domestic network. Flights from Mumbai, its base of operation, Chennai, Bengaluru and Delhi are to be included. GoAir said that by the 21^st of September, it aims to reach the capacity of 45% of what they used to operate at before the Covid – 19 pandemic struck. A 60% capacity level (prior to the pandemic) is to be reached by the 15^th of October. The aviation sector in the domestic region is beginning to see a gradual increase in demand, claimed the GoAir Chief Executive Officer Kaushik Khona.

The domestic flight paths include operations to and from Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, Lucknow, Nagpur, Varanasi, Jaipur, Ranchi, Patna, Guwahati, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Jammu and Leh. A service from Leh to Delhi is also to be provided by the airlines. Khona added, “As the various states start withdrawing travel restricitions, demand will continues to grow and GoAir has always been responsive to market conditions and provided enhanced travel options to our guests.”

To reduce imported raw materials, Jindal Stainless looks to domestic suppliers

In order to reduce its dependency on imported raw materials, Jindal Stainless looks to sourcing their raw materials from domestic suppliers. The nation’s top private stainless steel manufacturers aim to reduce imported raw material consumption to 35% by the end of 2021. The current dependency on imported raw materials stands at 45%. 3 years ago the company’s raw material imports were at 65%. The use of nickel, stainless steel scrap, nickel – based alloys, ferroalloys and ferrous scrap has been implemented to manufacture stainless steel domestically.

Jagmohan Sood, director of sourcing and manufacturing at Jindal Stainless claimed, “As a company, we have been long committed to creating opportunities for domestic suppliers. However, absence or lesser availability of most of these materials makes the Indian stainless – steel sector reliant on imports.” He further added, “High import dependence not only impacts cost adversely, but also exposes manufacturers to various market price fluctuations and forex risks. Imported sourcing also calls for higher working capital requirements to fund additional inventories required to keep the supply chain live.” Jindal Stainless aims to achieve 70% of MS Scrap from domestic markets by the end of 2020.

PM Modi: Kinder side of police came to light amid Covid – 19 pandemic

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi requested women police officers to interact with the women in Jammu and Kashmir. He believes that by engaging them, the women can prevent the youth from taking the road to terrorism. At an early stage if the youth are guided by these women (their mothers), then the region is bound to see an increased rate of growth and progress. During a video conference addressing the IPS probationers at the Sardar Vallabhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad, PM Narendra Modi claimed to have witnessed the ‘humane’ side of the police personnel in the country amid the ongoing pandemic.

Replying to the question raised by a woman probationer regarding what he felt about the people of the region of J&K, PM Modi heaped praises for the people in the region, saying that they were very nice, warm and welcoming people. He said, “I am very connected to these people. They treat you with so much love… we have to stop those who take the wrong path. Women can do that. Our women personnel can use mothers (in Jammu and Kashmir)… if we do that in the initial stages itself, it will be very useful.”

GST dubbed “Gabbar Singh Tax” is an attack on unorganized economy: R Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader on Sunday claimed that the NDA’s decision to levy the GST (Goods and Service) has been a disaster. He believes that the tax system is an “attack” on the poor people of India and also a direct attack on the small to medium businesses. “This GST is an absolute failure. Not only is it unsuccessful, it is an attack on the poor and on the small and medium businesses…GST is not a tax system, it is an attack on India's poor. It is an attack on small shopkeepers, small and medium businesses, farmers and labourers. We have to recognise this attack and stand against it together.”

Rahul Gandhi dubbed the GST to be “Gabbar Singh Tax” and claimed it to be the second important attack on the Indian economy which he deemed unorganized. He further alleged,”NDA's GST is completely different. Four different tax slabs, up to 28 percent, complicated and difficult to understand. Why are there four different rates? This is because the government wants those who have the means to be able to easily change GST, and those who don't have means, cannot do anything about GST.”

Senior advocate appointment: plea to implement verdict to be heard by SC

On Friday, the Supreme Court of India agreed to hear the appeal that sought direction for the implementation of assigning senior level advocates immediately. In October, 2017, the Supreme Court had given a verdict and issued guidelines that included setting up a permanent committee to be headed by the Chief Justice of India. R F Nariman headed the bench which issued notice to the apex court’s secretary general regarding an application submitted by senior advocate Indira Jaising. In the application it was mentioned that the guidelines laid out must be followed and conducted via online methods

It read: “Since August 2018, as per 2018 guidelines, the Supreme Court registry ought to have initiated the process of designation in January 2019, July 2019, January 2020 and July 2020. However, no such applications inviting applications for designations have been issued by this court in the last four windows and that the process of inviting applications for designation of senior advocates has come to standstill after August 6, 2018… Designation of senior advocates is in public interest and enables litigants to have a wide variety of talent. Each senior advocate brings to the table a unique set of expertise, experience and talent thereby assisting the court in multiple ways such as complex pro bono matters.”

Explosion in a fireworks unit in Chennai kills seven women

An explosion that occurred in a firework’s factory in the district of Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu ended up taking the lives of 7 female workers and left two other injured. An officer of the Special Branch office in Cuddalore reported, “The incident took place around 11-11:30am near Kattumannarkoil… Seven women were killed while two women are unconscious and undergoing treatment at the Raja Muthiah Medical College Hospital. An investigation will be carried out into what led to the accident but as of now, we do not know what led to it." The factory was a licensed unit, confirmed the official. However the cause for the explosion is yet to be determined and hence he can only comment on the same once the results of the investigation are in.

Soon after the news was brought to notice, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Edappadi, has pledged to give Rs. 2 lakh as compensation to the next of kin of the victims. The state government had recently allowed industries to function at a 100% workforce capacity in an attempt to boost the economy that has seen a steep decline ever since the onset of the pandemic.

Latest Lancet Study deems Russian vaccine to be safe as per limited human trial outcomes

The Russian approved Covid – 19 vaccine, Sputnik V, seems to elicit antibody respone in small human trials without any major unwanted side effects, claimed the initial reports published by The Lancet journal on Friday.The results drawn from the initial phase of vaccine trials showed positive results after being monitored for over 42 days and these vaccines tend to induce antibody response within 21 days in all participants. A T cell response has also been noted to be produced by the vaccine in its secondary outcome claimed the researchers. The common cold virus, Adenoviruses, have been weakened such that they are not able to replicate in humans and hence are rendered harmless.

"When adenovirus vaccines enter people's cells, they deliver the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein genetic code, which causes cells to produce the spike protein," said study lead author Denis Logunov, from Gamaleya National Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology, Russia. “This helps teach the immune system to recognise and attack the SARS-CoV-2 virus. To form a powerful immune response against SARS-CoV-2, it is important that a booster vaccination is provided. For our vaccine, we use two different adenovirus vectors in a bid to avoid the immune system becoming immune to the vector.”

Regional peace dependent on factors of trust and non-aggression claims Rajnath in SCO meet

In a subtle message to China, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, on Friday, said that an environment of trust and empathy towards the interests of each other and following a non-aggressive approach are important to ensure peace in the regions. Border tension between India and China still continue to be high even after a number of diplomatic talks. International norms are to be respected at all times and the need for a peaceful resolution has been emphasized by Singh when addressing the minsters of defence of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Moscow. He said, “Peaceful, stable and secure region of SCO member states – which is home to over 40 per cent of global population, demands a climate of trust and cooperation, non-aggression, respect for international rules and norms, sensitivity to each other’s interest and peaceful resolution of differences.”

The Defense Minister also addressed issues dealing with the growing threats faced in the region, mainly the increase in violence and terrorism. He said, “We need institutional capacity to deal with both traditional and non-traditional threats – above all, terrorism, drug-trafficking and transnational crime….The adoption of anti-terror measures by the SCO Council to counter extremist propaganda and de-radicalisation is a significant decision.”

Anti-dumping duty for Chinese float glass extended by 3 months by India

Anti-dumping duty on float glass imports from China have been extended for an additional 3 months, till the 7^th of December, as per reports. The decision seems to be aimed at reducing dependency of imported goods from China and also simultaneously protecting the domestic industry from cheap imports coming from China. The Department of Revenue said in a notification, ”The anti-dumping duty imposed under this notification shall remain in force up to and inclusive of the 7^th December, 2020, unless revoked, superseded or amended earlier… The provisional anti-dumping duty imposed under this notification shall be effective for a period of six months (unless revoked, amended or superseded earlier)."

When molten glass is floated over a bed of molten metal, float glass is produced. Float glass is used in a variety of sectors like construction. On the 8^th of September, 2015, a duty of $218 per tonne of float glass was imposed for a time period of 5 years. On the recommendation of the comer ministry’s investigation wing, Directorate General of Trade (DGTR) it was extended. A probe conducted by the DGTR into the alleged dumping from China led to the recommendation of the anti dumping duty.

Governors’ Conference, NEP 2020 to be addressed by PM Modi and President Kovind

The inaugural session of the Governors’ Conference regarding the National Education Policy is to be addressed (via video call) by both, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind. The Ministry of Education is hosting and planning the conference titled ‘Role of NEP 2020 in Transforming Higher Education.’ All Ministers of Education of all states are supposed to attend the Governors’ Conference along with the vice chancellors of state universities and other senior officials.

The previous National Policy regarding Education was announced in 1986. This education policy set in the 21^st century is the first in 34 years of history. The NEP 2020 looks towards making serious changes in school and higher education levels both. In a statement, it read, “The new National Education Policy strives for making India into an equitable and vibrant knowledge society. It envisions an India-centred education system that contributes directly to transforming India into a global superpower.” Many different meetings (webinars, virtual conferences and conclaves are being organized throughout the nation to discuss matters regarding the National Education Policy 2020. A ‘Conclave on Transformational Reforms in Higher Education Policy – 2020’ was organized by the Ministry of Education and University Grants Commission and was addressed by PM Modi.

Tata Steel functioning at full capacity claims CEO and MD, T V Narendran

Tata Steel witnesses a gradual revival in demand domestically in the given quarter as the production level has now come back to the original status, before the onset of the corona virus pandemic, stated its CEO and Managing Director, T V Narendran. The onset of the pandemic and the lockdown that followed has been extremely detrimental for the steel industry. Not only did it ruin the supply chain, but also had an adverse impact on the production and demand in the country.

Narendran said, “Production is running at 100 per cent and we are now less dependent on exports than we were in Q1 (April – June)… We are seeing a revival in demand in Q2 led by good monsoon and the rural economy. While the auto recovery has been led by the demand for tractors and motorcycles, we are now seeing the passenger car business pick up as well. It has also been a strong quarter for appliances. Hence, over the last few years, we have grown organically and inorganically in India. Given our long value chain from mining to downstream and the growth opportunities in India, we expect the India business to be one of the most profitable in the steel industry globally.”

Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot inspects Delhi Metro a day before resumption

The Rajiv Chowk Metro Station was inspected by the Transport Minister of Delhi, Kailash Gahlot on Sunday, a day before the metro train services are resumed. The metro station was visited by Gahlot to assess the level of preparations made by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and the Delhi Transport department in order to resume the metro services. Senior DMRC and transport department officials also accompanied the Transport Minister. After inspecting the Rajiv Chowk metro station, Gahlot said, “I am glad that metro services are finally resuming the city tomorrow. I inspected the station and am satisfied with the arrangements in place.”

The Delhi Metro services have been suspended for over 5 months due to the Covid – 19 pandemic. A 3 stage process is to be followed for the resumption of these rail services and the stations in containment zones are to remain shut. He further added, “I appeal to all Delhi Metro users to follow social distancing at the stations and inside the coaches. I am assured that if both the management and Delhiitesresponsibly follow the protocols in place, we will be able to set another benchmark of the Delhi model of fighting Covid – 19.”

Non legible disclaimers to be treated as misleading ads – new govt draft

A new detailed set of draft guidelines regarding advertising has been issued by the government of India. The new draft suggests that ‘disclaimers’ which are not easy to notice, understand and read are to be treated as misleading or false advertisements under the Consumer Protection Act. The newly established Central Consumer Protection Authority is to take action against the violation of these rules laid out by government. The Consumer Affairs Ministry has asked the public to send in their feedback regarding the issue by the 18^th of September latest.

The draft guidelines are supposed to be applicable to both, advertisement agencies and companies that advertise their products or services. Disclaimers are to be made clear, prominent and legible according to the draft. Disclaimers are also supposed to be in the same language as the claims made in the advertisement and same font as well. These disclaimers are to be placed in ‘prominent and visible places.’ The draft guidelines stated - “It should be clearly visible to a normally sighted person reading the marketing communication once, from a reasonable distance and at a reasonable speed.”

Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks to fight US extradition order in a UK court

After a decade of legal battles, the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange is ready to counter the bid for his extradition to the US on charges of spying and publication of sensitive US Military secrets on the website. The extradition hearing was delayed before this due to the onset of the Corona virus pandemic. The Australian’s lawyers claim that the prosecution is motivated politically and is abusing their power to cover up the freedom of press and is putting journalists at risk. The American prosecutors in retaliation said that Assange is a criminal and not a hero of free speech.

“Journalists and whistle blowers who reveal illegal activity by companies or governments and war crimes – such as the publications of Julian has been charged for – should be protected from prosecution” said the legal representative of Julian Assange. The 49 year old Australian has been charged with 18 counts of espionage and the misuse of computer charges which total up to a maximum sentence of 175 years in jail. US prosecutors also claim that Assange had conspired with Chelsea Manning, a US Army Intelligence analyst, to hack the Pentagon computers, releasing thousands of top secret files.

Umar Khalid activist arrested, IIMB students and faculty condemn the move

Over 40 students, faculty and staff of IIM Bangalore raised the voices, condemning the arrest of activists and academics who took part in the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. They expressed their solidarity to the arrested individuals and groups of people. In their statement, IIMB said: “Peaceful non - violent protest is not only a fundamental right, but also a fundamental duty in a democracy. We stand in solidarity with Umar Khalid and others who have been targets of a deceitful ‘investigation’ that has let the true perpetrators of the horrific North East Delhi violence roam free.” A former Jawaharlal Nehru University student leader, Umar Khalid was arrested by the Delhi Police on Sunday in connection with his alleged role in the riots that took place in the North – East Delhi region in the month of February.

Khalid was sent to a 10 day police custody by a court in Delhi. The letter further added, “We also call upon fellow academics around the country to speak up, and resist this unconstitutional use of force to crush legitimate dissent that is an important fount of our democracy. A climate of fear and repression is an existential threat to any university’s core academic mission.”

“Final notice” issued to Facebook after representative doesn’t show up for proceedings

While probing the hate speech issue which has been linked to the social media giant, Facebook, and the Delhi riots on Tuesday, the Delhi Assembly’s Committee on Peace and Harmony is to issue new summons to Facebook and the Indian MD Ajit Mohan under the cause of natural justice. This comes in response to the Facebook representatives who failed to appear for the proceedings before the committee as requested before. The committee is headed by the AAP MLA, Raghave Chadha. He said, “It shows Facebook has something to hide and allegations on Facebook linked to Delhi riots are probably not pointless. Refusal to appear before the committee is contempt of the Delhi legislative assembly. Delhi’s voters choose those who sit the assembly. It is also contempt of the 2 crore citizens of Delhi.”

Furthermore, he added, “We will give one last chance to Facebook’s India MD Ajit Mohan under principles of natural justice to appear before the committee. Facebook has been advised very wrongly on this. If a matter is being probed by the parliamentary committee, it doesn’t mean that the Delhi legislative assembly cannot discuss it. State legislature functions independently of the parliament.”

Bill Gates: India to play a vital role in production of Covid -19 vaccines to curb pandemic

In a recent interview, Bill Gates claimed that fighting the pandemic is of utmost importance. The billionaire said that the world is looking at India in their goal of producing vaccines at a large scale. The Microsoft co-founder said, “Obviously, all of us want to get a vaccine out in India as fast as we can, once we know that it’s very effective and very safe, and so the plans are coming focus that sometime next year, it’s very likely that roll out will take place and take place in fairly big volume… The world is looking to India for some of that capacity to be available to other developing countries. Exactly what that allocation formula looks like will have to be figured out.”

The pandemic has already taken the lives of over 900,000 people and has infected an additional 24 million. Taking note of these figures, Bill Gates further added, “This is not like a world war, but it’s the next biggest thing after that we have ever had. India’s willingness to play a big role in the manufacturing and to allow some of those vaccines to go to other developing countries will be an absolutely critical part of that.”

Customers begin to gradually increase in pubs and hotels in Bengaluru

Restaurants, hotels and pubs are beginning to see a gradual increase in customers after the resumption of public transport services including the metro. In an attempt to revive the struggling economy, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has allowed the opening up of all sectors in Bangalore. BMTC utility managing director, C Shikha said, “It has been 4 months since the BMTC resumed its services and the ridership has steadily increased.” A Namma Metro official added, “It took weeks for the BMTC to increase its ridership, and the metro is no different. It is a matter of time before people feel confident and safe about the metro ride.”

Pravesh Pandey, part owner of Byg Brewski Brewing Co. said, “Though response has been quite encouraging, although not anywhere close to pre – covid times. We are seeing an incremental footfall and if it continues for the next few weeks, the business may reach 60% of pre covid levels by November.” The co – founder of Toit Brewery, Sibi Venkataraju, on the other hand is skeptical of the future. He said, “The pub was almost full on the weekend, but it is too early to say if the footfall will remain consistent.”

Yogi Govt to offer cows to families with malnourished children

The Center has launched a ‘Poshan Abhiyan’ (Nutrition Month) for the month of September. As part of the initiative, the Yogi Adityanath government decided to give cows to the families with malnourished children. In an order issued by the State government, it was written: “The cows will be given to the families who are willing to keep them and also have available space for them. If the family wishes so, it will also be given an opportunity to choose a cow at the cow shelter. As far as possible, the cow would be handed over to the family in the presence of a public representative.” The aim of the Poshan Abhiyan initiative announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month, is to reduce the level of malnutrition in the country.

The Yogi government is of the firm belief that giving cows to the families of the malnourished children will be helpful as “cow milk will be extremely useful” in eradicating malnutrition from the nation. The Department of Women and Child Development in the state has been asked by the Yogi government to prepare a list of families willing to take a cow home.

7 urban projects in Bihar - inaugurated and foundation laid by PM Modi

Seven urban infrastructure projects, totaling upto Rs 541 cr have been inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also laid the foundation stone in a poll bound Bihar. Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar’s government’s efforts were praised by the Prime Minister via a video conference. Issues like girl child education, representation of deprives sects of society in local bodies and development were touched upon during the video address. The Prime Minister also pointed fingers at the previous governments in Bihar, without naming anyone in specific, claiming that Bihar had visionary leaders but with time, the focus had changed. In the last 15 years, the ruling parties have had selfish interests which changed the focus and suppressed the system.

In order to boost the state’s infrastructure and development works, Narendra Modi said the center has been working over time coordinating with the State government. Modi also acknowledged the fact that there were over 20 towns in Bihar situated near the Ganga. Over Rs. 6000 crore has been approved for more than 50 projects in the state to ensure the holy river is kept clean.

Atlantic Council – Indian Americans a potential target for Republican camps

Atlantic Council, a leading US think tank conducted a recent study on the pattern of voting of Indian Americans and has found that the Republic camp may end up getting more support from the Indian American community than what it did before. The position taken by the Democrats on the Kashmi issue and the budding relation between Donald Trump and PM Narendra Modi could sway the votes towards the Republican camp. The study, The Indian American Voter in 2020” claimed that the preference of some Indian Americans is shifting gradually.

According to the Atlantic council, “In the lead up to the 2016 presidential elections, Indian Americans raised over $10 million towards the Democratic ticket, enthusiastically endorsing a bid for a Clinton presidency. However, as one of the most powerful and influential fundraising demographics for any given campaign in US politics, some Indian American donors have slowly leaned towards President Donal J. Trump. From serving as Indain Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s opener during his September 2019 visit to Houston to a showy state visit to Modi’s hometown in Gujarat in February, President Trump has made unprecedented efforts to connect and reach the Indian American community.”

Shiv Sena claims that Maharashtra is being defamed on social media

Social media outlets are being used ‘systematically to defame Mumbai and Maharashtra’ claimed the Shiv Sena on Tuesday. In an editorial in party speech ‘Saamana’, they claimed that in the last 5-6 years derogatory comments have been made on social media platform in lieu of gossip, however these comments are usually false and they spread unchecked all over, shaping the minds and outlook of individuals reading these comments. “Social media is being used systematically to defame Mumbai and Maharashtra. But if anyone retorts to such gossiping in their own style, the concerns are raised about one’s (the users) freedom of speech.” – said the Marathi daily.

N V Ramanas, a Supreme Court judge recently said, “Judges are now becoming victims of juicy gossip and slanderous social media postings as they restrain themselves from speaking in their own defence.” Supporting this statement, the Uddhav Thackeray led Shiv Sena claimed these to be facts, applicable to almost all aspects at different levels. Recently the Shiv Sena has come under heavy criticism of the public media as the party was involved in a fierce war or words with Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut who had previously compared Mumbai to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Twitter.

Congress questions the ruling govt’s handling of pandemic as tally tops 50 lakhs

Randeep Surjewala, Congress Chief Spokesperson, compared the fight against the pandemic to the Mahabharata. The party also asked questions regarding the mismanagement of officials and poor handling of the Covid – 19 pandemic and asked the BJP government whether they would ‘blame god’ in order to not take accountability of the 50 lakh corona virus cases in the country. While questioning the government, Surjewala in a series of tweets said, “Facts about COVID – 19, will the PM answer:- 1. In corona virus infections per day – India at number 1 in the world (90,123 infections). 2. Corona virus mortality rate per day – India ranks first in the world (1,290 deaths). 3. Corona virus infection rate doubling – India at number 1 in the world (double in 31 days). 4. In total corona virus cases – India ranks 2^nd in the world.”

Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman had previously stated that the economy had been severely impacted by the onset of the pandemic which she labelled is an “Act of God.” Questioning the government Surjewala, asked how the government would control the pandemic “or will the government blame god to evade accountability?”

BJP reassures with transparency as Congress blames govt of monopolizing airports

The Congress has recently requested a probe in the privatization of 6 airports which supposedly violate the rules and is an example of corruption within the government. The ruling BJP party denied all allegations and claimed that there is absolute transparency in the Modi regime. K C Venugopal inititated the debate regarding ‘The Aircraft Amendment Bill 2020’ and stated that the government is guilty of promoting crony capitalism schemes by privatizing airports while claiming to develop them.

He said, “There is a move to monopolize the Indian airports. In future, all Indian airports will be owned by onle one company. How can you allow this… there is a clear violation of norms and regulations in giving airports to a single private entity. This is a clear scam of public money. I am asking for an inquiry into all this. This is a clear case of corruption.” In response to the allegations made, BJP member, GVL Narasimha Rao said, “The real crony capitalism was during the previous regime. There is a transparent regime and a credible and transparent method is being adopted to develop airports in the country.”

Amendments in banking laws to improve governance in banks – Nirmala Sitharaman

Changes made to the banking regulation laws are aimed at improving the governance and also simultaneously protecting the depositor’s money. The Banking Regulation Amendment Bill, 2020 was moved to the Lok Sabha by Sitharaman. She claimed the government was forced to come up with a law specially for the state during the lockdown as the condition of cooperative banking was dire. 47 cooperative banks had a negative net worth by the end of March  2019 and furthermore over a 100 banks were not able to meet the minimum capital requirments.

She said, “Due to the pandemic, the stress in cooperative banks increased and the gross NPA ratio increased from 7.27 per cent in March 2019 to over 10 per cent in March 2020. Therefore it was felt that to protect depositors' interest we should have the ordinance brought in.” She further added, “We are not doing anything to touch state cooperatives, we are not doing anything to primary agricultural credit societies, we are not doing anything to touch cooperative societies whose primary object and business is providing long-term finance for agricultural development.”

Creation of jobs and entrepreneurs are the goals of the NEP claims Union Minister Pokhriyal

Addressing the 22^nd IIT-Guwahati Convocation, the Union Minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal lauded the New Education Policy 2020 via a video confrence saying, “There was no change in the education policy for almost 3 decades. Everyone has welcomed it and the new policy has received an overwhelming response from all segments of the society. Before finalizing, we has consulted teachers, students, parents and other sections.” Furthermore he added, “As former President APJ Abdul Kalam had stated during an IIT – Guwahati convocation programme here that education should create jobs and entrepreneurs, the NEP is aimed at doing the same thing. It will help create jobs and entrepreneurs in our society.”

The last National Policy of Education was made in 1986, making this the first new educational policy in almost 34 year. The NEP 2020 looks to make transformational reforms in the education system followed in the country. Pokhriyal also applauded the efforts made by the institute, saying, “The IIT – Guwahati has played an important role in innocation during COVID-19 times. It invented many products. Even the campus is being used as a COVID – 19 Care Centre, which is a contribution towards the fight against novel coronavirus.”

From the 25^th of September, series of initiatives starting with ‘Chakka Jam’ – Shiromani Akali Dal

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has recently received heavy criticism for trying to stay in the Cabinet until their agriculture bills are passed by the parliament. A series of initiatives were announced by the SAD, like the ‘chakka jam’ (blockades), to be followed from the 25^th of September. Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jhakhar stated that an ‘unprecedented unity’ had been witnessed in the state. He said, “It is amusing that the Badals want to join the protests now after being a part of this diabolical conspiracy against the farmers. Farmers should block the entry of the Badals in Punjab and gherao their leaders at their homes in Punjab. Why do they not quit the NDA first and stop being agents of the BJP?”

Senior SAD leader, Daljit Singh said, “On September 25, we will hold a three-hour chakka jam in all parts of Punjab. Sukhbir Badal will tour the entire state from September 26 to September 29 to engage with farmers and inform them of the ills of the new bills. On October 1, our cadre will assemble in a big gathering at the Dusshera ground in Mohali and our leadership will petition the Governor and the President to scrap the new laws.”

DMRC subject to major loss, 5.12L loss for DTC charge sheets filed – Delhi Riots

Communal violence broke out in the North East parts of Delhi, DMRC reported heavy ‘unspecified’ loss in revenue in the month of February. Police also reported in the charge sheets filed that DTC had lost Rs. 5.12 lakhs following the communal violence that broke out. The report said, “The DMRC had incurred unspecified huge revenue loss due to closure of metro stations and disruption in services. On February 25, 174 round trips and two down trips were cancelled between Maujpur-Shiv Vihar, 362 partial round trips were cancelled between Maujpur-Welcome station, 23 round trips were cancelled between Shiv Vihar-Welcome sections.”

A letter drafted to the DTC sought to gain information regarding the loss in revenue and damages incurred by DTC with respect to the anti CAA and anti NRC protests that were rampant, along with the communal violence that led to the riots from the 5^th of December, 2020 to 28^th of February, 2020. It claimed, “The report showed that during the protests, five DTC buses were damaged, DTC staff was injured, loss of Rs 2,65,112.6 was incurred to DTC due to the damage of the buses. Details of the bus route which got affected incurred a loss of Rs 2,47,883.”

Letter Rogatory issued by special CBI court to the USA regarding Mallya case

IDBI bank in 2016 had filed an FIR against the Kingfisher Airlines and its owner Vijya Mallya for defrauding them of Rs. 900 crores. SBI bank also filed an FIR against the same, claiming his actions caused them a loss of Rs. 6027 crores. According to the CBI’s plea made in a special court in Mumbai, “…a LR is required for conducting foreign investigation in USA to ascertain the utilization of the funds received in the account held with First Commerce Bank (now Pacific Premier Bank) during the period December, 2007 to March, 2009, collection of evidence pertaining to the amount of $20 million remitted by Airbus SAS, France in June 2008 and collection of evidence with regard to remittance of $5,381,945.93 on June 27, 2012 from State Bank of Mauritius to the nostro account held by the beneficiary”

Furthermore, the application filed also claimed, “There are reasonable grounds to believe that the funds transferred to the account of KAL with First Commerce Bank, the amount of $20 millions transferred by Airbus SAS France to the accounts of KAL in USA and an amount of $5,381,945.93 remitted from the account of Veling Narain Ltd and another to a nostro account may have been diverted by the accused persons.”

Union Minister R S Prasad: Govt can reconsider suspension of MPs if they apologize

8 members of the opposition parties, in the Rajya Sabha were suspended for their unruly behaviour in the Upper House. A Congress led walkout of a number of Opposition parties led to the Union Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad to comment about the event. The Congress members demanded that the suspended members be called back. Congress was the initial party to walkout of the House, followed by members of the AAP, TMC and Left Parties.Ravi Shankar Prasad told the reporters waiting outside the Parliament, “We will consider withdrawal of suspension only after suspended members apologise for their behaviour in Rajya Sabha. We expected the Congress would oppose such unruly behaviour by Opposition members in the Rajya Sabha.”

The Ministers of Parliament were left baffled after a tweet made by Rahul Gandhi led to this fiasco. Rahul Gandhi is currently abroad, assisting his mother, Sonia Gandhi with her medical check ups. The Union Minister further added, “We have never seen a Congress MP dancing on the Rajya Sabha table and tear papers.” Furthermore he also pointed out that the government has a majority in the Rajya Sabha in order to pass the farm Bills.

‘Completely unacceptable’ remarks made by Turkish President regarding Kashmir crisis: India

Remarks made by Recep Tayyiip Erdogan, the President of Turkey, during his United Nations General Assembly regarding the Kahmir were deemed ‘completely unacceptable’ and was directly an act of ‘gross interference’. T S Tirumurti, India’s permanent UN representative at the UN meet said, “We have seen remarks by the President of Turkey on Indian UT (union territory) of Jammu & Kashmir. They constitute gross interference in India’s internal affairs and are completely unacceptable. Turkey should learn to respect the sovereignty of other nations and reflect on its own policies more deeply.”

This comes in response to the comments made by the Turkish president on day two of the UNGA meet who claimed, “The Kashmir conflict, which is also key to the stability and peace of South Asia, is still a burning issue. We are in favour of solving this issue through dialogue within the framework of the United Nations resolutions, especially in line with the expectations of the people of Kashmir.” The Turkish President in the last year has made public his intentions to emerge as the leader of the Islamic world and has raised the Kashmir issue on several other platforms.

4 company owners properties to be confiscated as SC declares them FEOs

A local court in New Delhi has given the green light for the confiscation of properties of 4 people accused in the multi crore Sterling Biotech bank fraud case, deeming them to be Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO). Company owners Nitin Sandesara, Dipti Sandesara, Chetan Sandesara and Hitesh Patel are the 4 main accused and declared as fugitive Economic Offenders. Under the FEO act, a court in Delhi allowed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to “reapproach the court for initiation of confiscation proceedings”. While passing the orders, the Judge believed “the conduct of the Respondents, unambiguously, establishes on record that they have left India to avoid criminal prosecution and they are deliberately avoiding to return back to India to face the instant prosecution. Thus, I have no hesitation to observe that the Respondents deserve to be declared fugitive economic offenders.”

The Judge further deemed the act to be a non bailable offence and claimed it was meritless. The Supreme Court in March said, “It is made clear that the interim order July 2, 2019 passed by this Court is not intended to stay the proceedings pending before the Additional Sessions Judge.”

Cases in Bengaluru continue to increase, no definite sign of decrease in case

Over the last few months, the city’s Covid-19 graph has passed all expectations for the worse. An unnamed senior state official said, “It seems like all our predictions about Bengaluru have gone wrong. We assumed the city would see a downward trend by September-end, but that is not happening. But nobody seems to know when the cases will reduce.” Karnataka’s expert committee chairperson, Dr CN Manjunath claimed, “Many epidemiologists are now predicting the cases to rise in October because of people’s exposure to crowded places during festivities. One of the reasons for higher reporting of cases is the increased testing.”

He further added, “Disease burden in Bengaluru is definitely much higher than what is captured in testing. The sero survey results that will be released next week will throw some light on the extent of spread in Bengaluru.” The head of life course epidemiology at the Public Health Foundation of India, Dr. R Giridhar Babu said, “We cannot have an inverted V shape in Covid. The pattern of the virus changes across zones based on human behaviour. Cases were fewer when strict norms were in place. The human behaviour has been altered with the easing of regulations and so has the behaviour of the virus.”

AAP government questioned by Delhi HC due to lack of ICU beds for non covid patients

The Delhi government led by Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party was questioned by the Delhi High Court to check whether the government has made provisions to supply ICU beds for non covid patients and also asked its methodology to compensate private hospitals which have done so. While stating the direction, the single judge, had said that the Delhi government’s decision “appears to be arbitrary, unreasonable and violative of fundamental rights of citizen” which have been assured to the citizens under the Constitution.

He further added, “Do other patients have a right to life or not or is it now that the state says only COVID-19 patients have a right to life. This is making my blood boil. The patient is not going there for a holiday, he is going there in an emergency. Why do you (Delhi government) discriminate between the two (COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients)? Why do you have to keep an ICU bed vacant for COVID-19 patient and the other one in need can die? A person has got a heart attack and you are saying he should die on the road?”

UPSC requests the SC to conduct Civil Services exams at the soonest

The Union Public Service Commission has put in their plea before the Supreme Court claiming that it was impossible to further defer the civil service exams. Naresh Kaushik, who is appearing for the exams, submitted a plea before the Supreme Court saying, “The matter was considered and deferment was done, but it was realised that deferment would completely hurt the process of the exam. It was supposed to be held on September 30. Thereafter, it was deferred to October 4. Deferment would nullify the objective of conducting the exam for four arms of government.”

The plea also added, “The revised calendar for UPSC exams suffers from class-based discrimination and violates Article 14 of the Constitution, inasmuch as students belonging to the middle class and/or lower middle class will not be able to afford transport, accommodation, or other expenses to take the examination amid a pandemic. Quash the Revised Calendar, 2020, issued by the UPSC, whereby it has been decided to conduct the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2020, on October 4, despite alarming spurt of COVID-19 pandemic and natural calamities in our country, for being violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India.”

West Bengal turned into a Police State by the TMC claims the Governor

The TMC government according to the Governor, Jagdeep Dhankhar, has turned West Bengal into a police state. He also said that he would be forced to point out Article 154 of the Constitution, since his office has been neglected for far too long by the ruling government. Article 154 of the Constitution states that the states executive powers are vested in the Governor and the governor can exercise these powers either directly or through subordinate officers. Police are working as “cadres” for the ruling TMC government according to Dhankhar. He also criticized DGP Virendra for being irresponsible and callous.

In a press meet, Dhankhar said, “If the Constitution is not protected, I have to act. The office of the governor has been ignored for long. I will be forced to look at Article 154 of the Constitution.” He also said that he has been forced to make Whatsapp voice calls due to the “electronic surveillance by the TMC government”. He further added, “West Bengal has been turned into a police state...Police state and democracy cannot go hand in hand. Law and order has collapsed in the state. Maoist insurgency is raising its head. Terror modules are also operating from this state.”

Clarification on Farms Bills passed given by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman.

2 agriculture bills were passed on 20^th September in the Upper House of the Parliament. Deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Harivansh, has issued a clarification regarding the same. He said, “I hold a constitutional position and therefore, cannot issue a formal rebuttal. I am bringing these facts to your notice and leave it to your conscience for your judgment.” In his statement, Harivansh further added, “It is true that Tiruchi Shiva demanded a division on his amendment for reference of his bill to select committee from his seat at 1.10 p.m. You will see from the same video that around 1.09 p.m, one member was tearing the rule book and throwing on me. Besides I was surrounded by some hostile members, who were trying to snatch papers from me.”

He also said, “You will appreciate that as per rules and practice, in order to have a division, two things are essential. Firstly there should be a demand for division and equally important that there should be order in the house.”  Simultaneously, President Ram Nath Kovind, gave his approval for the 3 farm bills that were passed in the Parliament. The bills were passed by Parliament amid protests by the Opposition parties.

For the first time, the World Trade Organization is to be headed by a woman

A Harvard graduated, former Nigerian finance minister and the trade minister of South Korea have been shortlisted as the final 2 candidates to become the next director general, announced the World Trade Orgainzation. The final two candidates ensure that the next director general is a woman for the first times. Yoo Myung – hee from South Korea and Ngozi Okonjo – Iweala of Nigeria have shortlisted by a selection committee which hopes to see the end to this race in the coming few weeks. Keith Rockwel, a WTO spokesman, told reporters, “Both of the women that are in the final round are remarkably well qualified. This is something on which everyone has agreed… We've been impressed with them from the very beginning.”

WTO’s previous director general, Roberto Azevedo from Brazil surprised everyone with his decision to leave his post a year earlier than expected due to a “personal decision”. During his 7 year period as director general, Azevedo received extensive criticism from the U.S. President Donald Trump, who alleged that the WTO had treated the U.S. unfairly which resulted in the start of a trade war with China in protest of the WTO rules.

UK: Cannot extradite Vijay Mallya to India until resolution of secret legal issues

The Ministry of External Affairs claimed that the UK has said that Vijay Mallya, the Indian fugitive cannot be extradited until a resolution has been made on certain “secret legal” matters. In May, Mallya had lost his appeals in the British Supreme Court after which India has been pressing the UK officials to extradite him back to India to face charges for fraud and money laundering. Anurag Srivastava, the External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson, at a media briefing said, “Now, we have been told that there is a secret legal matter and that his extradition cannot take place without its resolution... We are in touch with the UK government."

The UK government has been in touch with New Delhi officials after Mallya used up all his legal resources against his extradition appeal. The apex court in the UK gave a major set back to the fugitive businessman when he lost his appeal in the high court in April against an order to extradite him back to India. India had also requested the UK government not provide asylum to Vijay Mallya back in June. This request was backed with the argument that there seemed to be no reason for his persecution in the country.

India sees a steep decline in Sulphur Dioxide emissions for the first time in 4 years

India was the largest emitter of sulphur dioxide which contributed to the air pollution in the world. A recent report has recorded a steep decline of about 6% in 2019 when compared to the previous year, making it the most in 4 years. India continues to hold the top position for the 5^th time in a row claimed the report. Emission of sulphur dioxide is extremely dangerous as the air pollutant can increase the risk of heart diseases, lung cancer, premature death and strokes. India recorded an emission percentage of 21% in 2019, which was almost double that of Russia which holds the second position in the global emission ranking.

The report also added, “China occupies the third position. The annual report ranks the world's biggest emitters of sulphur dioxide While credit needs to be given to India for making ambitious strides in renewable energy, contrarily concern arises from the consistent support given to coal-based energy generation. Renewable energy capacity has been increasing in India's power sector, delivering more than two-thirds of the subcontinent's new capacity additions during the FY 2019 – 20. However, these efforts are overshadowed by the fact that most of the power plants in India lack flue-gas desulfurization(FGD) units.”

Supreme Court claims freedom of speech abused the most off late: Tablighi case

Chief Justice of India, S A Bobde claimed that the news channels in recent times have whole heartedly abused their right to free speech and has asked if the Centre has taken any measures to ensure it does not happen again. The Centre filed an affidavit in response to the petition of a few Muslim groups which claimed that their community was targeted unfairly during the Covid -19 pandemic ever since the cluster of covid victims were found at the Tablighi Markaz which was held in Delhi. The CJI in reaction to this petition said, “Freedom of speech is one of the most abused rights in recent times. You cannot treat this court like this… This affidavit is extremely offensive and brazen. We find it highly offensive. It has brazenly it pointed out any incident of bad reporting. The officer must tell us about the incidents pointed out and not make nonsensical averments. If you have the power you must exercise it.” Previously the government had been asked to be on the look out for anyone who might instigate law and order amid the pandemic by the court.

Top peace negotiator of Afghanistan meets Prime Minister Modi

Abdullah Abdullah, Afghanistan’s top peace negotiator met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the peace initiative in motion in order to bring some form of stability in the war torn country. After the meeting, Abdullah tweeted that PM Modi reassured him of India’s continued assistance for their goal of peace in Afghanistan. Anurag Srivastava, spokesperson of the External Affairs Ministry said that Modi reaffirmed India;s commitment to strengthen ties with Afghanistan. Abdullah came to India on a five day visit in an attempt to build regional support and consensus for the Afghan peace process.

Abdullah on Twitter said, “Pleased to meet HE Narendra Modi @narendramodi, the Prime Minister of Republic of #India. In our friendly discussion we took stock of the latest developments on the #AfghanPeaceProcess, the talks in Doha, & India’s support for the peace efforts. The PM assured me of India’s continued support for the peace process, & Afghanistan. I thanked him & the people of India for the invitation, & generous hospitality. I also thanked India for its principled position on the #AfghanPeaceProcess.” The influential Afghan leader came to visit during talks of peace between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Doha.

“Intelligence tradecraft” being taught to Indian Revenue Service officers by RAW & IB

Revenue service officers coming from the Income Tax, Serious Fraud Investigation Office, Enforcement Directorate, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and CBI are being coached by leading agencies, including the likes of India’s external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and the Intelligence Bureau in “intelligence tradecraft”. 9 course modules have been developed for these officers to gain knowledge and expertise in matters of intelligence gathering and handling of forensic and digital evidence. Only group A officers of the Indian Revenue Service are to undertake the courses at RAW’s training academy in Gurgaon and IB’s National Intelligence agency based in Delhi. Other modules have been or are being developed for officers starting from the superintendent level up to principal commissioners. The finance ministry’s Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB) is undertaking the training programmes and coordinating it.

These other courses include investigation of economic crimes in securities market, which is to be conducted at the National Institute of Securities Market, based in Navi Mumbai. Legal aspects and matters are to be held at National Law University in Delhi and trade based money laundering from the State Bank Institute of Consumer Banking in Hyderabad.

Drug traffickers from Myanmar beginning to favour routes via Mizoram for smuggling

Mizoram has emerged as one the major drug trafficking routes beginning from Myanmar in the last few years. Mizoram, the north east state of India shares the border with Myanmar that stretches over 500 kilometers. Synthetic drugs such as the Yaba tablets are smuggled into the country via routes from Myanmar and then distributed to neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Bangaladesh and others. Rebel groups based out of Myanmar are the ones who are allegedly benefiting from this system. A key item on the agenda was to talk about the security partnership during the Foreign Secretary & Army Chief’s visit to Myanmar. Drug seizures worth around $137,000 have been made earlier this year along the Myanmar border claimed a non government organization based in Mizoram.

These NGOs demand a strong fencing along the border policy to be initiated and upheld. A report claimed “that towards the end of the last century, drug cartels in the Golden Triangle switched to the production of methamphetamine or meth, turning it into a more lucrative trade than heroin. The popularity of meth soared in Thailand, where it is known as ‘yaba’ or ‘crazy drug’.”

LJP gives refuge to over a dozen ex BJP and JD(U) candidates for the Bihar elections

Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) after being discarded by the NDA, has now emerged as a platform for aspirants to showcase themselves in the upcoming elections. Several discarded BJP members who were contending for the party tickets were benched due to the party’s alliance with JD(U). These members were wholeheartedly welcomed by Chirag Paswan, the Chief of LJP party. 2 of the former and sitting MLAs are allegedly part of the 10 members leaving the BJP and likely to join the LJP. In addition, 2 sitting JD(U) MLAs, who had been dropped, were welcomed by the LJP and are likely to take on nominees of Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar.

All 12 member are supposed to be part of the initial list of 70 seats to challenge the JD(U) candidates. More names are to be announced with time, claimed reports. Usha Vidyarathi, a former BJP MLA from Paliganj, became a part of the LJP after a meeting with Chirag Paswan in Delhi. Sources from within the LJP claim that these candidates are part of the plan to trouble the JD(U). Rebel party leaders have been warned that they would be expelled immediately by the Bihar BJP.

Supreme Court hears plea regarding “bribes” taken by/on behalf of judges

An urgent plea relating to alleged bribes being offered to and taken by judges was agreed to be heard by the Supreme Court. Justices S Abdul Nazeer and J Chelameswar are leading the bench to hear the plea and agreed to list the matter upon itself after a request was made by former Supreme Court Bar Association President and senior advocate Dushyanth Dave. Dave claimed the matter was of utmost importance and said, “This petition should be listed before a bench of Jusitce Chelameswar as it involves protection of the integrity of the institution”. He also mentioned that there were concerns regarding the same after investigating.

He added, “This matter relates to an FIR lodged by CBI into the alleged bribe taken in the name of judges. Things are very disturbing and nobody can be a judge in his own case.” Dave claimed that there was nothing personal in this matter and in fact is seeking the assistance of the Supreme Court to uphold the integrity of the institution. In response, the bench stated that there were civil liberties and fundamental rights every citizen can exercise but must do so judiciously.

Paris Agreement: India on the right path to accomplish the targets set

Under the Paris Agreement, nations set targets to address climate change and India is among just a handful of major polluters that is on the right path to achieve the national targets. Companies have come a long way in terms of actual reduction of total carbon dioxide pollution caused and the effect of renewable energy usage. Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) India’s director Damandeep Singh is optimistic about the future given the recent progress, however warns that there’s a long way to go.

Several companies have adopted techniques to reduce carbon emission and use renewable energy. Singh added, “Half of these companies are supplying to Wal-Mart, the tech companies are part of Microsoft and Dell supply chain, so the impetus for change comes from there.” Managing Director for ERM India, Masood Mallick, has partnered up with CDP India for the 2017 report Policy signals are criticial to make sure the industry stays committed to the national goal. He stated, “The government needs to start communicating the national climate plans to India Inc and initiate discussions on mechanisms to allocate and track emission reduction goals across the economy.”

Chirag Paswan’s LJP pledges to send Nitish Kumar to jail for propagating corruption

The Bihar CM, Nitish Kumar’s government was accused of corruption in his main “Saat Nishchay” scheme by the LJP party chief, Chirag Paswan and promised to have the scheme probed and jail those found guilty, including the CM himself. He said, “Why not, if found guilty. Just because he is chief minister he wont go to jail? Corruption is taking place right under his nose, Chirag told -Bhasha over phone from Arwal when asked if he indeed intends to send Kumar to jail on charge of corruption in the implementation of seven resolves. Saat Nishchay is a scheme formulated by him. We will get it probed after an LJP government is formed. And if found guilty, the chief minister will also go to jail.”

Furthermore, he added, “12 crore Biharis, including ministers in his cabinet and media persons, know about widespread corruption in implementation of seven resolves. He is promoting smuggling of liquor during prohibition and a fat sum of money from this illegal trade is going in his pocket for furtherance of his political ambition.” Nitish Kumar’s government had previously announced Bihar to be a dry state since 2016.

State Min. Sanjay Kumar accuses Chirag Paswan to be “dancing along the tunes” of others

Before the upcoming Bihar assembly polls, Sanjay Kumar Jha responded to Chirag Paswan’s earlier comments stating that the Lok Janshakti Party’s chief is acting on the basis of someone else’s command. Kumar Jha claimed, “He (Chirag) starred with Kangana Ranaut, now see where Kangana has reached. Similarly, Sushant Singh Rajput without any background made his mark in Bollywood. Just like a puppet who is controlled by the juggler, he has become a puppet.”

Taking a jibe at the LJP’s chief, the State minister compared his acting career to his political career, stating that Paswan will fail in the latter, just as he did in the former part of his career. He added, “This kind of low level of politics has not been witnessed ever in Bihar. In recent times, he worked in a movie and it was that kind of a movie where people left the theatre before the interval. After the first phase of the polls, a similar fate will meet him in politics.” Defending the Bihar CM, Jha said, "Nitish Kumar has an untainted image in Bihar. You can question his work, but the work is visible to the public and they will decide on it.”

Mayawati cautions voters to stay wary of rival parties before the Bihar polls

Recently, Mayawati, the president of the BSP, cautioned voters and citizens of Bihar to stay vigilant against the “conspiracies” laid out by rival parties, in an attempt to gain support for her party’s alliance ahead of the upcoming Bihar elections. The 28^th of October, 3^rd of November and 7^th of November, have been the designated days to vote for the 243 seats in the assembly in Bihar. Using social media as a platform, the ex UP Chief minister on Twitter, said in a tweet, “Preparations for the first phase of the Bihar assembly elections begins today with the end of the election campaign. Therefore, there is an appeal to everyone that they should take care against all kind of conspiracies and tactics of opponents and cast their votes and make the BSP and RLSP coalition successful.”

Contesting for the 80 seats in Bihar, the BSP has created an alliance with the Rashtriya Lok Samaj Party. In statements made previously, Mayawati had claimed that the vision of this alliance was to be able to provide equal rights and political representation to the Dalit, Adivasis, minorities, marginalized and upper caste sections of the community.

Carbon neutrality 2050, Japan’s deadline set by PM Suga

The Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshihide Suga, has recently declared 2050 to be the deadline date before which he aims to ensure Japan to be carbon neutral. This deadline is in line with the country’s commitments to tackle climate change. Making his first policy speech since being in office, Suga claimed that Japan’s main aim was to catch up the climate pledges made by other economies of the world. Addressing the parliament, he said, “We will bring the total amount of greenhouse gas (emitted by Japan) to net zero by 2050, meaning carbon neutral.” Applauding the efforts of the DIET members and welcoming new generation technologies like solar batteries, the world’s 3^rd largest economy’s PM added, “I declare we will aim to realise a decarbonised society… The key is innovation”

Daisuke Tanaka, an expert in socially responsible environmental, social and governance investments at Daiwa Research Institute said, “It is a very ambitious target… He made a clear statement. Now Japan has to keep the promise. There is no escape route.” Tanaka also believed that the new policy would promote renewable energy in Japan, having a keen focus on being able to provide consistent supply.

Turkey looks to boycott all French supplies between Macron row

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey asked his citizens to boycott all goods coming from France, adding fuel to the fire in his standoff between France and Muslim countries over Islam and the freedom of speech being exercised. Emmanuel Macron, the French President had claimed that mocking a religion does in fact come under the freedom of speech. Addressing all Muslim countries, he said, “Never give credit to French-labelled goods, don't buy them.” On receiving the heavy backlash over the comments made by the French President, other European leaders came to the aid of Macron. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor’s spokesperson said, “They are defamatory comments that are completely unacceptable, particularly against the backdrop of the horrific murder of the French teacher Samuel Paty by an Islamist fanatic.”

Taking a jibe at the French President, Erdogan added, “You, are in a real sense the links in the chain of Nazism… European leaders should tell the French president to stop his hate campaign against Muslims.” Macron in response said, “We will not give in, ever. We respect all differences in a spirit of peace. We do not accept hate speech and defend reasonable debate. We will always be on the side of human dignity and universal values.”

New laws set buy government permits any Indian citizen to buy land in J&K

Indian citizens from any part of the nation can now buy property and land in Jammu and Kashmir with the new laws laid out by the Centre. Jammu and Kashmir was designated as a Union Territory almost a year ago, on the 31^st of October, 2019. 12 laws of the state have been retracted and the Union home ministry has laid out a new order regarding the Real Estate Act in the region. Each state and UT have to mandatorily set up their own real estate regulator and create rules to manage the workings of these regulations. The order said, “With immediate effect, the Acts mentioned in the schedule to this order shall, until repealed or amended by a competent legislature or other competent authority, have an effect, subject to the adaptations and modifications directed by the said schedule, or if it is so directed, shall stand repealed.”

Article 370 was repealed by the Centre on the 5^th of August the year before which gave special  status to the former state, separating the region into two Union territories of J&K and Ladakh. Previously under Article 35A, citizens were prohibited from buying land in J&K.

No quick fixes to Delhi’s severe air pollution, crop burning only a part of the problem

Air quality in Delhi most days is below the air standards set by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Farmers in Punjab and Haryana often burn the residue left behind by paddy crops in order to make way for the winter harvest. Sucha Gill from the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development, Chandigarh claims, “Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh produce nearly 40 million tonnes of paddy straw every year. Punjab alone produces about 22 to 23 million tonnes. Most of which is burnt.”

Air quality in Delhi has consistently been poor, however the government only seems to react when the air quality deteriorates visibly in the form of smog and toxic air perceptibility, which usually tends to occur during the months of October and November. Niti Gupta, a research analyst reported, “One reason why crop burning is so large in the imagination is because it is period when we have the spikes when the air is visibly polluted and the level of particulate matter rise to say 10 times the safe limits but even on a day when we can see blue skies the air is polluted, say two or three times the safe limit.”

Legal battle between Amazon – Future Groups directly affects Reliance’s future goals

Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has a lot at stake as the legal battles between the Future Group and Amazon increases. A mutual settlement between the 3 parties involved would be the best case scenario for all, claim experts. RIL’s shares dropped by over 4% after the online retail giant Amazon won an interim battle against its partner Future Group’s Rs. 24,713 crore deal with RIL. A single judge arbitration panel based out of Singapore has placed the deal on hold for the foreseeable future. Kishore Biyani group had decided to sell the retail business to RIL, to which Amazon dragged the Future group to arbitration.

The head of research at IIFL Securities, Abhimanyu Sofat said, “I think this depends on the legal framework on how one country’s court decision gets validated in the Indian courts. The value of Amazon’s investment in Future Coupons is not very high.That said, each party here is right in its own way. This is a classic case of where there is truth on both sides. Unless they settle it amicably among themselves, it could drag a bit longer and delay the deal a bit.”

Tech giants come under scrutiny under Biden, Microsoft tries to avoid the spotlight

Microsoft Corps, under the Trump administration secured an impressive $10 billion government contract and also managed to evade Washington’s inspection of Big Tech companies has come out as a major supporter for the Joe Biden’s presidential campaign. Recognizing Microsoft’s long standing prevalence in politics, Max Moran, a researcher at CERP said, “Microsoft has been playing politics for much longer than the other large technology companies that are widely talked about. It knows how to play the game on both sides of the aisle.”

A spokeswoman from the Microsoft office claimed that donations made to the campaign were done independently by their employees. She added, “Our approach has been consistent: we'll partner where we can, we'll stand apart where we should.” Matt Hill, a spokesperson from the Biden campaign told Reuters, “Many technology giants and their executives have not only abused their power, but misled the American people, damaged our democracy, and evaded any form of responsibility. That ends with a President Biden.” When asked to comment on the ongoing events related to Microsoft’s shift in presidential campaign backing, the Trump campaign refused to make a statement.

Niti Aayog VC – India can expect to witness positive economic growth in 2^nd half

Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman of Niti Aayog expressed his belief that India’s economic growth would very well be in the positive region in the latter (second) half of this fiscal year, and in fact could potentially do better than majority of the world. He believes that due to the uncertainty of the pandemic, the economy has been slow. He said, “We would be slightly ahead in 2021-22. We would be better than large part of the world. But this depends on how the pandemic pans out. This is pure uncertainty. How it will work?”

Kumar did note that at present the chances for recovery of the economy might seem slim, but in the future does seem a bit brighter. He added, “I see much stronger recovery in the 2021-22. I am hoping so on solid grounds. We used 6-7 months  for deep structural reforms like FDI norms, labour laws and farm sector. We should not be de-motivated by our negative GDP growth. There are many measures (packages) in the pipeline.” Kumar also mentioned that India’s goal of self reliance doesn’t look to isolate itself from the rest of the world, rather looks to create a level playing field for entrepreneurs to increase exports.

“Modi Brand” factor the reason many support the ruling party in Bihar

The BJP – JD(U) alliance looks to garner votes from the poorest communities of society by initiating a number of welfare schemes, hoping that it is enough to over power the RJD led alliance. The “Modi Brand” continues to be a major reason for the people to continue with the current ruling party. Central government schemes laid out for the welfare of the poor has been of utmost importance especially during these Covid – 19 times. In the town of Darbhanga, one such voter, a Kahara belonging to EBC, Shrawan Das said, “Jiska khayengein, usika gayengein, (Will sing the tune of the one who feeds us).” Another one of the voters from the region reported, “The government gave us money, food and cooking gas cylinder. What else does one want.”

The Dalit of Simri panchayat, Rajendra Ram voiced his pain at not receiving any transfer benefits like other villages, but shifts the blame to the local government handlers for their incompetency. Affirming his support for the NDA, he added, “Modi treats everyone as equal. But our society and villagers discriminate against us. I will not blame Modi for this.”

India sees one of the lowest Corona virus cases per million in the world

The number of active positive cases of the novel corona virus in the country stayed below 6 lakh for three days in a row. This number, according to the Union Health Ministry, comprises of only 6.97% of the total number of cases. Active number of positive cases have been different in different parts of the country and additional efforts are being implemented to curb the worst hit regions. Karnataka had reported a sharp decrease in the number of active cases in a matter of just 24 hours. The ministry said, “With the consistent decline in the active cases, the cases per million in India are among lowest in the world. India's average cases per million stand at 5,930… For the third day after the active cases dropped below the 6 lakh mark after nearly three months, the progressive decline has been maintained.”

Currently, there are 5,70,458 active cases in the country. A steady decrease in the total number of cases has been noted by the ministry. Collaborative efforts made by states and UTs under the supervision of the Centre has resulted in this achievement. India’s has one of the lowest deaths per million in the entire world.

The concept of secularism is in ‘danger’ in India – Shashi Tharoor

Senior congress leader, Shashi Tharoor, voiced his concern over the principle of secularism and its practice in India, which according to him is in grave danger and the current ruling government might even try to exclude the word from the Constitution. The former Union minister said, “I have long argued that any attempt to emulate 'Pepsi Lite' by 'BJP Lite' will end up with us becoming like 'Coke Zero' -- that is, 'Congress Zero'…Congress is not BJP in any shape or form, and we should not attempt to be a lighter version of something we are not. Nor are we trying to, in my view. So we are not offering a watered-down version of the BJP's political messaging: Rahul Gandhi has made it explicitly clear that, for all his avowing his personal Hinduism by going to temples, he does not support any form of Hindutva, neither soft nor hard.”

When Tharoor was asked about the danger the word secularism faces in a country like India, he responded saying, “The word is only a word; but even if the government takes the word 'secularism' out of the Constitution, it is still a secular Constitution.”

PM Modi, VP Naidu greet people of different states on their foundation days

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu wished people from the states of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala on their statehood days respectively. Naidu said, “These states and the Union territories represent India's rich cultural and geographical diversity. They have enriched the nation through their natural and human resources. I wish the people of these states & UTs a happy, healthy and prosperous future.”

Modi further added, “Karnataka Rajyotsava greetings to my sisters and brothers of Karnataka. Powered by the strength and skills of the people of the state, Karnataka is scaling new heights of progress. I pray for the happiness and good health of the people of Karnataka. People belonging to AP have gone on to excel in several fields. On AP's Formation Day, my greetings to the people of the state and best wishes for their developmental aspirations. Kerala's natural beauty has made it among the most popular destinations, drawing people from all over the world. Praying for Kerala's continuous progress.” He also extended his best wishes to Madhya Pradesh who, according to him, have made ‘long lasting contributions’ in their goal of achieving an ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.

PMLA case filed against man, arrested for Rs. 750 cr fraud by the ED

A man has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate with links to an alleged money laundering of Rs. 750 crore bank loan fraud case by misusing credit facilities. The accused, Sai Chandrashekhar was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act after which a local court sent him to the ED for 7 days under custody. The agency claimed, “On the basis of such misrepresentations, the accused persons induced Hassad Netherlands BV to provide corporate guarantee for the outstanding amount of Rs 714 crore of credit facilities availed from consortium of banks. Credit facilities were availed by Bush Foods Overseas Pvt Ltd on the basis of non-existent stocks and inventory.”

Furthermore, the ED alleged, “Bulk transactions of sales and purchases were generated so that Bush Foods could record increased turnover, profit margins and additional stock by generating approximately equal value of sales and purchases in a year. Artificial profit and artificial stock in the book value of inventory was recorded in the books by showing these bulk sales as domestic sales. Chandrasekhar also received Rs 1 crore proceeds of crime in the account of his father

PLA to be on par with US military by 2027 – Chinese Communist Party

In a recently ended, pivotal conclave led by the in power Communist Party of China (CPC) has unveiled its goals to create an entirely modern military, which is set to be on par with the military of the United States of America by the year 2027. China looks to create the military with the capability of defending its national sovereignty and simultaneously protect its overseas assets, claimed reports. A Chinese military expert, Song Zhongping, reported, “The centennial goal is in line with national strength… Basically, the target is to build PLA's capability to match the US army by 2027, so It can effectively deter interference by the US Army around the Taiwan Strait.”

Deputy head of Hong Kong think tank Tianda Institute, Sunfei Wu said, “It‘s important to note that this Plenum isn't just discussing the next five-year plan,” he continued. “It's also building out the vision for 2035, spanning greater technological self-reliance and other goals for economic and social development. Whether or not Xi rules until 2035, this provides a medium-term frame for the actions under way, especially since the next several years will likely remain very challenging for China.”

46 US companies including Apple, Facebook question new H-1B rule

Over 46 American companies have joined the cause to challenge the new H-1B visa rules. Tech giants like – Apple, Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, HP among others have filed an amicus brief which supports the legal challenges to prevent the implementation of the new rules. In their argument, these companies said, “The H-1B visa program provides tremendous benefits to the US economy and U.S. workers. Numerous economic studies demonstrate that the presence in the US of these high-skilled employees fuels innovation, increases productivity and the size of the US economy, and—most important—creates additional jobs and higher wages for US workers.”

Furthermore, they added, “The new DHS and DOL Rules will dramatically reduce US businesses’ ability to hire these skilled foreign workers—one senior DHS official estimated that they will render ineligible more than one-third of petitions for H-1B visas. That will significantly reduce the economic benefits provided by the H-1B programme, stunt the US economy’s recovery from the pandemic, and lead to greater reliance by US companies on operations outside of the United States—inflicting long-term damage to our Nation’s economic growth.”

Banks allowed to select their own tech providers claims government

For the digital documentation procedure, banks are permitted to select technology service providers of their choice, the government has reported, amidst the increasing push for paperless loans. Kirtiman Singh, central government’s Standing Counsel said, “It would be open to the banks to choose their service provider, including the petitioner (SignDesk), if so advised.”

Currently, there are only a handful  banks and states that offer digital stamping for account holders. The seven states that allow the digital stamping procedure include – Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Tamil Nadu amidst others. Co-founder of Desk Nine, Ashok Kadsur said, “The central government has cleared up a level-playing field for RegTech innovators to jump in with cost-effective and cutting-edge products that will undoubtedly expedite the documentation process. We are quite happy with the business-friendly stance that the central government has taken and the support being extended to businesses like ours.” Saru Tumuluri, CEO of Khosla Labs said, “Any process which enables end-to-end digital is welcome. Banks, typically, like working with established partners. However, cost optimisation is an important factor and new players entering the field can differentiate themselves by bringing down expenses.”

Major earthquake leaves Turkey shook, 26 dead as building collapses

Rescuers rummaged through the debris and heavy stacks of concrete with their bare hands in a desperate attempt to search for survivors after a powerful earthquake that caused several buildings across Turkey and Greece to collapse, killed at least 26 people. A mini tsunami was caused on the Aegean islands of Samos and sea water gushes through the streets, converting them into rivers along the west coast of Turkey as a result of this powerful earthquake. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck 14 kilometres away from the Greek town of Karlovasi in Samos and was felt in Athens and Istanbul both.

A door for diplomatic reunion of the two rivals, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was left wide open with one calling the other to offer their support and condolences. “Whatever our differences, these are times when our people need to stand together.” Mitsotakis tweeted on Twitter. In response to his message, Erdogan replied saying, “Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister… That two neighbours show solidarity in difficult times is more valuable than many things in life.” The US state department expressed its pleasure with the new found cooperation of the two rivals.

‘Unusually high’ farm fires cause of Delhi’s ‘very poor’ air quality

According to a government forecasting agency, Delhi’s air quality stayed at the ‘very poor’ mark due to ‘unusually high’ number of farm fires, preventing the effect of proper ventilation. Experts however believe that the situation will tend to get better in the coming days. Delhi reported an air quality index (AQI) of 366 at 8:30 am and is expected to go lower in the coming days. SAFAR, the Ministry of Earth Sciences’ air quality monitoring agency, the cause for the ‘very poor’ air quality was a direct result of the increasing number of farm fires, which account for 32% of the pollution in the nation’s capital.

It saw a record high of 36% just a few days back. Large, dense clusters of fires have been highlighted by NASA’s satellite imagery in Punjab and parts of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. Delhi’s ventilation has not improved even with added ventilation as the north – north westerly boundary level wind direct and wind speeds negate its effect. SAFAR reported: “Increased local surface wind speed with faster dispersion conditions are counteracting with increased fire related emission and associated intrusion. But still, AQI is likely to improve for the next two days as dispersion will eventually play a lead role.”

Indo-Us relations to surpass all previous expectations under Modi-Biden partnership: BJP

BJP leaders welcomed the new president elect, Mr. Joe Biden and claimed that the relations between India and US will only move forwards, to the next level as their relation is based on the concept of democracy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President, Joe Biden look to further increase trade relations and better the ties between the two nations. Ram Madhav, a BJP leader, also joined the chant to welcome the new US President. He said. “The US and India stand on a strong bipartisan bilateral relationship based on the principles of democracy, mutual benefits and global peace. I am sure under the new leadership of Biden-Harris, US-India ties will continue to progress as strong as they have been…. I am sure the two leaders will take this relationship forward”

Madhav pointed out the fact that Modi and Biden have known each other since the Obama administration. The Obama administration played a pivotal role in organizing and hosting the event of Prime Minister Modi on his first trip to the United States where he was welcomed whole heartedly at New York’s Madison Square after being elected as the Prime Minister of India.

Nitin Gadkari claims to have plans of creating aviation fuel from Gadchiroli bamboo plan

While inaugurating his assistance for the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ program, Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister, laid foundations for his idea to start a refinery to produce aviation fuel with the help of bamboos grown in the district of Gadchiroli in Maharashtra. During the inauguration event, he said, “I am planning to set up a bio-refinery for production of aviation fuel. The bamboo for this will be sourced from Gadchiroli district. I have begun work on this and in two to three years, I will show you flights running on this bio fuel.” Praising the Centre’s Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative Gadkari also said the initiative will make the nation prosperous. He claimed that Prime Minister Modi’s ideology is a progressive one and is aimed at making India a happy and self-reliant nation as a whole.

Gadkari also believes that Deen Dayal Upadhyay’s (who is also the co-founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh party) concept of Antyodaya is a much-needed concept especially in a country like India. Antyodaya means welfare must be given and provided to each and every person residing in this nation. Public representatives were asked to start putting in motion plans to create self-employment for a minimum of 10,000 people spread across the next two years in Nagpur.

Trump’s mistakes should be rectified by the next administration: Iran President, Rouhani

Iran’s President, Hassan Rouhani was quoted saying that the next administration to be in power in the United States of America should look to make up for the mistakes made by the previous, that is, the Trump administration. He made these statements after the US presidential elections’ results declared Joe Biden as the new President of the United States of America. United States of America and Iran have been in a state of tension ever since 2018 owing to the fact that Trump backed out of a nuclear deal between Tehran and the world powers. Not only did US back out, but also reimposed sanctions that left Iran with a crippled economy.

“Trump's damaging policy has been opposed...by the American people. The next U.S. administration should use the opportunity to make up for past mistakes...Iran favours constructive interaction with the world.” It has been reported that Biden promises to join the 2015 Iran nuclear accord along with six powers once again, under the condition that Tehran also must comply. This deal was initially agreed upon by Washington when he was the vice president. Tehran has expressed its will to comply as long as their presence was respected.

Uddhav Thackeray warns the public of the impending doom of the 2^nd wave of the pandemic

While asking the people of Maharashtra to be cautious of the Covid-19’s second wave, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray drew parallels to European countries like Spain and England. He said, “You are seeing these in western countries like England, Spain and even in Delhi there is a huge spike in infections. The second wave is not a wave but it’s a Tsunami… I am not trying to frighten you, but look at the Spanish flu that occurred around 100 years back. It took the lives of more than 1 crore people in the country. Now look at the population of the country now and imagine what could happen. Which is why we are not opening up fast, because if we do it recklessly then the next lockdown would be disastrous for the state.”

Referring to the BJP without mentioning their name, the CM also added, “For the past few months some Maharashtra haters, have been claiming of a conspiracy against the state, this when we were grappling with the virus, an attempt was being made to show that the state is unsafe, that there are drugs being grown in the fields here. However we dismantled the conspiracy.”

Experts believe that Biden’s tax policies could be a major boon for India

While India has brought down its tax rates significantly, the new US President – Joe Biden’s decision to tax corporates at a higher rate could prove to be a major opportunity for India. Experts believe that large multinational companies and other US based companies might end up shifting a large part of their workings overseas to a country like India to avoid getting taxed at higher rates in the United States of America. A partner and national leader of corporate tax (international) advisor, Mr. Rajendra Nayak reported, “If the US under Joe Biden does indeed go ahead with higher tax rates for corporates from 21% to 28%, US multinationals may find investment in India more attractive in view of the recently reduced corporate tax rate.”

The real challenge Biden faces is to implement the proposals of his campaign manifesto as the majority votes in the US senate are held by the Republicans. A tax partner at Deloitte India, Rohinton Sidhwa added, “Higher GILTI rates could lead to increasing tax costs for offshoring work, which in turn may lead to decreasing business for the IT and ITes industry in India which has served as captive back offices for many large US corporations.”

Vice President, Naidu asked by CM Amarinder Singh to hold polls for Panjab University senate

M Venkaiah Naidu, the Vice President of India and also the chancellor of Panjab University has been requested to look for early elections in the state by Punjab Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh. In his letter to the vice president, Singh said. “…inexplicable delay in polling was causing resentment among various constituents of the institution.” Highlighting the state’s improvement in the Covid – 19 pandemic situation, Singh requested Naidu to conduct the elections for the University senate as soon as possible. He wrote, “There is a substantial resentment amongst the teachers, professionals, technical members, graduates of the university and representatives of various constituencies for the senate elections.”

The administration of the university noted that the Centre had delayed the elections for the senate due to the Covid -19 pandemic, however, the situation has improved much since then and elections have been conducted all over the country. He added, “True, there is a need to ensure compliance of the protocol that has been evolved in the last few months to contain the pandemic and there should be no reason for the university administration and even the Chandigarh administration or the state government to not comply with these,

Special status must be given to Rajasthan claims CM Ashok Gehlot

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was urged to give Rajasthan the special status tag by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot under the National AYUSH Mission. He claimed that Rajasthan has one of the largest infrastructures in the nation in the AYUSH sector with over 5,000 AYUSH medical centres in use. He said, “Giving special status to Rajasthan under the National AYUSH Mission would help the state to take forward the mission of deemed university status to the National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA), Jaipur as it has the largest AYUSH basic infrastructure in the country.”

On the 5^th Ayurveda Day event, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gehlot brought up the topic. PM Modi gave the Institute of Teaching & Research in Ayurveda (ITRA), Jamnagar and the National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur the special status tag. An Act of Parliament conferred the status of an Institution of National Importance (INI) to ITRA and the NIA was given the status of an Institution Deemed to be University by the University Grants Commission (UGC). The Chief Minister of Rajasthan is of the firm belief that a deemed university status will increase research and the international scope of  Ayurvedic, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH).

Australia’s PM Scott Morrison extends Diwali greetings to Indians

In a video message released recently, the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, “Most years, we often think of this dispelling of darkness as a theoretical concept rather than something that is experienced and overcome. This year, Diwali's message has a special significance. Every nation on earth is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lives and livelihoods have been lost as we have witnessed the most dramatic shock in generations. Despite this, we have a common hope. Throughout 2020, despite our own fears, we have supported each other, encouraged each other, and stood with each other. We have drawn strength and inspiration from our medical professionals, teachers, cleaners, retail staff, police and defence force personnel and so many more who have responded to the crisis with compassion and professionalism.”
Furthermore, he added, “Yes, we have seen darkness this year, but the light is overcoming that darkness. There is light ahead, and there is hope. Warmest greetings to everyone celebrating Diwali, the festival of lights. It's a special moment for people of many faiths.” Opposition leader, Anthony Albanese also extended his greetings to the people and said, “I wish all of you a wonderful Diwali festival.”

Australian coal carried on Indian ship denied access from leaving port, China denies allegations

An Indian ship, ‘Jag Anand’, transporting Australian coal was denied permission from leaving its port after complaints were filed against it, leaving 23 of its crew members stranded. A huge amount of Australian coal was being transported to China and has been stuck at Jingtang port for the last 5 months. Members of the crew sought immediate relief as the ship stayed in queue ever since its arrival. Wang Wenbin, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, when asked about the situtaions said “As far as I understand, this Indian shipping vessel has been berthed near Jingtang port since June.China has never restricted it from leaving. The freight forwarder does not want to adjust the plans for the vessel due to commercial interests which is the real cause of the situation.”

He also added, "The local Chinese authorities have been in close contact with the Indian side and responded to their requests timely. When it is indeed in need of urgent rescue or assistance as long as we receive such requests, China will at the earliest time possible carry out rescue or assistance activities while complying with epidemic prevention and control regulations including providing necessary material supplies.”

Mark Zuckerberg becomes the first tech giant head to admit Joe Biden as the next US president

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, was the first tech giant head to acknowledge Democrat Joe Biden to be the next President of the United States of America. He believed the outcome was very clear, and that Joe Biden was going to win the Presidential elections and was recorded saying the same to his employees in an audio recording. Zuckerberg said, “I believe the outcome of the election is now clear and Joe Biden is going to be our next president.” Republican, Donald Trump, is set to fight legal battles to prevent Joe Biden from taking up his spot.

On being asked how Zuckerberg would deal with the new administration, he said,”It's important that people have confidence that the election was fundamentally fair, and that goes for the tens of millions of people that voted for Trump. Part of what we're seeing out here are people who are calling for recounts and legal challenges, which, in a lot of cases, is their right and something you see in a lot of elections. But I think it's also quite unhelpful that people out there are raising expectations that there is going to be a different outcome than from what was projected.”

Firecrackers banned completely in 3 cities by Bihar State Pollution Control Board order

A complete ban on the sale and use of firecrackers was put in motion in Patna, Muzaffarpur and Gaya after the directives given by the National Green Tribunals (NGT) in an attempt to maintain the air quality in towns and cities where it was deemed to be ‘poor’ or ‘worse’ last November. The state pollution watchdog claimed that these cities mentioned repored an air pollution level of ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ which is why the sale and use of fire crackers have been banned this year.

However, a shopkeeper selling fire crackers along the road in Rajiv Nagar claimed, “We do not have any such information that sale of crackers has been banned in Patna. We heard that there are some states which have banned bursting of crackers.” Similarly customers also reported saying that there had been no ban enforced in the state. Ajay Kumar, was caught buying firecrackers from a shop in the state capital and said, “What I know is that there is no ban on sale of crackers in any city of Bihar. Had I known it, I would not have purchased crackers for my 14-year-old son.”

Congress made a ‘mockery’ of national security claims the BJP

The BJP demanded answers from the Congress party for the alleged Jeep scandal, the Bofors scam and the submarine scandal among several others. Union Minister and senior BJP leader, Ravi Shankar Prasad claimed that the Congress leaders made a ‘mockery’ of national security for their own personal benefit. He said, “Whenever you think of a kickback in a military deal, think of some Congress leaders. No defence deal without a loot, no defence deal without a kickback and no defence deal without some Congress leaders becoming beneficiary of it has been the go-to policy of Congress leaders
Prasad mentioned that back in 2010, talks were in order for buying the AgustaWestland helicopters for important personalities like the President and Prime Minister which would cost Rs. 3,600 crores. Rajiv Saxena, the key accused in the scandal has pointed fingers at the ex – Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath’s nephew Ratul Puri and son Bakul Nath in his statements made before the Enforcement Directorate. "The BJP demands that the Congress party not maintain silence on this grave issue. The nation is awake and listening," Prasad said and asked "why do we always get names of Congress leaders whenever a defence deal is referred to an investigative agency

Covid – 19 second wave cases on the rise, Greece shuts down all schools

Primary schools, kindergartens and day care centres were shut down in Greece as a surge in Covid -19 cases looks to overwhelm the national health system. A statement made by Health minister Vassilis Kikilias said, “The Greek government decided the suspension of the functioning of schools until November 30. Closing elementary schools was the last thing we wanted to do. This is a measure of how serious the situation is… The health system is in the red.” The Greek government has already shut down secondary schools and have been conducting online classes since the start of this week.

Several European nations have decided to keep schools open amid the second wave of the corona virus that has ravaged through the continent since the month of September, a stark contrast to when the pandemic broke out for the first time in the months of March and April, when they were shut down as part of the first lockdown. Shutting down schools was recommended by The World Health Organization (WHO) only as a last resort measure. Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, during a Parliament briefing regarding the second lockdown, said to the MPs, “The coming weeks will be extremely critical.”

Typhoon Vamco expected to be rampant as Vietnam braces, 53 dead in Philippines

The death toll rose to 53 in the Philippines as Typhoon Vamco, the deadliest storm of the year ravaged through the country. Vietnam is also expected to be in the path of this deadly storm, expected to make landfall over the weekend. The government’s weather agency has claimed that Vamco is expected to hit the coastal strip stretching from Ha Tinh to Quang Ngai province with winds as high as 165 kph (103 mph). “This is a very strong typhoon," Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said, reminding the provinces in Vamco to stay cautious and brace for its impact.

 468,000 people are expected to be evacuated from the provinces according to the state media which cited the disaster management authority department of the government. Owing to its long coastline, Vietnam is prone to devastating storms and floods. This year, there have been 12 previous storms that have ravaged the South East Asian country. Over 160 people have already lost their lives due to natural disasters which was triggered by a series of storms since the start of October. Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu, Vietnam Red Cross Society President said, “There has been no respite for more than eight million people living in central Vietnam."

Thackeray: Re opening of religious places of worship across Maharashtra this week

The Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray announced that religious places of worship in the state would reopen this week onwards. In his statement he said, “We can't forget that the demon coronavirus is still amongst us. Even though this demon is slowly falling silent now, we cannot be complacent. Citizens need to follow discipline… Just like discipline and restraint were observed while celebrating Holi, Ganesh Chaturthi,Navratri and Pandharpur wari (annual pilgrimage), followers of other faiths also celebrated festivals like Eid, Mount Mary festival by keeping the COVID-19 safety protocol in mind.”
The Chief Minister said that god was looking after devotees even though places of religious worship had been shuttered since the start of the lockdown owing to pandemic outbreak. He also emphasized on the implementation of safety protocols. He added, “Crowding will have to avoided. The reopening of religious places is not a government order, but the wish of the Almighty. Shoes will have to kept outside the premises and wearing masks is mandatory…If we follow discipline, we will get God's blessings.” The BJP had heavily criticized Thackeray’s decision to keep places of worship shut even as they eased the lockdown.

Barack Obama’s criticism of Rahul Gandhi infuriates the Congress while others seem happy

Rahul Gandhi’s description according to Barack Obama has clearly infuriated the already struggling Congress party, while the BJP and other parties gleefully smiled at the rating. Obama in his upcoming book mentioned that Rahul Gandhi ‘had a nervous, unformed quality about him, as if he were a student who’d done the course work and was eager to impress the teacher but deep down lacked either the aptitude or the passion to master the subject. In a clearly indirect attempt to recall the Nixon – Indira scenario, Randeep Surjewala tweeted, “May I remind media friends that in the past too, a sitting President had made uncharitable remarks about a sitting women PM of India. INC & its Govt continued to work in national interest unfazed and Bangladesh & Green Revolution happened. INC shall continue to serve similarly.
Tariq Anwar, general secretary of All India Congress Committee (AICC) tried to reason with Obama’s rating of Rahul and put things in perspective. He said, “Obama and Rahul Gandhi must have met briefly, probably 8-10 years back when he came here as US President. To assess someone in a few meetings is tough. Rahul Gandhi’s personality has changed since then, he has gained a lot of experience.”

Bihar has accepted development instead of gang control: BJP chief Nadda

According to the BJP President, J P Nadda, the people of Bihar have voted for development, instead of ‘goonda raj’ by electing the BJP party representative. Laying the foundation to six BJP offices in Odisha, Nadda claimed that the ‘stamp of approval’ had been given to the BJP by the people of Bihar in order to achieve their agenda of development under the Narendra Modi government. He said, “They strongly supported Narendra Modi's policy of 'sabka saath, sabka vikas' (with all, development for all).”

Angul, Dhenkanal, Baripada in the district of Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Sundergarh and Bargarh are the locations for the new offices. On the 5^th of April 2018, the then BJP chief, Amit Shah had set the foundation stone for the offices. Nadda announced that the work for the other 6 party offices will start soon.Taking a dig at the Congress, he said, “"BJP gives priority to even the construction of party offices. Some parties run offices from home. Thus, they become a family party. For us, our party is our family, while some others use their family as the party. The party office is a proper place for imparting informal training to the party cadres... It functions as a source of major inspiration.”

Kejriwal requests Centre to force lockdown of markets in the state

Delhi’s Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, has asked for permission from the Centre to lockdown markets that might potentially be Covid - 19 hotspots and reduce the number of guests that can attend wedding functions from 200 to 50 in an attempt to curb the increasing number of coronavirus cases in the state. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, “Following the central government’s guidelines and considering the marriage season, the Delhi government earlier allowed 200 guests at marriage functions. Considering the recent spike in the number of Corona cases, the Delhi government has decided to withdraw this relaxation. Only 50 people will be allowed in marriage ceremonies considering the spike in the number of Covid – 19 cases in Delhi. I have sent the proposal to the lieutenant governor of Delhi in this regard for his approval.”

Before Diwali huge crowds were seen roaming about in some markets owing to the festive season. Pointing this out to the Centre, the Chief Minister said, “In these markets, no social distancing was followed and due to this situation, the number of Covid-19 cases has surged significantly in the capital. In view of the recent situation and considering the last order of the central government, we have requested the Centre to permit shutting down marketplaces, if necessary.”

Iqbal Mirchi’s assets worth Rs. 500 crore seized by the Enforcement Directorate

The Enforcement Directorate has claimed that 3 properties of the deceased gangster, Iqbal Mirchi, estimated to be around Rs. 500 crore, have been deemed void under two central law provisions made against smugglers, narcotic operatives and foreign exchange manipulators. The central agency probe said in a statement, “As per the order, all the transfers and transactions in respect of these properties have been declared null and void. The value of these properties is about Rs 500 crore as ascertained by the ED during the course of the investigation under the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act).” A money laundering case has been attached against the deceased right hand man of Dawood Ibrahim by the ED.

The agency further added, “Mirchi and the Trust misrepresented about the ownership of these buildings before the Competent Authority (SAFEMA/NDPS Act), the court of Additional CMM (chief metropolitan magistrate) and the CMM. The competent authority further observed that the trust concealed vital evidence and facts regarding the ownership of these properties and had misled the court of Additional CMM and the CMM also. Hence, the order (releasing the attachment) dated August 31, 2004 of the Additional CMM and order dated March 4, 2005 of the CMM were obtained by fraud.”