CURRENT AFFAIRS
03 February 2021
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) Police block journalists from reaching protest site at Singhu Border.
On Tuesday, at the Singhu border, Delhi Police stopped the entry of journalists and others wanting to visit the protesting farmers. Earlier, those wanting to visit the protest site and the main stage could cross the barricades preventing farmers from entering the national capital and interact with the protestors. But now, even smaller lanes and other entry routes to the protest site have been cut off. On Friday, a group of ‘locals’ backed by the BJP had clashed with the farmers and tried to damage their tents and other utilities. Delhi Police resorted to tear gas and lathi charge before peace returned. Meanwhile, Congress leaders took to Twitter on Tuesday to target the Narendra Modi government over the arrangements made to stop protesting farmers from entering the city. Prime Minister sir, you are at war with our own farmers? asked party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who posted a video of the massive deployment of police and paramilitary forces at Delhi’s borders. Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi also shared photographs of barricades put up by the police. Four photos showed concertina and barbed wires, freshly laid concrete with spikes to puncture tyres, and different tiers of concrete and mobile iron barriers. GOI [Governmemt of India], Build bridges, not walls! tweeted Rahul Gandhi.
B) Parliament adjourned multiple times as Opposition demand discussion on farm laws.
A day after the presentation of the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha, which was convened at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, saw multiple adjournments after Opposition parties demanded that the House take up a discussion on the farmers’ protest. Though Chairman Venkaiah Naidu said that time will be allotted for the same on Wednesday, the Opposition members refused to budge. They raised slogans inside the Upper House, resulting in the House being adjourned four times without conducting any business. A similar trend was observed in the Lok Sabha, which was adjourned thrice due to incessant protests from the Opposition benches. The House saw brief discussions on the motion of thanks on the President’s address and papers being laid on the table.
C) A win for Amazon as Delhi HC directs Future Retail to keep status quo on Reliance deal.
In a significant win for Amazon, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed Future Retail Ltd (FRL) to maintain status quo in relation to its ₹24,713 crore deal with Reliance Retail, which has been objected to by the American e-commerce giant. Justice J.R. Midha said the court was satisfied that an immediate interim order was required to be passed to protect the rights of Amazon. Respondents (FRL) are directed to maintain status quo as on today at 4:49 p.m. till pronouncement of the reserved order, the Judge said. Amazon has approached the high court seeking direction to order enforcement of the award by Singapore’s Emergency Arbitrator (EA) restraining FRL from going ahead with its ₹24,713 crore deal with Reliance Retail. Amazon has sought to restrain the Kishore Biyani-led Future Group from taking any steps to complete the transaction with entities that are a part of the Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani (MDA) Group.
D) SC agrees to examine plea challenging Tamil Nadu’s 69% reservation.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to examine a petition seeking an immediate stay on the implementation of a Tamil Nadu law that allows 69% quota in educational institutions and government jobs in the State. A three-judge Bench led by Justice Ashok Bhushan issued notice and gave the Tamil Nadu government two weeks to file its response to a writ petition filed by a student, C.V. Gayathri, through her father, S. Vaitheeswaran, challenging the constitutionality of the Tamil Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of seats in Educational Institutions and of appointments or posts in the Services under the State) Act of 1993. The law is protected under the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution from judicial review. Section 4 of the Act provides 30% reservation to the Backward Classes, 20% for Most Backward Classes and de-notified communities, 18% for Scheduled Castes, and 1% for Scheduled Tribes. Thus, a total of 69% reservation is provided. The petition said the Act was contrary to the principle laid down by a nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court in the Indira Sawhney case, which had concluded that reservation of 50% shall be the rule; only in certain exceptional and extraordinary situations for bringing far-flung and remote areas population into mainstream, said 50% rule can be relaxed.
E) CBSE Class 10, 12 exams from May 4; schedule has double shifts for first time.
The CBSE Class 12 Board examinations will be conducted in two shifts for the first time in order to reduce the total duration of the examination. The examination schedule, which includes 111 subjects, will be completed in 39 days, less than the allotted 45 days in the 2020 schedule. The afternoon shift will be held on four days, with papers in subjects that are not offered in schools abroad being conducted, said a CBSE statement. Class 12 students will begin with the English paper on May 4 and finish on June 11, when a slew of elective subjects ranging from Agriculture to Beauty and Wellness have been scheduled. The Class 10 schedule begins with several regional language examinations on May 4, and ends on June 7, with the Computer Applications paper. In total, the Class 10 schedule includes 75 subjects. The examinations are being held later than usual this year, to account for the fact that schools have not been able to physically open their doors to students for most of the academic year due to the Covid-19 lockdown. It is only in the last two months that some students in Class 10 and 12 are returning to the physical classroom, after months of study at home with limited support via television and online resources.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine 91.6% effective: Lancet study.
Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine is 91.6% effective against symptomatic Covid-19, according to results published in The Lancet on Tuesday that independent experts said allayed transparency concerns over the jab, which Moscow is already rolling out. Sputnik V named after the Soviet-era satellite was approved in Russia months before results from its final-stage clinical trials were published, leading to scepticism from experts. But the new analysis of data from 20,000 participants in Phase 3 trials suggests that the two-dose vaccination offers more than 90% efficacy against symptomatic Covid-19.
B) China calls for all parties to safeguard Myanmar’s stability.
China on Tuesday called for all parties to help maintain stability in Myanmar, as it refrained from criticising the military leadership for seizing power in a coup and the international community to not interfere. Beijing said it was not in favour of external powers taking actions that would raise tensions, the Foreign Ministry said, with analysts in Beijing expressing concerns over possible sanctions from the U.S., which strongly criticised the military led coup that threatened to undo the transition to democracy that has been under way since 2011. China had on Monday said it hopes all parties in Myanmar can properly handle differences under the constitutional and legal framework and safeguard political and social stability, not mentioning the democratic transition, which, a number of countries, including India, had voiced support for in their statements following this week’s developments. Even prior to 2011, China maintained close relations with the Myanmar military leadership and often backed the country from the threat of sanctions as a permanent member of the UNSC. On Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that the international community should not take any action that would raise tensions in Myanmar. They have maintained communication with all relevant parties with regard to the matters to be discussed at the UN Security Council, he said. Any action taken by the international community should be conducive to political and social stability in Myanmar and beneficial to a peaceful resolution, instead of worsening tension and further complicating the situation. China’s State media outlets have refrained from calling the seizing of power a coup. The official Xinhua news agency on Monday only reported the Myanmar military announced a major cabinet reshuffle hours after a state of emergency was declared. The Communist Party run Global Times quoted an unnamed expert in Beijing as saying the military’s actions can be viewed as an adjustment facing Myanmar’s imbalanced power structure, referring to the declining popularity of the military and the growing political power of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NI.D).
