NATIONAL NEWS
Economic Survey projects 8%-8.5% growth in 2022-23
The Economic Survey for 2021-22, tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Lok Sabha, expects the GDP to grow by 9.2% this year and 8% to 8.5% in 2022-23, even as it expressed concerns about the implications of hardening inflation and energy prices. Growth in 2022-23 will be supported by widespread vaccine coverage, gains from supply-side reforms and easing of regulations, robust export growth, and availability of fiscal space to ramp up capital spending. The year ahead Is also well poised for a pick-up in private sector investment, with the financial system in a good position to provide support to the revival of the economy, the Survey projected. The Survey’s GDP growth estimate for the coming year is based on the assumption that there will be no further debilitating pandemic-related economic disruption, monsoon will be normal, withdrawal of global liquidity by major central banks will be broadly orderly, oil prices will be in the range of US$70-$75/bbl, and global supply chain disruptions will steadily ease over the course of the year. The country’s investment to GDP ratio had hit 29.6% in 2021-22, the highest level in seven years, the Survey explained, attributing this capital formation to the government’s policy thrust on quickening the virtuous cycle of growth via capex and infrastructure spending. While private investment recovery is still at a nascent stage, there are many signals whichh indicate that India is poised for stronger investment, it observed, citing record corporate profits in recent quarters and high mobilisation of risk capital by firms.
Assembly polls: ECI allows public meetings of up to 1,000 people
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday allowed public meetings of political parties and candidates of all phases of the Assembly elections with up to 1,000 people, after reviewing the COVID-19 situation in the poll-bound states. The ECI had allowed public meetings for candidates of the first two phases only, with up to 500 people. The three-member commission reviewed the COVID-19 situation in the election-going Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh on Monday with officials of the Health Ministry and the States. All the State Chief Secretaries informed the commission about reports of COVID-19 infection either plateauing out or tapering as on date. They also said that the positivity rate is showing a decline, with the number of hospitalisation cases also registering a declining trend. The State officers, however, said that COVID protocol precautions need to be continued to be observed so that no undue spurt takes place due to intense public contact because of heightened political activity, the ECI said in a statement. The ECI extended the ban on road shows, vehicle rallies and processions till February 11.
Gurugram namaz case: SC agrees to immediately list contempt plea against Haryana officials
Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana on Monday agreed to immediately list for hearing a petition to initiate contempt action against Haryana authorities for not reining in hooligans who have created an atmosphere of communal hatred and terror for worshippers offering Friday prayers in Gurugram. The petition, filed by former Rajya Sabha MP Mohammad Adeeb, was mentioned by senior advocate Indira Jaising for urgent hearing. I will look into it and put it up before an appropriate Bench immediately, the CJI, who was heading a three-judge Bench, addressed Jaising. Muslims offer Friday prayers at an open site, in Gurugram, on December 17, 2021. File image. The petition condemned the inaction of the Haryana officials in violation of a Supreme Court judgment of 2018, which mandated that authorities should not be either silent spectators or tolerate communal violence and should use the law against hate crimes. The petition said the malicious attacks and false narratives on the Friday prayers were made through social media platforms. It said the prayers were held in the open due to compulsion. However, its conduct was portrayed as illegal and some sort of encroachment.
Punjab Assembly election: Amarinder terms Rahul’s claims of deciding CM face with inputs from ground ‘farce’
Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) chief Captain Amarinder Singh (retd.) on Monday dubbed former Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s claims of deciding the chief ministerial face with inputs from the ground as farce and just theatrics. After filing his nomination papers from Patiala Urban, Capt. Amarinder said that as per procedure, people elected their MLAs and then the CLP elected the chief minister and so all this talk is just drama. Asked to comment on farmers’ decision to contest the polls, he stated that it was their right to do so. He personally had alwayss supported them, he stressed. He pointed out that his government had announced jobs and ₹5 lakhs to the kin of each of the farmers who died during the agitation against the Central farm laws. Capt. Amarinder exuded confidence that the PLC-BJP-SAD (Sanyukt) alliance would form the next government in Punjab. He observed that the decision to allow some of the PLC candidates to contest on the BJP symbol was taken keeping in mind the voter demographics. While four PLC candidates will contest on the BJP symbol in urban segments, two of their candidates will fight on the PLC symbol in the rural constituencies. Hitting out at Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu, Capt. Amarinder predicted an abysmal defeat for the former from Amritsar East. With 38% of the voters in Amritsar East being Hindus and 32% SCs, his defeat is certain. The BJP has fielded a strong candidate from the constituency, he added.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
African Union says suspends Burkina Faso
African Union says suspends Burkina Faso after a coup by the military junta. The military junta though informed on January 31st that it had restored the country’s constitution and appointed the coup’s leader as head of state for a transitional period
Colombia demands removal from the ’20 hunger hotspots’ list
Colombia demands removal from the ’20 hunger hotspots’ list by UN agencies. The report published by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme stated that around 7.3 million people in Colombia are food insecure and require food assistance in 2022.
Russia responds in writing to US ahead of Blinken-Lavrov call on Ukraine crisis
The United States has received a written response from Moscow after it sent its own written answers following face-to-face meetings on the ongoing Ukraine crisis, the latest development in the ongoing diplomatic campaign aimed at deterring a potential Russian invasion of the country. But the Kremlin said Tuesday that Russia had not sent its main reply to the US over Russia’s security concerns, saying there had been a mix-up over the issue. There was a mix-up, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in a conference call with reporters when asked to confirm the US had received a formal Russian response to a document delivered last week by Washington. It [Russian correspondence] regarded a different matter. The main reply on this issue hasn’t been handed over, it’s still being prepared. Moscow’s response comes days after Washington submitted its own documents to Moscow and ahead of a planned phone call between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Tuesday.It would be unproductive to negotiate in public, so we’ll leave it up to Russia if they want to discuss their response, the spokesperson said. We remain fully committed to dialogue to address these issues and will continue to consult closely with our Allies and partners, including Ukraine.
Oil spill pollutes nature reserve in Ecuadoran Amazon.
An oil spill in eastern Ecuador has reached a nature reserve and polluted a river that supplies water to indigenous communities, the country’s environmental ministry said Monday. Nearly two hectares (five acres) of a protected area of the Cayambe-Coca national park have been contaminated, as well as the Coca river – one of the biggest in the Ecuadoran Amazon, the ministry said in a statement. The park of some 400,000 hectares is home to a wide variety of protected animals and holds important water reserves. Heavy rains caused a mudslide in the eastern Napo province on Friday, during which a rock struck and ruptured a pipeline owned by private company OCP Ecuador. Neither the government nor OCP Ecuador have quantified the extent of the spill, but the environmental authority has described it as a major pollution event.
