CURRENT AFFAIRS
21 August 2020
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) Failing to speak up would’ve been a dereliction of duty, Prashant Bhushan tells SC.
The Supreme Court has given civil rights lawyer Prashant Bhushan 2 or 3 days in order to reflect on, and possibly modify, a statement he read out to the judges on 20 August in which he refused to apologize for his tweets. When the Attorney General urged the court not to punish him, Justice Arun Mishra replied that Mr. Prashant Bhushan might have done a lot of good work but he should not cross the line. We can be lenient but only in the case if a person seeks an apology in the real sense. Prashant Bhushan was convicted of contempt for 2 tweets. On 20 August, he read out a statement by saying that he has served it for 3 decades not as a courtier or a cheerleader but as a humble guard of its majesty. He said that his tweets were nothing but a small attempt to discharge what he considered to be his highest duty at that juncture in the history of our republic. He did not tweet in a fit of absent-mindedness. It will be insincere on his part to seek an apology for the tweets. After a 2 -hour hearing, the Supreme Court has gave him 2-3 days in order to reconsider his statement.
B) If PM-CARES is not under RTI, how was it cleared for CSR donations, asks Chidambaram
Former Finance Minister of India, Mr. P. Chidambaram has accused the BJP on 20 August on PM cares fund. He said that BJP is trying to shield the PM-CARES fund from inspection because he has asked a lot of questions relating to the establishment of the fund. According to a report, Chidambaram pointed out that although the government claimed that PM CARES Fund was not a public authority under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, yet in March, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) had justified allowing donations to PM-CARES under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on the basis that it had been set up by the Central government. He asked that the fund has been set up by whom, who made the PM and 2 people its trustee etc. The Supreme Court on 19 August gave the Judgment that the PM-CARES fund does not require any auditing by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) because it is only a public charitable trust for voluntary donations. It does not get any kind of government support.
C) Kerala govt calls the all-party meeting to discuss the award of airport contract to Adani Group
The Government of Kerala on 20 August had called an urgent all-party meeting. The meeting was to discuss the decision of the Union Cabinet to hand over the Thiruvananthapuram international airport to Adani Enterprises Ltd. (AEL) of the Adani Group. The bid to manage and operate the airport under a public-private partnership (PPP) framework for 50 years has won by the Adani Group. The decision of the center to give the rights of the Trivandrum airport to Adani comes when the privatization of the airport was under litigation. This was done as per the directions of the Supreme Court. Kerala has been opposing the privatization step. They had demanded that the management of the airport should be given to a special purpose vehicle in which the major stakeholder will be the state government.
D) Covid watch: Numbers and Developments
The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 29,00,892 with the death toll at 54,966. Nearly one-third of the population of Delhi has been exposed to Covid-19. They have developed antibodies the details were according to a 2nd serological survey. Furthermore, the Punjab government has ordered a daily night curfew from 7 pm to 5 am and a weekend lockdown in the state, starting from 21 August. The emergency measures will be in place till August 31. It will include certain restrictions on public and private transport and a ban on all public gatherings. This ban on gatherings does not include weddings and funerals. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat who is a Union Minister of Jal Shakti was also infected from the coronavirus on 20 July.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) Kamala Harris formally accepts the VP nomination.
The first black woman and an Indian descent person, Kamala Harris who was nominated on a major political party ticket in the U.S. have accepted the nomination as Vice-President candidate of the Democratic Party. She said that her mother had taught her that providing services to others gives them purpose and meaning for our life. On that day, her mother probably has not imagined that she would be standing before her mother by speaking the words that she had accepted the nomination for Vice President of the United States of America.
B) India and China hold fresh talks
On 20 August, India and China had another round of talks on border. The aim was to break the pass along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). This was a step that needs to be taken to ensure complete disengagement. As far as 10 rounds of high-level talks had been held. This includes 5 rounds between the Corps Commanders and the conversations between the Special Representatives and the Foreign Ministers of both the countries as well. The Ministry of External Affairs of India has said that there is still some gaps that are remaining between both sides. The process of complete disengagement along the line of actual control is going on sincerely. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of China has said that both the countries have positively evaluated the progress on the front line forces and along the Line of Actual Control.
C) India, Bangladesh to monitor projects
India and Bangladesh are going to set up a mechanism that will monitor the bilateral projects. This information was given by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on 20 August. This was announced when both the countries are agreed to jointly deal with killings on the border and also to jointly overcome the crisis caused because of the pandemic of the novel coronavirus. The mechanism of monitoring will assist in several ongoing projects that will complete on time. The project includes Rampal Maitree Power Plant, India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline, and rail links which will be completed by 2021.
