CURRENT AFFAIRS
25 September 2020
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) CBSE to declare results by October 10.
On 24 September, the CBSE has stated in the Supreme Court that it would declare the compartment exam results for Class 12 on or before October 10. The UGC informed a Bench of Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and Sanjeev Khanna that its admission process would close by October 31, giving ample time for students to apply for varsity admissions amid the pandemic. The court closed the case expressing gratitude to both the CBSE and the UGC. On September 22, the Supreme Court had asked both the academic bodies to coordinate and time the declaration of the compartment exam results before the admission process began in varsities. The last compartment exam is scheduled for September 30. The last date for completing the University admissions process is October 31 and the last date for admissions to fill up the remaining vacant seats shall be November 30, 2020. Further, the Guidelines contemplate provisional admissions wherever necessary with the relevant documents of the qualifying examinations being accepted up to 31.12.2020. The court was insistent during the case hearings that the academic future of nearly 2 lakh students taking the exams should not be blighted by the extraordinary circumstances created by the pandemic.
B) Supreme Court tells jailed activist Sudha Bharadwaj she has a good case on merits.
On 24 September, the Supreme Court has asked activist and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj, who has been languishing in jail for 2 years in the Bhima Koregaon case, why she is seeking bail on medical grounds when she had such a good case on merits. Justice U.U. Lalit asked advocate Vrinda Grover, who was appearing for Bharadwaj that why is her client not applying for bail on merits. Justice Ajay Rastogi also asked Grover that she have such a good case on merits, why is she seeking bail on medical grounds.
Bharadwaj agreed to withdraw the current plea for bail on medical conditions. She had sought bail over concerns about her heart disease. Grover submitted that her client’s co-morbidities also made her susceptible to Covid-19 infection. But Justice Lalit asked Grover to explain more about the case against her client. Grover then drew a detailed picture of how her client has been a noted lawyer, globally recognized for her work. The prosecution agencies have claimed that there is a criminal conspiracy, but nothing has been recovered from me. Charges have not been framed. 2 years are over. She said that her father passed away in the meantime. She had never abused the process of law. She needs bail to get herself diagnosed medically.
C) ‘Rail roko’ in Punjab against farm Bills.
Several farmers in parts of Punjab on 24 September has started a 3-day‘ rail roko’ agitation, under the banner of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangarsh Samiti, against the Union government’s 3 agriculture sector Bills. The State president of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangarsh Samiti, Sarvan Singh Pandher said that the ‘rail roko’ agitation will continue till September 26 in the first phase. And if their demands are not met, they will intensify the agitation. They will also support the ‘Bharat bandh’ call given by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC). Other farmers’ unions have also extended support to their agitation. Terming the Bills Singh said that the new legislation were completely anti-farmer and their implementation would ultimately lead to the exploitation of big corporate houses. This will also lead to the ending of the Minimum Support Price regime.
D) Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments.
The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 57,27,995 with the death toll at 91,189. The Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal has claimed that the national capital has already witnessed the second wave of Covid-19 and has now turned the corner. The sudden daily spike in the coronavirus cases crossing 4,000, was the second wave of the disease. On September 16, Delhi recorded approximately 4,500 cases. After that, the cases started to decline and in the last 24 hours, 3,700 cases have come up in the national capital.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) Enormous divisions over UN Security Council rejig, says China.
On 24 September, China said that there were enormous divisions and a lack of consensus on taking forward the stalled reforms of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), a day after the G4 group : India, Brazil, Japan and Germany called for an early push for text-based negotiations. The meeting of the G4 took place during the 75 session of the UN General Assembly, which is happening virtually this year due to the pandemic. The foreign ministers of the 4 countries that are seeking UNSC reforms and permanent membership of the body had met virtually on 23 September and expressed their frustration at the repeated attempts to stall the reforms process. In a statement, they had reiterated support for each other’s membership to the UNSC given the capacity and willingness to take on major responsibilities with regard to the maintenance of international peace and security. India, which begins a 2-year term as one of the 10 non-permanent UNSC members in January, has been batting for an expansion of the permanent and the non-permanent membership of the Security Council. On 24 September, however, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson of China, Wang Wenbin suggested that China’s long-held stance that the reforms process cannot go ahead quickly is unlikely to change. They believe the reforms should increase the representation and voice of developing countries and allow more small and medium-sized countries to enter the Security Council and participate in decision making. They believe the reform of the Security Council is an important issue which concerns the long term development and all the immediate interests of its members.
B) Harley-Davidson decides to exit from India; to lay off 70 employees.
Harley-Davidson, the iconic motorcycle major from the U.S., has announced their decision to discontinue its sales and manufacturing operations in India, as part of its restructuring plan necessitated by the pandemic. On September 24, the firm shared information with its employees about additional restructuring actions related to the set of actions that it refers to as The Rewire. In a filing with the United States Securities & Exchange Commission, Harley-Davidson Inc. said that the action in India will include an associated workforce reduction of approximately 70 employees. A formal statement from the Indian unit is expected.
C) Dean Jones passes away.
Former Australia batsman Dean Jones has died of a cardiac arrest in a Mumbai hotel, IPL broadcasters Star Sports said. Jones, 59, was in Mumbai with the Star Sports’ commentary team for the IPL. Jones had played 52 Tests and 164 ODIs so far for Australia and was part of the 1987 World Cup-winning team. Star Sports said in a press release that it is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing away of Mr. Dean Mervyn Jones AM. He died of a sudden cardiac arrest.
