CURRENT AFFAIRS
29 November 2020
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) Farmers stay put at Delhi border, refuse to go to north Delhi protest site.
Thousands of farmers marching to Delhi to protest the Centre’s new agri laws stayed put at the Singhu and Tikri border points for the third consecutive day on Saturday amid heavy police presence even after being offered a big ground in north Delhi’s Burari to hold peaceful demonstrations. They were insistent that they be given permission to protest at Jantar Mantar. At the Delhi-Ghaziabad border, hundreds of farmers of Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) broke barriers and entered Delhi on Saturday afternoon. Despite heavy security presence, the Ghaziabad Police allowed them to proceed towards Delhi. The Delhi Police had given them permission to go to the Burari ground but again the farmers wanted to go to Jantar Mantar or Ramlila Maidan. Joint Commissioner of Police (Northern range) Surender Singh Yadav told reporters that around 600 to 700 farmers have so far reached the north Delhi ground. The farmers at the Tikri border seem to have come prepared for a long haul. They have brought utensils to cook food and are charging their phones in their vehicles. Jagtar Singh Bhagiwander, another farmer who is at Tikri, maintained that they would continue to fight for their rights from the national highway.
B) Farmer who turned off water cannon tap charged with ‘attempt to murder’
A video of Navdeep Singh, a young farmer from Ambala, jumping from his tractor onto a police vehicle carrying a water cannon and turning it off to protect his fellow farmers had gone viral earlier this week. It led to him being hailed as a ‘hero’ and ‘braveheart.’ But today the police charged the 26-year-old with attempt to murder and breaking Covid-19 rules. Singh has been accused of attempting to run down a policeman with his tractor trolley. So far, no one has been reported injured in the incident.
C) Opposition targets Narendra Modi government over handling of farmers’ protests.
Opposition leaders from across the political spectrum on Saturday targeted the Narendra Modi government for its handling of the ongoing farmers’ protests, with the Congress asking the Prime Minister to talk to the agitating farmers instead of getting himself photographed at corporate offices (a reference to his day-long tour today of different pharma companies to review the progress in Covid-19 vaccine development). In a joint statement, senior Opposition leaders of eight political parties, including Sharad Pawar (Nationalist Congress Party), T.R. Baalu (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam), Sitaram Yechury (Communist Party India-Marxist), D. Raja (Communist Party of India) and Manoj Jha (Rashtriya Janata Dal), among others, described the Centre’s response as akin to waging war against the farmers. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, too, took to Twitter and shared a verse by poet Uday Pratap Singh in praise of farmers whose blood and sweat provide the pulse to the nation. Sharing a photograph of an elderly farmer facing the baton of a security person on his Twitter handle, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said farmers were paying the price for Modi’s arrogance. This is a very sad photo. Our slogan was ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’, but today a jawan (soldier) is standing against the farmer due to PM Modi’s arrogance. This is very dangerous, he said.
D) U.P. Governor promulgates ordinance on ‘unlawful’ religious conversion.
Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel promulgated an ordinance on unlawful conversion days after it was passed by the Yogi Adityanath-led State cabinet, officials said on Saturday. The Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020, was cleared by the State Cabinet earlier this week and promulgated on November 27. The ordinance makes religious conversion a cognisable and non-bailable offence, inviting penalties of up to 10 years in prison if found to be effected for marriage or through misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or other allegedly fraudulent means. Violation of the provisions of the law would invite a jail term of not less than one year, extendable to five years, with a fine of ₹15,000. However, if a minor, a woman or person belonging to the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribes communities was converted through the said unlawful means, the jail term would be a minimum of three years and could be extended to 10 years with a fine of ₹25,000. The ordinance, passed by the State Cabinet, also lays down strict action against mass conversions, which would invite a jail term of not less than three years and up to 10 years and a fine of ₹50,000. The court shall also grant appropriate compensation payable by the accused to the victim of said conversion, which may extend to a maximum of ₹5 lakh, said the ordinance. The ordinance says any marriage done with the sole purpose of unlawful conversion or vice-versa by a man of one religion with a woman of another religion, either by converting himself/herself before or after marriage, or by converting the woman before or after shall be declared void.
E) Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments.
The number of coronavirus cases reported from India stood at 93,84,430 with the death toll at 1,36,674. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits a facility of biotech firm Bharat Biotech on the outskirts of Hyderabad on November 28, 2020 to review development of indigenous COVID-19 vaccine candidate Covaxin. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday visited Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Pune to review coronavirus vaccine development work. He visited Zydus Cadilla’s manufacturing facility near Ahmedabad, Bharat Biotech’s vaccine manufacturing facility near Hyderabad, and the Serum Institute of India near Pune. The Prime Minister’s Office said the day-long visit was aimed at getting a first-hand perspective of the preparations, challenges and roadmap in India’s endeavour to vaccinate its citizens.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) Six PMs to attend SCO summit hosted by India, but Imran Khan to skip.
The prime ministers of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will attend the summit of the heads of government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Monday while Pakistan will be represented by its parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said. India is hosting the summit for the first time after it gained full membership of the influential grouping in 2017. The summit will take place in the virtual format. The MEA said Vice President Venkaiah Naidu will chair the 19th meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government, which is held annually with a focus on trade and economic agenda of the organisation. Apart from the SCO member States, the four observer States of the SCO, Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, and Mongolia will also participate in the summit. The MEA said the president of Afghanistan, the first vice president of Iran, the prime minister of Belarus and the deputy prime minister of Mongolia will represent their countries. India assumed the chair of the SCO Council of Heads of Government on November 2 last year as per rotation from the previous chair, Uzbekistan, and will complete its year-long tenure on November 30 by hosting the summit. It will be the first time that a summit-level meeting will be held under India’s chairmanship, since it gained full membership of the organisation in 2017, the MEA said.
B) Coimbatore start-up installs ATRS at 2 airports.
SJK Innovations, a Coimbatore-based start-up, has installed Automatic Tray Retrieval Systems (ATRS) at two airports in the country and is looking at similar projects in India and other Asian countries. Managing Director Suraj Shantakumar said the company had installed the system at security checks in terminal 3 of Delhi airport for domestic departures. At Coimbatore airport, the company commissioned the system recently on a proof-of-concept basis to showcase the solution, which is used at cabin baggage checking points. The entire system has been designed, engineered, and assembled by the company. SJK supplies the hardware and software, installs, and maintains them. The investment is primarily for working capital as the ATRS are developed according to the layout at each airport. The company is looking at developing and providing technology-driven material handling solutions in sectors such as agriculture, logistics and e-commerce, apart from aviation.
C) Neighbours agree on intel sharing.
India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives on Saturday agreed to expand the scope of intelligence sharing. including terrorism and cyber security. after a meet in which they discussed -common security threats. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, who arrived in Colombo on Friday, called on Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Saturday and participated in the discussions with the Indian Ocean neighbours. Maldivian Defence Minister Mariya Ahmed Didi arrived in Colombo for the meeting while the Sri Lankan side was represented by Kamal Gunaratne, Secretary. Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena addressed the participants as the chief guest, a tweet from the Indian High Commission said. Mauritius and Sey chelles were represented virtually at the senior officials. Revived after six years in a joint statement following the meeting. Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defence said the 4th National Security Adviser level trilateral Maritime Security Cooperation meeting, the practice has been revived after a six-year gap, sought to promote meaning- full cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region, with focus on common issues pertaining to maritime security. The three countries also exchanged views on common security threats and agreed to broad-base cooperation by expanding the scope to improve intelligence sharing and include is, sues like terrorism. radicalization, extremism, drugs. arms and human trafficking, money laundering, cyber security and effect of climate change on maritime environment , according to the statement. Mr. Doval also held bilateral discussions with Ms. Didi and with Sri Lankan officials.
D) China’s first domestically made nuclear reactor goes online.
China has powered up its first domestically developed nuclear reactor the Hualong One, a significant step in Beijing’s attempts to become less dependent on Western allies for energy security and critical technology. The reactor, which was connected to the national grid on Friday, can generate 10 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity each year and cut carbon emissions by 8.16 million tons, according to China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC). This marks China breaking the monopoly of foreign nuclear power technology and officially entering the technology’s first batch of advanced countries, CNNC said in a statement. Nuclear plants supplied less than five percent of China’s annual electricity needs in 2019, according to the National Energy Administration, but this share is expected to grow as Beijing attempts to become carbon neutral by 2060. Reducing its dependence on Western allies in critical high-tech sectors such as power generation is a key goal in Beijing’s Made in China 2025 plan. Billions of dollars in state subsidies have been given to Chinese companies to speed the process, a move that has angered China’s trade partners and sparked a protracted trade row with Washington. Work on the Hualong One reactor started in 2015 and there are currently six other reactors under construction at home and abroad, state owned plant operator CNNC said. The Hualong One, deployed at a plant in east China’s Fujian province, will be put into commercial use by the end of the year after undergoing tests.
China has 47 nuclear plants with a total generation capacity of 48.75 million kilowatts — the world’s third highest after the U.S. and France. Beijing has invested billions of dollars to develop its nuclear energy sector in recent years as it struggles to wean its economy from coal.
Thirteen nuclear plants are under construction, more than in any other country.
