Tag: facts

CURRENT AFFAIRS
15 February 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) 22-year-old activist arrested for ‘spreading toolkit’, faces conspiracy charge. 

The Delhi Police cyber cell has arrested 21-year-old climate activist Disha Ravi from Bengaluru on Saturday after her alleged role in spreading a toolkit related to the farmers’ protests came to light. A senior police officer said that while trailing the toolkit related to the farmers’ protest, they tracked Ms. Ravi in Bengaluru. A police team was sent there for further investigation and she was picked up from her home. Police has also seized her laptop and mobile phone for further investigation. She was brought to Delhi where she was formally arrested and will be produced before a magistrate. They have found that she made several changes in the toolkit related to farmers protest and further spread it in certain groups on social media, added the officer. Recently, Delhi police had registered an FIR under Section 124A (sedition), 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) against the people who created and spread toolkit. A report from Bengaluru quoted sources close to Ms. Ravi, the arrested activist from ‘Fridays For Future’, as saying that her family and counsel were groping in the dark. She was picked up for questioning. The family was also told she was being taken for questioning. But she has been taken to Delhi and shown arrest. Even the FIR copy is not available in the public domain and not made available to the family and counsel. They don’t know what are the charges against her, said an activist who knew Ms. Ravi. Her family and her counsel have refused to speak to the media.

B) Twelve bodies recovered in ongoing Uttarakhand rescue operations.

Twelve bodies were recovered on Sunday in the ongoing rescue operations in Uttarakhand, according to an update from Uttarakhand Police. This brings the total number of bodies found to 50. About 154 are still believed missing. Rescue operations are on at the Tapovan hydropower station in Chamoli, Uttarakhand, where a torrential flood last Sunday from a glacier-linked landslide destroyed hydropower plants downstream, killing at least 50 and causing 204 to go missing. Of the bodies retrieved, 41 were found at Chamoli, seven at Rudraprayag, and one each at Pauri Garhwal and Tehri Garhwal. Only 25 of the recovered bodies have been identified. As part of rescue operations, a 30-cm diameter and 12-metre-deep borehole has been drilled to aid with removing silt. Many of those killed are believed to be workers at the tunnels of the Tapovan hydropower project, who were trapped in the massive pile of rubble and debris that resulted from the avalanche blocking the inlet tunnels. There are also operations on to divert the river’s course from the left bank to the right bank to aid in desilting operations. There are at least 325 engineers, officers, geologists and scientists engaged in rescue operations. Efforts are also on to monitor the size of a lake that has been forming on the upper portion of the Rishiganga because the natural course of the river is being obstructed due to a pile of debris from last week’s avalanche.

C) Congress will not implement CAA: Rahul Gandhi. 

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said his party will not implement the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and promised to hike the daily wage of tea plantation workers if his party comes to power in Assam. Launching the Congress campaign for the upcoming Assembly polls at Sivasagar in eastern Assam, he also took a swipe at the BJP for trying to divide Assam so that business tycoons from Gujarat take its wealth away. Mr. Gandhi recalled former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi as his guru who acquainted him with several key issues including the divisive CAA. Pointing to the crossed CAA printed on the Assamese gamosa around his neck, he said: Listen, ‘hum do hamaare do’! Come what may, we will not allow the CAA. Mr. Gandhi had coined ‘hum do’ for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah and ‘hamaare do’ for corporate giants Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani. He devoted much of his speech to the tea workers, who are a deciding factor in a third of the 126 Assembly seats. He said their daily wage would be more than doubled. What can you buy with ₹167? We will add ₹200 to this figure and take away ₹2 to fix ₹365 as your daily wage, he told the crowd mostly comprising tea workers at the rally near a historic field where Prime Minister Narendra Modi had campaigned for the BJP a few days ago. The focus of the political parties has been on the workers. The BJP-led government has wooed them with cash and incentive schemes besides promising to hike their wages within a few days. Mr. Gandhi also promised to protect the principles of the Assam Accord signed between the All Assam Students’ Union and the Centre in 1985 at the end of a violent six-year agitation against illegal immigration. Assam has the issue of illegal immigration but the people of the State have the capability to resolve them through dialogue. The Congress will defend and protect the principles of the accord, he said, referring to the delay in implementing a vital clause that guarantees constitutional safeguards for the indigenous people.

D) Modi launches five projects in Kerala.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched five projects in Kerala on Sunday which he said would energise the growth trajectory of the country. Mr. Modi, who arrived at Kochi on Sunday afternoon, dedicated to nation, the Propylene Derivative Petrochemical Project of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), launched the Ro-Ro vessels to be operated between Bolghatty and Willingdon Island and inaugurated the Sagarika International Cruise Terminal. He also laid the foundation stone for the reconstruction of South Coal Berth, in Cochin Port besides inaugurating the Marine Engineering Training Institute, the only maritime training institute in India functioning within a Shipyard having extended training facilities for trainees on various vessels under construction or repair. In his address, Mr. Modi said the projects would go a long way in creating the Athmanirbhar Bharath. The Prime Minister urged people to travel locally and explore places. He suggested start-ups to consider developing projects for the tourism sector. A large number of people are writing about the local tourism destinations and posting pictures about the destinations as they cannot travel abroad due to COVID 19. Besides generating additional revenue for the people in the sector, it will also connect youth to the culture of the country, he said. India went up in its world tourism ranking. The country is in the 34th position from the earlier 65, he said.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Fire destroys 100 fuel tankers in Afghanistan. 

At least 100 oil and gas tankers have been destroyed by a fire in a catastrophe at Afghanistan’s biggest trade crossing with Iran, causing millions of dollars of losses, officials said on Sunday. The huge blaze, which broke out Saturday afternoon at Islam Qala port, 120 km from the western city of Herat, has been contained and an investigation launched into its cause. They were told that 100 or 200 tankers have been destroyed, but this number could be higher, Jailani Farhad, spokesperson for the Governor of Herat province, said after visiting the scene. During the blaze, looters descended on the site, stealing goods that were being imported and exported across the border, Younus Qazi Zada, the head of the Herat Chamber of Commerce said. The catastrophe was much bigger than imagined, he said. Unfortunately, irresponsible people have looted a large number of goods, he added. Mr. Qazi Zada said initial estimates were of millions of dollars of losses. Mr. Farhad added that investigators needed more time to examine the extent of damage. Videos posted on social media on Saturday night showed the towering fire and huge clouds of thick black smoke billowing into the sky. Around 20 people were injured in the fire, according to Herat officials. Damage to power lines from the incident left large parts of Herat without power on Sunday. Islam Qala is one of the major ports in Afghanistan, through which most official trade with Iran is conducted. Kabul has waivers from Washington allowing it to import oil and gas from Iran despite U.S. sanctions.

B) UAE’s Hope Probe sends home first image of Mars. 

The UAE’s Hope Probe sent back its first image of Mars, the national space agency said Sunday, days after the spacecraft successfully entered the Red Planet’s orbit. The picture captured the largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons, emerging into the early morning sunlight, it said in a statement. The image was taken from an altitude of 24,700 km above the Martian surface on Wednesday, a day after the probe entered Mars’ orbit, it said in a statement. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, UAE Prime Minister and Dubai’s ruler, shared the coloured image on Twitter. The first picture of Mars captured by the first-ever Arab probe in history, he wrote. The mission is designed to reveal the secrets of Martian weather, but the UAE also wants it to serve as an inspiration for the region’s youth. Hope became the first of three spacecraft to arrive at the Red Planet this month after China and the U.S. also launched missions in July, taking advantage of a period when the Earth and Mars are nearest. The UAE’s venture is also timed to mark the 50th anniversary of the unification of the nation’s seven emirates. Hope will orbit the Red Planet for at least one Martian year, or 687 days.

C) Russia’s Foreign Minister holds talks on climate with U.S. envoy. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed climate change with U.S. envoy John Kerry and the two agreed to cooperate further within the Arctic Council, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. During the conversation, questions were raised about the implementation of the Paris climate accord, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement released late on Saturday. The Foreign Minister told Mr. Kerry, a former Secretary of State who is now the U.S. climate envoy, that he welcomed the decision by new U.S. President Joe Biden to rejoin the landmark Paris Agreement on curbing global emissions of greenhouse gases. Mr. Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump had pulled out of the 2015 accord. The two men also underlined the need for as wide a cooperation as possible in the area of the environment. They also agreed to develop cooperation within the Arctic Council a high-level intergovernmental forum that addresses various issues, including sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic region. The telephone conversation came at a time when already strained relations between Russia and the West have been further exacerbated by the arrest and imprisonment of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny and Moscow’s merciless crackdown on the ensuing protests.  Earlier this month, Mr. Biden said the U.S. would no longer be rolling over in the face of Russia’s aggressive actions and demanded Mr. Navalny’s release.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
14 February 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) J&K will get back Statehood at an appropriate time, says Amit Shah.

Home Minister Amit Shah told Lok Sabha on Saturday that the government would restore full Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir at an appropriate time, and claimed that the Narendra Modi government has done more for the Union Territory since Article 370 was read down in August 2019 than those who ruled it for generations. Shah was replying to a discussion on the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 in Lok Sabha. He also criticised some Opposition members for their claim that the proposed law negates the hopes of the region of getting back its statehood. This legislation has nothing to do with statehood, and Jammu and Kashmir will be accorded the status at an appropriate time, Shah said. The J&K Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill seeks to merge the all-India services J&K cadre with the Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre. He said the region’s union territory status was temporary, just as the Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir was supposed to be. Jammu and Kashmir has been a top priority for the current government since it took power in 2014, the Minister said. Decentralisation and devolution of power have taken place in the UT following the revocation of Article 370, Shah said, noting that panchayat elections saw over 51% voting. Panchayats have been given administrative and financial powers for local development, something they lacked earlier, he added. Now people chosen by the masses will rule Jammu and Kashmir, not those born to kings and queens, he said, attacking dynastic parties in the region. Even their rivals could not allege any wrongdoing in these polls, which were conducted fairly and peacefully, he added. Work on two AIIMS in the region has begun, and the Kashmir Valley will be connected to the railways by 2022, the Minister said. He assured the people of Jammu and Kashmir that no one will lose their land, adding that the government has sufficient land for development works. Shah said the government expects that around 25,000 government jobs will be created in Jammu and Kashmir by 2022. National Conference MP Hasnain Masoodi had, during the debate, advocated the restoration of statehood and advised the Centre to wait for the Supreme Court to deliver its verdict on the legal validity of the removal of special status from J&K before making massive administrative changes.

B) Farmer unions demand high-level judicial inquiry into R-Day violence, cases against farmers. 

Protesting farmer unions on Saturday demanded a high-level judicial inquiry into the violence that took place during the tractor rally in Delhi on January 26 and the alleged ‘false’ cases slapped on the farmers. Addressing a press conference at the Singhu border, Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) leaders asked farmers who are getting police notices not to appear before the force directly and, instead, approach the legal cell constituted by the unions for any assistance. Kuldeep Singh, a member of SKM’s legal cell, alleged that a retired judge of the Supreme Court or High Court should probe the incidents to unravel the conspiracy behind the January 26 violence and the alleged false cases against the farmers. According to SKM leaders, 16 farmers who had participated in the tractor parade are still untraceable. Another leader Ravinder Singh said that 122 farmers had been arrested by Delhi Police in connection with 14 of the 44 FIRs, adding that SKM will provide legal and financial aid to all the arrested farmers. The Morcha leaders claimed that false cases were being slapped on farmers, charging them with serious offences like attempt to murder to harass them. Singh said that the Morcha will provide ₹2,000 to every arrested farmer for spending in prison canteen. Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at three Delhi border points, demanding a repeal of the three agri laws and a legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP).

C) Supreme Court refuses to review order on Shaheen Bagh protests. 

The Supreme Court refused to reconsider its judgment that the Shaheen Bagh protests, by a collective of mothers, children and senior citizens, against the Citizenship Amendment Act was inconvenient for commuters. The right to protest cannot be any time and everywhere. There may be some spontaneous protests but in case of prolonged dissent or protest, there cannot be continued occupation of public place affecting the rights of others, said a three-judge Bench led by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, declining the review petitions. The review hearing held in the judges’ chambers was published on Saturday. The original judgment of October 7 last year had declared the demonstrations and road blockades in the Shaheen Bagh area of the national capital as unacceptable. The Review Bench, which comprised the same judges who delivered the original judgment, said they did not find any error apparent warranting reconsideration in their verdict. On October 7, the court had concluded that protesters should express their dissent only in designated areas chosen by the administration. In the review petition, Kazi Fatima and 11 others said the protesters were not even heard by the court. The petitioners asked how the court could restrict expressions of dissent to certain designated areas. Restricting protests to designated areas upsets the very concept of dissent and protests. Protests are the only way for citizens in a democracy to show their dissent. Curb on this freedom leaves citizens with no report to voice their concerns, the review petition had said. The review petitioners had referred to how the police have in the recent past acted arbitrarily by beating students and protesters. The observation made by the court in the judgment clothes the police with an arbitrary discretion to attack any peaceful protesters. This would lead to a situation wherein the administration would never engage in dialogue with protesters, but instead take action against them, including their prosecution, the review petition had argued.

D) SC to examine contempt plea against CEC, political parties. 

The Supreme Court has decided to examine a contempt petition filed by a lawyer against Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and leaders of prominent political parties for not fully adhering to an apex court order against allowing dreaded criminals to contest in the Bihar Assembly polls. A Bench led by Justice Rohinton F. Nariman issued notice in the contempt case to Arora, Chief Electoral Officer for Bihar H.R. Srinivas, JDU general secretary K.C. Tyagi, Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Bihar president Jagdanand Singh, Lok Jan Shakti Party leader Abdul Khalik, Congress party leader R.S. Surjewala and B.L. Santosh of the BJP. On February 11, the Bench allowed petitioner-advocate Brajesh Singh to argue his case in person. It scheduled the next hearing for March 9. The court said Arora and other political leaders, arraigned as respondents, need not be present during the hearing. Singh said the Supreme Court had on February 13, 2020 directed political parties to publish the criminal antecedents of their candidates in widely circulated newspapers, which was wilfully disobeyed by political parties in the elections. The lawyer said the court had ordered parties to publish on their websites the reasons for selecting such candidates and why those without a criminal record were not found better-suited to contest the elections. Singh said the parties published the details of their candidates in only one Hindi newspaper and gave similar reasons for their choice of candidates.

E) ‘Illegal detention’ of Nodeep Kaur: Punjab and Haryana HC issues notice to Haryana govt. 

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued a notice to the Haryana government, asking it to explain the complaint filed against 23-year-old Dalit labour union activist Nodeep Kaur. The Court took suo moto cognizance of complaints of alleged illegal detention of Kaur, who was arrested on January 12. There have been allegations that she was sexually assaulted while in the custody of Haryana Police. Kaur was granted bail on Thursday in one of the three cases filed against her. Another case is up for hearing on Monday. Kaur’s arrest has drawn international censure, including from U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’s niece, Meena Harris and British MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, among others.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Tensions high as mass protests in Myanmar enter second week.

Opposition to Myanmar’s new military regime intensified on Saturday as spontaneous neighbourhood watch groups mobilised to thwart arrests of anti-coup activists and the UN demanded the release of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The Army takeover that brought a decade-old democracy to an end has unleashed a storm of anger and defiance, with huge protests bringing urban centres around the country to a standstill. Since taking Suu Kyi and her allies into custody, troops have stepped up arrests of civil servants, doctors and others joining strikes calling on the Generals to relinquish power. The junta on Saturday suspended laws constraining security forces from detaining suspects or searching private property without court approval and ordered the arrest of well-known backers of mass protests. The announcements bore echoes of the near half-century of military rule before reforms began. An order signed by military ruler Gen. eral Min Aung Hlaing suspended three sections of laws protecting the privacy and security of the citizens, which had been introduced during the gradual liberalisation. Those sections include the requirement for a court order to detain prisoners beyond 24 hours and constraints on security forces’ ability to enter private property to search it or make arrests. The suspensions also free up spying on communications. Crowds defied curfews to gather on the streets as night fell, hours after finishing a seventh straight day of rallies, following rumours that the police were launching a fresh wave of arrests. One group swarmed a hospital in Pathein on rumours that a popular doctor would be taken. More than 320 people have been arrested since last week, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group.

B) Draghi sworn in as new PM as Italy hopes to turn the page. 

Former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi was formally sworn in as Italy’s new Prime Minister on Saturday, against the backdrop of the deadly coronavirus pandemic and a crippling recession. The appointment of the 73-year-old known as Super Mario capped weeks of political instability for the country still in the grips of the health crisis that has killed more than 93,000 people. He swear to be loyal to the Republic, recited Mr. Draghi, as he stood before President Sergio Mattarella in the ornate presidential palace in a televised ceremony. Members of his new Cabinet, who include technocrats, veteran politicians and Ministers held over from the previous government, each took the oath of office. Rudderless country Mr. Draghi was parachuted in by Mr. Mattarella after the previous centre-left coalition under premier Giuseppe Conte collapsed, leading Italy rudderless amid the worst recession since the Second World War. After assembling a broad-based coalition, on Friday night Mr. Draghi formally accepted the post of premier, publicly revealing the new Cabinet for the first time.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
13 February 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Not conceded any territory as result of agreement with China: Govt. 

India on Friday said it has not conceded any territory as a result of the agreement finalised with China for disengagement of troops in Pangong lake areas in eastern Ladakh. Hours after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the government had ‘ceded’ Indian territory to the Chinese, the Ministry of Defence issued a strongly-worded statement, saying the effective safeguarding of the country’s national interest and territory in the Eastern Ladakh sector has taken place because the government reposed full faith in the capabilities of the armed forces. Those who doubt the achievements made possible by the sacrifices of our military personnel are actually disrespecting them, the statement said. The Ministry also made certain clarifications in the statement, and said that the assertion that Indian territory is up to Finger 4 is categorically false. The territory of India is as depicted by the map of India and includes more than 43,000 sq km currently under illegal occupation of China since 1962. Even the Line of Actual Control (LAC), as per the Indian perception, is at Finger 8, not at Finger 4. That is why India has persistently maintained the right to patrol up to Finger 8, including in the current understanding with China, the MoD said. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday told Parliament that as per the provision of the agreement, China will pull back its troops to east of Finger 8 areas in the northern bank of Pangong lake while the Indian personnel will be based at their permanent base at Dhan Singh Thapa Post near Finger 3 in the region. India has not conceded any territory as a result of the agreement. On the contrary, it has enforced observance and respect for LAC and prevented any unilateral change in the status quo, it said. The Ministry also asserted that permanent posts of both sides at the north bank of Pangong Tso are longstanding and well-established. On the Indian side, it is Dhan Singh Thapa Post near Finger 3 and on the Chinese side, east of Finger 8, the MoD said, adding the current agreement provides for cessation of forward deployment by both sides and continued deployment at these permanent posts.

B) PM Modi a coward who can’t stand up to China: Rahul Gandhi. 

Earlier in the day, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of cowardice and giving away Indian territory to China. In a press conference today morning, Gandhi told reporters that Indian territory was up to Finger 4 in the Pangong area where the Indian post used to be located but now the government had agreed to move it back to Finger 3. On Thursday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh informed Parliament that Indian and Chinese troops had agreed on disengagement on both sides of Pangong Tso in a phased, coordinated and verified manner.  The Congress leader said it was China that can claim success, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi had handed over a portion of Bharat Mata [Mother India] to them. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi addressing a press conference, in New Delhi on Friday. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi addressing a press conference, in New Delhi on Friday. Why has Prime Minister Modi given up Indian territory to the Chinese? This is the question that needs to be answered by him and the Defence Minister, Gandhi said, adding that the Prime Minister was betraying the sacrifices of our Army. It is about absolutely 100% cowardice to give our holy land. The Prime Minister is a coward who cannot stand up to the Chinese. That’s the fact, and he is spitting on the sacrifice of our Army, asserted the animated Congress leader. Lauding the efforts of the armed forces in protecting the borders, he said none in India should be allowed to undermine them.

C) Consent of the family or clan not necessary when two adults agree to marry: SC.

Educated youngsters are showing the way forward to reduce caste and community tensions in India by going in for inter-caste marriages, the Supreme Court said in a judgment. Educated younger boys and girls are choosing their life partners, which is a departure from the earlier norms of society where caste and community played a major role. Possibly, this is the way forward where caste and community tensions will reduce by such intermarriages, a Bench led by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said in a recent verdict. Justice Kaul quoted B.R. Ambedkar’s Annihilation of Caste, in which the ‘Father of the Constitution’ said that he is convinced that the real remedy is intermarriage. Fusion of blood can alone create the feeling of being kith and kin, and unless this feeling of kinship, of being kindred, becomes paramount, the separatist feeling—the feeling of being aliens—created by caste will not vanish. Even as more and more cases challenging religious conversion laws enacted by several States reach the Supreme Court, Justice Kaul observed in the judgment on February 8 that consent of the family or community or clan is not necessary once the two adult individuals agree to enter into a wedlock and that their consent has to be piously given primacy. 

D) Mallikarjun Kharge to be leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha. 

Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge is all set to become the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Rajya Sabha, as incumbent Ghulam Nabi Azad’s term ends on February 15. There has been no official word from the Congress, but it is learnt that the party has informed the Rajya Sabha Secretariat about Azad’s replacement.Former Law Minister and senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid was among the first leaders to congratulate Kharge. Best wishes to Sh @kharge ji for being appointed as Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Khurshid tweeted. Kharge, known to be a Gandhi family loyalist, was the Congress leader in the Lok Sabha between 2014 and 2019. After losing the 2019 Lok Sabha poll, he was brought into the Rajya Sabha in June last year. Senior leader Anand Sharma, who along with Azad came to be identified with the group of 23 dissenters that had sought a revamp of the Congress in a letter to party chief Sonia Gandhi last August, is the Deputy Leader of the Congress in the Rajya Sabha.

E) SC issues notice on plea alleging Twitter is ‘sympathetic to terrorist groups’. 

The Supreme Court on Friday decided to examine a plea that claimed that Twitter is sympathetic to terrorist groups. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde issued notice to the government and Twitter Communications India Private Limited on a petition by Vinit Goenka, Prabhari – IT and Social Media Vibhag for BJP Delhi Pradesh. Goenka accused platforms such as Twitter of promoting and circulating prohibited content and hate messages. He said there was no mechanism or law to deal with the problem. Respondent 4 (Twitter) is sympathetic to terrorist groups. Global terror groups like ISIS, Al Qaeda and Indian Mujahideen use the platform of Respondent 4 (Twitter) and other social networking platforms to circulate hate speeches because it helps them avoid detection, the petition, filed through advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey, contended.

 

F) TMC MP Dinesh Trivedi announces resignation from Rajya Sabha. 

TMC MP Dinesh Trivedi announced his resignation from the Rajya Sabha on Friday, saying he feels suffocated in the House as he is unable to do anything for the violence going on in his state, West Bengal. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP said he was unable to bear what was happening in West Bengal. He is grateful to his party that it has sent him here, but now he feel a little suffocated. They are unable to do anything and there is atrocity (going on). His voice of conscience is saying what Swami Vivekananda used to say arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached, Trivedi said, while announcing his resignation from the House. Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh said there is a due process for resigning from the House and asked Trivedi to submit his resignation in writing to the chairman.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

A) Trump’s lawyers all set to rebut impeachment case. 

Lawyers for Donald Trump take the Senate floor later on Friday to rebut the Democratic led impeachment of the former President for inciting insurrection, with Republican lawmakers then widely expected to vote to acquit him. Democratic impeachment managers rested their case on Thursday after two days of often emotional presentations. Now the Republican property tycoon’s lawyers will get a chance to respond. They are expected to make arguments brief, hastening the Senate verdict.  There’s no reason for them to be out there a long time. As he said from the start of this thing, this trial never should have happened, one of the lawyers, David Schoen, told Fox News. The impeachment team charged Mr. Trump with stoking an insurrection after losing reelection to Joe Biden on November 3. According to the case against him, the former President began to lay the groundwork for the riot within weeks of refusing to concede with claims that he had only lost because of mass voter fraud. On January 6 he staged a fiery rally near the White House, calling on the crowd to march on Congress, which was in the process of certifying Mr. Biden’s victory. Impeachment managers insist that Mr. Trump, who has never expressed remorse for his encouragement of the violent crowd, is so dangerous he should be barred from holding office again. But the former President’s lawyers are set to argue that his speech was rhetorical and that he cannot be held responsible for the actions of the mob. They also argue that the trial itself is unconstitutional because Mr. Trump is now out of office, although the Senate has rejected this claim.

B) Slap sanctions on Myanmar, say UN rights envoy and U.S.

The United Nations human rights investigator for Myanmar on Friday urged the UN Security Council to consider imposing punitive sanctions, arms embargoes and travel bans in response to a military coup. The United States, which imposed its own sanctions on Thursday, urged other UN member states to follow suit, in its first remarks to the Human Rights Council since returning to the forum this Special Rapporteur Thomas Andrews said there were growing reports and photographic evidence that Myanmar security forces had used live ammunition against protesters since seizing power almost two weeks Security Council resolutions dealing with similar situations have mandated sanctions, arms embargoes, and travel bans, and calling for judicial action at the International Criminal Court or ad hoc tribunals, he told the Council. The 47-member forum was meeting at the request of Britain and the European Union to consider a resolution calling for the release of ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and for Mr. Andrews and other UN monitors to be allowed to visit. Russian ambassador Gennady Gatilov said human rights issues should be addressed through open dialogue and cooperation. The special session is clearly not conducive to that attempts to whip up hype around the situation in Myanmar need to cease.

C) Former European bank chief Draghi set to be Italy’s new PM. 

With almost all the political parties behind him, Mario Draghi on Friday entered the final leg in his bid to form a new government to lead Italy through the COVID-19 pandemic. The former European Central Bank chief, called in after the outgoing centre-left coalition collapsed, could visit President Sergio Mattarella as early as Friday to be officially named Prime Minister. Mr. Draghi has spent the last nine days assembling a government of national unity to manage the deadly pandemic that hit Italy almost a year ago, triggering a deep recession. After securing the support late Thursday of the last key player, the populist Five Star Movement (MSS), Mr. Draghi has almost all the main parties on board, from leftists to the far. right League. The Draghi government is born, headlined Rome-based daily II Messaggero, while the Corriere Della Sera said, Draghi in the home stretch. However, the 73 year-old economist has shown he is willing to take his time, and could take a few more days to finalise his cabinet. Italy has high hopes for Mr. Draghi, dubbed Super Mario after vowing to do whatever it takes to save the euro single currency in the 2010s debt crisis.

 

CURRENT AFFAIRS
12 February 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Rajnath Singh confirms troops withdrawal at LAC in Ladakh. 

India and China have reached an agreement for disengagement in the Pangong Lake area to cease their forward deployments in a phased, coordinated, and verified manner and it will substantially restore the situation to what it was before the stand-off last year, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. The Chinese side will keep its troop presence in the North Bank area to the east of Finger 8. Reciprocally, the Indian troops will be based at their permanent base at Dhan Singh Thapa Post near Finger 3. A similar action would be taken in the South Bank area by both sides, Singh said in a statement. These are mutual and reciprocal steps and any structures that had been built by both sides since April 2020 in both North and South Bank area will be removed and the landforms will be restored, he said. Further, both sides had agreed on a temporary moratorium on military activities in the North Bank, including patrolling in the traditional areas. Patrolling will be resumed only when both sides reach an agreement in diplomatic and military talks that would be held subsequently, Singh added.The implementation of this agreement started on Wednesday in the North and South Bank of the Pangong Lake. He want to assure this House that in these talks they have not conceded anything, Singh said, while stating that there were still some outstanding issues with regard to deployment and patrolling at some other points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. These will be the focus of further discussions with the Chinese side.

B) Companies like Twitter should follow Indian law: Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Minister for Information Technology and Communications Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday said global social media platforms such as Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook and others were welcome to work, and earn money in India but they should follow the law and the Constitution of India. Replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Prasad said his Ministry had flagged Twitter and called out the microblogging site for double standards, adding that freedom of speech was there but Article 19 (2) of the Constitution added reasonable restrictions because of sovereignty and integrity of India. Why is it that when police act in Washington’s Capitol Hill ransacking, a micro-blogging site stands in their support, but when a similar action is taken at Red Fort, our national pride, the platform opposes it? Freedom of speech is there, but with reasonable restrictions. Why double standards? You cannot spread hate messages such as ‘PM Modi massacre of farmers’, Prasad said animatedly. Twitter and the government of India have been at loggerheads over issues related to content removal and freedom of expression.

C) Delhi HC issues notice on plea seeking court-monitored SIT probe into death of farmer on Republic Day. 

The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued a notice seeking the response of the Delhi government and Delhi police on a plea seeking a court-monitored SIT probe into the death of Navreet Singh, a 25-year-old farmer who died after his tractor overturned during the protesting farmers’ tractor rally on Republic Day, PTI reported. The notice, issued also to the Uttar Pradesh government and the Chief Medical Officer of the DistrictHospital at Rampur, where the post mortem was conducted, was in response to a petition by Singh’s grandfather who has claimed that the victim had suffered gunshot injuries to his head. The court directed the Delhi Police to file a status report with regard to the investigation on or before the next date of hearing on February 26. Advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing for the victim’s grandfather, told the court that the way Delhi Police has conducted itself in the matter does not inspire a shred of confidence. She said that the police abandoned all procedures, like carrying out inquest proceedings, conducting a post mortem and lodging of an FIR, as required under the law, even if it was a case of accidental death. She said the police, instead, seized all the CCTV footage from the area, including from cameras which were closest to the incident site, and only selectively released video recorded from far. It also released a statement to the media, on the evening of January 26, saying that the farmer died due to overturning of the tractor without even carrying out a probe, she told the court. It may be recalled that multiple FIRs in different states, alleging sedition and creation of communal disharmony, had been quickly registered against several journalists, including India Today’s Rajdeep Sardesai, over reports that seemed to cast doubt on the police narrative that Singh had died due to injuries caused by his tractor overturning.

D) ‘Four people run this country’, says Rahul Gandhi, in sharp attack on government. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is running the country on a hum do hamare do (we two, ours two) policy, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said in Parliament today. He alleged that this policy has been evident in all of the dispensation’s major policy decisions, be it demonetisation, the implementation of GST, the Covid-19-related lockdown, and most recently, the three agri laws have triggered farmer protests across the country. You all must remember the saying we used for family planning, ‘Hum do, humare do’. This government has given that slogan a new meaning. The country is run by four people. ‘Hum do, aur humaare do,’ Gandhi said, adding that the intent of the three laws are to allow industrialists to buy unlimited quantity of foodgrains and hoard them as much as they want. The farm laws, he said, will not only ruin farmers, but finish the middlemen and have a devastating effect on small shopkeepers and small businessmen. It will be a massive blow to small and medium enterprise, which will destroy India’s rural economy. Gandhi also led his party members and those from the TMC and the DMK to observe a two-minute silence to mourn the death of 194 farmers who have died during the ongoing farmers’ agitation.

E) CAA will be implemented, says Amit Shah in Bengal rally. 

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said the Citizenship (Amendment) Act will be implemented once the vaccination for COVID-19 is completed. They are a party that keeps their promise, Shah said at a gathering largely comprising people from the Matua sect at Thakaurnagar in the North 24 Parganas district. The CAA is an emotive issue for members of the sect of Hindu refugees from Bangladesh who had voted overwhelmingly for the BJP candidate in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The delay in the implementation has been making them restless. They promised citizenship to Matuas in 2018. In 2019 they supported us. In 2020 we brought the CAA in Parliament, Shah said, adding that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been going to town saying the BJP made a false promise. The Covid-19 crisis came. Mamatadidi started saying it is a false promise and that she won’t allow the implementation of the CAA, Shah said. The Home Minister said he wants to promise the people that as soon as the vaccination process is complete, the BJP government will give citizenship to the Matuas. He also accused all the political parties of misleading the minorities by propagating that they will lose citizenship because of the CAA. As Union Home Minister I want to assure people that not a single Muslim brother or sister will lose citizenship because of the CAA, Shah said. He said the CAA is a legislation to give citizenship and not to take it away. Earlier in the day, the Home Minister addressed a rally in Cooch Behar and flagged off party ‘Parivartan’ yatra. Describing the upcoming Assembly polls as ‘historic’, he said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be left chanting Jai Shri Ram after the polls.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Biden speaks to Xi on phone, highlights concerns about China’s economic practices. 

U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Wednesday evening (Washington time), the first call between the two leaders since Biden assumed office on January 20. Biden highlighted concerns about Beijing’s economic practices, its human rights record, and assertive actions in the region while affirming his priority of preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific, the White House said in a readout of the call. President Biden affirmed his priorities of protecting the American people’s security, prosperity, health, and way of life, and preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific. President Biden underscored his fundamental concerns about Beijing’s coercive and unfair economic practices, crackdown in Hong Kong, human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and increasingly assertive actions in the region, including toward Taiwan, the White House said. Xi, however, is reported to have said that Hong Kong, Taiwan and Xinjiang are matters internal to China, as per China’s state-run Xinhua news agency. China and the U.S. should jointly safeguard peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, Xi is reported to have said. The Taiwan question and issues relating to Hong Kong, Xinjiang, etc. are China’s internal affairs and concern China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the U.S. side should respect China’s core interests and act prudently, Xi said, as per Xinhua. The Biden administration is conducting a review of Trump administration’s trade policies on China as well as a review of the impact of Chinese tech companies on U.S. national security. The administration is also, at least for the moment, not going forward with a Trump administration ban on social media app TikTok and its take-over by a U.S. company, according to reports.

B) China pulls BBC World News off air for content ‘violation’

China’s broadcasting regulator announced on Thursday it has pulled BBC World News from the air, saying the channel’s content had seriously violated guidelines for reporting in the country. In a statement, China’s National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) said BBC World News reports about China were found to seriously violate broadcast guidelines, including the requirement that news should be truthful and fair and not harm China’s national interests. The move comes after the BBC aired a report on February 3 detailing harrowing accounts of torture and sexual violence against Uighur women in Chinese camps. The NRTA does not permit the BBC to continue broadcasting in China, and does not accept its new annual application for broadcast, the statement from Beijing said. The BBC said it was disappointed with the move. The BBC is the world’s most trtßted international news broadcaster and reports on stories from around the world fairly, impartially and without fear or favour, a BBC spokesperson said.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
11 February 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Bhima Koregaon case: Key evidence against accused was planted using malware, says digital forensics report.

A report by Arsenal Consulting, a digital forensic analyst from Chelsea, U.S., has debunked the electronic evidence gathered by the investigating agency against 42-year-old Rona Wilson and 15 others arrested in the Bhima Koregaon violence case, including Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Shoma Sen, Sudhir Dhawale, Arun Ferriera, Vernon Gonslaves, Sudha Bharadwaj and P. Varavara Rao. Arsenal Consulting, which was roped in by the American Bar Association to examine the clone copy of the hard disc of Wilson’s computer, has stated that a hacker controlled his computer for a period of 22 months to plant documents, which led to an investigation that supposedly unravelled a Communist Party of India (Maoist) conspiracy to eliminate Prime Minister Narendra Modi in another Rajiv Gandhi type incident. Wilson has filed a writ petition before the Bombay High Court seeking a quashing of the FIR and chargesheet against him in the light of this report. His petition explains how a hacker exploited the IP addresses provided by one ‘Host Sailor’ and used proxy servers to plant a trojan horse NetWire. This initially subjected Wilson to surveillance, and later on, remotely through the malware, delivered various files, including the incriminating correspondence with other accused. It was this correspondence that was used, first by the Pune Police and later by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), as incriminating evidence against the activists, read the petition. This is one of the most serious cases involving evidence-tampering that Arsenal has ever encountered, the report said. It concludes that ten crucial documents, along with various others used to incriminate all the accused in the case, were planted through malware on Wilson’s device by an unknown person.

B) Twitter withholds some accounts after govt. orders, says in a blog that it won’t block media accounts. 

Twitter on Wednesday said in a blog post that it has withheld a portion of accounts which the Indian government had directed it to block for allegedly spreading misinformation about the farmers’ protest. It, however, added that actions were taken only against selected accounts as Twitter did not believe that the government’s orders were consistent with Indian law. Twitter has been served with several separate blocking orders by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, the company said in a blog. Out of these, two were emergency blocking orders that we temporarily complied with but subsequently restored access to the content in a manner that we believe was consistent with Indian law. Twitter said that since the government had sent it a notice for non-compliance, it wanted to clarify the steps it took to censor harmful content. The platform had unblocked 250 accounts tweeting with an alleged objectionable hashtag on February 1, just hours after withholding them. In a blog post, the micro-blogging platform said it took a range of enforcement measures, including permanent suspension in certain cases, against more than 500 accounts escalated across all Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) orders for clear violations of Twitter rules.

C) Govt responds to Twitter’s blog post on Koo. 

Amid the ongoing tussle between the government and Twitter, Union Ministers and government departments have been setting up accounts on Koo, a made-in-India alternative to Twitter. Union Minister Piyush Goyal, for instance, on Tuesday announced on Twitter that he is now on Koo. Connect with me on this Indian micro-blogging platform for real-time, exciting and exclusive updates. Let us exchange our thoughts and ideas on Koo. Today, in response to the blog post by Twitter, the government said in a post on Koo, Upon the request of Twitter seeking a meeting with the Govt., the Secretary IT was to engage with senior management of Twitter. In this light a blog post published prior to this engagement is unusual. Govt. will share its response soon.

D) Parliamentary proceedings: PM staunchly defends three farm sector laws. 

Replying in Lok Sabha to the discussion on the motion of thanks to the President’s address to the joint sitting of Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi staunchly defended the three contentious farms laws and attacked the Opposition for misleading farmers, saying those who are disrupting the House are doing so as per a well-planned strategy as they are unable to digest that people can see the truth. Through their games, the trust of the people can never be won, he said, amidst protests by the Opposition members. During his over 90-minute address, the Prime Minister slammed the Congress as a divided and confused party for its different stands in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on the debate. Seeking to allay apprehensions on the farm laws, Modi said neither any agriculture ‘mandi’ (market) has shut down after the three laws were enacted nor has the MSP stopped, rather the MSP has only increased, which no one can deny. The Congress walked out of the Lok Sabha as PM Modi explained the government’s stand on the three farm laws. Noting that the kind of investment farming needs was not happening, Modi said there is a need to bring investment and modernise agriculture to empower the sector.  During the discussion the Union Budget, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor asserted that the government has deceived the people. Government has deceived us in terms of health care allocation. FM said the allocation was 137% on the previous year but she didn’t keep her word. Betrayal of our health care workers who worked tirelessly through the pandemic, he said, adding, No relief in tax rates for middle class. As for the poor, young, aspirational, they too have been failed. MGNREGA allocation slashed by 35% at a time of record unemployment levels. Education budget sees a 6% cut. Sainik Schools are in desperate shape. Any dreams Indians had of good days, was cremated at the altar of the disastrous decision of demonetisation.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) China’s military claims both sides have begun disengagement from Pangong lake. 

China’s military announced on Wednesday that frontline troops from India and China had begun disengaging from the north and south banks of Pangong Lake, where both sides have been locked in a stand-off for months.At the time of writing, the Indian Army was yet to release a statement on the development. The statement from China’s Ministry of Defence said this followed a consensus reached at the last round of talks between Corps Commanders on January 24. People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Senior Colonel Wu Qian, spokesman for the Ministry of Defence, said in a statement issued in Beijing, According to the consensus reached by the ninth round of the commander-level talks between China and India, the frontline units of the Chinese and Indian armed forces on the south and north banks of Pangong Lake started to disengage synchronously in a planned manner. The Indian Army has, however, not yet confirmed the development.

B) India is an important partner in the Indo-Pacific region, says U.S.

Describing India as one of the most important partners ofthe U.S. in the Indo-Pacific region, the Joe Biden administration on Tuesday said it welcomes India’s emergence as a leading global power. India is one of the most important partners in the lndo-Pacific region for us. We welcome India’s emergence as a leading global power and its role as a net security provider in the region, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at his daily news conference. Earlier in the day, Secretary of State Tony Blinken spoke with his Indian counterpart, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, for the second time in less than a fortnight, Mr. Price added, During the call, the two leaders reaffirmed the strength ofthe U.SAndia partnership and discussed issues of mutual concern, including the situation in Myanmar. Mr. Blinken expressed concern over the military coup and the importance of the democratic process in Myanmar. Regional developments They also discussed regional developments, including the value of U.S.-India cooperation across the Indo-Pacific. Both sides look forward to expanded regional cooperation, including through the Quad, and to address the challenges related to COVID-19 and climate change, he said. Responding to a question, Mr. Price said the U.S.-India Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership is both broad as well as multifaceted. The U.S., he said, also remains India’s largest and most important trading partner, with the total bilateral trade increasing to $146 billion in 2019. U.S. companies are a large source of India’s foreign direct investment, he added.

C) Trump’s trial begins with footage of siege. 

Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial began on Tuesday with harrowing video footage of his supporters’ assault on Congress, but Republican Senators made clear how difficult it will be to win a conviction. Senators voted 56-44 in favour ofthe constitutionality of the historic trial, rejecting a bid by Mr. Trump’s Iawyers to throw it out on grounds that a former President cannot be tried by lawmakers. The vote, held before the main part of the trial was to get under way on Wednesday, saw six Republicans join all 50 Democrats in the evenly-divided Senate. Despite this modest show of bipartisanship, the result highlighted the nearly impossible task of getting the two-thirds majority requiring 17 Republicans to join the Democrats that would be needed to convict Mr. Trump of inciting insurrection. Earlier, both sides presented their opening cases, with Democrats arguing that Mr. Trump broke his oath in a naked bid to retain power after losing the November election to Joe Biden. If Congress were to just stand completely aside in the face of such an extraordinary crime against the Republic, it would invite future Presidents to use their power without any fear of accountability, Democratic impeachment manager Joe Neguse said. Video from the January 6 mayhem played back inside the Senate packed the biggest punch. Senators watched footage of Mr. Trump’s speech and the crowd’s siege on the Capitol.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
10 February 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

A) ED raids premises of News Click and its promoters in Delhi on money laundering charges. 

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on February 9 conducted searches on the premises of a Delhi-based news portal and its promoters on charges of alleged money laundering, official sources said. They said the premises of the website, NewsClick, and its promoters in South Delhi’s Saidullajab and some other areas are being searched. The action is being undertaken to collect additional information to probe money laundering charges against the news company and its promoters, the sources said. They said the probe is linked to some suspect foreign funding. The homes of some of Newsclick’s senior management, including human resources head Amit Chakravarty, editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha, and one of the editors, Pranjal, were also raided. Senior journalists such as Abhisar Sharma, Urmilesh Singh, and Paranjoy Guha Thakurta have been regularly hosted by NewsClick. NewsClick is one of the news platforms that has, over the past three months, been relentless in its close coverage of the farmers protests. It is noted for its focus on working class issues, including labour rights issues, and problems faced by sanitation workers.

B) Uttarakhand flood disaster: Toll rises to 31, 175 remain missing. 

The death toll from the Uttarakhand flood disaster rose to 31, with five more bodies being recovered, officials said on Tuesday as multiple agencies raced against time to reach about 30 workers trapped inside a tunnel in a power project site and 175 people remained missing. Two of the bodies were recovered from the debris in Raini village, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) officials said, two days after a portion of the Nanda Devi glacier possibly burst its banks and triggered an avalanche and floods in the Alaknanda river system. The State Emergency Operation Centre said five bodies were found in the morning, taking the death toll to 31, and estimated that 175 people are still missing. With the hours ticking by inexorably, fears escalated about those missing since the disaster struck on Sunday morning, according to officials who stepped up efforts to locate survivors. The missing people include those working at NTPC’s 480 MW Tapovan-Vishnugad project and the 13.2 MW Rishiganga Hydel Project and villagers whose homes nearby were washed away. Teams of the Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) coordinated efforts to rescue about 30 people who were working in a tunnel at the Tapovan-Vishnugad project when the waters came rushing in. The workers are trapped in the 12-ft-high and about 2.5-km-long ‘head race tunnel’ (HRT). Clearing of debris and slush continued the whole night. About 120 metres of the tunnel entrance stretch is now clear, ITBP spokesperson Vivek Kumar Pandey said in Delhi. The height of the accumulated slush has reduced more. ITBP personnel are waiting to enter as soon as any movement deep inside the tunnel is possible, he said. A senior official added that the rescuers have not been able to make any contact with those stuck inside but are hopeful for signs of life.

C) Modi gives a tearful farewell to Azad; Why can’t he shed some tears for farmers, asks TMC. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke down several times in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday while reminiscing about his close association with Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, whose term is coming to an end next week. The prime minister was participating in the farewell speech for Leader of Opposition Azad and three other members from Jammu and Kashmir — Nazir Ahmad Laway, Shamsher Singh Manhas, Mir Mohammad Fayaz — whose terms in the Upper House are coming to an end. Modi said it would be difficult for anyone to fill the shoes of Azad as he cared not only about his political affiliation but also about the country and the House. He worry that after Azad whosoever will take over from him will have to fill very big boots because he cared not only about his party but about the country as well as the House. This is not a small thing, this a big thing, Modi said. Commenting on Modi’s tears, Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy said that Farmers have been on an agitation. Why can’t the PM withdraw the bill and not stand on ego? He heard PM cried in the other house. Why can’t he shed some tears for farmers?

D) Kashmir will soon have no representation in Rajya Sabha. 

With the retirement of four MPs this month, the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir, for the first time, will be left with no representation in the Rajya Sabha. The terms of two PDP Rajya Sabha MPs—Nazir Ahmed Laway and Mir Mohammed Fayaz— are ending on February 10 and 15 respectively, while Azad’s term ends on February 15. BJP MP Shamsher Singh Manhas’ term on February 10. Since J&K does not have an elected Assembly yet and elections are on hold, the Union Territory will remain without a voice in the Upper House of Parliament.

E) More than 6 lakh Indians renounced Indian citizenship in the last five years. 

In the years 2015-2019, as many as 6,76,074 Indians renounced Indian citizenship and took up citizenship of other countries, the Ministry of Home Affairs informed the Lok Sabha today. Interestingly, these are also the years that saw the rise of hyper-nationalism as a major force in national politics and culture. A 2018 report by an investment firm had reported that India had lost 23,000 dollar millionaires since 2014, ranking at top in the list of countries seeing an exodus of the well-to-do.

F) SC panel meets agribusinesses for views on farm laws. 

The Supreme Court-appointed panel to examine the three contentious farm reform laws met representatives of 18 agribusinesses on Tuesday, as part of its consultations with stakeholders. It has previously met some farmers’ associations and farmer-producer organisations that were largely in favour of reforms but is yet to meet any of the unions that have been protesting on Delhi’s borders for two and a half months, demanding the repeal of the laws. At its sixth round of consultations on Tuesday, the panel met representatives of Amul, ITC, Suguna Foods and Venkateshwara Hatcheries, as well as industry lobby groups such as the CII and the FICCI. Other stakeholders who gave their views included associations representing seafood exporters, rice millers and exporters, poultry feed makers, grain and pulses trader , cotton mills and traders, and manufacturers of tractors and fertilisers. State-run bodies such as the Food Corporation of India, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority and the Marine Products Export Development Authority were also asked to give their views on the laws.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Biden underscores desire to defend democratic institutions on call with Modi: White House. 

U.S. President Joe Biden discussed his democratic institutions and norms with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as per a White House readout of the call between the two leaders. While the White House said the two leaders talked about a free and open Indo-Pacific, it also said that Biden underscored his desire to defend democratic institutions and norms around the world. He also noted that a shared commitment to democratic values is the bedrock for the U.S.-India relationship. This is suggestive of an added emphasis in the bilateral relationship, relative to the Trump administration, which had focused on the security aspect, driven in large measure by growing Chinese aggression and assertiveness. The language of the readout is significant in the context of the farmers’ protest around Delhi as this has gained visibility in the U.S., with celebrities and members of the U.S. Congress making references to them on social media. The MEA readout of the call said the two leaders, noted that the India-U.S. partnership is firmly anchored in a shared commitment to democratic values and common strategic interests.

B) Coronavirus unlikely to have leaked from Chinese lab, says WHO team.

The coronavirus is unlikely to have leaked from a Chinese lab and is more likely to have jumped to humans from an animal, a World Health Organisation expert said on Tuesday. WHO food safety and animal diseases expert Peter Ben Embarek made the assessment at the end of a visit to the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where a team of scientists is investigating the possible origins of the coronavirus. The first cases were discovered in the city in December 2019. The Wuhan Institute of Virology has collected extensive virus samples, leading to allegations that it may have caused the original outbreak by leaking the virus into the surrounding community. China has strongly rejected that possibility and has promoted other theories that the virus may have originated elsewhere. The team is considering several theories for how the disease first ended up in humans. Their initial findings suggest that the introduction through an intermediary host species is the most likely pathway and one that will require more studies and more specific, targeted research, Embarek said. However, the findings suggest that the laboratory incidents hypothesis is extremely unlikely to explain the introduction of the virus to the human population. Transmission through the trade in frozen products was also a likely possibility, Embarek said. Along with the institute, the WHO team that includes experts from 10 nations has visited hospitals, research institutes, a traditional market tied to the outbreak and other sites on their visit.