Tag: latest Current Affairs

CURRENT AFFAIRS
19 January 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Farmer Protests: Centre and Delhi Police should decide on allowing tractor rally: SC

The Supreme Court today said the Centre and the Delhi Police should take a call on whether or not protesting farmers could hold tractor or vehicle marches on Republic Day in the national capital. The government could not ask the court to decide on issues concerning law and order. Entry into Delhi is a law and order issue. Who should be allowed entry and on what conditions are all determined by the police. They cannot be the authority to decide it, Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde told Attorney General K.K. Venugopal and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. Chief Justice Bobde said there was still time for the Union of India and the Delhi Police to invoke all its powers. Venugopal said people were camping outside the city. There was a threat of illegal entry on January 26. The government was looking to the court to strengthen its hands. The government wanted the court to pass an injunction order to restrain farmers from holding rallies to disrupt Republic Day celebrations in Delhi. The government said the right to express dissent against the farm laws did not include a right to malign the nation globally. Why do you want us to tell you how to use your powers. We are not the first authority in law and order issues. Authorities prohibit and then the court acts. It is not that the court prohibits and the authorities carry out, Chief Justice Bobde said. The Solicitor General urged the court to list the case on January 20, to which the Bench agreed.

B) Joint platform of farmers unions distances itself from political outreach.

The joint platform of protesting farmer unions, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), has disassociated itself from the political outreach of one of its key members, Haryana leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni. However, Chaduni will continue to be part of the delegation of unions negotiating with the Centre for now. Chaduni had written letters to political parties in relation to the ongoing protest against farm laws on Delhi’s borders, and had allegedly met some politicians at Delhi’s Constitution Club on Sunday. The SKM had previously decided not to invite political parties to its stage or rallies, both to avoid government accusations that politics have hijacked the protest as well as in acknowledgement that there is a range of political opinions among the protesters themselves. SKM is not associated with the ‘all-party meeting’ taken up by Mr. Chaduni with political parties. SKM, after taking note of Mr. Chaduni’s ongoing activities with political parties, after due discussion on the same in a general body meeting of SKM yesterday, has formed a Committee that will inquire into the matter and give its report in 3 days’ time. SKM will take further steps thereafter, said a statement signed by six other leaders of the united front. The protesting unions will meet Central Ministers for the tenth round of talks tomorrow, at the same time as the SC-nominated committee holds its first meeting.

C) WhatsApp transcripts prove Modi govt conducted Balakot air strikes to win polls, claims Imran Khan.

In a series of tweets today, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said India’s fascist government led by Narendra Modi used the Balakot crisis for domestic electoral gains, in a reference to air strikes carried out on terror camps across the Line of Control on February 26, 2019 in the aftermath of the Pulwama terrorist attack in which 40 CRPF jawans died. Since 2019, Khan and his government have alleged on multiple forums that the Modi government could carry out ‘false flag’ operations to generate a pretext for carrying out punitive action against Pakistan. A false flag operation is generally understood as a covert action carried out by a state with the objective of pinning the blame on an adversary, either a state or a non-state actor. Khan tweeted that the transcripts of the Whatsapp chats between Republic TV editor Arnab Goswami and Partho Dasupta, former CEO of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) have vindicated his claims. In a series of tweets, the Pak PM said, In 2019, he spoke at UNGA [United Nations General Assembly] on how India’s fascist Modi govt used the Balakot crisis for domestic electoral gains. Latest revelations from communication of an Indian journalist, known for his warmongering, reveal the unholy nexus between the Modi govt & Indian media that led to a dangerous military adventurism to win an election in utter disregard for the consequences of destabilising the entire region. Pakistan averted a larger crisis by a responsible, measured response to Balakot. Yet, Modi govt continues to turn India into a rogue state. Responding to Khan’s remarks, Republic TV said in a statement that it rejected the allegations made by the Pakistan government against Arnab Goswami, and claimed that there was a deep-conspiracy of anti-India and anti-national forces against the channel. At the time of publication of this newsletter, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) was yet to issue a statement on Khan’s allegations.

D) Makers of ‘Tandav’ web series apologise for hurting religious sentiments.

The makers of the Amazon Prime web series ‘Tandav’ have issued an unconditional apology for hurting religious feelings. In a statement issued, they said, the web series Tandav is a work of fiction and any resemblance to acts and persons and events is purely coincidental. The cast and crew did not have any intention to offend the sentiments of any individual, caste, community, race, religion or religious beliefs or insult or outrage any institution, political party or person, living or dead. The cast and crew of Tandav take cognizance of the concerns expressed by the people and unconditionally apologise if it has unintentionally hurt anybody’s sentiments. Earlier, an FIR was lodged in Lucknow against the makers on charges of hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus and promoting enmity on grounds of religion. The political drama series, released on January 15, has Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Tigmanshu Dhulia and Mohammad Zeeshan Ayyub in the cast. The FIR was lodged at the Hazratganj police station under various sections of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) and the Information Technology Act. Aparna Purohit, head, India Original Content of Amazon; Ali Abbas Zafar, director, Tandav Web Series; Himanshu Krishna Mehra, producer; and Gaurav Solanki, writer, were named in the FIR. In the FIR, registered on a complaint of a sub-inspector of the Hazratganj police, the complainant said he was asked to watch the show on Amazon Prime Video by senior officers after he alerted them about angry social media posts on the series. The SI alleged that in the 17th minute of the first episode, characters dressed in an improper way and representing Hindu gods and goddesses were shown speaking in undignified and low-level language. This could incite and hurt religious sentiments, he said. The FIR accused the series of undignified portrayal of a person occupying the post of Prime Minister of the country, showing castes as high and low, and having scenes that insult women. The intent of the web series is to incite religious sentiments among a particular community and spread class conflict, it alleged. Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati took to Twitter, saying the objectionable parts should be removed from the series so that the atmosphere of peace, harmony and common brotherhood was not spoilt.

E) Mamata announces she will fight Bengal polls from Nandigram. 

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said she would contest the 2021 Assembly polls from Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district. Banerjee made the announcement at a public meeting in Nandigram, almost a month after Trinamool Congress (TMC) heavyweight and former MLA from the constituency Suvendu Adhikari quit the party and joined the BJP. The announcement assumes significance not only because Banerjee is all set to take on Adhikari in his fiefdom but also because Nandigram symbolises the party’s struggle against forcible land acquisition during the Left Front regime. They are offering support to the protest against the farm bills because the way their land was being forcibly acquired, there is an attempt to forcibly take away the farm produce, Banerjee said.

F) Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments.

The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 1,05,72,426 with the death toll at 1,52,521. In a clarification, Covaxin manufacturer Bharat Biotech has said that those with any history of allergies, fever, and bleeding disorders, are on blood thinners, are immunity-compromised, or on medication should not take the vaccine. A statement uploaded on the company website today said the vaccine was also contraindicated for pregnant/lactating women, and people with any other serious health related issues as determined by the vaccinator/officer supervising vaccination. The statement comes amidst reports of a slow uptake in the first phase of Covid-19 vaccination in the country that began on January 16. Bharat Biotech has now released a fact sheet detailing the possible adverse events. It said, there is remote chance that COVAXIN could cause severe allergic reaction, including difficulty in breathing, swelling of face/throat/fast heart beat, rashes all over the body, and dizziness and weakness. The clinical efficacy of Covaxin is yet to be established and is still being studied in phase 3 clinical trials.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) U.S., China spar over the origins of novel coronavirus. 

The U.S. and China on Monday sparred over the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, the latest in a growing list of tensions that have left relations strained as President Donald Trump leaves office. In recent weeks, Washington and Beijing have clashed over trade issues, the sanctioning of Chinese companies, Taiwan and Hong Kong. In a reflection of the state of relations, China’s official Xinhua news agency issued a commentary, headlined Good riddance, Trump administration and its final madness, hitting out over the sanctioning of six Chinese officials related to Hong Kong. The latest spat followed the U.S. State Department on Friday releasing a factsheet linking the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) to the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, which brought another sharp response from Beijing. The factsheet said while the U.S. does not know exactly where, when, or how the COVID-19 virus known as was transmitted initially to humans, it had not determined whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan, China. The CCP’s [Chinese Communist Party’s) deadly obsession with secrecy and control comes at the expense of public health in China and around the world, it said, adding that it was making public previously undisclosed information, saying the U.S. government has reason to believe that several researchers inside the WIV became sick in autumn 2019, before the first identified case of the outbreak, with symptoms consistent with both COVID-19 and common seasonal illnesses. The factsheet also noted WIV researchers had conducted experiments involving RaTG13, the bat coronavirus identified by the WIV in January 2020 as its closest to SARS-CoV-2 (96.2% similar). 

B) Imran Khan to visit Sri Lanka. 

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka in February, ae cording to official sources. He will be the first head of government to visit Sri Lanka since the pandemic struck last year. The visit is likely towards the end of February, an official source in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told. Mr. Khan’s visit, scheduled a month after Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s three-day visit to Colombo, will likely coincide with the early days of the 46th UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva, where a new resolution on Sri Lanka may be adopted by members. Pakistan is currently a member of the Council. In December 2020, Islamabad and Colombo held Foreign Secretary level ‘Bilateral Political Consultations’ virtually. A statement from the Pakistani High Commission issued on December 17, 2020 said Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood shared Pakistan’s perspective on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, progress of the CPEC, and Pakistan’s positive contribution to the Afghan peace process. He also reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to SAARC and expressed the hope that the process of regional cooperation would be allowed to move faward, he said. Sri Lanka, which has close ties with Pakistan and India, has seldom commented on Indo-Pak. tensions. Following the Pulwama attack in February 2019, Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was deeply concerned about the developments following the brutal terrorist attack on a Central Reserve Police Force convoy in Pulwama, while requesting India and Pakistan to act in a manner that ensures the security, peace and stability of the entire region. 

C) FBI vets troops ahead of inauguration. 

U.S. defence officials say they are worried about an in, sider attack or other threat from service members involved in securing President elect Joe Biden’s inauguration prompting the FBI to vet all of the 25,000 National Guard troops coming into Washington for the event. The massive undertaking reacts the extraordinary security concerns that have gripped Washington following the deadly January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by pro Trump rioters. And it underscores fears that some of the very people assigned to protect the city over the next several days could present a threat to the incoming President and other VIPs in attendance. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy told the associated press on Sunday that the officials are conscious of the potential threat and he warned commanders to be on the lookout for any problems within their ranks as the inauguration approaches. So far, however, he and other leaders say they have seen no evidence of any threats, and officials said the vetting hadn’t flagged any issues that they were aware of.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
18 January 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Agriculture Minister urges farmers to give up ‘stubborn stand’

Ahead of the tenth round of talks scheduled on January 19, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Sunday again urged the protesting farm leaders to give up their stubborn stand on the new farm laws and come for a clause by clause discussion. Now that the Supreme Court has stayed the implementation of these laws, then there is no question of being stubborn, Mr. Tomar told reporters before leaving for his home constituency of Morena in Madhya Pradesh. The government wants farmer leaders to come for clause by clause discussion at the next meeting on January 19. Except for the demand of repealing the laws, the government is ready to consider seriously and with an open heart other alternatives, he said. Mr. Tomar, who left for his constituency by Hazur Sahib Nanded-Amritsar Superfast Express, was seen sharing langar from co-passengers of Sikh community a gesture which comes amid the ongoing protests by farmers from Punjab against the agri laws. The Supreme Court on January 11 had stayed the implementation of the three laws till further orders and appointed a four-member panel to resolve the impasse. Mr. Tomar said the government offered certain concessions, but the farmer leaders have not shown flexibility and were constantly demanding a repeal of the laws. He reiterated that the government makes laws for the entire country. Many farmers, experts and other stakeholders have supported the laws. So far, the nine rounds of formal talks between the Centre and 41 farmer unions have failed to yield any concrete results to end the long-running protest at Delhi’s borders as the latter have stuck to their main demand of a complete repeal of the three Acts.

B) Farmers’ groups to go ahead tractor parade on January 26. 

A day before the hearing in the Supreme Court on a plea by the Union government to injunct protesters from holding tractor marches to disrupt Republic Day celebrations, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, a joint front of farmer unions, on Sunday announced to hold a parallel tractor parade on Delhi’s Outer Ring Road on January 26. Making the announcement, Swaraj India national president Yogendra Yadav, at a press conference, said the parade on the 50-km-long road would be peaceful with the tractors carrying national flags and the flags of farmer unions, and no disruption would be caused to the official Republic Day ceremony. He added that weapons, provocative speeches and violence would not be allowed during the parade and there would be no attempts to attack or lay siege to places and buildings of national importance. Saying that the further details would be revealed soon, Mr. Yadav said he did not see any reason for the Supreme Court to prevent the unions from holding the parade. Mr. Yadav said that similar parades would be held at district headquarters and the Capital cities of the states across the country. All-India Kisan Sabha general-secretary Hannan Mollah said the aim of the tractor parade was to highlight the plight of the farmers and seek the support of the common man for their cause. Bharatiya Kisan Union general-secretary Yudhveer Singh said the farmers were determined to go ahead with their plan of tractor parade to mark the Republic Day and added that the responsibility for any untoward incident would lie with the administration and the government if they were stopped.

C) Supreme Court appointed committee on farm laws to hold first meeting on January 19. 

The Supreme Court-appointed committee on the three new farm laws is scheduled to hold its first meeting on January 19 at Pusa campus here, one of its members Anil Ghanwat told the Press Trust of India on Sunday. The Supreme Court had on January 11 stayed the implementation of the three laws, against which farmers are protesting at Delhi borders for over 50 days now, till further orders and appointed a four-member panel to resolve the impasse. Bhartiya Kisan Union president Bhupinder Singh Mann, however, recused from the committee last week. Apart from Mr. Ghanwat, agri-economists Ashok Gulati and Pramod Kumar Joshi are the two other panel members. If the apex court does not appoint a new member, the existing members will continue, Mr Ghanwat added. 

D) Covid watch: Numbers and Developments. 

The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stands at 1,05,68,348 with the death toll at 1,52,441. Over 17,000 people were vaccinated across six states on Day 2 of the nationwide coronavirus drive, the Health Ministry said Sunday evening, adding that this takes the total number of people vaccinated so far to around 2.24 lakh. On Saturday (Day 1) 1.91 lakh people were administered the shots with over 3,000 sites active across India. The Health Ministry said the drop in the number of states carrying out vaccination today was part of a usual strategy to avoid clashes with immunisation schedules for other illnesses.

E) Opposition demands inquiry into Arnab Whatsapp chats. 

Days after the conversations between Republic TV promoter Arnab Goswami and the former CEO of the viewership ratings agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) Partho Dasgupta leaked into the public domain, Opposition leaders on Sunday said it merited a thorough inquiry since many of the issues raised in their conversations pertained to national security. The Whatsapp chats that have come out in the chargesheet of the Mumbai Police raise serious questions of national security. How financial frauds happened, involvement of officials in high positions, and some conversations even talked about ‘buying’ judges and deciding portfolios for Ministers this is akin to playing with national security and shows the hollowness of those in power, Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told reporters at a press conference. Since the chargesheet is over 1,000 pages, we are examining the document in detail and in the next 24 to 48 hours, our seniormost leadership will come before you and share our views as to why it requires a thorough investigation, he added. Former Union minister P. Chidambaram, who also held the Home portfolio apart from Finance under the United Progressive Alliance regime, asked if Mr. Goswami had prior knowledge of the february 2019 balakot strikes. Mr. Goswami’s WhatsApp chats with Mr. Dasgupta, who has been arrested by the Mumbai Police in the TRP (television rating point) scam, suggests that the Republic TV promoter had some prior information on a retaliatory strike by India after the Pulwama terror attack.

F) Aero India 2021 to showcase range of indigenously developed helicopters. 

With emphasis on promoting defence exports, the India Pavilion at Aero India 2021 next month will showcase a range of indigenously developed helicopters while Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to hold a conclave of Defence Ministers from the Indian Ocean Littoral (IOR) states, according to a senior defence official. Built to fly over high altitude areas, the LUH has a maximum permitted height limit of 6.5 km.  A Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), a weaponised Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) and a Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) will be on display inside the pavilion, the official said. A civilian version of the ALH will be on display outside. All these helicopters have been designed and manufactured by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). In addition to the Defence Ministers’ conclave, plans are also on to hold an Air Chiefs’ conclave. Also, about six to seven official delegations are expected to be there at Aero India in addition to various companies. With less than a month left for the biennial air show, construction of the halls and facilities is at advanced stages of completion.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Gunmen kill 2 women judges of Afghanistan’s top court. 

Gunmen shot dead two Afghan women judges working for the Supreme Court in an ambush in the country’s capital on Sunday, officials said, an attack the top U.S. envoy in Kabul blamed on the Taliban. Violence has surged across Afghanistan in recent months despite ongoing peace talks between the Taliban and government especially in Kabul, where a new trend of targeted killings aimed at high-profile figures has sown fear in the restive city. The latest attack, which U.S. Charge D’Affaires Ross Wilson blamed on the Taliban, comes just two days after the Pentagon announced it had cut troop levels in Afghanistan to 2,500, the fewest in nearly two decades. The attack on the judges happened as they were driving to their office in a court vehicle, said Ahmad Fahim Qaweem, a spokesman for the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, they have lost two women judges in today’s attack. Their driver is wounded, Mr. Qaweem said. There are more than 200 female judges working for the country’s top court, the spokesman added. Kabul police confirmed the attack, which no group has claimed so far. Afghanistan’s Supreme Court was a target in February 2017 when a suicide bomb ripped through a crowd of court employees, killing at least 20. The latest attack drew widespread condemnation, with Mr. Wilson blaming the Taliban directly as he called for an investigation. The Taliban should understand that such actions for which it bears responsibility outrage the world and must cease if peace is to come to Afghanistan, wrote Mr. Wilson on Twitter. The shooting came just hours after a high-level meeting between the Taliban negotiation team and U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, along with the head of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, General Scott Miller, according to tweets by a Taliban spokesman. During the sit-down, spokesman Mohammad Naeem said the insurgents called again for the release of the group’s remaining jailed fighters, along with the removal of the Taliban from the UN blacklist.

B) U.K. urges China to grant UN access to Xinjiang. 

Britain’s government on Sunday pressed China to allow UN rights inspectors to visit Xinjiang after raising anew allegations of appalling human rights abuses against the Uighur minority people. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab last week introduced import controls on firms that may have sourced goods from the region in northwest China using forced labour from the mainly Muslim Uighur community. Speaking on the BBC, he decried reports of slave labour effectively, forced sterilisation, appalling human rights abuses. Whether or not it amounts to genocide has to be determined by a court. The bar has been set incredibly high, Mr. Raab said. And frankly we shouldn’t be engaged in free-trade negotiations with countries abusing human rights well below the limit of genocide, he added, implicitly attacking the European Union for securing an investment pact with China last month. Mr. Raab’s government opposes efforts underway in Parliament to give U.K. courts the power to declare a genocide in Xinjiang, which would bar the government from proceeding with any free-trade agreement with China.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
17 January 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Covaxin recipients asked to sign consent form on ‘clinical trial mode’

India began its Covid-19 vaccination drive on Saturday with two approved vaccinations, Serum Institute of India’s Covishield — developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin. Those receiving Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin have been asked to sign a consent form before being vaccinated as the vaccine has been allowed by the government in clinical trial mode. The screening and consent form adds that compensation for serious adverse events will be paid by the company if it is proven to be causally related to the vaccine. The clinical efficacy of Covaxin is yet to be established and it is still being studied in phase 3 clinical trials. Hence, it is important to appreciate that receiving the vaccine does not mean that other precautions related to Covid-19 need not be followed. The Central Licensing Authority has granted permission for the sale or distribution of Covaxin for restricted use in emergency situations in public interest as an abundant precaution, in clinical trial mode, notes the form. It, however, states that in phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials, Covaxin has demonstrated the ability to produce antibodies against Covid-19. The declaration says: I further emphasise that any information provided by me prior to taking the vaccine will be archived in the database maintained by the immunisation program of the government and privacy as well as confidentiality of the information provided by you will be maintained. The recipients will be handed over a fact sheet and a form to report adverse effects, in which they have to note down symptoms like fever, pain within seven days. Currently, beneficiaries don’t have a choice of vaccine and several Central government hospitals in Delhi,  AIIMS, Safdarjung, Ram Manohar Lohia hospital, Kalawati Saran Children Hospital administered Covaxin to its staff under the first round of vaccination. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while launching the world’s biggest Covid-19 vaccination drive, said the India-made vaccines were safe and asked people not to believe rumours.

B) Three days before Balakot air strikes, Arnab Goswami tells BARC chief ‘something big will happen’

Three days before the Indian Air Force’s Balakot strike, Republic TV Editor Arnab Goswami told his friend and former Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) CEO Partho Dasgupta that something big will happen, indicating that he knew about the confidential military action, transcript of WhatsApp messages between the two reveals. The transcript is part of the supplementary charge sheet filed by the Mumbai Police investigating the TRP-tampering case. On February 26, 2019, the IAF hit a Jaish-e-Mohammad training camp in Pakistan’s Balakot town. The government claimed that this was in response to the February 14 terrorist attack in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir, where 40 CRPF personnel were killed after an explosive-laden car driven by a suicide bomber rammed into their bus. At 10 p.m. on February 23, three days before the Balakot strike, the conversation begins with Goswami boasting about Republic TV bagging then Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s first-ever interview after the Pulwama incident. Goswami during a conversation said to Dasgupta, on another note something big will happen.  Dasgupta, in response, said that it’s good for big man in this season and that he will sweep polls then. The 2019 general election was just a few months away. Dasgupta pressed for further clarity, asking Goswami, Strike? Or bigger. And Goswami responded, saying that it would be bigger than a normal strike. Then he went on to add, and also at the same time something major on Kashmir. On Pakistan the government is confident of striking in a way that people will be elated. Exact words used.

C) Ex-CEO of BARC Partho Dasgupta hospitalised; daughter alleges torture. 

Partho Das Gupta, former CEO of TV ratings agency BARC, who was arrested in the Television Rating Points (TRP) rigging case, has been admitted to the ICU of a hospital in Mumbai after his sugar level shot up, officials said on Saturday. His daughter took to Twitter to allege that he was tortured in prison, and appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others to save his life. Dasgupta, a diabetic, was rushed to the State-run J.J. Hospital from the Taloja Central Prison in Navi Mumbai around mid-night after his blood sugar levels shot up. He was admitted to the ICU and was on oxygen support. Dasgupta was arrested in the alleged TRP-rigging scam by crime branch of the Mumbai Police on December 24 last year. A Mumbai court had earlier this month rejected his bail plea, stating that he appeared to have played a vital role in the scam to rig TRPs as per the police’s case. The Mumbai Police had earlier told the court that Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami had allegedly bribed Dasgupta with lakhs of rupees to ramp up the news channel’s viewership numbers in a fraudulent manner. On Saturday, Pratyusha Dasgupta, Dasgupta’s daughter, demanded that he be shifted to a reputed private hospital. She tweeted a message titled ‘A helpless daughter’s anguished appeal’, tagging PM Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, the PMO as well as Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

D) WhatsApp delays policy rollout to May 15.

WhatsApp has decided to delay the rollout of its new policy update to May 15 after massive criticism from users globally, including India, over concerns that data was being shared with its parent company Facebook, PTI reported. The move assumes significance for users in India given that the country is among the biggest markets for WhatsApp with over 400 million users. In a blog post, WhatsApp said it is moving back the date on which people will be asked to review and accept the terms. No one will have their account suspended or deleted on February 8. We’re also going to do a lot more to clear up the misinformation around how privacy and security works on WhatsApp. They will then go to people gradually to review the policy at their own pace before new business options are available on May 15, it said in the blog post. A raging debate ensued after WhatsApp said it will update its terms of service and privacy policy around how it processes user data and partners with Facebook to offer integrations across the social media giant’s products. Concerned about the privacy of their data, many users have thronged to rival messaging platforms such as Signal and Telegram that have seen millions of downloads in the past few days. WhatsApp rival Telegram has added 25 million new users in the last few days and while it did not specify India-specific user numbers, it said 38% of the new users are from Asia, followed by Europe (27%), Latin America (21%) and MENA (the Middle East and North Africa at 8%). Signal, too, is hoping to capitalise on the opportunities in India with its simple and straightforward terms of service and privacy policy.

NIA summons 40 persons to be examined as ‘witnesses’ in fresh case against Sikhs for Justice.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has summoned around 40 persons to be examined as ‘witnesses’ in a fresh case registered against the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a foreign-based group that advocates secessionist and pro-Khalistani activities in India. A senior government official said the summons was served to ascertain details relating to the investigation. The notices sent on January 15 include those sent to a farm leader, a TV journalist, a cable TV operator, tourist bus owner, an actor, a sweet shop owner and other businessmen, who have been asked to appear at the NIA’s Delhi headquarters from January 18-21. The Hindu spoke to some of the persons summoned by the NIA. Jasveer Singh Muktsar, a journalist with the U.K.-based TV channel KTV, who has been covering the protests at Delhi border said that he have been asked to appear before the NIA on January 18. He shall be going there with his legal team. He do not know why he have been summoned. He is a journalist covering the protest. Punjabi actor Deep Sidhu, who campaigned for BJP’s Sunny Deol in the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha constituency during the 2019 general elections, has been summoned to appear on Sunday. Ranjit Singh of the Damdami Taksal, Amritsar, said he and his friends have organised several langars (food stalls) at Tikri and Singhu border and also distributed books and other items there. 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Sri Lanka’s Tamil parties seek international mechanism to probe ‘war crimes’

Sri Lanka’s main Tamil political parties have sought an international probe, including at the International Criminal Court (ICC), into allegations of human rights abuses during the civil war, deeming there is no scope for a domestic process that can genuinely deal with accountability. In a joint letter dated January 15, 2021 and addressed to members of the UN Human Rights Council, they observed that leaders across the political spectrum in Sri Lanka including from both the major political parties have categorically and without exception stated that they will protect the Sri Lankan armed forces from prosecutions. It is now time for Member States to acknowledge that there is no scope for a domestic process that can genuinely deal with accountability in Sri Lanka. Significantly, different Tamil political parties that were until now fiercely critical of each other’s strategies political or regarding accountability appear to have reached a consensus ahead of the 46th session of the Council (February 22 to March 19).

B) Five Hong Kong activists who fled the city seek asylum in U.S.

Five Hong Kong democracy protesters who reportedly fled to Taiwan have arrived in the United States intending to seek asylum, an activist group said on Saturday. Their escape follows the mass arrest of democracy figures in Hong Kong under a new national security law that is part of a mounting crackdown by China on the financial hub. The Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC), a U.S. based group, said it had welcomed a group of young activists to America this week and their journey had been arduous and perilous. The activists, all under the age of 30, took part in the ongoing pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, faced protest-related arrests and charges, and fled the city by boat last July, Samuel Chu, founder of HKDC, told AFP. Through a statement issued by the HKDC, the five activists now in exile said their hearts have been filled with anxiety and all kinds of emotions from the moment they left Hong Kong. After massive democracy protests across Hong Kong in 2019 in which more than 11,000 people were arrested, Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law late last June to silence dissent. In August, another group of 12 Hong Kong activists made an attempt to flee by speedboat to Taiwan but were arrested by Chinese coastguards. Last month, a Chinese court jailed 10 of these 12 fugitives for up to three years for organising and participating in an illegal border crossing.

C) Museveni wins 6th term, amid allegations of rigged election.

Uganda’s Electoral Commission said on Saturday that President Yoweri Museveni won a sixth five-year term, extending his rule to four decades, while top opposition challenger Bobi Wine dismissed cooked-up, fraudulent results and officials struggled to explain how polling results were compiled amid an Internet blackout. In a generational clash watched across the African continent with a booming young population and a host of ageing leaders, the 38year-old singer-turned-lawmaker Mr. Wine posed arguably Mr. Museveni’s greatest challenge yet. The self-described ghetto president had strong support in urban centers where frustration with unemployment and corruption is high. He has claimed victory. In a phone interview from his home. which he said was surrounded by soldiers, Mr. Wine urged the international community to please call Gen. Museveni to order by withholding aid. imposing sanctions and using Magnit sky legislation to hold alleged human rights users accountable. Mr. Wine repeated that all legal options are being considered, including challenging the results in court and calling for peaceful protests. The Electoral Commission said Mr. Museveni received 58% of ballots and Mr. Wine 34%, and voter turnout was 52%, in a process that the top U.S. diplomat to Africa called fundamentally flawed. The vote followed the East African country’s worst pre-election violence since the 76-year-old Mr. Museveni took office in 1986.

D) Pelosi tasks General with security review.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy pelexsi said on Friday that re tired General Russel Honore, who coordinated the Hurricane Katrina response will oversee an immediate security review at the U.S. Capitol following last week’s deadly riot by a pro- Trump mob. She also said there was strong interest in Congress for a 9/11 style investigation of the unprecedented attack on the Capitol that has been described as an insurrection. and which led to the swift second impeachment Wednesday of President Donald Trump. But Ms. Pelosi declined to reveal when she will send the article of impeachment  for incitement of insurrection over to the Senate. a process that would trigger a trial of the President. Five people died in the violent unrest generated by Mr. Trump’s supporters. whom he urged to march on Congress and fight like hell to save the country and Stop president-elect Joe Biden from taking office on January.  She described Gen. Honore as a respected leader with experience dealing with crises, including the military relief response along the Gulf Coast when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005. The 80 year-old speaker said that while the entire Congress remained passionate in its reaction to the deadly Capitol violence. If in fact it is found that members of Congress were accomplices to this insurrection, it they aided and abetted the crime. Ms. Pelosi said that there may have to be actions taken beyond the Congress in terms of prosecution.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
16 January 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) No breakthrough in Centre-farm union talks.

The ninth round of talks between the Centre and farmers unions on Friday failed to break the impasse over the demand to repeal the three contentious farm reform laws. Its main achievement was to establish that these direct dialogues will continue, in parallel with the Supreme Court-appointed panel’s proceedings on the same issue. In fact, the date for the tenth round of talks was set for January 19, the same day as the court-appointed panel is likely to hold its own first meeting. The protesting farm unions have refused to participate in the proceedings of the court-appointed committee, but were apprehensive that the Centre would use the court’s order as an excuse to end the direct negotiation process. However, it has now been agreed that this process will continue. A solution can emerge from the Centre’s talks with farmers as well as from the court-appointed panel’s deliberations, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told journalists after the meeting. He emphasized that the Centre is fully committed to the Supreme Court’s order and will present its perspective to the court-appointed panel when invited to do so. He accepted that the unions wish to continue their own dialogue with the government alone, but emphasized the court is the supreme authority in the country, and that its panel would also work in the interests of farmers’ welfare. Earlier, the farmer unions also raised allegations of government intimidation and harassment against their movement and its supporters. The Haryana government has filed FIRs against protestors there, while the National Intelligence Agency, which comes under the Union Home Ministry, has been interrogating Punjab transporters who provide logistics support to the transporters, said Rakesh Tikait, who heads one faction of the Bharatiya Kisan Union. On their side, the unions explicitly clarified that their movement has nothing to do with the Sikhs for Justice organization, which has been making inflammatory statements.

B) Supreme Court to hear farmers’ protests case on Monday. 

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the farmers’ protests case on Monday amid media reports that one of the four members of its expert committee, set up on January 12 to negotiate between the government and farmers, has recused himself. The case list on January 18 shows that the court is to pass orders/directions on a plea by the government to injunct protesters from holding tractor marches to disrupt the Republic Day celebrations on January 26. There is also a change in the composition of judges on the Bench sitting on Monday. The Bench, though still headed by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde, would have Justices L. Nageswara Rao and Vineet Saran as puisne judges. The Bench, on January 12, when it had stayed the implementation of the three farm laws and formed the committee, had Justices A.S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian accompany the CJI. The Supreme Court has agreed to examine a plea made by the Centre seeking an injunction order against any proposed tractor, trolley or vehicle march or any other kind of protest by farmers to disrupt the Republic Day events. The Supreme Court has agreed to examine a plea made by the Centre seeking an injunction order against any proposed tractor, trolley or vehicle march or any other kind of protest by farmers to disrupt the Republic Day events. It is to be seen whether the court on Monday would take note of the recusal of Bhupinder Singh Mann, National President, Bhartiya Kisan Union and All India Kisan Coordination Committee, from the expert panel. The committee is supposed to start work in 10 days and submit a report in two months. However, the stated objective of the Monday hearing is to address the Centre’s apprehension about protesters disrupting the Republic Day ceremonies. It has come to the knowledge of the security agencies through various sources that a small group of protesting individuals/organisations have planned to carry out a tractor/trolley/vehicle march on Republic Day. The proposed march is slated to disturb and disrupt the August celebrations of the nation on Republic Day and would be bound to create a massive law and order situation, the government application has said.

C) WhatsApp chats between Arnab Goswami and ex-BARC CEO leaked.

Transcripts of WhatsApp conversations between Republic TV’s editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami and Partho Dasgupta, the former CEO of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), which were part of a supplementary charge sheet filed by the Mumbai Police in the TRP-fixing case, were leaked today and were trending on social media. The transcripts of the WhatsApp messages intercepted via Dasgupta’s phone, running into more than 1,000 pages, show many instances of him asking Goswami to reach out to the government on his behalf. In one such instance, April 4, 2019, just days before the general elections, Dasgupta asked Goswami to stall the Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRAI)’s proposal to make the BARC’s viewing data public instead of just supplying them to the channels. Dasgupta tells Goswami that if the data is made public, many channels could be blacked out by Multi System Operators (MSOs) and Local Cable Operators (LCOs). With public data MSOs and LCOs will push you guys for more carriage, Dasgupta says. At this, Goswami assures him that when the BJP government returns to power after the 2019 elections, the TRAI won’t have teeth. He also asks Dasgupta to send him points on how these reforms could politically hurt the government. There are also many instances in the transcripts that show Goswami boasting about his proximity to the PMO and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, with him detailing his visits to Delhi to meet various ministers. There is another instance where he says that all the ministers are with them. Goswami also complains about other news channels getting better ratings than his and Dasgupta assures him that necessary steps will be taken to clean the data. Posting a screenshot of the chats, senior Supreme Court lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan tweeted that these are a few snapshots of the damning leaked WhatsApp chats between BARC CEO & #ArnabGoswami. They show many conspiracies & unprecedented access to power in this govt; gross abuse of his media & his position as power broker. In any Rule of law country, he would be in jail for long.

D) Indian scientists divided over nod for Covaxin. 

While 3,000 sites across India are all set to vaccinate 300 million high-risk individuals, beginning with healthcare workers from January 16, scientists and doctors are divided over the restricted use approval granted to the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, a Covid-19 vaccine. In a tweet on January 14, the Health Ministry said both Covishield and Covaxin, approved for restricted use by the Indian regulator, are safe. The Health Ministry released a statement made by four-dozen scientists and doctors in India who collectively assure the safety of both the vaccines. After Gagandeep Kang, Professor of Microbiology at CMC Vellore, told The Hindu that she will not take Covaxin in the absence of efficacy data, 12 other scientists, including Partha P. Majumder from the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, Kalyani, have issued a statement asking for efficacy data before vaccination. While acknowledging the safety and the promising immunogenicity data of Covaxin, they said: It is imperative that relevant data from the larger Phase-3 trial become available before administering the vaccine to large numbers of people. Providing a vaccine without adequate efficacy data can lead to a false sense of security among vaccine recipients. They also added a greater degree of transparency prior to the start of the vaccination programme is essential. This is especially true for Covaxin, for which phase-3 safety and efficacy data are not yet available.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Mounting pressure on China, U.S. blacklists Xiaomi, CNOOC.

The U.S. government has blacklisted Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp. and China’s third-largest national oil company for alleged military links, heaping pressure on Beijing in President Donald Trump’s last week in office. The Department of Defense added nine companies to its list of Chinese firms with military links, including Xiaomi and state-owned plane manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (Comac). U.S. investors will have to divest their stakes in Chinese companies on the military list by November this year, according to an executive order signed by Mr. Trump last November. Xiaomi did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Apple Inc. as the world’s No. 3 smartphone maker by sales in the third quarter of 2020, according to data by Gartner. Separately, the Commerce Department put China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) on the entity list, an economic blacklist that forbids U.S. firms from exporting or transferring technology with the companies named unless permission has been obtained from the U.S. government. The move comes after about 60 Chinese companies were added to the list in December, including drone maker DJI and semiconductor firm SMIC. CNOOC has been involved in offshore drilling in the disputed waters South China Sea, where Beijing has overlapping territorial claims with other countries including Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Taiwan, and Malaysia. China’s reckless and belligerent actions in the South China Sea and its aggressive push to acquire sensitive intellectual property and technology for its militarization efforts are a threat to U.S. national security and the security of the international community, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said. CNOOC acts as a bully for the People’s Liberation Army to intimidate China’s neighbours, he added.

B) After U.S., Russia pulls out of Open Skies treaty.

Russia announced on Friday it was pulling out of the Open Skies treaty, saying that the pact, which allows unarmed surveillance flights over member countries, had been seriously compromised by the withdrawal of the United States. The move, announced by Russia’s Foreign Ministry, comes days before U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s January 20 inauguration amid fears of a burgeoning arms race. Moscow’s last major nuclear arms pact with Washington is set to expire next month. The United States left the Open Skies arms control and verification treaty in November, accusing Russia of violating it, something Moscow denied. Russia said in a statement that Moscow had made specific proposals to other members to mitigate against the impact of the U.S. exit but that those proposals were not backed by Washington’s allies. Moscow will formally notify other member states about its exit once it has completed unspecified withdrawal procedures at home, it said. The exit process usually takes months to be finalised. Sharing of intelligence Russia has raised concerns that despite leaving the treaty Washington could potentially retain access to overflight intelligence gathered by allies who remain members in the treaty. The Kommersant newspaper reported earlier that Moscow had tried to get guarantees from other countries that they would not share such intelligence with the U.S. but had not been given any assurances. Arms control tensions have been rising between Moscow and Washington and New START, their last remaining major nuclear arms control treaty, is set to expire in February. Mr. Biden has said he’s keen to renew it but it remains unclear for how long.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
15 January 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Modi to launch vaccination drive on January 16. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the pan-India rollout of COVID-19 vaccination drive on January 16 at 10:30 am via video conferencing, said a release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office on Thursday. It added that this will be the world’s largest vaccination programme covering the entire length and breadth of the country. A total of 3006 session sites across all States and UTs will be virtually connected during the launch. Around 100 beneficiaries will be vaccinated at each session site on the inaugural day, said the release. The vaccination programme will use Co-WIN, an online digital platform developed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which will facilitate real time information of vaccine stocks, storage temperature and individualised tracking of beneficiaries for COVID-19 vaccine. This digital platform will assist programme managers across all levels while conducting vaccination sessions. A dedicated 24×7 call centre – 1075 – has also been established for addressing the queries related to COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine rollout and the Co-WIN software. Adequate doses of both COVISHIELD and COVAXIN have already been delivered across the country to all States/UTs with the active support of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. These have been further delivered by the State/UT governments to the districts. All preparations are in place to initiate the programme on the principles of Jan Bhagidari, added the release.

B) No foreign leader as chief guest for Republic Day this year. 

For the first time in several decades, India’s Republic Day festivities will be held at Rajpath without a foreign leader as chief guest. Due to the global COVID-19 situation, it was decided not to have a foreign head of state or head of government as R-Day chief guest, Anurag Srivastava, Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs said at a regular media briefing in New Delhi on Thursday. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was supposed to be the chief guest for this year’s Republic Day event. However, he had to cancel his visit owing to the COVID-19 situation in his country. Foreign leaders have graced the Republic Day parades every year barring 1952, 1953 and 1966. The then Indonesian President Sukarno was the first chief guest to grace Republic Day in 1950. In 2020, Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro was the chief guest. In 2018, the entire Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leadership comprising 10 heads of states were present in the Republic Day parade.

C) BKU leader Mann recuses himself from SC committee on farm laws. 

Bhartiya Kisan Union president Bhupinder Singh Mann on Thursday said he is recusing himself from the four-member committee appointed by the Supreme Court to resolve the impasse between farmers and the Centre over the new agri-marketing laws. Farmer unions and opposition parties had raised doubts over the composition of the panel, insisting that its members have been in favour of the three laws in the past. Mr. Mann said he is thankful to the apex court for nominating him on the panel but would give up any position to prevent farmers’ interests from being compromised. As a farmer myself and a union leader, in view of the prevailing sentiments and apprehensions amongst the farm unions and the public in general, he is ready to sacrifice any position offered or given to him so as to not compromise the interests of Punjab and farmers of the country, he said in a statement. The apex court had on Tuesday stayed the implementation of the three central laws till further orders and announced the formation of a committee to hear the grievances of the farmers and the opinion of the government. Apart from Mr. Mann , Shetkari Sanghatana (Maharashtra) president Anil Ghanwat, International Food Policy Research Institute’s Pramod Kumar Joshi and agriculture economist Ashok Gulati were appointed on the panel.

D) Google removes some personal loan apps from Playstore amidst concerns. 

Google on Thursday said it had removed some personal loan apps from its application store after reviewing hundreds of such apps for violation of user safety policies. The move follows reports over many such applications, who are not authorised lenders, targeting vulnerable borrowers to offer loans at very high interest rates and then using extreme measures for recovery of money. They have reviewed hundreds of personal loan apps in India, based on flags submitted by users and government agencies. The apps that were found to violate their user safety policies were immediately removed from the Store, and they have asked the developers of the remaining identified apps to demonstrate that they comply with applicable local laws and regulations, Suzanne Frey, vice-president, Product, Android Security and Privacy, said in a blog post. She added that the apps that failed to do so would be removed without further notice. Google, she said, would continue to assist the law enforcement agencies in their investigation of this issue. Personal loan apps have received attention recently, and we wanted to clarify the action we have taken on these apps on Google Play, she said.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Donald Trump becomes first U.S. President to be impeached twice.

President Donald Trump was impeached by the U.S. House for a historic second time on January 13, charged with incitement of insurrection over the deadly mob siege of the Capitol in a swift and stunning collapse of his final days in office. With the Capitol secured by armed National Guard troops inside and out, the House voted 232-197 to impeach Mr. Trump. The proceedings moved at lightning speed, with lawmakers voting just one week after violent pro-Mr. Trump loyalists stormed the U.S. Capitol, urged on by the President’s calls for them to fight like hell against the election results. Ten Republicans voted to impeach Mr. Trump, joining Democrats who said he needed to be held accountable and warned ominously of a clear and present danger if Congress should leave him unchecked before Democrat Joe Biden’s inauguration Jan. 20.

B) Mr. Trump is the only U.S. President to be twice impeached.

The Capitol insurrection stunned and angered lawmakers, who were sent scrambling for safety as the mob descended. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi invoked Abraham Lincoln and the Bible, imploring lawmakers to uphold their oath to defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic. She said of Mr. Trump: He must go, he is a clear and present danger to the nation that they all love. The soonest Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell would start an impeachment trial is next Tuesday, the day before Mr. Trump is already set to leave the White House, Mr. McConnell’s office said. The legislation is also intended to prevent Mr. Trump from ever running again.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
14 January 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Agri Ministry denies RTI query on farm law consultations, claiming it is sub-judice.

The Agriculture Ministry has denied a Right to Information (RTI) request for details on pre-legislative consultations on the farm reform laws, saying the matter is sub judice. In its response, the Ministry cited the clause from the RTI Act that exempts information which has been expressly forbidden to be published by a court of law or whose disclosure would amount to contempt of court. This comes after an earlier response claiming that the Ministry did not have any record of such consultations. RTI activist Anjali Bhardwaj had filed her request on December 11, asking for specific details regarding stakeholder consultations held before the Centre promulgated three ordinances on agricultural reforms in June. Within the 30-day period given to respond, two Central Public Information Officers in the agricultural marketing divisions of the Ministry disposed of her request, saying that they did not have any record of such consultations. On January 13, Bhardwaj received a fresh response from a CPIO who had previously passed on the request. It is informed that the information being sought for has been challenged in various Hon’ble High Courts as well as Hon’ble Supreme Court of India. As such being a sub-judice matter it may not be feasible at this moment to provide information under Section 8(1)(b) of RTI Act, 2005, said the CPIO, adding that the delay in providing a reply is due to the Covid-19 situation.

B) Adultery can’t be decriminalised for armed forces, govt. tells SC. 

The Supreme Court on Wednesday admitted a petition filed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) seeking to exempt armed forces personnel from the ambit of a Constitution Bench judgment of 2018 that decriminalised adultery. A three-judge Bench led by Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman said the plea had to be considered by a Constitution Bench because the original verdict, striking down Section 497 (adultery) of the Indian Penal Code, was pronounced by a five-judge Bench in September 2018. The court referred the case to the Chief Justice of India to pass appropriate orders to form a five-judge Bench to clarify the impact of the 2018 judgment on the armed forces. The government said in the petition that personnel of the Army, Navy and the Air Force were a distinct class. They were governed by special legislations, the Army Act, the Navy Act, and the Air Force Act. Adultery amounted to an unbecoming conduct and a violation of discipline under these three Acts. These special laws imposed restrictions on the fundamental rights of the personnel, who function in a peculiar situation requiring utmost discipline. The three laws were protected by Article 33 of the Constitution, which allowed the government to modify the fundamental rights of the armed forces personnel. The judgment of 2018 created instability, it said, because it allowed a peronnel charged with carrying on an adulterous or illicit relationship to take cover under the judgment. Discipline necessary for the performance of duty, crucial for national safety, would break down and the provisions of the Acts should be allowed to continue to govern the personnel as a distinct class, irrespective of the 2018 judgment, the petition argued.

C) Publication of notice under Special Marriage Act optional; mandatory notice invades privacy: Allahabad HC.

In a significant judgment affecting interfaith couples seeking to get married under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, the Allahabad High Court has ruled that it would be optional and not mandatory for them to publish a notice about their intended marriage. The provision for mandatory publication of notice, derived through simplistic reading of the particular law, would invade the fundamental rights of liberty and privacy, including within its sphere freedom to choose for marriage without interference from state and non-state actors, of the persons concerned, the court said in a judgment delivered on January 12. Since the matter relates to protection of fundamental rights of a large number of persons, the judge directed the senior registrar of the court to send a copy of the order to U.P. Chief Secretary. The same is to be communicated to all the marriage officers in the State and other concerned authorities as expeditiously as possible. Justice Vivek Chaudhary mandated that while giving notice under Section 5 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954, it shall be optional for the parties to the intended marriage to make a request in writing to the marriage officer to publish or not to publish a notice under Section 6 and follow the procedure of objections as prescribed under the Act. In case they do not make such a request for publication of notice in writing, while giving notice under Section 5 of the Act, the Marriage Officer shall not publish any such notice or entertain objections to the intended marriage and proceed with the solemnisation of the marriage, the court said. The requirement of publication of notice under Section 6 and inviting or entertaining objections under Section 7 can only be read as directory in nature, to be given effect only on request of parties to the intended marriage and not otherwise, the court observed in a 47-page judgment.

E) Govt defers polio immunisation programme. 

The National Polio immunisation programme, as part of which children in the age group of 0-5 years are administered polio drops, has been deferred till further notice by the Centre citing unforeseen activities. The National Immunisation Day (NID), commonly known as Pulse Polio Immunisation programme, was scheduled for January 17 across India. The Union Health Ministry has communicated the decision to defer the polio immunisation programme to all states through a letter on January 9. This is to inform that due to unforeseen activities, it is decided to postpone the scheduled Polio NID (National Immunisation Day) round from January 17, 2021 till further notice, stated the letter sent to the Principal Secretary in the Health department of all states. Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan had said on January 8 that polio immunisation will be carried out on January 17. The country will launch its Covid-19 vaccination drive from January 16.

F) HAL to make 83 jets for IAF in biggest indigenous defence deal.

In what is effectively the largest procurement deal for an indigenous defence product, the Cabinet Committee on Security which met on Wednesday approved the procurement of 83 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) MK-1A for the Indian Air Force (IAF). The aircraft will be manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The CCS chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today approved the largest indigenous defence procurement deal, worth about ₹48,000 crore, to strengthen IAF’s fleet of homegrown fighter jet LCA-Tejas, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in a tweet. This deal will be a game changer for self-reliance in Indian defence manufacturing, he added. The indigenous content of LCA-Tejas is 50% in MK-1A variant, and it will be further enhanced to 60%, Singh said. The first LCA MK-1A is expected to roll out in 2023-24, after which HAL plans to ramp up the production rate to 16 aircraft per year.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) U.S. House of Representatives opens Donald Trump impeachment session. 

The Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday opened debate on a historic second impeachment of President Donald Trump over his supporters’ attack of the Capitol that left five dead. Lawmakers in the lower chamber are expected to vote for impeachment around 3 p.m. ET on Wednesday (1.30 a.m. IST on Thursday), marking the formal opening of proceedings against Trump. Trump is on the verge of being impeached for a second time in the unprecedented House vote, a week after he encouraged a mob of loyalists to fight like hell against election results just before they stormed the U.S. Capitol in a deadly siege. While Trump’s first impeachment in 2019 brought no Republican votes in the House, a small but significant number of leaders and lawmakers are breaking with the party to join Democrats, saying Trump violated his oath to protect and defend U.S. democracy. If inviting a mob to insurrection against your own government is not an impeachable event, then what is?said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., a drafter of the article of impeachment. Trump, who would become the only U.S. President twice impeached, faces a single charge of incitement of insurrection. At least five Republican lawmakers, including third-ranking House GOP leader Liz Cheney of Wyoming, announced they would vote to impeach Trump, cleaving the Republican leadership, and the party itself. The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack, Cheney said in a statement. There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.

B) Trump is a clear and present danger : Pelosi. 

President Donald Trump is on the verge of being impeached for a second time in a fast-moving House vote, just a week after he encouraged loyalists to tight like hell against election results and then a mob of his supporters stormed the US. Capitol. During debate on Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked Republicans and Democrats to search their souls ahead of the historic afternoon vote. Mr. Trump would be the first American president to be impeached twice. Trump must go, Ms. pelosi said. He is a clear and present danger to the nation we all love. A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Republican leader would not agree to bring the chamber back immediately, ensuring a Senate trial could begin at least until January 19, a day before the inauguration of President elect Joe Biden. While Mr. Trump’s first impeachment in 2019 brought no Republican votes the House, several GOP leaders and other lawmakers are breaking with the party to join democrats this time, saying Mr. Trump violated his oath to protect and defend U.S. democracy.