Tag: latest Current Affairs

CURRENT AFFAIRS
31 December 2020

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Union Ministers meet farmer groups to break deadlock over agri laws. 

The government and farm unions reached some common ground on December 30 to resolve protesting farmers’ concerns over rise in power tariff and penalties for stubble burning, but the two sides remained deadlocked over the main contentious issues of the repeal of three farm laws and a legal guarantee for MSP. After nearly five hours of the sixth round of negotiations between three Union Ministers and a 41-member representative group of thousands farmers protesting on Delhi borders, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said at least 50% resolution has been reached with mutual agreement on two out of four items on the agenda and discussions would continue on the remaining two on January 4. Discussions on the three farm laws and MSP are continuing and will continue in the next round of talks on January 4, Mr. Tomar told reporters after the meeting. He said talks were held in a cordial atmosphere and the two sides reached an agreement on two issues one relating to the proposed electricity law and the other about an ordinance on penal provisions for stubble burning.

B) Farmers don’t trust PM Modi, says Rahul Gandhi.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged that farmers do not trust Prime Minister Narendra Modi due to his long history of ‘asatyagraha’ and shared an online survey asking people why the PM was not repealing the farm laws. 15 lakh in every bank account and 2 crore jobs every year’, ‘Give me 50 days time, else, they will win war against corona in 21 days’, ‘Neither has anyone intruded into their territory nor took over any post’. Farmers don’t trust Modi ji due to his long history of ‘asatyagraha’, he tweeted. The former Congress president also shared an online survey with the statement, Mr. Modi is refusing to repeal the anti-farmer laws because he is and gave four options: “anti-farmer”, “run by crony capitalists”, “arrogant” and “all of the above”. At the time of publishing this newsletter, the survey had garnered 74,000 votes, with 69.6% picking all of the above. Gandhi is currently abroad visiting an ailing relative and also meeting his maternal grandmother. The Congress has been demanding a repeal of the three farm laws.

C) BJP inducts Shaheen Bagh shooter, expels him soon after. 

In a dramatic turn of events, Kapil Gujjar, who fired shots in the air in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh in February amidst the nationwide anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protests, joined the BJP on Wednesday at the party’s Ghaziabad office. But hours later his membership was revoked. Sanjeev Sharma, district president of the BJP, told that he didn’t have information about Gujjar’s past. He came with supporters to join the party. They didn’t know about his criminal antecedents. As soon as they realised, they cancelled his membership, said Sharma, who could be seen draping Gujjar with a saffron stole in photographs. In the videos of February 1, Gujjar could be heard saying, in our country, only Hindus will prevail, none else. He fired two-three shots in the air before being nabbed by the police. He was released on bail. After joining the party, Gujjar told reporters that the BJP was working to strengthen Hindutva and that’s why he had joined the party. Interestingly, when the videos emerged in February, the BJP had said his family had links with the Aam Aadmi Party.

D) Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments. 

The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 1,02,61,399 with the death toll at 1,48,721. A total of 20 persons have been found with the mutant variant of the SARS- CoV-2 virus reported in the United Kingdom, the Health Ministry confirmed on Wednesday. In all, 107 samples were tested in 10 labs. Meanwhile, the suspension on flights to and from the U.K. has been extended till Jan 7, 2021, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri said on Twitter. Thereafter strictly regulated resumption will take place for which details will be announced shortly, he added. The ban on scheduled international flights, which came into effect in March and was supposed to end on December 31, has been extended till January 31, 2021. However, limited international flights under the ‘travel bubble’ arrangement will continue.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) In positive news for India, U.K. approves Oxford vaccine for ‘emergency use’

AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine has been approved for emergency supply in the United Kingdom, with the first doses being released on Wednesday, the company said in a statement. The ‘emergency use authorisation (EUA)’ is for the active immunisation of individuals 18 years or older, and recommends two doses with an interval of between four and 12 weeks. This regimen was shown in clinical trials to be safe and effective at preventing symptomatic Covid-19, with no severe cases and no hospitalisations more than 14 days after the second dose, the statement noted. The authorisation in the U.K. is significant for India, as the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) has tied up with AstraZeneca to deploy the vaccine in India. India’s drug regulators, on December 9, asked the SII to furnish more evidence of the vaccine’s efficacy after the company applied for a EUA in India. A EUA allows an organisation to launch a vaccine without putting it through the full range of tests that a new untested vaccine must usually go through. A scientist connected to the approval process of new vaccines told The Hindu that the committee is expected to deliberate on the SII’s application on Wednesday and review the data on the basis of which the EUA was granted in the U.K. A nod from the regulators in the U.K. or the U.S. works very favourably for the SII, the scientist said. Were Indian regulators to approve, at least 50 million doses of the vaccine would be available to Indians and would go some way to aid the nearly 300 million priority individuals healthcare workers, police personnel, those with co-morbid disease conditions who are expected to be inoculated in the first half of the 2021. Unlike the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the ‘Oxford vaccine’ doesn’t require sub-zero refrigeration and is reportedly more suitable for distribution in India. AstraZeneca aims to supply millions of doses in the first quarter as part of an agreement with the government to supply up to 100 million doses in total.

B) U.S. nurse contracts Covid-19 more than a week after taking Pfizer vaccine. 

A nurse in California tested positive for Covid-19 more than a week after receiving Pfizer Inc’s vaccine, Reuters reported, citing a story by an ABC News affiliate. A medical expert has opined that the body needed more time to build up protection using the vaccine. Matthew W., 45, a nurse at two different local hospitals, had said in a Facebook post on December 18 that he had received the Pfizer vaccine, and his arm was sore for a day but there were no other side-effects. But six days later, on Christmas Eve, he became sick after working a shift in the Covid-19 unit. He got the chills and later came down with muscle aches and fatigue. He went to a drive-up hospital testing site and tested positive for Covid-19 the day after Christmas, the ABC affiliate’s report said. Christian Ramers, an infectious disease specialist, said that this scenario was not unexpected. They know from the vaccine clinical trials that it’s going to take about 10 to 14 days for them to start developing protection from the vaccine, Ramers said. That first dose gives them somewhere around 50%, and they need that second dose to get up to 95%, Ramers added.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
30 December 2020

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Farmers write to Centre, insist that repeal of reform laws shall be first on the agenda of Dec 30 talks. Protesting farmer unions on Tuesday wrote to the Centre on the talks scheduled between the two sides tomorrow, saying the discussion will only be on the modalities of repealing the three legislations and providing a legal guarantee on the MSP. The government has invited the protesting farmers for the sixth round of talks on Wednesday. In its letter on Tuesday, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, which represents 40 farmer unions, said the discussion will be only on modalities for the repeal of three farm laws and a legal guarantee on MSP. The Morcha further said the agenda of the meeting should also include amendments to be made and notified in the Commission for the Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Ordinance, 2020 to exclude farmers from its penal provisions. Through the letter, the Morcha also formally accepted the government’s invitation for the dialogue. Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has offered to set up free WiFi hotspots at the Singhu border for the protesting farmers. Addressing a press conference, AAP leader Raghav Chadha said on Tuesday that they want the farmers to stay in touch with their family. They have identified a few spots to install the WiFi hotspots. This is an initiative of Arvind Kejriwal and the party. Farmers from various parts of the country have been camping at different border points of Delhi for over a month now to demand repeal of the three agriculture laws, which were pushed through Parliament in September amid strong protests by Opposition parties.

B) Rajinikanth opts out of entering politics, citing health, Covid-19.

Tamil superstar Rajinikanth on Tuesday announced that he will not be starting a political party and entering the electoral fray as his health condition does not permit him to engage in full-scale political activity amidst a pandemic. The actor was recently admitted to Apollo Hospitals in Hyderabad due to severe fluctuations in his blood pressure and advised bed rest for a week. Rajinikanth had on December 3 said that he would announce on December 31 the date for the launch of his proposed political party and float it in January next. However, on Tuesday, he tweeted a letter opting out of politics and apologised to his fans and Rajini Makkal Mandram (RMM) members for disappointing them with his decision. The announcement has taken many by surprise, with the BJP hoping that even if not through a formal political party, the star would throw his influence behind the NDA in Tamil Nadu ahead of Assembly polls early next year. C T Ravi, the BJP’s national general secretary in charge of Tamil Nadu said Rajinikanth’s decision was his private affair but the NDA was still hoping for a declaration of support from the latter, despite the cancelled plans for a political party.  The BJP had hoped that the charismatic actor would add his considerable popularity to its efforts while many in the rival camps questioned his political moorings and ideological leanings. The party has tied up with the ruling AIADMK for the upcoming Assembly polls, and while it hasn’t on its own managed much traction on the ground, it was counting on Rajinikanth’s massive fan following to introduce a third element in the largely bipolar polity of the State. That hope is now over. 

C) Karnataka Legislative Council deputy chairman found dead on rail track. 

Karnataka Legislative Council Deputy Chairman S.L. Dharme Gowda was found dead on a rail track in Chikkamagaluru district of Karnataka in the early hours of Tuesday, with police sources claiming he died by suicide. The body was found on a rail track near Gunasagara in Kadur taluk, they said. Dharme Gowda, 64, who was an MLC from JD(S), is survived by his wife, son and a daughter. His brother, S L Bhoje Gowda, is also an MLC. According to sources, Gowda had left his farmhouse at Sakharayapattana in a private car on Tuesday evening but did not return home, following which his family members and staff started searching for him. He had reportedly asked his driver to stay at a distance and went alone on the pretext of talking to someone, the sources said, adding that a suicide note has been recovered.

D) Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa expressed shock over the incident, terming it unfortunate.

Gujarat BJP’s senior-most parliamentarian and former Union Minister Mansukh Vasava on Tuesday resigned from the party in protest against a MoEFCC (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change) notification declaring 121 villages of Narmada district as ‘eco-sensitive zone’ in his constituency, Bharuch. He claimed that this notification would affect farmers and local tribals. The prominent tribal leader said he would resign from the Lok Sabha in the budget session of Parliament. Vasava, who belongs to the Vajpayee-Advani era of the BJP, has been a Lok Sabha member since 1998. He decided to resign from the party a week after he wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking the withdrawal of the Ministry notification. Vasava has been very vocal about the rights of the tribal people in Bharuch and Narmada districts . Last week, he had written to Modi, seeking his intervention to withdraw the Ministry order in the interest of farmers and local tribals. In his resignation letter to State BJP president C.R. Paatil, Vasava said that he is resigning so that the image of the party is not damaged because of his mistakes. He have been a loyal worker of the party. He will also submit his resignation to the Lok Sabha speaker during the budget session of the parliament. He posted the letter on his social media accounts besides sharing it with the local press.

E) Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments. 

The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 1,02,43,099 with the death toll at 1,48,465. A total of samples of 6 U.K.-returnees have been found to be positive with the variant of SARS- CoV-2 virus reported from U.K. 3 in NIMHANS, Bengaluru, 2 in CCMB, Hyderabad and 1 in NIV, Pune, said information released by the Health Ministry. It added that all these persons have been kept in single room isolation in designated health care facilities by respective state governments. Preliminary results from a cohort study found no statistically significant difference in hospitalisation and 28-day case fatality between cases with the new coronavirus variant (VOC 201212/01) and wild-type comparator cases. There was also no significant difference in the likelihood of reinfection between variant cases and the comparator group, said a second technical briefing report by Public Health England. Meanwhile, Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) on Tuesday said it has introduced a new 24×7 Covid-19 testing facility, which gives test results in a just 13 minutes at a cost of ₹ 4,500. Since its launch on December 15, CSMIA has witnessed an average of 30-35 such tests per day, it said in a release. A total of 400 express tests had been carried out at the airport till December 28, and these included passengers who had connecting flights to destinations outside Maharashtra, it said.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) U.K. flight ban likely to be extended. 

There could be a short extension of the ban on flights from the U.K. until the government gets a fuller picture of the new strain confirmed from as many as six passengers who arrived in India last week, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Hardeep Puri said on Tuesday. Once the genome sequencing is completed and they have a fuller picture, that will give them the confidence to open up flights again, Puri said at a press conference. The ban on Indian and British airlines providing services to the UK was imposed last week and is in force till December 31. On whether there would be a similar ban on flights from other countries such as South Africa where the strain has been confirmed, the Minister said that the government was monitoring the situation.

B) French fashion designer Pierre Cardin passes away.

French fashion designer Pierre Cardin, hailed for his visionary creations but also for bringing stylish clothes to the masses, died Tuesday aged 98. Cardin, who was born to a low-income family in northern Italy but became a France-based fashion superstar, died in a hospital in Neuilly in the west of Paris, his family said. It is a day of great sadness for all their family. Pierre Cardin is no more, the statement said. After a lifetime spanning a century, he had left France and the world a great unique artistic heritage and not only in fashion, it added. Born into poverty in 1922 near Venice in northern Italy, his family emigrated to France when he was a small child. Italian by birth, Pierre Cardin never forgot his origins while bringing unconditional love to France,” said his family. He grew up in the French industrial town of Saint Etienne and was apprenticed to a tailor in Vichy at the age of 17, already specialising in women’s suits. Moving to Paris, he designed the mesmerizing sets and costumes for the film Beauty and the Beast with poet, artist and director Jean Cocteau in 1947. After a stint with Christian Dior, he set up his own fashion label in 1950.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
29 December 2020

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Govt. invites farmers for talks on Dec 30

The Union government has invited protesting farmers’ groups to resume negotiations with a ministerial delegation on December 30. Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agarwal sent the invitation to 40 farmers’ organizations on Monday evening. However, the letter does not specifically reference the farmers’ key demand for repeal of the three reform laws. The Samyukt Kisan Morcha is set to hold an internal consultation to discuss their response. Agarwal noted that the farmers’ groups had communicated their willingness to hold discussions with an open mind. The Government of India is also committed to finding a logical solution of the relevant issues with an open mind and honest intentions, he said. Five rounds of talks have been held with the farmers, who have been protesting on Delhi’s borders for the past 33 days. Negotiations broke down on December 9, when farmers’ groups rejected the government’s proposal to amend the three contentious laws, insisting on their full repeal instead. Last week, Agriculture Ministry joint secretary Vivek Aggarwal wrote to the farmers’ groups urging them to resume negotiations, suggesting that they pick the date and the issues of their choosing to be discussed.

B) Karnataka cabinet approves anti-cow slaughter ordinance. 

The Karnataka cabinet on Monday decided to promulgate an ordinance to give effect to the contentious anti-cow slaughter Bill, which is yet to be approved by the legislative council. Once it comes into effect, there will be a blanket prohibition of slaughter of cows in the state. However, slaughter houses will continue to function and beef consumption will not be prohibited with respect to buffalo meat. Previously, there was a ban on slaughter of cows until the age of 13. We have extended it with an intention that older cows should not be left out. Since the prohibition does not extend to buffaloes, there is no ban on beef consumption, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy said. He added that the ordinance is likely to be sent to the Governor within a day for his assent. Earlier this month, the Karnataka Legislative Assembly had passed the Bill even as there was ruckus in the House. The BJP government could not table the Bill in the Karnataka Legislative Council. Despite being the largest party in the Council, it did not table the Bill saying it had no numbers on its side. The Congress party has opposed the Bill. Opposition Leader Siddaramaiah, had alleged that the bill was being brought in only for emotional reasons. It is draconian as it economically burdens the Dalits, OBCs and farmers. Each head of cattle consumes about 6 kg of fodder per day and how can a small farmer, who is on the brink of poverty, manage this, Siddaramaiah had demanded. Former Chief Minister and Janata Dal Secular (JDS) leader H D Kumaraswamy too had opposed the Bill and said that in 2010 when the BJP government introduced the anti-cow slaughter bill, we opposed it. Even now we are opposing the bill. There are several negative issues so we are opposing it.

C) JD(U) leader slams ‘love jihad’ laws, says they are an attempt to create an ‘atmosphere of hatred’

After its two-day national council meet, Bihar’s ruling party Janata Dal (United) slammed ‘love jihad’ laws and said there was an attempt to create an atmosphere of hatred and mistrust over love jihad in the country. Our Constitution says any two consenting adults can choose to be life partners irrespective of one’s religion or caste but an atmosphere of hatred and mistrust is being created in society in the name of love jihad, senior JD(U) leader K.C. Tyagi said. Socialists had upheld the right of adults to marry irrespective of caste and creed since the days of socialist leader Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, added Tyagi. He said the party was unhappy and anguished over the recent political developments in Arunachal Pradesh where six of the seven JD(U) MLAs had switched over to the ruling BJP. It was an unfriendly move by an alliance partner and against the spirit of coalition dharma, Tyagi said.

D) PM flags off India’s first driverless train. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated the country’s first driverless train on the Delhi Metro’s Magenta Line. Stating that unlike previous regimes, his government has taken steps towards urbanisation, Mr. Modi said that by 2025 metro services will expand to 25 cities across India from the current 18. In Delhi, discussions around the metro rail service went on for a long time but it became operational only during former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure. In 2014. only 248 km of metro lines were operational. Today, at 700 km, it is almost three times of what it was earlier. They are working to expand it to 1,700 km by 2025, said Mr. Modi. ‘Ease of living’ The Prime Minister said that the expanding metro network was an indication of ease of living among the citizens. In cities where passenger numbers are less, work is being done on the MetroLite version, Similarly, MetroNeo is being planned in cities where the ridership is less. It would be built at 25% cost of the normal metro. Also, for cities where there are large waterbodies, a system of Water Metro is being worked upon, he said. The National Common Mobility Card was also introduced by Mr. Modi for use on the Airport Express Line. The NCMC will give access to all modes of transport and will help do away with long queues for tokens, he said.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Trump signs policy to preempt China move on Dalai Lama. 

U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law a Bill which calls for establishing a U.S. consulate in Tibet and building an international coalition to ensure that the next Dalai Lama is appointed solely by the Tibetan Buddhist community, without China’s interference. The Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2020 modifies and re-authorizes various programmers and provisions related to Tibet. The U.S. Senate last week unanimously passed the Bill despite China’s protest. It authorises assistance to non-governmental organizations in support of Tibetan communities in Tibet, and places restrictions on new Chinese consulates in the United States until a U.S. consulate has been established in Lhasa, Tibet. The law now authorises the Office of the U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues and expands the office’s duties to include additional tasks such as pursuing international coalitions to ensure that the next Dalai Lama is appointed solely by the Tibetan Buddhist faith community. It also directs the Secretary of State not to open a new Chinese consulate in the U.S. unless China allows the opening of an American consulate in Lhasa.

B) After much delay, Trump signs $900 Billion Covid Relief Bill. 

President Donald Trump signed a $900 billion pandemic relief package on Sunday, ending days of drama over his refusal to accept the bipartisan deal, which will deliver long-sought cash to businesses and individuals and avert a federal government shutdown. Trump announced the signing in a statement on Sunday night where he conveyed his displeasure over the fact that the Covid-19 relief package included only $600 checks to most Americans. He is signing this bill to restore unemployment benefits, stop evictions, provide rental assistance, add money for PPP, return their airline workers back to work, add substantially more money for vaccine distribution, and much more, Trump said in a statement from his Christmas vacation at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. For days, Trump had refused to put his signature on the relief package approved overwhelmingly by Congress following months of negotiation, calling it a disgrace. He also complained about what he considered unnecessary spending by the government at large. But Trump’s eleventh-hour objections created turmoil because lawmakers had thought he was supportive of the bill, which had been negotiated for months with White House input. He will sign the Omnibus and Covid package with a strong message that makes clear to Congress that wasteful items need to be removed, Trump said in his statement.

C) China jails four journalists for Wuhan reporting. 

A Chinese court handed a four-year jail term on Monday to a citizen-journalist who reported from the central city of Wuhan at the peak of last year’s coronavirus outbreak, on grounds of picking quarrels and provoking trouble, her lawyer said. Zhang Zhan, 37, the first such person known to have been tried, was among a handful of people whose first-hand accounts from crowded hospitals and empty streets painted a picture of the pandemic epicenter that was more dire the official narrative. They will probably appeal, the lawyer, Ren Quanniu, told Reuters, adding that the trial at a court in Pudong, a district of China’s business hub of Shanghai, ended at 12.30 p.m., with Zhang being sentenced to four years. Ms. Zhang believes she is being persecuted for exercising her freedom of speech, he had said before the trial.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
28 December 2020

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Make buying local a new year resolution: PM.

In his last ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio address for 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged people to make a New Year resolution to substitute foreign-made products for indigenous goods in 2021 for the sake of the country. Mr. Modi also asked manufacturers to make sure that Indian-made products are up to global standards, as a part of the government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat or self-reliant India push and Vocal for Local campaign. He reiterated his earlier appeal to Indians to make a list of products used daily, identify which ones are made abroad and look for Indian substitutes. Think of things manufactured abroad that have permeated into our lives unknowingly, in a way, shackling us down. Let us find out their substitutes made in India. and decide that henceforth we shall use products made with the hard work and sweat of the people of India. You make New Year resolutions every year this time one has to certainly make a resolution for the sake of the country, Mr. Modi said, according to an English translation of his address released by the government.

B) Congress, Akalis slam BJP over use of offensive terms against farmers. 

The ruling Congress and former NDA ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Sunday hit out at the BJP, accusing party leaders of using derogatory terms against protesting farmers. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh asked BJP leaders to stop maligning the farmers and their genuine fight for justice by calling them offensive names like ‘urban naxals’, ‘khalistanis’, ‘hooligans’ etc. If the BJP cannot distinguish between anguished citizens fighting for their survival and terrorists-militants-hooligans, it should give up all pretense of being a people’s party, said the Chief Minister in a statement. A party which treats citizens exercising their democratic right of protest as Naxals and terrorists has lost all right to rule over those citizens, he added. Hitting out at BJP general secretary Tarun Chugh over his alleged description of farmers in Punjab as ‘urban naxals’, Captain Amarinder said with these remarks, the BJP leadership had hit a new low in its desperation to promote its political agenda. He pointed out that such protests by angry farmers were taking place not just in Punjab but also in BJP-ruled states such as Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

C) Nadda posts video of old Rahul Gandhi speech to attack him over opposition to farm laws. 

BJP president J P Nadda on Sunday shared an old video of Rahul Gandhi’s speech in Lok Sabha in which he seems to be advocating the need for farmers to get rid of middlemen and sell their produce directly to industry, as he accused the Congress leader of playing politics over the ongoing farmers’ protest. What is this magic happening Rahul ji. You are opposing now what you had advocated earlier. You have nothing to do with the country’s or farmers’ interests. You have to play politics only. But this is your bad luck that your hypocrisy will not work. People of the country and farmers have recognised your double standards, Mr. Nadda tweeted in Hindi along with the video clip. The Congress has backed the farmers’ protest against three agriculture-marketing laws which give cultivators an option to sell their produce directly to private players. In his speech, apparently made in the last Lok Sabha when he was an MP from Amethi, Mr. Gandhi is heard saying that a farmer during his trip to Uttar Pradesh asked him to explain the magic behind a packet of potato chips costing ₹10 while farmers sell potatoes for ₹2 per kg. When he asked what they thought was the reason for this, the farmer said factories are located very far from them and if they could sell their produce directly there, they would get all the money without middlemen earning any cut, Mr. Gandhi is heard saying in the short video posted by Mr. Nadda. That was the idea behind a food park, and this is in a way what farmers and labourers of Amethi and 10-12 districts of Uttar Pradesh have been fighting for, he says in the clip.

D) Validity of driving licence, RC extended till March 31. 

The Union Transport Ministry on Sunday extended the validity of motor vehicle documents like Driving Licence (DL), Registration Certificate (RC) and permits till March 31, 2021, in view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) had earlier issued advisories dated March 30, 2020, June 9, 2020 and August 24, 2020 in connection with extension of validity of documents related to Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989. The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has extended the validity of vehicular documents like DLs, RCs, permits etc. till March 31, 2021 in the light of need to prevent spread of COVID-19. The Ministry has today issued a directory to the States and Union Territory administrations in the regard, a MoRTH statement said.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Sri Lankan police seize 20,000 kg of turmeric. 

Sri Lanka police on Sunday seized 20,000 kg of turmeric smuggled by sea, reportedly from India, amid a shortage persisting since Sri Lanka banned imports to support local farmers in the pandemic year. Four Sri Lankan nationals were arrested, police said. The consignment had been loaded to a fishing trawler mid-sea. We suspect it came from India. It was apprehended along the island’s southern coast, police spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana told. The pandemic, which hit Sri Lanka in March, has severely impacted its economy, prompting the government to restrict imports and pledge greater support to local farmers. Sri Lanka consumes an estimated 7,000 tonnes of turmeric annually the ingredient is widely used across different cuisines in the island nation and nearly 5,000 tonnes were imported from India until COVID-19 struck the country. Meanwhile, consumers are still finding it hard to purchase turmeric at reasonable prices in the capital and other districts, and point to a black market where a kg is sold for up to LKR 5,000 (roughly U,940), though the government capped the maximum retail price of turmeric powder at LKR 750 (about 091) a kg. Agriculture Department officials had earlier indicated that local production may pick up by early 2021, but it remains to be seen how much of the local demand their produce can meet. Earlier this year, Colombo-based traders wrote to the government, seeking the release of 1 million kg of turmeric, imported from India prior to the pandemic, and stuck at the Colombo Port, to ease the pressure in the local market. The consignment is yet to be cleared for sale in the local markets, sources said.

B) Chinese delegation in Nepal for dialogue with rival NCP factions. 

A high-level diplomatic team led by vice-minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China, Guo Yezhou, arrived in Kathmandu on Sunday to hold a dialogue with the two factions of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP). The Chinese team will meet its counterpart in Foreign Affairs Department of the NCP, led by former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, on Monday morning. They have fraternal relationship not just with the Communist Party of China but also with the Communist Party of India (CPI), CPI(M) and Communist Party of Bangladesh. They maintain communication among ourselves as a matter of routine. Since there have been some upheavals in Nepal in the recent past, they may share some of their thoughts with the visiting delegation too, said Ram Karki, deputy Head of Foreign Affairs Department of the NCP. The Chinese team is in Kathmandu to try and broker a truce between the Oli and the Prachanda Nepal factions, which appears like a challenging task in the backdrop of the dissolution of the Pratinidhi Sabha (House of Representatives). The visiting delegation is expected to meet with cochair of the party Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda and Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, the two figures leading the two factions of the ruling Nepal Communist Party, respectively. Actions of the warring factions in the past few days have indicated that the divide between the two sides is more or less complete. During months-long tension between the two sides, it was Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi, who played a key role in creating a stable channel of dialogue between Mr. Oli and Mr. Prachanda.

C) Pearl murder: Sindh govt. will not free four accused. 

Pakistan’s Sindh province government has decided not to release British-born al-Qaeda leader Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and his three aides, accused of kidnapping and murdering U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl, in view of a Supreme Court order, according to a media report. In a surprise move, a two judge Bench of the Sindh High Court on Thursday directed security agencies not to keep Sheikh and other accused under any sort of detention and declared all notifications of the Sindh government related to their detention null and void. The court observed that the four men’s detention was illegal. The court, however, had clarified that the accused should not be released if there is a Supreme Court restraining order regarding their detention. Citing its sources, the Express Tribune newspaper said that the provincial government will not release these men in view of the Supreme Court’s September 28 order. A three-judge apex court Bench headed by Justice Mushir Alam, which is hearing the appeal by the Sindh government, on September 28 noted that till the next date of hearing, the accused shall not be released.

SPORTS NEWS 

A) Dhoni named captain of ICC ODI and T20 teams of decade, Kohli for tests. Mahendra Singh Dhoni was on Sunday named captain of ICC’s ODI and T20 International teams of the decade while Virat Kohli stamped his pre-eminence in world cricket after being voted the skipper of the Test team. Indians dominated the limited-over teams by having three and four players in the ODI and T20I respectively while England have maximum number of players four in the Test side. The 39-year-old Dhoni, who retired from international cricket earlier this year, was one of the three Indians in the ODI team of the decade, the others being Rohit Sharma and skipper Virat Kohli. Dhoni has three other compatriots in the T20I team Rohit, Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah. Besides being named captain of Test team, Kohli is the only player in the world to have been voted in the teams of the decade in all formats. The teams of the decades were announced by the ICC ahead of the Awards of the Decade ceremony, to be held in virtual mode on Monday.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
27 December 2020

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Farmers ready for talks on December 29, provided repeal of three farm laws is part of agenda.

Samyukt Kisan Morcha, a joint front of farmer unions, on Saturday accepted the Union government’s offer for talks, putting forth a four-point agenda that included modalities to be adopted for the repeal of the three farm laws and the mechanism for legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price. The front suggested that talks could be held on December 29. Announcing the decision of the farmer unions, Swaraj India national president Yogendra Yadav said the front leaders were ready for talks with the Union government on December 29 at 11 a.m. and had put forth a four-point agenda. Besides the revocation of three farm laws and the legal guarantee for the minimum support price (MSP), the agenda included amendments to be made and notified in the Commission for the Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Ordinance, 2020” to exclude farmers from the penal provisions of the Ordinance, and changes to be made in the draft Electricity Amendment Bill 2020 to protect the interests of farmers. Yadav said the farmers’ organisations were and had always been open to a sincere dialogue. As the government is willing to hold talks with us and asking us for date and our issues, we have proposed to hold dialogue on December 29. Now, the ball is in the court of government when it calls us for talks, farmer leader Rakesh Tikait told PTI. Meanwhile, just like Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) did, the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) also exited the NDA today in protest against the farm bills. 

B) 150 soldiers in Delhi for Republic Day parade test positive for Covid-19.

Around 150 Army soldiers who travelled to Delhi to take part in Republic Day and Army Day parades have tested positive for Covid-19, according to an Army source. The soldiers who arrived to participate in various parades were tested before they were put into a safe bubble. Some of them tested positive. Almost all are asymptotic. They are among the few thousand soldiers who have been tested. The soldiers have been quarantined at Delhi Cantonment. Protocols have been put in place for conducting the parade safely, a second source said. Thousands of soldiers travel to the national capital every year to take part in the annual Republic Day as well as Army Day parade. Plans to hold the parade at Rajpath on January 26 this year are on despite the pandemic. India has invited U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson as the chief guest. The Ministry of External Affairs has clarified that the British PM will be visiting despite the scare of the new virus strain in the U.K.

C) Madhya Pradesh Cabinet gives nod to anti-conversion Bill. 

The Madhya Pradesh Cabinet on Saturday approved the Religious Freedom Bill 2020, which provides for prison term of up to 10 years and fine of ₹1 lakh for conversion through marriage or by any other fraudulent means, State Home Minister Narottam Mishra said. He claimed that once enforced, this will be the most stringent law in the country against religious conversion carried out by fraudulent means, allurement or threat. After the approval by the Cabinet, the bill will now be presented in the state Assembly. This bill will replace the Religious Freedom Act of 1968 (after the approval by the state Assembly), he said. Any marriage solemnised only for the purpose of converting a person will be considered null and void under the provisions of this proposed legislation, he said. A provision is also being made that those willing to convert need to apply before the district administration two months prior, Mishra said.

D) Congress panel to decide on timeline for internal elections in January. 

The Central Election Authority (CEA) of the Congress party, entrusted with the task of holding organisational elections to elect a new party president, is likely to meet in the first week of January, a person familiar with the development said on Saturday. The source quoted above said that though the CEA had firmed up a tentative election schedule, it was asked to put it on hold until the December 19 meeting of party president Sonia Gandhi with key members of the group of 23 dissenters (G-23) as efforts were on to create a consensus on the party’s presidential candidate. If all goes as planned, then the party would complete the process by February and inform the Election Commission (EC), he added. While the party’s focus has been on who will be the next national president, several States are going through the same uncertainty and leadership crisis. For instance, in Telangana, former Rajya Sabha member and party veteran V. Hanumantha Rao on Saturday threatened to quit if the party high command decided to elevate Lok Sabha member Revanth Reddy as the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief. The post of the Telangana PCC chief fell vacant after Uttam Kumar Reddy stepped down from his post owning moral responsibility for the party’s rout in the recent Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections. And in Assam, where elections are barely four months away, there is a deep sense of dissatisfaction over the party’s leadership. The Hindu has learnt that a letter was sent by a few of the party’s top State leaders, including three MPs, to Congress president Sonia Gandhi on August 19, in which they argued that the party had become rudderless under the current leadership and claimed that the incumbent PCC chief did not command respect from party workers. These Congress leaders were also worried about the fallout of a possible alliance with Badruddin Ajmal’s All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF).

E) EU, U.K. unveil vast trade pact set to kick in from January 1. 

The European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom made public on Saturday the vast agreement that is likely to govern future trade and cooperation between them from January 1, setting the 27-nation bloc’s relations with its former member country and neighbor on a new but far more distant footing. EU ambassadors and lawmakers on both sides of the English Channel will now pore over the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which contains over 1,240 pages of text. EU envoys are expected to meet on Monday to discuss the document, drawn up over nine intense months of talks. Businesses, so long left in the dark about what is in store for them, will also be trying to understand its implications. Most importantly, the deal as it stands ensures that Britain can continue to trade in goods with the world’s biggest trading bloc without tariffs or quotas after the U.K. breaks fully free of the EU. It ceased to be an official member on Jan. 31 this year and is days away from the end of an exit transition period. But other barriers will be raised, as the U.K. loses the kind of access to a huge market that only membership can guarantee. They range from access to fishing waters to energy markets, and include everyday ties so important to citizens like travel arrangements and education exchanges. EU member countries are expected to endorse the agreement over the course of next week. British legislators could vote on it on Wednesday. But even if they do approve it, the text would only enter force provisionally on New Year’s Day as the European Parliament must also have its say. EU lawmakers said last weekend that there simply wasn’t enough time to properly scrutinise the text before the deadline, and they will debate and vote on the document in January and February, if the approval process runs smoothly. Despite the deal, unanswered questions linger in many areas, including security cooperation with the U.K. set to lose access to real-time information in some EU law enforcement databases and access to the EU market for Britain’s huge financial services sector.

F) Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments. 

The number of coronavirus cases reported from India stood at 1,01,76,260 with the death toll at 1,47,499. Another new variant of the novel coronavirus seems to have emerged in Nigeria, the head of Africa’s disease control body has said, cautioning that more investigation was needed. The news comes after Britain and South Africa both reported new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that appear to be more contagious. It’s a separate lineage from the U.K. and the South African lineages, John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told an online newsconference from Addis Ababa. The detection of the new variants in Nigeria and South Africa prompted an emergency meeting of the Africa CDC this week, Nkengasong said.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Millions in U.S. lose benefits as Trump refuses to sign aid Bill. 

Millions of Americans saw their jobless benefits expire on Saturday after U.S. President Donald Trump refused to sign into law a $2.3 trillion pandemic aid and spending package, protesting that it did not do enough to help everyday people. Mr. Trump stunned Republicans and Democrats alike when he said this week he was unhappy with the massive Bill, which provides $892 billion in badly needed coronavirus relief, including extending special unemployment benefits expiring on December 26, and $1.4 trillion for normal government spending. Without Mr. Trump’s signature, about 14 million people could lose those extra benefits. A partial government shutdown will begin on Tuesday unless Congress can agree a stop-gap government funding Bill. After months of wrangling, Republicans and Democrats agreed to the package last weekend, with the support of the White House. Mr. Trump, who hands over power to Democratic president-elect Joe Biden on January 20, did not object to terms of the deal before Congress voted it through on Monday night. But since then he has complained that the Bill gives too much money to special interests, cultural projects and foreign aid, while its onetime $600 stimulus checks to millions of struggling Americans were too small. He has demanded that be raised to $2,000. Many economists agree the Bill’s aid is too low but say the immediate support is still welcome and necessary. A source said Mr. Trump’s objection to the Bill caught many White House officials by surprise. While the outgoing President’s strategy for the Bill remains unclear, he has not vetoed it and could still sign it in coming days.

B) Britain and EU release full text of post-Brexit trade deal. 

Britain and the European Union on Saturday published the full text of the post-Brexit trade agreement aimed at governing their relationship when the U.K. definitively leaves the bloc’s single market in just five days’ time. The document, which is more than 1,200 pages long, lays out detail on trade, law enforcement and dispute settlement among other arrangements between Britain and the EU after the U.K. leaves the single market and customs union on December 31. In the foreword to the copy of the text published by the U.K. government, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the agreement had been carefully judged to benefit everyone and preserve free trade for millions of people in the United Kingdom and across Europe. While we made our fair share of compromises during the negotiations, we never wavered from the goal of restoring national sovereignty, he added. Senior U.K. government Minister Michael Gove wrote in The Times newspaper that Thursday’s agreement would allow Britain to bring innovation and investment to parts of the country that have endured economic decline. He added there were still significant changes to be prepared for by businesses in the short term. To ratify the deal, Britain’s Parliament has been recalled to sit on December 30. U.K.’s main opposition Labour Party said its MPs would back it.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
26 December 2020

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Farmer issues: Modi lashes out at Mamata; Trinamool hits back.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday lashed out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her government of destroying the State and depriving its over 70 lakh farmers of benefits from the Centre’s flagship PM-KISAN scheme under which ₹6,000 per year is given to each farmer. Modi also made a veiled attack on the once-potent political force in the State, the Left parties, saying that those who ruled the State for three decades brought it down and did not do anything for farmers. Assembly elections are due in West Bengal in April-May next year and the BJP has already launched a massive campaign to unseat the Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in the State. Banerjee has been West Bengal’s Chief Minister since 2011 after ending 34-year-old Left rule in the State. The people following one specific ideology ruled Bengal for 30 years, brought the State down, and the whole country knows about it. The parties that do not speak on the benefit of farmers in West Bengal are engaged in harassing the citizens of Delhi in the name of the farmers and are ruining the economy of the country, he said. The TMC hit back at Modi for his remarks. While he (PM Modi) publicly claimed his intention to help farmers of WB (West Bengal) through his PM Kisan Yojana and alleges non-cooperation of the state government, the fact is that he is trying to mislead the people with half-truth and distorted facts, Banerjee said in a statement. BJP is repeatedly saying the farmers of West Bengal are being deprived of cash under this scheme. That is not true. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had asked the Centre to route the cash benefits through the state government and not directly to the farmers. The intention of the Modi government is to reap political benefits, TMC MP Sougata Roy said. Meanwhile, aanother batch of farmers and farm labourers under the banner of Kisan Mazdoor Sangarsh Committee (KMSC) started today from Punjab on a tractor-trolley ‘march’ to Delhi.

B) Two AAP MPs raise slogans in Central Hall of Parliament against farm laws.

With the winter session of Parliament cancelled, two Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MPs raised slogans against the three farm laws in a failed attempt to draw the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had come to pay tributes to former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee on the occasion of his 96th birth anniversary, in the Central Hall of Parliament on Friday. AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh tweeted a video of himself and his Lok Sabha colleague Bhagwant Mann holding placards and raising slogans while PM Modi walked out without acknowledging the two. Singh and Mann held posters demanding legal provision for Minimum Support Price (MSP) and shouted slogans demanding repeal of the farm laws and asking the government to pay attention to the protesting farmers at the Singhu border. The Parliament session is not being called. The winter session is cancelled. How do we raise our voice? How do we flag the farmers’ concerns? Thirty-two farmers so far have lost their lives in this agitation but the government is completely immune to their travails, Singh told. When pointed out that the protest failed to draw PM Modi’s attention, Singh said that he doesn’t bother sparing a moment to look at the concerns of the nation, why would he bother about us.

C) Dry run for Covid-19 vaccine rollout in 4 States next week: Govt.

The Centre is gearing up for the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine across the country, with four States all set to initiate a dry run for vaccine administration next week, the Union Health Ministry said on Friday. Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, and Punjab have been selected considering the geographical locations. Each State will plan it in two districts and preferably in different (five) session type settings e.g. district hospital, CHC/PHC, urban site, private health facility, rural outreach etc., a Ministry release said. The Ministry added that this exercise will enable end-to-end mobilisation and testing of the Covid-19 vaccination process prior to actual implementation. It noted that this will also provide a hands-on experience to programme managers at various levels. This two-day activity is planned on December 28 and 29.

D) Rajinikanth hospitalized in Hyderabad while shooting for his next film. 

Rajinikanth, who was in Hyderabad for a movie shoot, was admitted to a private hospital on December 25 morning following severe fluctuations in his blood pressure. The news acquires significance coming as it does less than a week before he is expected to launch a political party in Tamil Nadu. A press release issued at 12.30 p.m. from Apollo hospitals, Hyderabad, said that though he did not have any symptoms of Covid-19, his blood pressure showed severe fluctuations and needed further evaluation for which he has been admitted to the hospital. He will be investigated and monitored closely in the hospital till his blood pressure settles down before being discharged. Apart from fluctuating blood pressure and exhaustion, he does not have any other symptoms and is hemodynamically stable. Rajinikanth has been in Hyderabad for the past 10 days to complete the shooting for his next film, Annathey, produced by Sun Pictures.

E) 21-year-old tipped to be Thiruvananthapuram mayor. 

In a surprise move, the district committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Friday proposed 21-year old Arya Rajendran’s name for the post of mayor of Thiruvananthapuram. If the party’s State Committee approves the choice, it will make her the youngest person to occupy that post. Though party leaders remained tight-lipped about the decision, CPI (M) sources confirmed the news. An official announcement is expected on Monday. Rajendran, who won from the Mudavanmugal ward in the state capital, is a B.Sc student at the All Saints College in the city. She is the current State president of the Balasangham, a children’s organisation. She is also a member of the State Committee of the Students Federation of India (SFI) and the CPI (M)’s Kesavadev Road branch committee. Her father is an electrician, while her mother is an LIC agent.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Russia backs increase in oil output by OPEC+ from Feb.

Russia expects to support an increase in oil production by the group, known as OPEC+, of another 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) from February at next month’s summit of the leading global oil producers, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said. Oil prices are trading above $50 per barrel, after coming under pressure this week from concerns that new fast-spreading variants of the coronavirus will lead to reduced fuel demand. In comments, cleared for publication on Friday, Mr. Novak also said that Moscow views an oil price between $45 and $55 per barrel as the optimum level to allow for recovery of its oil production, which has been significantly reduced as part of the OPEC supply deal. Russia, other leading oil producers and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, a group known as OPEC, agreed to reduce output to support the global oil market as the COVID-19 pandemic has weakened fuel demand. Since the agreement on a record global supply cut in April, OPEC has progressively reduced the cuts and is expected in January to release an extra bpd into the market. 

The group holds its next online summit on January 4. If the situation stays normal and stable, we will support this position (increase by bpd), Mr. Novak told reporters.

B) Israeli jets fly over Beirut, blasts reported in Syria. 

Israeli jets flew very low over parts of Lebanon early on Friday, terrifying residents on Christmas Eve, some of whom reported seeing missiles in the skies over Beirut. Minutes later, Syria’s official news agency reported explosions in the central Syrian town of Masyaf. Other Syrian media said Syrian air defences responded to an Israeli attack near the town in the Hama province. There was no immediate word on what the target was or whether there were any casualties. Israeli jets regularly violate Lebanese airspace and have often struck inside Syria from Lebanese territory. But the Christmas Eve flights were louder than usual, frightening residents of Beirut who have endured multiple crises in the past year, including the catastrophic August 4 explosion at the city’s port that killed over 200 people and destroyed parts of the capital. That explosion resulted from the detonation of a stockpile of ammonium nitrates that was improperly stored at the facility. There was no immediate word from Israel on Friday’s flights and alleged attacks on Syria. In the past few years, Israel has acknowledged carrying out dozens of airstrikes in Syria, most of them aimed at suspected Iranian weapons shipments believed to be bound for Hezbollah. In recent months, Israeli officials have expressed concern that Hezbollah is trying to establish production facilities to make precision guided missiles.

C) Russia opens criminal case against Navalny’s ally Sobol. 

Russian law enforcement agencies opened a criminal case against Lyubov Sobol, an ally of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, and took her in for questioning early on Friday after raiding her home, Mr. Navalny and his supporters said. There was no immediate comment from the police. Supporters of Mr. Navalny said the police action appeared to be a response to Ms. Sobol visiting the home of an alleged FSB security service agent in Moscow. Mr. Navalny had earlier said the man took part in a botched plot to poison him in August. The FSB has dismissed Mr. Navalny’s allegations as a provocation designed to discredit it. Ms. Sobol was briefly detained on Monday after visiting the alleged agent’s flat and ringing the doorbell. She was not let into the man’s flat. But Ivan Zhdanov, a la. wyer for Mr. Navalny’s anticorruption organisation, said police suspected Ms. SCP bol of violating the sanctity of someone’s home with the use or threat of violence, a charge that carries a punishment of up to two years in jail. Mr. Navalny, one of President Vladimir Putin’s most outspoken critics, said the authorities’ response was disproportionate and confirmation that his allegations were true. He was airlifted to Germany in August for emergency medical treatment after col. lapsing on a plane in Russia. Germany has said he was poisoned with a Soviet-style Novichok nerve agent in an attempt to murder him, an assertion many Western nations accept. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied any suggestion Russia’s authorities were involved in poisoning him. Mr. Putin has said the incident was part of a U.S.-backed plot to try to discredit him.