Tag: latest Current Affairs

CURRENT AFFAIRS
25 December 2020

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Government invites farmers for talks again. 

A day after farmer unions rejected the government’s talks offer, the Union government on Thursday reiterated its commitment to finding a solution to all the issues raised by the agitating farmers and invited them again for talks. Agriculture Ministry Joint Secretary and CEO of PM-KISAN Vivek Aggarwal, in a three-page letter to the unions, said the government was always ready to discuss the issues with an open-mind. Seeking a new date for talks, the letter demanded to know the details of the issues the unions wanted to discuss. The government of India again wants to repeat its commitment that it is eager to discuss and find solution to all the issues raised by the farmer unions, read the letter.

B) PM’s charge a travesty of truth: Opposition.

Opposition parties today issued a joint statement describing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s allegations against them of spreading lies on the farm laws as a travesty of truth. They also said that the Opposition parties had no role in the protests and the protesters have come together on their own. The signatories to a joint statement included former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar, chairperson of People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration Farooq Abdullah, DMK leader T.R. Baalu, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI general secretary D. Raja, CPI(ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, All India Forward Bloc leader Debabrata Biswas, and Revolutionary Socialist Party leader Manoj Bhattacharya. The Opposition parties said that they have only expressed solidarity with the protesting farmers and that the call for this ongoing historic struggle was given by more than 500 kisan organisations from all over the country under the banner of Samyukt Kisan Morcha [SKM]. The parties said the unity, grit and determination shown by lakhs of farmers in the midst of a severe cold wave was a testimony to the fact that farmers across the country had risen in opposition to the farm laws. So far, 32 farmers have lost their lives in this agitation, the parties stated. Amongst the many unsubstantiated accusations made, one of them is that those who spoke of agrarian reforms in election manifestos earlier are now opposing. Yes, we are for reforms, but what sort of reforms? Opposition parties seek reforms to strengthen Indian agriculture; enhance the prosperity of our farmers; and ensure continued food security for our people and the country. The present farm laws undermine these very objectives, the statement said.

C) No democracy in India, says Rahul Gandhi.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that there was no democracy in India, after a delegation of Congress leaders were stopped from going to the Rashtrapati Bhavan and handing over a memorandum seeking repeal of the three farm laws. Only a three-member delegation, comprising Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress Leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, and Gandhi were allowed to submit a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind. Other leaders, including party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, were detained and taken to the Mandir Marg police station. Speaking to reporters after submitting the memorandum, Gandhi asked for a joint session of Parliament to repeal the laws and asserted that farmers won’t go back until their demands are met. He want to tell the Prime Minister that these farmers will not move. The Prime Minister shouldn’t think that these farmers would go back home. They won’t until their demands are met. Call a joint session and take back the laws, he said. All the Opposition parties were firmly behind farmers, he added.

D) Kejriwal in contempt of Rajya Sabha over farm laws speech: Sonal Mansingh. 

Rajya Sabha MP Sonal Mansingh has moved a motion of privilege against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, alleging that he had breached the privilege of the Upper House and Chairperson M. Venkaiah Naidu by claiming in his speech in the Delhi Assembly that the farm laws were cleared by the Rajya Sabha without voting. Sources in Rajya Sabha said the notice was sent on Wednesday. While on the whole it is assumed that speech inside a House of Legislature is protected, sources in the Upper House said it may not always be so. Sources cited a decision made during a conference of Speakers and presiding officers in 1955, that a motion of breach of privilege can be moved against another House.

E) India challenges Vodafone arbitration award in Singapore.

India has challenged in Singapore an international arbitration court’s verdict against it over a $2 billion tax claim involving Vodafone Group Plc, a senior government official has told Reuters. Vodafone had in September won the case against India, ending one of the most high-profile disputes in the country, and causing concern among investors over retrospective tax claims on companies. An international arbitration tribunal in The Hague had ruled that India’s imposition of a tax liability on Vodafone was in breach of an investment treaty agreement between India and the Netherlands. India had 90 days to appeal the ruling. India lost another international arbitration case this week against Cairn Energy, over a tax dispute. It has been ordered to pay the UK-listed company over $1.2 billion in damages and costs. India is expected to challenge this ruling too, given the size of the award, said the senior government official.

F) Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments. 

The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 1,01,40,086 with the death toll at 1,46,781. In a U-turn, the Karnataka government on Thursday evening announced the withdrawal of its earlier order imposing night curfew between December 24 and January 1 amid fears of a mutated strain of coronavirus. Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa said that the decision to withdraw the order was taken following public opinion that night curfew was unwarranted. He urged everyone to follow Covid-19-related rules and protocols strictly. Meanwhile, in the wake of the detection of a new Covid-19 variant in the U.K., Goa health authorities are trying to track down 602 people who had arrived in the state from Britain and the UAE post-December 9, an official said. Most of the people who arrived from these two places are thought to be in the Cansualim area of South Goa district, predominantly a beach destination. In another development, a parliamentary panel has recommended that athletes going for Olympics 2021 and their support staff, including the coaches, should be put in the priority group for Covid-19 vaccination. The Standing Committee on “Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports”, headed by BJP MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, in its report on Preparation of Olympic-2021 submitted to Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday also recommended bio-bubbles for the teams going to the Olympics. The committee noted that the extended lockdown and travel restrictions had meant that sportspersons had lost international and even national competition exposure. The Department and National Sports Federations must ensure that players get an opportunity to play maximum international tournaments before the 2021 Olympic Games, it stated.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Pak court orders man charged in Daniel Pearl killing to be freed. 

A provincial court in Pakistan on Thursday ordered the man charged in the 2002 murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl freed, his defense lawyer said. The Sindh High Court’s order overturns a Supreme Court decision that Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh should remain in custody while an appeal against his acquittal is heard, said Mehmood A. Sheikh, his lawyer. He called for Sheikh, who is no relation, to be released immediately. The Sindh High Court earlier this year had overturned the murder charge and ordered Sheikh freed. Pearl’s family has appealed the acquittal, as has the Pakistan government. The Supreme Court is hearing the appeal and will resume its hearing on January 5.

B) Britain, EU clinch Brexit trade deal.

Britain clinched a Brexit trade deal with the European Union on Thursday, just seven days before it ex: its one of the world’s biggest trading blocs in its most significant global shift since the loss of empire. Deal is done, a Downing Street source said. They have taken back control of their money, borders, laws, trade, and fishing waters. They have delivered this great deal in record time, and under extremely challenging conditions, which protects the integrity of their internal market and Northern Ireland’s place within it. The deal is fantastic news for families and businesses in every part of the U.K. They have signed the first free trade agreement based on zero tariffs and zero quotas that has ever been achieved with the EU. The deal guarantees Britain is no longer in the lunar pull of the EU and will not be bound by EU rules. There is no role for the European Court of Justice and all of our key red lines about returning sovereignty have been achieved. Trade worth $909 billion in 2019 is covered by the deal.

SPORTS NEWS 

A) BCCI governing body approves 10 teams for 2022 IPL. 

The BCCI’s governing body, during its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Ahmedabad on Thursday ratified the entry of two new franchises in the IPL to make it a 10-team affair from 2022. In another major development, the Board, in principle, decided to back the ICC’s bid for the inclusion of cricket, in the T20 format, in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics after getting some clarifications from the International Olympic Committee. Also, it was decided that all first-class players, both men and women, will be suitably compensated for the curtailed domestic season. The domestic season had to be curtailed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. After several months’ delay, the BCCI plans to get the domestic season underway in January with the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 championship. It was also learnt that the general body decided in favour of Sourav Ganguly continuing as a director in the ICC Board. Secretary Jay Shah will be the alternate director as well as India’s representative at the Chief Executive Committee meets of the global body.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
24 December 2020

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Farmers front rejects government’s talks offer yet again, seeks ‘concrete proposal’

Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), a joint front of farmer unions, on Wednesday rejected the Union government’s recent offer to resume talks. Its leaders asserted that they were seeking the withdrawal of the three farm laws, and not amendments to them. At a press conference at the Singhu border, Swaraj India national president Yogendra Yadav stressed that farmers were ready for talks, but were waiting for a concrete proposal from the government and not a repetition of the already rejected proposals. He was reading out from a letter to the Agriculture Ministry by the Morcha in response to the government’s talks offer. Yadav said the government was treating farmers like political opponents and not citizens of this country with genuine concerns. The government should invite the farmers for talks with an open mind, a big heart and honest intentions, he added. Bharatiya Kisan Union general secretary Yudhveer Singh said the government was taking the protests lightly and playing with fire. Farmers represented around 60% population of the country and the government must listen to them. All-India Kisan Sabha general secretary Hannan Mollah said farmers had come all the way to Delhi to talk and get a solution for their concerns.

B) India loses Cairn Energy arbitration case. 

British explorer Cairn Energy Plc has won an arbitration case against the Indian government, seeking ₹10,247 crore in retrospective taxes, sources said Wednesday. This is the second blow to the government in three months. An international arbitration tribunal had in September ruled against India levying retrospective taxes on the Vodafone Group. In the Cairn Energy case, an international arbitration tribunal ruled that the tax claim was not a valid demand and asked the government to repay the funds withheld, along with interest, to Cairn. India had seized dividend, tax refund, and shares to partly recover the dues. The judges unanimously ruled that India’s retrospective tax demand breached the U.K.-India bilateral investment protection treaty, Cairn said in a statement on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that Cairn Energy surged as much as 45% in early London trading, its biggest intraday gain in almost 17 years.

C) Upset over idea of Jaitley statue, Bedi quits DDCA, wants his name removed from stands. 

Lambasting the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) for deciding to install a statue of its late former President Arun Jaitley at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground, spin legend Bishan Singh Bedi has asked the body to remove his name from the spectators’ stand, named after him in 2017. Lashing out at the DDCA’s culture, which he alleged promotes nepotism and puts administrators ahead of cricketers, Bedi also renounced his membership of the body. He made the demand in a scathing letter addressed to DDCA President Rohan Jaitley, the son of the late politician. Arun Jaitley was DDCA president for 14 years, from 1999 to 2013, before quitting cricket administration. The body plans to have a six-foot statue of him installed at the Kotla to honour his memory. DDCA had named one of the stands after Bedi in November 2017. Putting his decision in context, Bedi wrote that he was never a fan of Arun Jaitley’s working style and always opposed any decision that he did not agree with. 

 

D) J&K DDC polls: Gupkar alliance increases tally to 110, BJP to 75. 

The Gupkar Alliance, a grouping of six parties, increased its tally to 110 seats out of a total of 280 seats in Jammu and Kashmir’s District Development Council (DDC) polls, and the BJP bagged 75 seats, according to the results announced for 277 seats so far. The BJP has emerged as the single largest party with 75 seats, followed by National Conference (67), People’s Democratic Party (27), and Congress (26). The maiden DDC polls were conducted in 280 seats, with each district divided into 14 constituencies. A significant number of independents (49) also managed to register their wins. In many of the districts, the independents are likely to play a key role in determining who becomes the district chairperson. J&K has 20 districts and it remains to be seen which party secures the maximum number of chairperson posts. According to the trends, the Gupkar alliance and the Congress are likely to have their chairmen in around 13 districts, while the BJP is confident of winning five to six.

E) Father Thomas Kottoor, Sister Sephy sentenced to life. 

A special CBI court on Wednesday sentenced Fr. Thomas M. Kottoor and Sister Sephy to life imprisonment for the murder of 19-year-old novice sister Abhaya, who was found dead in a well at Pious X convent of the Knanaya Catholic order in Kottayam in March 1992. CBI Special Judge K. Sanal Kumar found the priest and nun guilty of murder and destruction of evidence under Sections 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The judge also imposed a second life sentence on Fr. Kottoor for house-trespass to murder under Section 449 of the IPC. The court said both life sentences would run concurrently. The judge also fined the accused ₹5 lakh each. The CBI had argued for capital punishment for the suspects. It said the case fell in the rarest of rare category, which warranted forfeiture of life. Fr. Kottoor and Sister Sephy pleaded for clemency. They cited ill-health. Sister Sephy said she had aged parents to support on her meagre stipend as a nun. The case, plagued by legal wrangling, had meandered through various judiciary levels for almost 28 years before reaching the trial stage in August last. The CBI case was that the accused had killed Sister Abhaya after the novitiate found them in objectionable circumstances when she went to collect drinking water from the convent’s kitchen on the night of March 27. The accused were startled by Sister Abhaya’s unexpected appearance. To prevent their liaison from being known, Sister Stephy bludgeoned her on the side of her head with the blunt side of an axe. The suspects dumped the victim’s body in the convent well to make it appear as suicide, the CBI had argued. The counsel for the defence said the accused would appeal the verdict in the High Court.

F) Republic Bharat fined £20,000 by U.K. regulator for hate speech against Pakistani people. 

Republic Bharat, the Hindi news channel arm of Republic TV, was fined £20,000, or around ₹19 lakh, by the United Kingdom’s communications regulator, Office of Communications (Ofcom), on Tuesday for broadcasting content that involved offensive language, uncontextualised hate speech and abusive or derogatory treatment of individuals, groups, religions or communities. The channel has also been asked to air an apology. The fine was levied for the channel’s daily current affairs discussion programme ‘Poochta Hai Bharat,’ presented by Arnab Goswami and telecast on September 6, 2019. Ofcom’s order stated that the programme contained statements which amounted to hate speech against, and was abusive and derogatory about, Pakistani people on the basis of their nationality. It added that these statements would potentially be harmful and highly offensive to any person who did not share the sentiment being expressed by the presenter and his Indian guests. In Ofcom’s view, the potentially harmful and offensive nature of the content was compounded by the political context in which the episode of Poochta Hai Bharat was broadcast. The sanctions have been imposed on Worldview Media Network Limited, which holds the licence for airing Republic Bharat in the UK. The decision on breach of the Ofcom code was taken on February 24 this year and the fine has been laid on Tuesday.

G) PM to interact with farmers from six states on Friday. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Friday interact with farmers from six different states as part of an event to release the next installment of financial benefits under a central scheme. The Prime Minister’s Office said today that the event will be held virtually. As per details available, the PM will initiate the transfer of more than ₹18,000 crore to over nine crore beneficiary farmer families. The event is due to start at 12 noon and will be telecast live. The event is being held amid the ongoing farmers’ stir against the newly-formulated farm laws. The agitation on the Delhi borders is now nearing a month. PM Narendra Modi will release the next installment of financial benefit under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) on December 25 via video-conferencing. PM will enable the transfer of more than ₹18,000 crore to more than 9 crores beneficiary farmer families, the PMO said.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Britain, France reopen cross-Channel travel.

France and Britain reopened cross-Channel travel on Wednesday after a 48hour ban to curb the spread of a new coronavirus variant but London has warned it could take days for thousands of trucks blocked around the port of Dover to get moving. The major transit hub reopened following an agreement between London and Paris to allow hauliers stranded in the U.K. to leave the country if they could produce a negative coronavirus test that was less than 72 hours old. It will take a few days to work our way through, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick told Sky News. There’s going to be quite a lot of work to do. Much of Europe had swiftly banned British travellers following the emergence of a more transmissible variant of COVID-19 in Britain, and France’s decision to block freight movements sparked fears of food shortages. As dramatic images showed masses of lorries backed up in Dover, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was under intense pressure to resolve the deadlock even as 11th-hour talks with Brussels on a post Brexit trade deal were at a stalemate. Mr. Jenrick said around 4,000 trucks were stranded in southern Kent county. Between 700 and 800 were parked alongside the motorway heading out of London via Kent and some 3,000 were at the nearby disused airport where drivers are to be tested.

B) Putin expects ties with U.S. to remain same under Biden. 

With less than a month before Joe Biden moves into the White House, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he was not expecting much change in Moscow’s ties with Washington, while his aides said they were less optimistic. Mr. Biden is expected to take a tougher stance against Russia than Donald Trump. Mr. Putin was one of the last leaders to congratulate Mr. Biden on his election victory, sending his congratulatory six weeks after the November 3 vote and saying he was ready for collaboraticm. Mr. Putin told senior Russian officials he was not expecting any change in relations with the U.S. after Mr. Biden takes office, speaking after the president-elect promised to punish Russia for a major cyberattack. Now about the change of leadership in the U.S. and that it will be more difficult for us. He don’t think so. It will be business as usual, he said. Senior officials had earlier in the day said they did not expect anything good from the Biden administration. Mr. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin was expecting nothing positive in ties with Washington. 

C) Two linked to Russia probe among 15 pardoned. 

U.S. President Donald Trump granted pardons on Tuesday to two people linked to a probe into alleged collusion between his campaign and Russia along with a list of others. They add to pardons already issued to political allies of Mr. Trump. The White House said in a statement that Mr. Trump had granted full pardons to 15 people and commuted all or part of the sentences for five others. A full pardon was given to George Papadopoulos, a former Trump campaign adviser who admitted lying to federal investigators about his contacts with Russians. Papadopoulos cooperated with investigators led by Robert Mueller, the special prosecutor who conducted a two-year probe into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. He spent 12 days in jail after his guilty plea. Another full pardon was granted to Alex van der Zwaan, a Dutch lawyer who was also convicted in connection with Mr. Mueller’s probe. Blackwater guards Full pardons were also granted to four guards ofthe Blackwater security firm convicted over the 2007 killing of Iraqis. The guards were convicted of opening fire in Baghdad’s crowded Nisur Square, killing 14 civilians and injuring 17. The guards said they acted in self-defense in response to insurgent fire. The White House statement said the four men, former members of the military, have a long history of service to the nation.

D) Nepal SC forwards petitions to Constitutional Bench. 

The Supreme Court of Nepal on Wednesday started hearing writ petitions filed against the dissolution of the House of Representatives by President Bidhya Devi Bhandari. The court then forwarded the petitions to a Constitutional Bench. The Constitutional Bench, headed by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher J.B. Rana, will start hearing the petitions from Friday. Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli recommended President Bhandari dissolve Parliament after he briefed his Cabinet colleagues during an emergency meeting on December 20. The Constitutional Bench will be in focus for the next few days as the Nepal Cornmunist Party (NCP) appears divided between two factions led by Mr. Oli and cochair of the party Pushpa Kamal Dahal Trachanda’ respectively. The Bench will examine the constitutionality of the decision to dissolve the House especially as the 2015 Constitution does not allow for such a move for political necessities. ‘Ihe judiciary’s intervention, however, is unlikely to repair the broken affairs of the NCP, which is now clearly divided between the factions led by Mr. Oli and his challengers Mr. Prachanda and former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal. Warring factions On Wednesday, a special meeting was convened under the leadership of Mr. Nepal and Mr. Prachanda which continued till late in the evening amid expectations that the group would declare the expulsion of Mr. Oli. The warring factions have adopted different tactics until now with the one led by Mr. Oli already preparing for general election and the Prachanda-Nepal-led faction focussing on the judicial and constitutional route to restore the dissolved Parliament. NCP general secretary Bishnu Prasad Poudel on Wednesday blamed Mr. Prachanda of triggering the current round of crisis and asked the Mr. Oli led faction to prepare for elections.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
23 December 2020

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) CBI court finds Father Thomas Kottoor and Sister Sephy guilty of murder in Sister Abhaya case of 1992.

Twenty-eight years after the death of Sister Abhaya, a student nun belonging to the Knanaya Catholic community, at a convent hostel in Kottayam, a Special Court of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Thiruvananthapuram has found the first and third accused in the sensational case, Father Thomas Kottoor and Sister Sephy, guilty of murder. The much-awaited verdict was pronounced by the Special Court judge J. Sanal Kumar on December 22. The second accused in the case, Father Jose Poothrukayil, was let off last year as the court held that the prosecution did not provide sufficient evidence to proceed against him and a key witness (whose statement was not properly recorded) had died before the trial. A plea challenging this decision of the CBI court too was subsequently rejected by the Kerala High Court. On March 27, 1992, the body of the 19-year-old nun was found inside the well of the St. Pius X Convent Hostel in Kottayam. The local police and the Crime Branch investigated the case, but both the agencies concluded that it was a case of suicide, against the popular perception in Kerala at that time. At the time of the incident, Sister Abhaya was a second-year pre-degree student at the BCM College, Kottayam, where Father Thomas Kottoor was a teacher at the BCM College. Sister Sephy was the person in temporary charge of the convent hostel. What followed the death of the nun was nearly three decades of controversial inquiries by various agencies, the disappearance or death of suspects and witnesses, and unbelievable efforts to distort the case at every stage by unseen hands with political backing.

B) Kerala Governor disallows special Assembly session on new farm laws.

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan today declined approval for a special assembly session planned on Wednesday to discuss and pass a resolution against the three contentious central farm laws, PTI reported. Khan’s decision evoked a sharp response from the government side, with Agricultural Minister V S Sunil Kumar calling it undemocratic, while opposition Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala said it was unfortunate and against democratic values. Assembly Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan said the Governor’s decision was unprecedented and added the state government can take a decision after considering all legal aspects. The decision to convene the special one-day session was taken by the CPI-M led LDF government at a Cabinet meeting presided by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday. The session would not be held on Wednesday since the Governor did not accord sanction, assembly sources told PTI. While Vijayan’s office had said the session was proposed to discuss the agricultural acts against which farmers have held country-wide agitations, Finance Minister Thomas Isaac in a tweet had said Kerala was in total solidarity with the farmers’ struggle and the session would discuss and reject the laws. The government had in December last year convened a similar special session of the assembly, which passed a resolution demanding scrapping of the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act, becoming the first state in the country to take such a measure then.

C) Gupkar Alliance takes lead in J&K DDC polls. 

The Gupkar Alliance, a grouping of six parties, has taken a significant lead over the BJP in the District Development Council (DDC) polls held last week in J&K. Counting is still under way. Officials said the Alliance has won 52 DDC segments out of 280, while the BJP has won 33. The Alliance is leading in another 52 other seats, while the BJP is leading in 31. The official figures suggested that PDP has won 19 seats, NC 27, Peoples Conference (PC) one and the CPI(M) five. The Congress has won 13 seats and is leading in 10 others. The BJP, however, managed to win four seats from the bastions of the regional parties in Srinagar, Shopian and Bandipora.

D) U.P. Police ‘prevent’ Sisodia from visiting govt. school in Lucknow. 

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Manish Sisodia was on Tuesday allegedly prevented from visiting a government school in Lucknow by the Uttar Pradesh police. Sisodia was on his way to check out a state-run school when police blocked his vehicle. The AAP leader said he had landed in Lucknow after accepting a challenge by Uttar Pradesh Education Minister Satish Dwivedi, who recently in a war of words between the two parties had invited Sisodia to visit schools in his State to compare the models of education in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. As quoted by a news agency, Dwivedi had on December 15 invited Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Deputy Sisodia to visit schools in Uttar Pradesh, and said it would open their eyes. On Tuesday, Sisodia’s car was not allowed to pass by the police, following which he spoke to a senior police officer on phone, kept on speaker mode. Sisodia alleged that the police were preventing him from visiting the school as the government wanted to hide the Yogi Model.

E) In 2019, 1.7 million deaths in India attributable to air pollution, says study. 

In India, 1.7 million deaths were attributable to air pollution in 2019. This was 18% of the total deaths in the country, while the economic loss due to the lost output from premature deaths and morbidity from air pollution was 1.4% of the GDP (equivalent to ₹260,000 crore) during this time. This is as per a scientific paper titled ‘Health and economic impact of air pollution in the States of India: The Global Burden of Disease Study 2019’. The study, published in the Lancet Planetary Health, documents the trends in health loss due to air pollution and its economic impact in every State of India using the latest improved methods and data. The data released indicated that household air pollution was decreasing in India, resulting in 64% reduction in the death rate attributable to it from 1990 to 2019, whereas the death rate from outdoor ambient air pollution increased during this period by 115%. The economic loss due to air pollution as a percentage of the state GDP was higher in the northern and central India states. It was the highest in Uttar Pradesh (2.2% of GDP) and Bihar (2% of GDP). India would benefit from investing further in state-specific air pollution control strategies, as this will facilitate its aspiration of reaching a US$5 trillion economy by 2024, said the paper. The findings in this analysis show that while 40% of the disease burden due to air pollution is from lung diseases, the remaining 60% is from ischemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and neonatal deaths related to pre-term birth, highlighting the broad-ranging impact of air pollution on human health, noted Balram Bhargava, Director General, ICMR.

F) PM Modi awarded ‘Legion of Merit’ by Donald Trump. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was awarded the ‘Legion of Merit’ by U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday for his role in advancing the India-U.S. relationship. The award was also presented to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. India, the U.S., Japan and Australia constitute the ‘Quad’ group of countries seen as an alternative to Chinese dominance in the Indo-Pacific region. The award was presented by O’Brien to India’s U.S. Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu, who accepted it on Modi’s behalf. The Legion of Merit, instituted in 1942 by former U.S President Franklin D. Roosevelt, is awarded to members of the U.S. armed forces and also members of foreign (i.e., non-U.S.) armed forces and sometimes heads of state or government. The award is presented to foreign recipients in four categories: Chief Commander, Commander, Officer and Legionnaire. Other Indians who have won the award include Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa who received the Legion of Merit (Degree: Chief Commander) in 1949 from then U.S. President Harry S. Truman.

G) Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments.

The number of coronavirus cases reported from India stood at 1,01,01,060 with the death toll at 1,46,472. The new strain of Covid-19 reported in the U.K. seems to increase transmissibility and infection rate but the mutation has so far not affected the severity and case fatality of the disease, V.K. Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, said today at a press conference. He added that, as of now, the mutation had not been detected in India, and that it had no impact on the potential of the emerging vaccines being developed in India or available internationally. There is no cause for concern, no need to panic, as of now. But we have to stay vigilant, he said. Dr. Paul cautioned that SARS-CoV-2 was a smart virus which changes its behaviour. The new strain in the U.K. has undergone 17 changes, increasing its transmissibility by 70%. In a way, it has become a super-spreader. We are keeping a close watch on the developments and the recently collected virus samples are being prioritised for genetic sequencing, he explained. Replying to a question on some passengers from the London-Delhi Air India flight on Monday who tested positive for Covid-19 upon arrival in India and the precautions in place for more incoming flights, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said the Union Health Ministry has issued comprehensive guidelines with respect to the passengers who came from, or through, U.K. from November 25 to December 23. Their lists will be shared with the States/UTs so that their samples are collected for conducting tests. Contact tracing will be done in positive cases, he said.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

A) Kushner joins flight from Israel to Morocco.

The first Israel-Morocco direct commercial flight landed in the North African kingdom on Tuesday to mark the latest U.S.-brokered diplomatic normalisation deal between the Jewish state and an Arab country. U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and White House advisor Jared Kushner was on board along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s National Security Advisor Meir Ben Shabbat. The U.S.-Israeli delegation was welcomed at the airport by Moroccan officials, ahead of a programme that includes a meeting with King Mohammed VI at the royal palace, and a visit to the grave of Mohammed V. The trip is aimed at showcasing the Trump administration’s achievements in Middle East diplomacy, weeks before Mr. Trump is replaced at the White House by President-elect Joe Biden. Morocco became the third Arab state this year, after the UAE and Bahrain to normalise ties with Israel under U.S.-brokered deals, while Sudan has pledged to follow suit. Speaking at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport, Mr. Kushner said the country’s recent string of breakthrough deals marked a step towards a more normal co-existence between Jews and Muslims. The state we have lived in for the last 75 years, where Jews and Muslims have been separated, is not a natural state, he said before getting on the plane, which was painted with the Hebrew, Arabic and English words for peace.

B) Israel on the brink of fourth poll in two years.

Israel was headed on Tuesday for its fourth election in less than two years, with its Parliament set to dissolve at midnight after lawmakers rejected a last-ditch effort to salvage the fractured ruling coalition. The government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been inChing towards collapse for weeks and now the rightwing incumbent looks set to face a re-election battle as his long-awaited trial on corruption charges gets under way next year. The coalition, led by Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud and his rival Benny Gantz’s centrist Blue and White party, has until the start of Wednesday to pass a 2020 budget or Parliament will automatically dissolve. Mr. Gantz demanded the government pass a budget covering both 2020 and 2021, arguing Israel needs stability. But Mr. Netanyahu has refused to endorse a 2021 budget. On Sunday, Blue and White said it had an agreement with Likud on a Bill to buy more time to pass both the 2020 and 2021 budget. But after yet another war of words between Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gantz, Parliament rejected the Bill on Tuesday, with lawmakers voting against the coalition proposal 49 to 47.

C) ‘British PM, EU chief discussed Brexit, COVID-19 situation’. 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen discussed Brexit and the COVID-19 crisis during a phone call on Monday evening, an EU source said. The previously undisclosed conversation came as London and Brussels try to thrash out a last-gasp post Brexit trade deal and scramble to respond to a new strain of the novel coronavirus detected in the U.K. Mr. Johnson and Ms. von der Leyen are pressing to break a logjam over fishing rights with just nine days to go before Britain leaves the EU single market and customs union. The two sides are haggling over the cut EU fishermen would take to their current catches in Britain’s rich waters and the length of a transition period to phase in the changes.

The talks have risked being overshadowed by the crisis over the new coronavirus strain found by London, that has seen countries in Europe and around the world cut travel links to Britain. The EU is scrambling to come up with a coordinated response after cross-channel traffic was left snarled as France shut down entry for passengers and goods.

Ambassadors from the bloc’s 27 members are to meet later Tuesday to try to hammer out a plan to allow cargo to start moving again and EU nationals to return home.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
22 December 2020

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Parliamentary panel moots Public Health Act to check malpractices by private hospitals.

There should be a comprehensive Public Health Act with suitable legal provisions to regulate private hospitals during a pandemic and curb black marketing of medicines, the standing committee on Home Affairs headed by Congress leader Anand Sharma has said in its report, which was submitted to Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu on Monday. The report noted that there were several instances of private hospitals selling beds reserved for Covid-19 patients at exorbitant rates. The Committee strongly recommends that there is a need for a comprehensive Public Health Act, preferably at the national level, with suitable legal provisions to support the government in keeping checks and controls over the private hospitals as there have been reports about the selling of hospital beds by them, the committee said in its report. The Act, it said, should also keep a check on the black marketing of medicines and product standardization. The panel has suggested that the government should proactively hold awareness campaigns regarding cheaper medicines so that people don’t panic and spending big sums on expensive drugs. The Committee observed that in the initial phase of the pandemic, medical insurance was not extended to patients with Covid-19 infection. With exorbitant charges levied by the private hospitals, many patients had to suffer.

There is a need to have regulatory oversight on all hospitals working in the country to prevent refusal to accept insurance claims. The Committee strongly recommends that the target should be to make Covid-19 treatment cashless for all people that are having insurance coverage, the report said. The panel also expressed concerns over schools being shut for more than nine months, as a result of which many children were deprived of the Mid Day Meal scheme benefits. Many states continued the scheme by delivering dry ration to students at their homes or giving allowances, but this was not uniform. The Committee, therefore, strongly recommends that the Ministry of Home Affairs, along with the Department of Food and Public Distribution, may take up the matter with the State Governments to ensure that the local administrations are delivering the rations/ allowances in time and this should be continued until the schools reopen, the report said.

B) Karnataka HC stays govt order dropping 61 criminal cases against Ministers, MLAs.

The Karnataka High Court today restrained the State government from taking any further steps based on the August 31, 2020, Government Order (GO) granting permission for withdrawing 61 criminal cases, including those against MPs and MLAs from the BJP. A Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice S.Vishwajith Shetty, passed the interim order on a PIL petition filed by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties-Karnataka challenging the legality of the GO. The cases withdrawn include those registered against Pratap Simha and Sumalatha, MPs, Law Minister J, Madhuswamy, then Minister C.T. Ravi, Agriculture Minister B.C. Patil, Forests Minister Anand Singh, and M.P. Renukarcharya and Halappa Achar, MLAs. The Bench, on December 1, had declined to stay the GO but had pointed out a judgment of the apex court, which had said that public prosecutors could agree or disagree with government’s brief for withdrawal of criminal cases, and would have to return the brief if the prosecutors disagree with the request for withdrawal. Referring to Section 321 of the Cr. PC, the Bench had said that criminal cases could be withdrawn only with the consent of the jurisdictional courts, and no court is bound by such a decision taken to withdraw from the prosecution. Even if an application is made under Section 321 of the Cr. PC, the courts are duty bound to assess whether prima facie case is made out or not and that the court has power to reject the prayer. When the petition came up for hearing on Monday, the government sought time to comply with the December 1 directions. Though the Bench granted time to the government, it directed that no further steps would be taken based on August 31 order till then. The petitioner had alleged that the GO was vitiated as it was for extraneous political considerations, with many of the beneficiaries being from the ruling BJP.

C) Farmers begin day-long relay hunger strikes; Govt invites unions for next round of talks. 

Intensifying their agitation against the Centre’s new agriculture laws, farmers began day-long ‘relay’ hunger strike on Monday morning at all sites of protest on Delhi’s borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Protesting farmers will participate in the hunger strike in batches and the first had 11 members, according to farmer leaders. Meanwhile, the government has asked protesting farmer unions to specify their concerns over its earlier proposal of amendments in the new agri laws and choose a convenient date for the next round of talks so that the ongoing agitation could end at the earliest. In a letter to 40 union leaders, Union Agriculture Ministry Joint Secretary Vivek Aggarwal said the Centre was making all efforts with an open heart to resolve the concerns raised by farmers. The previous five rounds of talks between the government and the unions had failed to break the deadlock, with the farmers insisting on repeal of the three laws and camping at various border points of Delhi for over three weeks now. Aggarwal requested that the union leaders who have been in talks with the government provide details of their remaining concerns over its draft proposal, and suggest a date as per convenience for the next round of talks.

D) BJP leader’s wife joins TMC; husband decides to divorce her. 

BJP leader Sujata Mondal Khan, the wife of the president of West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha and Bishnupur Lok Sabha MP Soumitra Khan, on Monday joined the Trinamool Congress, saying the BJP did not give her the respect she deserved. She said that she was a BJP worker when the party had two MPs. Now there are 18. There are many opportunists who are joining the BJP it has become a B-team of the Trinamool Congress. Why should she not join the TMC now?” Hours after his spouse announced her decision to join the Trinamool Congress, Soumitra said at a press conference that he would send a legal notice for divorce within 24 hours. Expressing surprise over the development, he said his wife was well aware of the misdeeds of the Trinamool Congress. He accused the Trinamool Congress of ending his relationship and stealing his wife. Sujata expressed the hope that good sense would prevail over her husband and he would return to the Trinamool Congress. Soumitra was a Trinamool Congress MP before joining the BJP. This development comes two days after heavyweight Trinamool Congress leader Suvendu Adhikari joined the BJP with nine MLAs (six from the Trinamool Congress, three from other parties) and one MP.

E) Congress leader Motilal Vora passes away at 93.

Congress veteran Motilal Vora passed away at Delhi’s Fortis Escort Hospital on Monday. He had completed his 93rd birthday on Sunday. He was admitted to Fortis on Saturday after complaining of breathing difficulties. Vora was discharged from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on October 16 after recovering from Covid-19. Voraji was a true congressman and a wonderful human being. We will miss him very much. My love & condolences to his family and friends, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi tweeted. Known to be a loyalist of the Gandhi family, Vora was a long-time treasurer of the Congress party and until the recent reshuffle in September, he was a party secretary in-charge of administration. A former Chief Minister of undivided Madhya Pradesh, he represented Chhattisgarh in Rajya Sabha until this April.

F) Priyanka Gandhi writes to Adityanath urging him to protect ‘gaumata’ in U.P. 

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday wrote to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath highlighting the plight of cattle in the State and suggested he could take inspiration from Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh on how to protect gaumata. Referring to pictures of dead cattle from Sojna in Uttar Pradesh’s Lalitpur, Vadra, who is the Congress in-charge for the State, asserted that Adityanath had promised building ‘gaushalas’ (cow shelters) to protect cattle when he came to power. However, such promises have remained on paper, she said. The Congress leader said the reasons for the death of the cattle in Sojna was yet to be officially ascertained but photographs clearly showed that they had died out of hunger and starvation. Every time such pictures come out, discussions take place but no concrete action is taken. Who is responsible for this, Vadra asked, and alleged collusion between corrupt officials and ‘gaushalas’. Taking on the BJP’s dominant political discourse of cow protection in the Hindi-beltstates, Vadra quoted Mahatma Gandhi in her letter to remind the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister about the importance of protecting cows. Gandhiji considered cow as a poem of compassion. She is the mother of crores of Indians. He believed that cow protection does not only mean the protection of the cow, but the protection of all those creatures which are helpless and weak, Vadra wrote in her letter, arguing that Uttar Pradesh had failed to deliver on its promise of cattle welfare.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

A) Super Hornet fighter jets being tested for Navy use. 

Boeing on Monday announced the successful demonstration of the compatibility of its F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets with the Indian Navy’s aircraft carriers as part of its pitch for the Navy’s fighter procurement. The demonstrations, held in coordination with U.S. Navy on a shore-based facility at the Naval Air Station Patuxent river in Maryland, U.S., show that the F-18 Super Hornet would do well with the Indian Navy’s Short Takeoff but Arrested Recovery (STOBAR) system and vaIidate earlier simulation studies done over the last two years, a senior company official said. The first successful and safe launch of the F/A-18 Super Hornet from a ski-jump Space and Security. The F/A.18 Block 111 super Hornet would not only provide superior war-fighting capability to the Indian Navy but also create opportunities for cooperation in naval aviation between the U.S. and India, Mr. Kanaglekar said, pitching it as a lynchpin for cooperation between Indian and U.S. Navies. He also highlighted the ability of F/A-18 to interface with the Navy’s P-81 as a force multiplier and also with other platforms under induction. The Navy has contracted 24 Lockheed MH-GOR multirole helicopters with deliveries to begin next year. The Indian Navy currently evaluates responses from aircraft manufacturers received in response to a Request For Information floated in 2017 for 57 twin-engine deck-based fighters. However, with the Defence Research and Development Or. ganisation recently offering to develop a twin-engine deck-basedjet, the Navy is in the process of cutting down the number of fighters from 57 to around 36.

B) Oli defends move to dissolve Parliament.

Nepal’s embattled Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli on Monday defended his move to abruptly dissolve Parliament, saying he was forced to seek a fresh mandate through elections as the rift within the ruling Nepal Communist Party severely affected his government’s functioning. Mr. Oli on Sunday sprang a surprise on his rivals and got the President to dissolve Parliament, a controversial move amidst a prolonged tussle for power between him and former premier Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ within the ruling dispensation. In a special address to the nation, Mr. Oli said that he was forced to dissolve Parliament and announce mid-term elections. Against the people’s mandate and their will, national politics was dragged into an endless and goalless direction by creating controversy, making Parliament meaningless as the elected government could not receive its support but always faced opposition and dragged into the controversy. He accused some of his own party leaders for forcing him to take this step. When the Prime Minister of the majority government was not allowed to work, I did not want to indulge in unfair practices behind closed doors and reach a compromise with them. This move could be seen as an abrupt step for now, but some of my party leaders should be held responsible for creating this situation who did not cooperate with my government, Mr. Oli added. Meanwhile, opponents of Mr. Oli turned to the Supreme Court on Monday to challenge the dissolution of Parliament and denounced the move as a constitutional coup Seven Ministers stepped down after the dissolution, saying it was violation of the popular mandate given to them in a 2017 general election. Supreme Court (SC) Spokesman Bhadrakali Pokharel said three petitions against the dissolution were in the process of being registered. Under the constitution, the Prime Minister has no prerogative to dissolve Parliament, lawyer Dinesh Tripathi, who is one of the petitioners. 

C) U.S. Congress agrees on $900 bn stimulus.

U.S. lawmakers agreed on a nearly $900-billion COVID-19 relief package for millions of Americans on Sunday, in a deal that follows months of wrangling and which comes as the nation battles the world’s largest COVID-19 outbreak. The package includes aid for vaccine distribution and logistics, extra jobless benefits of $300 per week, and a new round of $600 stimulus checks half the amount provided in checks distributed in March under the CARES Act. Months of partisan debate and finger-pointing, as well as last-minute negotiations, culminated in a deal lawmakers said they hoped to formally approve on Monday. Talks had taken place amid a highly contentious campaign for the U.S. presidency and incumbent President Donald Trump’s subsequent refusal to concede defeat to Democrat Joe Biden. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer confirmed an agreement had been reached on a deal that delivers urgently needed funds to save the lives and livelihoods of the American people as the virus accelerates. The agreement also contains $25 billion in housing aid to prevent evictions and nearly $100 billion to help schools and childcare facilities re-open, a statement from Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Schumer said. The House will move swiftly to pass this legislation immediately, so it can quickly be sent to the Senate and then to the President’s desk for his signature, Mr. Schumer and Ms. Pelosi said in a statement. In the wake of the deal, President-elect Joe Biden, who has promised to pass another cash injection when he takes office in January, welcomed the agreement, but said more will need to be done.

“Immediately, starting in the new year, Congress will need to get to work on support for our COVID-19 plan, for support to struggling families, and investments in jobs and economic recovery,” Mr. Biden said in a statement.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
21 December 2020

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Farmers to step up stir, talk to NDA allies. 

The leaders of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SMK), a joint front of farmer unions, on Sunday announced a further intensification of their agitation, including relay hunger strikes at protest sites and reaching out to constituents of the ruling-National Democratic Alliance (NDA). At a press conference in Singhu, a protest site at the Delhi-Haryana border, SMK leaders said they would reach out to the NDA constituents, appealing to them to compel the BJP to withdraw the three legislations. They also appealed to people across the country to hold a fast on December 23 as a mark of gratitude towards farmers, and to clang utensils on December 27 during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Mann Ki Baat” radio address, as a mark of protest. The SMK announced that toll plazas would be made free in Haryana for three days, from December 25 to 27. It said people in Punjab would gherao Income Tax offices to protest against the raids on the arthiyas (commission agents) in the State. Stating that people supporting the agitation, including artistes and singers, were being troubled, the farm leaders said the government should refrain from such action.

B) Farmers want better APMCs, not ‘mukti’ from them, says AIKMS. 

In a related development, the Left-affiliated All-India Kisan Mazdoor Sabha (AIKMS) has released a document countering the claims of the Modi government on the three contentious farm laws, and stressing that the government’s arguments for not repealing the legislations were deceptive. It also accused the government of propagating falsehoods to claim that the laws would help farmers. In a 24-page document, the central executive committee of the AIKMS said the farmers had demanded improvement in the functioning of the mandis under the Agricultural Produce Market Committee Act and not mukti (freedom) from them. The government is trying to deny Minimum Support Price (MSP) at C2+50% [50% more than the weighted average cost of production] in the name of keeping food costs low for the poor. Giving C2+50% as MSP will not make food costly if input costs are decreased proportionally. This will afford savings for farmers and agriculture will become sustainable. But government wants to allow corporates to sell costly inputs and keep the food costs low by depriving peasants of profitable MSP. Thus, at both ends the peasant is squeezed and corporate profit is secured, the document said, adding that monopsony i.e. one buyer and many sellers, cannot create a condition for peasants to bargain and fix prices. On the government’s claim that farmers would not lose their land under the new laws, the document argued that Section 9 of Contract Act provides for peasants to take loans from other debt instruments, as separate and parallel deals. For making payment to the sponsor company for the inputs provided by it to the peasant, he will have to take loans and his land will be mortgaged, the AIKMS said.

C) BJP, TMC spar over Tagore as Shah visits Visva Bharati.

On Sunday, as Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited Visva Bharati, set up by Rabindranath Tagore in 1921 in Santiniketan, the Trinamool Congress held protests outside Jorasanko Thakurbari in Kolkata, alleging an insult to the revered poet. While Shah participated in a number of events at Visva Bharati, senior Trinamool Congress leader and Minister in West Bengal government Subrata Mukherjee held a press conference in Kolkata alleging that the BJP had disrespected the poet. Referring to some posters they had come up in Santiniketan on Saturday which showed Shah’s photograph positioned above a sketch of the poet, Mukherjee said the BJP has tried to demean the poet. The posters were removed after the placement of the photographs was pointed out. The BJP have demeaned Rabindranath, they are shocked and therefore, they wanted to protest. They will break statue of Vidyasagar and outsiders will come belittle Rabindranath. They cannot allow this. So several of their party supporters are protesting at Jorasanko Thakurbari, Mukherjee said. Morasko Thakurbari is the birth place of Rabindranath Tagore. Earlier in the day, interacting with journalists in Santiniketan, Shah had spoken of the rich literary and cultural legacy of Tagore, who had inspired both Gandhiji and Subhas Chandra Bose.

D) Vajpayee, Sharif spoke over phone in the midst of Kargil War, says book. 

Former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif spoke to each other on the phone at least four to five times during the course of the Kargil War, with the former veering to the view that Sharif had been bamboozled by the Pakistani army (then headed by General Pervez Musharraf) into the conflict. A new book on the late Prime Minister’s tenure at the helm of affairs in India, called Vajpayee: The Years That Changed India, by former bureaucrat Shakti Sinha, goes on to say that the communication was kept up after a telling incident between Sharif and R.K. Mishra, former head of the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), the man selected for back channel talks to end the conflict. Sharif’s position was a tenuous one, and in a later meeting, he indicated to Mishra that they should take a walk in the garden, obviously suspecting that his own house was tapped. When Mishra reported this to Vajpayee, the latter took this as an indication that Sharif was more a prisoner of circumstances than anything else, says the book. Vajpayee must have spoken to Sharif 4-5 times during the one and a half month period from mid-May to 4th July when the Pakistani PM publicly committed to President Clinton that Pakistan would withdraw its forces to its side of the LoC, the book further states. One of these calls occurred in mid-June from Srinagar, after Vajpayee had made a visit to Kargil. “On his arrival in Srinagar Vajpayee asked me to connect him to Sharif. My small team and I tried but we just could not get through. Then one of the local officers present informed us that dialing Pakistan (+92) from Jammu and Kashmir was barred. The telecom authorities were told to open the facility for a short while, so that the two prime ministers could talk, says the book. Sinha had served as Vajpayee’s private secretary for many years, including in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) during the conflict. The book also talks about two telephonic recordings that Arvind Dave, chief of Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), India’s external intelligence agency, brought to Prime Minister Vajpayee. Arvind Dave, the R&AW chief, came up with two telephonic recordings between the Pakistani Army chief Pervez Musharraf, and his chief of general staff, Lt. Gen. Mohammad Aziz. It was clear that the Pakistan Army was involved, with the Mujahideen playing a minor role, if any, says the book. The tapes were shared with the media later, but were also smuggled into Pakistan for Sharif via the diplomatic route. The book offers an insider’s perspective on the eventful years when Vajpayee was Prime Minister.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Nepal PM Oli recommends dissolution of Parliament, President Bhandari announces fresh election.

In an emergency Cabinet meeting held on Sunday morning, Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli recommended dissolution of the Parliament and called for a general election. The decision was ratified by President Bidhya Devi Bhandari in an official announcement in the afternoon. The President has called a two-phase election to be held on April 30 and May 10, 2021. The dramatic decision came after weeks of tension with challenger Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, who has been demanding that Oli change his style of governance. The decision was followed by the deployment of quick action forces across Kathmandu and other major Nepalese cities and towns. Oli’s government in recent weeks was unable to pass politically sensitive decisions because of the opposition in the Standing Committee of the Nepal Communist Party where Prachanda’s section is in majority. Sunday’s decision to dissolve the Parliament has drawn strong criticism from the Opposition and members of the ruling coalition. The decision is unconstitutional as there is no provision in our 2015 Constitution to dissolve a Parliament that is functioning perfectly well. The problem was inside the Nepal Communist Party and the Prime Minister cannot attack the Parliament for his inability to deal with intra-party dissidents, said Rajendra Mahto of Janata Samajvadi Party. Mahto said Nepal faces an uncertain future because of Oli’s decision. The decision amounts to a coup, he said. Political leaders, including former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, have cautioned about the future of Nepal in the backdrop of Sunday’s Cabinet decision. President Oli’s recommendation is extremely unfortunate and is against the interest of democracy. All political parties of Nepal must protest against this development, he said. Nepal held elections in November-December 2017 and the elected candidates in the Pratinidhi Sabha were expected to serve a full 5-year term.

B) India, U.S. mull over unfinished work.

With exactly a month left in U.S. President Donald Trump’s tenure, U.S. Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster has begun a series of calls on Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and NITI Aayog chief Amitabh Kant, as well as farewell discussions with the U.S.-India business chambers, USIBC and USISPF. The calls highlighted the achievements of the India-U.S. partnership in the past four years. While these include great strides in diplomatic, defence, commercial, energy and health areas, talks on waivers for possible sanctions, trade negotiations, and nuclear deals are in the category of unfinished business between the two countries. In a briefing this week, a U.S. official made it clear that despite hopes being raised in 2018 by the U.S. Congress’s amendment to the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), that allowed the U.S. President to waive sanctions on India’s purchase of the missile systems from Russia, Mr. Trump has not made the decision to give India a pass. Speaking about sanctions against Turkey for its purchase of the official said this should be seen as a warning to others hoping to acquire the system. However, asked about the latest U.S. comments, Indian officials dismissed the concerns. There will no issues in interoperability of the U.S. and Russian systems as they will be plugged into the Indian grid. Given that the Democrats had pushed for the CAATSA, the government will have to take its chances with President-elect Joe Biden in office providing the waiver once India takes delivery of the S-400 systems in 2021. Trade negotiations are another area where New Delhi hopes the Biden administration will pick up where it believes the Trump administration failed to deliver, particularly its failure to reverse the decision to revoke India’s Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) since June 2019 due to differences in the areas of medical devices, dairy and IT products. Meanwhile, officials hopeful of a commercial contract finally being finalized for the decade-old MOU between U.S. based Westinghouse Electric Company and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) to build six reactors in Andhra Pradesh  the first since Mr. Modi and U.S. President Barack Obama announced the deal is done in 2015 have also been disappointed with the lack of progress. 

C) Biden introduces his climate team, says no time to waste. 

Just as the United States has needed a unified, national response to COVID-19, it needs one for dealing with climate change, President-elect Joe Biden said on Saturday as he rolled out key members of his environmental team. They literally have no time to waste, Mr. Biden told the reporters as introduced his choices. The approach is a shift from Donald Trump’s presidency, which has been marked by efforts to boost oil and gas production while rolling back government efforts intended to safeguard the environment. The incoming Biden team will try to undo or block many of the current administration’s initiatives. There also will be an emphasis on looking out for the low-income, working class and minority communities hit hardest by fossil fuel pollution and climate change. In his remarks, Mr. Biden stressed the diversity of an emerging team that he described as brilliant, qualified, tested and they are barrier-busting. Already there are more people of color in our Cabinet than any Cabinet ever, more women than ever,” said the former Vice-President, who has promised to assemble a group of department leaders who reflect the diversity of America. The nominees Mr. Biden introduced had compelling personal stories that they cited as guiding them if confirmed by the Senate.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
20 December 2020

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Suvendu Adhikari leads defections from TMC to BJP in Bengal. 

West Bengal on Saturday witnessed one of the biggest political defections in recent times, with a host of Trinamool Congress leaders, including former Minister and heavyweight leader Suvendu Adhikari, joining the BJP at a rally addressed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Six MLAs of the Trinamool Congress, one each from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) , the Communist Party of India and the Congress joined the BJP. Sitting TMC MP from Bardhaman Purba Sunil Kumar Mondal also defected to the BJP. Along with Mr. Adhikari, who represents the Nandigram Assembly seat, the other MLAs who switched sides are Banashri Maity, MLA from Kanthi Uttar; Biswajit Kundu, MLA from Kalna; Saikat Panja, MLA from Monteshwar; Silbhadra Dutta, Barrackpore MLA; Sukra Munda, MLA from Nagrakata; and Dipali Biswas, Gazole MLA. Tapashi Mondal, CPI(M) MLA from Haldia; Ashok Dinda, CPI MLA from Tamluk; and Sudip Mukherjee, Congress MLA representing Purulia, joined the BJP. Other than the lawmakers, a number of district-level leaders of the Trinamool Congress, including some from the minority community, also joined the BJP. Mr. Adhikari joining the BJP, which comes after months of speculation of his political future, is being seen as the most significant political development ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections. The Trinamool Congress’s biggest challenge seems to be keeping its flock of leaders together as the development today may trigger exodus of other leaders from the party.

B) After marathon brainstorming, Cong. decides to hold “chintan shivir”.

After a nearly five-hour-long brainstorming session of its leaders, including members of the group of 23 (G-23), at its president Sonia Gandhi’s 10 Janpath residence on Saturday morning, the Congress has now decided to hold a chintan shivir (conclave) to strengthen the party. The backdrop to this latest move is renewed calls among party members for Rahul Gandhi to take over as Congress president once again, Mr. Gandhi said he was willing to work for the party but didn’t quite make his stand clear on returning as the party chief. After the meeting, senior leader Pawan Bansal quoted Mr. Gandhi as saying that he is willing to work for the party as all of them desire. This is the first time Ms. Gandhi is meeting senior leaders in person ever since the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions kicked in. It is also the first time she is meeting a section of the G-23 leaders, who had earlier asked for active, visible and full-time leadership. In August, they had written a letter to Ms. Gandhi arguing for collective leadership, organisational revamp, internal elections and decentralised decision-making process. Among the G-23 leaders attending Saturday’s meeting are Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Prithvi Raj Chavan, Manish Tewari and Shashi Tharoor. Other senior leaders include former Union Ministers P. Chidamabaram, Kamal Nath, Ambika Soni and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. Party general secretaries Ajay Maken and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were in attendance.

C) Farmers already reaping benefits of new reforms: PM Modi. 

Farmers are already reaping the benefits of the reforms brought in six months ago and better infrastructure and market access for the farm sector could take the rural economy to new heights, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday. Mr. Modi urged industry to significantly scale up their domestic investments, so as to evoke greater confidence in the country’s growth story among foreign investors. It was imperative for businesses to devote more energy to bridging the rural-urban divide and support women, youth and smaller enterprises, he said in an address at the Assocham Foundation week. Keeping the country’s needs in mind, work on the formulation of new laws is continuing ceaselessly. The benefits of the farm reforms that were implemented six months ago, have also begun reaching the farmers. If our farm sector gets access to better promotion, infrastructure and markets, then our entire rural economy can reach the peak, he stated. India is also capable of fulfilling its own needs and help the world. From farmer to pharma, India has demonstrated this. Now in vaccines also, India will not only fulfil its own needs but also deliver on the hopes of several countries in the world, he asserted. Industry can help multiply the efforts of the government over the past six years to reduce the rural and urban divide. ASSOCHAM members can help give our villages’ produce a global platform. To ensure that the farmers in villages can reach global markets digitally, we are working on providing broadband connectivity to every village, he said. Mr. Modi referred to rural opportunities like organic farming and herbal products that could be promoted by industry bodies around the world. The Central government, State governments and farmer organisations should work together, he urged.

D) India may skip Covid second wave: healthcare experts. 

Healthcare experts have said that there may not be a second peak of Covid-19 in the country and even if it occurs, it is unlikely to be as strong as the first one. The comments come as the country’s Covciud-19 caseload surpassed the one crore mark, though the number of daily cases and daily fatalities have been continuously coming down. Noted virologist Dr. Shahid Jameel said India’s curve for daily cases is on a downward slope since a peak in mid-September. At this time, they are getting about 25,500 cases daily compared to over 93,000 cases per day in mid-September. He believe the worst is over. But there will be small peaks in the future just as they witnessed in late November, he said. They don’t think there would be a second peak as they have gone through the festive season (Dussehra to Diwali) and a State election without a significant jump. What is the reason for this? If they go by the second national sero-survey, likely cases were 16 times confirmed cases. By that factor, India would have 160 million cases now, he told PTI. When asked about a possible second peak of COVID-19, noted clinical scientist Dr. Gagandeep Kang opined the transmission will not be as rapid as was seen the first time and the peak will not be as high. She said that she don’t think the exposure is enough to say that they have herd immunity and won’t need to worry about it again, but she think it is enough to ensure that they will have some level of protection so that the transmission will not be as rapid as was seen the first time and the peak will also be not as high. 

E) Stand-off with India amid COVID-19 showed China’s intention: Rajnath Singh. 

The military stand-off with India in the northern sector amid the COVID-19 crisis showed China’s intentions, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Saturday. Mr. Singh, who presided over the Combined Graduation Parade held at Air Force Academy (AFA) in Dundigal, around 45 km from Hyderabad, said India believed in solutions for any issue peacefully and through talks. They don’t want conflict, but peace. However, they will not tolerate any harm to the country’s self-respect, Mr. Singh said, while addressing the newly commissioned Flying Officers of the Indian Air Force. This is the new India, they are no longer weak. They are capable of answering any transgression, aggression and unilateral action at the border, he said. Stating that Pakistan continued its nefarious act at the border despite losing four wars, Mr. Singh said. In the western sector, Pakistan is still fighting proxy wars through terror despite losing four wars against us.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) U.S. planning to close its last two consulates in Russia.

Donald Trump’s outgoing administration is planning to close the two remaining U.S. consulates in Russia, the State Department confirmed on Saturday, as President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office amid high tensions with Moscow. The U.S. will close its consulate in the far eastern city of Vladivostok and suspend operations at its post in Yekaterinburg, a Department spokesperson said. The decision followed consultation with Ambassador John Sullivan and was part of efforts to ensure the safe and secure operation of the U.S. diplomatic mission in the Russian Federation, the spokesperson said. CNN reported that a State Department letter to Congress this month said the move was a response to on going staffing challenges for the U.S. Mission in Russia in the wake of the 2017 Russian imposed personnel cap on the U.S. Mission. Ten diplomats assigned to the consulates will reportedly be relocated to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, while 33 local staff will lose their jobs. The Department said the resulting realignment of personnel at U.S. Embassy Moscow will allow us to ad. Vance our foreign policy interests in Russia in the most effective and safe manner possible. No action related to the Russian consulates in the U.S. is planned, the spokesperson added. The closures would leave the Embassy as the last U.S. diplomatic mission in Russia. Moscow ordered the closure of the U.S. consulate in St. Petersburg in March 2018 during a diplomatic spat sparked by the poisoning of Sergei Skripal on British soil.

B) China appoints new General for India border command. 

China has appointed a new People’s Liberation Army (PLA) General to head its Western Theatre Command, its biggest military command which is responsible for the India border, replacing a long-standing General who oversaw a tumultuous four-year period that saw renewed border tensions. The announcement was made on Friday when President Xi Jinping, also Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), presented four military and armed police officers with certificates of order promoting them to the rank of General, the State media reported. Among the four were Zhang Xudong, who was named as Commander of the Western Theatre Command. The three other promoted othcers were Guo Puxiao, Political Commissar of the CMC Logistic Support Department, Li Wei, Political Commissar of the PLAYS Strategic Support Force which is responsible for cyber warfare, and Wang Chunning, Commander of the People’s Armed Police Force (PAPF), which is tasked with internal security. General Zhang has no prior experience in the Western Theatre, Tibet or Xinjiang, having spent much of his career in the northeastern Shenyang Military Region (now under the Northern Theatre Command) and since 2017 as the Commander of the Central Theatre Command, which is responsible for the security of the capital, Beiiing. General Zhao was in charge during the 2017 Dole lam crisis, when ties between India and China were strained during a 72-day stand-off on the plateau near the India-Bhutan-China tri-junction, and also during the current tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) which erupted in early May when the PLA carried out multiple transgressions across the LAC. In October 2017, he was appointed to the Communist Party’s 19th Central Committee.