Junior Digest

New Delhi, Jan 19: The Narendra Modi government would break the convention about the interim budget and make the February 1 exercise more significant than a vote on account, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said.
Mr Jaitley said the larger interest of the economy always dictates what goes into the interim budget, including addressing some of the challenges.
“The convention has always been that the election year budget normally is an interim budget and ordinarily there should be no reason why we should move away from that convention. But then the larger interest of the economy always dictates what goes into the interim budget and that’s something which cannot be discussed or disclosed at this stage,” Mr Jaitley added.
He was speaking at the CNBC-TV18 Indian Business Leader Awards on Thursday via video conference from New York. He has left for the US on Sunday.
Mr Jaitley said the NDA government had been in this game for far too long to have nervousness about the budget, and was confident and proud of its performance.
However, there were still some things that remained a concern, he said, adding that 7-7.5 per cent growth rate will not suffice and the 8 per cent barrier would have to be crossed.
The Minister added that annual savings from Aadhaar can fund many schemes and it has helped the government to dispense wasteful schemes.
Asked about monetary policy and former RBI Governor Urjit Patel episode, he said the central bank and the government have always been in extensive consultations and both did have two conflicting, diverse viewpoints in an earlier situation, but each acts within the constraints of their domain.
However, he refrained from expressing any views on any rate cut saying he will not fault the RBI or the government for not having consultations.
The Minister said he can’t have a real rate of interest that is higher than anywhere else in the world.
Mr Jaitley said he had a lot to be satisfied with over the past five years with the government’s achievement. “The NDA government had succeeded in restoring the credibility of the economy and its decision making process over last few years.”
Asked about relief package for farmers, Mr Jaitley said this sector has been facing challenges, and the markets will tend to understand if approach is rational and not populist.
The Government is to present its last and interim budget on February 1, this year.

New Delhi , Jan 17 : The government on Thursday “curtailed” with immediate effect the tenure of Special Director of CBI Rakesh Asthana and three other officers of the investigative agency.
The action by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) came a day after Asthana, a 1984-batch IPS officer of Gujarat cadre, moved an application in the Delhi High Court seeking some corrections in the recent judgement.
The Delhi High Court had January 11 dismissed a plea filed by Asthana, seeking quashing of an FIR against him in a bribery case.
The single judge bench of the High Court refused to grant interim protection to him but Justice Najmi Waziri asked the CBI to maintain the status quo for two weeks.
The High Court had directed the CBI to conclude investigation against Asthana within 10 weeks.
According to a government order, the ACC also “curtailed” the tenure of CBI Joint Director Arun Kumar Sharma, a 1987-batch IPS officer of Gujarat cadre, CBI DIG Manish Kumar Sinha, a 2000-batch IPS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre, and SP Jayant J Naiknavare, a 2004-batch IPS officer of Maharashtra cadre.

New Delhi , Jan 11:: Alok Verma was on Thursday removed as the CBI Director on account of the “extremely serious nature of observations made by the CVC against him”.
The decision to remove Verma was taken by the Selection Committee, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and comprising Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge. Chief Justice of India is also a member of the Committee but at today’s meeting, he was represented by Justice A K Sikri, the senior most judge of the Supreme Court.
The committee was of the view that being the head of a very sensitive organisation, Verma was “not functioning with the integrity expected of him,” according to sources.
The 1979-batch IPS officer was posted as DG, Fire Services, Civil Defence, and Home Guards, two days after he was reinstated as the CBI Director by the Supreme Court. His reinstatement had come about two-and-a-half months after being divested of his powers and sent on leave by the government.

Beijing, Jan 13 : India plans to achieve electric mobility by 2030 and welcomes Chinese industries participation and investment in the expansion of Indian Electric Vehicles (EV) Market, NITI Aayog Principal Advisor Anil Srivatsava has said.

Srivastava, who led an industry delegation from India and addressed summit forum ‘Global Zero Emission and All Electric Vehicle’ held from January 11-13, met Chen Qingtai, President of China EV100, and invited China’s participation in India’s ambitious plans to go for full electric mobility.

“He mentioned that for India’s ambitious objective of achieving electric mobility by 2030, we see very substantive role for the Chinese EV players,” a press release from the Indian Embassy here said on Sunday.

China EV100, a private electric vehicle association of over 200 leading Chinese electric mobility industries, is organising the 5th China EV100 Forum in Beijing.

Amravati (Andhra Pradesh)  Jan 12 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday laid the foundation for the construction of Iconic Bridge with a 170-meter long pylon over river Krishna.
The 3.2 km long bridge will connect Amaravati with Hyderabad national highway”>Vijayawada-Hyderabad national highway. The bridge will be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 1387 crore. There will be six lanes on the bridge and 2.5 meters wide pavements on both sides for pedestrians.
With this bridge, Amaravati will be directly connected to Hyderabad and Jagadalpur. The distance from Amaravati to those two cities will be reduced by 40 km. Further, this bridge will minimise traffic problems in Vijayawada.
Along with the bridge, a water treatment plant will be constructed on the Krishna river with an estimated expenditure cost of Rs 745.65 crores, the foundation of which was also laid today by Naidu. This system will provide round the clock drinking water facility in the Amaravati as per the international standards.
As part of the project, two intake wells, 190 MLD capacity water treatment plant, partially underground purified water reservoir will also be built. For distribution of the water, a much elaborate system has been planned to be built. From this treatment plant, purified water will be supplied to domestic, industrial, commercial and institutional needs.

New Delhi, Jan 17 : The National Green Tribunal (NGT) Thursday slammed German auto major Volkswagen for not depositing Rs 100 crore in accordance with its November 16, 2018 order and directed it to submit the amount within 24 hours.

A bench headed by NGT chairperson Adarsh Kumar Goel took strong exception to the non-compliance of its order by the automobile giant and asked it to give an undertaking that it will submit the amount by 5 PM Friday.

“Why have you not complied with our order when there is no stay. We will not give you any further time,” the bench, also comprising Justice S P Wangdi, said while asking Volkswagen to submit an affidavit of compliance after deposit.

The tribunal deferred the matter for hearing after it was informed that the Supreme Court is also seized of the issue.

On November 16 last year, the tribunal had said that the use of ‘cheat device’ by Volkswagen in diesel cars in India leads to inference of environmental damage and had asked the German auto major to deposit an interim amount of Rs 100 crore with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Mayabunder (Andaman and Nicobar Islands) , Jan 17: An earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale struck the Nicobar Islands region on Thursday morning.
“Earthquake of Magnitude:6.0, Occurred on:17-01-2019, 08:23:07 IST, Lat:7.6 N & Long: 94.5 E, Depth: 84 Km, Region:Nicobar Islands Region,” the India Meteorological Department (IMD) tweeted.

No tsunami warning has been issued, and no casualties or injuries have been reported as of yet. There have been no reports of aftershocks either.

Jaipur , Jan 18 : The Rajasthan cabinet approved two amendments bills – Rajasthan Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2019, and the Rajasthan Municipalities (Amendment) Bill, 2019 – to end the minimum educational qualification condition for contesting the local body elections in the state.
Both the bills will be introduced in the state assembly during the present session, read a statement.
During her tenure, former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje had introduced an education criteria in 2015 which required a candidate to pass Class X for contesting municipal, zila parishad or panchayat samiti elections.

New Delhi: Government launched The National Clean Air Program (NCAP)  on Thursday  to rein in dangerous pollution levels in more than a hundred cities .

But the plan drew immediate criticism from environmentalists, who said it lacked a clear framework to tackle toxicity levels that have led to millions of deaths.

India is home to the world’s 14 most polluted cities, according to the World Health Organization. Toxic air claimed 1.24 million lives there in 2017, a study in Lancet Planetary Health showed last month.

The National Clean Air Program (NCAP) aims to cut pollution in the 102 worst affected cities by 20-30 percent by 2024.

Launching it, Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan said he believed it would substantially improve air quality. “We need to ensure that we give clean air to our children and the generations to come,” he told a news conference.

The plan aims to push through cuts in industrial emissions and vehicular exhaust fumes, introduce stringent rules for transport fuels and biomass burning and reduce dust pollution. It will also upgrade and increase monitoring systems.

New Delhi: India opposition politicians and media called for a colonial-era sedition law to be scrapped on Wednesday, accusing authorities of trying to suppress dissent after it was invoked against students marking the execution of a Kashmiri militant.

Police used the 1870 law against 10 people for the 2016 rally at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University where police say anti-India posters were raised.

The students denied the allegations and critics said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government was trying to curb free speech and pander to his Hindu nationalist base ahead of his re-election bid in a few months.

“There is no need for a sedition law in today’s times, it is a colonial law,” said Kapil Sibal, a senior leader of the main opposition Congress party.

“Many who merely speak or tweet against the government have sedition charges imposed against them; it is being misused by the centre just to keep citizens in check.”

Kanhaiya Kumar, the student leader, attended the rally questioning the execution of the Kashmiri separatist convicted of an attack on parliament in 2001, but his lawyers said he rejected the use of violence and made no incendiary comments.

Instead, his supporters said he criticised a right-wing student fraternity and a Hindu-nationalist umbrella group to which Modi’s ruling party belongs.

“The fact that the charges are being made three years after the alleged use of “anti-national slogans” by JNU students in February 2016, and on the eve of the general elections, suggests that their motive is political,” Manoj Joshi, a fellow at the New Delhi-based think tank Observer Research Foundation, wrote in Mail Today.

Four-and-a-half years after the Centre launched its flagship Namami Gange programme to clean up the Ganga, a government- commissioned assessment has found that 66 towns and cities along the river still have nullahs or drains flowing directly into the Ganga. Almost 85% of these nullahs do not even have screens set up to stop garbage from entering the river.

Of the 92 towns surveyed, 72 still have old or legacy dump sites on the ghats. Only 19 towns have a municipal solid waste plant, according to an assessment done by the Quality Council of India (QCI).

The third party assessment, which was conducted over a 6-week period in November and December 2018, was commissioned by the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD). It covered 92 of the 97 towns along the river, located in five States: Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. Of the remaining five towns, three had no ghats along the river, while two were shut due to extreme weather conditions during the period of the survey.

Of the 242 nullahs that discharge directly into the Ganga, only 37 had installed screens, some of which are already choked with garbage. Of the 205 nullahs allowing solid waste to flow freely into the river without any screens, 100 are in the towns of West Bengal. In fact, only two nullahs in that State had any screens at all, the assessment found. Bihar also fared very poorly, with none of the 30 nullahs in the State having any screens.

While much of the focus of Namami Gange over the last four years has been on liquid waste management and sewage treatment plants, the Centre is now turning its focus to solid waste management as well, under the aegis of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban).

However, a workshop held on the issue last week saw participation from less than half the towns along the Ganga, with West Bengal — where 39 of the towns are located — having the smallest presence, with less than five officials attending. The MoUD warned municipal officials that another assessment would be done in March to check their progress on these measures. The ongoing nationwide Swachh Survekshan survey will also include a special award for the Ganga towns, said Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra.

The QCI assessment graded the towns on four parameters: overall cleanliness, which involved the dump sites and garbage vulnerable points present near the ghats, as well as the presence of solid waste floating on the river’s surface; the availability of a municipal solid waste plant; the installation and maintenance of screens placed over nullahs; and solid waste management services such as sweeping and cleaning arrangements, litter bins and anti-littering signs and a trash cleaner to trap solid waste floating on the river.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, most of the 12 towns that achieved an ‘A’ grade had populations of less than 1 lakh people. Most were located in the upstream States of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. A notable exception was the West Bengal town of Maheshtala, with a population of 4.5 lakh. Large cities such as Kolkata, Varanasi, Kanpur and Patna all achieved low scores.

New Delhi, Jan 12: The Supreme Court Friday lifted its stay on certain stalled projects under the government’s ambitious Chardham development plan, which proposes to provide all-weather connectivity to the four holy towns of Uttarakhand.

The court said the stay will however continue on those projects which are yet to begin under the plan till the environment clearance is taken by the authorities.

The four towns of the hilly state to be connected by all-weather roads are Yamnotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath.

The top court also stayed a paragraph in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order passed on September 26 last year which said that these projects did not require Environmental Impact Assessment Approval/Environment Clearance in terms of the notification of Ministry of Environment & Forests.

On October 22 last year, the apex court had stayed the NGT order clearing the entire ambitious Chardham project in Uttarakhand.

A bench of Justices R F Nariman and Vineet Sharan said that ongoing projects will not be stayed and the projects which have not yet taken off will be stayed.

It said that in case of stalled projects the authorities will follow the usual drill and seek the requisite environmental clearances.

 

New Delhi, Jan 15: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has assured a delegation of Assam for protecting the cultural, linguistic identity and heritage of all North East states including Assam, an official release of the Home Ministry said here on Monday.
The delegation led by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, senior Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and other leaders of the state called on Mr Singh on Saturday to discuss the issues related to safeguards for preserving the cultural and linguistic identity and heritage of Assam and implementation of Clause-6 of the Assam Accord and issues related to grant of tribal status to six communities.
“A meeting of all Chief Ministers of North Eastern States will be convened soon to discuss about the safeguards that need to be provided for protecting the interests of these States and protecting their cultural and linguistic identity”, the Home Minister assured the delegation.
He also said that while introducing the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha on January 8, he had made it abundantly clear that the Bill is not meant for the individuals belonging to six minorities who have come from one particular country. It is also not meant for individuals who are living in one particular State.
“It is a fact that Assam has borne the disproportionate burden of migration due to religious persecution in our neighbouring countries and therefore, Assam should not bear this burden alone. It is the responsibility of the entire country and the burden should also be shared by the entire country”,Mr Singh said.
Explaining the Government’s stand on Citizenship Act he said “We are committed to helping the persons belonging to six minority communities, who have been compelled to come to India because of religious persecution in the three neighbouring countries.Those who qualify for citizenship under the amended Citizenship Act would be free to reside and settle in any State”.
The Union Home Minister said the Government will also expect the recommendations of the High Powered Committee which has been set up to suggest measures for implementation of the Clause-6 of the Assam Accord. .
The action taken by the Government to set up this High Level Committee is a landmark step in the direction of preserving the cultural, linguistic identity of Assam, Mr Singh said
Many representatives of the Bodo groups including the Bodoland Territorial Council chief Hagrama Muhilary, Minister in State government Chandan Brahma, and MP Biswajit Daimary also met the Home Minister over the weekend and discussed the various outstanding demands of Bodo community.
He assured the Bodo leaders that this decision will be implemented only after ensuring that the political and employment related privileges and rights of the existing tribes in Assam are fully protected. Necessary modalities for this will be worked out by the State Governments in consultation with all the stakeholders, he added.

New Delhi, Jan 11 : Supreme Court today asked the Central and also the Meghalaya Government to seek necessary assistance and help of experts and try to ensure in rescuing those 15 miners who are trapped in an illegal flooded coal mine in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills since December 13 last year.
The Apex Court division bench, also wanted to know from the Central and Meghalaya government about the safety and rescuing process of those 15 miners.
“What steps you (Centre and Meghalaya) have taken? Whether these miners are still alive?” the two-judge bench of the Apex Court, headed by Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri said.
The Top Court also wanted to know as to what is being done about the persons operating the illegal mines and the officials who allowed the illegal mines to go on.
“It can’t be without connivance. We will deal with that aspect too but for the time being lets focus on rescuing the trapped miners,” the Apex Court said.
“Carry on with your rescue efforts, what if all or at least some are still alive? Miracles do happen”, the bench headed by Justice Sikri said, and fixed the matter for further hearing to January 18.

Lucknow, Jan 13 : Not averse to a post poll alliance with the SP-BSP led Mahagathbandhan in Uttar Pradesh to keep BJP out of the government, Congress on Sunday announced to contest all 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
“We would be thankful to any secular party in the country who will defeat BJP, but Congress is the only party, which can lead the campaign against BJP in the national prospect,” said Congress General Secretary and In-charge of Uttar Pradesh Gulam Nahi Azad here, after holding a meeting with the state senior leaders.

Though admitting that at first they wanted to be part of the Mahagathbandhan in UP, but when SP and BSP announced their own alliance, then ‘we are ready to contest the polls alone’.

 

 

New Delhi, Jan 14 : The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Centre on a plea challenging the notification authorising 10 central agencies to intercept, monitor and decrypt any computer system and sought a response within six weeks.

The PIL challenging the government’s December 20 notification came up before a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi.

According to the notification, 10 central probe and snoop agencies are empowered under the Information Technology (IT) Act for computer interception and analysis, Home Ministry officials said.

The 10 agencies notified under the new order are the Intelligence Bureau, Narcotics Control Bureau, Enforcement Directorate, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (for Income Tax Department), Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Central Bureau of Investigation, National Investigation Agency, the Research and Analysis Wing, Directorate of Signal Intelligence (in service areas of J-K, North East and Assam) and Delhi Police commissioner.

The plea, filed by advocate Manohar Lal Sharma, termed the notification “illegal, unconstitutional and ultra vires to the law”.

He also sought to prohibit the agencies from initiating any criminal proceedings, enquiry or investigation against anybody under the provisions of the IT Act based on the notification.

The petition alleged that the notification gives the state the right to access every communication, computer and mobile and “to use it to protect political interest and object of the present executive political party”.

The government’s move set off a political storm with the opposition accusing the Centre of trying to create a “surveillance state”.

However, the Central government said the rules for intercepting and monitoring computer data were framed in 2009 when the Congress-led UPA was in power and its new order only notified the designated authority which can carry out such action.

New Delhi, Jan 18: The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned suspended Hardik Pandya and K L Rahul case till next week.

The Committee of Administrators (CoA) had mentioned before the court the comments made by duo on the chat show were in bad taste and sought directions on the appointment of an ombudsman to investigate into the issue.
The two players, in a phone conversation with BCCI CEO Rahul Johri, expressed regret over their comments and Johri submitted the players’ explanations to the CoA on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, CoA, Chairman Vinod Rai said, “both players have expressed deep regret over their comments on the show and have apologised in the matter. They have said that they did it in their naivete. And they didn’t realise at the time what they had did.”
Rai, speaking before the court hearing, said that the next step would be determined by directions from the apex court.
The CoA has asked the court for directions on appointing an ombudsman, who is the BCCI’s final adjudicating authority under its constitution.
However, the BCCI never appointed a replacement once Justice AP Shah finished his term as the first ombudsman of the board in 2016.

New Delhi, Jan 11 : “I am very clear on 1984 that anybody, regardless of where he comes from, if he has harmed members of the minority community, he should be punished,” asserted Congress President Rahul Gandhi while speaking about alleged insecurities among minorities in the country.
In an exclusive interview to Gulf News, ahead of his maiden visit to UAE, the Gandhi scion said, “We will punish those who think that they can get away by crushing India. They should not be under the impression that they can crush the weak people. I am very clear on 1984 that anybody, regardless of where he comes from, if he has harmed members of the minority community, he should be punished. The legal system will make sure that the justice is done [in 1984 cases] and we will allow the justice system to work. The legal structure that we have, the laws that we have, are good enough to deal with the problems as long as institutions like the Supreme Court are free to do their work.”

Kolkata, Jan 17 : The Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO)
has written to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, urging expulsion of the two nursing
students and three others of the state-run Nil Ratan Sircar Medical college, accused of
ruthlessly killing 16 puppies.
The dead puppies were found in the trash bin at the medical college campus last
Sunday. Post mortem report revealed that the puppies died due to severe liver and
nervous system injuries inflicted on them by iron rods.
Later, video footage of the horrific incident showed two 1st year nursing students,
identified as Moutusi Mondol and Soma Burman, bludgeoning the puppies, while
keeping their mother leashed at the spot. The two along with three other of the college
had continued with their cruelty even as onlookers pleaded for mercy.
“We appeal to you to disbar these students from the college and the medical profession
as they have shattered the sanctity of a noble profession which is known for ‘Saving Lives’
and the way they have planned and killed these innocent pups, they are not even an inch
close to get associated with this profession,” FIAPO stated in its letter.
In the letter, FIAPO expressed concern that the guilty may be able to leverage the weak
laws in place and escape conviction as the laws protecting animals are weak.
“Frequently, we come across incidents where the plight of these innocent victims go
unnoticed,” the letter said, pointing out the “non-credible” laws that allowed blatant
victimisation of animals.
On Monday, just a day after the 16 dead pups were found, another video of brutal
killing, in the same location, of another puppy surfaced, proving the inhuman act had
continued unabated.
The animal activist organisations requested the chief minister to organise workshops
“in order to sensitise the police department of the state regarding the laws protecting
the animals, including but not limiting to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960
as well as the Indian Penal Code”, as in most cases the police overlooked such criminal
activities and the culprits faced consequences only after public outcry.

New Delhi , Jan 11 : The CBSE on Friday issued a circular announcing the introduction of two levels of Mathematics for class 10th. The students can now opt for one of the levels according to their needs.
Accepting the unrealistic stress the subject can have on students who do not wish to further pursue the subject, CBSE has decided to introduce a Basic and a Standard Mathematics for Class X students for CBSE Board Examinations 2020.
The present level and curriculum of mathematics would continue to remain the same.
In its notification the CBSE also highlighted, “There shall not be two levels of assessment/Examination for class IX. First level would be the same as the existing one, and the other would be an earlier level. The nomenclature for the two Examinations will be; Mathematics-Standard for the existing level of examination, and Mathematics-Basic for the easier level of examination.”

New Delhi, Jan 11: One day ahead of BJP’s National Council meeting, the party chief Amit Shah on Thursday appointed three former chief ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Raman Singh and Vasundhara Raje as party vice presidents.
In a tweet, BJP’s general secretary Arun Singh said BJP national president has appointed the leaders to the posts.
He congratulated all the three leaders.
Although Mr Chouhan was already made a member of BJP’s Parliamentary Board earlier, the appointment marks clear shifting of base of two others Raman Singh and Vasundhara Raje into the national politics.
Ms Raje of course had served as Union Minister earlier under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The two-day national council meeting is expected to gear up the party leaders and workers for the much awaited Lok Sabha polls which are expected to take place in March-April this year.