Category: Current Affairs

CURRENT AFFAIRS
22 January 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Farmer unions likely to reject government proposal of suspending agri laws for 18 months.

Rakesh Tikait, who heads one faction of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), said that the farm unions have decided to reject the government’s proposal. They don’t want a suspension of the three laws just for 1.5 years. They want a full repeal, Tikait told. However, a spokesperson for the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) emphasised that the joint leadership meeting is still ongoing, and no final decision has been taken yet. At the tenth round of talks on Wednesday, the Centre had offered to suspend three contentious farm reform laws for one and a half years, and asked the unions to return with a response on Friday. Asked if the unions would be more willing to accept the proposal if the government offered a longer suspension, of three years or more, Tikait said it would not make any difference. Suspension is not the same as repeal. Our demand has always been that the laws should be repealed, he said. He also added that the farmers’ demands went beyond the fate of the three laws and also included a legal guarantee for minimum support prices, which the government has not been willing to discuss. All the unions are agreed on this. You will see when we tell the government in the meeting tomorrow, said Tikait, who is leading a group of farmers, mostly from Uttar Pradesh, protesting on the Ghazipur border. Leaders from BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) added that they were also not in favour of accepting the government’s proposal. Suspending the laws for a year or for a year and a half would cost the farmers dearly and the sword will keep hanging on them in the same way, said BKU-EU secretary Shingara Singh Mann, in a statement issued from the Tikri border. The government resorted to the Supreme Court to delay things under the absurd pretext of suspending the laws for a year and a half, but all the farmers of the country, under the leadership of the farmer’s organisations, are determined to fight till the laws are repealed. Additionally, the farmers demand to make MSP a legal right, said the BKU-EU statement. Mann added that preparations for a proposed tractor parade on January 26 in Delhi were going on in full swing in Punjab and Haryana. The parade will be a peaceful exhibition of unity on Republic Day, he said.

B) Rajiv Gandhi assassination case | Tamil Nadu Governor will decide on release of convicts in 3, 4 days. 

Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit would take a decision in the next three or four days on the State government’s recommendation to release seven convicts, including A.G. Perarivalan, who is undergoing life imprisonment for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the Supreme Court on Thursday. The State Cabinet made its recommendation regarding all the seven convicts on September 9, 2018, Additional Advocate General of Tamil Nadu Balaji Srinivasan confirmed. The recommendation to remit their life sentences was advised by the Tamil Nadu Cabinet under Article 161 of the Constitution. The Governor will decide on the Cabinet’s recommendation as per the provisions of the Constitution in three or four days, Mehta, appearing for the Governor, informed a three-judge Bench led by Justice L. Nageswara Rao. Mehta’s submission came at the beginning of the court’s second day of hearing of a petition filed by Perarivalan, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan and advocate Prabu Ramasubramanian, highlighting the long delay on the part of the Governor in deciding on the Cabinet recommendation. Other than Perarivalan, the other convicts are Nalini, Murugan, Santhan, Jayakumar, Ravichandran and Robert Pyas. On Wednesday, Justice Rao termed the Governor’s delay as extraordinary. The Bench, too, noted how a decision was not forthcoming despite the State government’s recommendation. The turn of events came as a surprise, as Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj, for the Centre, had argued on Wednesday that the pleas for pardon and release should go to the President instead of the Governor. The Centre had, for the first time, raised the point about the Governor’s power to grant remission to Perarivalan under Article 161 in November last. But Sankaranarayanan had consistently argued that a convict was free to choose between the President and the Governor for pardon.

C) Five dead after major fire hits Serum Institute of India plant in Pune. 

Five people have lost their lives to a major fire which erupted in an under-construction building of vaccine manufacturing major Serum Institute of India (SII)’s Gopal Patti plant in Pune on Thursday afternoon. Five charred bodies have been recovered from the building where fire broke out in afternoon. The fire is completely under control, said Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope. The fire broke out at around 2 pm in a newly constructed building. Work pertaining to rotavirus plant installation was underway. The fire was caused due to a welding spark, while inflammable material aggravated the fire. At least five fire tenders and three water tankers were rushed to the spot. It took about two-three hours to douse the fire. When authorities walked inside, five bodies were found, said Tope, adding that authorities would give updates on more casualties as and when information was received. It is believed that the five deceased were labourers, said Pune Mayor Murlidhar Mohol. Tope further said that the Covishield vaccine storage was far from the blaze and not been harmed by the fire. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has directed the authorities to ascertain the cause of the blaze.

D) Study predicts sharp spike in child mortality and stunting post-Covid-19. 

An additional 93 lakh children under five are likely to suffer from wasting, and 26 lakh more from stunting, while an estimated 1.68 lakh kids (under five years old) could die in the first three years of the post Covid-19 world, says a new study. The paper is an assessment of the combined effects of economic, food and health systems disruptions on multiple forms of maternal and child under-nutrition between 2020 and 2022. The study is authored by Saskia Osendarp from Micronutrient Forum, Jonathan Akuoku from World Bank, Robert Black, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Lawrence Haddad from Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, among others. It provides projections for three scenarios: optimistic, moderate and pessimistic. The study suggests that under a moderate scenario, a large chunk of the 1.68 lakh additional deaths are likely to be in South Asia (38,900) and Sub-Saharan Africa (57,200). The moderate scenario further estimates that an additional 2.1 million pregnant women will develop anemia in 118 countries in 2020-2022, compared to 2019. The Covid-19 pandemic has created a nutritional crisis in LMICs [Lower Middle Income Countries]. Without swift and strategic responses by sub-national, national, regional, and international actors, Covid-19 will reverse years of progress and exacerbate disparities in disease, malnutrition, and mortality, and jeopardise human capital development and economic growth for the next generation, observed the study, urging countries to remain committed to investing in nutrition.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) China defends new village in Arunachal Pradesh amid border construction push. 

China on Thursday said its construction of a village across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh was beyond reproach because it had never recognised Arunachal. India’s Ministry of External Affairs said earlier this week it was aware of the construction along the LAC. This followed a report showing satellite images of the village, built between November 2019 and November 2020 and located a couple of kilometres across the LAC, beyond what India sees as the border separating Arunachal Pradesh and Tibet, on the banks of Tsari Chu river in Upper Subansiri district in Arunachal. Indian officials said this area has been under Chinese control since 1959. There are close to two dozen spots along the entire length of the LAC in all sectors where India and China do not agree on its alignment. Indian officials said China had earlier built a permanent construction of military barracks in this area. The construction of the village has been seen by analysts as a move to bolster China’s claim to the area, and part of a broader recent push by China to build civilian settlements in disputed frontier areas, which it has also done with Bhutan. The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday said at a press briefing, to a question about the construction, that China’s position on Zangnan [or South Tibet, as China refers to Arunachal] region is consistent and clear. They never recognised the so-called Arunachal Pradesh, spokesperson Hua Chunying said. China’s development and construction activities within our own territory is normal. This is beyond reproach as it is in our territory. The site of the village is close to where China had attacked an Assam Rifles post in 1959, in what is known as the Longju incident, said south India-based Tibet scholar Claude Arpi. He said it is at least 2 km south of the McMahon Line, which China doesn’t recognise. After the 1962 war, India stopped patrolling the area. Arpi said the construction appeared to be part of a programme by China to build what it calls poverty alleviation villages. He estimates that under the initiative, launched after a Tibet economic work conference in 2015, some 600 villages have been built, of which around 100 are in border areas.

B) China calls for ‘better angels’ to prevail in reset with Biden’s U.S.

China on Thursday congratulated U.S. President Joe Biden on his inauguration and called for a reset in relations between Beijing and Washington after a corrosive period of diplomacy under Donald Trump. Beijing also welcomed news that the U.S. would rejoin the World Health Organization and the Paris climate accord. The ever-antagonistic Mr. Trump harangued China over trade, rights, the origins of the COVID-19 virus, tech and defence supremacy, prompting angry near-daily jousts between both countries’ diplomats. The new U.S. President is expected to remain tough on the superpower rival but soften the tone and commit to international cooperation after Mr. Trump’s divisive America First approach. With cooperation from both sides, the better angels in China-U.S. relations will beat the evil forces, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said. She said Mr. Biden had used the word unity several times in his inauguration speech, and that it was precisely what is needed currently in U.S.-China relations. The recent period has indeed been especially difficult, she added. Beijing also sanctioned former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, more than two dozen advisers and ex-officials in the former President’s administration. The officials and their family members will be prohibited from entering mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, the Foreign Ministry said. Over the past few years the Trump administration, especially Pompeo, has buried too many mines in U.S. China relations that need to be eliminated, burned too many bridges that need to be built, and destroyed too many roads that need to be repaired, said Ms. Hua.

C) Google, French press ink copyright payments deal.

Google and French newspapers said on Thursday they had signed an agreement aimed at opening the path to digital copyright payments from the online giant after months of heated negotiations. The accord signed with the APIG alliance of French dailies involves neighbouring rights, which call for payment for showing news content with Internet searches, a joint statement said. It said the agreement sets a framework for Google to negotiate individual licence agreements with newspapers on the payments and will give papers access to its new News Showcase programme, which sees it pay publishers for a selection of enriched content. Payments are to be calculated individually and will be based on criteria including internet viewing figures and the amount of information published. APIG head Pierre Louette said the deal amounts to the effective recognition of neighbouring rights for the press and the start of their remuneration by digital platforms for the use of their publications online. News outlets struggling with dwindling print subscriptions have long seethed at Google’s failure to give them a cut of the millions it makes from ads displayed alongside news search results.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
21 January 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Won’t disallow farmers’ tractor rally, says SC.

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad A. Bobde on Wednesday told the government that it was both improper and irregular for the Supreme Court to disallow any rally by protesting farmers on Republic Day. It is irregular and improper for this court to disable any rally. It is for the police to decide. They will allow them to withdraw. They are the executive of the country. They decide, said Chief Justice Bobde, heading a three-judge Bench. He was addressing Attorney General K.K. Venugopal and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who were appearing for the government. The CJI’s remarks were in response to a submission by Mehta to adjourn the hearing on a government plea to bar farmers from holding rallies to disrupt Republic Day celebration. Mehta submitted consider hearing it on January 25. Let us see how the situation develops.  Farm unions welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision. This is a win for the farmers said Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh spokesperson Abhimanyu Kohar. In this decision, by asking the Delhi Police to withdraw their application for an injunction against the parade, he think that in one way, the Supreme Court is saying that this is the fundamental and constitutional right of the farmers to stage a peaceful protest, and it is now up to the government to decide. He was speaking just before entering Vigyan Bhavan for the 10th round of talks. Meanwhile, at the end of the 10 round of talks, early reports indicate that the Centre has offered to submit an affidavit in the Supreme Court that it will suspend the laws for a mutually-agreed period of up to 1.5 years, and in the interim, have a committee look into the farmers’ demands. The unions have said they want a full repeal, but will discuss the government’s proposal among themselves tomorrow before responding.

B) CJI lashes out at media coverage of SC-appointed committee.

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad (CJI) A. Bobde said it had become almost a cultural thing to brand people as he lashed out at articles suggesting bias on the part of members of an expert committee constituted by the Supreme Court to intercede between the protesting farmers and the government. The committee members are brilliant minds in the field of agriculture. Branding of people whom you do not want, this has become almost like a cultural thing. You malign people’s reputation and then you say the court is interested in these people . He is sorry that these kinds of opinions are appearing in the press, he said. There was criticism in social media and articles in newspapers over the court’s choice of members for the committee constituted on January 12. The court said the reputation of the members have been torn to shreds. The committee had been given no power to decide on the farm laws. They have been constituted only to hear out the farmers. They  formed the committee only to hear the farmers’ grievances and submit a report to the court. They were given no adjudicatory powers. So, where is the question of bias here? If they don’t want to appear before the committee, don’t. But why cast aspersions on the court and brand people? They did not want to intervene, but they did so only for the sake of the common people and the farmers, Chief Justice of India Bobde said. Newspaper reports do not decide disputes in court, he pointed out. They are adjudicating the dispute. Are they going to read newspapers and decide disputes? Public opinions cannot be used to determine court proceedings, he said.

C) Supreme Court dismisses Aadhaar review petitions. 

The Supreme Court, in a majority view, dismissed a series of petitions seeking a review of its 2018 judgment upholding the Lok Sabha Speaker’s certification of Aadhaar law as a Money Bill and its subsequent passage in Parliament. However, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud dissented with the majority, saying the Aadhaar review petitions should be kept pending. The Bench sat in review on January 11 in their chambers. The decision, however, was published on Wednesday. Two questions had come up for review regarding the five-judge Aadhaar Bench’s judgment in 2018. One, whether the Speaker’s decision to declare a proposed law as Money Bill was final and cannot be challenged in court. The second, whether the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, was correctly certified as a ‘Money Bill’ under Article 110(1) of the Constitution. On the first question, the majority judgment in 2018 said the Speaker’s decision could be challenged in court only under certain circumstances. On the second, it concluded that the Aadhaar Act was rightly called a Money Bill. Justice Chandrachud, who was on the Bench, had dissented on the second conclusion in 2018. Two years later, marking his dissent again on January 11, Justice Chandrachud differed with the four other judges on the Bench led by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar. This time, he said that another five-judge Bench in a separate case, Rojer Mathew vs South Indian Bank Ltd., in November 2019, had questioned the conclusions arrived at by the Aadhaar Bench and referred the issues to a seven-judge Bench for an authoritative take. He said the Review Bench should hence wait for the seven-judge Bench, which has not yet been constituted, to take a call. The review petitions should be kept pending for the time being. Dismissing the Aadhaar review even before the seven-judge Bench got a chance to apply its mind and arrive at a verdict would amount to judicial indiscipline and have adverse consequences, Justice Chandrachud noted in his dissent. However, the majority on the Review Bench refused to budge and dismissed the review pleas, arguing that a change in the law or subsequent decision/judgment of a coordinate or larger Bench by itself cannot be regarded as a ground for review.

D) PM to chair all-party meeting of floor leaders ahead of Budget session. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair an all-party meeting of floor leaders in Parliament on January 30, a day after the Budget session of Parliament commences. While it is customary for such a meeting to be held before the session begins, with the government putting forward its legislative agenda for the session and holding a discussion with the Opposition on the issues to be taken up, this time around it will be held a day after the session commences. The meeting will be held on January 30 where the government will present its legislative agenda for the session and also listen to what the Opposition leaders would like to discuss, said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi. He said invitations were being sent out for the virtual meet. The first part of the session will commence on January 29 and end on February 15, with the second part commencing on March 8 to continue till April 8. The Budget will be presented on February 1.

E) HC grants transit anticipatory bail to ‘Tandav’ director, Amazon content head and others. 

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted a transit pre-arrest bail to Ali Abbas Zafar, director of the web series Tandav, Amazon Prime India content head Aparna Purohit, producer Himanshu Mehra, and the show’s writer Gaurav Solanki, PTI reported. All four of them have a case registered against them in Lucknow for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through the web series. Justice P D Naik granted the relief to the four for a period of three weeks to enable them to approach the concerned court at Lucknow where the FIR against them is registered. Earlier in the day, a four-member team of the Uttar Pradesh Police arrived in Mumbai to conduct a probe into the case registered in Lucknow, an official said. The UP Police team is likely to record statements of the makers and cast and crew of the show.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Biden plans to issue 15 executive orders on Day 1.

As Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th President of the United States of America, and Kamala Harris as the country’s first woman Vice-President, he plans to immediately begin undoing President Donald Trump’s policies on immigration, climate change, and other issues on Wednesday with at least 15 executive actions, including moves to reverse U.S. withdrawals from the Paris Agreement and the World Health Organisation, and stop the construction of a border wall. Biden will also sign orders revoking a permit for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, imposing a mask mandate on federal property to combat the coronavirus pandemic, and ending Trump’s travel ban against some predominantly Muslim and African countries. Biden’s aides said he’ll sign more Day One executive actions than any of his predecessors, to be followed by additional regulatory and policy changes over the coming weeks.

B) Israel rights group breaks taboo with ‘apartheid’ tag.

An Israeli non-governmental organisation has accused the Jewish state of apartheid in its treatment of Palestinians a taboo breaking move that has seen its representatives banned from speaking in schools. B’Tselem said it carefully weighed its decision to use the hugely emotive phrase but concluded that it was an accurate description of Israel’s attitude both to residents of the occupied Palestinian territories and to its own Arab citizens. They cannot avoid the conclusion that it is a regime that is working to advance and cement the supremacy of one group of people Jews over Palestinians, B’Tselem chief Hagai el-Ad said. That is the textbook definition of an apartheid regime, he added. He agree that it is a strong word but they are not using it lightly. Israel occupied the West Bank, including Arab east Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip in the Six-Day War of 1967. Now, it is home to at least five million Palestinians defined by the United Nations as living under Israeli occupation. Arab Israelis Palestinians who stayed on their land following the Jewish state’s creation in 1948 and their descendants make up about 20% of Israel’s roughly nine million people. By law they have rights equal to those of Jewish citizens, but they say that in practice they suffer discrimination in employment, housing, policing and other essentials.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
20 January 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) SC panel to meet State govts, farm unions from Jan 21; Delhi Police asks farmers stay out of national capital on Republic Day. 

The Supreme Court-appointed committee on farmers’ issues has decided to meet with State governments and State Agricultural Marketing Boards, along with farm unions and cooperatives, to seek their views on the farm reform laws, starting January 21. The panel has laid out a two-month roadmap for consultations after their first meeting on Tuesday. Meanwhile, at the Singhu border, leaders of protesting farm unions again met with senior Delhi Police officials, who asked them to hold their Republic Day tractor parade on the Peripheral Expressways outside Delhi rather than enter the city. The Supreme Court will hear the issue again on Wednesday, just hours before union leaders and Central Ministers meet for the tenth round of talks. The talks were originally supposed to be held on Tuesday, but were postponed to Wednesday afternoon. The SC-appointed panel began work on Tuesday, chalking out a plan to hold wide-ranging consultations on the contentious farm laws, including a proposal to set up a portal to accept online feedback. The protesting unions have made it clear they are not interested in engaging with the panel, but are intent on continuing with the direct dialogue process with the Centre. Several union leaders privately expressed concerns about the one-day postponement of the tenth round of talks, worrying whether the Centre was relying on developments in the Court in the morning to influence the afternoon’s talks. He added that the farmers were still intent on holding a tractor parade on Outer Ring Road in the capital on January 26, after the official parade. The Delhi Police officials today said that Outer Ring Road was too congested. They suggested we stay on the KMP that is, the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal, or Peripheral Expressways outside the city. 

B) Repeal of farm laws only solution to break deadlock: Rahul Gandhi. 

Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi, flanked by Randeep Singh Surjewala and K C Venugopal, addressing the media on the farmers agitation issue at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday. Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi, flanked by Randeep Singh Surjewala and K C Venugopal, addressing the media on the farmers agitation issue at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday. Addressing a press conference ahead of the 10th round of talks between the protesting farmers and the Union government, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi today said that the new farm laws were designed to destroy farming and create monopolies for three-four capitalists. Releasing a booklet on the farm laws titled ‘Kheti ka Khoon’ (Murder of Farming) to highlight the plight of farmers, he said repealing the laws was the only solution to break the deadlock. The farm laws would destroy the mandi system; farmers won’t get the price they deserved and the middle class would be paying a price for food that they had never imagined, he said. The biggest business in this country is agriculture. Now we are seeing the last bastion which was protected from monopoly being overrun by these new laws. They are designed to destroy Indian agriculture by destroying the mandi, the Essential Commodities Act, and by making sure that no farmer can go to court to protect himself, he said. Asked about the Supreme Court appointed expert committee, he refused to offer any comment except to say, Everyone was seeing the reality of the Supreme Court.

C) India asks WhatsApp to withdraw privacy policy.

The Indian government has asked WhatsApp to withdraw the recent changes in the privacy policy of the messaging app, saying unilateral changes are not fair and acceptable. In a strongly worded letter to WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said India is home to the largest user base of WhatsApp globally and is one the biggest markets for its services. The proposed changes to the WhatsApp terms of service and privacy policy raise grave concerns regarding the implications for the choice and autonomy of Indian citizens, it wrote. The Ministry asked WhatsApp to withdraw the proposed changes and reconsider its approach to information privacy, freedom of choice, and data security. Stating that Indians should be properly respected, it said, any unilateral changes to the WhatsApp Terms of Service and Privacy would not be fair and acceptable.

D) Red Fort access restricted after bird flu scare.

After a sample taken from a dead crow found at Red Fort tested positive for bird flu, orders have been issued to restrict the entry of public into the monument, officials said on Tuesday. Around 15 crows were found dead in the premises of the Red Fort a few days ago. Entry to the public into monument has been restricted till January 26 as a precautionary measure. On Saturday, samples from a dead owl in the Delhi zoo had tested positive for avian influenza. Last week, the Delhi government had banned the sale of processed and packaged chicken brought from outside the city and ordered the closure of the Ghazipur poultry market in east Delhi for 10 days after samples taken from crows and ducks at parks and lakes in the national capital tested positive for avian influenza.

E) FIR lodged against Amazon Prime’s web series ‘Mirzapur’

An FIR has been lodged in Uttar Pradesh against the makers of the web series ‘Mirzapur’ on charges of outraging religious feelings and portraying a particular community as linked to crime. The FIR was lodged at Mirzapur’s Kotwali Dehat police station on a complaint of Arvind Chaturvedi, a local journalist who has also written a book on the life of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In his police complaint, Chaturvedi said the plot and dialogues of the web series have hurt his religious, social and regional sentiments and that it has provided a wrong portayal of Mirzapur city. The FIR names executive producers of the series Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar and Bhaumik Gondaliya and Amazon Prime Video platform, where the series has been running. In the FIR, Chaturvedi alleges that the web series portrays a specific community as linked to crime, shows illicit relationships and incest, slang and abuses, and caste discord. The series also projects the judicial system as false and polluted, he says. Ajay Kumar Singh, SP Mirzapur, said the FIR was lodged and legal action taken. Chaturvedi said he wanted the name of Mirzapur to be removed from the series. This fight will go on till the name of the Mirzapur web series is changed, he told the media.

F) Syllabus for JEE and NEET not to be reduced. 

The syllabus for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) will not be reduced in 2021, the Education Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. However, since several Class 12 boards have cut down their syllabi this year, both the engineering and medical entrance tests will offer more choices in their question paper patterns. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has reduced its Class 12 board examination syllabus by 30% in view of the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The syllabus of JEE and NEET will remain unchanged for the year 2021. However, unlike previous years, this year the candidates will have options to answer the questions in JEE and NEET Examinations, said the Ministry statement. It was issued as a clarification after Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank’s comments at a webinar on Monday were reported to suggest that the entrance tests would also be based on a reduced syllabus.

G) Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments. 

The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 1,05,94,880 with the death toll at 1,52,763. Addressing a press conference, NITI Aayog member (Health) V.K. Paul said today that concerns about adverse effects and serious problems post-immunisation now seem to be negligible and stressed that both the vaccines are safe. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said that as per the data available so far, only 0.18% is the Adverse Event Following Immunisation (AEFI), and 0.002 is the percentage of the people who were hospitalised following immunisation. These are fairly low, in fact, lowest in the world in the first three days. He added that India recorded the highest number of first day vaccinations for Covid-19 immunisation.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) U.S. won’t lift travel ban: Biden team. 

Shortly after U.S. president Donald Trump announced the lifting of Covid-19 related travel restrictions on parts of Europe and Brazil, the incoming Biden administration said it would reverse the move. Mr. Trump signed an executive order on Monday removing restrictions on air travel for most non-U.S. citizens and permanent residents travelling from the Area, Ireland, the U.K. and Brazil starting January 26. The restrictions instituted last year were also applied to Iran and China these were not reversed by the executive order. Also, starting January 26, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has said that all those travelling by air into the U.S. Will need to show a negative COVID-19 test results before boarding their flights. These tests will have to be done during the 72-hour window before departure. Mr. Trump’s order cited this and cooperation from the countries on which restrictions were removed as reasons for easing the travel rules. This cooperation stands in stark contrast to the behaviour of the governments and state-owned enterprises of the People’s Republic of China and the Islamic Republic of Iran, which repeatedly have failed to cooperate with the U.S. public health authorities and to share timely, accurate information about the spread of the virus, the order said. 

B) Biden to introduce Bill for eight-year citizenship path. 

United States President-elect Joe Biden plans to unveil a sweeping immigration Bill on the first day of his administration, hoping to provide an eight-year path to citizen. ship for an estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. without legal status a massive reversal from the Trump administration’s harsh immigration policies. The Bill puts Mr. Biden on track to deliver on a major campaign promise important to Latino voters and other immigrant communities after four years of President Donald Trump’s restrictive policies and mass deportations. Expected to run hundreds of pages, the Bill is set to be introduced after Mr. Biden takes the oath of office Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the legislation. Under the legislation, those living in the U.S. as of Jan. 1, 2021, without legal status would have a five-year path to temporary legal status, or a green card, if they pass background checks, pay taxes and fulfill other basic requirements. From there, it’s a three-year path to naturalisation, if they decide to pursue citizenship. The Bill provides one of the fastest pathways to citizenship for those living without legal status of any measure in recent years, but it fails to include the traditional trade-off of enhanced border security favored by many Republicans, putting its passage in a narrowly divided Congress in doubt.

C) Chinese COVID-19 vaccines find takers in Southeast Asia. 

China has signed deals with as many as 20 countries, many of which are in Southeast Asia, to offer its home-developed COVID-19 vaccines, Chinese media has reported. With five vaccines being developed in China, Beijing is offering them both as donations and on a commercial basis. Among the countries that are ordering Chinese vaccines are Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Algeria, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Pakistan, Brazil, Ukraine, and Serbia, according to reports in the Chinese state media. Pakistan on Monday became the first country in South Asia to approve a Chinese vaccine, giving the nod for emergency use for Sinopharm’s vaccine. Its officials are also in talks with another Chinese company, Cansino Biologics, for orders. Many orders for Sinovac Earlier this month, China offered its vaccines to Nepal, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as it held a multilateral dialogue with the four countries and Pakistan on anti-epidemic cooperation, but so far they have not agreed on orders. A third Chinese vaccine, CoronoVac, by the firm Sinovac, which is already being used fairly widely in China, has so far had the biggest takers overseas among the five Chinese vaccines. While Indonesia has placed orders for 125.5 million doses and its President Joko Widodo received a shot of CoronoVac live on television, Malay. sia has ordered 14 million doses, Chinese media reported. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi offered the vaccine during a recent tour of Southeast Asia, and Philippines, Thailand and Myanmar are also expected to announce orders. China has offered 3 lakh doses to Myanmar.

SPORTS NEWS

A) India beats Australia by 3 wickets to retain Border-Gavaskar trophy. 

An Indian cricket team saddled with broken bones and battered bodies showed a never-seen-before zeal to retain the coveted Border-Gavaskar trophy with a historic three-wicket win over Australia in the fourth and final Test here, successfully chasing a 328-run target to seal the four-match series 2-1. This is only India’s second Test series victory in Australia. Rishabh Pant (89 not out off 138 balls) played a critical role in chasing down the target on a fifth day wicket and ending the home team’s 32-year-old unbeaten run at the ‘Fortress Gabba’ in Brisbane. The BCCI has announced a ₹5 crore bonus for the triumphant Indian team.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
19 January 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

F) Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments.

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

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

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

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

B) Imran Khan to visit Sri Lanka. 

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

C) FBI vets troops ahead of inauguration. 

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

CURRENT AFFAIRS
18 January 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

D) Covid watch: Numbers and Developments. 

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

E) Opposition demands inquiry into Arnab Whatsapp chats. 

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

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

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

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

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

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

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

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

CURRENT AFFAIRS
17 January 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

D) WhatsApp delays policy rollout to May 15.

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

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

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

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

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

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

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

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

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

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

D) Pelosi tasks General with security review.

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