INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Ford to stop manufacturing cars in India; 4,000 employees to lose jobs
U.S.-headquartered Ford on Thursday announced a restructuring of the Indian operation under which the company will stop manufacturing vehicles at its two plants in the country, resulting in loss of jobs for about 4,000 employees. Ford India will cease manufacturing vehicles for sale in India immediately…[the company] will wind down vehicle assembly in Sanand by the fourth quarter of 2021 and vehicle and engine manufacturing in Chennai by the second quarter of 2022, the company said in a statement. Ford said India will remain home to Ford’s second-largest salaried workforce globally, and in addition to Ford Business Solutions, Ford India will continue engine manufacturing for export, as well as full customer support operations with service, aftermarket parts and warranty support. It also added that more than 500 employees at the Sanand Engine plant, which produces engines for export for the best-selling Ranger pickup truck, and about 100 employees supporting parts distribution and customer service, will continue to support Ford’s business in India. The company said that it plans to serve customers in India with iconic vehicles, including Mustang coupe. Customers in India also will benefit longer term from the Company’s plan to invest more than U.S. $30 billion globally to deliver all-new hybrid and fully electric vehicles, such as Mustang Mach-E, it said. Ford said it will continue to provide customers in India with ongoing parts, service, and warranty support. The decision follows accumulated operating losses of more than $2 billion over the past 10 years and a $0.8 billion non-operating write-down of assets in 2019. Ford India will maintain parts depots in Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Sanand and Kolkata and will work closely with its dealer network to restructure and help facilitate their transition from sales and service to parts and service support.
Al-Qaeda may seek a comeback in Afghanistan: Pentagon chief.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Thursday alQaeda may attempt to regenerate in Afghanistan following an American withdrawal that has left the Taliban in power. Mr. Austin spoke to reporters in Kuwait City at the conclusion of a four-day tour of Gulf states. He said Washington was prepared to prevent a return of the extremist group in Afghanistan that would threaten the U.S. The whole community is kind of watching to see what happens and whether or not al-Qaeda has the ability to regenerate in Afghanistan, he said. The nature of alQaeda and (the Islamic State group) is they will always attempt to find space to grow and regenerate, whether it’s there, whether it’s in Somalia, or whether it’s in any other ungoverned space. I Lloyd Austin think that’s the nature of the organisation. The Taliban had provided al-Qaeda with sanctuary while it ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. The U.S. invaded and overthrew the Taliban after it refused to turn over al-Qaeda leaders following the September 11, 2001 attack on the United States. During the course of the 20-year U.S. war, al-Qaeda was vastly diminished, but questions have arisen about its future prospects with the Taliban back in Kabul. We put the Taliban on notice that we expect them to not allow that to happen, Mr. Austin said, referring to the possibility of al-Qaeda using Afghanistan as a staging base in future. In a February 2020 agreement with the Trump administration, the Taliban leaders pledged not to support al-Qaeda or other extremist groups that would threaten the United States. But U.S. officials believe the Taliban maintain ties to al-Qaeda, and many nations, including the Gulf Arab states, are concerned that the Taliban’s return to power could open the door to a resurgence of al-Qaeda influence. Mr. Austin asserted that the U.S. military is capable of containing al-Qaeda or any other extremist threat to the U.S. emanating from Afghanistan by using surveillance and strike aircraft based elsewhere, including in the Gulf.
NATIONAL NEWS
IITs top Education Ministry’s rankings for 2021
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras was ranked the best higher education institution in the country for the third year in a row by the Education Ministry, which released its India Rankings 2021 under the National Institutional Ranking Framework on Thursday. In fact, IITs dominated the overall rankings, with seven of the top 10 positions. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru ranked second, followed by IIT-Bombay, IIT-Delhi, IIT-Kanpur, IIT-Kharagpur, IIT-Roorkee and IIT-Guwahati. Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Banaras Hindu University (BHU) closed out the top 10 at rank nine and 10 respectively. The Indian Institute of Technology Madras retained the top spot among institutes in the country among universities, IISc was ranked one, followed by JNU, BHU, Calcutta University, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in Coimbatore, Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Jadavpur University, University of Hyderabad and Aligarh Muslim University at rank 10. Delhi University was placed 12 in the university rankings and 19 overall. Among engineering institutions, IIT-Madras remained number one, followed by IIT-Delhi, IIT-Bombay, IIT-Kanpur, IIT-Kharagpur, IIT-Roorkee, IIT-Guwahati, IIT-Hyderabad, National Institute of Technology (NIT)-Tiruchirappalli and NIT-Karnataka. For management institutions, Indian Institute of Management (IIT)-Ahmedabad was ranked one, followed by IIM-Bangalore, IIM-Calcutta, IIT-Kozhikode, IIT-Delhi, IIM-Indore, IIM-Lucknow, Xavier Labour Relations Institute in Jamshedpur, IIT-Kharagpur and IIT-Bombay. Jamia Hamdard was ranked one for pharmacy, followed by Panjab University. Manipal College of Dental Sciences was ranked the best in the dental category. All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi scored the top rank for medical institutions, followed by Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, Christian Medical College in Vellore, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences in Bengaluru, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, BHU, Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research in Puducherry, King George’s Medical University in Lucknow and Kasturba Medical College in Manipal. Among institutions teaching law, National Law School of India University in Bengaluru was ranked number one, followed by National Law University in Delhi, NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad, West Bengal National University of Juridicial Sciences, IIT-Kharagpur, Gujarat National Law University, Jamia Millia Islamia, National Law University in Jodhpur, Symbiosis Law School in Pune and Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology in Bhubaneswar. IISc was ranked the best research institution, a category included for the first time.
Gyanvapi mosque title dispute: Allahabad High Court stays lower court proceedings
The Allahabad High Court on Thursday placed an interim stay on the proceedings in a lower court in the Gyanvapi mosque-Kashi Vishwanath temple title dispute in Varanasi, including the April order of the lower court which had directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a comprehensive physical survey of the Gyanvapi mosque compound adjacent to the temple. The HC put a stay on further proceedings in the original suit of 1991 pending before the court till the next date of listing on October 8. Justice Prakash Padia came down heavily on the lower court in Varanasi, saying that it should not have proceeded and decided the application filed by the plaintiffs in the original suit for survey by the ASI even as the judgment in the original pending petitions in the matter was reserved by the HC on March 15 the Court below should wait for the verdict in the petitions pending before this Court and not proceed further in the matter till the time a judgment is delivered. The judicial courtesy and decorum warranted such discipline which was expected from the Court below but for unfathomable reasons, neither of the courses were taken, said the HC. Justice Padia also regretted that the lower court judge departed from this traditional way in the present case and chose to examine the question himself. I have said so with the fond hope that judicial enthusiasm should not obliterate the profound responsibility that is expected from the Court below, Justice Padia observed. The court allowed the amendment applications filed by the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board and the managing committee of the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi, Anjuman Intezamia Masjid, and directed their counsel to make necessary amendments in the petition in three days. The lower court had in April directed the ASI to find out whether the Gyanvapi mosque was a superimposition, alteration or addition or there is structural overlapping of any kind, with or over, any other religious structure. Senior civil judge fast track court Ashutosh Tiwari had directed the Director General of the ASI to constitute a five-member committee of experts and those well versed in the science of archaeology, two out of which should preferably belong to the minority community. The committee would trace as to whether any Hindu temple ever existed before the mosque in question was built or superimposed or added upon at the disputed site, the judge has said. The order had come on a petition demanding the restoration of the land on which the Gyanvapi mosque stands to the Hindus, claiming that Mughal emperor Aurangzeb had pulled down parts of the old Kashi Vishwanath temple to build the mosque.
‘Love jihad’ case: Gujarat High Court asks why government has problems when the woman wants to remain married?
The Gujarat High Court today asked the State government to file an affidavit explaining its objections in an interfaith marriage case in which the police have lodged an FIR booking the husband, in-laws and priests for solemnising the marriage. The victim in the case has categorically stated that the contents of the FIR the Vadodara Police have lodged are not true and she wanted to remain married to the person who has been booked under the amended Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act 2021 for forceful conversion through marriage. This is the first case the State police lodged after the Act was notified into the law to stop religious conversion through interfaith marriage using force, allurement or fraudulent means. Last month, provisions of the amended law dealing with interfaith marriages were stayed by the High Court. According to the details of the first case, seven persons were booked, including husband, in-laws and the priest who solemnised the marriage. All four have been arrested and are behind the bars. On Wednesday, the victim came to the High Court and stated before Justice I.J. Vora that she had voluntarily filed the petition seeking to quash the FIR and proceedings against her husband and others and also told the court that she wants to live together as married couple with her husband. In her petition in the High Court, the petitioner stated that when she had approached a local police station in Vadodara regarding petty and trivial matrimonial discord, the police, under the pressure of certain elements, brought in the love jihad angle and also registered the FIR under the new law. The police also added the charges of rape and sodomy in the FIR which she categorically denied and was even shocked that the police added such charges without asking her. In her petition, she also denied the charge of forceful conversion as mentioned by the police in the FIR and submitted that her affidavit in this regard denying such charges of forceful conversion and others was not accepted by the lower court while denying bails to the accused. She and her husband have stated that both were in a relationship and were aware of each other’s religion and both decided to solemnise their marriage as per the Islamic rites and the same was notarised and subsequently it was registered as per the Special Marriage Act. The couple have submitted that the girl’s father stood a witness in their marriage and both families had no issues but certain religio-political groups and overzealous police communalised and sensationalised their marriage. Now, the High Court has directed the State government to file an affidavit and explain its objections regarding the quashing of charges and criminal proceedings in the case by September 20.
Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments
The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 3,31,71,924 with the death toll at 4,41,970. The government today said 58% of India’s adult population has received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine while 18% got both the shots as the total number of jabs administered in the country crossed 72 crore. Addressing a press conference, officials said India is still going through the second wave of coronavirus infections and it is not over yet. They said 35 districts in the country are still reporting a weekly Covid-19 positivity rate of over 10% while in 30 districts it is between five to 10%. Providing data about the number of cases reported from different parts of the country, officials said 68.59% of the total infection reported in the country last week was from Kerala. About resuming physical classes in schools, the government officials said no scientific body or evidence suggests that vaccination of children should be a condition for reopening schools. However, vaccination of teachers, school employees and parents is desirable, they said.
