CURRENT AFFAIRS
21 October 2020
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) Punjab passes its own 3 farm Bills.
The Punjab Legislative Assembly has unanimously passed 3 Bills to negate the Centre’s 3 new agriculture laws on 20 October. Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh said that the Bills being presented would form the basis of the State’s legal battle ahead and hence needed to be thoroughly vetted before presentation. The draft resolution expressed the Assembly’s deep regret over the callous and inconsiderate attitude of the government of India in attending to the concerns of the farming community on recent farm legislation enacted by them. The Bills passed by the Assembly include the Farmers’ (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services (Special Provisions and Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2020, the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) (Special Provisions and Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Special Provisions and Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2020. These 3 legislations, along with the proposed Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020 are clearly against the interests of farmers and landless workers, and time-tested agriculture marketing system established not only in Punjab but also in the original green revolution areas of Punjab, Haryana, and western UP.
B) Don’t lower your guard until there is a vaccine: PM Modi.
In his seventh address to the nation since March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked people not to ease up on coronavirus precautions during the festive season. He observed that even though India’s coronavirus situation is better than other countries, people must not think that normalcy has returned. He said that lockdowns are gone, but the coronavirus is still there. Noting that the government is making all efforts to ensure that the Covid-19 vaccine, whenever it is launched, reached every Indian, he said anyone who is careless and moving around without a mask is putting themselves, children, and the elderly at risk. He also called on the media and people on social media to spread awareness about the need to follow Covid-19 guidelines.
C) Election Commission raises poll spending limit for candidates.
The poll spending limit for candidates contesting Lok Sabha and assembly elections has been increased by 10%, based on the recommendation of the Election Commission that contestants be allowed to spend more on campaigning given the difficulties they may face due to Covid-19 curbs. The hike in expenditure limit will help candidates contesting the Bihar assembly polls as well as the by-polls to one Lok Sabha and 59 assembly seats. Over a month ago, the Election Commission had recommended a 10% hike in expenditure for all elections to be held during the Covid-19 pandemic. The hike was recommended keeping in mind the difficulties candidates may face in campaigning amid the restrictions imposed, including those on holding rallies amid the pandemic. The notification issued by the Law Ministry on Monday night said the maximum expenditure a candidate can incur in campaigning for a Lok Sabha seat is ₹77 lakh. Until now it was ₹70 lakh. For assembly campaigns, it has been hiked from ₹28 lakh to ₹30.8 lakh.
D) Manipur cut off as road bridges remain unsafe.
Manipur remained partially cut off from the rest of the country for the second day on 20 October as the wobbly bridges along NH 37 that link Manipur to other parts of the country continued to be unsafe for loaded trucks. The Makru bridge was damaged on midnight of 19 October. The landlocked State depends on Assam and other States for all items in general, and consumer goods in particular. It has triggered a price hike in Manipur from 20 October onwards. A spokesman of construction agencies reportedly told some reporters who reached the damaged bridges that overloaded trucks were responsible for the breakdown of the bridges. Truck drivers, however, have denied this allegation. The All Manipur Transporter, Drivers and Motor Workers’ Union said that officials deployed along the NH 37 enforced the permitted weights and no truck was allowed to carry goods more than the approved weights. The drivers said that the Makru, Barak, and Irung bridges have been in bad shape for decades. An activist said governments of different parties were busy passing the buck on the company undertaking repairs of roads and bridges.
E) Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments.
The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 76,40,661 with the death toll at 1,15,858. Cautioning that Covid-19 infection can recur without sustained caution, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) director general Balram Bhargava has said that any negligence can lead to re-infection. Covid-19 re-infection in India is currently under investigation and we are collecting data on this. Bhargava added that the government is also keenly following the Solidarity trial interim results, which seemed to indicate that remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir and interferon regimens appeared to have little or no effect on 28-day mortality or the in-hospital course of Covid-19 among hospitalised patients. The Solidarity trial is an international clinical trial launched by the World Health Organisation to compare untested treatment options for Covid-19. He said that the results are interim, not peer reviewed. Debate and discussion is ongoing and we will take the results of these trials into consideration.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) U.S. Justice Dept. to file landmark antitrust case against Google.
The United States’ Justice Department is expected to file a lawsuit on 20 October by alleging that Google has been abusing its online dominance in online search to stifle competition and harm consumers. The litigation marks the government’s most significant act to protect competition since its groundbreaking case against Microsoft more than 20 years ago. The suit could be an opening salvo ahead of other major government antitrust actions, given ongoing investigations of major tech companies including Apple, Amazon and Facebook at both the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission. Lawmakers and consumer advocates have long accused Google, whose corporate parent Alphabet Inc. has a market value of just over $1 trillion, of abusing its dominance in online search and advertising to stifle competition and boost its profits. The case is expected to be filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., and will allege, among other things, that Google uses billions of dollars collected from advertisers to pay phone manufacturers to ensure Google is the default search engine on browsers. Trump has often criticised Google, recycling unfounded claims by conservatives that the search giant is biased against conservatives and suppresses their viewpoints, interferes with U.S. elections, and prefers working with the Chinese military over the Pentagon.
B) China opposes India-Taiwan trade ties
On 20 October, China has asked India to approach ties with Taiwan prudently and properly, and said it would firmly oppose any official exchanges between New Delhi and Taipei. The statement from China’s Foreign Ministry came in response to reports that India and Taiwan were considering going forward with talks on a trade deal. India and Taiwan in 2018 already signed a bilateral investment agreement. India-Taiwan trade ties have expanded since, and Taiwanese firms are prominent investors in India, although India and Taiwan do not maintain formal diplomatic relations. The Chinese Embassy in Delhi raised with India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) the putting up of posters in New Delhi on October 10, wishing Taiwan Happy National Day, by a member of the BJP, including outside the Chinese Embassy. The posters were taken down following the complaint. The posters followed a note sent by the Chinese Embassy to around 250 journalists asking them not to refer to Taiwan as a country or a nation while covering an event to be organised by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre in India. The MEA responded to the note, saying that there is a free media in India, that reports on issues that they see fit. On 20 October, China has reacted guardedly to India’s announcement that Australia will join next month’s Malabar naval exercise with India, Japan and the U.S.
C) Russia offers U.S. freeze on N-warhead numbers.
On 20 October, Russia said that it was ready to offer the U.S. a mutual one-year freeze on the number of nuclear warheads held by both countries in order to extend a landmark arms reduction deal due to expire next year. Russia offers to extend the New START by one year and is ready to take on a political commitment with the United States to freeze the number of nuclear warheads both sides have for this period, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Russian President Vladimir Putin last week proposed extending by one year the New START treaty, which caps the number of nuclear warheads held by Washington and Moscow and expires on February 5, 2021.
The White House described the proposal as a “non-starter” unless accompanied by a freeze on the number of nuclear warheads.
The Ministry said the suspension could only take place on the understanding that there were no “additional” demands from the U.S.
But it added the extra time gained could be used for talks on the future control of nuclear weapons.
