CURRENT AFFAIRS
09 October 2020
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) Ram Vilas Paswan passes away
On 8 October, the Union Minister of India, Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan had died. His son Chirag Paswan broke this news by a tweet. Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan was 74 years old. He was the Lok Janshakti Party patron. He had undergone a heart surgery at a hospital in New Delhi a few days ago. He had been in active politics for more than 5 decades and was one of the most noted Dalit leaders of India. He was the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. Mr. Chirag Paswan tweeted that papa you are not in this world today but he know that no matter where he were, he will always be with him. Miss you papa.
B) Republic TV under scanner as Mumbai Police bust ‘fake TRPs’ racket.
On 8 October, the Police Commissioner of Mumbai, Mr. Param Bir Singh said that they have busted a Television Rating Point (TRP) racket which involves Republic TV, Box Cinema, and Fakt Marathi. While addressing reporters in Mumbai, he said that these 3 channels were found manipulating TRPs and distorting the system used by Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) to rate television channels. He said that there are 2,000 barometers which are installed in Mumbai to monitor TRPs. BARC has given a confidential contract for monitoring these barometers. He also informed that in the preliminary enquiry, 1 person was arrested and he has revealed that he had been working for a company called Hansa Research Group Private Limited, which is a part of the BARC. The accused said that the company has misused confidential data, which had been entrusted to them. It has apparently been done for wrongful gains of various TV channels, which had resulted in wrongful loss to various advertisers and their agencies. Hansa’s ex-employee and his companion were arrested and ₹20 lakh were found along with ₹8.5 lakh in the bank locker. Around ₹400-500 was given to several households on monthly basis. They were produced in court and the police have got their custody till October 9. Officials of Republic TV, which claims the highest TRPs among news channels, will be summoned soon, Singh said that in a move that assumes significance as the Mumbai police has been in conflict with some channels over the coverage of the Sushant Singh Rajput case.
C) Supreme Court slams Centre on Tablighi Jamaat affidavit
On 8 October, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad A. Bobde has pulled up the Union government for mistreating the Supreme Court by having a junior officer file an evasive affidavit containing unnecessary, nonsensical averments on petitions challenging the discriminatory and communal coverage of the Tablighi Jamaat incident by some sections of the media. Chief Justice Bobde addressed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta by saying that they cannot treat the court the way they are doing in this case. A junior officer has filed their affidavit. They find it extremely evasive and brazenly short on details. They do not want any unnecessary, nonsensical averments like those made now. They want to know if the government has any power to question or ban TV broadcasting signals, he asked the parties. The court said it would hear arguments on this point and adjourned the case for 2 weeks. The petitions have said that certain sections of the print and electronic media were spreading bigotry and communal hatred in relation to the Tablighi Jamaat conference held in the Nizamuddin Markaz area, and sought a direction to the Ministry to identify and take strict action against sections of the media that had communalised the issue.
D) Indian Air Force Day celebration : Medals presented.
The rapid deployment of Air Force assets to forward areas in the ongoing standoff in eastern Ladakh and support to the Army clearly demonstrated the resolve, operational capability and the will to effectively engage the adversary if the need arose, said that Air Chief Marshal (ACM) R.K.S. Bhadauria on 8 October. ACM Bhadauria also presented the distinguished service medal, Yudh Seva Medial (YSM), to some of the personnel who had taken part in the Balakot air strike on February 26 last year and the aerial engagement a day later.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) Trump says no to virtual debate with Biden.
On 8 October, in the wake of President Donald Trump’s Covid-19 diagnosis, the Commission that oversees the debates said that the second presidential debate next week would be a virtual affair. But Trump is not interested in a virtual debate. He is not going to do a virtual debate, he told Fox News, and added that it was not acceptable to them. The Commission on Presidential Debates had said that the debate will remain a town hall-style conversation. Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden will appear from remote locations, while voters and the moderator will ask them questions from the original debate site in Miami. Trump, however, accused the bipartisan debate commission of trying to protect his opponent Biden. The news comes a day after the sole vice presidential debate between Vice President Mike Pence and Biden’s running mate Senator Kamala Harris, where the focus was on the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic. Trump’s campaign had said that he would participate in the October 15 debate, despite concerns that he could still be infectious.
B) American poet Louise Gluck wins the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature
American poet Louise Gluck won the 2020 Nobel Literature Prize on October 8. Gluck, an unexpected choice, was known for themes of childhood and family life that drew inspiration from myths and classical motifs. Gluck, 77, was honored for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal, the Academy said. Gluck had won the Pulitzer Prize in 1993 for her collection ‘The Wild Iris’ and the National Book Award for her latest collection, ‘Faithful and Virtuous Night’ in 2014. American poet Louise Gluck attends the National Book Awards ceremony in New York City on November 19, 2014. The 2020 Nobel Literature Prize went to Ms. Gluck for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal .American poet Louise Gluck attends the National Book Awards ceremony in New York City on November 19, 2014. The 2020 Nobel Literature Prize went to Ms. Gluck for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal. Gluck was not seen as a favorite for the Nobel in the run-up to the announcement, though betting sites odds on her reportedly plunged just before the announcement.
C) French person appeals google to pay for showing their news in search content.
A French appeals court on 8 October has upheld an order that asked Google to pay media companies for showing their news content in search results. The Paris Court of Appeal rejected a challenge by the U.S. tech company, which had refused to comply with an order by France’s competition authority asking it to negotiate with publishers and press agencies for payments to display their material. The court rejected the argument of google that the competition watchdog overstepped its authority in its April decision. Google had said that the day before that it was on the verge of reaching a deal with French newspapers over digital copyright.
