The week that went by! Weekly News Page Feb 6th - Feb 13th G.K snippets…

Law, Policy and Governance

Daily snippets

1. Munawar Faruqui gets ad interim bail - The Supreme Court granted ad interim bail to comedian Munawar Faruqui in a case registered against him by the Madhya Pradesh police for hurting religious sentiments. Justice Nariman said the allegations against Mr. Faruqui were vague. He noted that the police had not complied with the procedure prescribed under Section 41 of the CrPC. - The SC, in a scathing judgment in Arnesh Kumar versus State of Bihar in 2014, had warned States and their police from depriving personal liberty without following due process of law.

2. Journalists’ union wants ban lifted on reporting stir - The Delhi Union of Journalists condemned Delhi Police’s decision to prohibit reporters from meeting protesting farmers at the Singhu border. The union urged Delhi Police and the Union Home Ministry to lift the ‘ban’ on reporting farmers’ protests.

3. Regulatory code for OTT content soon - Twenty-one MPs cutting across party lines have sought an answer from the government about the content on over-the-top (OTT) platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, asking whether the Centre was aware that such platforms were full of content with “sex, violence, abuse, vulgarity and disrespect to religious sentiments”. Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar recently said his Ministry would soon come up with a regulatory code on the content on these platforms.

4. NITI Aayog seeks to track impact of green verdicts - The NITI Aayog - the government’s apex think tank - has commissioned a study that seeks to examine the “unintended economic consequences” of judicial decisions that have hindered and stalled big ticket projects on environmental grounds. - A perusal of the document appears to suggest that judgments that negatively impact major infrastructure projects don’t adequately consider the economic fallout - in terms of loss of jobs and revenue. Doing so, it reckons, would contribute to public discourse among policymakers for promoting an “economically responsible approach by judiciary” in its decisions.

5. PM lauds the judiciary for safeguarding people’s rights - Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the judiciary for safeguarding people’s rights and personal liberty even during the most challenging times and prioritising national interests whenever the occasion demanded. - Releasing a postage stamp to mark the diamond jubilee of the Gujarat High Court, Mr. Modi said the Supreme Court had conducted the highest number of hearings via videoconference in the world during the pandemic.

6. Government regulations and tech platforms - The Centre has issued notice to Twitter after the micro­blogging site restored more than 250 accounts that had been suspended earlier on the government’s ‘legal demand’. The government wants the platform to comply with its earlier order of January 31 by which it was asked to block accounts and a controversial hashtag that spoke of an impending ‘genocide’ of farmers for allegedly promoting misinformation about the protests, adversely affecting public order. - Twitter reinstated the accounts and tweets on its own and later refused to go back on the decision, contending that it found no violation of its policy. In India, the Information Technology Act, 2000, as amended from time to time, governs all activities related to the use of computer resources. It covers all ‘intermediaries’ who play a role in the use of computer resources and electronic records. - Intermediaries are required to preserve and retain specified information in a manner and format prescribed by the Centre for a specified duration. Contravention of this provision may attract a prison term that may go up to three years, besides a fine. - In Shreya Singhal vs U.O.I (2015), the Supreme Court read down the provision to mean that the intermediaries ought to act only “upon receiving actual knowledge that a court order has been passed, asking [them] to expeditiously remove or disable access to certain material”.

7. Access to mental health helplines - Seventy per cent of callers to a mental health rehabilitation helpline launched, in September 2020 by the Social Justice and Empowerment (SJE) Ministry, were men according to an internal report of the Ministry accessed by The Hindu. About 32% of those who reached out were students. - The ‘Kiran’ service was set up by the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry. The 24/7 helpline offers early screening, psychological first aid, psychological support, distress management, mental well being, psychological crisis management services and referrals to mental health experts and is operated by 81 front­line professionals, apart from volunteer psychiatrists, clinical and rehabilitation psychologists.

8. New labour codes to allow four-day work week - The new labour codes set to be implemented soon would provide companies the flexibility of reducing the number of working days to four days a week and provide free medical check-ups to workers through the Employees State Insurance Corporation. According to a ministry briefing, the concerns about the working hours going up from 10.5 hours to 12 hours, with one hour of rest, which arose during consultations had been addressed. - Under the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 draft rules, the limit of working hours for a week was 48 hours.

9. HC dismisses Navlakha’s plea challenging rejection of bail - The Bombay High Court dismissed the appeal filed by scholar, civil rights activist, and journalist Gautam Navlakha from the Taloja Central Jail challenging the rejection of his statutory bail by the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on July 12 in the Bhima-­Koregaon violence case. A Division Bench of Justices S.S. Shinde and M.S. Karnik was hearing the appeal filed through senior advocate Kapil Sibal on September 9.

10. Twitter asked to remove 1,178 accounts - The Union government has asked Twitter to remove nearly 1,200 accounts related to farmers’ protest that it suspects to be linked to Khalistan sympathisers or backed by Pakistan. The decision comes amid a tussle between the government and the micro-blogging platform over the latter’s move to restore nearly 250 accounts which the Centre previously wanted removed over the usage of content related to “farmer genocide”.

11. Punjabi actor-­activist Deep Sidhu arrested over Red Fort vandalism - Punjabi actor activist Deep Sidhu, who was wanted in the Red Fort violence case, was arrested by the Delhi police. He was later produced in court and remanded in police custody for seven days. The police said Mr. Sidhu had instigated the mob to breach barricades with tractors and deviate from the approved tractor rally route.

12. Army raises a specialist unit to ‘sniff out’ COVID-­19 - Casper and Jaya have been deployed in Chandigarh and Delhi to screen samples and detect COVID­-19 among soldiers posted to forward areas of the Northern Command. They are the first two canines trained to detect COVID­19 cases from sweat and urine samples. - Samples identified as positive by the dogs are confirmed through the RT­PCR test. A dog can screen approximately 100 samples in an hour with a rest period of five minutes after every 15 minutes.

13. Rajya Sabha passes Bill extending protection to illegal constructions - The Rajya Sabha passed the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which extended the protections from punitive action for certain kinds of unauthorised constructions by three years. Legislation replaces ordinance promulgated by the Centre in December last year

14. Centre objects to plea against Special Marriage Act - The Centre has objected to a petition seeking to discontinue with the provision of inviting objection from the public while applying for marriage registration under the Special Marriage Act (SMA). In an affidavit filed before the Delhi High Court, the Ministry of Law and Justice said that the intention behind the provision in SMA was to “keep adequate safe-guards to the interest of various parties involved”. - The provision was challenged by an interfaith couple on the ground that the 30 days gestation period was not warranted as the same objective can be mitigated on the basis of certificates issued by government hospitals and on the basis of undertaking by them.

15. SC stays curbs on activist Rehana - The Supreme Court stayed a blanket ban imposed by the Kerala High Court on activist Rehana Fathima using any kind of media to express or share her views. However, a Bench led by Justice Rohinton F. Nariman retained a condition imposed by the High Court that Ms. Fathima should not use the media to hurt religious feelings. - The December 2018 and November 2020 orders of the High Court concerned bail granted to Ms. Fathima in a case of committing “deliberate and malicious acts” to hurt religious feelings under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code.

16. POCSO doesn’t brook dilution - The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was enacted in 2012 especially to protect children (aged less than 18) from sexual assault. - The difference between POCSO and IPC, as far as the offence of sexual assault is concerned, is two­fold - First, the definition of ‘assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty’ given in the IPC is generic whereas in POCSO, the acts of sexual assault are explicitly mentioned such as touching various private parts or doing any other act which involves physical contact without penetration. Two, whereas the IPC provides punishment for the offence irrespective of any age of the victim, POCSO is specific for the protection of children. - The essence of a woman’s modesty is her sex and the culpable intention of the accused is the crux of the matter in the cases of sexual assault. In the absence of any specific provision in the POCSO Act which requires skin to skin touch as a mandatory element of an offence, any interpretation which dilutes protection to children must be declared ultra vires.

17. Twitter must follow Indian laws: Centre - With the government and Twitter at loggerheads over issues related to content removal and freedom of expression, the Centre expressed “deep disappointment” over the microblogging platform’s partial compliance of its orders “grudgingly” and with substantial delay. In a meeting requested by Twitter, it was informed that the government expected full compliance of the blocking orders and that it was unlikely to revisit the list.

18. 2.2% UAPA cases ended in conviction in 3 years - Only 2.2 % of cases registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act between 2016 and 2019 ended in convictions by court, according to data presented by the Union Home Ministry in the Rajya Sabha. Union Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy informed the Upper House that as per the 2019 Crime in India Report compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau, the total number of persons arrested under the Act in 2019 is 1,948. - In another reply, the Minister stated that in the year 2019, as many as 96 persons were arrested for sedition (Section 194A IPC) but only two were convicted and 29 persons were acquitted. Of the 93 cases of sedition, the charge sheet was filed in 40 cases the same year.

19. Editors Guild expresses concern over raids on News Click office - The Editors Guild of India (EGI) expressed concern over raids by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at the office of the news website NewsClick.in, and the residences of its editor-­in-­chief and promoter, the editor and senior management. The Press Club of India also expressed concern and called the raid an “unsavoury attack on the media in a bid to intimidate and silence critical journalism”.

20. Reinstate LGBT member of U.P. Home Guards: HC - Treating a person’s sexual orientation as an offence would be interference in the individual’s right of privacy, the Allahabad High Court noted as it directed the Uttar Pradesh Home Guards to reinstate a staff member belonging to the LGBT community whose appointment was cancelled after a video revealing the person’s sexual orientation was widely shared. - The sexual orientation of the petitioner had been stated to be “indulgence in untoward activity”, which was completely in violation of the observations of the Supreme Court in Navtej Singh Johar vs. Union of India, the court said. - Any display of affection among the members of the LGBT community towards their partners in public, so long as it did not amount to indecency or had the potentiality to disturb public order, could not be bogged down by majority perception, the court further said referring to the Supreme Court case.

21. ‘School closure led to loss in foundational abilities’ - A field study by Azim Premji University paints a grim picture. Children not only missed out on the regular curricular learning they would have acquired had schools remained open, but are also ‘forgetting’ what they had learnt in previous years. Study says 92% of students from Classes II to VI have lost at least one specific ability in languages. - Foundational abilities are those that form the basis for further learning. Some of the suggestions included eliminating vacations, extending the academic year well into 2021 and perhaps beyond depending on when schools open and reconfiguring the syllabus.

22. Tigress Avni killing: SC notice to forest officials - The Supreme Court prima facie said “celebrations” after the killing of tigress Avni in November 2018 “clearly violated” the law. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde issued notice to Vikas Kharge, Principal Secretary, Department of Revenue and Forests, Mumbai, and other Maharashtra Forest Department officials on a contempt petition filed by activist and petitioner in person Sangeeta Dogra.

23. 17 major OTT players adopt self regulatory toolkit - Even as the government is soon expected to come out with regulations for OTT platforms, the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) said 17 platforms have adopted a ‘toolkit’ for effective implementation of the self regulation code introduced last year. The industry body added that it will set up an ‘IAMAI Secretariat for the Code’, comprising representatives from the signatories to the Code, as well as the IAMAI, for its implementation.

24. Consider as representation plea against tree felling for metro work’ - The Delhi High Court asked a Central Empowered Committee (CEC), set up by the Supreme Court, to look into environment issues to consider as representation a petition to change from overground to underground the nature of Phase­-IV of metro expansion to prevent cutting of over 11,000 trees.

25. Disabled entitled to facilities: SC - The government is not conferring "largesse” on disabled people by facilitating a scribe during the course of the Civil Services Examination, the Supreme Court held. The court said it is high time the government shed its “fundamental fallacy” that only persons with “bench-mark disability” or specified disability of 40% or more should be accommodated with a scribe while taking competitive tests like the Civil Services Examination. - This is a clear violation of the intent to provide “reasonable accommodation” for disabled persons under the Right to Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act of 2016. The judgment was based on an appeal filed on behalf of Vikash Kumar, a candidate with Writer’s cramp, a chronic neurological condition. He was denied a scribe for the Civil Services Exam by the UPSC in 2018, on the ground that he did not come within the definition of a person with bench-mark disability.

26. ‘Most buses still wheelchair-unfriendly’ - Less than 7% of public buses in the country were fully accessible to wheelchair users as of December 2020, with the target of 25% of buses being accessible by June 2022 under the Accessible India Campaign getting closer, according to government data. - Apart from public buses, the Accessible India Campaign, was aimed at making government buildings, airports, railway stations and government websites accessible to persons with disabilities.

27. Inter­marriages can reduce caste tensions, says court - Educated youngsters are showing the way forward to reduce caste and community tensions in India by tying the knot in inter­marriages, the Supreme Court said in a recent judgment. The judgment came in a case filed by a lecturer, an MBA graduate, who fled from Bengaluru to Delhi to marry a man, an M. Tech. and assistant professor. - The court quashed the case against the couple and directed the police authorities to not only counsel the investigating officers but devise a training programme to deal with such cases for the benefit of the police personnel.

28. President will decide on Rajoana’s plea - The government informed the Supreme Court that President Ram Nath Kovind will take a decision on the mercy plea of Balwant Singh Rajoana, who has been in jail for 26 years for the assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. Solicitor-­General points to gravity of facts in Beant Singh assassination case. - The court said the law was settled that once the government had decided to recommend a presidential pardon for a condemned man, the pendency of appeals in the Supreme Court of his co-accused cannot delay the process initiated under Article 72 (presidential pardon) of the Constitution.

29. SC seeks response on petition against Twitter - The Supreme Court decided to examine a plea that says the social media platform Twitter is “sympathetic to terrorist groups”. Twitter has been accused of promoting and circulating prohibited content and hate messages. And, there was no mechanism or law to deal with the problem.

------National News/ Interventions

Daily snippets

1. Pfizer India withdraws vaccine application - Pfizer India has withdrawn its application with India’s Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to allow its vaccine to be made available in India. - On Wednesday, an expert committee of the DCGI declined to approve the vaccine on the ground that there were reports of “palsy, anaphylaxis and other Severe Adverse Events'' after the vaccine’s approvals in some countries and it still wasn’t clear if this was connected to vaccination. - After being approved in the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union, Pfizer also applied for the vaccine to be made available in India under ‘emergency use listing’ conditions. This is the clause under which Covishield and Covaxin have been approved in India.

2. With public library movement, Jamtara turns a new page - A library movement developed in a short span of time in Jharkhand’s Jamtara district is receiving a steady flow of students and helping them turn a new page. The district’s love for books assumes huge significance as it has the dubious distinction of being the “phishing capital of India”. - Many youth, mostly drop­outs in the 15­-35 age group, have been turning to cybercrime to earn a few quick bucks. Police personnel from 22 out of 28 Indian States have visited the tiny district in search of cyber fraudsters in the past few years. It is said that the majority of online fraud calls received by people across the country emanate from the district. Netflix’s 2020 crime drama, Jamtara, was based on this.

3. Police to approach Google to find ‘toolkit’ creator - To identify the authors of the ‘toolkit’, which was shared on Google Docs, the Delhi police will write to Google to get the IP (internet protocol) address or the location from where the ‘toolkit’ document was created and uploaded on the social media platform. - The officer said that they are taking legal help and writing to Google to get more details about the uploader and creator of the ‘toolkit’. On Thursday, the Delhi police cyber cell had registered an FIR to investigate an “international conspiracy” to defame the country. A police officer said that they have registered a First Information Report into the matter after a Twitter handle had shared a ‘toolkit’ on Twitter but deleted it later. No names have been mentioned in the FIR, the officer said.

4. Whopping 900% rise in rejection of crop insurance claims - The number of farmers’ crop insurance claims that were rejected by insurance companies under the Centre’s flagship Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) multiplied 10 times in just two years, according to data provided by Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar in response to a question in the Rajya Sabha on Friday. - In 2017­-18, the number of rejected claims was 92,869. In the next year, 2018-­19, the figure more than doubled to 2.04 lakh. By 2019­-20, it was 9.28 lakh, a whopping 900% increase. - The question came from Manas Ranjan Bhunia, Trinamool Congress MP, who asked whether farmers were denied crop insurance claims by insurance companies, the details of cases reported from different States in those particular years, and the steps the government was taking in this regard. - In response, Mr. Tomar said under the PMFBY, there was actually no need to file crop loss claims in case of widespread natural calamities such as drought or flood, as claims were calculated on the basis of shortfall in yield of the whole unit. At the end of the season, prevented sowing and midseason adversity claims were settled on the basis of an area approach for which yield data and crop damage reports were provided by the State governments concerned. - However, there was a different process when it came to risks impacting smaller areas such as losses due to localised risks of hailstorms, landslips, inundation, cloud burst, or natural fire. Such losses were calculated on the basis of crop loss assessment at individual insured farm levels. - Farmers informed such crop losses to the insurance company, the State government or financial institutions, and their claims were assessed by a joint committee with representatives from the State government and the insurance company. “The companies can reject claims on various grounds,” he said.

5. China unlikely to collude with Pak. to target India: IAF chief - China would lose moral authority if it colluded with Pakistan to target India, said Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal (ACM) R.K.S. Bhadauria on Friday. He noted that he did not see China getting into a collusive kind of arrangement in a conflict situation to start with. - ACM Bhadauria said the fall in the fighter squadron strength of the Air Force had been arrested. The order for 83 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) being awarded to the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) early this week at Aero India and aircraft deliveries beginning early 2024 would ensure that the numbers would keep going up. - The first LCA MK­1A squadron would be made in 2024 and operationalised in a year after that. While the phasing out of the MiG­21s had caused a dip in squadron strength, last year the IAF constituted the first Rafale squadron and has so far inducted 11 jets.

6. FSSAI caps trans fats in food products - The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has amended its rules to cap trans fatty acids (TFAs) in food products, just weeks after it tightened the norms for oils and fats. - “Food products in which edible oils and fats are used as an ingredient shall not contain industrial trans fatty acids more than 2% by mass of the total oils/fats present in the product, on and from 1st January, 2022,” said the revised regulations notified. In December, the FSSAI had capped TFAs in oils and fats to 3% by 2021, and 2% by 2022 from the current levels of 5%. - What are Trans fatty acids (TFAs)? Trans Fatty acids are created in an industrial process that adds hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid, increase shelf life of food items and for use as an adulterant as they are cheap. They are present in baked, fried and processed foods as well as adulterated ghee, which becomes solid at room temperature. They are the most harmful form of fats as they clog arteries and cause hypertension, heart attacks and other cardiovascular diseases. The WHO has called for the elimination of industrially produced trans fatty acids from the global food supply by 2023.

7. Ka-226T to be 33% indigenous: HAL - The total indigenous content of the Ka­-226T utility helicopters, to be jointly manufactured locally by India and Russia with Transfer of Technology (ToT), is between 27%­-33%, said Chairman and MD of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) R. Madhavan. The final deal is held up as the Russian proposal of 62% indigenous content in assembled helicopters falls short of the tender requirement of 70%. - The Ka­226T is meant to replace the ageing and obsolete Cheetah and Chetak fleet of the Army and Air Force and the total technical life of these will start finishing from 2023 onwards. - In 2015, India and Russia had concluded an Inter-­Governmental Agreement (IGA) for at least 200 Ka-­226T twin engine utility helicopters estimated to cost over $1 billion with 60 helicopters to be directly imported and the remaining 140 manufactured locally. The first helicopter would be delivered within 36 months from the signing of the contract.

8. Sri Lanka settles $400 mn currency swap with India - The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) settled a $400 million currency swap facility from the Reserve Bank (RBI) of India last week. The update sparked speculation in local media that India may have “abruptly terminated” the agreement, following Colombo’s decision to pull out of a 2019 agreement to develop a Colombo Port terminal jointly with India and Japan. However, both countries clarified that the developments were not linked. - The CBSL obtained the swap facility on July 31, 2020, for an initial period of three months, to cope with the severe economic impact of the pandemic. Subsequently, the RBI provided a three month rollover at CBSL’s request, until February 1, 2021. - COVID-­19 struck Sri Lanka in March 2020, putting its foreign reserves under strain since, as tourism, worker remittances and exports were badly hit. However, the Rajapaksa administration has said it will not seek an IMF bailout. Colombo has instead sought further loans from China, among others, and additional currency swap facilities from both India and China. Neither China nor India has responded to Colombo’s debt freeze request. Sri Lanka owes over $5 billion to China and $960 million to India in debt repayment.

9. Political parties registrations - The contribution reports of only 78 (3.39%) of the total 2,301 registered unrecog­nised political parties are available in the public domain for 2018-­19, while the reports of only 82 such par­ties (3.56%) for 2017­-18 are uploaded on the respective State Chief Electoral Offic­ers’ websites, according to the Association For Demo­cratic Reforms (ADR). - There are 2,360 political parties registered with the Election Commission of In­dia and 2,301 or 97.50% of them are unrecognised. Either newly registered parties or those which have not secured enough percent­age of votes in Assembly or General Elections to become a State party or those which have never contested in elec­tions since being registered are considered unrecognized parties. Such parties don’t enjoy all the benefits extended to the re­cognised parties.

10. 7 killed after ‘glacial burst’ in Uttarakhand - Seven persons were killed and over 125 reported missing after a “glacial burst” on Nanda Devi triggered an avalanche and caused flash floods in Rishi-Ganga and Dhauliganga rivers in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand on Sunday. The number of missing persons could rise as details were still being ascertained, Uttarakhand Chief Minister T.S. Rawat said at a press conference in Dehradun in the evening. - While the Rishiganga hydel project had an installed capacity of 13.2 megawatts (MW), the 520 MW NTPC Tapovan-­Vishnugad project on the Dhauliganga was much larger. Both sites have been virtually washed away. Environmental experts attributed the Nanda Devi glacial melt to global warming. Glacier retreat and permafrost thaw are projected to decrease the stability of the mountain slopes and increase the number and area of glacier lakes, according to the latest assessment reports of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. - There is also high confidence that the number and area of glacier lakes will continue to increase in most regions in the coming decades, and new lakes will develop closer to steep and potentially unstable mountain walls, where lake outbursts can be more easily triggered. - Climate change has driven erratic weather patterns like increased snowfall and rainfall, and warmer winters have led to the melting of a lot of snow. The thermal profile of ice, said experts, was increasing. Earlier the temperature of ice ranged from ­6 to ­20 degree Celsius; it is now ­2 making it more susceptible to melting.

11. ‘Dhauliganga’s water level breaches records’ - The water level of Dhauliganga river at Joshimath flew at a perilously high level, breaching all records, Central Water Commission officials said after a part of the Nanda Devi glacier broke off in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district leading to massive floods. The glacial burst triggered an avalanche and a deluge in the Alaknanda river system that washed away hydroelectric stations and trapped more than 100 labourers who are feared dead. The intensity of the river’s flow in a short span of time was such that it engulfed whatever came in its way. This was a grim reminder of the Kedarnath deluge of 2013, which led to widespread devastation in the ecologically fragile Himalayan region.

12. Afghanistan gets Covishield doses - Afghanistan received a large consignment of COVID­-19 vaccines from India. A special Indian aircraft carrying 500,000 doses of the Covishield vaccine from Mumbai reached Kabul, where officials of Afghanistan’s Health Ministry took charge of the consignment. The India­made vaccine is the first to reach Afghanistan as the country battles the pandemic. The vaccine, made by the Serum Institute of India, has already been supplied to Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and the Maldives in South Asia.

13. Ukraine looking at defence purchases from India - Ukraine is looking to procure some military hardware from India in addition to efforts to deepen its presence in the Indian defence market, said Yuriv Husyev, General Director of Ukroboronprom, the umbrella corporation of Ukrainian state defence companies. - The two sides will discuss a range of proposals to take forward bilateral cooperation at the Bilateral Working Group meeting between the two Defence Ministries in April. Ukraine has signed four agreements worth $70 million which includes sale of new weapons as well as maintenance and upgrades of existing ones in service with the Indian armed forces.

14. On disinvestment - The government will adopt a ‘squeaky clean process’ for the privatisation of public sector enterprises as per the new policy unveiled in the Budget, said Tuhin Kanta Pandey, the top Finance Mi­nistry official entrusted with steering the disinvestment process. The disinvestment policy env­ isages the government exit­ing a large chunk of the 439 central public sector enter­prises (PSEs) in the country. - The new disinvestment policy goes further than the past case­-by-­case approach, and straightaway allows the sale or closure of nearly 151 PSUs (83 holding companies and 68 subsidiaries) in non­ strategic sectors. It also covers banks and insure­ rs for the first time, with two public sector banks and one general insurer pro­posed to be sold in 2021­-22.

15. First ‘Kisan Rail’ from Telangana chugs off - The South Central Railway started the first ‘Kisan Rail’ service from Telangana on Monday. The train will transport 230 tonne of dry turmeric in 10 parcel vans from the Warangal station to the Barasat station of Sealdah division (West Bengal). The move is aimed at assisting farmers to sell their produce at better prices, a release said.

16. V.K. Singh statement on LAC ‘unwitting confession’: China - China’s Foreign Ministry said Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways and former Army chief, Gen. V.K. Singh (retd), had made an “unwitting confession” by saying India had transgressed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on more occasions than China had. On Sunday, Gen. Singh said the border had never been demarcated, and while China had transgressed across the LAC up to its perception, India had done the same but the government did not announce it.

17. New variety of marigold - The new variety of marigold developed by the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) will fetch money even if they get spoiled as it can be used for extraction of crude carotene, which is mainly used in the pharmaceutical sector. All marigolds have a carotene content of up to 1.4%. However, the Arka Shubha variety of marigold has a carotene content of 2.8%, which is the highest content from a plant source.Presently, India imports most of its carotene from China and other countries. The Arka Shubha variety is of use in the poultry sector as well. Its petals could be used as feed to get quality yolk. It is used as feed for sheep too.

18. ED searches offices of digital news platform - The Enforcement Directo­rate conducted searches on the premises of digital news platform NewsClick and several other places in connection with al­leged receipt of about ₹30 crore from overseas in the past three years. The ED officials said: “The searches have been carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, based on an FIR registered by the Delhi police a few months ago. We have so far found evidence showing re­ceipt of about ₹30 crore from abroad.” According to the agency, the company running News­ Click allegedly showed ex­ ports from a premises, which was closed for the past about two years. - DIGIPUB News India Foundation issued a state­ment, strongly condemning the searches “at the office of NewsClick and the homes of its directors and editor Pra­bir Purkayastha”. “DIGIPUB News India Foundation believes that the ED raids on NewsClick, its editor and directors, is a clear attempt to suppress journalism critical of the gov­ ernment and its allies,” it said.

19. Actor Rajiv Kapoor passes away - Actor-­director Rajiv Ka­ poor, son of celebrated filmmaker-­actor Raj Ka­poor, died on Tuesday af­ter a heart attack. Rajiv Kapoor made his acting debut with 1983 film Ek Jaan Hain Hum, but made his first appearance as a leading man in blockbuster Ram Teri Ganga Maili, which was Raj Ka­poor's last directorial venture.

20. Both sides disengaging from Pangong lake area, says China - China’s military announced that frontline troops of India and China had begun disengaging in a “synchronised and organised” manner from the north and south banks of Pangong lake, where both sides have been locked in a stand­off for months which, an official source in Delhi said, was the first step in the long process of disengagement and de­escalation. - This restarts the stalled process of disengagement in the most protracted military stand­off between India and China in decades that resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese casualties at Galwan last year. This is the first phase of disengagement with some tanks and armoured elements on the south bank being withdrawn as well as thinning down of troops on the north bank, a Government of India source said. However, troops continue to remain in key positions. It would be a multi­step process for disengagement and de escalation along the Line of Actual Control and would take time. - The focus of the Corps Commander talks has been on the north and south banks, which has seen tensions with warning shots also fired in the south last year, the first firing incidents along the border since 1975. As part of the first phase of disengagement last June, both sides had pulled back troops by equal distance from Patrolling Points (PP) 14 in the Galwan valley and PP15 in Gogra­Hot Springs. It was during the disengagement at Galwan that violent clashes occurred. China and India have agreed to return to the pre­-April 2020 positions in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), according to the latest disengagement plan being implemented on the ground. - India and China have been engaged in a face­off in various pockets in eastern Ladakh since April last year after China stopped Indian patrols in the Finger area of Pangong Tso. The troops have not been able to patrol beyond Finger 4 since the last week of April 2020 after China had ingressed about 8 km. Earlier, the troops could patrol up to Finger 8. The other areas where the buildup continues are the Depsang plains, Galwan, Gogra­Hot Springs and the south bank of Pangong. 21. Naga students’ body slams Governor for ‘gag order’ - The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) has slammed Nagaland Governor R.N. Ravi for a “gag order” that prescribes stern penal and disciplinary action against government servants who post “seditious and subversive” content on social media. The Governor’s office in the State capital Kohima had on January 16 informed Chief Secretary Jane­Alam about some government servants taking to social media to indulge in “seditious and subversive writings challenging the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country”.

22. SC orders status quo on INS Viraat dismantling - The Supreme Court ordered a status quo on the dismantling of the Nav­ y’s decommissioned airc­ raft carrier, INS Viraat. The warship is currently awaiting dismantling at the ship­breaking yard at Alang in Gujarat. The petitioners have arg­ ued that Viraat, which was the oldest serving warship at the time of its decommis­sioning, should not be sold as scrap. - In the High Court, the Centre had reportedly said that the 67-y­ ear ­old ship, which had served the Navy for about three decades, was sold to the Gujarat-­based Shree Ram Group, a ship­ breaking firm, which won the bid. It had said that com­munications to various States for proposals on the ship were unanswered.

23. Lahaul-Spiti residents want hydro projects in the region scrapped - There is in­creased anxiety among the people in the Lahaul-­Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh who have been up in arms against the hydropower pro­jects proposed in this tribal region. Among the projects pro­posed in Lahaul-Spiti are Tandi (104 Mega Watt), Rashil (102 MW), Bardang (126 MW), Miyar (90 MW) and Jispa (300 MW). Locals have been voicing their concerns for a long time now.

24. India to better its disaster management - Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the World Sustainable Deve­lopment Summit, 2021, org­ anised by The Energy Resources Institute, in Delhi. “We must enhance our disaster management capabilities. The way to do this is to improve our human resources as well as tech­nology. India is part of the Coa­lition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. We are working in this direction. We are working towards whatever needs to be done to achieve this. Our human centric approach could act as a force multiplier to achieve this,” the PM said.

25. Coordinated disengagement at Pangong Tso, Rajnath tells RS - India and China have reached an agreement on disengagement in the Pangong lake area to cease their forward deployments in a phased, coordinated and verified manner and it would substantially restore the situation to that existing prior to the commencement of the stand­off last year, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said. - Tanks and mechanised elements have started moving back from the South Bank and distances, including the latitudes and longitudes, up to which they have to move back, had been agreed upon in the agreement. Both sides have worked out a detailed step by step plan for pullback of troops and equipment. Joint verification would be done together at each step. - In a pre-emptive move on August 29 and 30, 2020, the Army had occupied some unoccupied heights in the Chushul sector from Thakung to Rechin La within the Indian perception of the LAC, foiling the Chinese People’s Liberation Army attempts to dominate the heights. As part of the agreement, the Indian Army will vacate these peaks and pull back troops and equipment, while China would remove structures between Finger 4 to Finger 8 on the North Bank and withdraw troops.

26. Analysis : On the Uttarakhand deluge and challenges of hydropower development, Ravi Chopra - It’s a folly to be building dams, and hydro­ power projects above elevat­ions of 2,200 metres. The cost of solar power has been dra­matically reduced and it makes no sense to generate power at ₹7-­8 per unit when solar power is ₹2. Also, there is no sustainable way to develop such projects given the flouting of environ­mental norms and challenges with the disposal of debris, accumulated muck. Dams in the paraglacial zone (above 2,200 m) are a danger to the people below. - In Uttarakhand, we need a services based economy on information technology companies that will not be power intensive. And we also need to develop our roads, improve access and go about it in a thought­ful sustained manner such that it contributes to tourism. We must have a solar power based development. In­dustrial development here al­so has to be thought through.

27. India-China disengagement - The disengagement on the south bank of Pangong Tso (lake) will see Indian troops moving to their post in Chushul and Chinese troops to the Moldo garrison. In the next phase, addi­tional Indian troops will move further down, around 40 km, to Tara-­Rhongo post and Chinese troops to Dorjo. The next priority is Depsang and Gogra-­Hot Springs. - The official spokesperson of the Ministry of Defence said that the Line of Actual Cont­rol was at Finger 8 and not at Finger 4 at Pangong Tso. The Ministry said India had not con­ceded any territory as a re­sult of this agreement. - In August 2020, Indian troops had taken advantage­ous positions on the hills on the south bank following which China matched pre­sence, leading to an eyeball­-to-­eyeball confrontation. This incident followed China blocking Indian pat­rols at multiple locations in eastern Ladakh — north Pan­gong, Gogra­-Hot Springs, Galwan, Depsang and CNN sector in Demchok - fol­lowed by amassing of troops and armaments. - The Defence Ministry stated that the assertion that the Indian territory is up to Finger 4 at Pangong Tso is categorically false, it said the territory of India is as depicted by the map of India and includes more than 43,000 sq km current­ly under illegal occupation of China since 1962. - Permanent posts of both sides of the north bank of Pangong Tso are longstanding and well­-established, the Ministry said. On the In­dian side, it is Dhan Singh Thapa Post near Finger 3 and on the Chinese side, east of Finger 8.

28. Railways to connect Aizawl by 2023 - By March 2023, Aizawl will be linked to India’s railway grid, making Mizoram the fourth of the eight north­ eastern States to get railway connectivity. A statement issued by the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) said ₹1,000­-crore has been allocated for the 2021­-22 fiscal to be spent on the Bairabi-­Sairang railway pro­ject that the Railway Ministry wants completed within the next two years. State capital Aizawl is 18 km uphill of Sairang. - Northeast Frontier Rail­way has been working on a project to link all State capi­tals in the region. So far, the capitals of three northeastern States have railway con­nectivity. These are Dispur (Assam), Agartala (Tripura) and Itanagar (Arunachal).

29. Against curbing social-media : Vice President - At a time when the govern­ment is involved in a tug-­of-­war with social media giant Twitter, Rajya Sabha Chair­person M. Venkaiah Naidu called for ‘moderation’ in the use of social media to prevent abuse. He suggested that these platforms should not be conv­ erted into war theatre and principle of moderation should be followed. - “Cont­ent for social media should be generated in a restrained and responsible manner by keeping the reactions to such content in mind. Such reflection would minimise offensive posts. Provocation should not be the objective. Sharing of views for better perspectives should be,” he said.

------International NEWS/Events/ Personalities

Daily snippets

1. Hundreds protest in Myanmar amid arrest of key Suu Kyi aide - Several hundred teachers and students protested at a Myanmar university as the military widened a dragnet against officials ousted in a coup that has drawn global condemnation and the threat of new sanctions. - The rally took place after the arrest of Win Htein, a key aide to de facto leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi, who has not been seen in public since being detained along with President Win Myint. Monday’s putsch ended the country’s 10-y­ ear dalliance with democracy that followed decades of oppressive junta rule, and sparked outrage and calls by the U.S. President Joe Biden for the generals to relinquish power. - On Friday, around 200 teachers and students at Yangon’s Dagon University staged a rally, where they displayed a three-finger salute borrowed from Thailand’s democracy movements, and sang a popular revolution song. - Students chanted “Long live Mother Suu'' and carried red flags, the colour of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party. A similar protest took place across town in Yangon University. In Naypyitaw, dozens of employees from several Ministries posed for group photographs wearing red ribbons and flashing the democracy symbol. Twitter services experienced disruptions in Myanmar on Friday, with some saying it could not be used even with a VPN service

2. Indonesia bans ‘hijab’ in schools - Indonesia has banned schools from forcing girls to wear Islamic “hijab” headscarves after the case of a Christian pupil pressured to cover up sparked outrage in the world’s most populous Muslim nation. The move was applauded by activists, who say non­-Muslim girls have been forced for years to wear a hijab in parts of the country. State schools will face sanctions if they fail to comply with the edict from Education Minister Nadiem Makarim. Schools that violate the rules could see their government funding cut, he added.

3. Imran Khan calls for restoration of Article 370 - Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan called upon India to restore Article 370 in Kashmir. He said Kashmiris should be free to decide their own future. Addressing a rally to observe ‘Kashmir Solidarity Day’, the Pakistan Prime Minister said he would raise his voice for Kashmir’s aspirations. - The comments came just days after Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa expressed the desire for a “dignified” resolution to the Kashmir issue. The Ministry of External Affairs had said in response that the “onus” for creating “normal neighbourly relations” was on Pakistan.

4. U.S. moves to end terror designation of Houthis - The U.S. has moved to delist Yemen’s Houthi rebels as a terrorist organisation, removing a block that humanitarian groups said jeopardised crucial aid as the country’s warring sides cautiously welcomed a push for peace by President Joe Biden. - The grinding six year war in Yemen has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions, triggering what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian disaster. Nearly 80% of Yemen’s population need some form of aid for survival, says the UN. The move comes a day after Mr. Biden announced an end to U.S. support for the Saudi­-led offensive operations in Yemen.

5. China approves second domestic vaccine - China’s drug authorities have given “conditional” approval for a second COVID­-19 vaccine, Sinovac’s CoronaVac jab, the pharmaceutical company said on Saturday. The vaccine has already been rolled out to key groups at higher risk of exposure to coronavirus but Saturday’s approval allows for its use on the general public. - The approval comes after multiple domestic and overseas trials of the vaccine in countries including Brazil and Turkey, although “efficacy and safety results need to be further confirmed”, Sinovac said in a statement. Fellow Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm received a similar conditional green light in December to put its vaccine on the market. - Sinovac said trials in Brazil had shown around 50% efficacy in preventing infection and 80% efficacy in preventing cases requiring medical intervention. Sinopharm said in December that its vaccine had a 79.34% efficacy rate, lower than rival jabs developed in the West by Pfizer­BioNTech and Moderna — with 95 and 94% rates, respectively.

6. A jumbo struggle for farmers in Sri Lanka - Farmer groups in the district have been agitating for weeks, demanding that the government soon gazette a Wildlife Management Reserve in the area. This, they hope, will put an end to wild elephants ravaging their fields and homes. The farmers accuse the government of pursuing “thoughtless, large scale development” that destroys the elephants’ natural habitat. - Sri Lanka has an estimated 6,000 elephants, and hundreds die every year, frequently in ‘hakka patas’ or traps made of explosives, and gunshot injuries. In 2019, Sri Lanka reported 407 elephant deaths, the highest number recorded in the world. In 2020, 318 elephants and 112 people were killed in conflicts, according to the Wildlife Department. - The continuing farmers’ struggle in Hambantota is the first instance of protracted resistance from within the ruling regime’s southern Sinhala Buddhist core constituency, and it has drawn support from farmer organisations and trade unions elsewhere.

7. Thousands rally in Jaffna to assert minority rights - Thousands of people from Sri Lanka’s Tamil­-majority areas culminated in Jaffna on Sunday, ending a five ­day rally to assert the rights of Tamil and Muslim minorities. Many civil society organisations came together, while prominent legislators and members of various Tamil and Muslim political parties joined the procession, chanting slogans against the government’s “repression” against Sri Lanka’s minorities. - The issues highlighted at the rally included the persisting calls from families of forcible disappeared persons, concerns around “land grab” and reported attacks on Hindu temples in the area, persisting militarisation, surveillance of journalists and human rights defenders, attempts to prevent memorialisation by Tamils, mandatory cremations denying Muslims burial rights during the pandemic, and long ­pending call for a LKR­1,000 rupee basic wage for Malaiyaha or Hill Country Tamils employed in tea estates.

8. ‘Oxford vaccine less effective against South African variant’ - The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine fails to prevent mild and moderate cases of the South African coronavirus strain, according to research reported in the Financial Times. But in its study, due to be published on Monday, the pharma group said it could still have an effect on severe disease - although there is not yet enough data to make a definitive judgment. - None of the 2,000 participants in the trial developed serious symptoms, the FT said, but AstraZeneca said the sample size was too small to make a full determination.

9. Pope appoints more women to Vatican posts - Pope Francis has appointed two women to Vatican posts previously held only by men, in back to back moves giving women more empowerment in the male­dominated Holy See. He appointed Nathalie Becquart, a French member of the Xaviere Missionary Sisters, on Saturday as co-undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops, a department that prepares major meetings of world bishops held every few years on a different topic. - Voting rights earlier, the Pope named Italian magistrate Catia Summaria as the first woman Promoter of Justice in the Vatican’s Court of Appeals. Sister Becquart’s position, effectively a joint number two spot, will give her the right to vote in the allmale assemblies, something many women and some bishops have called for. She is 52, relatively young by Vatican standards. - Women have participated as observers and consultants in past synods but only “synod fathers'', including bishops and specially appointed or elected male representatives, could vote on final documents sent to the pope. During a synod in 2018, more than 10,000 people signed a petition demanding that women get the vote. “A door has been opened. We will see what other steps could be taken in the future,” Cardinal Mario Grech, the synod’s secretary general, said.

10. U.S. to rejoin UN human rights forum - The U.S. announced plans to re-engage with the much­-maligned UN Human Rights Council that former President Donald Trump withdrew from almost three years ago, as President Joe Biden’s administration reverses another Trump-­era move away from multilateral organisations and agreements. - Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the pullout in June 2018 “did nothing to encourage meaningful change, but instead created a vacuum of U.S. leadership, which countries with authoritarian agendas have used to their advantage.” Mr. Blinken said Mr. Biden had instructed the State Department to “re-engage immediately and robustly” with the council, but he acknowledged it still needs work. “We recognise that the Human Rights Council is a flawed body, in need of reform to its agenda, membership, and focus, including its disproportionate focus on Israel,” he said.

11. Sri Lanka clears Chinese energy project, 50 km off Tamil Nadu - Sri Lanka’s recent decision to pull out of the East Container Terminal (ECT) deal with India and Japan is not the only challenge to New Delhi’s interests emerging this year. A week before reneging on the 2019 Colombo Port terminal agreement, Sri Lanka cleared a Chinese energy project in three islands off Jaffna peninsula that are barely 50 km from the Tamil Nadu coast. - The energy project is not the first instance of a Chinese role in northern infrastructure in Sri Lanka. In 2018, India voiced concern over China’s $300 million housing project for war affected areas, accusing the Resettlement Ministry [of the former government] of holding an “opaque” bidding process. The project was eventually dropped.

12. South Africa halts roll­out of AstraZeneca vaccine - South Africa on Monday halted the planned roll­out of the AstraZeneca COVID-­19 vaccine after data showed that it gave only minimal protection against mild infection from one variant. The coronavirus has killed 2.3 million people and turned normal life upside down for billions but new variants have raised fears that vaccines will need to be tweaked and people may require booster shots. - Researchers from the University of Witwatersrand and the University of Oxford said, in a prior-­to­-peer analysis, that the AstraZeneca vaccine provided minimal protection against mild or moderate infection from the so­-called South African variant among young people. The vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca with the University of Oxford, was the big hope for Africa as it is cheap and easier to store and transport than the Pfizer shot.

13. WHO on Wuhan link to COVID-19 - The virus responsible for COV­ ID-­19 was unlikely to have leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan, and the evidence pointed to natural origins, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) and China joint expert team that concluded a visit to Wuhan, where the pandemic began. The team also concluded that there was no indication of SARS-­CoV-­2 having spread among the population there prior to December 2019, when Wuhan’s hospitals first began reporting a pneumo­nia outbreak. - “Our initial findings sug­gest that the introduction through an intermediary host species is the most like­ly pathway and one that will require more studies and more specific, targeted re­search,” WHO scientist Peter Ben Embarek, who led the international team said. The location of the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in the city had led to theories suggesting the virus may have leaked from a laborato­ry. - The team examined four pathways: direct transmis­sion from wildlife, transmis­sion through intermediate hosts, transmission via cold chain products, and a labo­ratory leak. While so far the interme­diate host has not been ident­ified, samples of some ani­mals known to be susceptible to coronaviruses were identified at the market and some of those traced back to farms or parts of Chi­na that harboured bat envi­ronments.

14. UAE’s Hope Probe enters Mars orbit - The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) first mission to Mars reached the red planet and entered orbit on Tuesday after a seven-month, 494 million km journey, allowing it to start sending data about the Martian atmosphere. “Contact with #HopeProbe has been established again. The Mars Orbit Insertion is now complete,” the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) said.

15. Saudi authorities release women’s rights activist - Saudi authorities released prominent women’s rights activist Loujain al­Hathloul after nearly three years in detention, her family said, as the kingdom faces renewed U.S. pressure over its human rights record. Ms. Hathloul, 31, was arrested in May 2018 with about a dozen other women activists weeks before the historic lifting of a decades long ban on female drivers, a reform they had long campaigned for, sparking a torrent of international criticism. - In late December, a Saudi court handed Ms. Hathloul a prison term of five years and eight months for terrorism related crimes, but her family said a partially suspended sentence paved the way for her early release. Her release comes after the U.S. President Joe Biden pledged to intensify scrutiny of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s human rights record.

16. U.S. imposes sanctions on Myanmar - Anti Coup protesters took to the streets of Myanmar for a sixth consecutive day, after the U.S. President Joe Biden announced sanctions against the Southeast Asian nation’s Generals and demanded they relinquish power. There has been an outpouring of anger and defiance since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi last week and detained her along with other senior figures of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party. - Western nations have repeatedly denounced the coup, with the U.S. leading calls for the Generals to relinquish power. In the most significant concrete action to pressure the junta, Mr. Biden announced on Wednesday that his administration was cutting off the Generals’ access to $1 billion in funds in the U.S. European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell has also warned the bloc could impose fresh sanctions on Myanmar’s military.

17. China pulls BBC World News off air for content ‘violation’ - China’s broadcasting regulator announced it has pulled BBC World News from the air, saying the channel’s content had “seriously” violated guidelines for reporting in the country. In a statement, China’s National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) said BBC World News reports about China were found to “seriously violate” broadcast guidelines, including “the requirement that news should be truthful and fair” and not “harm China’s national interests”. - The move comes after the BBC aired a report on February 3 detailing harrowing accounts of torture and sexual violence against Uighur women in Chinese camps. The NRTA “does not permit the BBC to continue broadcasting in China, and does not accept its new annual application for broadcast,” the statement from Beijing said. The BBC said it was disappointed with the move. “The BBC is the world’s most trusted international news broadcaster and reports on stories from around the world fairly, impartially and without fear or favour,” a BBC spokesperson said.

18. In call with Xi, Biden talks of ‘unfair economic practices’ - U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, the first call between the two leaders since Mr. Biden assumed office on January 20. Mr. Biden highlighted concerns about Beijing’s economic practices, its human rights record and “assertive actions in the region”, while affirming his priority of preserving a “free and open Indo­Pacific”, the White House said in a readout of the call. - “President Biden affirmed his priorities of protecting the American people’s security, prosperity, health, and way of life, and preserving a free and open IndoPacific. President Biden underscored his fundamental concerns about Beijing’s coercive and unfair economic practices, crackdown in Hong Kong, human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and increasingly assertive actions in the region, including toward Taiwan,” the White House said. - Mr. Xi, however, is reported to have said that Hong Kong, Taiwan and Xinjiang are matters internal to China, as per China’s state run Xinhua news agency

19. Erdogan’s call for revamped Constitution stirs suspicions - Four years after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan assumed sweeping powers, he has wrong­footed his opponents once again by calling for a new Constitution, sparking accusations of trying to set up a diversion from the country’s woes. - The timing aroused immediate suspicions over the intentions of a man who has been at the apex of Turkish political life since 2003, first as Prime Minister and as President since 2014. The 66-year old Turkish leader is facing a sudden burst of student protests, an economy that was under strain even before the COVID­-19 pandemic struck last year, and polls showing a melting support base. - The current Constitution was changed in a controversial 2017 referendum, which created an executive presidency. It went into force barely a year later when Mr. Erdogan won re-election, with the amendments allowing him to consolidate his power. Since then the only politicians demanding constitutional changes have been members of the opposition, all calling for a return to the previous parliamentary democracy.

20. Biden to allow asylum seekers into U.S - The U.S. government will begin to gradually process asylum seekers forced to wait in Mexico un­der a controversial programme put in place by former President Donald Trump. The moves are part of a plan by the administration of President Joe Biden to end the programme, known as the Migrant Protection Pro­tocols (MPP). - The Trump administrat­ion launched the pro­gramme in 2019 as part of a wide-ranging crackdown on the ability to seek asylum in the U.S., the initiative forced more than 65,000 non-­Mexican asylum seekers back across the border to wait for their U.S. court hearings. Mr. Biden vowed on the campaign trail to roll back restrictive Trump­-era immi­gration policies, including MPP. Republicans embracing Mr. Trump’s hardline immi­gration views have criticised the ending of MPP and could use it as fuel for political at­ tacks if illegal immigration increases on Mr. Biden’s watch. - Under the new rules, migrants will need to register with international organisations over the Inter­net or by phone and await in­structions. An international organisation will test migrants for COVID­-19 while they are in Mexico.

21. Slap sanctions on Myanmar, say UN rights envoy - The United Nations human rights investigator for Myan­mar urged the UN Security Council to consider imposing punitive sanctions, arms embargoes and travel bans in response to a mili­tary coup. The United States, which imposed its own sanctions on Thursday, urged other UN member states to follow suit, in its first remarks to the Human Rights Council since returning to the forum. - China and Russia, which have close ties to Myanmar’s military, said they opposed holding the session. “What happened in Myanmar is essentially Myanmar’s internal affairs,” said Chen Xu, China’s am­bassador. Russian ambassador Gen­nady Gatilov said human rights issues should be addressed through “open dia­logue and cooperation”.

22. Child malnutrition in Yemen - About 4,00,000 children under the age of five are in danger of dying of acute malnutrition in war­ torn and impoverished Yemen, UN agencies said. They said half of those in the most vulnerable age bracket, or 2.3 million small children, are projected to suffer from severe malnutrition this year. The number of Yemeni chil­dren in danger of death from lack of food has increased to 4,00,000, an increase of 22% ove­ r 2020.

23. Mario Draghi is set to be Italy's new Prime Minister - With almost all the political parties behind him, Mario Draghi is said to form a new govern­ment to lead Italy through the COVID-­19 pandemic. However, the 73-year old eco­nomist has shown he is willing to take his time, and could take a few more days to finalise his cabinet. Italy has high hopes from the former European Central Bank Chief Mr. Draghi, dubbed ‘Super Mario’ after vowing to do “whatever it takes” to save the euro single currency in the 2010s debt crisis.

------Opinions and Analysis

Analysis : Privacy concerns over Haryana's ID scheme

1. All schools have been directed to collect required inf­ormation for Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal’s unique identity card scheme - Parivar Pehchan Patra (PPP). It is mandatory for all families to register themselves on the PPP portal to avail the benefits of the social securi­ty schemes of the State government. 2. Though the PPP scheme was formally launched in July 2019 to achieve Harya­na government’s vision for “paperless” and “faceless” delivery of schemes, servic­es and benefits offered by the government, it has got a renewed push over the past few months with the gov­ ernment collecting data through schools, residents’ welfare associations and holding special camps across the State to enrol fa­milies, especially those who are likely to avail benefits of government schemes such as below poverty line fami­lies, social security benefit recipients etc. 3. Of the estimated 65 lakh fa­milies in Haryana, around 48 lakh have voluntarily en­rolled for PPP and provided the data on ‘self-declaration mode’, claimed the Harya­na government. The family ID or PPP, an eight digit alpha numeric ID, is provided to those who are residents of Haryana. A registration ID is provided to those who live in Harya­na but have not completed residency requirements. As of now, over 110 services and schemes being deli­vered to citizens via the Sa­ral platform have been linked to the PPP scheme. 4. Critics point out that a lot of dat­a is being sought, well above and beyond what is required to deliver educat­ion and related services. The demand for Aadhaar numbers - evidently, vir­tually mandatory - is in vio­lation of the Supreme Court guidelines - especially if no State benefits or subsidies are being sought by the resi­dents. Additionally, in the abs­ ence of privacy laws in In­dia, or any indication of dat­a protection Standard Operating Procedures be­ing followed for this exerc­ ise there is a potential for abuse of this data including, but not limited to, its immediate leakage and availability to spam­mers at the very least, and perhaps more insidious us­es. 5. The authorities concerned, how­ ever, said that the data in PPP would be used only for planning purposes and for delivery of government schemes, subsidies, bene­fits and services and not for any private purpose. “Only data that is legitimately sought for implementation of government schemes, subsidies, benefits or services is put together and not any other private data.”

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Commentary : A prisoner’s tragedy, a nation’s shame

1. Background : - Perarivalan has been in prison for almost 30 years for his role in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi during the 1991 election campaign. The Perarivalan case is an example of state agencies sacrificing the lives of those with a ‘peripheral role’ in a conspiracy.

2. The story so far - The reason for prolonged injustice at the core of his conviction is his confession to a police officer, a violent legacy of the TADA that was carried forward under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA). While confessions to a police officer are inadmissible as evidence under the Indian Evidence Act (to protect people from coerced police confessions), terrorism legislations such as TADA and POTA made confessions to the police admissible as long as it was made to an officer not lower than the rank of Superintendent of Police. - The trail of this Case was damning until Mr. Thiagarajan came out in November 2013 and made the startling revelation that he had not recorded Perarivalan’s ‘confession’ accurately. It was a glaring omission that completely changed the nature of Perarivalan’s involvement. In effect, Perarivalan was convicted based on a manipulated confession to a police officer.

3. How the case stands now - Having served 30 years of life imprisonment for the conspiracy to murder, his effort to get a remission under the Code of Criminal Procedure was rejected by the Central Government in April 2018. - On February 4, the Centre informed the Court that the Governor had finally considered Perarivalan’s pardon and had decided that the President alone had the power to consider such an application. It is a shocking abdication of a constitutional duty and a blatantly unconstitutional manoeuvre to ignore the advice of the State government, which the Governor is constitutionally bound to follow.

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Analysis : The cost of Internet shutdown

1. Background - The movement led by farmers against the Central government’s agricultural laws has become a part of our national and international discourse. The manner in which the Centre introduced the Bills and its actions towards countering the movement have raised plenty of concerns.

2. Concerns - A principal concern among these has been the recurrent shutdowns, ordered by the Ministry of Home Affairs, of Internet services around many border areas of NCR since the unruly incidents on January 26. - Currently, Indian laws have vague provisions for suspending telecommunication services, including the Internet, during times of public emergencies, or, if required, for protecting ‘public interest’. The impact of shutdowns becomes even more pronounced during a pandemic.

3. The way forward - Internet bans should be a last resort and must be enforced following well formulated protocols. Upgrading cyber divisions of law enforcement agencies with new age innovations may offer several alternatives. - To conclude, Governments, especially in democracies, will have to create modern, independent institutions that have the authority and expertise to create frameworks that meet these challenges, without falling back on measures that result in state overreach.

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Analysis : An uphill task for Mario Draghi 1. Background : - It won’t be an easy ride in Rome for Mario Draghi, the man who soothed Europe’s financial markets in 2012 with his bold declaration to do “whatever it takes” to save the euro during the eurozone’s sovereign debt and banking crises. - Less than 15 months after he stepped down as President of the European Central Bank (ECB), when his negative interest rates policy was criticised for sucking money out of savers, he now finds himself thrust to the centre of Italy’s fractious politics.

2. How the story stands : - On Wednesday, Mr. Draghi, who was previously Governor of the Bank of Italy, accepted the mandate by the country’s President, Sergio Mattarella, to form a new national unity government following the collapse of the coalition led by Giuseppe Conte in the last week of January. - Now, Mr. Draghi’s efforts to rescue the Italian economy, drawing on €200 billion in grants and loans from the EU €750 billion recovery fund, would pronounce, so to say, a verdict on the bloc’s response to the pandemic. - Crucially, Mr. Conte’s government collapsed because Italia Viva, the party of former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, withdrew backing citing strong differences with the government’s recovery plans that must be approved by Brussels. Above all, Mr. Draghi must attempt to cement the differences among Italy’s several feuding parties.

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Commentary : Law and Compassion 1. Background - Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit has decided that only the President can decide the issue of granting remission to the seven life convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

2. What the law says - It has often been stressed by the Supreme Court that the clemency powers of the President, under Article 72, and the Governor, under Article 161, stand on an equal footing, and are exercised solely on Cabinet advice. - The only limitation in Article 161 is that it should relate to “the sentence of any person convicted of any offence against any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the State extends”.

3. The story goes on - The decision is debatable for the unusual delay in the Governor reaching his conclusion as much for its legal correctness. It is unfortunate that a new legal question on which authority has the power to decide the issue has been tossed into the equation so late in the day. - To conclude, It is vital that law and compassion, rather than politics and electoral considerations, form the basis for any decision on their release.

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Analysis : Budget and the environment

1. Background - The fallacy of believing that all ecological damage can be compensated (a rainforest drowned under a dam can’t be recreated, how­ ever much money you pour into it), the governments have not put in the substantial new finan­cial resources raised through rapid growth into environmental protec­tion. Budgetary allocations for the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) have con­sistently fallen as a percentage of to­tal allocations.

2. The story so far - Even when there are increased allocations, such as for cleaning up the Ganga, their usage is ridden with such design flaws, inefficiencies and corruption that the environment is no better off than before. Steadily increasing lev­ els of pollution, biodiversity loss, decline in forest health and destruc­tion of wetlands is testimony to the dismal gap between governmental rhetoric and the environment. - Fund allocation for the MoEFCC and crucial institutions such as the Wil­dlife Institute of India and the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education remains stagnant. It is inline with recommendations by the Ministry of Fi­nance that the government should disengage with many such institu­tions. - The 2021 Budget has allocated ₹3,500 crore for wind and solar energy, ₹4,000 crore for a ‘Deep Ocean Mis­sion’, and ₹50,011 crore for urban drinking water, all of these have pos­itive ecological potential.

3. Diving deeper - There is no intention to phase out fossil fuels; on the cont­rary, coal mining and thermal powe­ r are being promoted under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat package. And large hydropower is being promoted as Renewable Energy, though its massive ecological and social impacts are well docu­mented. Much of the solar and wind energy is coming in the form of massive energy parks that take up huge areas of land, dis­placing people and wildlife. - There is no indication in the Bud­get that the RE push would be predo­minantly decentralised, community­ managed, and with full environment­al impact assessments (currently not required for RE projects). Nor does the Budget have anything on curtailing wasteful and luxury con­sumption of energy or other pro­ducts and services by the rich. Without controlling demand, even a complete shift to RE will be unsust­ainable. - The ‘Deep Ocean’ allocation is int­riguing. It is being projected as a programme for conservation of biodiversity in the depths of our marine areas. The institutions that are given responsibility under this are the Ministry of Earth Science­ s, the Indian Space Research Organ­isation, the Defence Research and Development Organisation, the De­partment of Atomic Energy, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the Department of Biotechnology, and the Indian Navy, none with expertise in or even signif­icant focus on marine conservation. - An allocation of ₹18,000 crore for public transport could have significant benefits for pe­ople and the environment if it helps to reduce private vehicle density in cities. But if much of this is allocated to the metro rather than to buses and other such earthy alternatives (in­cluding last mile connectivity, incent­ives for walking and cycling), the picture becomes murky.

4. Allocations to non-environmental sectors - The Budget proposes 11,000 km more of national highway corridors. In the last few years, massive road and dam construction has fragmented fragile ecosystems and disrupted local com­munity life in the Himalaya, Western Ghats, north­east India and elsewh­ere. - This could have been the occasion to climb into a green, nature ­and ­land based livelihoods re­covery that could create tens of mil­lions of jobs as also regenerate In­dia’s depleted environment. India should be putting env­ ironmental regeneration and con­servation, and self-­reliance built on this, at the core of the Budget.

------Analysis : Taking the long view with China

1. Background - In late January, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that while both India and China remained committed to a multipolar world, they should recognise that a “multipolar Asia'' was one of its essential constituents. As it moves to becoming the third largest economy in the world, India needs to have a cleare­ yed world view and strategy as it makes hard choices. It needs to reject the developing country regional mindset that has hobbled national aims and foreign policy. - The External Affairs Ministry is also now more forthright. We have a “special and privileged strategic partnership” with Russia, which provides more than three quarter of India’s military equipment, and a “comprehensive global strategic partnership” with the U.S. despite the United States Strategic Framework for the Indo­-Pacific, 2018, wishing that India sees the U.S. as its preferred partner on security issues.

2. Diplomatic challenge - The foreign policy challenge for India is really two sides of the China conundrum: defining engagement with its neighbour which is consolidating an expanding Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) while remaining involved with the strategic, security and technological concerns of the U.S. located across the vast Pacific Ocean. - In the financial sphere, there is the real possibility of the Chinese renminbi becoming a global reserve currency or ey­ uan becoming the digital payments currency. China is the world’s largest trading economy. It could soon become the world’s largest economy - the Fortune Global 500 list of the world’s largest companies by revenue for the first time contains more companies based in China, including Hong Kong, than in the U.S.

3. Policy elements - Some form of the EU’s China policy of seeing the emerging superpower as a partner, competitor, and economic rival depending on the policy area in question is going to be the global norm. The EU’s reaching out to China despite misgivings of the U.S. means the West has given up on containing the rise of China. - The China­-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has increased its membership to 100 countries. China is now the second biggest financial contributor to the UN and has published more high impact research papers than the U.S. did in 23 out of 30 “hot” research fields and enhancing its ‘soft power’ nearly to levels achieved by the U.S. earlier. Instead of an alternate development model, India should move the Quad towards supplementing the infrastructure push of the BRI in line with other strategic concerns in the region.

4. Policy evolution - Another area where India can play a ‘bridging role’ is global governance whose principles, institutions and structures now have to accommodate other views for issue based understandings. President Xi Jinping’s “community with shared future for mankind”, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “climate justice” and asking how long India will be excluded from the UN Security Council, challenge the frame of the liberal order without providing specific alternatives. With respect to digital data, the defining issue of the 21st century, India has recently expressed that there must be reciprocity in data sharing, and this is the kind of ‘big idea’ for sharing prosperity that will gain traction with other countries.

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Commentary : Denying women the right over their bodies 1. Background - The Indian Parliament will consider an amendment to our abortion laws this Budget Session but unlike the Argentina law which is touted as being historic, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020 (MTP Bill), will not translate into greater autonomy for women over their own bodies.

2. What’s in the proposed bill - The proposed amendment still requires one doctor to sign off on termination of pregnancies up to 20 weeks old, and two doctors for pregnancies between 20 and 24 weeks old. Thus, it is not based on any request or isn’t at the pregnant person’s will but on a doctor’s opinion. - The Bill also mandates the government to set up a medical board in every State and UT. Medical boards can rely on the facts of the case but personal beliefs could impact the medical board’s opinion, which is one of the biggest challenges in having a third party opinion on a decision which is very personal. - While the current Bill provides that safe abortions can be performed at any stage of the pregnancy in case of foetal “abnormalities,” it fails to consider any other reason such as personal choice, a sudden change in circumstances due to separation from or death of a partner, and domestic violence. - The proposed amendment uses the word “women” throughout, denying access to safe abortion to transgender, intersex and gender diverse persons.

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Analysis : Cutting trans fat

1. Background - India will join a select group of countries limiting trans fat to 2% by mass of the total oils/fats present in the product. In mid-­2016, the trans fat content limit was halved from 10% to 5%, and in December 2020, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) capped it to 3% by 2021. - While trans fat is naturally pre­sent in red meat and dairy products, the focus is on rest­ricting the industrially produced trans fat used solely to prolong the shelf life of products at less cost. The government’s notification specifically mentions ed­ible oils and fats that are used as ingredients, it also ap­plies to emulsions such as margarines.

2. Nuances on trans fat - Even when the fat/oil contains less than 2% trans fat, repeated use at high temperature can increase the trans fat content. - The focus on cutting down trans fat content in food aris­es from its proclivity to negatively alter the lipoprotein cholesterol profile by increasing the level of bad cholest­erol (LDL) while decreasing the level of HDL or good cholesterol. These changes in the lipoprotein choleste­rol profile increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. - In 2004, Denmark became the first country to limit trans fat content in all foods to 2% of fats and oils. In April 2019, the European Union (EU) adopted a new regulation - from April 2021 - to limit the amount of industrially produced trans fat to 2% in all foods sold within the EU. According to a 2020 report of WHO, 32 countries already have some form of mandatory limits on trans fat. It is now well known that trans fat can be completely elim­inated and replaced with healthier substitutes without any change in the food taste or cost.

------Analysis : In Biden’s policy pursuit, the world order challenge

1. Background - Mr. Biden in office has already revealed that despite some differences in policy content and diplomatic style, his term is likely to show more continuity than change where the U.S. 's core interests are concerned, specifically in its ties with Russia, China and Iran.

2. US-Russia - The White House said that, in his conversation with Russian President Vladmir Putin, he made it clear that the U.S. “will act firmly in defence of our national interests in response to actions by Russia” and brought up Ukraine, the cyber attacks and the poisoning of Russian Opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

3. US-Iran (JCPOA): - In office, Mr. Biden has shown little urgency on the JCPOA matter. Despite the sanctions, Iran’s regional influence remains significant, based on the backing of Shia militia in such diverse locales as Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and Syria. The Iranian ability to mobilise militants across the region is viewed by Israel and some the Gulf Arab states as threatening their security, the latter being concerned about Iran’s influence with their Shia populations as well. - There will thus be no dramatic change in the U.S.’s approach to Iran on the nuclear question. The appointment of a Special Envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, suggests that the U.S. is looking at a long-­term diplomatic engagement not just on nuclear issues but on all matters that have security implications for the U.S. and its regional partners - Battle lines will thus remain in place in the region - Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will be in a face­off with Iran and its allies, Iraq, Syria and its Shia militia - in a prolonged war of attrition that does not resolve any issue, but continues to wreak death and destruction.

4. Role of Qatar - Alternatively, we could see a genuine regional effort to ease tensions and promote regional confidence, spearheaded by Qatar, working with Russia and, possibly, China. Qatar’s Foreign Minister has already proposed direct engagement with Iran.

5. New World Order - Not only is Russia now an influential player in the region, China, too, with its Belt and Road Initiative, has high stakes in regional stability. Mr. Biden will thus witness a new world order, shaped by a coalition of Russia, China and Iran, in which the U.S. is no longer the most significant role player. This tectonic change will define international affairs in coming decades.

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Commentary : From Myanmar to Pakistan, lots of words but no action

1. Background - Two days after the February 1 coup ousting Aung San Suu Kyi and other National League for Democracy (NLD) leaders from power in Myanmar, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing found fault with the November 2020 general elections that returned the NLD to power with an increased majority. 2. Similarities and differences - Like in Pakistan, coups and decades of military rule in Myanmar have been institutional. There has been little room for a cabal of officers to take over (though attempts have been made); coup leaders have survived (and thrived) only because they had institutional support from their officers and men. - The international context is key for the survival of the generals - Ayub in Pakistan was much loved by the West, especially the Americans. Zia, from being shunned, turned out to be a ‘saviour’ for the Americans after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. Gen. Musharraf, correctly accused of presiding over a military establishment that promoted terror groups, gave up Al­-Qaeda leaders in instalments and placated an angry U.S. President George W. Bush. - In contrast, the West never engaged with isolationist Burmese generals. In the end, while first words matter, actions speak louder. Military rulers have contributed little to improving the lot of common people - in Myanmar or in Pakistan. They simply ended up perpetuating uniformed establishments.

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Analysis : India's digital service tax

1. Background - Concerns have been raised, citing it discriminatory, a 2% tax that India has charged since April 2020 on rev­ enues from digital services, applica­ ble only to non-resident compa­nies.

2. The evolution - In 2013, the Base Ero­sion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) pro­gramme by the OECD [Organisation for Economic Co­operation and Dev­ elopment] was launched at the behest of the G20 countries. Under the 15 action points, action point one was to look at the tax challenges of the digital economy. - The main problem was to find a new way of taxing digital companies that are not adequately taxed because of how the rules are designed. The primary concern was that companies don’t have a physical lo­cation in the markets where they operate. And use the intangibles, which are hard to value. India, in 2016, became the first country to implement the equalisat­ion levy, on advertising services at 6%. This was basically on payments made to a non­-resident by a resi­dent advertising on the platform. - In 2016, the Akhi­lesh Ranjan Committee Report had suggested that in order to create a level playing field between online businesses and brick-­and-­mortar businesses, digital businesses which do not have a physical presence in India but are able to enjoy a sustain­able economic presence should be paying a certain amount of tax. This was how the equalisation levy of 2016 was conceptualised. - India, originally in 2018, had introduced a test for significant economic presence in the Income Tax Act, according to which, if a company had users in India, it sort of defined its economic connection with India, and therefore gives India the right to tax. While this was intro­duced in the Act, it did not have any value because the treaties would have to incorporate a similar provi­sion for it to be applicable. - However, Unlike the 2016 levy, this 2020 lev­ y was devoid of any sort of public consultation. It was a major surprise for the digital community. Other countries introduced DSTs akin to India’s equalisation lev­ y. However, these have not been devoid of public consultation.

3. The U.K tax - One of the primary criticisms against India’s equalisation levy is that it is a tax on revenue as op­posed to being a tax on profits. U.K. allows companies to not pay any tax if their net operating margin is negative. - Companies that sell their own inventories are explicitly excluded from the scope of the U.K. DST. Whereas, India’s equalisation levy covers eve­rything under the sun. A transaction that involves three jurisdictions, take the example of an Indian user located in the U.K., receiving servic­es from a U.S. company. The U.K. DST contemplates that only 50% of the revenues from such a transac­tion would be chargeable to the U.K. DST.

4. Why the USTR finds India's DST problematic - The investigation finds that In­dia’s equalisation levy discriminates against U.S. companies in particu­lar. The reason for it is that the tax incident by design is on non-­resi­dent companies. And because the incident of the equalisation levy is mostly on U.S. companies, which is 72%. It’s arbitrary, as per the U.S. The USTR report also says that the same services offered non­-digi­tally are not taxed. - The report also claims that DST taxes companies with no perma­nent establishment in India, contrav­ ening international tax principles. The BEPS project is based on the fact that digital companies are able to enjoy sustained economic presence in other jurisdictions with­out being physically present. The int­ernational community is moving towards a scenario where such tran­sactions ought to be taxed. Therefore, the USTR's argument is not on the fair side. - The report also claims that DST taxes a company’s revenue rather than its income. This is inconsistent with international tax practice that income, not revenue, is the appro­priate basis of corporate taxation. The threshold that India has laid down for the equalisation levy is actually much below what the EU envisages. - The USTR and the 301 investigation : Section 301 investigations are unilateral in nature, because the USTR is essentially deciding wheth­er a measure is violative of the U.S. 's rights. After the WTO law and the dispute settlement me­chanism came into picture and the scope of the General Agreement on Trade in Services were expanded to include services as well, countries have been of the view that an inter­national body should be looking at such disputes.

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Commentary : Regulation lite : OTT platforms

- India’s Internet Based Over-­The-­Top (OTT) streaming services have operationalised a code of self regulation from February 10, soon after the I&B Ministry announced that it had prepared a set of guidelines and directives for the industry. - The FIRs in U.P. against the Amazon Prime Video series, Tandav, invoking legal provisions on cyber terrorism, obscenity, promoting social enmity and defiling places of worship, on the ground that its portrayal of god was derogatory, and a plea in M.P. on the same series seeking a court direction to bring OTT channels under censorship laws indicate the growing oppressive environment. It is time the Centre took a firm stand against displays of manufactured out-rage and let newer channels of creativity flourish. - The collective initiative of the OTT services under the aegis of the Internet and Mobile Association of India, which places emphasis on abiding by the IPC, laws on women’s and children’s rights, copyright and age appropriate certification and parental control, while upholding Constitutional provisions on free speech, should be given an opportunity to work. - The idea that films must be pre-censored and arbitrary cuts made by government appointed nominees, mostly out of prejudice, is antiquated and repugnant to liberal societies. A policed approach to films and media can only grow a monoculture of propaganda. ------

Science & Technology and Environment

Daily snippets

1. Water scarcity likely in the Himalayan catchment if warming continues - The coldly white snowpacks and glaciers of the Himalayas that make for a picturesque panorama are also important sources of water for about a billion people who live in the basins of the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers. But with rising global temperatures, these snowpacks and glaciers, which are highly sensitive, are affected. This, in turn, affects the Himalayan hydrology. India, Nepal, Pakistan and China hugely depend on these Himalayan rivers for their daily needs and energy production. - The results show that the glacier-­melt increases about 15% to 70% in a warmer environment with its present volume, but then decreases to 3%–38% substantially when the glacier volumes shrink. However, such a decrease can be compensated if there is increased rainfall and if a wetter scenario persists. - Proper water management and governance are urgently required. Changing patterns of precipitation systems — Indian Summer Monsoon and Western Disturbances — are important for the future situation of water resources in Himalayan catchments.

2. Excessive alcohol can cause irreversible changes to DNA - Excessive alcohol con­sumption can cause irrever­sible changes to the DNA and these can persist even when alcohol is no longer consumed, revealed a study conducted by a team of researchers at the National Insti­tute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) in Bengaluru. The effects of alcohol were more pronounced in those who had started drink­ing at an early age. This sug­gests that starting to drink early may physically alter many genes, including those of the brain. - “Although we inherit genes from our parents, their expression is regulated in a unique manner in each person, and may be infl­ uenced by their lifestyle. Exposure to alcohol affects the pattern of gene expres­sion, and may explain some of the systemic complica­tions,” said Dr. Murthy, a consultant in the Centre.

------Economics and Finance

Daily snippets

1. PSUs involved in farm sector will not be sold - Public sector firms engaged in activities allied to the farm sector, such as provision of seeds to farmers, or pro­curement and distribution of food for the public distri­bution system, will not be up for sale under the new disinv­ estment policy announced in the Budget. NITI Aayog would be in charge of recommending the firms in strategic sectors that should be retained, con­sidered for privatisation or merger or ‘subsidiarisation’ with another public sector firm, or simply closed.

2. New e-commerce policy in the offing - The commerce and industry ministry is working on a new e­-commerce policy which will have various features such as those related to data and consumer rights. The other issues to be looked upon while formulating the policy are about the problem of counterfeit products, packaging and rules of origin, the DPIIT official said.

3. India's pharma exports on the rise - India’s exports of pharma­ceutical products during April­-December 2020-­21 grew by 12.4% to $17.57 bil­lion, Parliament was informed on Friday. Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Har­ deep Singh Puri said, “During 2019-­20, India’s exports of pharmaceuti­cals were $20.58 billion with a growth rate of 7.6% over the previous year. To­tal exports during April­-December 2020­-21 were at $17.57 billion, registering a growth rate of 12.4% per cent over the same period of the previous year.”

4. DFI Bill will help set up private infra funding - The legislation for setting up a development finance insti­tution to fund infrastructure projects will allow for such institutions to be formed by the private sector as well, Fi­nance Minister Nirmala Sith­araman said. While the Budget has prov­ ided a fiscal push for capi­tal expenditure in infrast­ructure sectors with a multiplier effect, it relies on private sector participation in a big way, she added. - “Though the government will provide some capital for the proposed Development Fi­nance Institution, the DFI will also raise capital from the market,” the Minister said. “In addition, the DFI Bill will provide legislative space for private DFIs.”

5. Retail investors to be able to buy government securities directly - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it would allow ret­ail investors to open gilt ac­counts with the central bank to invest in government se­curities directly and without the help of intermediaries. “It is proposed to provide retail investors with online access to the government securities market - both primary and secondary - di­rectly through the Reserve Bank (Retail Direct),” RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said in a statement. “This will broaden the inv­ estor base and provide retail investors with enhanced access to participate in the government securities mar­ket,” he added. - “Allowing retail participa­tion in the G-­Sec market is a bold step towards the financialisation of a vast pool of domestic savings and could be a game­changer,” said SBI Chairman Dinesh Khara.

6. RBI to have a growth-supportive stance - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it would retain an accommodative policy stance into the next financial year to help revive growth on a durable basis even as it held interest rates and vowed to ensure inflat­ion remains within target. The RBI also lowered its projection for retail inflation for the current quarter and announced that it would gra­dually restore the Cash Re­serve Ratio - which had been cut to address the pan­demic’s fallout - to 4% in two phases by May 22 as part of a ‘normalisation process’. - After breaching the RBI’s upper tolerance threshold of 6% for six consecutive months through November, CPI inflation had eased to 4.6% in December, helped by an appreciable softening in vegetable prices and a base effect. Core inflation, exclud­ing food and fuel, however, remained elevated at 5.5% in December with only a marginal moderation from a month earlier. - What is Cash Reserve Ratio ? The reserve requirement is a central bank regulation that sets the minimum amount of reserves that must be held by a commercial bank. The minimum reserve is generally determined by the central bank to be no less than a specified percentage of the amount of deposit liabilities the commercial bank owes to its customers - What is core inflation ? Core inflation represents the long run trend in the price level. In measuring long run inflation, transitory price changes should be excluded. One way of accomplishing this is by excluding items frequently subject to volatile prices, like food and energy.

7. Indian Internet start-ups and getting listed - India’s Internet start-­ups that operate businesses ranging from food delivery to e­-commerce to online in­surance, are now on the cusp of listing, a report has said. “The growing scale and maturity of India’s Int­ernet economy is starting to create more value and investment opportunities". "More than $60 billion has been invested in India’s Int­ernet start-­ups in the past five years, with around $12 billion in 2020 alone,” HSBC Global Research said in the report. The report put the total sector value (ex-­fintech) to reach $180 billion by 2025. - E-Commerce is the largest opportunity, worth an esti­mated $67 billion by 2025, it said adding this was worth $31 billion 2019 after ex­panding at an impressive five­-year CAGR of 39%. EdTech is the second ­largest opportunity with a mar­ket of $48 billion by 2025.

8. Delay in 5G trials - Slamming the government for its ‘laid back approach’ and delay in conducting 5G trials, a Parliamentary Panel has said that sufficient prepa­ratory work had not been undertaken for introducing 5G services in India and that the country was likely to wit­ness only partial deployment by 2021 ­end or early 2022. - In the report tabled in Par­liament, the com­mittee, headed by Shashi Tharoor, added it was very likely that after missing the 2G, 3G and 4G buses, India was going to miss out on 5G opportunities, unless time­ bound action was taken in areas where governmental intervention was required. - The panel said inadeq­uate availability of spectrum, high spectrum prices, poor development of use cases, low status of fiberisation, non­-uniform right-of-way issues and deficient backhaul capacity are some factors coming in the way of a 5G services roll­out in India. The committee was of the view that the issue of allocat­ing the right amount of spec­trum as demanded by the in­dustry needed to be addressed if India were to realise the benefits of 5G. The panel found funda­mental differences between the versions of telcos and TRAI on fixing of spectrum prices and urged a review of the spectrum pricing policy. 9. Critical take on the budget's infrastructure push - The 2021-­22 Union Budget’s bet on pushing infrastruc­ture spending to revive the economy faces implementat­ion risks and it may have been better to combine it with some income support for those worst affected by the pandemic. - The rising tendency tow­ ards protectionism doesn’t sit well with India’s objective of attracting more foreign direct investment and integrating with global value chains, and a liberal tariff policy maybe more eff­ective. India needed globalisation more than other countries due to its growth potential. It would also be better for India to maintain a sustainable cur­rent account deficit rather than celebrate the current account surplus expected this year. India cannot have trade surpluses with every country. It is important we may want to run a sustainable deficit by im­porting the right kind of capital goods, and technolo­gy. It took just one macroeconomic crisis to recalibrate general government debt targets from 60% of GDP, to the 85% that the Finance Commis­sion has now recommended for 2025-­26. - A dual strategy of infrast­ructure spending with income support for those who have lost jobs, with ways in which we could create demand among those sections of society that have the highest propensity to con­sume might have been bett­er.

10. Government to clarify e-commerce FDI rules - The Centre plans to issue a clarification on the foreign direct investment (FDI) poli­cy for the e­commerce sec­tor in the wake of investigat­ions into some foreign players’ operations follow­ing complaints about mal­practices, according to Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. - “To reiterate, e­-com­merce is supposed to provide an agnostic platform so that buyers and sellers can trade with each other, the platform should not become a part of the trading transac­tion, neither should it be funding it or having algo­rithms that give preference to one or the other. They should neither be promoting their own products, but prov­ ide all data required to make a rational choice and the choice should be the free choice of the consumers,” Mr. Goyal explained. ­

11. Government asks auto firms to not sell vehicles low on safety - The government expressed concern over reports that manufacturers are selling vehicles with pur­posefully downgraded safety standards in India and asked them to stop the ‘un­pardonable’ practice. - Over the past few years, vehicle safety group Global NCAP, under its safer cars for India campaign, had found in various tests that some models sold in India were found to have inferior safety ratings as compared to the export version of the same model sold in deve­loped markets.

12. SEBI fines NSE - In the high­ profile, co-­locat­ion case, markets regulator SEBI im­posed a penalty of ₹1 crore on the NSE for failing to prov­ ide a level­ playing field for trading members subscrib­ing to its tick-­by-­tick (TBT) data feed system. In addition, the regulator levied a fine of ₹25 lakh each on NSE’s former managing directors and chief execu­tive officers. - The National Stock Exc­ hange of India (NSE) co­lo­cation facility allows stock brokers to co­locate their servers and systems within the exchange premises, which helps reduce latency for connectivity to the ex­ change’s trading systems. In its order, SEBI said unequal access was ap­parent at different stages of the technology process and that NSE failed to ensure a level­ playing field for trad­ing members subscribing to its TBT data feed system.

13. Amazon moves SC in Future case - Ec­ ommerce major Amazon moved the Supreme Court to stay the op­eration of a Delhi High Court order of February 8, which had revoked an earlier direc­tion to Future Group to maintain status quo on the sale of its retail assets to Re­liance Industries. Amazon said the February 8 order was ‘ex-­facie arbitrary and illegal’. The order was passed by a Division Bench of the High Court on an ap­peal filed by Future Retail Li­mited (FRL). - Amazon urged the apex court to protect its interests by granting an ex-parte stay on the deal between FRL and Reliance. The U.S. firm said the court should inter­vene to protect its rights as the “balance of conve­nience” was in its favour.

14. GM closure of Maharashtra plant - The labour union of General Motors Company has urged the management to recon­sider its decision to shut the Talegaon plant and either revive production till the unit is sold to GWM or keep it functional. The U.S. automobile firm had made it clear that its de­cision to close down the Ta­legaon plant in Maharashtra was final and the company would not facilitate any au­tomatic transfer of em­ployees to China’s Great Wall Motors (GWM) along with the plant. - GM stated the closure decision was taken because there was no demand in export markets for the vehicles prev­ iously produced in Talegaon.

15. Dorsey, Jay-Z partner to promote bitcoin in India - Twitter founder and CEO Jack Dorsey plans to endow a trust with 500 BTC or bitc­ oins (about $23.7 million as of this writing) along with rapper Jay-­Z to aid bitcoin development, with an initial focus on India and Africa. They said that It’ll be set up as a blind irrevocable trust, tak­ing zero direction from them. - The Centre plans to ban private cryptocurrencies and is expected to introduce the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, in the ongoing Budget session of Parliament. The Bill, howeve­ r, is expected to provide some exceptions so as to aid the development of the technology underlying cryptocurrencies.

------Sports

Daily snippets

1. India in 12th Fazza International World Para Athletics grand Prix - Para-­athletes Dev­ ender Kumar and Nimisha Suresh Chakkungalparambil won a gold medal each as In­dia started its campaign at the 12th Fazza International World Para Athletics Grand Prix event by winning six medals here on Thursday. - India took the one­-two po­sition in men’s discus throw F­44, with Pardeep winning the silver with a throw of 41.77m. Pranav Desai ran 11.76 se­conds to claim the silver me­dal in men's 100m T­64 event, while Vinod Kumar took the bronze in men's dis­cus throw F­52 with a throw of 18.52 metres. Rakshita Raju (5:22.15min) also clinched a bronze medal in the women's 1500m T­11 event.

2. Mori to quit over 'sexist remarks' - Tokyo Olympics chief Yoshiro Mori is to resign after he sparked outrage in Japan and abroad by claiming that women talk too much in meetings. The former prime minister has come under increasing pressure since remarks he made last week to members of the Japanese Olympic Committee. He apologised for the ‘sexist remarks’, while insisting he was repeating complaints made by others.

------Suggested Readings

1. Constitutional validity of the Sedition Law, Link to article 2. Press Freedom, Link to article 3. Plea Bargaining in India, Link to article 4. Cryptocurrency and regulations of official digital currency bill, 2021, Link to article 5. Silence of the accused, Link to article 6. Bad Banks and the NPA crisis, Link to article 7. Implications of Section 69 of IT Act 2000, Link to article 8. Neckbands and Broadbands, Link to article 9. Infrastructure push and Fiscal consolidation, Link to article 10. Glacier collapse and 2013 flash floods, Link to article 11. Future of democratic protests, Link to article 12. Universal Healthcare in India, Link to article 13. On the glacial burst in Uttarakhand, Link to article 14. Priya Ramani vs M.J Akbar case, Link to article 15. Remembering K.T Shah, Link to article 16. Election Commission and its power to de-register parties, Link to article 17. International best practices for whistle-blowers, Link to article 18. Disinformation and cyber-security, Link to article 19. Victim Restitution, Link to article 20. Domestic violence in India, Link to article 21. Rajasthan and updating prison manual, Link to article 22. Shaheen Bagh verdict and Right to protest, Link to article 23. Animals and right to get protection, Link to article

------Sources referred to : The Hindu, The Indian Express, Live Law, Bar & Bench

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