April 8Th-April 13Th, 2021.Docx

Your ten minute read! Daily News Page April 8th-April 13th, 2021 Law, Policy and Governance

Daily snippets

1. Wearing mask mandatory even if driving alone - The Delhi High Court ruled that wearing a mask, or face cover, in a vehicle is compulsory even if a person is driving alone. Court says mask is a suraksha kavach during the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic. Justice Singh highlighted that a person travelling in a vehicle or car, even if he was alone, could be exposed to the virus in various ways.

2. Centre seeks nod to close Italian marines case - The government asked the Supreme Court to schedule an urgent hearing of its application to close the criminal trials pending in India against two Italian marines accused of killing two fishermen off the coast of Kerala in 2012. SC agreed to schedule hearing after govt. said victims’ families have been compensated. - The Supreme Court said it would order the closure of criminal proceedings against the two Italian marines accused of killing fishermen off the coast of Kerala only after Italy paid Rs 10 crore as compensation for the victims’ families. - The court directed that Italy should transfer the compensation to an account number which would be handed over to it by the Ministry of External Affairs. The Ministry would in turn deposit the money with the court. The SC would directly disburse the compensation to the families.

3. SC refuses to order release of Rohingya - The Supreme Court refrained from ordering the release of the Rohingyas detained in Jammu. It, however, said they should not be deported without proper procedure. A Bench, led by the Chief Justice of India, held that though rights to equality and due process of law enshrined in the Constitution are available to both citizens and foreigners, the right “not to be deported” is ancillary to citizenship. 4. ASI will survey mosque, orders court - A local court in Varanasi directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a survey of the Gyanvapi Mosque, adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, to find out whether it was a “superimposition, alteration or addition or if there is structural overlapping of any kind, with any other religious structure”. - The order came on a petition demanding restoration of the land on which the Gyanvapi Mosque stands to the Hindus, claiming that Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb had pulled down parts of the old Kashi Vishwanath Temple to build the mosque. - The order is an unconscionable intervention that will open the flood-gates for another protracted religious dispute. Regardless of the merits of either side’s case, it ought to be clear to anyone concerned with peace and harmony in the country that the attempt to resurrect disputes buried by law is a serious setback to the cause of secularism and peaceful coexistence. That new challenges are emerging to the wisdom of Parliament in giving a statutory quietus to squabbles over religious sites is deeply disturbing.

5. Was exercising my right to protest, Sidhu tells court - Actor activist Deep Sidhu, arrested in connection with the violence at Red Fort on Republic Day, told a Delhi court that he did not instigate anyone to cause violence and was only exercising his “fundamental right” to protest. “I have not indulged in a single act of violence. I left before the violence broke out,” he claimed.

6. People are free to choose religion: SC - The Supreme Court said people are free to choose their religion, even as it lashed out at a “very, very harmful kind” of “public interest” petition claiming there is mass religious conversion happening “by hook or by crook” across the country. - The petition alleged that the court should direct the Centre and the States to control black magic, superstition and religious conversion being done through threats, intimidation or bribes. - Justice Nariman reminded Mr. Upadhyay of the Constitution Bench judgment which upheld inviolability of the right to privacy, equating it with the rights to life, of dignity and liberty.

7. Public streets should not be blocked: SC - “Public streets should not be blocked”, observed the Supreme Court while hearing a plea of a Noida based woman alleging difficulties in commuting to Delhi for work due to road blockades by protesting farmers.

8. Live-streaming of court proceedings soon: SC judge - Supreme Court judge and chairperson of its e-committee, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said live-streaming of court proceedings was on the brink of becoming a reality. The judge said the idea behind virtual court systems was not to replace physical courts, but, instead, to show the “flexibility” of the Indian judicial system to ensure that access to justice was not denied even during the hardest of times.

9. Rising virus cases pose fresh trial for prisons - The rising number of COVID-19 cases in the Capital has again thrown a fresh challenge at the Delhi prisons where inmate count has touched the 20,000 mark for the first time. - The Delhi prison has a sanctioned capacity of around 10,000 inmates. However, the jail administration said that they are making all possible efforts to keep the prisoners safe and are following all COVID related protocols.

10. Paying extortion money is not terror funding: SC - Extortion money paid to a terrorist organisation to protect one’s business is not terror funding, the Supreme Court has said in a judgment. A Bench led by Justice L. Nageswara Rao released a Ranchi based coal businessman, booked under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, on bail.

11. SC hears plea to decriminalise begging - The Supreme Court has asked the Centre and four States to file their response within three weeks on a plea seeking a direction to repeal the provisions criminalising begging. The plea filed by Meerut resident Vishal Pathak has referred to the August 2018 verdict of the Delhi High Court which had decriminalised begging in the national capital and said provisions of the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959, which treats begging as an offence cannot sustain constitutional scrutiny.

12. The abolition of FCAT - On April 4, the Centre notified the Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021, issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice. The Tribunals Reforms Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in February, but was not taken up for consideration in the last session of Parliament. - The President later issued the ordinance, which scraps the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT), a statutory body that had been set up to hear appeals of filmmakers against decisions of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), and transfers its function to other existing judicial bodies. Eight other appellate authorities have also been disbanded with immediate effect. The ordinance has amended The Cinematograph Act, 1952, and replaced the word ‘Tribunal’ with ‘High Court’. - The move to abolish the FCAT along with other tribunals follows a Supreme Court order in Madras Bar Association vs. Union of India. Now that the FCAT has been disbanded, it will be left to the already overburdened courts to adjudicate. - With the government tightening its control on over-the-top (OTT) content and ordering players in this area to set up a grievance redressal body to address the concerns of the viewers, many observers point out that the courts will have to play a greater role as an avenue of appeal.

13. Centre to certify shrimp farms - To bolster confidence in India’s frozen shrimp produce, the country’s biggest sea food export item, the Centre has kicked off a new scheme to certify hatcheries and farms that adopt good aquaculture practices. The move is aimed at building exporters’ confidence in India’s frozen produce.

14. Centre bans export of Remdesivir - The Centre has prohibited the exports of Remdesivir injection and Remdesivir Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) in an order issued stating there was a sudden spike in the demand for the drug used in COVID-19 treatment. Drug inspectors have been directed to verify stocks and check malpractices.

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National News/ Interventions Daily snippets

1. Assam writer arrested on sedition charge - Assam writer Sikha Sarma was arrested on the charge of sedition and sent to judicial custody for her alleged comment in the social media on security personnel massacred by Maoists in Chhattisgarh, police said.

2. Incentives for solar energy sector - The Union Cabinet approved two production linked incentive schemes for white goods (air conditioners and LED lights) and high efficiency solar photovoltaic modules. The Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, took another step towards the vision of “Atmanirbhar Bharat” (self reliant India) with the approval for the ₹6,238crore PLI scheme for air conditioners and LEDs, a government statement said.

3. Pandemic offered key lessons: PM - Though students missed a year of school life and interaction with their teachers and friends due to COVID-19, the pandemic has also taught them many lessons about the true value of essential things and strengthened the emotional bonds between family members at a time of social distancing, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said. He was responding to the only question related to the pandemic in his interaction with students and parents through a virtual Pariksha Pe Charcha event, despite the fact that social media saw a section of students clamouring for examinations to be cancelled due to the spike in cases.

4. ‘China is capable of launching cyberattacks’ - Accepting that there is a capability differential between India and China, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat said the biggest differential lies in the cyber field and China is “capable of launching cyberattacks on us and it can disrupt a large number of systems”.

5. PM to launch vessel for the Seychelles - Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hand over a fast patrol vessel to the Seychelles Coast Guard. The handing over will be part of a high level virtual interaction between the Indian leader and the President of the Seychelles, Wavel Ramkalawan. This is the first interaction between the two leaders since Mr. Ramkalawan won the October 2020 election in the Seychelles. - The African archipelago nation has been a steady part of India’s policy for the Indian Ocean region and Mr. Modi visited the country in 2015. India gifted similar vessels to the Seychelles in 2005, 2014 and 2016.

6. ‘Double mutant’ strain named B.1.617 - The “double mutant” virus that scientists had flagged last month as having a bearing on the spread of the pandemic in India, has a formal scientific classification: B.1.617. The variant is common in India - how much in every State is unclear though - and has a couple of defining mutations, E484Q and L425R, that enable it to become more infectious and evade antibodies. - India has not yet conducted studies on how vaccine efficacy is influenced by variants, except for limited laboratory trials, but international studies have shown reduced efficacy of vaccines - particularly those by Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax - to certain variants. However, the vaccines continue to be significantly protective in spite of this. So far, only three global VOCs have been identified: the U.K. variant, the South African and the Brazilian (P.1) lineage.

7. India protests U.S. naval exercise - India said it has protested the U.S. decision to conduct a patrol in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the western Indian Ocean, rejecting the U.S.’s claim that its domestic maritime law was in violation of international law. In a rare and unusual public statement, the U.S. Navy announced that its ship, USS John Paul Jones, had carried out Freedom of Navigation Operation (FONOP) in the Indian EEZ, adding that its operations had “challenged” what the U.S. called India’s “excessive maritime claims”. - The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement on Friday that the Government of India’s stated position on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is that the Convention “does not authorise other States to carry out in the EEZ and on the continental shelf, military exercises or manoeuvres, in particular those involving the use of weapons or explosives, without the consent of the coastal state”.

8. Dolphin boom in Odisha’s Chilika lake - The population of dolphins in Chilika, India’s largest brackish water lake, and along the Odisha coast has doubled this year compared with last year. The wildlife wing of the State Forest and Environment Department released the final data on the dolphin census conducted in January and February this year, indicating a spectacular growth in numbers.

9. India, China agree to avoid new incidents on border - India and China have agreed at the 11th Corps Commanders talks that the completion of disengagement in “other areas” would pave the way for the two sides “to consider deescalation of forces and ensure full restoration of peace and tranquillity and enable progress in bilateral relations” - The 11th round of talks were held at Chushul on Friday. The two sides also agreed that it was important to take guidance from the consensus of their leaders, continue their communication and dialogue and work towards a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest, the statement added. With disengagement complete on both banks of Pangong Tso in February, the focus of the talks is now on disengagement from patrolling points (PP) at Gogra and Hotsprings.

10. Reduce health inequities to tackle pandemic challenges - A study on the public health situation during the COVID-19 pandemic here has recommended urgent action for reducing health inequities to face the challenges posed by the spread of the infectious disease that has led to the loss of livelihood and productivity, increase in poverty and decline in nutrition levels. - Jaipurbased Indian Institute of Health Management Research (IIHMR) has identified some primary aspects of inequities, while underlining the need to integrate and address various determinants at the individual, community and the health system levels. Its study found that 40% of the health outcomes could be measured through social determinants.

11. Gen. Naravane interacts with officers of Bangladesh Army - Indian Army chief General M.M. Naravane interacted with the officers of the Bangladesh Army and witnessed an operational demonstration by the troops. He also planted a tree at Ramu Cantonment in Cox’s Bazar to commemorate the everlasting friendship between the two armies. Gen. Naravane, who is in Dhaka on a five day official tour, visited the 10 Infantry Division of the Bangladesh Army. - The year 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Bangladesh, the liberation of Bangladesh from Pakistan and the birth centenary of ‘Bangabandhu’ Mujibur Rahman.

12. Odisha lighthouses hold huge tourism potential - As the Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways seeks to develop 65 lighthouses on public private partnership mode, Odisha’s five lighthouses present a huge potential for tourism. - One of the five lighthouses situated along the Odisha coast was the 180-year old functional tower which continues to guide ships. The ‘False Point’ island lighthouse is situated off the Kendrapara coast while the other four are situated on the mainland.

13. Villagers lose grazing grounds at Pangong Tso - The south bank of Pangong Tso (lake), one of the two locations from where Indian and Chinese troops disengaged in February, has become a “no man’s land” for the cattle grazers of Chushul in Eastern Ladakh, the area’s councillor says. The Defence Ministry, in a communication to Konchok Stanzin, Chushul councillor, said that “due to the present operational situation in Ladakh, grazers have been asked to restrict their cattle movements” - The disengagement at Pangong Tso, where Indian and Chinese troops were in an eyeball to eyeball confrontation on the north and south banks since June and August last year, respectively, was announced by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Parliament on February 11. - The process was completed on February 19 after a consensus was arrived at only for one of the friction points - the north and south banks of Pangong - after the 10th round of Corps Commander Level talks. - The 11th round of talks was held at Chushul on April 9. The focus of the talks was to work out a phased disengagement plan for the other friction areas in eastern Ladakh - Gogra, Hot Springs, Depsang and Demchok. Statements issued separately by India and China suggested that no concrete agreement had been reached. - As reported, since April 2020, Chinese troops blocked Indian troops from at least 10 patrolling points, from Depsang Plains in the north to Pangong Tso in the south. In all, there are more than 65 such points from the base of Karakoram to Chumar.

14. Meghalaya villagers oppose dam on Umngot - Stiﬀ resistance from at least 12 villages in Meghalaya has cast a cloud on a 210 MW hyd roelectric project on Umngot, considered India’s clearest river. The dam is proposed upstream in the adjoining West Jaintia Hills district to the East Khasi hills. The locals fear that the project, if executed, would cause irreparable losses by wiping out their areas from the tourism map. The project documents say people of 13 villages along the Umngot are likely to lose 296 hectares of land due to submergence if the dam comes up.

15. Protection from reinfections may last only months : Study - A longitudinal cohort study in India has found that some people who had COVID-19 lacked meaningful immunity against the novel coronav irus to prevent reinfection months later. The study found that 20-30% of infecte d people had declining virus neutralising activity despite having stable seropositivity six months later. The declining neutralising activity seen in 20-30% of infected people would mean that they might be vulnerable to reinfection. - Studies are now under way to unders tand the presence and activity of memory T cells which can prevent the infection from progressing to seve re disease. - The study shows that if previously infected people are exposed to high viral loads months after infection, then 20-30% of people may not have immunity against the virus as they are unable to neutralise the microbes and might get reinfecte d. Similar observations have been made in a study undertaken in Denmark. The IgG antibodies [that can neutralise the virus] continue to increase and peak weeks after infection and then begin to decline. Since the IgG levels tapers after some time, a signiﬁcant number have the neutralising activity below the ﬁrst observed level at six month follow-up.

16. Indus and Ganges dolphins - Detailed analysis of South Asian river dolphins has revealed that the Indus and Ganges River dolphins are not one, but two separate species. The study estimates that Indus and Ganges river dolphins may have diverged around 550,000 years ago. The international team studied body growth, skull morphology, tooth counts, colouration and genetic makeup and published the findings last month in Marine Mammal Science. - The Ganges dolphin is a Schedule I animal under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, and has been included in Annexure - I of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), so you cannot transfer any tissue or sample to foreign countries without getting CITES permission from the Competent Authority of Government of India. The Indus and Ganges River dolphins are both classified as ‘Endangered’ species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). 17. MS Swaminathan felicitated for work towards TB eradication - Eminent agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan was felicitated for his contribution towards eradication of tuberculosis. Professor Swaminathan pointed out the three steps to tackle an issue as crucial as TB - the first was to identify the problem, then to understand the nature of the issue and third, to mobilise and organise people to work together towards the common goal of TB elimination. - Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist, World Health Organization, said that TB eradication needed more than a biomedical approach; nutrition, gender and livelihood issues also need to be addressed.

18. Vaccines aimed at curbing severe COVID-19 - COVID-19 vaccines are not infection preventing but disease modiﬁer vaccines, said Samiran Panda, member of the government’s National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC). He said both the vaccines now available in India will prevent the asymptomatic stage from moving in to symptomatic stage and from symptomatic stage to developing severe disease where one requires intensive care. - N.K Arora, head of the operations research group of the Indian Council of Medical Research’s National Task Force for COVID-19 noted that “vaccine coupled with COVID appropriate behaviour is the way forward.”

19. Pandemic and northeast citizens - A study commissioned by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) on racial discrimination and hate crimes against people from the north-eastern States found that the “northeast India seamlessly fits an Indian’s imagination of a Chinese person”. Amid the COVID-19 outbreak last year, people from the region “faced an increased number of acts of hate and prejudices against them”. A series of attacks were reported in various parts of the country, where people from the region were “harassed, abused, and traumatised” and were disparagingly called “coronavirus”, the study said. - Around 1,200 people, mostly women from Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura, were interviewed for the research. Majority of those interviewed faced discrimination when it came to renting accommodation, visiting a restaurant and even while finding transportation. The highest number of incidents was reported from Mumbai (44.7%). Interestingly, 78% of the northeast people believed that physical appearance was the most important reason for prejudice. More than 60% of those interviewed said their studies and work were seriously hampered by such experiences. The M.P. Bezbaruah Committee in 2014 recommended amendments to the IPC by creating new offences under Section 153C and 509A to deal with comments, gestures and acts intended to insult a member of a particular racial group.

20. Boosting yield from poppy - The Union government has decided to rope in the priva te sector to commence production of concentrated poppy straw from India’s opium crop to boost the yield of alkaloids, used for medical purposes and exported to several countries. India currently only extracts alkaloids from opium gum at facilities controlled by the Revenue Department in the Finance Ministry. This entails farmers extracting gum by manually lancing the opium pods and selling the gum to government factories. However, higher extraction of alkaloids have been observed using concentrated poppy straw (CPS).

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

Daily snippets

1. Russia to supply military gear to Pakistan - Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow and Islamabad would boost ties in the fight against terrorism, with Russia providing unspecified military equipment to Pakistan and the two holding joint exercises at sea and in the mountains. It’s the first visit by a Russian Foreign Minister in nine years, part of an effort to improve ties. It comes as Moscow seeks to increase its stature in the region, particularly in Afghanistan. There, it has sought to inject itself as a key player in efforts to find a peaceful end to decades of war. - Russia is also building a gas pipeline between the southern port city of Karachi and eastern Lahore. Pakistan’s Foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Islamabad will also buy 5 million doses of the Russian made COVID-19 Sputnik V vaccine, and expressed a desire to eventually manufacture it in Pakistan. He said Pakistan also wanted Russian expertise to modernise its antiquated railway system as well as its energy sector. - The visit underlines the waning influence of the U.S. in the region, while Russian and Chinese clout grows, says Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program at the U.S.based Wilson Center. Pakistan also is a key player in China’s Belt and Road Initiative - a massive, crosscontinental infrastructure development project aimed at expanding China’s commercial connections globally.

2. U.S. military cites rising risk of Beijing’s move against Taiwan - The American military is warning that China is probably accelerating its timetable for capturing control of Taiwan, the island democracy that has been the chief source of tension between Washington and Beijing for decades and is widely seen as the most likely trigger for a potentially catastrophic U.S.-China war. - The worry about Taiwan comes as China wields new strength from years of military buildup. It has become more aggressive with Taiwan and more assertive in sovereignty disputes in the South China Sea. Beijing also has become more confrontational with Washington; senior Chinese officials traded sharp and unusually public barbs with Secretary of State Antony Blinken in talks in Alaska last month.

3. Iranian ship attacked in Red Sea, report says it was Israeli payback - An Iranian freighter was hit by an “explosion” in the Red Sea, Tehran said, after U.S. media reported Israel had struck the ship in retaliation for past Iranian strikes on its vessels. Iran was at pains to stress that the freighter was a civilian ship, although other sources said it had been used by Iranian commandos as a base for shipping protection and other duties in the area. - The explosion comes at a sensitive time as the U.S. President Joe Biden attempts to revive a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran which was strongly opposed by Israel and abandoned by his predecessor Donald Trump in 2018.

4. Rouhani says Vienna talks open ‘new chapter’ - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that talks in Vienna on rescuing a troubled 2015 nuclear deal had opened a “new chapter”. An Iranian delegation met with representatives of the remaining parties to the agreement to discuss how to bring Washington back into it and end crippling U.S. sanctions and Iranian countermeasures. U.S. President Joe Biden has said he is ready to reverse the decision of his predecessor Donald Trump to withdraw from the agreement and reimpose unilateral sanctions. But differences remain over the mechanics of the move as Tehran has since responded by suspending compliance with some of its own obligations under the deal.

5. Biden govt. restores aid to Palestinians - In a significant reversal to the Trump administration’s policy towards Palestine, the U.S. State Department announced the restoration of at least $235 million in financial assistance to the Palestinians. The administration had already announced $15 million in coronavirus relief to the Palestinians in March. The new economic announcement includes $75 million in economic assistance to the West Bank and Gaza, $10 million towards ‘peacebuilding’ programmes of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and $150 million in humanitarian assistance to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) - The Trump administration had almost ended all funding to the organisation in 2018. Mr. Trump’s policies towards West Asia, which included the relocation of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, were criticised for being heavily tilted towards Israel. - Welcoming the move, the Prime Minister of the Palestine Authority, Mohammed Shtayyeh, called for “a new political path that meets the rights and aspirations of the Palestinian people based on international law and UN resolutions”. Israel, which has accused UNRWA of antiSemitism, objected to the funding plans.

6. U.S. commits to withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq - The U.S. committed to move remaining forces from Iraq, although the two sides did not set a timeline in what would be the second withdrawal since the 2003 invasion. Iraq’s national security advisor, Qassem al-Araji, promised efforts to protect foreign forces and confirmed that the United States would move ahead with a pullout.

7. All options open on South China Sea’ - The Philippines defence department said it was keeping its options open as a diplomatic row with Beijing grows over hundreds of Chinese vessels in the contested South China Sea. Tensions over the resource rich waters have spiked in recent weeks after over 200 Chinese boats were detected at Whitsun Reef in the Spratly Islands, where China and the Philippines have rival claims. - China, which claims almost the entirety of the sea, has refused repeated appeals by the Philippines to withdraw the vessels, which Manila says unlawfully entered its exclusive economic zone.

8. No U.S. decision yet on Afghan pullout - President Joe Biden seems ready to let lapse a May 1 deadline for completing a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Orderly withdrawals take time, and Mr. Biden is running out of it. At Least for some months, a stay of the remaining 2,500 troops and continuing support of the Afghan military at the risk of a Taliban backlash seems to be the order. Removing all the troops and their equipment in the next three weeks - along with coalition partners - would be difficult logistically. - Mr. Biden had said during the 2020 campaign that if elected, he might keep a counterterrorism force in Afghanistan but also would “end the war responsibly” to ensure U.S. forces never have to return.

9. U.K. to set up £43 million fund for migrants from Hong Kong - The British government said it is setting up a £43 million ($59 million) fund to help migrants from Hong Kong settle in the country as they escape increasing political repression in the former colony. The offer extends to holders of British National (Overseas) passports who have been offered special visas, opening a path to work, residency and eventual citizenship to up to 5 million of Hong Kong’s 7.4 million people. - The integration programme will provide funding to help arrivals in accessing housing, education and jobs. Around 10% of the funds will go towards establishing 12 “virtual welcome hubs' ' across Great Britain and Northern Ireland to “coordinate support and give practical advice and assistance”, the British ConsulateGeneral said. - China has sharply criticised what it labels British abuse of the passports, saying it will no longer recognise them as travel documents or as a form of identification. But most residents also carry Hong Kong or other passports, so it’s not clear what effect that would have.

10. Britain’s Prince Philip passes away at 99 - Prince Philip, the longest serving royal consort in British history who was a constant presence at Queen Elizabeth II’s side for decades, died on Friday aged 99, Buckingham Palace has announced. The death of the Duke of Edinburgh is a profound loss for the 94-year old monarch, who once described him as her “strength and stay all these years”. Military teams across the U.K. and on ships at sea fired 41 gun salutes on Saturday to mark his death, honouring the former naval officer and husband of Queen Elizabeth II. - Prior to this year’s crisis over relations with the Queen’s grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the monarchy had to weather the 1997 death in a car crash of Prince Harry’s mother Princess Diana.

11. China, Pakistan to back each other’s ‘core interests’ at UN - China and Pakistan have pledged to back each other’s “core and major interests” in the United Nations after holding bilateral consultations on UN affairs. The countries, which describe their relationship officially as one of “allweather partners” and “iron brothers”, have in recent months stepped in to provide crucial support to the other on issues they see as sensitive, with Beijing raising the Kashmir issue at the UN Security Council and Islamabad backing China on Hong Kong and Xinjiang. - China in 2019 and 2020 raised the Kashmir issue at the UNSC on at least three occasions, calling for discussions in the wake of India’s dilution of Article 370, reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir and revocation of special status. - Pakistan, meanwhile, has lobbied for China’s support amid increasing criticism from western countries over Xinjiang. In October, Pakistan also made a joint statement on behalf of 55 countries at the UN ``opposing interference in China’s internal affairs under the pretext of Hong Kong.

12. Bhutan, China to schedule boundary discussions soon - Bhutan and China have agreed to set up the next round of much delayed boundary talks between them “as soon as possible” and discussed a roadmap for expediting the boundary resolution, a joint release of the 10th Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on the Bhutan-China Boundary held in Kunming announced. - The upcoming talks, the 25th round of the boundary talks mechanism, will be the first since the Doklam standoff in 2017, and the first since China made new claims on Bhutan’s eastern boundary bordering Arunachal Pradesh in June 2020. - The talks have thus far focused on two areas of dispute: Pasamlung and Jakarlung valleys to the North of Bhutan and Doklam to the West of Bhutan, along the trijunction with India. However, at a UN environmental meeting in June 2020, China raised an objection to a grant for Bhutan’s Sakteng Sanctuary to the East frontier as well, saying that it was disputed as well. 13. Iran unveils advanced nuclear centrifuges - Iran announced it has started up advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges in a breach of its undertakings under a troubled 2015 nuclear deal, days after the start of talks on rescuing the accord. Earlier, the United States had said that it had offered “very serious” ideas on reviving the accord but was waiting for Tehran to reciprocate. - President Hassan Rouhani inaugurated the three cascades of 164 IR6 centrifuges, 30 IR5 and another 30 IR6 devices at Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment plant in a ceremony broadcast by state television. Iran has demanded that the U.S. first lift all sanctions imposed by Trump, which include a sweeping unilateral ban on its oil exports, before it falls back in line with obligations it suspended.

14. At least 80 killed in Myanmar as UN envoy calls for ‘action’ - Reports emerged of more than 80 killed in the latest bloodletting by Myanmar’s military, as the country’s own Ambassador to the United Nations called for “strong action” against the junta. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February, with protesters refusing to submit to the junta and demanding a return to democracy. After over two months of military rule, efforts to verify deaths and confirm news of crackdowns have been greatly curtailed by the junta’s throttling of mobile data - shunting most of the population into an information blackout.

15. UAE names 2 astronauts, including woman - The United Arab Emirates named the next two astronauts for its space programme, including the country’s first woman astronaut. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai who also serves as the Prime Minister, named the two astronauts. He identified Noura al-Matroushi as the UAE’s first woman astronaut, with her male counterpart as Mohammed alMulla. A promotional video described Ms. al-Matroushi, born in 1993, as an engineer at the Abu Dhabi based National Petroleum Construction Co. Mr. AlMulla, born in 1988, serves as a pilot with Dubai police and heads the training division.

16. ‘Suspicious’ blackout hits Iran nuclear site - Iran’s underground Natanz nuclear facility lost power on Sunday just hours after starting up new advanced centrifuges capable of enriching uranium faster, the latest incident to strike the site amid negotiations over the tattered atomic accord with world powers. Iran described a blackout at its Natanz atomic facility an act of “nuclear terrorism,” raising regional tensions. - If Israel caused the blackout, it further heightens tensions between the two nations, already engaged in a shadow conflict across wider West Asia. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who on Sunday met with the U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, has vowed to do everything in his power to stop the nuclear deal. - Israel typically doesn’t discuss operations carried out by its Mossad intelligence agency or specialised military units. In recent weeks, Mr. Netanyahu has repeatedly described Iran as the major threat to his country. Natanz was built largely underground to withstand enemy airstrikes. It became a flashpoint for Western fears about Iran’s nuclear plant in 2002, when satellite photos showed Iran building its underground centrifuges facility at the site.

17. ‘Mars chopper flight delayed for tech check’ - NASA has delayed by at least several days the first flight of its mini-helicopter on Mars after a possible technical issue emerged while testing its rotors, the U.S. space agency said. Ingenuity's trip, which is to be the first-ever powered, controlled flight on another planet, was set for Sunday but is now on hold until at least April 14. A high-speed test of the 1.8-kg helicopter’s rotors on Friday ended earlier than expected due to a potential issue. 18. China considers mixing vaccine to boost efficacy - China is considering the mixing of different COVID-19 vaccines to improve the relatively low efficacy of its existing options. Authorities have to “consider ways to solve the issue that efficacy rates of existing vaccines are not high”, Chinese media outlet The Paper reported, citing Gao Fu, the head of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. - China has administered around 161 million doses since vaccinations began last year, and aims to fully inoculate 40% of its 1.4 billion population by June. But many have been slow to sign up for jabs, with life largely back to normal within China’s borders and domestic outbreaks under control. Sinopharm’s vaccines have efficacy rates of 79.34% and 72.51% respectively, while the overall efficacy for CanSino’s stands at 65.28% after 28 days.

19. UK vaccine panel issues caution on oxford shots - Britain should not give Oxford/AstraZeneca’s COV ID-19 vaccine to under 30s where possible, Britain’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation ( JCVI) said. It advised people aged under 30 with no underlying conditions to be offered an alternative to the AstraZeneca vaccine where available. - It said that for younger people, for whom chances of hospitalisation were much lower, the risk/benefit calculation of the Oxford/AstraZeneca shot meant other vaccines were preferable. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said that the benefits of the shot outweighed the risks for the vast majority. - The committee stressed that there was no increased risk of blood clots in general from the shot developed by Oxford and AstraZeneca. However, it has been investigating small numbers of reports of a brain blood clot, known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), that have occurred in combination with unusually low blood platelet lev els after the shot.

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Opinions and Analysis

Commentary : A way forward for trans persons 1. Background - No less than 13 members of the transgender community have been selected recently as constables under the Chhattisgarh police. This is truly historic and thrilling for a community that had no legal recognition till the Supreme Court in NALSA vs. Union of India (2014) ruled that transgender persons have the right to decide their self identified gender. The binary notion of gender, which denied equal protection of law to transgenders, was rejected and the required relief was provided by the top court.

2. Where the journey stands - The journey of transgender people has indeed been a long struggle. However, soon after the 2014 Supreme Court judgment, the Chhattisgarh government constituted the Third Gender Welfare Board to take up various welfare measures in favour of trans people. Instructions were issued to all departments to include ‘third gender’ as an option (along with male and female) in official documents that require mentioning the gender or sex of a person. - The recently enacted Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, which paved the way for issuing a certificate of transgender identity, is in spirit with international conventions, particularly the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966, and the Yogyakarta Principles, 2006. - The Act recognises that transgender persons have a legal right to self-perceived gender identity in accordance with the principle of the “Psychological Test” instead of the “Biological Test”. According to law, transgender persons cannot be discriminated against in any matter relating to employment by any establishment. ------Analysis : Explaining Pakistan’s flip flop on trade with India 1. Background - Pakistan's double U-turn on resuming trade with India highlights the internal differences within Ministries, between business and political communities, and the emphasis on politics over economy and trade. It also signifies Pakistan cabinet’s grandstanding, linking normalisation of ties with India to Jammu and Kashmir. - On March 31, Pakistan’s new Finance Minister Hammad Azhar, announced Pakistan’s Economic Coordination Committee (ECC)’s decision to import cotton, yarn, and 500,000 metric tons of sugar from India. The media dubbed it as a political breakthrough but the ECC’s decision was not on bilateral trade; it was about importing only three items - cotton, yarn and sugar. A day later, Pakistan’s cabinet overruled the decision.

2. Practical and economic considerations - For the textile and sugar industries in Pakistan, importing from India is imperative, practical and is the most economic. - The sugar industry in Pakistan is also in crisis. When compared to cotton, the sugar industry’s problem stem from different issues - the availability for local consumption and the steep price increase

3. The way forward - Three takeaways can be identified from the above. The first relates to the ECC’s decision to import only three items from India, namely cotton, yarn and sugar. It was based on Pakistan’s immediate economic needs and not designed as a political confidence-building measure to normalise relations with India. - The second takeaway from the two U-turns - is the supremacy of politics over trade and economy, even if the latter is beneficial to the importing country. - The Kashmir link The third takeaway is the emphasis on Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan to make any meaningful start in bilateral relations. This goes against what it has been telling the rest of the world that India should begin dialogue with Pakistan. ------Story : HAMZAH BIN HUSSEIN The rebel prince

- When Jordan’s King Hussein was on his deathbed, fighting cancer, he surprised the nation by dismissing his brother Hassan bin Talal as Crown Prince in favour of his son Abdullah. Prince Hassan had been Crown Prince for more than three decades and was almost sure to ascend the throne. - But he accepted the King’s decision and when Hussein died on February 7, 1999, Abdullah became the new monarch. As per the dying wishes of his father, King Abdullah II appointed his half brother Hamzah bin Hussein as the new Crown Prince. Hussein, who sacked his brother from the line of throne for his son, may have hoped that power would transfer from his one son to another in the future. But history repeated itself in a few years. In 2004, after consolidating power both within the royal court and the Hashemite family, King Abdullah stripped Hamzah of the Crown Prince status. In 2009, the King named his 15-year old school going son, Hussein bin Abdullah, the new Crown Prince - The Hashemite Kingdom has long projected itself as an oasis of stability in a volatile region. Jordan has been an important American ally for years. The palace feud has cut open the long simmering wounds within the Hashemites, who claim their ancestry to the Prophet Mohammed. - King Abdullah now says the crisis has been resolved. But it is unlikely. Even when he was detained, Prince Hamzah remained defiant, as the leaked messages show. He refused to keep quiet and accused the government of corruption, nepotism and misrule.

------Analysis : Why the Personal Data Protection Bill matters 1. Background - The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, now under scrutiny by a Joint Parliamentary Committee, could play a big role in providing robust protections to users and their personal data.

2. No effective protection - How different entities collect and process users’ personal data in India is mainly governed by the Information Technology Act, 2000, and various other sectoral regulations. However, this data protection regime falls short of providing effective protection to users and their personal data. The need for more robust data protection legislation came to the fore in 2017 post the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd) v. Union of India that established the right to privacy as a fundamental right.

3. The upcoming regime - The proposed regime under the Bill seeks to be different from the existing regime in some prominent ways. First, the Bill seeks to apply the data protection regime to both government and private entities across all sectors. Second, the Bill seeks to emphasise data security and data privacy. While entities will have to maintain security safeguards to protect personal data, they will also have to fulfill a set of data protection obligations and transparency and accountability measures that govern how entities can process personal data to uphold users’ privacy and interests. Third, the Bill seeks to give users a set of rights over their personal data and means to exercise those rights. Fourth, the Bill seeks to create an independent and powerful regulator known as the Data Protection Authority (DPA).

4. The way forward - The time is ripe for India to have a robust data protection regime. The Joint Parliamentary Committee that is scrutinising the Bill has proposed 86 amendments and one new clause to the Bill - although the exact changes are not in the public domain. The Committee is expected to submit its final report in the Monsoon Session of Parliament in 2021. Taking this time to make some changes in the Bill targeted towards addressing various concerns in it could make a stronger and more effective data protection regime ------Commentary : Abortion is a woman’s right to decide 1. Background - The central government’s amendment to the abortion laws not only retains the traditional notion that the state must intervene and decide for women as to when and in what circumstances abortions may be carried out, but even the pathetic measures set out in the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act 2021 are too little and have come too late.

2. Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act 2021 - The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act 2021 fails miserably on the main count while introducing few collateral progressive measures. - First, the Act fails to recognise the absolute right of a woman over her body in taking decisions regarding abortions and reproductive health. It still reserves to the state the right to dictate to the woman that she cannot have an abortion at will. - Second, even though the limit has been pushed back from 20 to 24 weeks, this comes with the same state conditionalities as before. Third, 24 weeks is not rational given today’s technology where abortions can be done safely up to full term.

3. What else stands - Enacting section 3(2B) which requires the pregnant woman to approach a medical board in cases of substantial foetal abnormalities and where she has crossed the 24 week limit. These boards impose insurmountable obstacles to the woman seeking late abortions. - First, what used to be an exchange between the pregnant woman and her gynaecologist who would take a decision as to safety, has now been replaced by a board of a minimum of three doctors. This is totally unnecessary and breaches privacy. - Second, the Act provides in section 3(2C) for a single board for a State. Given the millions of abortions taking place in India past the deadline, it is impossible for one board to handle all cases. - Third, assuming multiple boards will be established, the records show that no State has the finances or the human resources to maintain the operation and functioning of these boards. - Fourth, the right to seek termination is restricted to “such category of women as may be prescribed by rules”.

4. Conclusion and way forward - The main objection remains; that boards are totally unnecessary and an invasion of privacy, and pregnant women, like they used to do, should be left alone to consult their gynaecologist in late term pregnancies and carry out their abortion under the certificate of their own gynaecologist that the abortion can be performed safely. This is the trend worldwide and in the courts. The Indian government needs to wake up and educate itself on women’s emancipation worldwide. ------Story : On Climate Change 1. Background - Paris agreement for climate change is based on three pillars - temperature goals, carbon neutrality, and equity. The temperature goal referred to is the intent of limiting temperature rise to well below 2°C and further purs uing efforts to restrict it to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. However, Is the achievement of carbon neutrality compatible with achieving the 1.5°C or 2°C goal is the real question. Also, the principle of equity states that the Paris Agreement will be implemented to reflect equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances.

2. Are the current pledges adequate - According to the The Intergov ernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5° warming what remains of the global carbon budget from 2018 onwards, for a 50% probability of restricting temperature rise to less than 1.5°C, is 480 Giga tonnes (billion tonnes) of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2eq). At the current rate of emissions of about 42 GtCO2eq per year, this budget would be consumed in 12 years. To keep within the 480 Gt budget, at a steady linear rate of decline, global carbon neutrality must be reached by 2039. - For a 50% probability of restricting temperature rise to below 2°C, the budget is considerably more generous, amounting to about 1,400 GtCO2eq, which prov ides considerably greater room for manoeuvre. The hollowness of nation level carbon neutrality declarations by developed countries is not helping the cause. - For example - Emissions in the U.S., peaked in 2005 and have declined at an average rate of 1.1% from then till 2017, with a maximum annual reduction of 6.3% in 2009, at the height of a recession. Even if it did reach net zero by 2050 at a steady linear rate of reduction, its cumulative emissions between 2018 and 2050 would be 106 GtCO2, which is 22% of the total remaining carbon budget for the whole world. Similarly, the European Union, to keep to its fair share of the remaining carbon budget would have to reach net zero by 2033, with a constant annual reduction in emissions.

3. India and her carbon debt - India’s current low carbon footprint is a consequence of the utter poverty and deprivation of a majority of its population, and not by virtue of sustainability. India’s emissions are no more than 3.5% of global cumulative emissions prior to 1990 and about 5% since till 2018. - Any self-sacriﬁcial declaration of carbon neutrality today in the current international scenario would be a wasted gesture reducing the burden of the developed world and transferring it to the backs of the Indian people. India’s twin burden of low carbon development and adaptation to climate impacts, is onerous and requires serious, concerted action. ------Analysis : Lok Adalats 1. Background - Lok Adalats (literally, ‘People’s Court’) were established to make justice accessible and aﬀordable to all. It was a forum to address the problems of crowded case dockets outside the formal adjudicatory system. As of now, Lok Adalats have been functioning for 38 years. - Lok Adalats had existed even before the concept received statutory recognition. In 1949, Harivallabh Parikh, a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, popularised them in Rangpur, Gujarat. - Constitutional Mandate : The Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976, inserted Article 39A to ensure “equal justice and free legal aid”. To this end, the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, was enacted by Parliament and it came into force in 1995 “to provide free and competent legal services to weaker sections of the society” and to “organise Lok Adalats to secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity”.

2. The structure - As an alternative dispute resolution tool, Lok Adalats are regularly organised to help parties reach a compromise. The State Legal Services Authorities (SLSAs) have been organising Lok Adalats on a daily, fortnightly and monthly basis. Lok Adalats organised across the country from 2016 to 2020 disposed of 52,46,415 cases. Similarly, National Lok Adalats (NLAs) org anised under the aegis of NALSA settle a huge number of cases across the country in a single day. NLAs have disposed of a total of 2,93,19,675 cases. - As per the National Judicial Data Grid, 16.9% of all cases in district and taluka courts are three to five years old; for High Courts, 20.4% of all cases are five to 10 years old, and over 17% are 10-20 years old. Furthermore, over 66,000 cases are pending before the Supreme Court, over 57 lakh cases before various HCs, and over 3 crore cases are pending before various district and subordinate courts. As a result, litigants are forced to approach Lok Adalats mainly because it is a party driven process, allowing them to reach an amicable settlement. - Lok Adalats offer parties speed of settlement, as cases are disposed of in a single day; procedural flexibility, as there is no strict application of procedural laws such as the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872; economic affordability, as there are no court fees; finality of awards, as no further appeal is allowed. This prevents delays in settlement of disputes. More importantly, the award issued by a Lok Adalat, has the status of a civil court decree. Data show that the average number of cases disposed of per NLA since 2017 has gone up even when the number of NLAs organised each year has reduced. This proves that on average, the system is certainly efficient. - To overcome the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, e-Lok Adalats were organised at both national and State level. However, the performance of the NeLA was less efficient than physical National Lok Adalats organised in 2017, 2018, and 2019.

3. Have they lived up to the mandate - Besides efficiency and speed, Lok Adalats both online and offline should focus on the quality of justice delivered. The Supreme Court, in State of Punjab vs Jalour Singh (2008), held that a Lok Adalat is purely conciliatory and it has no adjudicatory or judicial function. - In a majority of cases, litigants are pitted against entities with deep pockets, such as insurance companies, banks, electricity boards, among others. In many cases, compromises are imposed on the poor who often have no choice but to accept them. Similarly, poor women under the so-called ‘harmony ideology’ of the state are virtually dictated by family courts to compromise matrimonial disputes under a romanticised view of marriage. ------Analysis : India's refugee problem 1. Background - Refugee protection in India debate. The current plight of the Myanmarese coming into Manipur and Mizoram has been preceded by that of another group of Myanmarese, the Rohingya. And not too long ago, the debate was dominated by the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Refugee flows to India are unlikely to end any time soon given the geopolitical, economic, ethnic and religious contexts of the region.

2. Refugees versus immigrants - India has emphatically argued, particularly in the recent past, that illegal immigration from the neighbouring countries to India must come to an end. Illegal immigration is a threat to the socio-political fabric of any country, including India, with potential security implications. - The reality is that much of the debate in the country is about the illegal immigrants, not refugees, the two categories tend to get bunched together. Thus, our policies and remedies to deal with these issues suffer from a lack of clarity as well as policy utility. In the legal discourse in India, both categories of people are viewed as one and the same and are covered under the Foreigners Act, 1946, which offers a simple definition of a foreigner - “foreigner” means “a person who is not a citizen of India”. Needless to say that there are fundamental differences between illegal immigrants and refugees. - India is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, the key legal documents pertaining to refugee protection. The absence of such a legal framework also leads to policy ambiguity whereby India’s refugee policy is guided primarily by adhocism. The absence of a legal framework increases the possibility of the domestic politicisation of refugee protection and complicates its geopolitical fault lines.

3. Legal-Moral complexities - New Delhi has been one of the largest recipients of refugees in the world in spite of not being a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol. A proper interpretation of the text of the 1951 Convention, a person, under the definition of the convention, could be considered if he/she is deprived of political rights, but not if he/she is deprived of economic rights. If the violation of economic rights were to be included in the definition of a refugee, it would clearly pose a major burden on the developed world. The West’s lopsided obsession with civil and political rights at the cost of economic rights is a convenient excuse with little moral backing. - The non entreé (no entry) regime of the west : It is constituted by a range of legal and administrative measures that include visa restrictions, carrier sanctions, interdictions, third safe country rule, restrictive interpretations of the definition of ‘refugee’, withdrawal of social welfare benefits to asylum seekers, and widespread practices of detention.

4. The way forward - A new domestic law aimed at refugees. It is morally untenable to have a discriminatory law like the CAA to address the concerns of refugees who are ﬂeeing their home country. A domestic refugee law should allow for tempora ry shelter and work permit for refugees because in the absence of proper legal measures, refugee documentation, and work permit, refugees may end up becoming illegal immigrants using illicit means. - India should also make a distinction between temporary migrant workers, illegal immigrants and refugees and deal with each of them diﬀerently through proper legal and institutional mechanisms. ------Commentary : US and freedom of navigation 1. Background - India’s strategic community was agitated last week when the USS John Paul Jones carried out a freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) 130 nautical miles west of the Lakshadweep Islands. Some described it as an unnecessary provocation by the U.S. Navy. U.S. 7th Fleet commander, said the operation, which was carried out in India’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), “asserted navigational rights and freedoms without requesting India’s prior consent”.

2. Strategic interpretations - In the aftermath of the incident, the U.S. Pentagon defended the military operation off India’s waters terming it “consistent with international law”. For the U.S. Navy, FONOPs are a way of showing that the maritime claims of certain states are incompatible with international law. India’s requirement of prior consent for the passage of foreign warships through Indian EEZs, U.S. officials believe, is a violation of the United Nations Conv ention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). - India interprets the maritime conv ention differently. Indian experts note that the UNCLOS does not explicitly permit the passage of military vessels in another state’s EEZ. This position is consistent with India’s domestic law - the Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and Other Maritime Zones of India Act of 1976 - and remains unchanged. - Indian observers have come to accept U.S. FONOPs as an instrument in Washington’s military and diplomatic tool kit that gives the U.S. Navy leverage in the contest with China in the South China Sea. Washington knows New Delhi’s real concern is the possibility of greater Chinese naval presence in Indian waters. U.S. FONOPs in Indian EEZs have been relatively low key, serving mainly to check a box on the U.S. Navy’s record of activity in Asia. Since 2016, the U.S. Navy has carried out three forays through Indian EEZs keeping well outside Indian territorial waters. - To guard against any misreading of intent, the U.S. Navy coupled its FONOP in Indian waters with another sail through the territorial seas of the Maldives, a country with which the U.S. signed a defence agreement in 2020. The idea, ostensibly, was to signal to China that the U.S. Navy is committed to uphold the rules based order in the waters of opponents and partners alike.

3. The way forward - The U.S. must recognise that FONOPs have implications for New Delhi that go beyond the infringement of Indian jurisdiction in the near seas. Such operations normalise military activism close to India’s island territories that remain vulnerable to incursions by foreign warships. It encourages other regional navies to violate India’s domestic regulations in the waters surrounding the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. - New Delhi, too, must rethink its stand on freedom of navigation in the EEZs. India’s domestic regulation is worryingly out of sync with international law. India’s declaration of straight baselines delineating zones around the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (on the Western edge), in particular, is a discrepancy that cannot be explained as a minor departure from the provisions of the UNCLOS.

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Economics and Finance

Daily snippets

1. RBI keeps policy rates unchanged - The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously to leave the policy repo rate unchanged at 4%. It was also unanimously decided to continue with the accommodative stance as long as necessary to sustain growth on a durable basis and continue to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the economy. - RBI governor Shaktikanta Das stressed that the focus must now be on containing the spread of the virus as well as on economic revival by consolidating the gains achieved so far and sustaining the impulses of growth in the new financial year. He added that rural demand remains buoyant and record agricultural production in 2020-21 bodes well for its resilience. Urban demand has gained traction and should get a fillip with the ongoing vaccination drive. - The RBI also stressed that as part of retaining its accommodative policy stance, it would stick to its commitment to ensure ample system liquidity. As part of its liquidity measures it said it was putting in place a secondary market G sec acquisition programme or GSAP 1.0 whereby the central bank would commit upfront to a specific amount of open market purchases of government securities with a view to enabling a stable and ord erly evolution of the yield curve amid comfortable liquidity conditions. RBI’s decision to maintain its high GDP growth forecast also helped calm the market over its fears about the second wave of infections.

2. SEBI fines Ambani brothers 25 crores - SEBI has imposed a total penalty of ₹25 crore on Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani, other individuals and entities for noncompliance with takeover norms in a Reliance Industries case dating back to 2000. In 2005, Mr. Mukesh and Mr. Anil had split the business empire built by their father Dhirubhai Ambani. As per the order, RIL’s promoters acquired 6.83% stake in the company during 2000 through conversion of 3 crore warrants issued to them in 1994, these were in excess of the ceiling of 5% prescribed under the takeover norms.

3. Mukesh Ambani tops Forbes rich list - India has the third highest number of billionaires in the world after the U.S. and China, according to a new list by the Forbes magazine, which said Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani reclaimed his spot as Asia’s richest person. Forbes’ 35th annual list of the world’s billionaires is topped by Amazon CEO and Founder Jeﬀ Bezos for the fourth year in a row. His net worth is $177 billion, up $64 billion from a year ago.

4. RBI extends 50000 cr to All India Financial Institutions - To help mitigate the impact of the pandemic and aid economic revival, the RBI said it would extend fresh support of ₹50,000 crore to the All India Financial Institutions for new lending in FY22. NABARD will be provided a special liquidity facility (SLF) of ₹25,000 crore for one year to support agriculture and allied activities. An SLF of ₹10,000 crore will be extended to the National Housing Bank for one year to support the housing sector. SIDBI will be provided ₹15,000 crore under this facility for up to one year for funding of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). - The Central Bank noted that while Asset Reconstruction Companies had grown in number and size, their potential for resolving stressed assets was yet to be realised fully. A six-month extension to September 30 for Priority Sector Lending (PSL) classiﬁcation for lending by banks to NBFCs for ‘on lending’ to sectors that contribute signiﬁcantly to the economy in terms of export and employment - has been approved. - What is Priority Sector lending : It is an important role given by the (RBI) to the banks for providing a specified portion of the bank lending to few specific sectors like agriculture and allied activities, micro and small enterprises, poor people for housing, students for education and other low income groups and weaker sections. This is essentially meant for an all round development of the economy as opposed to focusing only on the financial sector.

5. China fine $2.8 billion on Ma's Alibaba - China’s regulators have imposed a record $2.78 billion fine on the Alibaba Group. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) in December announced an antitrust probe. There were sharp comments made from Mr. Ma criticising China’s financial system, and a broader tug-of-war with the authorities over Alibaba’s amassing of consumer data, which regulators felt gave it an unfair advantage over its rivals. - The SAMR said it had levied an 18.23 billion yuan ($2.78 billion) fine on the Alibaba Group “for indulging in a monopolistic act of abusing its dominant market position". The regulator concluded from a four month inv estigation that Alibaba has been abusing its market dominance since 2015 by prohibiting merchants from opening stores or participating in promotional activities on other competitive platforms. It said the prohibition hinders competition in China’s services market, impedes the free flow of goods, services and resources, and infringes the legitimate rights and interests of merchants. - The SAMR said the group had “abused its dominant market position” and “also used market forces, platform rules, data, algorithms and other technical means to ensure the implementation of the exclusive dealing agreement. "

6. Forex reserves drop again by $2.4 billion - The country’s foreign exc hange reserves declined by $2.415 billion to stand at $576.869 billion in the week ended April 2, RBI data showed. The forex kitty had touched a record high of $590.185 billion in the week ended January 29. The decline in the reserves was mainly on account of a fall in foreign currency assets. Gold reserves dropped by $884 million to $34.023 billion, as per RBI data. The special drawing rights with the IMF dipped by $4 million to $1.486 billion.

7. Indian industry seeks vaccination for all age groups - The industry body CII called for accelerated vaccine production and supply across the country and opening up vaccination for all age groups. It, however, stressed that factories and shop ﬂoors should be kept open for economic reasons. The industry body reite rated that lockdown was not a solution in the present times and requested for maintaining stringent COV ID related protocols for public places and workplaces.

8. Flipkart, Adani sign logistics, data unit pact - Ec om ﬁrm Flipkart has entered into a strategic and commercial partnership with the Adani Group for logistics and data centre related businesses. Under the pact, Flipkart would work with Adani Logistics Ltd. to strengthen Flipkart’s supply chain infrastructure and enhance the ability to serve its customers. Flipkart would also set up its data centre at AdaniConneX Pvt.

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Sports

Daily snippets

1. Snippets - Wrestling : Eighteen year old Sonam Malik became the youngest Indian female wrestler to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics as the country bagged two quota places. Sonam and Anshu Malik reached the finals of 62kg and 57kg respectively to book their berths for the Tokyo Olympics. - Doping : Five sports persons, including well-known weightlifter Rakhi Halder and kabaddi player Ajay Thakur, have been provisionally suspended last month for anti-doping rule violation. Other athletes in this list are Greco Roman wrestler Manish, and race walke rs Sunil Vishwakarma (20km) and Vishvendra Singh (10km). - Sailing : The pair of Varun Thakkar and K.C. Ganapathy, along with Vishnu Saravanan, qualified for Tokyo Olympics in the 49er and laser standard classes respectively from the Asian Olympic sailing qualifiers. Nethra Kumanan assured herself a spot in the laser radial class category at the Tokyo Olympics, after finishing races nine and 10 in the first and second positions respectively of the Asian Olympic qualification sailing championships. The event, called the Mussanah Open, offered two Asian qualification spots each in the laser radial and laser standard classes and one in the other classes. - Chess : R. Praggnanandhaa won the prestigious Polgar Challenge and gained a berth to join the elite players in the next Meltwater Champions Chess Tour event. Praggnanandhaa (15.5 points) scored 14 victories, drew thrice and lost twice in the four day online rapid tournament and earned $3,000 for his efforts. Viswanathan Anand hailed the young champion.

2. FIFA suspends Pakistan and Chad - FIFA suspended the national football federations of Pakistan and Chad amid disputes about how they should be run. The Pakistan federation, known as the PFF, was suspended for “third-party interference” for the second time. The suspension for Chad comes after the African country’s government tried to dissolve the national federation and appoint new officials to run the sport.

3. Russian Olympic champions banned - Russian Olympic champions Andrei Silnov and Natalya Antyukh have each been banned for four years for doping oﬀences. Silnov and Antyukh were both charged last year with using or attempting to use a prohibited substance or method. The charges stemmed from a World Antidoping Agency investigation into Russian doping in 2016.

4. Davis Cup finals to be held in three cities - The 2021 Davis Cup Finals will be held in three cities, with Innsbruck and Turin joining Madrid as hosts, the International Tennis Federa tion (ITF) announced. The ITF said Madrid, Austrian city Innsbruck and Turin in Italy would host two of the six groups each, with the latter two both staging one quarterfinal. Madrid will host two last eight ties, the semifinals and the final. The 2020 tournament was called off due to complications posed by the pandemic.

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