Quote of the Day January 11, 2023

 

“When you choose your friends, don't be short-changed by choosing personality over character.”
W. Somerset Maugham

“जब आप अपने मित्रों का चयन करते हैं तो चरित्र के स्थान पर व्यक्तित्व को न चुनें।”
डब्ल्यू सोमरसेट मोघम

Current Affairs-January 1, 2023.

 

INDIA

• Assam merges 4 districts and redraws boundaries ahead of Election Commission’s (EC) delimitation deadline.
• New integrated Food Security Scheme to be rolled out from January 1, 2023.
• India assumes the chairmanship of the plenary of the Wassenaar Arrangement.
• Government spent Rs 13,000 crore on cleaning Ganga since 2014.
• 50 of India’s 3,693 centrally protected monuments are missing, according to the Ministry of Culture.
• Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issues cyber alert for G20 Summit, shared a list of cyber attackers targeted G20 Summits with all ministries and departments.
• Defence Ministry starts process for the procurement of 100 more K9-Vajra tracked self-propelled howitzers.

ECONOMY

• Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has elevated Ajay Kumar Srivastava as MD and CEO.
• Centre signs pact with Institute of Veterinary Biological Products (IVBP) for commercial production of ‘Lumpi-ProVac’, a vaccine for lumpy skin disease in cattle.
• Transport consultancy and engineering firm RITES inks pact with Kerala’s KIIFCON for consultancy projects.

WORLD

• Former Pope Benedict XVI, passed away aged 95. In 2013, he became the first pontiff to resign in 600 years.
• International convention of Theosophical Society commences at headquarters in Chennai.
• India abstains from voting on UN resolution on Israel

SPORTS

• Magnus Carlsen wins all three world chess championship titles for the third time in his career

Current Affairs- January 2, 2023.

 

INDIA

• International Year of Millets (IYM) 2023 begins with Activities by Central Ministries, State Governments and Indian Embassies.
• India has asked Pakistan to release and repatriate 631 Indian fishermen and two civilian prisoners.
• India will sign a “Comprehensive Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement” (MMPA) with Austria.
• Anil Kumar Lahoti takes over charge of new Chairman & CEO of Railway Board
• Uttar Pradesh panel on OBC quota to submit first report in 3 months.
• Supreme Court to pronounce its verdict today on pleas against Demonetization
• Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh briefs media about ‘2023 Science Vision’ at New Delhi
• Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Amazon collaborate for future engineer program.

ECONOMY

• Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das launched central bank’s medium-term strategy framework titled ‘Utkarsh 2.0’ .
• India’s Gross GST collection in December goes up by 15 per cent to nearly Rs 1.5 lakh crore
• CMIE Report: Unemployment rate rises to 8.3% in Dec., highest in 16 months.
• India’s forex reserves dropped by USD 691 million to USD 562.808 billion: RBI Data.

WORLD

• Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office for a third term as President of Brazil
• Croatia switched to the Euro and entered Europe’s borderless zone
• Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal inaugurates Pokhara Regional International Airport
• SpaceX launches 54 upgraded Starlink internet satellites; nails rocket landing at sea in 60th flight of the year.

SPORTS

• Yuki Bhambri and Ramkumar Ramanathan enter 2nd round in Men’s Singles event at Maharashtra Open tennis
• BCCI has re-introduced Yo-Yo test and Dexa scan results as criteria for selection of players.

Current Affairs-January 3, 2023.

 

INDIA

• Guyana’s President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, US-based businessman Darshan Singh Dhaliwal, and DSB Group CEO Piyush Gupta are among 21 recipients of the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award.
• Supreme Court will launch a project providing free access to official law reports of its verdicts to law students, lawyers and the general public.
• DPIIT floats draft quality control orders (QCO) for 16 light-engineering industry products, including air coolers, bicycles and bottled water dispensers.
• No rhinos were poached in the state of Assam in 2022, the first time since 2000.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the 108th Indian Science Congress (ISC).
• Centre constitutes Committee to discuss measures to protect Ladakh’s unique culture, language and employment.
• Supreme Court upholds Centre’s 2016 decision to demonetise currency notes of 500 and 1000 rupee denominations.

ECONOMY

• International Monetary Fund (IMF) Chief Georgieva warns of ‘Tough Year’ for World Economy.
• RBI announced that SBI, ICICI and HDFC Bank continue to be Systemically Important.
• UPI Payments Touch Record High of ₹12.82 lakh crore in December.
• Google challenges CCI ruling in Android case before National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).
• DPIIT Lists 20 Restrictive norms of Ministries that violate ‘Make in India’ Plan.
• India’s manufacturing output rises to 13 month high in December.

WORLD

• Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been sworn in as the 39th president of Brazil.
• Canada bans most Foreigners from buying Homes, to make more homes available to locals facing a housing crunch.
• South Korea and US are planning joint exercises involving American nuclear assets.
• Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan announces parallel government with full Cabinet.

SPORTS

• World No. 2 Rafael Nadal faced a second-straight defeat at the United Cup.
• Vaidehi Chaudhari wins ITF women’s tournament singles in Gwalior after beating top seed Ksenia Laskutova.

Current Affairs- January 4, 2023

 

INDIA

• Supreme Court observed that all religious conversions cannot be presumed by a State to be illegal.
• King Charles III of UK held a telephone conversation on India’s G-20 Presidency with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• An invertebrate survey was undertaken in the Thiruvananthapuram Wildlife Division.
• Captain Shiva Chouhan becomes first women officer operationally deployed at Kumar Post, Siachen.
• HC asks Delhi Government to ensure free food, treatment to poor HIV-positive persons.
• Department of Posts releases special cover on Institute of Mathematical Sciences.
• President Droupadi Murmu will inaugurate the 18th National Scout and Guide Jamboree in Rajasthan.
• UIDAI introduces Head of the Family (HoF)-based online address update in Aadhar.
• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh virtually inaugurates Bailey Suspension Bridge over river Chenab in Jammu division.

ECONOMY

• The government kept the interest rate unchanged at 7.1 per cent for the subscribers of the General Provident Fund and other similar funds.
• Government exempts PSUs from the minimum 25 per cent public float requirement.
• India and Asian Development Bank sign several loan agreements to boost infrastructure sector.
• Google alleges CCI copied parts of EU ruling on Android abuse.
• Government raises windfall tax on crude oil, export of diesel and ATF

WORLD

• India starts probe into circuit board dumping by China and Hong Kong
• Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland replace India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico and Norway in U.N. Security Council.
• U.S. carries out first execution of a transgender person
• South Korea fines Tesla USD 2.2 million for EV range exaggeration
• Japan plans to boost financial support to households to move away from the capital city Tokyo.

SPORTS

• Tata Open Maharashtra: India’s Ramkumar Ramanathan enters doubles quarter-finals.
• BCCI floats tender to own and operate a Women’s IPL team.
• Ranji Trophy: Saurashtra captain Jaydev Unadkat became the first bowler to take a hat-trick in the first over.

Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2023 Toolkit

 Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2023 Toolkit was launched at the Technical Session on “Rural WASH Partnerships – the way forward”

About the Technical Session on “Rural WASH Partnerships – the way forward”

• Technical Session on “Rural WASH Partnerships – the way forward” was organized on the second day of the 7^th India Water Week.
• It was organized by the Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation (DDWS), which comes under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti.
• The technical session, chaired by Minister of Jal Shakti, focused on how collaborations with academia, experts and others in WASH sector can help achieve the goals of two flagship programmes of the DDWS – the Jal Jeevan Mission and Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen Phase II.
• During the event, the toolkit for Swachh Survekshan Grameen (SSG) 2023 and a web portal for “Twinpit to Retrofit Abhiyan” was launched.

What is Swachh Survekshan Grameen?

Swachh Survekshan Grameen has been conducted by the DDWS since 2018 under the Swachh Bharat Mission. This initiative aims to rank states and districts based on their performance on key quantitative and qualitative Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) parameters that assesses the sanitation status of rural regions in India.

Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2023 is set to be conducted by the DDWS, in a more competitive and participatory manner. The Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2023 Toolkit has information related to the various stages of assessment, baseline rankings of the panchayats and districts based on their ODF plus progress recorded in the SBM-G Integrated Management Information System (IMIS).

What is India Water Week?

The India Water Week is organized every year by the Jal Shakti Ministry. The 7^th edition was inaugurated on November 1, 2022 at the India Expo Centre in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The DDWS has set up 20 stalls at the India Water Week 2022, focusing on state-of-the-art WASH technologies, innovations and solutions. The EU, Finland, Germany and Israel have taken part in this event.

The power of the PIL

 Unfortunately, the age-old proverb, ‘justice delayed is justice denied’, remains relevant today

When Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer and Justice P.N. Bhagwati of the Supreme Court pioneered the concept of public interest litigation in India in the 1980s, little did they know about the far-reaching consequences of their initiative. Whereas political executives are yet to digest ‘judicial activism’, members of civil society, who were not directly involved in a particular case, got a chance to agitate in the court on matters relating to public interest.

Those who suffered silently in organised violence rarely got justice in the past. In March 1970, when the brothers of the Sain family of Burdwan were brutally killed by the Left cadres, the violence shook the conscience of the nation. In August 1971, nearly 100 youths having allegiance to leftists were killed over a span of 30 hours in Calcutta’s Baranagar. The culprits were never brought to book and the families never got back the bodies of the dead. In April 1982, 16 monks and a nun of Ananda Marga were dragged out of their vehicles simultaneously in three different places on and around Bijon Setu in Calcutta in broad daylight, beaten to death, and then set on fire, sending shivers down the spine of civil society. None of these incidents witnessed an effective inquiry; no one was booked; the administration colluded with the goons to sweep the crimes under the carpet.

If any such horror were to take place today, sympathisers of the sufferers would have filed a PIL in high court, seeking a court-monitored inquiry by the Central investigating agency so as to book the propagators of the crime. That’s the power of the PIL, which gave the requisite strength and direction to the judiciary. There have been so many riots in past but for the first time after the Delhi riot (1984) and, subsequently, after the riot at Godhra in Gujarat (2002), those who indulged in organising the violence were booked. We have heard of so many cases of corruption at the highest levels; for the first time, the all-powerful former chief ministers of Bihar and Haryana had to go to jail after their conviction on charges of corruption. If these were indications of ‘judicial activism’, civil society looks forward to such activism from the judiciary at a time when the bitterness of competitive politics has divided society.

In a bid to control the judiciary, political executives are critical of the collegiums system that empowers the Supreme Court to select the judges of the higher judiciary. There is sufficient scope to check the integrity of the persons proposed to be appointed in the existing process by the government through the Central Bureau of Investigation. Yet, political bosses demand that the system of ‘appointing judges by the judges’ should end. If the collegium system is replaced by a system of selection by the Union government, there is every possibility that the people’s perception of the judiciary being neutral will be jeopardised.

However, this does not mean that everything is fine with the judicial system. We need to have an objective assessment of the productivity of the higher judiciary. Do we need so many long vacations in the courts when nearly 60,000 cases are reportedly pending in the Supreme court itself ? It is learnt that the apex court has 193 working days in a year; high courts have 210 days. While assessing productivity, we need not go by the practices being followed in Australia or in the United States of America. We should have our own norms as in any other profession. There have been numerous initiatives by the government towards the computerization of court work and for making virtual hearings a reality. More needs to be done in this sphere to raise the output of the judges.

Judges are amply compensated for their notable contributions. Society may thus legitimately expect that the members of the higher judiciary also give their best to ensure quick disposal of cases without compromising the quality of verdicts. Unfortunately, the age-old proverb, ‘justice delayed is justice denied’, remains relevant today.

Gautam Bhattacharya

Source: The Telegraph, 10/01/23