Today News Diary on 26 February 2021

1. Assembly polls in four States, Puducherry begin on March 27; counting of votes on May 2
2.Eight core industries' output up 0.1% in January
3. Nodeep Kaur released from Haryana jail
4. Google users can now schedule delivery of their messages
5. India to supply four more mobile harbour cranes to Iran's Chabahar port
6. Yusuf Pathan announces retirement from all forms of cricket
7. Deepak Kumar upstages world champion Zoirov to enter finals of Strandja Memorial boxing

News in detail

1. Assembly polls in four States, Puducherry begin on March 27; counting of votes on May 2

Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora announced the poll schedule on February 26, 2021.
The Election Commission on Friday announced elections to the Assemblies of Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry and West Bengal, where polling would be held in eight phases.

Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said the votes in all five elections would be counted on May 2. Polling in Assam would be held in three phases, with voting on March 27, April 1 and April 6.

Kerala, TN, Puducherry to go to polls on April 6; 3 phase polling for Assam, 8-phase elections for Bengal

Elections in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry would be held in a single phase, with voting on April 6.

West Bengal would see elections in eight phases, up from seven phases in the last elections, Mr. Arora said. He said advance teams of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel had been sent to all poll-bound states and UT. 

With over 18 crore electors spread over 824 Assembly constituencies, the five elections are the largest electoral process to be held during the COVID-19 pandemic.

2.Eight core industries' output up 0.1% in January

The output of eight core infrastructure sectors grew marginally by 0.1% in January, mainly due to growth in the production of fertiliser, steel and electricity.

The core sectors had expanded by 2.2% in January 2020, according to the provisional data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Friday.

Coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, and cement recorded negative growth in January.

However, the output of fertiliser, steel and electricity in January grew by 2.7%, 2.6% and 5.1%, respectively.

During April-January 2020-21, the sectors' output declined by 8.8% against a growth rate of 0.8% in the same period of the previous year.

The eight core industries constitute 40.27% of the Index of Industrial Production.

3. Nodeep Kaur released from Haryana jail

The labour rights activist was arrested by Sonipat Police on January 12.
Labour rights activist Nodeep Kaur was on Friday released from a Haryana jail after the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted her bail in a case in which faces charges of attempt to murder, rioting among others, in an incident at Haryana’s Kundli of Sonipat district.

The 24-year-old activist, who was in the Karnal jail, was released after the bail order. Her counsel Arshdeep Singh Cheema told The Hindu that she was released late in the evening. She was arrested by the Sonipat Police on January 12.

Earlier in the day, Justice Avneesh Jhingan observed in his order that while dealing with the bail application, it would not be appropriate for the court to go in detailed discussion with regard to merits of the allegations.

“The contentions are being considered only for purpose of deciding grant of bail. As per the case of the petitioner, she was heading a peaceful protest for getting wages of the workers. On the other hand, the case of the State is that it was a case of vandalism and hooliganism.”

 Petitioner’s contention

As per the pleadings, the petitioner, along with some workers, was making a peaceful protest outside a factory premises in Kundli to raise grievances regarding non-payment of wages to some of the labourers. Whereas the case of the State was that the protest turned violent, police officials were attacked and in the process, injuries were inflicted to police personnel. There was also an attempt to snatch weapons from the police.

“... It would be appropriate to say that the right to peaceful protest is circumscribed by a thin line. The crossing of line may change the colour of protest. It would be subject matter of trial as to whether the line for peaceful protest was crossed in the alleged incident or not. Considering the material placed on record before this court, the issue with regard to invoking of Section 307, 332, 353 and 379-B IPC would be a debatable issue and to be considered during the trial,” observed the judge.

Mr. Jhingan said the petitioner was in custody since January 12. Albeit the matter was under investigation but that itself would not be a sufficient ground to deny personal liberty to the petitioner, he added.

“At this stage, no comment is being made on the video-recording produced in the pen drive before this court. However, it will suffice that the petitioner shall maintain a restrain while being on bail to ensure that no law and order issue arises due to her actions...Petitioner is ordered to be released on bail subject to her furnishing surety bonds to the satisfaction of the Chief Judicial Magistrate-Duty Magistrate concerned,” said the order.

Who is Nodeep Kaur, and why was she arrested?

On February 6, a tweet by U.S.-based lawyer Meena Harris in support of labour rights activist Nodeep Kaur sparked a social media debate on her arrest. Ms. Harris shared media reports alleging sexual assault on Ms. Kaur, who was arrested on January 12 and is still in custody. The local court had on February 2 denied bail to her in the case.

Nodeep’s sister had alleged that she was beaten up by the police, and she had injuries on private parts. However, she denied media reports alleging that Nodeep was sexually assaulted. The Haryana Police, meanwhile, has denied the allegations as “arbitrary” and released two videos to substantiate its claims.

Who is Nodeep Kaur?

Nodeep Kaur is a 23-year-old Dalit woman who hails from a family of activists in Punjab. Her parents are associated with a farmers’ union. Her sister Rajveer Kaur is a Ph.D student at Delhi University’s Department of Punjabi and a member of Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch.

Post lockdown, Ms. Nodeep started working at a factory in Haryana’s Sonipat to financially support her family. She had also joined the Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan, which works for the workers’ rights in the Kundli Industrial Area. She was also supportive of the farmers’ agitation.

Her sister Ms. Rajveer, in a tweet, said that Ms. Nodeep has a vision for complete equality and a society free from all sorts of oppression and exploitation, and this was the reason why she, and many others were arrested and put behind bars.

Circumstances of arrest

Ms. Nodeep was arrested by the Sonipat Police on January 12 on charges of attempt to murder, rioting, and assault to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty under the Indian Penal Code, among others.

The Sonipat Police said that a police team had gone to Kundli Industrial Area that day after they received information about the alleged manhandling of management and staff of an industrial unit, and attempts to extort money from them. According to police, Ms. Nodeep and her associates attacked the police with sticks, causing injuries to seven personnel. Following the incident, she was arrested, but her associates managed to escape.

Sharing videos of the alleged assault on the police team, the Sonipat Police, in a press statement, claimed that the police did not seek remand in the case. The accused was arrested, produced in court and sent to jail the same day within a few hours, it said. During her stay in police station, she was accompanied by two lady police personnel, it added.

Responding to allegations of torture, the police said: “She did not raise the issue of assault by police officers either before the Medical Officer or the Chief Judicial Magistrate.”

“Thus, the allegations put forward by the accused or her lawyer seems to be an afterthought and the Police Department clearly negates the said allegation,” said the statement.

Sonipat Superintendent of Police Jashandeep Singh Randhawa said that similar complaints of extortion were received against Nodeep earlier as well, and a case was registered on December 28, 2020. He added that she was not a part of the farmers’ agitation.

4. Google users can now schedule delivery of their messages

With the new send in messages feature, users can compose a message and schedule its delivery time.

Google is rolling out new features for Android users, including scheduling message delivery, dark theme in Google Maps, and password checkup.
With the new send in messages feature, users can compose a message and schedule its delivery time. They simply need to write the message, then hold and press the send button to select a date and time to deliver the message.

The feature could be useful for people who have their friends or loved ones in another time zones and different schedules. Google is rolling out the schedule send in Messages for phones running Android 7 and newer.

Devices with Android 9 and above will get password checkup feature that will let their users know if the password they used has been previously in an online data breach.

Whenever a user enters password into an app using Autofill with Google, Password Checkup will check those credentials. It will then alert users and guide them to check the password or change it, in case the credentials fall under the list of compromised passwords.

Dark mode in Maps
Dark mode seems to be in trend these days as increased screen time can cause screen fatigue. So, Google Maps is the latest app to get dark mode. Google said the feature will also save battery life.

Google has also unveiled a slew of features for Android auto including custom wallpapers, voice-activated games like trivia and Jeopardy.

It has also introduced shortcuts on the launch screen to allow users to access their contacts and call Assistant for other tasks. Besides, cars with wider screens can make use of a split-screen that features a real-time view of Google Maps and media controls.

5. India to supply four more mobile harbour cranes to Iran's Chabahar port

In January, India supplied a consignment of two mobile harbour cranes to the Chabahar port having a total contract value of over $25 million.
India will supply four more mobile harbour cranes to Iran's Chabahar port by the end of June this year, a government official said on Friday.

In January, India supplied a consignment of two mobile harbour cranes to the Chabahar port having a total contract value of over $25 million.

Located in the Sistan-Balochistan province on the energy-rich Iran's southern coast, the port is being developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan to boost trade ties.

"For Chabahar, presently cranes which are available are sufficient for operation of that port. Two more cranes are standing for loading near the port near Venice, which will reach by March end to this port. Two more will reach by June end," Ministry of Ports, Waterways and Shipping (MoPWS) Additional Secretary Sanjay Bandopadhyaya said during a briefing on Maritime India Summit 2021 to be held from March 2 to March 4.

Mr Bandopadhyaya said after mobile harbour cranes are delivered, there are plans to procure rail-mounted cranes for which bidding is going on.

"Till January 31, 2021, about 123 vessels have berthed at our terminal," he said, adding that approximately 13,752 TEUs and 18 lakh tonnes of bulk/ general cargo have been handled there and efforts are going on to improve the traffic at the Chabahar port.

Since 2017, he said India had sent consignment of 1.1 lakh tonnes of wheat, pulses and other assistance in over 4,800 containers to Afghanistan through Chabahar port.

The bilateral contract between Iran and India was signed on May 23, 2016 with a total value of $85 million for equipping, mechanising and starting operations at the port under the first phase.

In this regard, a special purpose vehicle -- India Ports Global Ltd (IPGL), Mumbai -- was incorporated under the shipping ministry.

Development of the Chabahar port will help in expansion of economic and mutual relations between India and Iran as well as give a further boost to the maritime trade between both the countries.

The location of the Chabahar port has strategic advantage and high potential to provide connectivity among India, Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, specially Eastern CIS nations, and boost trade.

6. Yusuf Pathan announces retirement from all forms of cricket

The all-rounder from Baroda played 57 ODIs and scored 810 runs at a strike-rate of 113.60 with two hundreds and three fifties. He also featured in 22 T20Is where he made 236 at a strike-rate of 146.58

India all-rounder Yusuf Pathan on Friday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, saying the time has come "to put a full stop to this innings of my life."

The 38-year-old Pathan was part of the inaugural T20 World Cup-winning side in 2007 and also the one that triumphed in the 2011 ODI World Cup at home.

Pathan, elder brother of former India seamer Irfan, played 57 ODIs and scored 810 runs at a strike-rate of 113.60 with two hundreds and three fifties. He also featured in 22 T20Is where he made 236 at a strike-rate of 146.58 and was also a part of Kolkata Knight Riders' triumphs in the Indian Premier League. He last played for India in 2012.

He had been going unsold in the past two IPL players' auctions.

7. Deepak Kumar upstages world champion Zoirov to enter finals of Strandja Memorial boxing

Asian silver-winner Deepak Kumar (52kg) on Friday stunned Olympic and world champion Shakhobiddin Zoirov of Uzbekistan to storm into the finals of the 72nd Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Deepak clinched one of the most memorable wins of his career with a 4-1 win over more fancied Zoirov, who had claimed the 2019 world championship title beating India’s Amit Panghal.

Zoirov is also a silver-medallist from the Asian Games and the championships.

In the quarterfinals on Thursday, Deepak defeated Bulgaria’s Darislav Vasilev 5-0.
However, former youth world champion Jyoti Gulia (51kg) and Bhagyabati Kachari (75kg) bowed out of the women’s competition.
India won three medals at the previous edition of the event (one silver and two bronze).