Tuesday, January 18, 2022

1. Vikram Dev Dutt appointed Air India Ltd. chief 
2. No State has reported starvation deaths, Centre tells SC 
3. KL Rahul set to lead Lucknow IPL franchise 
4. Israel warns against easing Iran sanctions, says it can unleash 'terror on steroids' 
5. Indonesia passes law to relocate capital to remote Borneo 
6. 11 dead as Saudi-led coalition bombs Yemen 
7. Allu Arjun’s ‘Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo’ to release in cinema halls in Hindi 
8. SC asks govt to explain admission of just 19 women in NDA 
9. Legendary cartoonist and illustrator Narayan Debnath passes away 
10. U-19 WC | Sri Lanka defeats Australia; Pak scores easy win over Zimbabwe 
11. Out of this world: 555.55-carat black diamond lands in Dubai 
12. Djokovic could be barred from Roland Garros 
13. Australian Open | Nadal, Barty and Osaka sail through on day 1; Kenin knocked out 
14. Twin earthquakes in western Afghanistan kill at least 22 
15. 90.84% of adult population received first dose, Centre tells SC 

SC asks govt to explain admission of just 19 women in NDA

Court gives Centre three weeks to file affidavit

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Union government to explain the admission of merely 19 women in the prestigious National Defence Academy (NDA) for 2022.

A Bench led by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul made it clear to Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Union, to come clear why the UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) had restricted women’s admissions to just 19 for the year.

The court also asked the Centre to place the figures on record the total number of candidates, including women, who appeared in the NDA, Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) and Rashtriya Military School (RMS) entrance tests.

“The figure is the same as for the 2021 test. Last year, you said that it was due to infrastructure problems that the intake of women will be less. Now, again for the year 2022, you have proposed to take the same number of women candidates. Why have you fixed this figure? You have to explain this. Nineteen seats cannot be for all times to come. It was only an ad hoc measure,” the Bench addressed the government.

No State has reported starvation deaths, Centre tells SC

Bench asks States to provide data on malnutrition, starvation deaths and other related issues within two weeks .The Supreme Court’s questions on hunger deaths drew a near blank from the Union government on Tuesday.

The government’s response skirted from urging the court to ask the States for data, making sweeping comments about malnutrition in “developing countries” to reading statistics out of a 2015 health survey report and a newspaper article.

“Why are you looking at a 2015-2016 report? Are you looking through that prism to say there are no starvation deaths now? So you have to look at a newspaper report?” a three-judge Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) N.V. Ramana, Justices A.S. Bopanna and Hima Kohli asked the Centre, represented by Attorney General K.K. Venugopal.

The debate began with the Bench referring to an affidavit filed by the Centre, which said that not a single State had reported starvation deaths.

“Can we understand that there are no starvation deaths in the country? Our limited question is whether your officers have the latest information on starvation deaths... Is there any survey report indicating whether starvation deaths are happening or not? Give us some data. Ask your officers to furnish some information,” the CJI asked Mr. Venugopal.

“Officers have said there is no such starvation deaths,” the top law officer replied at one point.

Advocate Ashima Mandla, for petitioners, intervened to submit that starvation deaths could only be detected through autopsy. She said the authorities have to make a conscious effort to identify starvation deaths or they could easily fall under the radar.

The CJI underscored that the “hunger of the poor on the streets has to be satisfied”.

Mr. Venugopal responded that the Centre was on the front foot in food welfare schemes. “We have 131 food related programmes,” he said.

“That malnutrition exists is not disputed by us. That community kitchens are needed is not disputed. The problem is the funding,” he observed. The States have to source the funds for community kitchen programmes by themselves, even if by additional taxation, and the panchayats were obliged under the Constitution to provide the logistics for distribution.

The Union government was already financially stretched by its own 131 food programmes. “We cannot divert money from the 131 programmes. We have a constraint for funds. We have the huge funding of 131 programmes to take care of... Government has so many welfare schemes,” he said.

The Bench asked the Centre to explore the possibility of a “model” community kitchen scheme by which it could support the States to ensure food security for the poor.

The Bench said it was not upto the judiciary to formulate a “uniform” community kitchen scheme for the States, but the Centre ought to do it in consultation with the States.

‘Model scheme’

“We cannot prepare a straitjacket and uniform scheme for the entire country... You can make a model scheme and leave it to the States to follow the guidelines depending on their individual food habits,” the Bench addressed Mr. Venugopal.

The Attorney General agreed to convey to the Union government the court’s suggestion to provide the States with an additional two per cent food grains.

The court asked the States to file reports on the status of malnutrition and hunger deaths in two weeks along with suggestions for community kitchen schemes.

Defence Minister responds to letters from CMs over rejections of State tableaux

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has conveyed to the Chief Ministers of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu that there exists a well-established system for selection of tableaux for participation in the Republic Day Parade (RDP), as per which Ministry of Defence invites proposals from all States, Union Territories, Central Ministries and Departments.

Mr. Singh was responding to letters from Ms. Mamata Banerjee and Mr. M.K. Stalin to the Prime Minister over the rejection of their State tableaux.

In the letter to the Tamil Nadu CM, Mr. Singh said, “For RDP-2022, a total of 29 proposals were received from States/ UTs including the proposal from State of Tamil Nadu. The tableaux from the State Government of Tamil Nadu was considered in the first three rounds of meetings. After the third round of meeting, the tableaux could not make it into the final list of 12 tableaux selected for participation in the RDP-2022.”

Mr. Singh further stated that tableaux from Tamil Nadu have been selected for participation in RDP during 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2021. “In view of the above details, you would appreciate that the selection of tableaux is as per the prescribed guidelines on the matter,” Mr. Singh said.

In his letter to the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr Singh said: “It was our government that celebrated the 75th anniversary of the government-in-exile of India led by Netaji in a grand manner in 2018 and honoured the surviving Soldiers of the Azad Hind Fauj in the Republic Day parade.”

“I would also like to tell you that this time the CPWD tableau has also paid tribute to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose on his 125th birth anniversary,” he added.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Ms. Banerjee said the people of Bengal were “deeply pained” by the Government of India’s decision.

Explaining the selection process, Mr. Singh said the tableaux proposals received are evaluated in a series of meetings of the Expert Committee comprising eminent persons in the field of art, culture, painting, sculpture, music, architecture, choreography etc. The Expert Committee examines the proposals on the basis of theme, concept, design and its visual impact before making its recommendations. “As per the time slot allotted for tableaux in the overall duration of the parade, short listing of tableaux is done by the Expert Committee.

A Defence official said on Tuesday that a total of 21 tableaux including from nine ministries and government departments were selected this year. The States from which tableaux have been selected include Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Indonesia passes law to relocate capital to remote Borneo

Mr. Jokowi, as the president is known, first announced the plan in 2019, but progress was delayed by the pandemic.

Indonesia's parliament has approved a bill to relocate the nation's capital from Jakarta to a jungled area of Kalimantan on Borneo island, the planning minister said on Tuesday.

The new state capital law, which provides a legal framework for President Joko Widodo's ambitious $32 billion mega project, stipulates how development of the capital will be funded and governed.

"The new capital has a central function and is a symbol of the identity of the nation, as well as a new centre of economic gravity," planning minister, Suharso Monoarfa, told parliament after the bill was passed into law on Tuesday.

The new centre will be called "Nusantara", a Javanese name for the Indonesian archipelago chosen by the president, Mr. Monoarfa announced on Monday.

Plans to relocate the government from Jakarta, a bustling megacity of 10 million people that suffers from chronic congestion, floods and air pollution, have been floated by multiple presidents, but none have made it this far.

Mr. Jokowi, as the president is known, first announced the planin 2019, but progress was delayed by the pandemic.

Southeast Asia's largest economy has envisioned the newcapital as a low-carbon "superhub" that will support pharmaceutical, health and technology sectors and promote sustainable growth beyond Java island.