TODAY NEWS ON July 02, 2024

News Headlines for CAT, CLAT and IPM aspirants

From The Hindu

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National News

• Medha Patkar Sentenced in Defamation Case
• New Criminal Laws Implementation
• Below-Normal Rainfall in June
• NEET-UG Revised Rank List
• Engineer Rashid's Oath as MP
• India's Power Consumption Rises
• Dinesh Karthik Joins RCB as Mentor
• Manufacturing PMI and Employment
• Maharashtra Legislative Council Election
• GST Collections Growth
• Spectrum Auction Payment
• New Head Coach for Team India
• Census Administrative Boundaries Deadline

International News

• Trump Immunity Ruling
• Pakistani Court Sentences Christian Man
• Kenya Protest Deaths
• South African Coalition Government
• Hungary's EU Presidency
• French Legislative Elections
• Macron's Far-Right Opposition

Headlines in Detail

Activist Medha Patkar sentenced to five months jail in defamation case

A Delhi court on July 1 sentenced social activist and Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar to five months of imprisonment in a more than two-decade-old criminal defamation case lodged against her by Vinai Kumar Saxena, the present Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi. Metropolitan Magistrate Raghav Sharma also imposed a fine of ₹10 lakh on Ms. Patkar. The court sentenced Ms. Patkar after considering the evidence before it and the fact that the case went on for over two decades.

Crimes committed before July 1 to be tried under old laws, says Amit Shah

As the new criminal laws are implemented from July 1, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the laws will be applicable for cases if the date of crime is on or after July 1, 2024. Mr. Shah spoke to reporters in New Delhi on the newly-enacted criminal laws namely, The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) that has replaced the colonial-era criminal codes Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (IEA).

India recorded below-normal cumulative rainfall in June: IMD

India recorded below-normal rainfall in June, with the deficit standing at 11%, the highest in five years, the India Meteorological Department said on July 1. According to the IMD data, India received 147.2 mm of rainfall against a normal of 165.3 mm for the month, the seventh lowest since 2001. June rainfall accounts for 15% of the total precipitation of 87 cm recorded during the four-month monsoon season in the country.

NTA announces retest result, revised rank list for NEET-UG

The National Testing Agency announced the revised rank list for the medical entrance exam NEET-UG on July 1, officials said. The revised list was announced after a retest was conducted for candidates who were earlier awarded grace marks to compensate for loss of time as the exam on May 5 started late at six centres.

NIA allows Engineer Rashid to take oath as MP, court to give order tomorrow

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on July 1 gave its consent for jailed Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdul Rashid, known as Engineer Rashid, to take oath as MP on July 5. Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh will pass an order on the plea on July 2. Rashid, the MP from Baramulla who has been arrested in a 2017 Jammu and Kashmir terror funding case, had moved the court seeking interim bail, or custody parole in the alternative, to take oath and perform his parliamentary functions. A special court here on June 22 had adjourned the matter and asked the NIA to file its response.

Supreme Court rules on Trump immunity, delaying trial

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on July 1 that Donald Trump enjoys some immunity from prosecution as a former President, a ruling that will likely delay his trial for conspiring to overturn the 2020 election . The 6-3 decision split along ideological lines comes four months ahead of the election in which Mr. Trump is the Republican candidate to take on Democrat Joe Biden. Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts, in his majority opinion, said a President enjoys “absolute immunity” from criminal prosecution for official acts taken while in office.

Pakistani court sentences Christian man to death for posting hateful content against Muslims

A court in Pakistan sentenced a Christian man to death for sharing what it said was hateful content against Muslims on social media after one of the worst mob attacks on Christians in the eastern Punjab province last year, his lawyer said on July 1, adding he will appeal the verdict. In August 2023, groups of Muslim men burned dozens of homes and churches in the city of Jaranwala after some residents claimed they saw two Christian men tearing out pages from Islam’s holy book, the Koran, throwing them on the ground and writing insulting remarks on other pages, authorities said. The two men were later arrested.

India’s power consumption rises nearly 9% to 152.38 billion units in June

India’s power consumption rose by nearly 9% to 152.38 billion units (BU) in June compared to the year-ago period mainly due to scorching heat which forced excessive use of cooling appliances like air conditioners and desert coolers. In June 2023, the power consumption stood at 140.27 BU, according to official data. The highest supply in a day (peak power demand met) also rose to 245.41 GW in June 2024 against 223.29 GW in the year-ago month. The peak power demand was recorded at 224.10 GW in June 2023.

Dinesh Karthik named Royal Challengers Bengaluru Mentor

Royal Challengers Bengaluru, on Monday, announced the recently retired Dinesh Karthik as its batting coach and mentor. As a player, the former India wicketkeeper-batter had two different stints with RCB, with the most recent being from 2022 to 2024. During this period, RCB reached the IPL Playoffs twice, in 2022 and 2024, and the 39-year-old played an instrumental role both times.

New criminal laws to prioritise justice instead of punishment: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday that it would take up to three-four years for the “entire process” and relevant “technical aspects” of the three criminal laws to become fully applicable. After the entire process was implemented, a person would get justice even from the Supreme Court within three years of registration of the First Information Report (FIR). Mr. Shah said the new laws would prioritise justice instead of punishment.

June PMI signals manufacturing recovery, fresh hires at 19-year high

Manufacturing activity rebounded in June after losing some traction in May, with an uptick in new orders, output and input purchases, even as producers raised goods’ prices by the greatest extent in more than two years, and scaled up hiring to the highest level in at least 19 years, as per a survey-based index. The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) increased to 58.3 in June, from May’s 57.5, indicating a sharper improvement in business conditions. A reading of over 50 on the index signals a rise in activity levels.

Macron aims to thwart French far right in election runoff

French President Emmanuel Macron and his allies were on July 1 beginning a week of intense campaigning ahead of the second round of legislative elections to prevent the far-right from taking an absolute majority and control of government in a historic first. The far-right National Rally (RN) party of Marine Le Pen won a resounding victory in the first round of the polls on June 30, with Mr. Macron’s centrists trailing in third behind a left-wing coalition. But the key suspense ahead of the second round on July 7 was whether the RN would win an absolute majority in the new National Assembly, enabling it to form a government and make Ms. Le Pen’s protege Jordan Bardella, 28, Prime Minister.

Shiv Sena (UBT) retains two seats, BJP wins one in Maharashtra Legislative Council election

After registering morale-boosting victories in the recently concluded Lok Sabha election, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has won two out of the four seats it contested in the biennial Maharashtra Legislative Council election. The ruling Mahayuti alliance retained its Konkan Graduates seat. The results for the biennial election to the Upper House of the State Legislature were announced on Monday. Polling was held on June 26.

Govt. yet to decide on extending dates to freeze administrative boundaries

The deadline to freeze administrative boundaries of districts, tehsils, towns, municipal bodies among others ended on June 30, 2024. It had not been extended till July 1, Monday. A senior government official told The Hindu that a “decision is yet to be taken and discussions are being held” on the issue. The ambiguity has a direct impact on the dates of the next Census exercise that was last held in 2011. The deadline has been extended nine times since December 2020. A former Census official said an order for a “post-facto” extension could also be issued on a later date but if it was not extended it meant doors were open for the next Census exercise in the next three-six months.

Kenyan president insists government not to blame for protest deaths

Hundreds of people marched in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on June 30, to honour those who died in anti-government demonstrations this week, as President William Ruto insisted that: “I have no blood on my hands.” Rights groups say at least 30 people died in protests driven by a government drive to substantially raise taxes in the East African country.

South African parties agree on Cabinet positions, sealing deal on new coalition government

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa named a new Cabinet on June 30 night after his African National Congress (ANC), the former main Opposition party and nine other parties agreed on the makeup of a coalition government following weeks of haggling. Mr. Ramaphosa’s party retained the largest share of Ministerial positions as he appointed ANC officials to 20 of the 32 Cabinet Minister roles in the new coalition. But there were six Ministers from the Democratic Alliance, once the main Opposition and the fiercest critic of the ANC, and Mr. Ramaphosa shared the remaining Ministerial posts among some of the smaller parties.

Hungary takes on European Union presidency amid concerns

Hungary takes over the European Union’s (EU) rotating presidency on July 1, promising to be an “honest broker” despite widespread concerns over what critics see as an authoritarian, Russia-friendly government. .Nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has run the central European country since 2010 aiming to transform it into an “illiberal democracy”, frequently clashes with Brussels over rule-of-law and human rights issues.

GST collections show 7.7% growth, slowest increase since July 2021

The gross Goods and Services Tax collections in June stood at around ₹1.74 lakh crore, as per sources, reflecting a rise of around 7.7% from the ₹1,61,497 crore collected in June 2023. This marks the slowest growth in GST collections since July 2021 and is well below the 10% and 12.4% growth recorded in May and April, respectively, this year. While data for Central and State GST collections is not available, an official source said that about ₹39,600 crore has been settled to the central GST account from Integrated GST collections, while States have been given ₹33,548 crore from the IGST pool.

Spectrum auction: DoT to issue demand note to telcos this week for payment

The telecom department is expected to issue a demand note to telcos this week for the payment of spectrum they bought in the just-concluded auction, according to a source. The auction — lasted for two days spanning seven rounds this time around— witnessed the sale of 141.4 MHz of radio waves for ₹11,340.78 crore. In all, 10,500 MHz of radiowaves used for mobile services worth over ₹96,238 crore were placed on the block during the auction started on June 25.

Team India’s new head coach to take charge from Sri Lanka series: BCCI secretary Jay Shah

The Indian cricket team will have a new head coach from the limited-overs series in Sri Lanka starting later this month, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said on Monday but did not reveal who has been finalised to succeed the outgoing Rahul Dravid. Former opener Gautam Gambhir is expected to succeed Dravid as the India head coach. The Cricket Advisory Committee has also conducted the interviews for the high-profile job and short-listed Gambhir and former India women’s coach W.V. Raman.

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