TODAY NEWS ON September 12, 2024

News Headlines for CAT,CLAT and IPM aspirants

Source: The Hindu

Headlines in Detail:

Pro-Khalistan activist Gurpatwant Pannun backs Rahul Gandhi’s statements on Sikhs in India
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the U.S.-based pro-Khalistan attorney, has backed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s take on Sikhs in India, saying that Mr. Gandhi “justified SFJ’s global Khalistan Referendum campaign”. Mr. Pannun is the general counsel to Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a group based in the U.S. In his statement released Wednesday (September 11, 2024) — which The Hindu has seen — Mr. Pannun said that Mr. Gandhi’s quip on the “existential threat to Sikhs in India” was bold and historically accurate.

Centre suspends permission for manufacture and marketing of eye drops claiming to do away with reading glasses
Following last week’s controversy over a pharmaceutical company’s claims that its eye drops could lead to reading glasses not being needed for presbyopia, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), on Tuesday (September 10, 2024), suspended, till further orders, the company’s permission to manufacture and market its product. In its notification, the CDSCO said no prior approval was obtained by the company to be able to make the claims that it had for its drugs. It also said that in view of public interest and due to the likelihood of the general public being misled by these claims, permission had been suspended.

Cabinet nod for free health cover to all those 70 years and above
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved health coverage to all the senior citizens aged 70 and above irrespective of income under the flagship scheme, Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY).

Haryana Assembly polls: Congress declares 40 more candidates
A day ahead of the deadline to submit nomination papers for the Assembly election in Haryana, the Congress named 40 more candidates late on Wednesday (September 11, 2024) night

Uttar Pradesh court awards life term for Islamic preacher, 11 others in conversion case
A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Lucknow on Wednesday (September 11, 2024) sentenced Islamic scholar and preacher Maulana Kalim Siddiqui along with 11 others to life imprisonment in an illegal religious conversion case.

Developed border areas act as deterrence to adversary’s claims: Army Chief
Our objective is to transform the villages along the Northern borders, especially in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Arunachal Pradesh, which are suffering from limited connectivity and infrastructure, into a ‘Model Village’, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Wednesday (September 11, 2024). We aim to connect them to the mainstream of development, he stated.

Pilgrims to wear helmets for Kedarnath yatra ‘danger zones’
A day after five pilgrims died in a landslide while returning from the Kedarnath temple, an official in Uttarakhand said pilgrims would now have to wear helmets around the ‘danger zones’ on the yatra route, especially in the rainy season.

Cabinet approves ₹2,000-crore ‘Mission Mausam’
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved ‘Mission Mausam’ on Wednesday (September 11, 2024) with an outlay of ₹2,000 crore over two years.

Haryana Cabinet recommends dissolution of State Assembly
The Haryana State Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, on Wednesday (September 11, 2024) gave its nod to a proposal to dissolve the 14th State Assembly, according to an official statement. The proposal will be sent to Governor Bandaru Dattatreya for approval.

Waqf Bill: both Hindu and Muslim groups speed up campaigns urging people to send suggestions to Parliamentary panel
With just two days left for the last date for submission of suggestions from the public to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) formed to examine the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, both Muslim and Hindu organisations have intensified their campaigns to ensure that people send their feedback to the government.

U.K. sanctions ten ships from Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’
The U.K. government, on Wednesday, announced sanctions on a “shadow fleet” of ten Russian oil tankers that it has alleged were circumventing Western oil sanctions.

New scheme to provide ‘digital identities’ to fishery industry workers
Union Minister for Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Rajiv Ranjan Singh said in New Delhi on Wednesday (September 11, 2024) that the Centre working to increase the seafood exports to ₹1 lakh crore annually from around ₹60,000 crore in the last financial year.

Centre to nudge banks to fund renewable energy projects
To help meet India’s ₹30 trillion funding requirements for installing 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is in talks with financial institutions, public and private sector banks, urging them to commit a portion of their loans to renewable energy projects.

ED attaches fresh assets of Nirav Modi
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Mumbai Zonal Office has provisionally attached proceeds of crime in the form of immovable properties and bank balances amounting to ₹29.75 Crore in the case of PNB Bank fraud by Nirav Modi , ED officials said in a press statement on September 11, 2024. 

Bengal government calls doctors for talks again; doctors demand Mamata’s presence, live telecast
Agitating junior doctors on Wednesday (September 11, 2024) evening demanded that a 30-member delegation be allowed to attend a meeting to resolve the R.G. Kar hospital impasse in presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. In an email reply sent at 5.23 p.m. to the Chief Secretary, who had invited them to the meeting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday (September 11, 2024), the medics also mentioned two other demands that the meeting should be live telecast to keep it transparent. The junior doctors, however, did not clarify whether they would be present at the meeting to be held at the state secretariat.

Supreme Court agrees to set up Bench to hear pleas of States on recovery of royalty, tax dues on minerals
The Supreme Court on Wednesday (September 11, 2024) said it will set up a Bench to hear subsequent pleas of mineral-rich States like Jharkhand seeking to recover royalty and tax dues on mineral rights and mineral-bearing lands worth thousands of crore of rupees from the Centre and mining firms. On July 25, a nine-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, in a majority 8:1 verdict, had ruled that the legislative power to tax mineral rights vests in States and not Parliament.

Madrasas ‘unfit’ places for children to receive proper education: NCPCR submits in Supreme Court
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), the top child rights protection body in the country, has told the Supreme Court that madrasas are “unsuitable or unfit” places for children to receive “proper education”. The Commission said the textbooks in madrasas “profess supremacy of Islam”. “Merely teaching a few NCERT Books in the curriculum is a mere guise in the name of imparting education and does not ensure that the children are receiving formal and quality education,” it argued.

Typhoon Yagi: 143 dead, 58 missing after powerful storm hits Vietnam
The number of people dead after Typhoon Yagi swept through northern Vietnam has risen to 143, the government said on Wednesday (September 11, 2024), with 58 still missing. Around 210,000 hectares of crops have been destroyed, ministry of agriculture officials said. It was unclear whether the death toll included landslide victims. Yagi was the strongest typhoon to hit the Southeast Asian country in decades. It made landfall on Saturday with winds of up to 149 kph and despite weakening on Sunday, downpours have continued and rivers remain dangerously high.

Israel intensified airstrikes on Iran-linked targets in Syria
“Israel has intensified airstrikes on Iranian-linked targets in Syria, inflicting civilian casualties on at least three occasions,” an independent United Nations commission said Tuesday (September 10, 2024). Since the Israel-Hamas war began nearly a year ago, Israel has conducted dozens of airstrikes in different parts of Syria. Iran blamed Israel for the April airstrike on Iranian consular offices in Damascus that killed seven people, including two Iranian generals, and Tehran responded with an unprecedented attack against Israel almost two weeks later.

Key takeaways from Donald Trump-Kamala Harris debate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump and Kamala Harris faced each other on the debate stage Tuesday (September 10, 2024) night for the first — and possibly the last — time. The Democratic Vice President opened the faceoff, marching across the stage to Trump’s lectern to shake his hand.

Bangladesh ramps up border vigilance as thousands of Rohingya flee Myanmar
Bangladesh has ramped up vigilance at its border with Myanmar, with at least 18,000 Rohingya Muslims crossing over in recent months to escape escalating violence in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state, officials in Dhaka said. The influx of refugees from Myanmar has mounted as fighting escalates between the troops of the ruling junta and the Arakan Army, the powerful ethnic militia that recruits from the Buddhist majority.

Hindenburg joins Congress’ allegations on SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch
Hindenburg Research accused Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch of not responding to “emerging issues”, a day after the Congress accused her of having 99% stake in a consultancy company that provided services to entities regulated by SEBI. In its post on X, the short seller research firm said that Agora Advisory, a consultancy firm that it said was owned by Ms. Buch, provided services to listed entities including Mahindra and Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Dr. Reddy’s and Pidilite, while she was serving as a whole time member in SEBI. Similar allegations were levelled by the Congress on Tuesday (September 10, 2024) in a press briefing, which Dr. Reddy’s, Pidilite and Mahindra and Mahindra had denied in regulatory filings.

2023 ODI World Cup in India generated economic impact of $1.39 billion: ICC
The 2023 ODI World Cup in India created an “economic impact” of $1.39 billion with tourism among the biggest beneficiaries, according to a report released by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday (September 11, 2024). The Economic Impact Assessment conducted by Nielsen for the ICC, claimed that the mega-event held in October-November last year was the biggest ever ODI World Cup.