Month: August 2022

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to Centre and others on a batch plea filed by Indian students who have been evacuated from Ukraine and seeking permission to continue medical study in India.

A bench headed by justice Hemant Gupta issued notice on the plea and listed the matter in September.
The plea was filed by evacuated students, who have sought the urgent indulgence of this court in light of the extraordinary situation which has presented itself in the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine war crisis which has gravely impeded their education. The unfortunate events in Ukraine have led to the evacuation of students and consequently, their education has inevitably come to a stand-still.

One of the petitions filed through advocate Ashwarya Sinha said that the education of about 14,000 evacuated Indian students has come to a complete halt as their careers stand to be irreparably jeopardized and their fundamental rights protected under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India have become illusory.

The advocate also said the evacuated students, including the petitioners herein, are going through immense mental hardship and agony since their entire career hangs in ambiguity and their education has virtually come to a standstill since February 2022, with no foreseeable restoration of peace in the war-torn country.

“The unfortunate situation which has transpired in the present case is that the petitioners are neither in a position to resume their education at their respective institutions in Ukraine nor permitted to continue their education at institutions in India under the present regulations,” the petition said.

Therefore, the petitioners have also sought to issue an appropriate direction under Section 45 of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, upon the NMC to frame guidelines and SOPs for the migration of Indian medical students who have been evacuated from Ukraine to Indian Medical Colleges as a one-time measure in the equivalent academic year.

The petition also sought to issue direction upon the Centre to issue necessary directions under Section 46 of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019; and an appropriate direction upon the respondents to provide adequate infrastructural/academic and financial support for the continuation of medical education of the evacuated Indian students from Ukraine.

The petition also sought to formulate guidelines by exercising jurisdiction conferred under Article 142 of the Constitution of India in light of the extraordinary situation on account of the ongoing war in Ukraine for protecting the interests of the evacuated students and their migration to Indian Medical Colleges. (ANI)

China on Friday renewed an orange alert for high temperatures, as sweltering heat waves continue in many regions of the country.

Parts of Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong are expected to experience high temperatures of 35 to 39 degrees Celsius, Xinhua news agency reported citing China’s National Meteorological Center.
During the daytime, temperatures in Sichuan, Chongqing, Hunan, Jiangxi and Fujian may exceed 40 degrees Celsius, the meteorological centre said.

The centre advised the public to avoid outdoor activities during high-temperature periods and suggested workers shorten periods where they are exposed to high temperatures.

Local governments have been advised to take protective steps against fires triggered by electrical overloads.

China has a four-tier, colour-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

Amid high temperatures in various parts of the country, the Beijing authorities have advised local authorities to take emergency measures against heatwaves, suspend outdoor work that is exposed to high temperatures, pay close attention to fire safety and take particular care of vulnerable groups.

Sun Shao, a senior research fellow from the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, told the Global Times, that this year’s heat wave is the strongest since China started meteorological observations in 1961, and the longest.

Last week that the Yangtze River basin had the lowest summer rainfall in six decades, an official from the Ministry of Water Resources (MWR) said.

Since the beginning of July, the south, central and southwest regions of China have experienced droughts as a result of low precipitation and high temperatures, according to the National Meteorological Center.

The centre observed that droughts above moderate level now linger in some areas of Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou, Chongqing, Sichuan and Tibet.

Dry weather will continue in the aforementioned regions in the following three days, it said.

The observatory advised these regions to keep a close eye on meteorological changes and produce artificial rainfall when necessary. It also warned of the risks of wildfires.

China’s national observatory this week said the ongoing heatwaves that swept across large parts of China are forecast to wane after August 25.

The National Meteorological Center predicted that China’s southern regions, hardest hit by the heatwaves, might see high temperatures in fewer places and a reduction in intensity on August 26 and August 27. (ANI)

Amid the ruckus in the one-day special session of the Delhi Legislative Assembly, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia called out the CBI raids on him and said that the opposition was unable to digest the praise he received across the world.

“Conduct 1,000 more raids, but you will not find anything on me. I have worked for the progress of education in Delhi. That’s the only thing I am guilty of. They aren’t able to digest the world praising what we’ve done,” said Dy CM Manish Sisodia in the Delhi Legislative Assembly.

The one-day special session of the Delhi Legislative Assembly was conducted after the Aam Aadmi Party alleged that Bhartiya Janata Party was luring party MLAs to topple the Kejriwal government.

The Delhi Legislative Assembly adjourned for 10 mins following an uproar by BJP MLAs over Deputy Speaker’s decision to not take questions under Rule 280.

Amidst uproar in the Delhi Legislative Assembly session by BJP MLAs, Deputy Speaker ordered the entire opposition MLAs to be marshalled out for the whole day following which the BJP MLAs began a protest outside after being taken out.

The special session of the Delhi assembly was convened on August 26 amid a political slugfest over the CBI raid on Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the excise policy case and the ruling Aam Aadmi Party’s allegations that BJP was luring party MLAs to topple the Arvind Kejriwal government.

The letter by Delhi Assembly joint secretary said that the Deputy Speaker has directed the convening of the session for today.

Earlier on Thursday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had called a meeting of all the MLAs of the Aam Aadmi Party at his residence.

Later Kejriwal also attacked the BJP claiming that a fake FIR was registered against Deputy CM Manish Sisodia. He was talking to media after his visit to Rajghat along with party MLAs.

Kejriwal also claimed that after the long CBI raid at Sisodia’s residence, the probe agency did not recover any evidence against him.

“We paid tributes and offered prayers to Mahatma Gandhi. We saw a few days back that there was a fake FIR registered against Manish Sisodia and CBI raided his residence for 12 hours. Even after that, they could not find any documents or unaccounted money,” Kejriwal claimed.

Meanwhile, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of allegedly offering Rs 20 crore to the AAP MLAs to “bring down” the Kejriwal-led government in the national capital.

“BJP offered to bring down Kejriwal’s government by luring AAP MLAs with Rs 20-20 crores… slogans of ’50 Khokha-50 Khokha’ were raised in Maharashtra Assembly, hence I would say to the BJP Band karo desh se dhokha, nahi chalega 50 khoka,” Bharadwaj said addressing a press conference in Delhi.

AAP has been levelling allegations that the Bharatiya Janata Party has been threatening and luring AAP MLAs to topple the Kejriwal-led government of Delhi. The BJP has dismissed the allegation as being totally without substance. (ANI)

Adani group’s flagship company Adani Enterprises on Friday through a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges said prior approval from market regulator Securities and Exchange Bureau of India (SEBI) is not required for allotment of NDTV shares to its unit Vishvapradhan Commercial.

This comes after NDTV on Thursday informed the stock exchanges that its promoters are barred from accessing the securities market until November 26, 2022, and thus Adani Group would require the market regulator’s approval to acquire any stake in the news channel company.
“The contentions raised by RRPR (a promoter group company of NDTV) in the Letter are baseless, legally untenable and devoid of merit. RRPR is therefore bound to immediately perform its obligation and allot the equity shares as specified in the Warrant Exercise Notice,” Adani company’s exchange filing said.

The warrant exercise notice, the filing said, has been issued by VCPL under a contract which is binding on RRPR. RRPR is therefore obligated to comply with its contractual obligations.

Adani group announced the indirect acquisition of 29.2 per cent in the broadcaster on Tuesday, along with an offer to buy another 26 per cent from the open market.

Vishvapradhan Commercial, a wholly owned subsidiary of AMG Media Networks, the media arm of Adani group has exercised the rights to acquire 99.5 per cent of the equity shares of RRPR Holding Private Limited, a promoter group company of NDTV. VCPL has exercised its rights reportedly based on a loan agreement it entered with NDTV founders Radhika and Prannoy Roy in 2009-10.

RRPR is a promoter group company of NDTV and holds 29.18 per cent stake in NDTV.

In a statement that came soon after Adani Group’s announcement about the acquisition, NDTV said that the move by an Adani group subsidiary to acquire stake in it was made without any “conversation” or “consent” and that its founders were made aware of the development on the same day itself.

It added NDTV has “never compromised” on the heart of its operations – its journalism and would ” continue to proudly stand by that journalism”.

“Without any discussion with New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV) or its founder-promoters, Radhika and Prannoy Roy, a notice was served upon them by Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Limited (VCPL) stating that it (VCPL) has acquired control of RRPR Holding Private Limited (RRPRH). This entity owns 29.18 per cent of NDTV,” the NDTV statement said, adding that it has been told to transfer within two days all its equity shares to VCPL. (ANI)

Veteran Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday resigned from all posts of the party citing the “immaturity” of Rahul Gandhi whom he blamed for “demolishing the consultative mechanism” in the party.

In a hard-hitting 5 page note to party interim president Sonia Gandhi, Azad claimed that a coterie runs the party while she was just a nominal head and all the major decisions were taken by “Shri Rahul Gandhi or rather worse his security guards and PAs”
The development comes days after Azad resigned from the organisational post of Jammu and Kashmir.

Recounting his long association with the Congress and his close relationship with Indira Gandhi, Azad said the situation in the Congress party has reached a point of “no return.”

“The entire organisational election process is a farce and a sham. At no place anywhere in the country have elections been held at any level of the organisation. Handpicked lieutenants of the AICC has been coerced to sign on lists prepared by the coterie that runs the AICC sitting in 24 Akbar Road,” Azad wrote.

Hitting out at Rahul Gandhi, Azad wrote, “Since the 2019 elections the situation in the party has only worsened. After. Rahul Gandhi stepped down in a ‘huff’ and not before insulting all the senior Party functionaries who have given their lives to the party in a meeting of the extended Working Committee, you took over as interim President. A position that you have continue to hold even today for the past three years.”

Azad said that it was “worse still the ‘remote control model’ that demolished the institutional integrity of the UPA government now got applied to the Indian National Congress.”

He continued the attack on Rahul Gandhi but praised Sonia Gandhi for playing “sterling” role as Congress President in both the UPA governments.

Asad’s resignation comes ahead of the 2024 elections and after indications that elections to the post of Congress chief would be postponed yet again. Congress top leadership has announced a ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.

In his letter Azad said “While undoubtedly as the President of the Indian National Congress you played a sterling role in the formation of both the UPA -1 and UPA-2 governments. However, one of the major reasons for this success was that as President you heeded the wise counsel of senior leaders, besides trusting their judgement and delegating powers to them. However unfortunately after the entry of Shri Rahul Gandhi into politics and particularly after January, 2013 when he was appointed as Vice President by you, the entire Consultative mechanism which existed earlier was demolished by him.”

Azad further alleged that all senior and experienced leaders were sidelined by Rahul Gandhi.

“All senior and experienced leaders were sidelined and new coterie of inexperienced sycophants started running the affairs of the Party. One of the most glaring examples of this immaturity was the tearing up of a government ordinance in the full glare of the media by Shri Rahul Gandhi. The said ordinance was incubated in the Congress Core Group and subsequently unanimously approved by the Union Cabinet presided over by the Prime Minister of India and duly approved even by the President of India. This ‘childish’ behaviour completely subverted the authority of the Prime Minister and Government of India. This one single action more than anything else contributed significantly to the defeat of the UPA Government in 2014 that was at the receiving end of a campaign of calumny and insinuation from a combination of the forces of the right-wing and certain unscrupulous corporate interests,” the Azad wrote.

Ghulam Nabi Azad is one of the group of 23 leaders who were vocal about a leadership change in the Congress and not being dependent on the Gandhi family for every major decision of the Congress party.

Earlier on Wednesday, lawyer-turned-politician Jaiveer Shergill, resigned as Congress spokesperson stating that the decision-making of the grand-old party is not in consonance with the ground reality and public interest rather it is influenced by sycophancy.

Among the prominent Congress leaders who have left the party are Jyotiraditiya Scindia, who is now a Union minister and Jitin Prasada. (ANI)

Highlighting the role of the labour force in the development of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said flexible workplaces, a work-from-home ecosystem and flexible work hours are the need of the future.

Addressing the National Conference of Labour Ministers of all States and Union Territories via video conferencing, PM Modi said, “India’s labour force has a huge role to play in realizing India’s dreams and aspirations to build a developed nation in the Amrit Kaal, and with this thinking, the country is working continuously for crores of workers from the organised and unorganised sector.”

The Prime Minister reiterated the various efforts by the Government like Pradhan Mantri Shram-Yogi Maandhan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana that have given a kind of security cover to the workers. These schemes have assured the labourers of the recognition of their hard work and contribution.

“The Emergency Credit Guarantee Scheme, according to a study, saved 1.5 crore jobs during the pandemic. We are seeing that just as the country supported its workers in their time of need, in the same way, the workers have put their full strength into recovering from this epidemic,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that today India has once again become the fastest growing economy in the world, so a lot of credit goes to the workers.

The Prime Minister pointed out that the e-Shram portal is one of the key initiatives to bring the labour force into the ambit of social security. In just one year, about 28 crore workers from 400 areas have been registered on the portal. This has especially benefited construction workers, migrant labourers, and domestic workers. He requested all the ministers to integrate state portals with the e-Shram portal.

He further added that in the last eight years, the government has taken the initiative to abolish the laws from the period of slavery that reflect the slavery mentality. “The country is now changing, reforming, simplifying such labour laws. With this in mind, 29 labour laws have been converted into 4 simple labour codes”. This will ensure the empowerment of workers via minimum wages, job security, social security, and health security,” he added.

The Prime Minister reiterated the need to change as per the changing scenario. He emphasised the need to take full advantage of the fourth industrial revolution by taking quick decisions and implementing them rapidly. In the light of platform and gig economy and online facilities, the Prime Minister stressed the need to be alive towards the emerging dimensions of work. “Right policies and efforts in this area will help in making India a global leader”, he said.

The Prime Minister highlighted that the country’s Labour Ministry is preparing its vision for the year 2047 in Amrit Kaal.

“The future needs flexible workplaces, a work-from-home ecosystem, and flexible work hours. We can use systems like flexible workplaces as opportunities for women’s labour force participation,” he said.

Recalling his address to the nation on August 15 from the ramparts of the Red Fort, the Prime Minister said that he has called for the full participation of the nation’s women power. He added, “By making the right use of women power, India can achieve its goals faster.” The Prime Minister also emphasised the need to think in the direction of what can be done for women in the newly emerging sectors in the country.

Remarking on the demographic dividend of India, the Prime Minister said that India’s success in the 21st century will depend on how well it is used. He added, “We can take advantage of global opportunities by creating a high-quality skilled workforce.” The Prime Minister also highlighted that India is signing migration and mobility partnership agreements with many countries of the world and urged all the states of the country to take advantage of these opportunities. “We have to increase our efforts, learn from each other”, he said.

The Prime Minister, while making everyone aware of the fact that our building and construction workers are an integral part of our workforce, requested everyone present on the occasion to make full use of the ‘cess’ that has been arranged for them. “I have been told that out of this cess, about Rs 38,000 crore has still not been utilized by the states”, the Prime Minister said.

He urged everybody to pay attention to how ESIC together with the Ayushman Bharat scheme can benefit more and more workers.

The two-day conference has been organised by the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment on August 25-26 at Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. The conference has been convened in the spirit of cooperative federalism to discuss various significant labour-related issues. It will help create further synergy amongst the Centre and state governments in formulating better policies and ensuring effective implementation of schemes for the welfare of workers. (ANI)

Goa Police has called Sudhir Sangwan and Sukhwinder, associates of deceased BJP leader and Bigg Boss contestant Sonali Phogat, for questioning at the Anjuna police station, officials said on Thursday.

“Sonali Phogat’s associate Sukhwinder and her PA Sudhir Sangwan have been called for questioning to Anjuna police station,” IGP, Goa, Omvir Singh Bishnoi told ANI.
The development came after Phogat’s brother Rinku Dhaka filed a complaint with Goa Police, alleging that his sister was “raped and murdered by her personal assistant Sudhir Sangwan and his friend Sukhwinder”.

In the complaint, Dhaka alleged that Phogat had spoken to her mother, sister and brother-in-law a few hours before her demise on August 23.

Dhaka alleged that “Phogat’s PA raped her after adding drugs to her meals”. He also claimed that the actor had no plans to visit Goa and she was brought there as per a conspiracy.

“She had no plan to come to Goa. She was brought as per a pre-planned conspiracy. There was no movie shoot. Two rooms in the hotel had been booked only for two days. Film shooting was supposed to happen on August 24 but rooms were only booked for August 21-22,” Dhaka said.

The police intend to find the truth after knowing the version of the two men accused by Phogat’s family.

Phogat, a BJP leader from Hisar in Haryana, was brought dead to the St Anthony Hospital at Anjuna in North Goa on Tuesday morning. While preliminary reports suggested that she died of a cardiac arrest, her family members suspect foul play.

Earlier, Goa Police have said that no sharp-edged injuries were found on the body of Sonali Phogat. The Goa Police also registered a murder case against two persons on Thursday for their alleged involvement in the death of Phogat.

“Murder case has been registered against two persons in Anjuna Police Station. The probe in the case is underway. The deceased’s brother has mentioned the involvement of her PA and one other person. Post-mortem report expected in 1-2 hours. Victim’s body will reach Delhi tonight,” OS Bishnoi, Inspector General of Police, Goa told ANI.

“Women police officers who conducted a physical examination of Sonali Phogat’s body have not found any sharp-edged injuries on the body,” added the IGP Bishnoi.

Phogat contested the last Assembly election from Haryana from the Adampur constituency on a BJP ticket against Kuldeep Bishnoi. She also appeared in the reality show ‘Bigg Boss’ in 2020. (ANI)

Team India held a practice session in Dubai on Thursday ahead of their Asia Cup 2022 campaign opener.

The Men in Blue will start their Asia Cup campaign in a high-octane clash against Pakistan on August 28.

Star batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, Surkyakumar Yadav, KL Rahul, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were among the players captured while sweating it out in nets.

The Asian Cricket Council’s marquee event returns after a four-year interval with the 2022 edition of the Men’s Asia Cup. Being played in the T20 format, across two venues. Dubai International Cricket Stadium will host nine games including the final, while Sharjah Cricket Stadium will host four games, starting from August 27 through September 11.

Defending champions India are also the most successful team, having won the trophy seven times. While the last edition of the tournament was held in an ODI format, this edition will feature the T20 format.

India: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan. (ANI)

A candle light march was organised at Mansa on Thursday to pay tributes to late Punjabi singer, Sidhu Moosewala.

Addressing the media at the candle march, Sidhu’s father Balkaur Singh said, “I would like to thank everyone for coming here today. After the death of Sidhu, I got to know that he was just not my son, but son of every household,” said Balkaur Singh”.

He further said, “From all over the country, he got tribute and every eye had tears and respect for him. I feel proud to be his father.”

Moosewala who joined Congress in December last year, was shot at in Punjab’s Mansa on May 29.

The incident took place a day after his security was withdrawn by the Punjab police along with 424 others after a change of government in the state. (ANI)