March 2024 - Page 24 of 38 - Lokmarg

Mission Divyastra, First Flight Test Of Agni-5 Missile With MIRV Technology

By LokMarg 11th March 2024

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday lauded Mission Divyastra, the first flight test of the indigenously developed Agni-5 missile equipped with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology.

The Prime Minister praised the achievements of the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) scientists for their successful execution of Mission Divyastra.

Taking to the micro-blogging site X, the Prime Minister posted, “Proud of our DRDO scientists for Mission Divyastra, the first flight test of indigenously developed Agni-5 missiles with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology.”

The inclusion of Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology in the Agni-5 missile enhances its effectiveness in delivering multiple warheads to different targets with precision, thereby augmenting India’s deterrence capabilities and strengthening national security.

An MIRV payload involves a single missile carrying four to six nuclear warheads, each programmed to hit a separate target.

According to government sources, India today tested Mission Divyastra, the first flight test of an indigenously developed Agni-5 missile with MIRV technology.

This will ensure that a single missile can deploy multiple warheads at different locations.

According to government sources, the project director is a woman and has a significant women’s contribution. With the test of Mission Divyastra, India has joined the select group of nations that have MIRV capability.

This system is equipped with indigenous Avionics systems and high-accuracy sensor packages, which ensure that the re-entry vehicles reach the target points with the desired accuracy. The capability is an enunciator of India’s growing technological prowess, sources added. (ANI)

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SC Refuses To Interfere With Calcutta HC Order Directing CBI Probe In Sandeshkhali Case

By LokMarg 11th March 2024

In a setback to the West Bengal government, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to interfere with the Calcutta High Court’s order directing a CBI probe in the Sandeshkhali matter pertaining to the attack on ED officials.

The Sandeshkhali matter related to the attack on ED officials expunges remarks made by the High Court against state police.

During the hearing, a bench of Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta asked the state police about the delay in arresting Shajahan Sheikh.

The top court asked the WB govt why he was (Sheikh) not arrested for so many days.

WB’s advocate replied that there was a stay on investigation by the court and within a day after clarification came from the court, the state police arrested the accused.

The lawyer also informed the top court that seven people were arrested earlier. WB’s advocate also said that allegations like state police delaying the probe were damaging.

Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, for respondents, gave the central agency’s version, informed SC that ED officials went to the house of the main accused in a matter concerning the ration scam running into crores of rupees and the ED officials were beaten up.

ASG informed the SC that some other cases had been filed, therefore, the investigation was stayed.

The apex court was hearing the West Bengal government’s appeal against the Calcutta High Court order directing a CBI probe in the Sandeshkhali matter about the attack on ED officials and called the decision by the High Court against the concept of federalism.

Challenging the validity of Calcutta HC’s March 5 division bench order, the West Bengal government also mentioned that the Calcutta High Court passed the order, uploaded it by 3:30 pm and asked the West Bengal government to comply with the directions by 4.30 pm which made it remediless.

“Because the impugned order passed by the Division Bench specifically frustrates the petitioners’ right to challenge the same before the top court under Article 136 of the Constitution, as the impugned order dated March 5, 2024, was pronounced by the Division Bench at 3 pm and uploaded on the High Court website by 3.30 pm, but the directions contained therein required the petitioner state to comply with such directions by 4.30 pm on March 5, 2024, which effectively curtailed the petitioners’ right to avail its remedy under Article 136 of the Constitution,” read the petition filed by the West Bengal government.

“Because it is trite law that the provision of appeal as provided in a statute cannot be ousted by a judicial order, which has been done in the present case, and which has rendered the state government. Remediless while negating the concepts of Federalism, where without any material on record, and the basis of surmises and conjectures as well as a media trial being conducted, the Division Bench has, on its own accord, mixed several issues to pass the impugned order, which is factually and legally incorrect,” the West Bengal government said.

Earlier this year, in January, ED officials came under attack in the North 24 Parganas district while they were on their way to raid the homes of former Bongaon Municipality chairman Shankar Adhya and Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan in connection with the ration ‘scam’ case.

Earlier, the Calcutta High Court transferred to the CBI the Sandehskhali case, which pertains to the attack on ED officials.

After weeks of no action, on February 29, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Sheikh Shahjahan was arrested by West Bengal police, after which West Bengal’s Basirhat Court remanded him to 10-day police custody.

Following Shahjahan’s arrest, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed that he had been “put under the hospitality” of the state police in a bid to avoid arrest by the ED and the CBI.

Tension rose in Sandeshkhali after hundreds of women on the island came out on the streets against Shahjahan Sheikh, accusing him of perpetrating sexual abuse and other excesses on them along with his henchmen. (ANI)

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Centre Notifies Implementation Of CAA Rules

By LokMarg 11th March 2024

The Union Home Ministry has notified rules for implementation of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on Monday, days ahead of the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections schedule.

Home Minister Amit Shah, on multiple occasions, said that CAA rules would be notified ahead of the Lok Sabha elections to be held in April-May.

The CAA rules, introduced by the Narendra Modi government and passed by Parliament in 2019, aim to confer Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants – including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians – who migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and arrived in India before December 31, 2014.

Following the passage of the CAA by Parliament in December 2019 and its subsequent Presidential assent, significant protests erupted in various parts of the country.

As per an official, the CAA law can be put into action with the issuance of MHA notification, allowing eligible individuals to obtain Indian citizenship.

The implementation of the CAA, which has been delayed for over four years, necessitates the formulation of its associated rules.

“The regulations are prepared, and an online portal is already set up for the entire process, which will be conducted digitally. Applicants will need to disclose the year of their entry into India without any travel documents. No additional documentation will be required from the applicants,” stated the official.

On December 27, Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted that the implementation of the CAA cannot be halted as it stands as the law of the land. He had also accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of misleading the public regarding this matter.

Speaking at a party meeting in Kolkata, Shah earlier emphasized that the BJP is committed to implementing the CAA. The TMC, led by Mamata Banerjee, has been opposing the CAA.

The assurance of implementing the highly debated CAA was a significant electoral agenda for the BJP during the previous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in West Bengal.

Leaders of the ruling party at the Centre view it as a credible factor contributing to the BJP’s ascent in the state

.As per the manual of parliamentary procedures, the guidelines for any legislation should have been formulated within six months of receiving the presidential assent, or the government should have sought an extension from the Committees on Subordinate Legislation in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.Since 2020, the Ministry of Home Affairs has been regularly seeking extensions from the parliamentary committees to continue the process of framing the rules associated with the legislation.

Over a hundred individuals lost their lives either during the protests or due to police action subsequent to the passage of the law in Parliament. During the past two years, over 30 district magistrates and home secretaries across nine states have been authorized with the ability to confer Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians arriving from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan under the Citizenship Act of 1955. As per the Ministry of Home Affairs annual report for 2021-22, between April 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021, a cumulative count of 1,414 individuals from non-Muslim minority communities originating from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan were granted Indian citizenship through registration or naturalization under the Citizenship Act, 1955.

Under the Citizenship Act of 1955, Indian citizenship by registration or naturalization is granted to non-Muslim minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan in nine states such as Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Maharashtra. It’s notable that authorities in districts of Assam and West Bengal, both politically sensitive regions on this matter, have not been empowered with these citizenship-granting authorities thus far. (ANI)

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‘A Legalised MSP Will Bring Farmers Into Sabka-Saath-Sabka-Vikas Model’

By LokMarg 11th March 2024

Devinder Sharma, an eminent agricultural expert and a food & trade policy analyst, says wellbeing of the country’s farmers will ensure all-inclusive economic progress. His views:

This is one of the most crucial questions I have been asking. If the government can write off nearly ₹15 lakh crore corporate bad loans in the past 10 years, and also ask banks to enter into a compromise with willful defaulters, which means another write-off of ₹3.45-lakh crore, for people who have the money but don’t want to pay back the outstanding loans — why is it then dithering on legalising the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for farmers? In any case, the ₹10 lakh crore of economic burden every year that the mainline economists are trying to project is nothing but the creation of a fear psychosis.

In reality, since only 14 per cent farmers get MSP in India and the remaining 86 per cent farmers are dependent on markets, the fact remains that markets have been short-changing farmers all these years. On an average, farmers are able to sell at prices that are on an average 25 to 30 per cent less, compared to the MSP announced for 23 crops, which, largely, remain on paper. When these 86 per cent farmers will have more money in their hands once the MSP becomes a legal instrument, their purchasing power will go up. They will be spending it in the markets, thereby raising a huge rural demand. The economy will then gallop.

Instead of being browbeaten by mainline economists, policy-makers must realise that a legalised MSP is a sure pathway for achieving the Prime Minister’s vision of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas.

Unlike the iconic and protracted farmers’ protest earlier that lasted for over a year in 2020-21, forcing the government to withdraw the three contentious farm laws, the farmers’ struggle that is currently underway lacks unity. With two farmer unions spearheading the struggle, a large chunk of the collective that led the protests two years back have shied up. However, with the average farmers getting restive, the leadership that has still not openly joined the protest, is finding ways to lend support. Besides, the events on March 8, the International Women’s Day, when a huge contingent of farm women protested at various places in Punjab, is an indication that as and how the protests linger on, there will be more support coming in.

ALSO READ: ‘Punjab Farmers Are Fighting for Millions of Others’

The protests this year have been stopped at the border areas in Haryana from moving towards New Delhi. The fortification of the national highway, and the courts now directing farmers not to use tractors in the protest, is at variance with what is happening in Europe where farmers in at least 14 countries have protested in the last few weeks in January/February, 2024. Even now, farmers are protesting in at least 12 countries, using tractors; they have also been blocking roads and throwing manure and mud on the highways, and in front of office buildings.

Farmers have laid a siege of Berlin and Paris, and demonstrated outside the European Commission in Brussels. European governments are allowing farmers the right to protest and have openly expressed the willingness to meet them and listen to their grievances.

Indeed, it is too early to say whether the farmers protest this year will impact the ensuing Lok Sabha elections. There is a fear that in the absence of any amicable solution being arrived at soon, more and more farmers’ groups will join the protests. Also, with farm unions making it clear, that even if the code of conduct becomes applicable in the next couple of weeks, they are likely to stay put; this only shows that farmers are there at the Haryana borders for a long haul.

The narrator is an award-winning writer and researcher, whose opinions on the farmers’ struggle and issues of Indian agriculture have been widely shared in print, audio-visual and social media for over three decades

As told to Amit Sengupta

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Sashakt Nari-Viksit Bharat programme Modi

Modi Participates In Sashakt Nari-Viksit Bharat Programme In Delhi

By LokMarg 11th March 2024

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday participated in the Sashakt Nari-Viksit Bharat programme in the national capital.

Namo Drone Didis from 10 different locations across the country participated in the drone demonstration simultaneously.

During the programme, Prime Minister Modi also handed over drones to 1,000 Namo Drone Didis.

The Namo Drone Didi and Lakhpati Didi initiatives are integral to his vision of fostering economic empowerment and financial autonomy among women, especially in rural areas.

15,000 self-help groups are being connected with the ‘Namo Drone Didi’ program. Drones will be provided to these groups, and government aims to make women in the villages the rightful recipients of everyone’s respect through ‘Namo Drone Didi’. Women will receive training to become drone pilots. Through the self-help groups’ campaign to make these women self-reliant, the drone program will also empower them. This will provide additional income opportunities for several women.

Prime Minister Modi also felicitated Lakhpati Didis, who have achieved success with the support of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission and are supporting and motivating members of other self-help groups.

While presenting the Interim Budget 2024-25 in Parliament, Union Minister for Finance Nirmala Sitharaman had announced that it has been decided to enhance the target for Lakhpati Didi from 2 crore to 3 crore.

The Union Minister had said that eighty-three lakh SHGs with nine crore women are transforming rural socio-economic landscape with empowerment and self-reliance. Their success has assisted nearly one crore women to become Lakhpati Didi already.

Meanwhile, PM Modi also disbursed around Rs 8,000 crore in bank loans to Self Help Groups (SHGs) at subsidised interest rates through Bank Linkage Camps set up by banks in each district. He also disbursed about Rs 2,000 crore in Capitalization Support Funds to SHGs.

The NaMo Drone Didi Initiative aims to empower rural women by training them to become drone pilots for agricultural purposes.

The initiative aims to equip 15,000 women-led Self-Help Groups (SHGs) with agricultural drones to assist in tasks such as crop monitoring, spraying fertilisers and sowing seeds. (ANI)

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educational reformist Sonam Wangchuk kejriwal

Kejriwal Extends Support To Fasting Innovator-Turned-Reformist Sonam Wangchuk

By LokMarg 11th March 2024

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday extended his support to engineer-and-innovator-turned-educational reformist Sonam Wangchuk, who is on a 21-day protest fast against the Centre, pushing for his demands that include statehood and implementation of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution in the region.

Wangchuk, who has been on a fast since March 5, has resolved to continue with his fasting phases at Leh’s NDS stadium until the government meets his demands.

Taking to his official handle on X, Kejriwal shared a post by Wangchuk saying, “We are with you and the people of Ladakh. This is very serious and absolutely unacceptable how the centre has cheated Ladakh.”

In his post on X, Wangchuk, who is observing a ClimateFast in Ladakh, said his fight was not just for Ladakh but also to erase the ‘trust deficit’ in India.

“Ladakh was promised #6thSchedule Safeguards twice in election manifestos but now the government backtracked after winning 2 elections. Through this struggle, we want to set a good precedence for all times to come. Please support us from your cities,” Wangchuk posted.

On the sixth day of his fast on Monday, Wangchuk, in a personalised video post on X, expressed the growing discontent among the people of Ladakh due to the denial of statehood.

“BEGINNING OF DAY 6 OF 21 DAYS #climatefast. Our demand for safeguard of the fragile Himalayas and its #indigenouspeople is not just from the government but also from the citizens living in big cities of the world. We urge you to live simpler lives so that there is less carbon emission and less need for minerals and mining which destroys our mountains. Please live simply in big cities, so we may simply live in the mountains,” the innovator added.

After the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, Jammu and Kashmir was split into two Union Territories–Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh. (ANI)

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BJP’s Central EC Likely To Discuss More LS Candidates

By LokMarg 11th March 2024

Seeking to stay a step ahead of its rivals ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the BJP’s Central Election Committee will hold a meeting at its headquarters in the national capital on Monday evening.

Candidates for some more Lok Sabha seats are likely to be finalised at the meeting, according to party sources.

The meeting will also be attended by the BJP’s partners in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) from Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana, and Bihar, top sources informed, adding that the allies are likely to discuss seat-sharing with the party’s top leadership.

Earlier, on Sunday, four leaders from Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and one from the Congress joined the BJP in the presence of the party’s general secretary Tarun Chugh in New Delhi.

The four BRS turncoats were former MPs Godam Nagesh and Sitaram Naik, as well as former MLAs Saidhi Reddy and Jalagam Venkat Rao.

On March 2, the BJP released its first list of 195 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, topped by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will seek his third straight term in Lower House from Varanasi.

Of the 195 candidates, 34 are ministers from the Center and States, while two are former chief ministers who are in the list.

In 2019, the BJP-led National Democratic (NDA) won a total of 303 seats, leaving the grand-old party behind at 52 seats.

The Lok Sabha polls are expected to be held sometime between April and May this year. (ANI)

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Farmer Leader Sarwan Pandher Calls ‘Rail Roko’ Protest Successful

By LokMarg 11th March 2024

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on Monday claimed that the nationwide ‘Rail Roko’ protest by the farmer unions to press for a host of demands was ‘successful’.

The ‘rail roko’ protest was staged on Sunday, between 12 noon and 4 pm, amid the ‘Delhi Chalo’ call by the agitating farmers.

Speaking to ANI on Monday, the farmer leader said, “A rail blockade was successfully enforced across six states yesterday. It was our most successful programme since we launched the protests. As for our strategy or roadmap going forward, we will hold a meeting soon and flesh out the details. The strategy will be decided by both our forums in the meeting.”

Farmers, who have been protesting for almost a month now after putting forward a host of demands that include a legal guarantee on MSP for their produce, withdrawal of police cases and loan write-offs, among others, squatted on railway tracks at many places in Punjab on Sunday as part of the ‘rail roko’ protest called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha.

Farmers blocked several railway tracks, including the one at Jalandhar Cantt.

The protesting farmers have been staying put at the Shambhu and the Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana after their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march was stopped by security personnel on February 13.

Among the other demands put forward by the protesters are pensions for farmers and farm labourers, debt waivers and no hike in electricity tariff.

During the last round of talks with the farmers’ delegation, which ended past midnight on February 18, the panel of three Union ministers made an offer to buy five crops–moong dal, urad dal, tur dal, maize, and cotton–from farmers at MSP for five years through central agencies.

However, the protesting farmers turned down the offer and returned to their protest sites. (ANI)

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Late Art Director Nitin Desai Honoured At The Oscars

By LokMarg 11th March 2024

Late Bollywood art director Nitin Chandrakant Desai was accorded an emotional tribute during the Oscars’ ‘In Memoriam’ segment alongside Tina Turner, Matthew Perry and many more.

The Oscars 2024 were held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles.

Andrea Bocelli and his son Matteo Bocelli performed during the segment and sang ‘Time to Say Goodbye’.

Taking to Instagram, The Academy shared a video from the award ceremony and captioned it, “Andrea and Matteo Bocelli performing ‘Time to Say Goodbye’ 30th Anniversary Special Edition during the In Memoriam at the 2024 #Oscars.”

Apart from Nitin Desai, other notable figures from the global entertainment industry remembered in the segment were directors William Friedkin and Norman Jewison, as well as actors John Bailey, Robbie Robertson, Richard Lewis, Lee Sun-Kyun, Carl Weathers, Matthew Perry, Andre Braugher, among many more.

Desai was noted for his innovative studio design and collaborated with filmmakers like Ashutosh Gowarikar, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani, and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. He was famed for his work in movies like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (2000), Lagaan (2002), Devdas (2003), Jodhaa Akbar (2008) and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (2015).

He won three Filmfare Awards for Best Art Direction and four National Film Awards for Best Art Direction.

He died on August 2, 2023. His passing came as a great loss for the film industry, with a long line of industry stalwarts as well as Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde paying glowing tributes.

Desai was found dead at his studio in Karjat, Maharashtra. (ANI)

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Priyanka Lauds Nita Ambani At Miss World 2024

By LokMarg 10th March 2024

Reliance Foundation Chairperson Nita Ambani was honoured with the ‘Beauty With a Purpose Humanitarian Award’ at the 71st Miss World finale on Saturday.

She was felicitated with the award for her philanthropy work.

Global icon Priyanka Chopra, who won Miss World in 2000, lauded Nita Ambani’s work via a special pre-recorded video message, that was played on screen at the event.

In the message, the ‘Fashion’ actor said, “I have had the honour and privilege of knowing the phenomenal Mrs Nita Ambani for a few years now. She is someone, whom I admire and respect for everything she does. I have witnessed what happens behind the scenes, and I have witnessed first-hand her passion, commitment, and eye for detail in everything she does. To me, Nita Ma’am epitomises exactly what Mrs Morley tried to instill in our young minds back then. Over the years, I have witnessed Nita Ma’am’s profound impact through her various endeavors. She not only is a respectable educationist, philanthropist, and businesswoman but also a staunch advocate and protector of the arts of India.”

She added, “With utmost dedication, she has consistently brought India’s art and culture to the global stage. Nita ma’am wears all of these hats and more with a warm smile and so much compassion. Her journey is the embodiment of the ethos of beauty with purpose. This evening as we honour Nita ma’am, let not just celebrate her accomplishments but also the joy, empowerment and growth she has brought to so many lives.”

“She’s been a true trailblazer and someone who I know is not stopping anytime soon. I for one cannot wait to see what else she has planned for us. Congratulations Nita ma’am, truly well deserved, “the actor continued.

Priyanka concluded with a powerful message, saying, “To all the women, young girls out here today and those girls watching across the world, I will leave you with one thought: In this crazy world we live in together, there’s no better legacy than leaving behind a world touched by love and kindness.”

Krystyna Pyszkova from the Czech Republic has won the 71st edition of the Miss World pageant.

India has hosted Miss World this time. Last India hosted the 46th edition of the Miss World pageant event in 1996, wherein Irene Skliva of Greece won the title. (ANI)

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