Author: LokMarg

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to France during his three-nation tour to Europe will carry forward the high-level engagement between the two countries post the French Presidential elections, said Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra on Sunday.

PM Modi’s visit to France will be third on the list of the three-nation visit, which will also include Germany and Denmark. This visit comes a few days after Macron’s victory in the French presidential elections.
Speaking at a special briefing ahead of PM Modi’s three-nation tour, the newly-appointed Foreign Secretary said PM’s visit to France will carry forward the high-level engagement between the two countries post the French Presidential elections.

Kwatra, who was holding his first press conference, noted that France is an important partner of India in Europe and currently holds the EU presidency.

“President Macron has just won the elections. India-France friends and strategic partnership has seen a great momentum, thanks to the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and French President Macron, as also their close friendship,” Foreign Secretary said.

“Prime Minister’s visit to France will carry forward the high-level engagement between the two countries post the French Presidential elections,” he added.

Kwatra said both countries have continuously nurtured and delivered on the ambition of their strategic partnership, particularly in the area of clean energy and environment, people to people ties, digital and manufacturing in high-end sectors.

Answering a question on key areas of cooperation between the two countries, he said, “We’re aware that in space of strategic partnerships, India and France have a substantial and comprehensive partnership. Elements of this partnership extend to those parts which are our key priorities. Our focus is on co-designing, co-production and manufacturing in India.

PM Modi earlier today said that this visit will also give India and France the opportunity to set the tone for the next phase of the India-France Strategic Partnership.

“President Macron and I will share assessments on various regional and global issues and will take stock of ongoing bilateral cooperation. It is my firm belief that two countries that share such similar vision and values for the global order, must work in close cooperation with each other,” he said in his departure statement ahead of the three-nation visit.

The Prime Minister noted that his visit to Europe comes at a time when the region faces many challenges and choices.

“Through my engagements, I intend to strengthen the spirit of cooperation with our European partners, who are important companions in India’s quest for peace and prosperity,” he added. (ANI)

The daily COVID-19 cases in the country saw a dip as 3,324 new infections were reported in the last 24 hours, 364 fewer than Saturday, taking the daily positivity rate to 0.71 per cent, the Union Health Ministry informed on Sunday.

India had reported 3,688 COVID-19 cases on Saturday.
The active caseload now stands at 19,092, which is 0.04 per cent of the total cases.

A total of 2,876 COVID patients recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries since the beginning of the pandemic to 4,25,36,253. The recovery rate is 98.74 per cent

The country reported 40 COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative death tally to 5,23,843.

The weekly positivity rate stands at 0.68 per cent. As many as 4,71,087 COVID samples were tested in the last 24 hours. A total of 83.79 crore tests have been conducted in the country so far.

As far as vaccination is concerned, 25,95,267 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered during this period. With this, the total number of vaccine jabs administered under the nationwide vaccination drive so far went up to 1,89,17,69,346. (ANI)

Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of the farmers’ unions will visit Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh on May 5 to ensure justice for farmers who were killed in last year’s October 3 violence in the district.

“Farmer unions under the banner of SKM will visit Lakhimpur Kheri to ensure justice for the farmers who died during the violence last year there,” said Harinder Singh Lakhowal, General Secretary, BKU (Punjab) while addressing a press conference here.
He further informed that the farmers from other states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana will also visit Lakhimpur Kheri.

“Farmer leaders will depart from Punjab on May 4 and will join other farmers from Rajasthan, UP, and Haryana on the way to Lakhimpur Kheri,” he added.

Eight people, including four farmers, were killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence on October 3, 2021. Union Minister Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra allegedly ran over the farmers who were protesting against the Centre’s three farm Laws. He was arrested on October 9 and granted bail in February 2022.

Ashish Mishra surrendered before the magistrate at the district jail last month, just a week after Supreme Court canceled his bail and asked him to surrender in a week. (ANI)

In a bid to avoid any untoward incident in the coming festivals, a complete curfew will be imposed in the Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh on May 2 and May 3.

“Eid prayers to be offered at home. Also, no event on Akshaya Tritiya and Parshuram Jayanti will be allowed to organize in the district,” said Sumer Singh Mujalda, Additional District Magistrate, Khargone.
The city witnessed violence following a stone-pelting incident during a Ram-Navami procession on April 10.

The Additional District Magistrate further informed that relaxation will be given on May 1 between 8 am to 5 pm.

“Orders have been passed that shops will remain open and students going for exams will be given a pass. However, decisions can be altered if conditions demand,” said ADM.

In the violence that erupted on April 10, several people, including police personnel, were injured when groups of people pelted stones at each other during the procession.

The stone-pelting started at the beginning of the procession leaving around four persons injured, including a police inspector. (ANI)

The main accused and the key conspirator in the Patiala clashes, Barjinder Singh Parwana was arrested by police in Mohali on Sunday morning.

The accused was brought to Mumbai by Vistara flight at Mohali airport at 7.20 am. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Patiala team headed by Inspector Shaminder Singh arrested him at the Mohali airport.
Tension prevailed in Patiala after two groups clashed outside the Kali Mata temple on Friday, brandishing swords and pelting stones at each other, at a rally in which four people, including two policemen, were injured.

Police registered six FIRs and arrested three accused in connection with the violence yesterday, according to IG, MS Chhina.

“The 3 arrested accused are Harish Singla, Kuldeep Singh Danthal, and Daljit Singh,” Chinna added announcing the names of the arrested persons in the matter.

The IG also asserted that none of the accused in the matter will be spared and the ones with whatever connection with the incident will be arrested. (ANI)

The first solar eclipse of this year will be witnessed in some parts of the world on Saturday, April 30, 2022.

A solar eclipse is a phenomenon in which the moon passes between the sun and the earth, casting a dark shadow on the earth that can completely or partially block sunlight in some areas.
According to data released by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), there is another occurrence of an astronomical phenomenon known as the Black Moon taking place. The Black Moon blocks sunlight for some time during the day.

TIME AND DATE OF ECLIPSE?

The first partial solar eclipse of 2022 will start at 12.15 am on May 1, 2022, according to Indian Standard Time (IST).

The maximum time for people of India will be around 2.11 am IST, but people living outside India can witness this phenomenon at 02:45 pm EDT and lasts till 04:41 pm EDT.

The eclipse will end at 04:07 am IST on May 1, 2022.

WHERE IS THE ECLIPSE VISIBLE?

The visibility of the Solar Eclipse can be observed in the locations that include parts of the southern hemisphere and those residing in South America, Chile, Uruguay, southwestern Bolivia, Peru, and specific areas of southwestern Brazil and Argentina. NASA has also confirmed the visualization over the South Pacific and parts of Antarctica.

HOW TO VIEW THE ECLIPSE ONLINE?

The Eclipse won’t be viewable in India, but you can watch the online streaming with NASA Orthographic Maps, Google Interactive Maps, and NASA Animations. (ANI)

Reiterating to fulfill the BJP’s poll promise of implementing the Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday said that the state government will constitute a committee taking into consideration all the stakeholders and specialists.

Addressing the media during his Delhi visit, Dhami said, “We will soon constitute a committee on the Uniform Civil Code. After the committee is formed, we will take all the stakeholders and specialists into consideration who will prepare the draft. Based on the draft, UCC will be implemented in Uttarakhand.”
The Uniform Civil Code is a proposal in India to formulate and implement personal laws of citizens which apply to all citizens equally regardless of their religion, sex, gender and sexual orientation. Currently, the personal laws of various communities are governed by their religious scriptures.

The code comes under Article 44 of the Constitution which lays down that the state shall endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code for the citizens throughout the territory of India. Notably, in BJP’s 2019 Lok Sabha election manifesto, BJP promised the implementation of UCC if it comes to power.

Talking about the Char Dham Yatra verification drive run by the state government, Dhami said that it is being done to avoid any law and order problems because of the miscreants during the Yatra.

“We will run a verification drive in Uttarakhand because our state is the centre of religion, spiritualism and culture. It is the home of the Himalayas and Ganga. We also share two international borders and are peaceful. The law and order situation should not deteriorate,” he said.

“To make sure that this does not happen, we have run a verification campaign in which the names of numerous suspicious persons have emerged,” Dhami added.

Notably, the Yatra is scheduled to be held from May 3.

Amid the looming power crisis in various parts of the country, the Uttarakhand Chief Minister said that his government is constantly working to provide electricity to the people of the state.

“We are constantly working to resolve the issue of power crisis. We had improved the electricity condition in the previous weeks. We are working to make the situation right in Uttarakhand which is not right in the entire country. We are working on providing electricity to the people of the state,” he said.

Earlier today, a joint conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts was held in New Delhi. Detailing the event, Dhami said that they received guidance from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“We got the guidance of PM Modi. We are working well in Uttarakhand. Uttarakhand has become the first state to provide the facility of virtual hearing for the differently-abled ones who cannot reach the courts to record their statements,” he said. (ANI)

Amid rising cases of forced disappearances in the country, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) chairperson Hina Jilani on Friday asked the Shehbaz Sharif’s government not to take the issues of human rights violations lightly.

The report said the PTI government failed to get the long-awaited bill passed to criminalise enforced disappearance as a separate autonomous offence despite making commitments since 2018, Dawn reported.
It further explained that the highest number of enforced disappearances (1,108) reported by the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearance in 2021 was in Balochistan while the highest number of pending cases – 1,417 – were reported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In February, a large group of protesters held a week-long sit-in in Islamabad against enforced disappearances in Balochistan.

Ms Jilani and HRCP Secretary General Harris Khalique, along with members of the commission, launched the report.

Highlighting the issue of freedom of expression, the report pointed out that at least in nine cases, journalists were intimidated or silenced.

“Although the Prime Minister met a three-member delegation from the sit-in, no progress was made towards recovering their family members,” read the report, adding two students from the University of Balochistan allegedly disappeared in November, stated Dawn.

The report also threw light on the lynching of a Sri Lankan factory manager in Sialkot by a mob on allegations of blasphemy and the savage murder of human rights defender Nazim Jokhio allegedly by PPP lawmakers.

The HRCP asked the government to take steps for protecting the freedom of expression and rights of vulnerable and excluded groups.

“With 5,279 rape cases and 478 honour killings and the macabre murder of Noor Mukhaddam in Islamabad, women’s rights activists rightly spoke of a ‘femicide emergency’ in Pakistan in 2021,” the report said.

It further pointed out delays in court cases and said by year-end there were over 2.14 million cases pending in the judiciary against the 2.15 million in 2020, a slight fall in the backlog of cases.

The HRCP report said a total of 172 laws were enacted by parliament and provincial assemblies: 58 federal and 114 provincial laws.

The report said UN human rights experts called on Pakistan to halt evictions of residents from Gujjar nullah and Orangi nullah in Karachi, and separately appealed for the release of Stephen Masih, a Pakistani Christian from Sialkot detained for two years on blasphemy charges.

Death plenty was awarded to at least 125 convicts in 2021, including three women, a fall from at least 177 people in 2020, it added.

According to Dawn, the transgender community continues to be marginalised both socially and economically. In Karachi alone, more than 200 threatening video and audio messages sent to transgender persons were reported, creating a sense of fear and insecurity among the community.

Children between the ages of six and 15 years, both boys and girls, remained as susceptible to abuse and violence as other marginalised groups, the report quoted, citing sources.

Moreover, in January, Islamic State militants kidnapped and killed 11 coal miners from the Shia Hazara community, which led to a multiple-day protest against the incident by the community in Quetta, demanding that the then Prime Minister Imran Khan visit their camp. However, Mr Khan termed their demand ‘blackmailing’ and refused to visit them.

In August, the Prime Minister officially launched the much-disputed Single National Curriculum (SNC) for primary schools and seminaries, claiming that this initiative would reduce educational disparities.

However, the SNC drew strong criticism from education experts and human rights defenders for its lack of inclusivity, over-emphasis on Islamic religious content at the expense of religious minorities and poor pedagogy, read the report.

Islamabad’s state terror and crimes against humanity are most unconscionable. In fact, violence against women and girls, including rape, murder, acid attacks, domestic violence, and forced marriage, is quite endemic throughout Pakistan. (ANI)

The Mumbai Customs, on Friday, busted a drug syndicate smuggling drugs from the United States and operating in Mumbai, and arrested three people involved in the trade of drugs from the Western country.

The arrested persons have been identified as being in their late 40s.
Appreciating the efforts of the Customs officials, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tweeted, “Being alert to prevent the drug menace! Well done.”

A Customs official said that the efforts to nab the fourth and the last person involved in the supply chain is underway.

“The case is under investigation to nab the last person in the supply chain,” the official said.

A senior Customs official informed of the intelligence that said that a courier package originating from America was carrying narcotics drugs. Eyes were kept by the officers of the Airport Special Cargo Commissionerate at the International courier terminal.

“The package was intercepted and 910 grams of Marijuana originating in California was found concealed in an Air Purifier,” he said.

Following the interception of the first package, intelligence was developed and also with the help of data analytics, Indian Customs at the International Courier Terminal of CSMI Airport in Mumbai intercepted three more parcels originating from North America from April 22 to 25.

An intensive search of the parcels led to the recovery of high-quality hydroponics marijuana weighing 27.478 kilograms which were hidden in various household items like an outdoor waterfall, fake wood leather chair, and propane gas fire pit table.

“Such high-quality marijuana of North American origin commands a high price in excess of Rs 3,000 per gram in the local illicit markets. The seized narcotics could collectively command a price in excess of Rs 8 crore in local illicit markets,” he said.

The details of these detections and seizures were kept secret and surveillance was mounted by Customs officers disguised as auto-rickshaw drivers and delivery men.

The process of ‘controlled delivery’ of dummy parcels of identical shapes and looks, so that the actual recipient could not deny his involvement, was also undertaken with the help of the Police.

Sustained surveillance of targeted addresses was carried out by undercover Customs officers in the guise of auto drivers and delivery men so as to execute the operation in a meticulous and flawless manner.

During the dummy delivery, in one of the cases, it was found that the person receiving the parcel was sending it to another address, where the residents would call another person to collect the package. The third person who came to collect the package was found to be the mastermind of the operation. During the course of the search at his residence, another 20 kilograms of marijuana, 120 grams of hashish and some other narcotics substances which are being tested have been found. Three persons have been arrested so far.

Further investigation into the matter is underway. (ANI)

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized Rs 5551.27 crore of Xiaomi Technology India Pvt Ltd– a wholly-owned subsidiary of China-based Xiaomi group– under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in connection with illegal remittances made by the firm in February this year, the agency said on Saturday.

The seized amount of Rs 5551.27 crore is lying in the bank accounts of Xiaomi Technology India Pvt Ltd, which started its operations in India in 2014 and started remitting the money in 2015.
The Company has remitted foreign currency equivalent to Rs 5551.27 crore to three foreign-based entities which include one Xiaomi group entity in the guise of Royalty, said the ED.

“Such huge amounts in the name of Royalties were remitted on the instructions of their Chinese parent group entities. The amount remitted to other two US-based unrelated entities were also for the ultimate benefit of the Xiaomi group entities,” said the ED.

Xiaomi India is a trader and distributor of mobile phones in India under the brand name MI. Xiaomi India procures the completely manufactured mobile sets and other products from the manufacturers in India.

“Xiaomi India has not availed any service from the three foreign-based entities to whom such amounts have been transferred. Under the cover of various unrelated documentary facade created amongst the group entities, the company remitted this amount in the guise of royalty abroad which constitutes a violation of Section 4 of the FEMA,” said the federal agency.

ED further added that Xiaomi India also provided misleading information to the banks while remitting the money abroad. (ANI)