Category: National

The Union Cabinet recently approved a bill that exempts students from its provisions while targeting organized crime, mafias, and other wrongdoers for punishment. In addition, public servants who are discovered to have colluded with these individuals will also be held accountable.

During a joint sitting of Parliament on Wednesday, President Draupadi Murmu announced the Modi government’s intention to introduce the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill 2024. She said, “My government is well aware of the concerns of the youth regarding irregularities in examinations.”

The Central Government has taken this initiative in relation to the competitive exams that were canceled because question papers were leaked. The government plans to enact laws in this area that are so onerous that individuals who engage in such activity will be forced to reconsider before doing so in the future.

Also Read: JSSC Exam Jharkhand: Paper leak on the first day of exam

The Common Eligibility Test (CET) for Group-D posts in Haryana, the recruitment exam for junior clerks in Gujarat, the recruitment exam for teachers in Rajasthan, and the recruitment exam for constables in Bihar had to be canceled recently due to a paper leak.

In addition, this Bill includes a proposal to establish a high-level National Technical Committee on Public Examinations. This committee will create protocols to secure digital platforms, improve the security of computerized examination processes, and guarantee electronic monitoring of testing facilities. The committee will also create guidelines for the physical infrastructure and IT utilized during the assessment.(Read below)

If found guilty, an organized group of individuals involved in the use of unfair examination practices, including those connected to service providers or examination authorities, faces a minimum fine of Rs 1 crore and a maximum sentence of 5 to 10 years in prison. Additionally, institutions that engage in this kind of organized crime will be subject to a fine of Rs 1 crore.

Additionally, this will have an impact on the institute’s property. On the other hand, excellent workers will also be shielded from departmental and legal action. The punishment for public employees who work for the organized crime syndicate will be the same.

Tax adjustments have not been made in the interim budget by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The tax slab has not changed from what it was previously. To the people’s great relief, the Finance Minister has raised the amount to twenty-five thousand rupees (Rs. 25,000) for the period up to the 2009–10 financial year and ten thousand rupees (Rs. 10,000) for the period from the 2010–11 financial year to the financial year 2014–2015. The outstanding demand for direct tax has been removed. It is expected that this will help about one crore taxpayers.

In the interim budget, the government did not provide the average citizen with any income tax relief. Your income up to Rs 2.5 lakh will continue to be tax-free if you choose the previous tax system. On the other hand, you can deduct up to Rs 5 lakh in income tax under Section 87A of the Income Tax Act.

You won’t be required to pay tax on income up to Rs 3 lakh under the new tax regime. In this case, as well, salaried individuals are also eligible for tax exemption on income up to Rs 7.5 lakh and other individuals are eligible for tax exemption on income up to Rs 7 lakh under Section 87A of the Income Tax Act.

In order to encourage economic growth, Nirmala Sitharaman has suggested raising capital expenditure by 11% to Rs 11.11 lakh crore when presenting the Vote on Account, or interim budget, for the financial year 2024–2025. The goal for the financial deficit in this financial year has also been adjusted, now standing at 5.8% of GDP. A budget for expenses totaling Rs 47.66 lakh crore has been submitted.

Simultaneously, the updated projection of the fiscal deficit for this financial year has been lowered from 5.9 percent to 5.8 percent. For the upcoming financial year, the projected deficit is 5.1%. He asserted that improved governance and economic management had enabled every obstacle to be surmounted before 2014.

Delhi: Disgruntled passengers protested at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi on Wednesday when an IndiGo aircraft to Deoghar, Jharkhand, was abruptly cancelled. This led to chaos at the airport.

Hundreds of angry and stranded customers were left by the surprise decision, which sparked a protest with slogans criticising the airline’s actions.

The events transpired after IndiGo declared the flight’s cancellation just before the scheduled departure time from IGI airport.

The airline abruptly cancelled the scheduled flight to Deoghar, citing unexplained operational concerns. This confused and frustrated the passengers, who had been looking forward to their trip.

Feeling duped and inconvenienced, irate passengers expressed their outrage by brandishing signs that said, “Indigo Chor Hai” (IndiGo is a thief), casting doubt on the airline’s decision-making process’s legality and transparency.

Due to an abrupt decrease in the weather near the Deogarh airport, IndiGo flight 6E 2198 from Delhi to Deogarh was cancelled on January 30 and January 31. Refreshments and choices for a full refund, different routes, or rescheduling were provided to passengers. The airline released a statement saying, “We apologise any inconvenience caused by circumstances beyond our control.

Recently, after passengers on a diverted flight were permitted to continue and enjoy refreshments on the apron and mingle with others while travelling to and from the nearby apron control building, the BCAS and DGCA fined IndiGo Airlines a total of Rs 1.2 crore and Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) a fine of Rs 90 lakh.

IndiGo Airlines has been fined Rs 1.20 crore by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) has been fined Rs 60 lakh, and the Directorate of General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has fined the airport authorities Rs 30 lakh.

The event occurred when, in the first week of January, aircraft 6E2195 from Goa to Delhi was diverted to Mumbai due to operational problems caused by low visibility in the capital. This prompted authorities to issue show cause notices to both the airline and the airport.

The footage, which has gone viral on social media, shows travellers sitting peacefully on the tarmac. Some are eating meals and snacks, while others are having informal talks.

New Delhi. The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to allow a 26-year-old woman to terminate her pregnancy beyond 32 weeks. The court said that the medical board has accepted that there is no abnormality in the fetus. Let us explain. The woman found out she was pregnant on October 31st of last year, having lost her spouse in October of the previous year. Speaking on behalf of the woman, advocate Amit Mishra stated that having a child will be against her wishes and that she will have to live with the trauma for the rest of her life.

Delhi High Court had earlier given its decision
A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Prasanna Bhalchandra Varle refused to interfere with the January 23 order of the Delhi High Court. In fact, in its first decision of January 4, the court had allowed the woman to terminate her 29-week-old fetus.

How can a 32 week fetus be terminated?
While giving the verdict, the bench said, ‘This is a 32 week old fetus. How can this be ended? The medical board has also said that it cannot be abolished. It’s a matter of two weeks, then you can give it up for adoption if you want. The bench said that the High Court has considered each and every point, including the opinion of the medical board. Judge Trivedi said, the medical board has opined that there is no abnormality and it is a normal fetus. It also states that there is no danger to the petitioner if she continues the pregnancy.

The woman was under stress after losing her husband
The woman’s lawyer Mishra argued that the woman is a widow and will have to bear trauma throughout her life and the court should consider her interest. On this Justice Trivedi asked him, ‘Why should we consider only their interests? After this the bench refused to interfere with the High Court order and dismissed the petition.

The High Court had said that the woman can go to AIIMS or any other central or state government hospital for delivery only at 32 weeks of pregnancy and if she is willing to give the newborn for adoption later, the Center will ensure that The process should happen smoothly and quickly. It says that the concerned government will bear all the medical and incidental expenses in the process of delivery.

Attention paid to the opinion of AIIMS Medical Board
On January 4, the court had allowed a widow suffering from depression to terminate her 29-week-old fetus as continuing the pregnancy could affect her mental health. The woman was medically examined at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). AIIMS claimed that it is advisable to continue the pregnancy for the next two-three weeks for the betterment of the health of the mother and child.

In its order, the high court had taken note of the opinion of the AIIMS Medical Board which had said that the woman was suffering from stress and not from any mental symptoms and there was no suggestion that the ongoing pregnancy or delivery would affect her mental health. The effect will be that it will become necessary to terminate the pregnancy. The high court said the medical board had also opined that since the fetus showed no abnormalities, feticide was neither justified nor moral.

In response to a petition alleging fraud in the Tuesday election for the position of Mayor of Chandigarh Municipal Corporation [Kuldeep Kumar v. UT Chandigarh And Ors], the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday requested responses from the Chandigarh Administration and the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh.

On the petition of Aam Aadmi Party Councillor Kuldeep Kumar, a division bench consisting of Justices Sudhir Singh and Harsh Bunger served notice and directed the respondents to submit their responses within three weeks.The records of the Tuesday’s election have already been kept in the strong room, the Court was informed. Nevertheless, no temporary decree was issued to uphold the outcomes.

Manoj Sonkar of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 16 votes to the Congress-AAP candidate’s 12 votes, making him the new mayor on Tuesday. In the process, eight votes were declared void.

Kuldeep Kumar, the joint candidate of the AAP and Congress Party, contested the ruling, claiming that the Presiding Officer had used fraud and forgery during the counting procedure.Kumar has prayed for new elections to be held under the supervision of a retired High Court judge, in a free and fair manner.

Kumar claimed in the petition that the Presiding Officer had completely deviated from convention and rules by refusing to permit the party nominees to watch the vote counting.

“The Presiding Officer in most flimsy manner addressed to the House that he does not want any assistance from the members nominated by the parties contesting the election and he will count the vote himself. The voices were raised by the Aam Admi Party and Congress but their requests were not heeded, but surprisingly the Deputy Commissioner, Respondent No.2 and the Prescribed Authority, who was also in the same capacity in the last year’s election remained mum,” the petition said.

Punjab and Haryana High Court declines to stay result of Chandigarh mayoral election amid allegations of ‘ballot-tampering

According to LiveLaw, Justices Sudhir Singh and Harsh Bunger made up the division bench that heard the case.

On Tuesday, January 30, the election results were declared. Manoj Sonkar of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received 16 votes, while Kuldeep Kumar of the Congress-AAP received 12 votes.

The results of the mayoral elections were challenged by Congress-AAP candidate Kumar in a motion filed with the High Court on Tuesday. Kumar claimed that the results were the “result of complete fraud and forgery laid upon the democratic process by the respondents and especially Manoj Kumar Sonkar (the newly elected BJP Mayor) and the Presiding Officer Anil Masih.”

On Wednesday, January 31, the Punjab and Haryana High Court refused to stay the Chandigarh mayoral election results, which Congress-Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Kuldeep Kumar had challenged.

What is DigiYatra?

Digi Yatra – Digital processing of passengers at the airports. Passengers will be automatically processed based on facial recognition system at check points like; Entry point check, Entry in to Security Check, Aircraft Boarding, Additionally this will also facilitate self-Bag Drop and Check-in, using facial recognition to identify pax and data recall. Digi Yatra will facilitate paperless travel and avoid identity check at multiple points.

According to national portal of India

Complaints from passengers

The mobile application DigiYatra, which facilitates contactless passenger movement at airport checkpoints, gained attention recently due to complaints regarding the collection of biometric data from passengers without their consent.

Local Circles conducted a survey which revealed that 29% of flyers who registered for DigiYatra at the Delhi airport in the previous six months did so “unknowingly”. Just 15% of the 10,892 responses that were logged indicated that the user was aware of the application’s advantages.

Saket Gokhale, a Member of Parliament wrote a letter to the civil aviation minister pointing out the privacy concerns due to the compulsion to signing up for DigiYatra

DigiYatra is an app owned by private company. Hence there can be no RTI to get more details about the data. And the survey which was conducted is limited to Delhi Airport only. While DigiYatra is expanded over to 13 other airports across India for which there is no actual data.

Released in October 2023, the MCC report titled ‘TARGETED: DOCUMENTING INCIDENTS AFFECTING MINORITIES IN GUJARAT’ was the result of collaboration between seventy leaders from different parts of the state to gather, organize, and analyze data for the study.

According to the committee, the purpose of the study was “to expose the truth” about how minorities are “pushed” to the periphery of society and “targeted” in particular.

According to a report published by the Minority Coordination Committee (MCC), Gujarat experienced an astounding 55 attacks directed towards minority communities in 2022.

The study detailed 55 disturbing occurrences, 53 of which were attacks on Muslims and two of which were on Christians. These findings prompted a more thorough investigation into the difficulties minority groups in the state face.

The most recent incident, which took place on December 30, 2022, involved BJP leader Raman Vora from the Junagadh district allegedly making threats to members of the Muslim community in public. The report recorded 55 instances of atrocities against minorities.

“In Junagadh, BJP leader Raman Vora openly stated that for those Muslims who will not vote for the BJP, their water and electricity connections will be cut and demolition will be done in their areas.”

As mentioned in the MCC report

“When attempting to stop the people who were encroaching on the land in Pavijetpur, Vadodara, the Muslim landowner was threatened. The encroacher has said ‘That earlier he [Muslim land owner] was spared during the Godhra incident but now he will not be spared’.”

As mentioned in the MCC report

The report noted a number of incidents that targeted minority religious sites. While some incidents were caused by fringe Hindutva elements seeking to disturb communal harmony, other incidents were the result of actions taken by government and law enforcement officials.

“In Gosabara village of Porbandar, 600 Muslim fishermen, fed up with continuous government harassment, filed a petition in the Gujarat High Court demanding euthanasia.”

“The factories of 18 Muslims in front of the sub-jail of Radhari Extension of Khambhat were demolished with bulldozers within 24 hours of serving the encroachment notice; they were not even given a chance to present their case. This action rendered 200 people working in such factories unemployed.”

The next two incidents demonstrate how the police have attacked minorities and their right to be treated with dignity as Indian citizens, as well as their inaction and negligence.

“Three Christian boys of New Shahibaug were brutally beaten by the traffic police at Tapovan Circle. The victims have filed an FIR, the news is published in Ahmedabad Mirror.”

On October 4, 2022, “In Undhela village of Kheda district, the police tied Muslim boys to a pole and beat them up and asked the people present there to make a video of it.”

MCC’s primary goal is to integrate marginalized minority groups into society’s mainstream and give them more power. To “promote and protect the rights of minority communities and advance social justice, equity, and inclusion for all” is another of its stated objectives.

The organization was established in 2016 to address issues of protection, deprivation of basic amenities, and discrimination against minorities. The organization’s goal is to comprehend and evaluate the current state of untouchability, discrimination, and inequality against minorities.