Anti-mob lynching bills passed by 4 Assemblies at various levels of non-implementation

Bills passed against mob lynching in the past four years by at least three States ruled by BJP rivals and one governed by the party itself have not been implemented with the Union government taking a view that lynching is not defined as a crime under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The Union Home Ministry informed Parliament in 2019 that there was “no separate” definition for lynching under the IPC, adding that lynching incidents could be dealt with under Sections 300 and 302 of the IPC, pertaining to murder.

Singer-composer Bappi Lahiri passes away

Singer-composer Bappi Lahiri, who popularised disco music in India in the 80s and 90s, has died following multiple health issues, a doctor treating him said on Wednesday, February 16, 2022., He was 69.

Actor-activist Deep Sidhu dies in road accident in Sonipat

Actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu, accused of being the key conspirator of the Red Fort violence on Republic Day last year, died Tuesday evening after his car hit a truck on Kundli-Manesar-Palwal expressway near Kharkhoda in Haryana’s Sonipat district,

Russia shows some troops leaving near Ukraine, seeks talks; Biden says Moscow’s attack on country still possible

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Moscow is ready for security talks with the U.S. and NATO, as the Russian military announced a partial troop withdrawal from drills near Ukraine — new signs that may suggest a Russian invasion of its neighbour isn’t imminent despite snowballing Western fears. Mr. Putin said he doesn’t want war, and called for “peaceful” discussions over Ukraine’s bid to join NATO, which Moscow sees as a major threat. U.S. President Joe Biden said reports that Russia has withdrawn some forces from the Ukraine border have not been verified.

Centre proposes law to control distribution, price, quality of fertilisers

The Centre has proposed a law that empowers it to fix the maximum selling price of fertilisers and control its quality as well as distribution. The Department of Fertilizers has sought comments from all stakeholders on the draft Integrated Plant Nutrition Management Bill, 2022, by February 26. It also seeks to establish an ‘Integrated Plant Nutrition Management Authority of India’.

India to prepare digital maps of all villages

India plans to prepare digital maps of all its 6,00,000 villages and pan-India 3D maps will be prepared for 100 cities, Unio Science Minister Jitendra Singh said on Tuesday at an event to mark a year of the updated geospatial policy guidelines. An ongoing scheme, piloted by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, called SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April 2020

Cabinet approves Secretariat for 2023 G20 summit

The Union Cabinet on Tuesday set in motion the process to build a Secretariat that will look after the affairs of organising the G20 summit in 2023. India will steer the international body as its President from December 1, 2022 to November 30, 2023, which will lead to the G20 summit to be hosted here. A government notification said: “As per practice, a G20 Secretariat is being established to handle work relating to substantive/knowledge/content, technical, media, security and logistical aspects of India’s G20 Presidency. It will be manned by officers and staff from the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Finance, and other relevant line Ministries/Departments and domain knowledge experts.” The Secretariat will be functional till February 2024. 

January exports rise 25%, gold imports shrink

India’s merchandise exports touched $34.5 billion in January, 25.3% higher than a year ago, while imports grew at a slightly slower pace, taking the country’s trade deficit to a five-month low of $17.4 billion, as per official estimates released on Tuesday. While January’s goods exports are 8.75% lower than December’s all-time record figure of $37.81 billion, it takes India’s exports near the $400 billion target set for 2021-22, with the first ten months of the year, already clocking outbound shipments worth $336 billion. This marks a nearly 47% increase from a year ago and a 27.1% increase over the pre-COVID period of 2019-20.

J&K leaders irked by deletion of Assembly seats named after historical figures

From Gandhi Nagar in Jammu to Habba Kadal in Kashmir, the J&K Delimitation Commission’s proposal to delete the names of 19 Assembly constituencies, including those with historically important names, has infuriated the regional leaders in the Union Territory (UT), who described it as “an assault on J&K’s history”. Shameema Firdous, a three–time MLA from Srinagar’s Habba Kadal constituency, said she was anguished to see the name of Habba Kadal removed in the Commission draft proposal and merged into three other constituencies.

Delhi High Court upholds suspension of FCRA nod for rights body

The Delhi High Court has refused to interfere with the decision of the Centre to suspend the registration of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) for alleged violations of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA). Justice V. Kameswar Rao said the June 7, 2021 order of the Union Home Ministry “suspending the petitioner (CHRI) is in consonance with the object which the instant legislation/ statute strives to achieve and has not gone in excess of that object”.

OIC Secretariat has communal mindset: India

India on Tuesday hit out at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), saying it was “hijacked by vested interests”. Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Arindam Bagchi made the remark after the OIC commented about the hijab controversy currently raging in Karnataka. “Issues in India are considered and resolved in accordance with our constitutional framework and mechanisms, as well as democratic ethos and polity. The communal mindset of the OIC Secretariat does not allow for a proper appreciation of these realities,” Mr. Bagchi stated.

Punjab Assembly elections | Lakha Sidhana, booked for Red Fort violence, fighting polls

Delhi Police had booked gangster turned activist Lakhwinder Singh, better known as Lakha Sidhana, after violence broke out at Red Fort during a tractor parade organised by farmer unions on Republic Day last year. He went underground only to resurface a month later to address a rally in Bhatinda teasing Delhi Police. A year later, on bail, he is busy holding babies, touching the feet of the elderly and, posing for selfies as he goes door to door campaigning for votes as a candidate of farm leader Balbir Singh Rajewal’s Samyukt Samaj Morcha (SSM) in the Punjab Assembly Elections.

TIPRA head denies seat-sharing talks with Congress for Tripura Assembly elections

Tripura’s royal scion and chairperson of the Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Alliance (TIPRA) Pradyot Kishore Debbarman on Tuesday reiterated that acceptance of the demand for a ‘Greater Tipraland’ will be a precondition for an alliance with a national political party. He rejected outright newspaper reports over his party’s seat sharing discussions with the Congress for the 2023 Assembly elections. “The media reports are not correct. We have not held any dialogue with the Congress on any issue so far,” he told journalists.

State govt. to meet industrialists to attract investments in north Bengal: Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said the government will hold a meeting of leading industrialists, businessmen and chambers of commerce to find out ways to attract investments in the northern districts of the State. Chief Secretary H.K. Dwivedi will chair the meeting to be held in Siliguri, the largest city in north Bengal, on Wednesday, Ms. Banerjee said. 

Gujarat HC raps Inspector for laxity during virtual hearing

Irked by the casual approach of a police officer who was found sipping a beverage during a virtual hearing, the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court on Tuesday directed the officer to distribute 100 cans of a cold drink to the Bar Association or face disciplinary action. Chief Justice Aravind Kumar reprimanded Inspector A.M. Rathod after he was found drinking something that looked like a cold drink during an online hearing of a case in which he was accused of assaulting two women at a traffic junction. While rebuking the police officer, the Chief Justice recalled a similar incident when he had to pull up an advocate for eating a samosa during virtual proceedings of the court a few days ago.

Facebook parent Meta settles decade-old data-privacy lawsuit

Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. has settled a decade-old class action lawsuit over the company’s use of “cookies” in 2010 and 2011 that tracked people online even after they logged off the Facebook platform. As part of the proposed settlement, which must still be approved by a judge, Meta has agreed to delete all the data it “wrongfully collected” during that period. The company, which posted profits of $39.37 billion in 2021, will also pay $90 million to users who filed a claim, after lawyer fees are deducted.