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January 08, 2024 07:03 pm | Updated 07:03 pm IST
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Tamil Nadu CM M.K.Stalin exchanges MoU with Adani group and Minister T.M. Anbarasan presents inventors list to the CM at the concluding day of the Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet 2024 in Chennai on January 08, 2024. | Photo Credit: The Hindu
Bilkis Bano case | Supreme Court quashes Gujarat’s premature release of convicts
The Supreme Court on January 8 quashed the order of premature release granted by the State of Gujarat in August 2022 to 11 men sentenced to life imprisonment for the gang rape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of her family during the 2002 riots. The court ordered them to report back to jail in two weeks. “Courts have to dispense justice and not see that justice is dispensed with,” Justice B.V. Nagarathna, heading a Bench also comprising Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, distinguished. The court held that the convicts were tried and sentenced in Maharashtra. It was Maharashtra, and not Gujarat, which had to consider and remit their sentence.
Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet 2024 | State trying to get a Quantum Computing Centre from Union government: IT Minister
The T.N. government is trying to get for Tamil Nadu, one of the Quantum Computing Centres, sponsored by the Government of India, Minister for Information Technology and Digital Services Palanivel Thiaga Rajan said at the concluding day of the Global Investors Meet 2024, in Chennai on January 8. While replying to a query during a session on ‘Gen AI & Deep Tech: The Game Changer’, the Minister also said that as Finland was one of the countries that did particularly well in building quantum computing, “We are in discussions with them for a few months now,” to see if it could help with start-ups.
Congress candidate Rupinder Singh Koonar wins Karanpur Assembly election in Rajasthan
Congress candidate Rupinder Singh Koonar on January 8 won the Karanpur Assembly election, defeating BJP Minister Surendra Pal Singh by 11,283 votes. According to the Chief Electoral Office, Mr. Koonar bagged 94,950 votes while Mr. Singh got 83,667. There were 18 rounds of counting. “I am thankful to the people of Karanpur who voted for me… even central ministers had come for campaigning (but) people rejected them and made democracy win,” Mr. Koonar, whose late father Gurmeet Singh earlier held the seat, told reporters after winning the election.
India-Maldives diplomatic row | Remarks against PM Modi do not represent its views, Male tells Indian envoy
The Maldivian Government has informed India’s High Commissioner Munu Muhawar that the derogatory remarks made by three now-suspended deputy ministers against Prime Minister Narendra Modi do not represent its views. The Indian High Commissioner had a pre-arranged meeting with Dr. Ali Naseer Mohamed, the Ambassador-at-Large at the Foreign Ministry on January 8. “High Commissioner Munu Mahawar had a pre-arranged meeting with H.E. Dr Ali Naseer Mohamed, Ambassador at Large, at MoFA, Maldives, today to discuss bilateral issues,” the Indian High Commission posted on X. A top Maldivian government official said that Naseer made it clear that the remarks do not reflect the views of the Maldivian Government, and reaffirmed Maldives’ continued support for its neighbour, the Sun Online reported. Meanwhile, the co-founder and chief executive officer of EaseMyTrip, Nishant Pitti, has announced the suspension of all Maldives flight bookings following the remarks. Standing in support of India, Nishant Pitti took to X, formerly Twitter, saying, “In solidarity with our nation, @EaseMyTrip has suspended all Maldives flight bookings.”
Supreme Court stays Bombay High Court order asking Election Commission to hold Pune Lok Sabha bypoll immediately
Observing that it will lay down the guidelines on conducting by-elections, the Supreme Court stayed the Bombay High Court order asking the Election Commission to immediately hold the by-poll for the Pune Lok Sabha seat, which is vacant since March 29, 2023, after the death of MP Girish Bapat. The Supreme Court rapped the Election Commission for not holding the by-poll for the seat for such a long period despite the law mandating conducting polls expeditiously. “The seat got vacant on March 29, 2023. What was the Election Commission doing since then?” asked the bench comprising Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. “We will lay down guidelines on holding of elections on account of vacancy,” the bench said.
Government committed to development of citizens living in tribal areas: PM Modi
The government is committed to the development of citizens living in tribal areas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on January 8 as he lauded a tribal woman from Chhattisgarh for her knowledge of government schemes. The Prime Minister was interacting with thousands of Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra beneficiaries from across the country via video conferencing with Union Ministers, MPs, MLAs and local-level representatives also joining the event.
Jamiat expresses concern over government participation in Ram Temple ceremony
Voices of objection to the perceived participation of the Central government in the upcoming Ram Mandir inauguration are being raised in non-political circles. At its central working committee meeting on the weekend, the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, the oldest Muslim body in the country, called the “active participation of the government as an attempt to unduly influence upcoming elections”. The Jamiat also expressed concern at “attempts to harass and intimidate the minority community” as the buzz around the temple gains ground.
Election Commission failed to provide substantive response to ‘genuine concerns’ over EVMs: Jairam Ramesh
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has said the Election Commission of India (ECI) has yet again failed to provide a “substantive response” to INDIA parties’ genuine concerns over EVMs and asserted that instead, the poll watchdog has been repeatedly directing them to “generic FAQS” as the answer book for all queries. Mr. Ramesh has written to Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar over the Election Commission’s response to his earlier letter in which the poll watchdog had dismissed the Congress leader’s concerns on VVPATs.
Land acquisition for Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project is complete: NHSRCL
The National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited said it has completed 100% land acquisition for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Rail Corridor, popularly known as the bullet train project, across Gujarat, Maharashtra and Dadra and Nagar Haveli on January 8. Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also shared the status of land acquisition on X, saying the entire 1389.49 hectares of land required for the project has been acquired. The high-speed rail line is being built between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
DGCA says Boeing 737-8 Max planes inspection completed satisfactorily
Aviation watchdog DGCA on January 8 said the checks of operational Boeing 737-8 Max planes in the country have been completed satisfactorily, an inspection that was ordered as a precautionary measure in the wake of an incident involving an Alaska Airlines aircraft last week. The checks of the wing emergency exits have been completed for 32 aircrafts.
West Bengal ED unit sends report to headquarters on Sandeshkhali attack
The Enforcement Directorate’s unit in West Bengal has submitted a report to its headquarters about the attack on its team during a raid in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district last week, officials said on January 8. Three ED officers were injured and several of their vehicles were vandalised as hundreds of supporters of TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh attacked them on Friday. The attack happened when the ED team went to Mr. Sheikh’s house in Sandeshkhali for a raid in connection with alleged irregularities in the State’s ration system.
Pakistan Supreme Court rules against life-long disqualification of lawmakers from holding public office
Pakistan’s Supreme Court on January 8 quashed the lifetime disqualification for lawmakers, ruling that parliamentarians would be barred from holding office for five years, in a major relief to leading politicians, including former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan. A seven-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, on January 8 ruled that no person can be barred for a lifetime from running in elections if they are disqualified under Article 62 (1)(f). The bench with a 6 to 1 split judgment abolished the lifetime disqualification and thus went against the judgment of its five-member bench which in 2018 had ruled in favor of lifetime disqualification.
Maldives President Muizzu arrives in China on five-day State visit
Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu and First Lady Sajidha Mohamed on January 8 arrived in China on a five-day State visit. Chinese officials greeted them upon their arrival at the airport in Fujian. Mr. Muizzu and his wife are on a State visit to China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. This is the first bilateral visit since assuming office on December 17 last year.
First U.S. lunar lander in more than 50 years rockets toward moon with commercial deliveries
The first U.S. lunar lander in more than 50 years rocketed toward the moon Monday, launching private companies on a space race to make deliveries for NASA and other customers. Astrobotic Technology’s lander caught a ride on a brand new rocket, United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan. The Vulcan streaked through the Florida predawn sky, putting the spacecraft on a roundabout route to the moon that should culminate with an attempted landing on February 23.
WHO axes medical aid delivery to north Gaza in absence of security guarantees
The World Health Organization said it had been compelled to cancel a mission to bring medical supplies to northern Gaza on January 8 after failing to receive security guarantees. It was the fourth time WHO had had to call off a planned mission to bring urgently needed medical supplies to Al-Awda Hospital and the central drug store in northern Gaza since Dec. 26, it said.
India is a ‘great friend’ of Bangladesh, says PM Sheikh Hasina after her election victory
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said India is a “great friend” of Bangladesh and the two neighbours have resolved many problems bilaterally, a day after she won an overwhelming majority in the general elections and secured a record fourth straight term. The 76-year-old leader, who has been ruling Bangladesh since 2009, secured a fifth overall term in the one-sided election on January 7, which witnessed a low turnout.
Indian rice exporters expect to face challenges due to policy risks, high prices in 2024
Indian rice exporters anticipate 2024 to be a challenging year marked by policy uncertainties and elevated local prices, hindering the normalisation of rice exports from the country. According to S&P Global Commodity Insights, the Indian Government’s policy intervention in 2023, including banning non-Basmati white rice exports, imposing a 20 per cent duty on parboiled rice exports, and setting a minimum export price of ₹950/ million tonnes (mt) for Basmati, will continue to impact the market.
Double delight for India as Tomar, men’s 10m air pistol team win gold at Asian Olympic Qualifiers
Rising shooter Varun Tomar on Monday secured India’s 14th Olympic quota place with a gold medal in the men’s 10m Air Pistol event of the Asian Qualifiers in Jakarta. India opened their account with three medals, including a team gold, at the continental event’s opening day. The 20-year-old Tomar shot 239.6 in the final to claim the top position, while Arjun Cheema won the silver medal with a score of 237.3. Mongolia’s Davaakhuu Enkhtaivan (217.2) won the bronze medal. He is a former junior world champion and is the cousin of Tokyo Olympian Saurabh Chaudhary, who won a gold medal in the 2018 Asian Games.
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