The Hindu Morning Digest, June 22, 2024

Law to punish systematic cheating in government exams goes into effect

The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024, which provides for imprisonment of up to five years and a fine of Rs 1 crore for cheating or systematic malpractice in government recruitment examinations, has been notified by the Union government to come into force from June 21.

Election Commission begins work to set up polling stations in Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir

The Election Commission has updated the electoral rolls of Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir and has begun preparations to hold state assembly elections in these states. The terms of the current Legislative Assemblies end on November 3 (Haryana), November 26 (Maharashtra) and January 5, 2025 (Jharkhand), so polls need to be held before their terms expire.

Kallakurichi bar tragedy: death toll rises to 50

The death toll in the liquor bootlegging case in Tamil Nadu’s Kallakurichi has risen to 50, with 13 more people dying after consuming counterfeit liquor in Karunapuram. The victims included five women and one transgender. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has taken over the investigation into the liquor bootlegging case in Kallakurichi town of Karunapuram. Police sources said documents and case file have been handed over to the CB-CID team by the Kallakurichi town police.

The patent application lists Bharat Biotech as the “inventor” of Covaxin, but not ICMR.

Covaxin, India’s first indigenously developed coronavirus vaccine, was a collaboration between the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL), and the two organisations jointly shared intellectual property rights – this is on public record. But BBIL documents filed with patent offices in India, the US and Europe credit only BBIL scientists and staff as “inventors” of the vaccine, with no mention of ICMR scientists.

Delhi court says ED acted with prejudice against Arvind Kejriwal in GST policy case

A Delhi court on June 20 granted bail to Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) founder Arvind Kejriwal, who is an accused in the excise policy case, finding that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was acting with prejudice. The Delhi High Court subsequently stayed the court’s order on June 21.

Government imposes stock limit on thaal and chana dal to curb hoarding

The government on June 21 imposed stock restrictions on thaal and chana dal till September this year to discourage hoarding and control prices. The government has issued orders imposing stock restrictions, which are applicable to wholesalers, retailers, large chain retailers, millers and importers, an official statement said.

NTA postpones CSIR-UGC-NET joint conference due to ‘unavoidable circumstances, logistical issues’

Amid multiple controversies in which the National Testing Agency (NTA) is currently embroiled, it issued a notification on June 21 postponing the CSIR-UGC-NET joint exams citing “unavoidable circumstances and logistical issues.” This comes days after the Union Education Ministry canceled UGC-NET after reports from the Union Home Ministry that the fairness of the exams had been compromised. Over the past few days, students across the country have been questioning the exam agency over rigging in NEET-UG and now the cancellation of UGC-NET.

Congress prepares to take up NEET issue in Parliament

The Indian National Congress is likely to demand the cancellation of the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) 2024, a senior leader said, as the main opposition party prepares to raise the issue in the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha that begins on June 24. As it may be difficult to discuss the issue separately during the short Parliamentary session that ends on July 3, the party is likely to work out a joint strategy with its Indian partners.

Nikhil Gupta did not request consular access, says Ministry of External Affairs

The foreign ministry said businessman Nikhil Gupta, who is accused in the US of plotting to assassinate Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, is not seeking consular assistance. Gupta was summoned to appear in a New York court on Monday after fighting extradition from the Czech Republic for nearly a year. He has pleaded “not guilty” to charges that he hired hitmen to kill Pannun on the orders of senior Indian security officials in return for the case in India being dropped.

Economic diplomacy, connectivity, energy and the Myanmar crisis are expected to be on the agenda during Hasina’s visit to India.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has arrived in New Delhi for a two-day visit, notably the first official visit by a foreign head of government just 10 days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sworn in for a third term. Hasina’s first stop on her arrival in Delhi was with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. She will be received at the Presidential Palace on the morning of 22 June, after which she will hold delegation-level meetings with PM Modi at Hyderabad House, as well as meetings with Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and President Draupadi Murmu.

Hinduja family sentenced to prison for exploiting employees

A Swiss court has sentenced four members of Britain’s richest family to prison for exploiting Indian staff at their Geneva mansion. The Hindujas, who were not in court, were acquitted of human trafficking charges but found guilty of other offences, in a shocking verdict for a clan estimated to be worth 37 billion pounds ($47 billion).

Disruption to train services due to signal failure after major accident

Amid frequent train accidents resulting in multiple fatalities, especially in the area of ​​automatic signals, there has been confusion in the railway industry over how to operate trains when signals fail.The rise in fatal accidents has left regional railways confused about standard operating procedures.The Eastern Railway on Friday issued an order banning travel permit TA-912, which allows station masters to allow locomotive engineers to cross red signals when signals fail.

Porsche car crash: Father of minor defendant released on bail in Juvenile Justice Act case

A Pune court on June 21 granted bail to the father of a minor accused in one of the cases related to the Porsche car accident that killed two software professionals in the city last month. The court also granted bail to five other accused, including the owner and manager of two bars, who were arrested for allegedly serving liquor to underage customers.

Manipur situation will be resolved in 2-3 months: Chief Minister Biren Singh

Manipur Chief Minister Nongthongbam Biren Singh said on Thursday that peace would return to the state within two to three months as the new National Democratic Alliance government at the centre prioritises resolving the 14-month-old violence. He also asserted that normalcy was gradually returning to Manipur and businesses were resuming operations.

Delhi water crisis: Atishi begins fast seeking water supply from Haryana

Delhi’s Water Minister Atish Afshar began an indefinite hunger strike in Bhogar, south Delhi, on June 21 to demand more water from Haryana. Sunita Kejriwal read out a message from the state’s chief minister, who is currently in Tihar Jail, in which she said Atish’s “Tapasya” It will be successful.

Mamata Banerjee writes to PM Modi seeking delay in implementation of Section 3 of the Penal Code

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to postpone the implementation of three criminal laws that are scheduled to come into force on July 1. In a letter to the prime minister, Banerjee said the delay would allow for a parliamentary review of the criminal laws.

Sikh extremist on Canada’s no-fly list loses appeal as court finds ‘reasonable basis’ for terrorism fears

A Canadian court has rejected an application by two Sikh extremists to be removed from the country’s no-fly list, saying there were “substantial grounds” to suspect they would endanger transport security or travel by air to commit terrorist crimes. The Federal Court of Appeal this week dismissed the appeal by Bhagat Singh Brar and Parvkar Singh Durai, who lost a constitutional challenge to their no-fly designation under Canada’s Safe Air Travel Act. Canadian Press The news agency reported from Vancouver on Thursday.

Polls predict historic election win for UK Labour, Sunak to lose seat

Britain’s Labour Party is set to win a record-breaking number of seats and the incumbent Conservative party is set to suffer a historic defeat in July’s general election, according to two opinion polls. With voters heading to the polls in just over two weeks, the latest national surveys by YouGov and Savanta/Electral Calculus predict that Labour will win either 425 or 516 of the 650 seats in the parliament.

U.S. and China held informal nuclear talks in March for the first time in five years, delegations say

The United States and China resumed semi-official nuclear arms talks in March for the first time in five years, and Beijing told its U.S. counterparts that it would not make nuclear threats over the Taiwan issue, according to two U.S. representatives who attended. When the U.S. expressed concern that China might use or threaten to use nuclear weapons if it were defeated in a conflict over Taiwan, Chinese representatives offered reassurances.

New York to restrict kids’ ‘addictive’ social media feeds

New York Governor Kathy Hockle signed a bill on Thursday that would allow parents to block their children from seeing social media posts suggested by platform algorithms, a move aimed at curbing feeds that some say are addictive. The bill would limit feeds on apps like TikTok and Instagram to posts from accounts people under the age of 18 follow, rather than content suggested by automated algorithms. It would also ban platforms from sending notifications about suggested posts to minors between midnight and 6 a.m.