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- Friday, July 17, 2020 0
India wants peace but there is no guarantee of the final outcome of talks with China, said Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday in eastern Ladakh region as he reviewed the ground situation of troops in the hostile border areas.
India and China are engaged in military and diplomatic deliberations to de-escalate the tense situation at the border areas on the LAC. The two countries are locked in a 10-week-long standoff at multiple points, hitherto unprecedented, along the Line of Actual Control.

Singh, while addressing troops in Lukung close to Pangong lake, said, "Talks are on for a resolution. But I can't give a guarantee to what extent it can be resolved. India never eyes the land of another country. We want peace, that's been our character. We never hurt any nation's pride but will respond if someone hurts our pride. 130 core Indians mourn the sacrifices."

The minister assured that not one inch of India's land can be taken by any power in the world.

In a brutal attack carried out by Chinese People's Liberation Army troops on June 15 in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, India lost 20 soldiers and the Chinese PLA too had casualties, though its figures are still unknown.

The minister said, "Our soldiers are the pride of the country. I am happy to be here but at the same time sad about losing our braves at Patrolling Point 14. We will never forget their sacrifice. The Prime Minister has also said their sacrifice will not go in vain."

He further stated "Our nation's pride gets hurt if someone casts an eye on our land." Singh also interacted with the soldiers and reviewed the operational preparedness of the force.

The minister witnessed an exercise by the troops, including some battle drills by troops of the Ladakh Scouts. He was briefed on the situation including the actual position of the troops on both sides.

Before that Singh visited Stakna, near Leh. He witnessed the para dropping skills of the armed forces, tank manoeuvres and also tried hands on Pika machine gun. Indian Army's T-90 tanks carried out exercises and armoured combat vehicles also displayed their prowess during the exercise.

The minister, who is on a two-day visit to Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, flew from Delhi to Leh early Friday morning.

Accompanied by Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane, he reached Leh at around 8 am.

After reviewing the ground situation and interacting with the soldiers, Singh visits Srinagar in the late afternoon.

Since the worst confrontation with China over the border issue, Singh had been ensuring that Indian armed forces are equipped with all the latest arms and equipment and are logistically approachable at the borders. He has been meeting all the stakeholders to ensure the forces are ready for any confrontation.

Singh had earlier on July 3 planned to visit Leh, however, he had to drop it as Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to visit the forward locations in eastern Ladakh.
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- Friday, July 17, 2020 0
The Indian Army said on Friday that there are inputs that terrorists are planning to target the Amarnath Yatra, but the Army has its systems in place to ensure that the annual pilgrimage goes on peacefully.
Speaking to reporters, 9 Rashtriya Rifles sector Commander, Brigadier V.S. Thakur, said that inputs suggest that terrorists are planning to target the yatra somewhere on National Highway 44.

"We have inputs that terrorists would try their best to target the yatra, but we have got our systems and resources in place to ensure that it goes on unhindered and peacefully," he said.

He also said that Friday's encounter in South Kashmir's Kulgam district, in which three terrorists, including a Pakistani named Waleed, were killed ahead of the commencement of the yatra, was a big success for the security forces.

"It is only befitting that this operation has been conducted successfully, which has led to the elimination of one Pakistani terrorist also, just four days before the Amarnath Yatra commences on August 21," he said.

He said the message to local people is that thhe Army will remain committed to the peaceful conduct of the Amarnath Yatra without any hindrance of any sort.
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- Friday, July 17, 2020 0
The Union health ministry said on Friday that less than 1.94 per cent of the 3.42 lakh active COVID-19 cases in India are in ICU, 0.35 per cent on ventilator support and 2.81 per cent are being given oxygen, while the recovery rate has improved to 63.33 per cent.
It said the actual caseload of COVID-19 cases in the country as on date is 3,42,756, while more than 6.35 lakhs patients have recuperated from the disease.

India, the second-most populous country in the world with 1.35 billion people, has 727.4 cases per million population, which is four to eight times lower than some European nations, the ministry said.

Also, according to it, the country''s case fatality rate at 18.6 deaths per million is one of the lowest in the world.

"It is also notable that less than 1.94 per cent of the cases are in ICU, 0.35 per cent cases are on ventilators and 2.81 per cent cases are on oxygen beds," the ministry said, adding that 63.33 per cent of the total cases have recovered.

On Thursday, the recovery rate was 63.25 percent.

The collaborative efforts of all states and Union Territories in house-to-house survey, contact tracing, surveillance of containment and buffer zones, perimeter control activities, aggressive testing and timely diagnosis have resulted in early identification of the infected persons. This has helped in early treatment too, the ministry said.

India has followed a standard of care protocol for differentiated categorisation of COVID-19 patients -- mild, moderate and severe -- as clearly formulated in the Clinical Management Protocol of the health ministry.

Effective clinical management strategies have shown to yield positive results. Almost 80 per cent of the asymptomatic and mild cases have been advised home isolation under medical supervision, the ministry said.

Moderate and severe patients are being treated at either Dedicated COVID Hospitals or Dedicated COVID Health Centres.

"The strategy of home-isolation for mild and asymptomatic patients has ensured to keep the hospitals unburdened, where the focus has been on treatment of severe cases and reduction of fatality," the health ministry said.

Medical infrastructure to ensure quality treatment of admitted patients is being continuously augmented across the country. As a result of concerted efforts, hospital infrastructure for treating COVID-19patients is stronger today, it said The country has 1,383 Dedicated COVID Hospitals, 3,107 Dedicated COVID Healthcare Centres, and 10,382 COVID Care Centres with a total of 46,673 ICU beds. As many as 21,848 ventilators are deployed in hospitals of all states and UTs, according to the health ministry statement.

The ministry also stressed that there is no shortage of N95 masks and personal protective equipment kits.

The Centre has supplied 235.58 lakh N95 masks and 124.26 lakh PPE kits to state, UTs and Central institutions, it said.

With a record single-day surge of 34,956 cases, India''s COVID-19 tally zoomed past 10 lakh on Friday, just three days after it crossed the nine-lakh mark, according to the Union Health Ministry data.

The total tally of coronavirus cases in the country surged to 10,03,832, while death toll mounted to 25,602 with the highest number of 687 fatalities recorded in a day, the data updated at 8 am on Friday showed.
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- Friday, July 17, 2020 0
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a PIL seeking to explore feasibility of establishing ‘One Nation One Board’ by merging ICSE and CBSE to ensure uniform education to all children aged between 6-14 years, saying such “policy issues” do not fall under its “domain”.
A headed by Justices D Y Chandrachud, in a hearing via video-link, told PIL petitioner and BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay that the issue of merger of education boards cannot be decided by courts.

“The Writ Petition raises issues of policy. We are affirmatively of the view that it is not within the domain of this court under Article 32 of the Constitution to direct the constitution of a National Education Council or National Education Commission.

“These are matters which fall within the domain of experts. Similarly, the relief which has been of introducing a ‘standard textbook with a chapter on the Constitution’ is a matter of policy. The school syllabus contains subjects bearing on the knowledge of rights, duties and governance under the Constitution,” said the bench which also comprised Justices Indu Malhotra and K M Joseph.

“Our students are already burdened with heavy school bags on their shoulders. Why do you want to add to their burden by adding more books,” the bench asked during the hearing.

The bench also did not allow the prayer of Upadhyay that the apex court registry should send his plea as representation to the authorities for action.

“We decline to allow the office of this court to be used for directing that the suggestions which have been made by the petitioner be considered by the authorities. This is nothing but an effort to confer legitimacy on the petitioner’s attempt to enter into an area of educational policy,” the order said.

The PIL had sought directions to look into the feasibility of establishing ''One Nation One Education Board'' by merging the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education Board and the Central Board of Secondary Education.

It had said the Centre and states have not taken appropriate steps to introduce a uniform education system having common syllabus and common curriculum in spirit of Article 21A (free and compulsory education).

Children may not be able to exercise their fundamental right under Article 21A unless the Centre and the states provide value based uniform education, the plea had said.

“To achieve substantive socio-economic equality and justice, it is necessary that syllabus and curriculum in all primary schools are similar whether it is run by management, local body, Union or State Government,” it had said.

The PIL said although the medium of instructions may differ according to the official language of the
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- Friday, July 17, 2020 0
In a breather for sacked Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot and his loyal MLAs, the Rajasthan High Court on Friday stopped the Assembly Speaker from taking any action for their disqualification till Tuesday.
The two-judge bench, hearing the amended plea filed by the Pilot camp, said that the hearing will continue on Monday.

Advocate Anuj Bhandari, who was appearing for one of the lawmakers, said: "The hearing shall continue on Monday and is expected to conclude on Monday itself. Hence, the court stopped the Speaker to take any further action against the Pilot camp till Tuesday."

The Pilot camp had challenged the validity and legality of the notice sent to them on Tuesday by Speaker C.P. Joshi, asking them to explain why they should not be disqualified as Assembly members for defying the party whip.

The writ petition, filed by Prithviraj Meena and 18 other MLAs, argued that "free speech" cannot be labelled as "anti-party activity", and termed as "motivated" the complaint filed on behalf of Congress Chief Whip Mahesh Joshi.

They had argued that not attending two meetings called by the Congress Legislature Party cannot fall within the purview of para (2) (a) or (2) (b) of the Constitution's Tenth Schedule, so as to render him/them fit for disqualification on ground of defection.

Not attending party meetings as also voicing a difference of opinion outside the house are matters between the member and his party and do not fall within the Tenth Schedule, they argued.

They have also argued that they can't be served such notices when the Rajasthan Assembly is not in session.

The Pilot camp had moved the court on Thursday but then sought permission to amend their plea, which was granted. The court later accepted the amended plea filed by Pilot camp and referred to the matter to a division bench.

While the Pilot camp is being represented by two of India's top lawyers -- Mukul Rohatgi, a former Attorney General, and Harish Salve, the Speaker is being represented by Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

If the rebel MLAs are disqualified, the majority mark in the Assembly will drop, making it quite easy for Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to win a floor test.
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- Friday, July 17, 2020 0
Can a state government frame a policy, irrespective of the gravity of the crime committed, for the release of a life-term convict prematurely before completing 14 years in jail? The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Chief Justice to constitute a Constitution Bench to consider this issue.
Article 161 empowers the Governor to commute, remit and pardon the sentence of a convict, while Section 433A of the CrPC says there is no scope for any pardon or remission for a person, convicted of a crime which involves the death sentence as the maximum punishment. Therefore, a larger bench will examine the issue whether before completing 14 years in jail, can a policy by a state government allow the release of a convict, and also could this remission be granted in a blanket fashion.

A three-judge bench comprising Justices U U Lalit, Mohan M Shantanagoudar and Vineet Saran, framing the question, said "Whether in exercise of power conferred under Article 161 of the Constitution a policy can be framed, where under certain norms or postulates are laid down, on the satisfaction of which the benefit of remission can thereafter be granted by the Executive without placing the facts or material with respect to any of the cases before the Governor and whether such exercise can override the requirements under Section 433-A of the Code."

The top court also appreciated the assistance rendered by advocate Shikhil Suri in the matter of the premature release of a life term convict from Haryana. The issue cropped up in a pending bail application filed by a murder accused Pyare Lal, who was more than 75 years old. Suri informed the top court that he had already been granted remission after serving 8 years in jail, as a result of Haryana state rules. "The modalities adopted in the present matter, however, unmistakably, show that the individual facts and circumstances of the case were not even placed before the Governor", noted the top court.

The court asked that while granting remission were these basic aspects taken into consideration -- the manner in which the crime was committed and the impact of the crime on the society. Also, "the seriousness of the crime got completely suppressed and relegated in the background under the norms laid down in the policy and it was then left to the Executive to see whether any individual case came within the parameters laid down by the policy", noted the bench.

The bench observed that the consistent line of cases decided by the apex court has laid down that the principles of Section 433-A of the Code do not and cannot apply to the exercise of constitutional power either under Article 72 or under Article 161 of the Constitution.
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- Friday, July 17, 2020 0
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana: How the scheme offers highest tax-free return on your investment 
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) is the best tax saving option to secure your daughter's future. Parents can even save money for marriages of their two daughters with the help of this scheme. The scheme was started by PM Narendra Modi in the year 2015 for the benefit of the girl children.

If you need risk-free investment for your girl child, then SSY is the best saving scheme one can opt for. This scheme gives you the highest interest rate compared to any other tax-saving investment scheme. Presently, you can get 7.6 per cent interest under the scheme.

Here's how Sukanta Samriddhi Yojana offers highest tax-free return on investment:

The investment amount in Sukanya Samriddhi Account (SSA) qualifies for tax deduction under Section 80C whereas its interest and withdrawals/maturity are tax-free.

Being a small savings scheme, SSA is also covered by the sovereign guarantee, the highest form of capital protection that an investor can get. Sahil Arora, Director and Group Head, Investments, Paisabazaar.com. says- 'It's current interest of 7.6% p.a. (compounded annually) is also the highest among all small savings schemes. Hence, SSA is certainly the best option for those preferring fixed income instruments covered by the sovereign guarantee for creating investment corpora for their girl children.'

The only flip side of SSA is its lack of income certainty and long lock-in period. Unlike bank fixed deposits, the interest rate offered on SSA is not fixed.

'As with other small savings schemes, the interest rate of SSA is reviewed by the Ministry of Finance in accordance with the government bond yields. Hence, the interest rate of SSA can remain static or move up or down in the next quarters depending on the movement of the government bond yields' adds Arora.

According to Mrin Agarwal, Founder & Director, Finsafe - 'SSY is a must-buy for girl child as it gives the highest tax-free fixed return. The scheme can be used to plan for girl child education as 50% of the corpus can be withdrawn at the age of 18yrs. If the account is opened when the child is below 5 years, then the scheme would compound over a long duration thus being useful for giving the girl child a corpus at marriage.'

Who can open SSY account?

Anyone who is a resident of India can open SSY for their girl child.

The age limit of a girl child for the opening of the SSY account is up to 10 years from the birth date of the child.

After attaining 18 years of age, the girl can hold the account independently. One can deposit between Rs 250 and Rs 1.5 lakh in SSY account per financial year.

One can deposit money up to 15 years from the opening of the account.

One can open two or maximum of three SSY accounts if firstborn or second borns are twin girl children.

How to open SSY account?

The parent or legal guardian of a girl child can open the account at any Indian Post Office or authorized bank. One has to fill the form SSA-1 (Sukanya Samriddhi Account) available at any post office or authorized bank by giving all KYC details and girl child's date of birth certification along with all required documents.

After verifying all the details and opening SSY the account holder will get the passbook.

SSY matures when the girl child turns 21 or until the marriage of the girl child after she turns 18-year old.

NRIs are not allowed to open SSY account for their girl child. This benefit is only for the Indians
Key points to note about SSY:

Higher fixed rate of return (currently 7.6 per cent) as compared to other government-backed tax saving schemes such as PPF, NSC etc. The SSY account continues to earn interest rate even after maturity when no deposits are made into it Best long-term investment which provides the benefit of compounding.

One can easily transfer SSY account from one part of the country to any other part (In case of parent/guardian's transfer) One can withdraw 50% of the balance lying in the account as at the end of previous financial year for the purpose of education, marriage after attaining the age of 18 years

IN case of irregular payment/ revival of account one has to pay the penalty of Rs.50 per year along with the minimum specified amount per year. As per new rule, the default account will continue to get applicable interest even if the account is not restored/ closed after maturity.

Now, premature account closure of SSY scheme is allowed only if the account holder or the girl child in whose name the account is maintained dies or on some valid grounds including medical treatment of the account holder for critical ailments or on death of the guardian Also, one can do the payment online apart from cash/cheque/DD.

Due to Coronavirus, the Indian government has given some relaxation in the age limit to open SSY account

According to the new rule, if your daughter has grown up to 10 years old from 25 March 2020 to 30 June 2020 and you could not open her account due to lockdown, then you have another chance to open SSY account by 31st July 2020

Only to those who could not open the account due to lockdown can avail the benefit of this new rule. The age limit to open Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Account on normal days is only 10 years.
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- Friday, July 17, 2020 0
The Telangana High Court on Thursday extended the temporary stay on demolition ofbuildingsof the state secretariat till July 17.
A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy, hearing a petition filed by Prof P L Vishweshwar Rao and Dr Cheruku Sudhakar,had on July 10 orderedstay on the demolition till July 13.

Later the stay wasextended till July 15 directing the government to submit the state cabinet resolution on the demolition in a sealed cover.

Again on Wednesday it extended the stay by one day.

The petitioners alleged that the demolition of the present secretariat complex consisting of 10 blocks, approximately 10 lakh sq ft, was being done without following the due procedure of law.

The government's act is against the Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules 2016, Epidemic Diseases Act 1897 and the Environment Protection Act 1986, among other laws, the petitioners alleged.

The Telangana Advocate General informed the court that the state government has taken necessary permission from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation for the demolition.

The court while extending the stay on Thursday directed the Centre to submit a reply on whether environmental clearance was required for demolition of the secretariat complex.

The K Chandrashekhar Rao-led Government began razing to the ground the old secretariat on July 7, days aftertheHighCourtdismissed a bunch of PILs challenging the states decision to construct a new secretariat complex by demolishing the existing one.

The petitioners alleged that the demolition of the existing structures is an "arbitary action" of the state government in a pandemic situation, and deprives five lakh people of the surrounding areas from getting clean air.

After the High Court cleared the decks for the construction of the new secretariat, the demolition of the old secretariat building complex beganand the foundation stone for the new one was laid on June 27, 2019.

The state government earlier indicated that the new secretariat which would come up in about seven lakh sq ft would cost around Rs 400 crore and it had decided to equip the new one with state-of-the-art connectivity and other features.
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- Friday, July 17, 2020 0
The Supreme Court on Friday favoured a Constitution bench to decide a legal question whether a life term convict can be released prematurely before completing minimum 14 years of jail term, in accordance with a policy framed by a state government.
A bench of Justices U U Lalit, Mohan M Shantanagoudar and Vineet Saran wanted the larger bench to determine if a policy can be framed under Article 161 (Power of Governor to pardon and grant remission) of the Constitution to grant release of convicts without putting facts of each case before him.

The apex court has framed legal issues including whether such policy would run counter to the mandate of Section 433A Criminal Procedure Code. This provision restricted the power of remission on life term convicts unless they completed at least 14 years of jail.

In a series of cases namely Maru Ram vs Union of India and others (1981), the court has held that failure to put relevant materials before the Governor may lead to the quashing of remission orders, the bench pointed out.

"The question that arises is whether, in exercise of power under Article 161, a policy could be laid down setting out certain norms or postulates, on the satisfaction of which the benefit could thereafter be conferred upon or granted to the convicts by the executive without even placing the individual facts and material pertaining to the case of the convict, before the Governor," the bench said.

The matter arose out of a policy framed by the Haryana government. On the occasion of Independence Day i.e. August 15, 2019, the Governor, in the exercise of the powers granted special remission to prisoners, who have been sentenced for life. Such convicts were required to be 75 years or above in case of male and of 65 years or above in case of the female as on August 15, 2019.

A convict, Pyare Lal whose appeal was pending before the top court, was also released in terms of the policy. The court then sought to know the details of the policy.
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