SC directs for Non-Combatant Permanent Commission of women in Indian Army:
The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Centre to grant permanent commission to all women officers in the Indian Army within three months. It said – “For this reason, we have noticed that the engagement of women in the Combat Arms has been specifically held to be a matter of policy by the judgment of the Delhi High Court and which is not in question in the present appeals. …………That in our view is not the manner in which the steps taken progressively by the Union Government to bring women into the mainstream of the Army (except the Combat Arms) can be viewed. The salient decision of the Union Government to extend PCs to women SSC officers in all ten streams in which they are commissioned is a step forward in recognising and realising the right of women to equality of opportunity in the Army. This marks a step towards realising the fundamental constitutional commitment to the equality and dignity of women”. Read the full judgment
Support for CAA: More than 150 eminent citizens, including former judges, top armed forces’ commanders, bureaucrats and academicians, have written to President Ram Nath Kovind in favour of the Narendra Modi government’s recent policies related to citizenship and their registration. The 154 prominent people have termed the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR) as a “false and motivated campaign”.
Death warrant issued: Dharmender Rana, Judge, on Monday issued the black warrant to execute the four men, who raped and killed a young woman on her way home in December 2012, on March 3 at 6 am. In a six-page order, the judge Rana said putting off the date of execution any further would be “sacrilegious to the rights of the victim for expeditious justice”. This is the third death warrant to be issued by the court, ordering that the four condemned convicts – Mukesh Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Thakur (31) – be “hanged by the next until they are dead on March 3”.
British MP ousted: The government has said that British parliamentarian who is claiming that she was denied entry into India, had her e-visa cancelled. Labour MP Debbie Abrahams claimed on Twitter that she was informed about her visa cancellation when she reached Delhi. “Ms Debbie Abraham was not in possession of a valid visa to visit India. Entry into the country was therefore denied,” home ministry sources said on Monday. “Her e-visa was cancelled and she was informed regarding the decision in advance. She didn’t have the visa when she landed at IGI airport,” the sources further said.
FATF on Pakistan: The FATF on Monday said several terrorist groups continue to benefit from funds raised through illegal activities and from supporters worldwide despite the international terror financing watchdog tightening the standards on flow of money. The week-long Financial Action Task Force plenary, currently on in Paris, will decide Pakistan’s fate — whether it will continue in the FATF’s ‘Grey List’, or will be put in the ‘Black List’ or escape from listing. Without naming Pakistan, the FATF said in a statement that terrorists use various methods to gain financing, including using social media to identify new followers and to solicit financial or other forms of material support.
SC on Shaheen Bag protest:
The Supreme Court said on Monday that people have a fundamental right to protest against a law but the blocking of public roads is a matter of concern and there has to be a balancing factor. Blockade of public road at Shaheen Bagh is “troubling us”, the Supreme Court said on Monday and suggested that the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protesters go to another site where no public place would be blocked.
Locals of Assam: A home ministry-appointed committee has recommended that two-third seats in the Assam assembly should be reserved for the indigenous people of the state and 1951 should be the cut-off year to define the local population, sources said on Monday.
Make in India: Government tenders worth about Rs 30,000 crore were cancelled because of discriminatory practices being followed, a top official said on Monday. Restrictive and discriminative tender practices prevent participation of domestic companies in government procurement, hurting ‘Make in India’ initiatives. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) from time to time has intervened to change conditions in those tenders in order to promote ‘Made in India’ goods.
SEBI: Sebi chief Ajay Tyagi on Monday said it will soon come out with a circular to prevent incidents like Karvy Broking Services Ltd (KSBL), which had allegedly misused clients’s securities, and asserted that whatever action required will be taken. “We will just wait and see,” he said, referring to the dues to be paid by KSBL. As of February 14, Tyagi said the total dues of KSBL stood at Rs 1,189 crore.
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Monday, Feb 17, 2020
New Delhi 16 °C