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With about a week to go before Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be face-to-face with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Africa for the BRICS leaders’ summit, India and China will hold their 19th round of military talks as part of continuing efforts to ease the standoff along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh which is in its fourth year now, officials said.
The Indian delegation will be led by 14 Corps Commander Lt Gen Rashim Bali. The last round of talks was held on April 23 ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting.
Legacy friction points along the LAC in eastern Ladakh and ways to overcome the trust deficit between the two militaries were discussed.
Officials told The Indian Express that confidence-building measures, ensuring adherence to border protocols, sharing of patrol information to avoid clashes between troops and ensuring adequate communication between the ground troops —along the LAC and at buffer zones — would be discussed.
The fact that the talks are being held after almost four months — and weeks after Indian and Chinese Foreign Ministers and National Security Advisors have had meetings — signals a sense of urgency.
Bills on Delhi services data protection among 7 to get President nod (Page no. 1)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
The contentious Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, on control of services in the Capital, has received presidential assent.
With this, it becomes law, replacing the ordinance that was promulgated after the Supreme Court ruled on May 11 that the elected government had control over services in Delhi.
The AAP government challenged the constitutional validity of the ordinance and the Supreme Court referred its plea to a Constitution Bench.
The Delhi services law is among seven Bills signed by President Droupadi Murmu, according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice.
The other laws which have now come into force are: The Digital Personal Data Protection Act; The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act; The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Act; The Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Act; The National Dental Commission Act; and The Offshore Areas Mineral (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act.
The GNCTD Act provides for the creation of a National Capital Civil Service Authority for transfer and posting of Group-A officers in Delhi.
The Chief Minister is one of the three members of the Authority, while the two others are bureaucrats. The decisions by the Authority are to be taken by a majority and, in the event of a dispute, the matter will be referred to the L-G whose decision will be final.
Opinion
IPC is history: In 1837, how Macaulay cracked the code (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
Home Minister Amit Shah surprised the nation on August 11, the last day of the Monsoon Session by introducing three Bills in Lok Sabha to overhaul the country’s criminal justice system.
The minister told the House that the colonial mindset of giving punishment, rather than justice, was at the foundation of our criminal laws.
According to the government, the three new Bills to replace the Indian Penal Code of 1860 (IPC), the Evidence Act of 1872 and the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1973 will simplify procedures, make the laws relevant to the contemporary situation and provide speedy justice.
At the centre of our criminal justice system is the 164-year-old IPC, which defines crimes and prescribes their punishment.
The architect of this law was an English lawyer, Thomas Babington Macaulay. He once described his legal experience as being limited to convicting a boy of stealing a parcel of cocks and hens. But Macaulay had a sharp mind, studied law at Cambridge and was interested in politics. His writings brought him into public focus, and a senior politician offered him a pocket borough seat. As a result, Macaulay became a member of the House of Commons in 1830 at the age of 30.
In 1833, the UK Parliament debated the Charter Act, a law which would fundamentally alter the functioning of the East India Company.
It added a law member to the Governor General’s Council with the requirement that the individual was not employed by the company. Participating in the debate, Macaulay made a passionate plea for a uniform code of laws for India.
World
US China agree to double weekly flights between two countries (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The Biden administration moved to double number of weekly flights between the world's two largest economies, the latest progress of bilateral aviation cooperation amid geopolitical tensions.
Experts said the move, in response to the vast demand, will help promote the direct passenger flight market toward recovering to the pre-COVID levels.
The US Transportation Department (DOT) said in a Friday order that each country will gain an additional six weekly round-trip flights as of September 1, up from the current 12, while the figure will increase to 24 per week starting from October 29, meaning a doubling of current levels.
The round-trip flights will be carried out between three US carriers and six Chinese airlines including Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Sichuan Airlines and Xiamen Airlines.
Our overriding goal is an improved environment wherein the carriers of both parties are able to exercise fully their bilateral rights to maintain a competitive balance and fair and equal opportunity among US and Chinese air carriers.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), China's aviation regulator, has not issued a statement as of press time.
Economy
Jio Financial Services set for listing; allots stocks to RIL's shareholders (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Jio Financial Services Ltd (JFSL) is all set for listing of its shares on the stock exchanges. The company said the equity shares allotted to the eligible shareholders of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) have been credited to their demat account on August 10.
The financial services company said it has applied to the BSE and the NSE for listing of the equity shares. This comes three-week after JFSL demerged from RIL.
JFSL said its board in a meeting held on August 10 allotted 635.32 crore equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each to the shareholders of RIL as on the record date of July 20.
The equity shares allotted have been credited to the demat account of the shareholders on August 10, 2023 and the said equity shares shall remain frozen in the depository system till listing/ trading permission is granted by BSE, the designated stock exchange,” JFSL said in a regulatory filing to exchanges.
The share ratio for the demerger process was 1:1, which means that all shareholders of RIL were eligible to receive one share of JFSL for every one share of RIL owned as on the record date. As on June 30, the total number of shareholders of RIL was 35.06 lakh.
JFSL said its board noted the cancellation and reduction of the entire pre-scheme paid up share capital of the company comprising 20.20 lakh shares of Rs 10 each and 31.48 lakh non-cumulative compulsorily convertible preference shares of Rs 1 each aggregating to Rs 2.33 crore, without any consideration, upon allotment of the equity shares.
On July 20, stock exchanges conducted a special pre-opening session (SPOS) on account of demerger of JFSL from RIL. JFSL shares were valued at Rs 261.85 per share in the session.