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The Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha, which inquired into the cash-for-query allegations levelled by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey against TMC MP Mahua Moitra, adopted its draft report, recommending her expulsion from the 17th Lok Sabha for “unethical conduct” and “serious misdemeanours.”
The committee also recommended an “intense, legal, institutional inquiry” by the government in a time-bound manner in view of the “highly objectionable, unethical, heinous and criminal conduct” by her.
The report was adopted after voting with six MPs – 5 of the ruling NDA and Preneet Kaur of the Congress, wife of former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh who is now with the BJP – in its favour, and four from the Opposition against it.
The Opposition MPs – BSP’s Danish Ali, Congress’s V Vaithilingam, CPM’s P R Natarajan and JD (U)’s Giridhari Yadav – submitted dissent notes, disagreeing with the decision.
8 former navy personnel on Qatar death row: India files first appeal (Page no. 1
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Two weeks after eight former Indian Navy personnel, arrested in an alleged case of espionage, were sentenced to death by a court in Qatar, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said an appeal has been filed in the case. Meanwhile, India got another round of consular access to the detainees on November 7.
“The judgment is confidential. There is a court of first instance that gave the judgment, which was shared with the legal team. Considering all legal options, an appeal has been filed. We are in touch with the Qatari authorities,” MEA spokesperson.
We got another round of consular access with the eight Indians on November 7. We are in touch with the family members, adding that India will continue to extend all legal and consular support in the case.
Express Network
Criminal law bill: Centre to work on suggested changes (Page no. 5)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
Taking into account some of the key changes proposed by the parliamentary panel, the Centre is likely to introduce the three criminal law Bills in the winter session of Parliament.
The Parliamentary panel, which adopted its report on the three Bills on November 7, is expected to submit the report to the government.
However, sources told that the Law Ministry is already working internally on new drafts that would include key changes. The Parliamentary panel, headed by BJP MP Brij Lal, had suggested over 50 amendments and also underlined several typographical and numbering errors in the three Bills. The winter session of Parliament will begin December 4 and will end December 22.
SC bench now at full strength of 34 as three judges take oath (Page no. 5)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
The Supreme Court bench returned to its full strength as high court chief justices Satish Chandra Sharma, Augustine George Masih and Sandeep Mehta took oath as judges of the top court.
CJI D Y Chandrachud administered the oath of office to the three judges in the SC Additional Complex. This takes the total strength of the court, which was working with 31 judges following some retirements, back to 34.
On November 6, the 5-member Collegium presided by the CJI recommended Justice Sharma, who was Chief Justice (CJ) of the Delhi HC; Justice Masih, who was CJ of Rajasthan HC, and Justice Mehta, the CJ of Gauhati HC, for elevation to the SC, which were cleared by the government on November 8.
Justice Sharma took oath as Delhi HC CJ on June 28, 2022. He was elevated as an Additional Judge of the HC in 2008, and became a Permanent Judge on January 15, 2010. The judgments authored by him stand testimony to his legal acumen and competence.
Bihar house passes bill to raise quota cap from 50% to 65 % (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
Two days after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar called for an increase in reservation, the Bihar Assembly on unanimously passed a Bill to hike the overall quota in educational institutions and government jobs for Scheduled Castes (SCS), Scheduled Tribes (STS), Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) from 50% to 65%.
With the existing 10% quota for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), the effective quota will be 75%. The main beneficiaries are the EBCs and OBCs, whose quota is proposed to be raised from 12% to 25% and 8% to 18% respectively.
According to the state's caste survey, 36.01% of the population are EBCs, and 27.13% are OBCs. For SCs, the proposed new quota is 20%, up from the existing 14%. The SC population is estimated at 19.65%.
Express Network
Punjab plan to stop farm fire goes up in smoke (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
After years of burning paddy stubble, 41-year-old Dalwinder Singh of Malsian in Jalandhar, this year decided to opt for the baler machine.
After getting to know of the technology from his friends in neighbouring villages, he harvested the crop on October 31 and then made a pre-booking for November 4 to make bales from his 7 acres where he planted paddy.
However, its been five days and the baler machine owner is yet to set foot on his field. “Now I am waiting, and he is yet to turn up.
If he doesn’t come by tomorrow, I’ll have to set the stubble on fire as the Super Seeder, which can sow wheat in standing stubble by burying it during sowing, is also not available at the moment.”
He added that if the government is promoting ex-situ measures this year to manage paddy stubble, they should first provide more machines.
There are several farmers like me who don’t want to be blamed for pollution but what are our options? We are all ready to use this machine but it has to be available first. A baler machine collects the entire stubble from fields, and then we just need to plough the field for wheat sowing.
Editorial
India, US and the AI bridge (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
As the foreign and defence ministers of India and the US gather in Delhi this week to review and advance the defence and security partnership, cooperation in artificial intelligence ought to loom large in the discussion.
Two developments last week underline the urgency for an intensified and comprehensive India-US discussion on AI.
One is the Executive Order on AI issued by President Joe Biden, and the other is the release of the Pentagon’s updated strategy for AI adoption by the US armed forces.
While Biden’s Executive Order deals with securing the use of AI in various civilian uses, the Pentagon strategy highlights the importance of integrating the rapid developments of AI into military doctrine and operations.
The two initiatives deal with a fundamental tension between the simultaneous need to stay on top of a technology that could significantly alter the global power structure and prevent the dangers of this technology from spinning out of control.
AI is not the first technology to present this kind of tension. Its potential for misuse and social consequences are far more sweeping.
Ideas Page
People must drive the change (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
As a severe smog episode persists in Delhi and the National Capital Region, emergency action has been taken to not only restrict construction activities, waste burning, diesel generator sets, and industrial sources but also to restrain vehicle usage.
This time too, in addition to restricting trucks, all Bharat Stage III (BSIII) vehicles and BSIV diesel vehicles have been taken off the road.
Further restraints are proposed on the use of personal cars with a temporary odd-and-even scheme to regulate daily movement based on licence plate numbers.
Such emergency measures are restrictive, but are needed to slow down the peaking of pollution and prevent a further dip in air quality.
Yet, year after year, efforts to restrain vehicles provoke the sharpest public criticism. This is because of the crippling mobility crisis in the city. When faced with such measures, the gut reaction is to underplay the role of vehicles in the city’s air pollution.
Official emissions inventories of 2018 show that vehicles emit about 40 per cent of the particulate load in the city. The Decision Support System of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune, which continuously estimates the relative contribution of sources to particulate concentration every hour, finds that vehicles can contribute more than half of the pollution among local sources; they can also be the second- or third-highest contributor if local and external sources of pollution are combined.
World
India set to be in UK safe states list, ruling out asylum rights for illegal migrants (Page no. 18)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The UK government has tabled plans to add India to an expanded list of safe states, which would speed up the process of returning Indians who travel from the country illegally and rule out their chance of seeking asylum in Britain.
Draft legislation laid in the House of Commons on Wednesday includes India and Georgia as the countries to be added to the list.
The UK Home Office said the move is aimed at strengthening the country's immigration system and help prevent abuse by people making unfounded protection claims. We must stop people making dangerous and illegal journeys to the UK from fundamentally safe countries.
New Island emerges after undersea volcano erupts off Japan (Page no. 18)
(GS Paper 1, Geography)
An undersea volcano erupted off Japan three weeks ago, providing a rare view of the birth of a tiny new island, but experts say it may not last very long.
The unnamed undersea volcano, located about 1 kilometer (half a mile) off the southern coast of Iwo Jima, which Japan calls Ioto, started its latest series of eruptions on Oct. 21.
Within 10 days, volcanic ash and rocks piled up on the shallow seabed, its tip rising above the sea surface. By early November, it became a new island about 100 meters (328 feet) in diameter and as high as 20 meters (66 feet) above the sea, according to Yuji Usui, an analyst in the Japan Meteorological Agency’s volcanic division.
Volcanic activity has increased near Iwo Jima and similar undersea eruptions have occurred in recent years, but the formation of a new island is a significant development.
Economy
Moody’s keep India’s growth forecast for 2023 at 6.7% (Page no. 19)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Pre-Diwali Dhanteras buying of gold and silver in India, the world's largest gold consumer, kick-started on a positive note on on recovery of consumer demand with the softening of gold prices.
Gold prices have fallen by Rs 800-1,500 per 10 gram (24 carat) from the peak Rs 63,000-level on October 28 and this has evoked buying on Dhanteras, considered the most auspicious day in Hindu calendar for buying items ranging from precious metals to utensils, with traders expecting gold sales to surpass last year's level.
On Thursday, Gold prices plunged Rs 400 to Rs 60,950 per 10 grams in the national capital. Gold prices in Delhi were ruling at Rs 50,139 per ten grams, excluding taxes, on 2022 Dhanteras day.
In normal years, about 20-30 tonnes of gold are sold on a Dhanteras day. Traders said footfalls are expected to pick up after 12 noon and will continue till late at night.
Gold prices are in favour of business. We are positive about good sales today. We are receiving positive response from consumers and footfalls are gradually increasing.
Explained
UNESCO declares Gwalior city of Music story of its melodious past (Page no. 20)
(GS Paper 1, Culture)
The city of Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh was added to UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network (UCCN) on Wednesday (November 1) for its “strong commitment to harnessing culture and creativity”. Kozikodhe from Kerala was also among the 55 new cities to join the network.
Indian music history would be incomplete without the mention of Gwalior and the gharana that stemmed from there.
The city’s illustrious past is dotted with patronage of music — many of its rulers were musicians themselves or took a keen interest in music.
Gwalior also hosted well-known musicians, who were either born in the city or came there to learn from the masters.
Gwalior gharana, the oldest musical gharana and a significant chapter of Hindustani classical music’s history flourished under the aegis of Raja Man Singh Tomar during the 15th century.
Man Singh’s great grandfather Dungarendra Singh Tomar, a musician himself, attempted a revival of Indian classical music through academic interest and patronage.
He is known to have gifted two music treatises in Sanskrit – Sangeet Shiromani and Sangeet Choodamani – to his friend and Sultan of Kashmir Zain-ul-Abdin. The treatises comprised detailed discussions on music and musical instruments.