Morning Digest: July 09, 2023

Pro-Khalistan protest in London subdued

A pro-Khalistan protest outside the Indian High Commission in London was relatively subdued and passed off without incident on Saturday. The duration of Saturday’s demonstration was less than the scheduled duration of about 3-3.5 hours. Only a handful of people gathered in the rain to attend the protest (The Hindu estimated 35-40 were in attendance at one point ), in sharp contrast with protests at the same location earlier this year.

No clarity in Karnataka Budget on reimbursements to RTCs and Escoms for Shakti, Gruha Jyoti schemes

In a Budget that was eagerly awaited not just for being the first by a new State government, but also for curiosity about the implementation of the five guarantees by Congress, there appears to be no clarity on how the respective corporations and companies will be reimbursed for the welfare schemes.

Coming, women-only courts for alternative dispute resolution 

The Centre is launching a unique initiative of setting up women-only courts at the village level as an alternate dispute resolution forum for issues like domestic violence, property rights and countering the patriarchal system. The scheme would be launched on a pilot basis in 50 villages each in Assam and Jammu and Kashmir from August and would be extended to the rest of the country over the next six months.

U.S. sends its top human rights official to Delhi and Dhaka

Close on the heels of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the U.S., the Biden administration’s top official on human rights issues is visiting India and Bangladesh for talks with a number of senior government officials, and civil society activists. The official will also meet the Tibetan Buddhist leader the Dalai Lama, in a visit loaded with messaging for the region.

Rahul Gandhi defamation case | Gujarat High Court mum on societal interest in averting expensive election

The Gujarat High Court has refused to stay the conviction of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case while upholding the cause of “purity in politics”, but the judgment does not directly deal with the question of “societal interest” involved in averting an expensive and cumbersome election to a parliamentary constituency, as a number of previous judgements have done.

Centre adding more services to Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres 

India’s five-year-old Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs) programme, which has grown to more than 1.60 lakhs centres and registered a footfall of over 178.87 crore (as of June end), is undergoing its biggest ever expansion of services, confirmed sources in the Health Ministry.

Deliberations on to increase intake numbers, percentage of permanent intake through Agnipath scheme

With the first batch of Agniveers having joined the units and got deployed on the ground, there are deliberations going on over increasing the intake size per batch from around 46,000 and the recruitment to permanent cadre from 25% to 50%. This comes as the services, especially the Army, look to make up for the shortage in personnel that has accumulated over the last three years.

Centre pulls up West Bengal for allegedly transferring midday meal funds towards elections

In a strongly worded letter, the Union government has sought an explanation from the West Bengal government regarding the diversion of PM POSHAN (midday meal scheme) funds for State elections. The letter dated July 7, a copy of which was accessed by The Hindu, states, “Bare perusal of the fund transfer suggests that funds earmarked for midday meal under PM POSHAN are being used for a different purpose. The papers made available on WhatsApp by the State officials suggest that a dormant bank account has been used for transfer of funds for State elections. It may be agreed that this is contrary to the principles of financial management as distinct bank accounts are to be used for distinct purposes.”

Jain monk murdered; body was cut into pieces and dumped in a defunct borewell

The search for the missing Jain monk in Belagavi district ended on Saturday with the shocking revelation of his murder and recovery of his body parts from an open defunct borewell in a field at Katakabavi in Raibag taluk of the district. As the situation is tense, Belagavi Superintendent of Police Sanjiv Patil and other senior officials are camping in Katakabavi and Hirekodi villages and additional police forces have been deployed there.

Aditi Swami becomes U-18 compound world champion

Rising archer Aditi Swami defeated Leann Drake of the USA to become the Under-18 women’s world champion in Limerick on July 8. Fresh from breaking the Under-18 compound women qualifying record at last month’s World Cup, Aditi carried the momentum to the ongoing Youth World Championships to defeat Leann 142-136 in the final.

Duleep Trophy 2023 | South Zone edges out North Zone in intense finish

Tamil Nadu’s R Sai Kishore came up with a splendid all-round show as South Zone trumped North Zone by two wickets on a rain-interrupted but thrilling last day of the Duleep Trophy semifinal in Bengaluru on July 8 .In the final, South will take on defending champions West Zone in a repeat of the 2022 title clash.