Prolawctor Daily Current Affairs Insights | 13 December 2020

PROLAWCTOR DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS INSIGHTS

LEGAL NEWS

Madras HC has quashed the proceedings imitated against Karti Chidambaram 

• The Madras High Court has quashed Income Tax proceedings initiated against Karti Chidambaram for failing to disclose cash transactions worth about Rs. 7 crore in connection with the sale of the property.
• He is son of former Union Finance Minister P.Chidambaram, and his wife.
• Ruling that the action was “not maintainable and premature”, the court clarified that the proceedings may be initiated again if the concerned authorities required proper assessment. 

New Delhi: Public Interest Litigation for Population Control: Family Planning Cannot Be Forced

• New Delhi: The Center has told the Supreme Court that India is adamant on forcing its people to do family planning and forcing some children to do so is unfavorable and could lead to demographic distortions.
• In an affidavit filed in the apex court, the health ministry told the apex court that the country’s family welfare program is voluntary, allowing couples to determine their family size and adopt family planning methods appropriately with their liking and without any compulsion.

2 years after the appointment, the SC panel started working on the ISRO intelligence case

• Thiruvananthapuram: The Supreme Court has granted bail to retired SC Judge D.S. K. Two years after the direction of the internal three-member committee. ISRO’s top scientist S.
• If a conspiracy has been hatched among the then police officers to falsely defraud Nambi Narayanan, Jain will be sitting in the state capital on December 1 and December 1 for the first time.
• This was followed in 2018 by the then Chief Justice Deepak Mishra; Justice A.M. was of the bench.
• Khanwilkar, and Justice DY. Chandrachud decided to appoint a committee headed by Jain and asked the Center and the Kerala government to name each member of the committee under Jain.

High Court closes Ashok Arora’s case challenging SCBA’s decision to suspend him as secretary

• The Delhi High Court on Friday closed the case filed by lawyer Ashok Arora challenging the SCBA’s decision to suspend him from the post of secretary after the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) leaders agreed to settle the dispute.
• Justice Rajiv Shakdhar ordered a stay on the proceedings after both Arora and SCBA President Dushyant Dave agreed to a settlement.

Attack on Nadda’s convoy: MHA asks IPS officers of West Bengal to work on central deputation

• A few days after the attack on BJP chief JP Nadda’s convoy, the Home Ministry (MHA) issued unilateral summons to three West Bengal IPS officers to work on central deputation for alleged breach of duty, officials said.
• Bholanath Pandey (SP, Diamond Harbor), Praveen Tripathi (DIG, Presidency Range), and Rajiv Mishra (ADG, South Bengal) were taking charge of the security of the BJP chief during his December 9-10 visit, to the state of political instability.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Lawsuit to overturn presidential election results rejected by US Supreme Court

• The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a lawsuit filed by Texas, along with 17 other States, and backed by President Donald Trump.
• They were seeking to overturn the results of presidential election in key states.
• Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas said they believed the court was required to hear the case but expressed no position on Texas’ claim. As many as 126 Republican Congressmen had also backed the lawsuit.
• Mr. Biden not only bagged the most popular votes in the presidential electoral history of the United States, his tally in the electoral college was also more than 300 out of the 538 votes.
• The election results are scheduled to be formally certified next week.

Emergency use of Pfizer coronavirus vaccine approved by Mexico

• The Mexican government’s medical safety commission approved the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine Friday, making Mexico the fourth country to do so.
• Mexico is set to receive 250,000 doses of the vaccine, enough for 125,000 people, because each person requires two shots. Lūpez-Gatell has said that front-line health workers will get the shots first.
• Vaccinations are expected to begin as soon as next week.

Northern Nigeria’s school attacked by Gunmen

•  Police said on Saturday that Gunmen have raided a government secondary school in northern Nigeria’s Katsina state in an apparent kidnapping attempt for ransom.
• The bandits came on motorcycles firing sporadically and tried to enter the school. Also they were forced to retreat and were being tracked, but the spokesman made no mention of casualties.
• Local residents said the attackers had carried off students, but it was unclear how many. Nonetheless, reinforcements had been deployed to search for any missing students.

Antitrust lawsuit against Google to be brought up by California

• California will join the U.S. government and 11 other states in bringing lawsuits against Google for abusing its market dominance.
• The U.S. Justice Department and 11 states in October brought a civil case against Google for pursuing an illegal monopoly in its search functions and in its advertising research services.
• The U.S. Justice Department also accuses it of forcing consumers and advertisers to use its services on Android devices on apps that cannot be deleted, such as Google Maps.

Britain to end state support for fossil fuel sector exports

• Britain said on Friday that it is ending state support for fossil fuel industry exports, and shifting government assistance to low-carbon and renewable energy projects abroad.
• The announcement by Prime Minister Boris Johnson comes a day before he co-hosts a virtual summit with more than 70 world leaders to mark the fifth anniversary of the Paris climate accord.
• The U.K. government said it will end export finance, aid funding and trade promotion for new crude oil, natural gas or thermal coal projects, with very limited exceptions.

NATIONAL NEWS

PM says,  the government has always tried to help farmers

• PM Narendra Modi,  talks about the new rules are made for the benefit and betterment of farmers.
• The new reform laws would help them to expand their market at virtual level.

To Know Why Farmers Protesting in India against New Legislation Visit Here

Parties and Candidates were asked to give opinion about the expenditure limits set on Lok Sabha, Assembly polls

• The limit for Expenditure was last revised in 2014.
• The committee is set up to examine and revise the new set limits on Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.

Jaishankar informed that LAC of India-China has been put to stand off

• The meeting would be held with national security challenge board.
• It was also informed that India has been tested for the same and the results would be in its favour.

Toll Plaza occupied by farmers : Haryana

• The overpowering of farmers has been increased and they have taken the toll plaza under their control.
• The staff is also unable to do anything due to the increased number of farmers.

With Elections coming in West Bengal, BJP and Mamta started their tactics for vote bank

• BJP voting bank has been risen in the West Bengal since 2014.
• The BJP leaders are highly positive about the results of the Election.

Fire breaks out at chemical plant in Hyderabad

• Eight people were injured after a major fire broke out at a chemical factory in the Industrial Development Area in Bolarum, Hyderabad. 
• The police officer talks about the cause of fire that A solvent was kept for some reaction, after which it caught fire.
• Eight members with injuries have been immediately shifted to Hospital.

103 kg gold ‘missing’ from CBI custody

• In 2012,the CBI conducted raids at the offices of Surana Corporation Ltd and 400.47 kg gold (including ornaments).
• Following this, the gold was kept in the safes and vaults of Surana Corporation Ltd but under the CBI’s lock and seal. Recently when they opened, it measures only 103 kg gold.
• the Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu Crime Branch-CID police to investigate the matter and they mentioned it was Agni paritcha for CBI.

Museum at statue of unity to showcase making of India

• The Gujarat government has decided to build a museum at the Statue of Unity campus site to showcase recollection of history that made the dream of united India possible.
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s statue or the Statue of Unity was inaugurated near the Narmada Dam in Gujarat in 2018 by PM Modi on Sardar Patel’s 143rd birth anniversary.
• Themuseum will showcase related documents signed in presence of Sardar Patel, the photograms, precious items, artefacts, glimpses of forts and palaces, weapons and gifts of royals etc.

India uses its electoral rolls for distribution of covid vaccine

• India will deploy its vast election machinery to deliver 600 million doses of coronavirus vaccines to the most vulnerable people in the next 6-8 months through conventional cold chain systems.
• The government has lined up cold storage facilities with temperatures between 2-8 degrees Celsius (36 to 48°F), said VK Paul, who heads the group of experts on vaccine administration for Covid-19 that advises India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• He added that these preparations meet the requirements of what he said were the four emerging candidates in the race for India’s vaccine.

Nadda convoy attack: 3 IPS officers were called by home affairs

• The home ministry has called three IPS on central deputations.
• These officers were responsible for arranging security for BJP president JP Nadda during his West Bengal visit.
• The home ministry has informed the West Bengal government about the decision of calling the three IPS officers on central deputation.

BUSINESS NEWS

Together, public institutions and the PVT sector will help developed economies to resolve a pandemic: Satya Nadella

• Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO, said that working together with public institutions and the private sector would benefit emerging economies.
• He emphasized the need for a “social contract” between the state, the private sector and civil society at large.
• He added that there is a need to ensure that the modernisation of the public sector is facilitated. Nadella said the public-private collaboration helps to make progress and add more ubiquity to the table.
• The India-born executive said that technology played a crucial role across industries during the pandemic. Digital tech will enable durability and transformation, Nadella said.

Ahead of the stock market launch, Burger King grey market premium surges, up 83 percent over problem price

• As compared to 7,44 crore shares on sale, Burger King IPO received bids for 1,167 crore equity shares.
• The shares of the US-based fast-food corporation are trading on the grey market at an 83 percent premium.
• Burger King commands a premium over its issue price of Rs 50-55 per share in the grey market. Momentum in the unlisted market has been high for Burger King.
• Institutional investors over-subscribed their portion during the bidding process 85 times. 15% of the total issue was reserved for non-institutional investors or high net worth investors.
• Motilal Oswal suggested a ‘subscribe for listing benefits’ strategy for Burger King’s solid brand position, ambitious store expansion plans, and healthy growth prospects.

5-year IT target accomplished in 3 years: CMM Deputy Uttar Pradesh Deputy

• The Uttar Pradesh government said it had achieved a five-year goal of attracting Rs 20,000 crore investment and creating three lakh jobs in just three years in the IT sector.
• According to the new UP Electronics Manufacturing Policy, the government has now set an ambitious goal of ensuring Rs 40,000 crore investment and creating four lakh jobs.

The worst performing stocks of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala; in these shares, Big Bull lost Rs 303 crore

• Rakesh Jhunjhunwala was one of the biggest investors in the 2020 bull markets.
• A number of stocks have doubled in value where he owns a large interest. There are however, some parts of his portfolio that this year have not been that compelling.
• He has retained the company’s 2 crore equity shares since the end of the previous fiscal year. Delta Corp reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 54 crore as revenue declined 80 percent. Over the past year, shares of Delta Corp have plummeted 26.22 percent.

Three executive directors were appointed by the Reserve Bank of India

• R Subramanian, RS Ratho and Rohit Jain have been named by the Reserve Bank as executive directors.
• RBI said Ratho would take charge of the Department of Capital Markets Activities, the Department of Foreign Investments and Operations, the Legal Department and the Department of the Secretary. Ratho was Chief General Manager, Operations Department of Financial Markets.

SPORTS NEWS

Rishabh Pant slams 22 runs in last over of play, scores 73-ball hundred

•  Rishabh Pant was batting on 81* after which he slammed four fours and a six off Jack Wildermuth during the second practice match against Australia A.
• He reached his hundred in just 73 balls.
• It is Pant’s seventh first-class hundred.

Rohit fit to join Team India

• The BCCI said that Rohit Sharma has completed his rehabilitation process at the NCA and is now “clinically fit”.
• He will be reassessed by the Team India medical team post his quarantine in Australia to establish his fitness status.
• Call on his participation in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be taken accordingly.

Gabbard introduces bill to ban trans athletes from women’s sports

• US lawmaker Tulsi Gabbard introduced a bill into the House of Representatives that would stop the federal funding of schools if they permit transgender girls and women and non-binary people to compete in women’s sports.
• Transgender activists termed the bill as ‘transphobic’.

Green ruled out of practice match after being hit on head while bowling

• Australia all-rounder Cameron Green has been substituted out of the second practice match between India A and Australia A with a concussion after being hit on the head while bowling.
• The 21-year old was likely to debut against India in the first Test, starting December 17.

Hanuma Vihari slams 21^st 1^st-class ton as India A lead by 472 runs on Day 2

• Batsman Hanuma Vihari slammed his 21^st first-class century off 188 balls on Day 2 of the second practice game between India A and Australia A.
• Batting first, India posted 194 runs in their first innings and then restricted Australia to 108 runs.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, MEDICINE AND DEFENCE

India-Uzbek-Iran Dec 14 trilateral meet on Chabahar port to push connectivity in Eurasia 

• The first Trilateral Working Group Meeting between India, Iran and Uzbekistan following Friday’s Indo-Uzbek summit on joint use of Chabahar Port
• It will be held virtually on December 14.

India being tested, will meet national security challenge: Jaishankar on border standoff 

• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday minced no words when he stated that China’s actions this year along the Line of Actual Control significantly impacted public sentiments and the real danger is that the goodwill
• It was developed will be dissipated.  
  
  

The FDA has authorized Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. Now what?

• It’s the first to win emergency use approval in the United States.
• The U.S. federal government has said that about 2.9 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be shipped out within 24 hours of FDA’s emergency use authorization.

Ericsson Files Lawsuit Against Samsung Over Patent Licensing Issues

• Ericsson said it had filed a lawsuit with the district court for the Eastern District of Texas, accusing Samsung of “violating contractual commitments to negotiate in good faith and to license patents on Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) terms and conditions.”
• Researchers develop first biohybrid artificial retina with silk fibroin and retinal cells.
• An international research led by the Complutense University of Madrid has taken a further step to solve AMD
• AMD derived blidness problem with the development of the first biohybrid artificial retina built with silk fibroin and retinal cells.