Whatsapp 93125-11015 For Details
The Varanasi district court granted four more weeks to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to complete the scientific survey of the Gyanvyapi mosque complex and submit its report.
District Judge A.K. Vishvesh pronounced the order extending the deadline. The court in an order on July 21 had directed the ASI to carry out the survey on the premises of the 17th-century mosque, located next to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, to determine whether it had been constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple.
The survey began on August 4 after the Allahabad High Court upheld the district court order, which gave the ASI time till September 4 to survey the entire complex except the wuzukhana (pool of ablution) and submit its report.
The ASI, on September 2, filed an application in the Varanasi court seeking an extension of eight weeks to file the report as it needs time to remove debris covering the original features of the structure.
The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, caretakers of the mosque, had opposed the application stating that the ASI was going against the court’s directions by digging up parts of the complex.
The orders for the survey had been given taking on record an undertaking made on behalf of the ASI that no excavation work would be carried out at the site and no damage would be caused to the structure.
Editorial
An overhaul, the criminal law Bills, and the big picture (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
The central government introduced three Bills in Parliament in August. Called the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 and the Bharatiya Sakshya (BS) Bill, 2023 they are to replace the existing Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973 and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, respectively.
Though some amendments have been made and gaps filled through judicial pronouncements, the statutes have stood the test of time. It is worth examining how the proposed changes will impact law enforcement agencies.
There is an explicit provision in the BNSS on the registration of a cognisable offence in any police station, irrespective of the area where the offence is committed.
Though this practice (known as recording first information report, or FIR at Zero) has been in use for many years now, its formal inclusion in the BNSS may help complainants get their cases registered as a matter of right without running around.
A provision has been added to permit the conduct of a preliminary inquiry to ascertain the existence of a prima facie case even if the information discloses commission of a cognisable offence punishable with more than three years but less than seven years of imprisonment.
This is at variance with the ratio of the Supreme Court judgment in Lalita Kumari versus Govt. of Uttar Pradesh (2013), where it was held that the police have no option but to register an FIR if the information discloses commission of a cognisable offence.
Though certain categories were carved out to conduct a preliminary inquiry, this was only to ascertain commission of a cognisable offence and not check their truthfulness.
News
China’s Premier Li Qiang arrives in India facing first international test (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived in New Delhi evening for the G-20 Summit, which will, for the relatively unknown second-ranked Chinese leader, mark a first major international diplomatic test.
Mr. Li earlier this week attended the East Asia Summit in Jakarta, but the G-20 will pose its own challenges with its higher profile and the presence of Western leaders who have been sharply critical of China, especially for its stand on the Ukraine crisis, a major sticking point that threatens to derail a joint communique for the first time in G-20 history.
He also lands in India at a low point in China-India relations. As of Friday evening, officials from both sides indicated no plans had been made for a structured bilateral meeting, although Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr. Li will have the opportunity for informal interactions along the sidelines of the G-20.
Substantive talks on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) situation are unlikely as Mr. Li, unlike previous Premiers such as Wen Jiabao, only handles economic matters, with the office of the Premier significantly downgraded under President Xi Jinping’s one-man rule.
Ukraine war unlikely to end in immediate future: Guterres (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Efforts to build a peaceful world are faltering and the Ukraine conflict is unlikely to end in the immediate future, Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres said.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the G-20 Summit that will begin here on Saturday, Mr. Guterres laid out the concerns of the UN, and said the world could not “go on like this”.
He spoke forcefully for a change of the global multilateral institutions. He also appreciated India for placing the “development agenda at the centre” of the G-20.
“Divisions are growing, tensions are flaring up, and trust is eroding — which together raise the spectre of fragmentation and ultimately confrontation. The global financial architecture is outdated, dysfunctional, and unfair.
It requires deep, structural reform. And the same can be said about the United Nations Security Council,” said Mr. Guterres. He appreciated India’s G-20 Presidency.
India has assumed the G-20 Presidency with a very strong priority on the development agenda and at the same time, India has been doing everything possible to fully represent the interest of the Global South in the preparation of the summit.
India has indeed corresponded to its promise not only to speak on behalf of the Global South but to put the development agenda at the centre of the G-20 works.
He said the conflict in Ukraine was likely to drag on as both sides — Ukraine and Russia — had “decided to move on with the conflict”. “I am not very hopeful of a peace solution in the immediate future.
Obviously we should pay tribute to those who tried to do everything possible to find this dramatic situation find an end.
We have a lot to bring to the G-20 table: African Union chief (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 2, International Organisation)
The African Union is confident of becoming a full member of the G-20 during the Delhi summit beginning here on Saturday, says its Chairperson, Azali Assoumani.
Mr. Assoumani, who is also the President of Comoros, said member countries of the G-20 should invest in industrialisation of Africa.
Assuring the members that Africa is willing to do what it takes to deal with the immigration issue being faced by the European countries, he urged the G-20 economies to utilise African resources to manufacture products in Africa.
Since I became the chair of the African Union, we have held several rounds of conversation with the G-20 members to make African Union a member of the G-20 and we have seen a lot of support from them for our membership.
We are hopeful that we will become a G-20 member tomorrow [Saturday]. We are hopeful that we can work together and we have a lot to bring to the table of G-20.
He pointed out that Africa is facing problems such as drought and conflicts, but to find a lasting solution, the economic issues of Africa have to be dealt with.
Our main priority is to achieve industrialisation. We have a lot of resources in Africa but unfortunately we do not process them in the continent and that is why it is important for us to work with organisations like G-20 so that they can invest in Africa and process and produce goods in Africa.
Africa’s problems can be solved by the African countries but the world also has to step in with investments and supplies to ensure that the goals are met.
New Delhi declaration ‘almost ready’, says India’s G-20 Sherpa (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 2, International Organisation)
The joint declaration is “almost ready”, said India’s G-20 ‘Sherpa’ Amitabh Kant, indicating that the Sherpas, or leaders’ representatives for the G-20 countries, will now hand over the document to the G-20 leaders who begin their summit on Saturday in an effort to close the gaps, mainly over the paragraph on Ukraine.
Mr. Kant also downplayed issues with China during the negotiations, and said that while all countries have a “veto power” over the joint statement to be issued, India had been able to bring “every single country” on board with its priorities.
Our New Delhi declaration is almost ready”, Mr. Kant said at a briefing on Friday, ahead of the G-20 Summit. The New Delhi leaders’ declaration which you will see after the Summit, will have the voice of the Global South and developing countries. No document in the world would have such a strong voice for the developing countries.
Speaking about the finance track, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth, who is also the Co-Chair of the finance track of negotiations, said the delegates had a particularly “rich and intense” discussion on reform of multilateral development banks, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and India was “highly hopeful that discourse over the past nine months will get a positive consideration from the leaders”.
World
Philippines condemns ‘illegal’ actions by Chinese boats in South China Sea (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The Philippines condemned “illegal” actions by Chinese vessels after the boats allegedly interfered in another resupply mission to a remote military outpost in the disputed South China Sea.
Two Philippine Coast Guard vessels were escorting supply boats to Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands when they encountered four Chinese coast guard and four “militia” boats.
While the cargo was successfully delivered to the handful of Filipino troops on a grounded Navy ship, the Chinese vessels had carried out “harassment, dangerous maneuvers, and aggressive conduct” towards the Philippine boats, the National Task Force said.
The Task Force strongly deplores and condemns the continued illegal, aggressive, and destabilising conduct of the CCG and the CMM within our nation’s EEZ,” the task force said, using the acronyms for the Chinese vessels and the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone.
China claims almost the entire waterway, through which trillions of dollars in trade passes annually, and has ignored an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
In a statement, the China Coast Guard accused the Philippine boats of entering the waters around the reef “without obtaining permission”.
Second Thomas Shoal is about 200 km from the western Philippine island of Palawan, and more than 1,000 km from China’s nearest major landmass, Hainan island.
Business
‘India’s G-20 lead effective, even if Russia absent’ (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Russia’s war on Ukraine, which has escalated food and energy prices, is the most important threat to global growth, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on September 8, stressing that the G-20 remains an effective forum to address global challenges even without Russia’s active participation, a reference to Vladimir Putin’s decision to skip the bloc’s New Delhi summit.
The Treasury Secretary said India’s G-20 leadership had proven effective on several fronts, including the reforms of multilateral development banks (MDBs) and in addressing the debt concerns of vulnerable countries.
We see G-20 as the premier organisation that is taking on critical challenges facing the global economy,” Ms. Yellen remarked. “The G-20, in spite of obvious problems due to Russia’s war against Ukraine, and Russia’s general absence from G-20 initiatives, has been extremely effective, especially under India’s leadership.
On the prospects of the G-20 summit in New Delhi yielding a communique, Ms. Yellen noted it is challenging to craft such language but the negotiators are working hard to do so.
RBI decides to discontinue I-CRR in a phased manner (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to discontinue the Incremental Cash Reserve Ratio (I-CRR) in a phased manner. The measure was intended to absorb surplus liquidity generated by various factors, including the return of ₹2000 notes to the banking system.
Based on an assessment of current and evolving liquidity conditions, it has been decided that the amounts impounded under the I-CRR would be released in stages so that system liquidity is not subjected to sudden shocks and money markets function in an orderly manner.
While 25% of the I-CRR maintained would be released on September 9, another 25% would be released on September 23 and the balance would be released on October 7.
China slows fertiliser exports, raising concerns in India (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Around half a million metric tons of urea are held up at Chinese ports after the country curbed exports following a price surge.
CNAMPGC Holding Ltd., one of China’s top fertiliser exporters, said it would proactively decrease exports and “make every effort” to ensure domestic supply and price stability, according to a notice dated September 2 on its website.
State-owned China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) has also urged its subsidiaries to prioritise urea supply to the domestic market ahead of the autumn sowing season, according to a September 4 notice seen by Reuters.
These curbs have triggered fears of a rise in global prices and spending by Indian companies, as India imports about 30% of urea needed annually and China was its second-largest supplier last year.