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Almost two years after he was arrested and booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act by Uttar Pradesh Police which claimed he was linked to the radical Popular Front of India (PFI), Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan was granted bail by the Supreme Court. The court wanted to know what exactly had been found against him, and also noted “the length of custody undergone”.
Questioning the police claim that literature meant to incite riots had been seized from the vehicle in which he was travelling – Kappan and three others were held in Mathura on October 5, 2020 while heading to the Hathras home of a young Dalit woman who died after an alleged gangrape — Chief Justice of India U ULalit said, “Every person has a right to free expression. He is trying to show that the (Hathras) victim needs justice, and raises a common voice. Will this be a crime in the eyes of law?”.
The CJI, heading a bench that included Justices S Ravindra Bhat and P S Narasimha, made these remarks after Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, who appeared for the State, said that Kappan and others were going to Hathras with a “toolkit” to create riots.Jethmalaniwas asked what part of the seized material was provocative.
Justice Bhat pointed out that protests had occurred near India Gate following the December 2012 Delhi gangrape case. “You know, after that there was a change in the laws,” he told Jethmalani.
In its order, the bench said “at this stage, we refrain from dealing with and commenting on the progress of investigation and the materials gathered by prosecution in support of its case as the matter is set to be taken up at the stage of framing of charge”.
The bench said it was granting bail to Kappan “considering the length of custody undergone by the appellant and the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case”.
It directed that he be produced before the trial court concerned within three days and the trial court shall release him on bail on conditions it deems fit to ensure his presence and participation in the matter pending before it.
The bench asked Kappan to deposit his passport with the investigating agencies before his actual release and said he “shall not misuse his liberty in any manner nor shall he get in touch with any of the persons associated or connected with the controversy in question”.
Kappan will have to stay in Delhi for the first six weeks after his release on bail and sign a report at the local police station every Monday. Thereafter, he will be at liberty to go to Kerala where he will report to the local police station every Monday.
Gujarat to Punjab, states want free grains scheme to go on beyond September (Page no. 3)
(GS Paper 2, Welfare Scheme)
With several states cutting across party lines — from BJP-ruled Gujarat to Congress-led Rajasthan — set to seek an extension of the free foodgrains scheme (Pradhan MantriGaribKalyan Anna Yojana) beyond September 30, the Centre may be inclined to continue with it for at least a few more months.
To alleviate Covid distress, the PMGK Anna Yojanawas initially announced for a three-month period (April-June 2020) and was extended several times, with its sixth phase ending September.
Given the quantum of wheat and rice available in the buffer stock now, free food-grains can be provided to the poor for another three months till December 2022.
The Sunday Express had on September 4 reported that the decision to extend it would be a “political call” given the costs involved. The bill for the first six months (April-September 2022) is estimated to be about Rs 80,000 crore, and the Department of Expenditure under the Union Ministry of Finance had, in an internal note, advised against extending it both on “grounds of food security and on fiscal grounds”.
When contacted, Gujarat Food & Civil Supply Minister Naresh Patel said the state is likely to request the Central government to further extend it, at least till Diwali.
The Diwali festival will be there in October. So, we are likely to write to the Central government to extend it till Diwali, so that it provides respite to the poor families.
According to Patel, the state government is providing free food grains to around 71 lakh families holding cards under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) covering a population of around 3.5 crore.
Rajasthan Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said the Centre must continue the PMGK Anna Yojana beyond September.
I will write to the Centre about it. Apart from this, the Centre should also increase the limit for the number of NFSA beneficiaries for states, as more people want to be included but due tothe upper cap set by the Centre, we are not able to include them.
Some states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar said it was for the Centre to take a final decision since it was a Union government scheme, some others like Punjab and Maharashtra said they were awaiting the Centre’s feedback on extending it, and still some others like Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, said they have their own free food-grains scheme. These three states said they would continue distributing food-grains free even if the Centre ended the scheme.
A government functionary said it was not so much the financial burden, but the position of buffer stock that will influence the final decision. “It is certainly a political decision.
After gold and silver on the world stage, Chopra puts on diamond show (Page no. 3)
(Miscellaneous)
The first Indian to win a track and field gold at the Olympics, the first Indian to win a silver at the World Championship is now the first to win the title of Diamond League Champion.
Neeraj Chopra, the 24-year-old, is turning into a hoarder of medals and trophies. Not satisfied with the famous gold in Tokyo and the historic silver in Eugene, Chopra had set sights on the glittering trophy given to winners of the Diamond League final in Zurich.
Just an hour after winning the World Championship silver in July, Chopra was talking about his next target — being a Diamond League champion.
Like the greats, he has willed himself to achieve his target. A groin injury suffered during the World Championships was overcome and so were the challengers.
In the absence of double world champion Anderson Peters (recovering after a brawl), Chopra was the favourite to win. He once again lived up to his reputation of delivering in the big finals. There were a bunch of fans displaying ‘Chopra Go’ alphabet cards, a sign of how popular he had become over the past year.
Wearing an orange jersey and a headband to keep his hair from falling into his eye as he gains speed on the runway (he had cut his hair before the Olympics to keep it out of his face), Chopra found his range in his second attempt.
His first attempt was a foul and Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch had improved from 84.15 metres to 86 metres in Round 2 to remain the early leader.
Chopra wouldn’t have been perturbed by the distance of the Czech thrower. There was a big throw around the corner, Chopra knew it and so did everyone watching.
As the javelin left this hand, Chopra turned around, let out a roar and raised his right hand in the air without caring to look how far the spear had gone.
This mini-celebratory routine is one Chopra has made his own. This part war cry and part statement of intent is not aimed at dissing anyone rather it precedes what is bound to be a medal-winning throw.
Meet the blockbuster ‘rice man’ who fed the world (Page no. 3)
(GS Paper 3, Agriculture)
He’s to rice what the ‘Father of the Green Revolution’, Norman Borlaug, was to wheat. ButGurdev Singh Khush – no food crop in history has been planted on as much area worldwide as his blockbuster IR36 and IR64 varieties – is the unlikeliest of rice breeders.
For starters, Khushisn’t much of a rice eater: “I prefer wheat and chapati any day”. That makes him quite like the ‘Milkman of India’, VergheseKurien, who simply disliked milk and could never drink it.
More pertinent, though, is that Khush hadn’t really seen paddy fields till he arrived as a 32-year-old at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Los Baños, The Philippines. That was in end-July 1967.
As the eldest son of a farmer Kartar Singh – they were Jat Sikhs from Rurkee village in Phillaur tehsil of Punjab’s Jalandhar district – Khush, born on August 22, 1935, recalls only maize, wheat, moong (green gram) and mash (black gram) being grown on their 15-acre land.
Rice was a minor crop in Punjab then, cultivated in low-lying bet areas around rivers and only for self-consumption,” says the 87-year-old, who was recently at his alma mater Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) to attend a two-day symposium on ‘Transforming the Green Revolution Hub of India’.
Its focus was on innovations in plant breeding and policies to promote crop diversification and sustainable farming in Punjab.
The record of “not seeing rice”, right through his primary education in the village to the Khalsa High School in Bundala that was about 7 km by walk, continued even at the Government Agricultural College, Ludhiana. Khush graduated from this institution (which, in 1962, became PAU) in June 1955. His good marks secured him admission to the University of California, Davis (UCD) with a half-time assistantship to pursue a Master in Science leading to a PhD.
Khush’s PhD research was on rye, a cereal closely related to wheat and barley. His thesis project involved “investigating the genetic affinities between cultivated rye and the wild species”.
Not long after its completion in July 1960, he was offered a post-doctoral position by Charles M Rick, the world-renowned authority on tomato biology, as assistant geneticist at UCD’s department of vegetable crops.
Khush’s work, for the next seven years, was on mapping and exploring the tomato genome – “all its 12 chromosomes”.
It was rather accidental. In August 1966, the director of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Robert F. Chandler invited Khush to join the six-year-old institute. Chandler had earlier visited UCD and was looking for a bright young plant breeder to work at IRRI.
Govt. and Politics
Murmu: TB most fatal among infectious diseases, its eradication is duty of all (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 2, Health)
To speed up the country’s fight against tuberculosis (TB) and achieve the target set by the Prime Minister of eliminating the disease by 2025, President DroupadiMurmu launched the ‘Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan’.
Under the programme, patients will be provided food baskets, support for additional diagnostic, and vocational training to family members by the community.
At the virtual event, the President said this “janandolan” is the duty of all countrymen. “As compared to any other infection, TB kills the most number of people in India.
It has also been seen that the disease mainly affects the poor. This is the reason PM Narendra Modi has set the target of eliminating TB soon…The government’s initiative and people’s participation can make it a success.
When people connect with an abhiyan, the probability of success goes up,” said Murmu, appreciating the work of the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and his team, along with the state ministers and local officials.
She said India set an example for the world during Covid-19 with tireless efforts of the healthcare workers, community leaders, and citizens and emphasised the need to adopt a similar whole-of-society approach to eliminate TB.
Ni-kshay” portal, which can be used by the individuals, NGOs, and corporates to adopt TB patients, was also launched on Friday. The portal will also have a real-time tracker of the number of people who get adopted.
Mandaviya, who has also pledged to become a Ni-kshaymitra and support TB patients from his hometown, said, “Over the last two years, there have been many hindrances because of Covid-19 that cannot be ignored. But, increasing the pace of our work, we can eliminate TB by 2025.”
He said, “I will become a Ni-kshaymitra, you become one, too. Adopt the patients, help them with food and vocation, give them love and strength so that they can recover and live a normal life.”
He attributed success of the TB programme on key indicators such as TB case notifications and consistent efforts that led to monthly notification reporting to reach pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2021.
Highlighting the importance of a patient-centric healthcare system, Mandaviya lauded the contribution of supportive schemes such as the Ni-kshayPoshanYojana that provides Rs 500 support through direct benefit transfer to the patients. Over 65-lakh persons have received a total support worth Rs 1,700 crore under the programme since it was launched in 2018, according to the Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan.
The Health Secretary said over 1.22 lakh health and wellness centres have been operationalised across the country and services to cure TB are being offered by them.
The government has also focused on utilising technology and started creating digital health IDs for TB patients under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Mission to ensure proper diagnostics and treatment are available to them.
Editorial Page
TB Muktindia (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, Health)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often emphasised the important role of janbhagidari (people’s participation) in solving critical problems and building a prosperous nation. His words — “when 130-crore countrymen take one step ahead with a set goal and the commitment to resolve, India moves 130 steps forward” — carry special resonance.
The Swachh Bharat Mission, Covid-19 vaccination drive and the recently-concludedHarGharTiranga campaign are examples of this synchrony between the government and citizens.
When the two come together for a common mission, programmes have a great chance of success. Can we then capitalise on janbhagidari to make India TB free by 2025?
PM Modi has set the ambitious goal of making India TB-free by 2025, five years ahead of the global target for eliminating this disease.
Inspired by PM Modi’s commitment to the cause, we initiated the Ni-kshayPoshanYojana under the aegis of the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP) to support the nutritional needs of TB patients.
Under this scheme, over 62 lakh TB patients have received financial support amounting to Rs 1,651 crore since 2018. This includes a transfer of Rs 500 directly into the bank account of the patient.
The government has been working tirelessly to provide free diagnosis, free medicines and other kinds of support to people who have been affected by the disease. However, I believe that collective action will give the drive for TB-mukt Bharat unprecedented energy.
Any individual or organisation can register as Ni-kshayMitra on the Ni-kshay 2.0 portal to support people affected by the disease.
The initiative intends to provide essential nutritional and social support to people with TB and root out stigma and discrimination against them.
Three types of support are essential. First, a kit that contains appropriate food and supplements to take care of their nutritional needs. Second, support for additional lab-based diagnostic requirements.
Third, equipping the patients with vocational skills to help them join the workforce and live a prosperous and productive life.
Explained Page
Dolphin, porpoise: First time, avian flu is seen in cetaceans (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
A bottlenose dolphin found dead in a Florida canal in the spring tested positive for a highly virulent strain of bird flu, scientists said on Wednesday.
The announcement came a week after Swedish officials reported that they had found the same type of avian influenza in a stranded porpoise.
This version of the virus, which has spread widely among North American and European birds, has affected an unusually broad array of species.
But these findings represent the first two documented cases in cetaceans, a group of marine mammals that includes dolphins, porpoises and whales.
It is too soon to say how commonly the virus infects cetaceans, but its discovery in two different species on two different continents suggests that there have “almost certainly” been other cases, said Richard Webby, an influenza virologist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis.
Our surveillance activities on a global scale are never sensitive enough to pick up the only two events of this kind, who was not involved in the initial detection of the virus but is now working with the Florida team on follow-up studies.This strain of bird flu is known as Eurasian H5N1.
While experts emphasise that the risk to humans remains low, the spread of the virus to new species poses potential risks to wildlife and provides the virus with new chances to mutate and adapt to mammalian hosts. Besides birds, the virus has earlier turned up in foxes, bobcats, skunks, and seals.
Economy
Illegal loan apps: FM orders action; RBI to make ‘white list’ (Page no. 19)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Noting concerns on increasing instances of money laundering, tax evasion and criminal intimidation by illegal loan apps, especially against low-income persons, the government has asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to prepare a “white list” of legal digital lending apps to be permitted in app stores.
The RBI will also monitor money laundering through mule/rented accounts, take proactive action in cancelling dormant non-banking financial company (NBFC) licences and remove unregistered payment aggregators within a timeframe.
The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday, which discussed various issues related to illegal loan apps.
There have been rising instances of fraud by digital lending apps, which are not registered with the central bank and operate on their own.
The Finance Minister expressed concern on increasing instances of illegal loan apps offering loans/ micro credits, especially to vulnerable & low-income group people at exorbitantly high interest rates and processing/hidden charges, and predatory recovery practices involving blackmailing, criminal intimidation, etc.
She also noted the possibility of money-laundering, tax evasions, breach/privacy of data and misuse of unregulated payment aggregators, shell companies, defunct NBFCs, etc, for perpetrating such actions.
It was also decided in the meeting that the central bank will ensure registration of payment aggregators within a timeframe and no unregistered payment aggregator will be allowed to function after that. The Corporate Affairs Ministry will identify shell companies and deregister them to prevent their misuse.
All ministries and agencies have been directed to take all possible actions to prevent operations of such apps. Steps would be taken to increase cyber awareness for customers, bank employees, law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders, the Finance Ministry said.
The meeting was attended by the secretaries in the finance and electronics & IT ministries, and an RBI deputy governor.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided several premises in Bengaluru, including those of Razorpay, Cashfree Payments, Paytm Payment Service and also entities controlled or operated by Chinese individuals.
The crackdown, coming in the wake of complaints against Chinese loan apps, were carried out under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.