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India, Finland sign MOU for developing cooperation in the field of environmental protection and biodiversity conservation

By
The Commune
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India and Finland today signed a MOU for developing cooperation between two countries in the field of environment protection and biodiversity conservation.

The MoU is a platform to further advance Indian and Finnish partnership and support, exchange best practices in areas like prevention of Air and water pollution; Waste management; Promotion of circular economy, low-carbon solutions and sustainable management of natural resources including forests; Climate change; Conservation of Marine and Coastal Resources; etc.

The MoU was signed virtually by Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change from the Indian side and Ms Krista Mikkonen, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Government of Finland from the Finnish side.

Speaking at the event Minister Javadekar said that the MoU also provides the possibility to have joint projects in areas of mutual interest. “This MOU will definitely commits us to work together more closely towards on the fulfilment of commitments made under Paris Agreement.”, said the Environment Minister.

Minister Javadekar also informed that India has achieved its voluntary target of reducing emissions intensity of its GDP by 21% over 2005 levels, by 2020 and is poised to achieve 35% reduction well before the target year of 2030.

As part of its Nationally Determined Contributions submitted under the Paris Agreement , India has taken three quantitative climate change goals viz. reduction in the emissions intensity of Gross Domestic Product  by 33 to 35 percent by 2030 from 2005 level, achieving about 40 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel based energy resources by 2030 and creating an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.

The MoU will strengthen technological, scientific and management capabilities and develop bilateral cooperation in the field of environmental protection and biodiversity conservation on the basis of equality, reciprocity and mutual benefit with due respect to promotion of sustainable development.

(Published from PIB)

Modi pitches for “One Nation, One Election” to face the challenges of 21st century

By
The Commune
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (November 26) again stressed on the “One Nation, One Election” formula to save time and money while accelerating the growth and development of the country.

Elections in India is one of the most arduous tasks that has been universally accepted. Even today historians are writing on how a newly independent India managed to hold free and fair elections back in 1951-52.

PM Modi said that “One Nation, One Election” is not only a matter of debate, but is also the need of the hour for India while addressing the concluding session of the 80th All India Presiding Officers Conference via video conferencing in Gujarat’s Kevadia on the occasion of the celebrations of Constitution Day.

In his speech Modi said, “Only one voter list should be used for Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha and other elections. Why are we wasting time and money on these lists? Friends, One Election isn’t just an issue of deliberation, but is also the need of the country. It hampers the developmental work and all of you know about it. We must think about it seriously and office-holders can lead deliberations on this.”

The Prime Minister was addressing the Officers on Constitution Day and said “I would urge you to take initiatives to make aspects of our Constitution more popular among our youth and that too, through innovative methods,” said the Prime Minister.

The idea “One Nation, One Election” was first mooted when Modi became Prime Minister in 2014 which triggered knee-jerk opposition from not just the political parties but also academicians, policy analysts and opinion makers. 

“One Nation, One Election” would lead to the reduction of cost to the exchequer and more importantlty give governments at the state and at the center more free time to implement welfare schemes.

However, the original idea for holding one election came from former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2003, which the Congress President Sonia Gandhi did everything she could to divert. 

In his speech Modi took a swipe at the Congress for its delay tactics and sited the Sardar Sarovar dam project, which the Congress delayed for so long with no regrets.

Modi stressed on the “the importance of duties”, and said Gandhi was very keen on it as he saw a close link between rights and duties.

He said, “Our Constitution shows us the way to fight every challenge in the 21st century. Our Constitution is moving swiftly towards its 75th year. In such a scenario, we have to work in a planned way to turn processes in sync with the new decade.”

Time to set up a National Court of Appeal and let SC be a constitutional court: Attorney General

By
The Commune
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To reduce the burden on the Supreme Court (SC), Attorney General K K Venugopal on Thursday (November 26) recommended setting up a National Court of Appeal, separate from SC, to hear the appeals from the lower courts.

The Attorney General observed that the Supreme Court’s function should that be of a constitutional court, dealing only with the issues of national and constitutional importance.

He was speaking on the occasion of the 71st anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution at an online event organized by the Supreme Court.

Present in the online summit were President Ram Nath Kovind, Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde and Union law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

November 26, commemorates as our Constitution Day, and in 1949 India adopted its new Constitution.

Venugopal said that the Court of Appeal could have four benches — north, south, east and west — having 15 judges at par with the SC judges.

The suggestion was made due to the prospect of a high burden on the apex court as it resumes normal functioning after the pandemic.

“This will require a constitutional amendment. This will leave Supreme Court with a pendency of only 2,000-3,000 cases a year as compared to present figure of 60-70,000. It will allow top court judges more time to patiently read and write judgments, as currently they sit till midnight reading case files listed for next day,” Venugopal was quoted as saying by HT.

CJI Bobde also acknowledged that huge pendency will arise when the pandemic ceases and talked about the resilience the judiciary displayed in the face of the crisis by not missing a single day.

Kangana has the last laugh, Bombay HC says Maha Govt had malafide intention

By
The Commune
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In a huge win for Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut and a blow to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, the Bombay High Court set aside the BMC notices to Kangana Ranaut issued on 7th and 9th September, and called demolition at her place as action with “malafide intent”.

The ruling was made by Justices SJ Kathawalla and RI Chagla and as per them, there was no unauthorised construction as alleged by the BMC on Ranaut’s property, finding that it was only existing work as opposed to illegal alterations.

To assess the damage, the High Court also ordered that a valuer will be appointed to ascertain damages caused due to the demolition. Once that is complete, the report by the valuer will be submitted to the court and on that basis, the High Court will pass an order on compensation to Kangana Ranaut.

However, the court asked Kangna to show restraint while commenting on other people on social media and otherwise, and that she may take steps to make her property habitable and to regularise the same.

Kangana took to Twitter and said, “When individual stands against the government and wins, it’s not the victory of the individual but it’s the victory of the democracy. Thank you everyone who gave me courage and thanks to those who laughed at my broken dreams. Its only cause you play a villain so I can be a HERO.”

In a clear vindication for Kangana Ranaut the court has found that the demolition of the actor’s property was a reactionary activity, in view of the happenings surrounding the demolition – the insulting remarks made by Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut against Ranaut, the ensuing visit of the BMC to Ranaut’s property, the timeline of the demolition activity and the attempts made to delay the High Court hearing in the matter which resulted in 40 per cent of the demolition being carried out.

“We would, however, refrain from giving a verdict on malice.. however.. even if one assumes that the malice does not amount to personal bias and may call for a trial, it does amount to legal malice. The manner in which the action was carried out leaves no doubt that not using Section 354 was more sinister and preventing her from taking a recourse.”

 

Nisha Rao, Pakistan’s first transgender lawyer hopes to become judge

By
The Commune
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Nisha Rao, a 28-year old transgender lawyer in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi who once begged in the streets is now hoping to become Pakistan’s first transgender judge.

“My goal, my vision, my dream is to become Pakistan’s first transgender judge,” said Nisha to news agency Reuters.

Pakistan, which is an Islamic nation, approved a law in 2018 that recognized transgenders as equal people and legalized punishment for discrimination and violence against them. 

However, the ground reality is quite different and many transgender people in  Pakistan and other South Asian country face discrimination, inequality and injustice.

Nisha Rao used to beg on the streets or dance at weddings to earn a living and now has become a lawyer who aspires to be a judge. 

Rao comes from an educated middle-income family in the eastern city of Lahore from the most populous state of Punjab. She was only 18 when she ran away from her home after realising that she was different from others. 

When she reached Karachi, the elders of the trans community who gave her shelter advised her to either beg or becomer a sex worker to survive in this city. 

In order to survive, Rao started begging at traffic signals and saved enough money to pay for her law classes and now she has the license to practice and became a member of the Karachi Bar Association.

Even before she received her credentials, Rao had fought 50 cases and is associated with a trans-rights non-governmental organization that works for the rights of transgenders.

DMK office bearer sends mercenaries to attack youth who had filed a complaint against him for grabbing land

By
The Commune
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A youth who had lodged a complaint against a DMK office bearer for encroaching land on the banks of a pond, was attacked by mercenaries sent out by the latter a few days back.

Masanamuthu hails from the Vellalore area of ​​Coimbatore and is engaged in doing fishing business. He had filed a petition against ‘Meenkadai’ Siva, a DMK office bearer from Singanallur, alleging that the latter had occupied about 24 acres of land near a pond in the area worth ₹75 crores and demanded that steps be taken to recover the property from him.

Coming to know of this complaint, the DMK office bearer is said to have sent mercenaries to kill Masanamuthu.

A frightened Masanamuthu fled and took refuge in Palani and is said to have returned to Coimbatore again on Monday (November 23). The DMK office bearer once again knowing of his whereabouts sent his men to attack Masanamuthu.

Masanamuthu, who escaped with serious injuries, lodged a complaint at the Coimbatore Police Commissioner’s Office on Tuesday morning (November 24) as he felt that there was no point in lodging a complaint at the Singanallur police station.

Speaking to media, Masanamuthu said that appropriate action should be taken against the DMK office bearer and his mercenaries for attacking.

‘Meenkadai’ Siva is a regional henchman for the DMK and a close aide of former Animal Husbandry Minister Pongalur N. Palanisamy. He was arrested in 2011 over another land grab case.

India’s installed renewable energy capacity increased by 2.5 times in last 6 Years: PM at RE-Invest 2020

By
The Commune
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Narendra Modi bureaucrats bureaucracy IAS officers

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the 3rd Global Renewable Energy Investment Meeting and Expo (RE-Invest 2020) through video conferencing. The summit organised by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy was themed ‘Innovations for Sustainable Energy Transition’.

The Prime Minister expressed happiness that within a short time much progress has been achieved from from megawatts to gigawatts in generation capacity in the renewable energy sector. He said that “One Sun, One World, One Grid” are becoming a reality, all of which were discussed in the earlier editions. He added in the last 6 years, India is travelling on an unparalleled journey. He pointed out that India’s generation capacity and network is being expanded to ensure every citizen of India has access to electricity. He said that India’s renewable power capacity today is the 4th largest in the world and is growing at the fastest speed among all major countries. The renewable energy capacity in India is currently 136 Giga Watts, which is about 36% of our total capacity.

The Prime Minister expressed happiness that India’s annual renewable energy capacity addition has been exceeding that of coal based thermal power since 2017. He highlighted that in the last 6 years, India has increased installed renewable energy capacity by two and half times. He said investing in renewable  energy early on even when it was not affordable has helped in achieving the scale, which is bringing costs down. He said we are showing to the world that sound environmental policies can also be sound economics. He said we have ensured energy efficiency is not limited to one ministry or department, instead it has been made a target for the entire government. All our policies have a consideration of achieving energy efficiency.

The Prime Minister said after the success of Performance Linked Incentives (PLI) in electronics manufacturing, we have decided to give similar incentives to high efficiency solar modules. He stressed that ensuring “Ease of doing business” is our utmost priority and dedicated Project Development Cells have been established to facilitate investors. He announced that there are huge renewable energy deployment plans for the next decade and are likely to generate business prospects of the order of around $ 20 billion per year. He invited investors, developers and businesses to join India’s renewable energy journey.

(Published from PIB)

Indian Navy inducts two predator drones on lease from America for surveillance

By
The Commune
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In a major boost to enhance surveillance in the Indian Ocean region and possibly across the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the Indian Navy has inducted two Predator drones from an American firm on a year-long lease, India Today reports.

Under the emergency procurement powers provided by the Ministry of Defence, these drones which are capable of carrying out surveillance for more than 30 hours have been acquired. 

“The drones arrived in India in the second week of November and were inducted into flying operations on 21 November at Indian Navy base at INS Rajali,” the news agency quoted top government sources.

The three military branches plan to obtain 18 more such drones from the US and under the Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 and the Defence Procurement Manual 2009 the United States can allow for leasing weapon systems cuts down expenditure as the vendor is responsible for the maintenance of the system.

That is why an American crew is accompanying the equipment as well as assist in the maintenance and technical issues. However, the Indian Navy will be handling the control of the joystick and sortie planning.

But the most important point is that the Indian Navy will exclusively hold the rights of the data collected via the drones.

It must also be noted that since the drones will be flown by the Indian navy pilots. they must have gone through extensive training and orientation. Also, there is no information available or not disclosed if these drones will only be used for surveillance or they carry any weapons package like the hellfire missiles.

The MQ-1 Predator drones are capable of carrying more than 1,000 pounds of bombs and missiles capable of striking targets at land, sea and air.

14 year old transsexual boy lured and forced into sex work by transgender persons

By
The Commune
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Haleema*, a 14 year old transsexual boy belonging to the Muslim Scheduled Caste community, was decoyed by a transgender cartel and forced into sex work on the pretext of getting his sex-change operation done.

Haleema hails from Kalimetupatti near Utthamapalayam in Theni district. Last week he was at the Dindigul bus stand when two transgender persons named Sathya and Aparna working for another transgender named Sona had approached him. They had interacted with him and took his mobile phone number. Two days later, they had called Haleema and enticed him to come to Trichy under the pretext of getting his sex-change operation done earlier.

Haleema started for Trichy on November 25 and had gone to the place where Sathya, Aparna and Sona were living. They had told Haleema that they would get his sex-change operation done in the next six months but he had refused as he came to know that sex-change operation could be done only after one attains 15 years of age. Later, they forced him to drink alcohol and had threatened to attack him if he didn’t. They had called his parents and asked them to file a police complaint through a transgender in Theni stating that Haleema went missing.

At around 7 PM that day, they had taken Haleema to the Samayapuram highway for sex work. They had collected ₹500 from a male ‘customer’ and made Haleema do oral sex to him. When Haleema had questioned them about making him do all this, they had told him that they have an NGO named TGCANE under their control through which they will get be able to get away.

The next day Haleema escaped from their place and managed to back to his parents. He had narrated these details in a letter addressed to the National Council for Transgender Persons, a copy of which The Commune has accessed.

Speaking on the matter, intersex activist Gopi Shankar Madurai who is also the southern region representative in the National Council for Transgender Persons said that the way the Childline handled this complaint was very insensitive. “They need to be more sensitive towards handling the cases related to non-binary, gender non-conforming and transsexual children.”, Gopi said.

He also added that neither the District Collector nor the Trichy Commissioner of Police were responsive towards this issue.

“We have asked the concerned authorities to register a complaint. The Kollidam D4 police station is not registering this sensitive complaint which comes under POCSO. The Commissioner is also not responding.” Gopi said.

(* name changed)

Kerala leads the tally of new daily COVID cases

By
The Commune
-

44,489  new confirmed COVID cases have been registered in the last 24 hours in the country. Of these, 60.72% is contributed by six States/UT i.e. Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

Kerala leads the tally with 6,491 new COVID cases. Maharashtra has reported 6,159 new cases, while Delhi registered another 5,246 new cases in the last 24 hours.

60.50% of the 524 case fatalities reported in the past 24 hours are concentrated in six States/UTs- Delhi, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are the common states among the top six states contributing maximum to new cases as well as daily deaths.

Delhi with 99 deaths reported the maximum new fatalities. Maharashtra saw a fatality count of 65 followed by West Bengal with 51 deaths.

India’s present active caseload (4,52,344) is 4.88% of the total Positive Cases, and has been sustained below the 5% mark.

65% of the active cases are in 8 States/UTs which have contributed to the maximum daily new cases and the daily highest deaths.

61% of the total deaths are concentrated in these 8 States/UT.

20 States/UTs have reported Recovery Rate less than the national average.

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TheCommune
The Commune is a news and views portal focusing on social and political issues of the southern part of India with a focus on Tamil Nadu.
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