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5 THINGS FIRST

PM Modi to virtually address ‘Chintan Shivir’ of state home ministers; India to host UN Counter Terrorism meet in Mumbai; Delhi court to hear bail plea of Satyendar Jain in money laundering case; Former Pak PM Imran Khan to hold mega protest; T20 World Cup – Australia Vs England, Afghanistan Vs Ireland.

1. Another mega project for poll-bound Gujarat
1. Another mega project for poll-bound Gujarat
  • The Indian Air Force (IAF) will progressively induct 56 new-generation C-295 transport aircraft in the 2023-2031 timeframe under the Rs 21,935 crore deal inked last year. The move could provide a major boost to the country’s tactical airlift capability along the border with China and in the Andaman Nicobar archipelago.
  • The first 16 aircraft will be delivered in a flyaway condition by Airbus Defence and Space (Spain) from September 2023 to August 2025.
  • A facility in Gujarat: The remaining 40 will subsequently be manufactured at the Tata-Airbus consortium facility at Vadodara in Gujarat, the foundation stone for which will be laid by PM Narendra Modi on October 30, defence secretary Ajay Kumar said on Thursday.
  • A slew of projects: After the recent five-day DefExpo at Gandhinagar, the setting up of the Vadodara facility is the second such big announcement in the defence sector for poll-bound Gujarat. In September, Vedanta Ltd picked Gujarat for its semiconductor project, the first major step in its $20 billion joint venture with Taiwan’s Foxconn.
  • A first: This will be the first time a military aircraft will be manufactured by the private sector in India, breaking the virtual monopoly of defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics for decades. “Also, 96% of the total man-hour work per aircraft that Airbus employs at its manufacturing facility at Spain will be undertaken in India by the Tata consortium,” Kumar said.
  • Capability: The C-295, which can carry up to 9-tonne of payload or 71 soldiers or 44 paratroopers, is an extremely versatile airlifter with “short take-off and land capability from semi-prepared surfaces in the hilly terrain that we see in our border areas”, according to the defence secretary.
  • Fuel-efficient: IAF vice chief Air Marshal Sandeep Singh said the “extremely fuel-efficient” C-295s would “certainly surpass” the ageing Avro and AN-32 aircraft in operating from advanced landing grounds (ALGs) in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh, bordering China.
2. A shot in the arm for women in blues
2. A shot in the arm for women in blues
  • The BCCI on Thursday announced equal match fees for its centrally-contracted women and men players for participating in international matches – a move aimed at ensuring equality.
  • The Board’s landmark decision was announced through a tweet by its secretary Jay Shah. “I’m pleased to announce @BCCI’s first step towards tackling discrimination. We are implementing (a) pay equity policy for our contracted @BCCIWomen cricketers. The match fee for both Men and Women Cricketers will be (the) same as we move into a new era of gender equality in Cricket.”

Pay Parity

  • New Pay: As per the newly introduced system, centrally-contracted Indian women cricketers will now receive Rs 15 lakh per Test match, Rs 6 lakh per ODI match, and Rs 3 lakh per T20i match – the same as their male counterparts.
  • Old pay: Till now, women cricketers were paid Rs 1 lakh for a white-ball match (ODI and T20i) and Rs 4 lakh for international Test matches.
  • Kiwis did it first: Earlier this year, New Zealand Cricket had struck a deal with the country’s players’ association, which enabled its women cricketers to earn the same match fees as the men.

But…

  • No change has so far been announced in the annual contract structures.
  • As per the current annual contracts, highest paid women cricketers such as skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Poonam Yadav earn Rs 50 lakh a year by virtue of being in Grade A contracts.
  • Grade B and C contracts in women’s cricket in India are worth Rs 30 lakh and Rs 10 lakh per annum respectively.
  • Compared to that, highest paid men cricketers such as skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah are bracketed in A+ category, which entitles them to Rs 7 crore a year.
  • Grade A, B and C contracts in men’s cricket in India are worth Rs 5 crore, Rs 3 crore and Rs 1 crore per annum respectively. Read more here.

Meanwhile…

  • India beat the Netherlands by 56 runs on Thursday, after putting 179 runs for two wickets on the board in their T20 World Cup match.
  • Skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav scored half centuries.
  • Yadav was later named player of the match.
3. On Infantry Day, a warning to Pakistan
3. On Infantry Day, a warning to Pakistan
  • A warning: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said Pakistan is “committing atrocities” against people in its occupied Kashmir and will have to bear its consequences. He was addressing the ‘Shaurya Diwas’ event — enactment of landing at Srinagar by Indian Air Force on October 27, 1947.
  • India’s goal: India’s northward journey of development will be complete after reaching Gilgit and Baltistan, parts of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Singh said while referring to the 1994 resolution passed in Parliament on getting back the territories “under illegal occupation” of the neighbouring country.
  • Human rights: Accusing Pakistan of shedding crocodiles’ tears in the name of human rights, Singh said, “The pain of the people of Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir also troubles us and not just them.”
  • Terrorism: The ‘tandav’ of terrorism that Jammu and Kashmir has seen in name of Kashmiriyat cannot be described,” Singh said while asserting that terrorism has no religion and the only aim of terrorists is to target India.
  • Infantry Day: The Army hosted ‘Shaurya Diwas’ or Infantry Day at the old airfield of Srinagar (Budgam airfield) to mark the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the 1 Sikh Regiment at the old airfield of Srinagar in 1947 to protect Jammu and Kashmir from Pakistani forces. It was the first military operation of Independent India.
  • Three wars: India and Pakistan fought two major wars over Kashmir — in 1947 and 1965, and a limited war 1999.
  • China’s remark: China, Pakistan’s all-weather friend, on Thursday said New Delhi and Islamabad should resolve the Kashmir issue through dialogue and consultations and avoid taking “unilateral actions” that could further complicate the situation. India has always rejected third-party intervention on the Kashmir issue, saying that matters related to Jammu & Kashmir are entirely its internal affairs.
4. ‘Some NGOs misused FCRA’
4. ‘Some NGOs misused FCRA’
  • Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that it is the collective responsibility of states and the Centre to effectively tackle trans-border crimes.
  • Highlighting achievements of the Modi government in the field of internal security, he said that amending the Foreign Contributions (Regulations) Act (FCRA) in 2020 has helped curb misuse of law by some NGOs that indulged in anti-national activities, religious conversion, political opposition of development projects and creating obstacles in development works.
  • Shah on Thursday addressed a gathering of state home ministers, police officers and top government officials on the first day of a two-day Chintan Shivir (brainstorming session) held in Haryana’s Surajkund.

Fight against terror

  • Dip in numbers: There is a 74% dip in terror attacks and 90% decrease in terror-related killings since 2014, he said.
  • Northeast: Shah highlighted how the Modi government entered into long-term agreements with militants in Tripura, Bodoland, Karbi Anglong and several other parts of Northeast India, which led to around 9,000 insurgents surrendering arms.
  • Left Wing extremism: Shah said the country has made big strides in tackling Left Wing Extremism, recording a decrease of 77% in naxal violence and 87% in lives claimed by it after 2014.
  • Kashmir: Shah said a new era has started in Jammu and Kashmir after the abolition of Article 370. “During 37 months after August 5, 2019, terror incidents have reduced by 34% as compared to numbers recorded in 37 months preceding the date… Civilian deaths in terror incidents have gone down by 90% during the period.”
6. FIR, arrests and a political potboiler!
6. FIR, arrests and a political potboiler!
The Cyberabad police have registered a case against three men arrested from a farmhouse near Hyderabad for allegedly trying to lure four MLAs of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) with offers of huge sums of cash, important positions and contracts. The BJP has refuted the allegation of ‘Operation Lotus’ or the attempt to poach ruling party legislators.

The targets

  • The four TRS MLAs who were allegedly targeted on Wednesday are Guvvala Balaraj from Achampet, Rohith Reddy from Tandur, Kollapur MLA Harshavardhan Reddy and Pinapaka MLA Rega Kantha Rao.

Raids

  • Police conducted raids following a tip-off by the legislators. One of those arrested is from Delhi while two others were from Tirupati and Hyderabad.
  • The police reportedly seized Rs 15 crore so far. Cyberabad Police Commissioner Stephen Ravindra said the deal could be to the tune of Rs 100 crore.

Charges

  • The case has been registered under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 171-B (bribery) read with 171-E (punishment of bribery), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) read with 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) and section 8 of Prevention of Corruption Act.

Slugfest

  • TRS legislators staged demonstrations in different parts of the state to protest against what they called an attempt by the BJP to buy MLAs from the ruling party.
  • The BJP claimed that the Telangana chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had enacted a drama to draw political mileage from it. Union Minister G Kishan Reddy refuted the TRS allegations and demanded an inquiry by CBI or a sitting judge of the Supreme Court, into the whole episode.
7. How to draw a line between freebies and welfarism
7. How to draw a line between freebies and welfarism
  • What: Making a distinction between freebies and welfarism, the BJP has told the Election Commission that political parties should stress on voter empowerment and capacity building rather than making people more dependent, party sources told news agency PTI.
  • When: The BJP is learnt to have spelt out its stance on the issue on October 19 in response to the Election Commission earlier this month seeking views of all political parties on a proposal that mandates disclosure of financial viability of poll promises before elections.
  • Drawing a line: Freebies are meant for alluring voters, while welfarism is a policy intervention for inclusive growth, the BJP is learnt to have specified in its response.
  • Poll promises: The BJP, it is learnt, has no objections to the Election Commission’s idea that political parties should submit before elections details reflecting financial viability of their poll promises.
  • Freebies culture: The development comes amid an ongoing political debate which started on July 16, with PM Narendra Modi cautioning people against what he called a “revdi culture” of offering freebies for votes, and called this “very dangerous” for the development of the country.
  • Revdi is a north Indian sweetmeat made of sesame and jaggery, especially popular in winters.
  • Political fight: Of all opposition leaders, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal was the first to counter Modi, saying that he felt he was being “abused” for his welfare schemes.
  • Upcoming polls: The political exchange got amplified in the light of upcoming polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
8. ‘There’s a serious misconception that…’
8. ‘There’s a serious misconception that…’
The Supreme Court has criticised the practice of high courts to grant anticipatory bail to accused in criminal cases on the ground that no custodial interrogation is required.

SC observes…

  • A bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice J B Pardiwala said there is a serious misconception that if no case for custodial interrogation is made out by the prosecution then that alone would be a good ground to grant anticipatory bail.

Not the sole ground

  • “Custodial interrogation can be one of the relevant aspects to be considered along with other grounds while deciding an application seeking anticipatory bail,” the bench said.

Therefore…

  • The top court said the first and foremost thing that the court hearing an anticipatory bail application should consider is the prima facie case put up against the accused.
  • “Thereafter, the nature of the offence should be looked into along with the severity of the punishment. Custodial interrogation can be one of the grounds to decline anticipatory bail. However, even if custodial interrogation is not required or necessitated, by itself, cannot be a ground to grant anticipatory bail,” the bench said.

Bail set aside

  • The Supreme Court’s observations came while setting aside the anticipatory bail granted to a man accused under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 in the Wayanad district of Kerala.
  • The apex court said the observations of the high court are totally unwarranted and had been made overlooking the specific allegations in the FIR.
9. ISRO prepares for long-planned ‘space odyssey’
9. ISRO prepares for long-planned ‘space odyssey’
  • The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to start a series of test flights for India’s maiden human space flight mission from February 2023.
  • Scientists at ISRO have completed the design of the Environment Control System, which will ensure ambient living conditions for astronauts in the crew service module when they are orbiting the earth, said director of the space agency’s Human Space Flight Centre R Umamaheshwaran.
  • Addressing the India Space Congress in Delhi on Thursday, he said that at least 17 different tests are planned by ISRO next year before it carries out the unmanned space flight in December.
  • He said four candidates have been shortlisted to undertake the spaceflight. They have completed their initial training in Russia and are currently undergoing further training at the Astronaut Training Facility in Bengaluru.
  • PM Narendra Modi had announced the Gaganyaan Mission in his Independence Day address in 2018, with a tentative target of achieving it in 2022 – to coincide with 75 years of Independence for India.
  • However, the Covid-19 pandemic led to several delays and the first Indian astronauts are likely to undertake their maiden spaceflight by 2024-end or early-2025.
  • The space agency also plans to deploy the heavy lift Chinook helicopter and the C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft for testing the crew module, which will carry astronauts into the orbit for three days as part of the Gaganyaan human space flight mission, said Umamaheshwaran.
  • He said the task of designing the crew module and environment control system was a challenging one as the astronauts should feel comfortable even during the re-entry phase, when the temperatures outside the space capsule could reach over 2000 degrees Celsius.
Answer to NEWS IN CLUES
Answer to NEWS IN CLUES

H D Deve Gowda. The former PM is set to get re-elected as the Janata Dal (Secular) supremo during the two-day national executive meet of his party starting from Thursday, party sources said. The party leaders expect about 150 to 200 delegates from 13 states to take part in the event. The JD(S) will pass a set of resolutions pertaining to price rise, agriculture, problems faced by farmers, labourers, Dalits and women. During the two-day meet, the party will finalise the first list of candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections in Karnataka.

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Written by: Rakesh Rai, Jayanta Kalita, Prabhash K Dutta, Abhishek Dey
Research: Rajesh Sharma

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