India

New Delhi, Jan 19 (IANS) The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued notice to National Investigation Agency (NIA) and sought its reply in four weeks' time in an appeal filed by convicts in a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) conspiracy case.

Last year on November 28, Special Judge Shailender Malik had handed life imprisonment to four namely Sajjad Ahmed Khan, Bilal Ahmed Mir, Muzaffar Ahmed Bhat, Ishfaq Ahmed Bhat and Mehraj-ud-din Chopan for various offences under Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), after they pleaded guilty in the case.

Tanveer Ahmed Ganie was granted five years of rigorous imprisonment.

A division bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Talwant Singh listed the matter for next hearing on March 24.

Representing the convicts, the counsel told the court that the appeal being dealt with currently is only the first appeal on the NIA court's decision of sentencing them for life.

The counsel further told the court that the convicts "pleaded guilty" to the charges.

"So the question is u/CrPC the appeal is limited to the extent of sentences, but whether u/NIA Act, I can argue more, because it's notwithstanding anything contained in the CrPC. But in any case... sentence for life was awarded particularly when remorse had been expressed & time of court was saved. The most extreme sentence of life imprisonment has been given in the case of waging war against the State when no violence actually occurred", the counsel said.

"It may be an excessive case of first-time offenders particularly when the court has come to the conclusion that they were not the moving figures. All of them were camp followers," the counsel added.

The NIA lodged an FIR in March 2019 and started the investigation.

--IANS
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Jammu, Jan 19 (IANS) A low intensity earthquake measuring 3.2 on the Richter scale occurred in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday and there were no reports of any casualty or damage to property.

Officials of the disaster management authority said the quake struck at 12.04 p.m.

The epicentre of the temblor was in the Doda area. Its latitude was 33.21 degrees north and longitude 75.72 degrees east.

It occurred at a depth of 10 km inside the earth.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Jan 19 (IANS) As per the Indian Railways, the premium service of the Vande Bharat Express connecting New Delhi and Jaipur will start soon, which will reduce the travel time between the two cities from four hours to just two hours.

Travelling by other trains on the New Delhi-Jaipur route normally takes about four hours.

So far, eight Vande Bharat Express trains are running on different routes in the country with the latest one being the Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat Express connecting the two states.

Other Vande Bharat Express trains include New Delhi-Varanasi, New Delhi-Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra, Gandhinagar Rajdhani-Mumbai and Howrah-New Jalpaiguri.

Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said: "Vande Bharat is an excellent train. It can travel 0-100 km in 52 seconds, while other trains in the world take 54 to 60 seconds. India's designs are even better than aeroplanes. It can provide the most comfortable travel experience."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during the inauguration of Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat Express, said that seven Vande Bharat trains (running already) had covered a cumulative distance of 23 lakh km, which is equivalent to 58 rounds of the earth.

Modi added that more than 40 lakh passengers had travelled in these trains so far.

Vande Bharat Express train has 14 AC Chair Car coaches and two Executive AC Chair Car coaches with a capacity of 1,128 passengers.

They are equipped with indigenously designed, modern passenger amenities.

The Railways is planning to run 400 such trains across India, in the next three years.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Jan 19 (IANS) The Congress on Thursday opposed the new IT rules draft and accused the Centre of muzzling the Internet and Censoring Online Content through PIB calling it the Narendra Modi government's definition of "Fact Checking".

Addressing a press conference here, the party's Media department Chairman Pawan Khera said, "Bulldozing the Press is not new for the Modi government. The popular term "Godi Media' is now ingrained in the psyche of most Indians, and now this Government wants to make it 'Godi Social Media'!"

The Congress alleged that the Fact Checking Unit (FCU) of the PIB has remained a habitual offender in converting "Truth" to "Fakery", to save Modi government's image.

This, the Congress leader said, "essentially means that PIB's Fact Checking Unit has become a judge in taking down content which might not suit Modi government's image. Even the Editors Guild of India, on Wednesday, released a statement showing 'deep concern' about this sly insertion in the Rules. Objecting to the words, 'in respect of any business of the Central Government', they said that 'this will stifle legitimate criticism of the government and will have an adverse impact on the ability of the press to hold the government accountable' ".

He said the Congress has in the past raised several questions about the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 202, which have forgotten all the safeguards and protections accorded to social media by the landmark Shreya Singhal case. This new addition to the already dire, drastic, and draconian rules have added one more layer of dictatorial power to crush the vibrant culture of discourse, deliberation and dissent in India.

"The Indian National Congress strongly condemns this surreptitious assault on free speech and vile censorship. We demand that the new amendment in the Draft IT Rules be immediately withdrawn and that these rules be discussed threadbare in the forthcoming session of Parliament," Khera added.

By extending the consultation period for the draft amendments to the IT (Intermediary Guidelines & Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, till January 25, the Modi government has slyly added a provision that states that any news report which might be deemed fit as 'false' and be checked as 'fake' or 'false' by the Fact Checking Units of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) - can be taken down from the social media/online websites/OTT platforms by the Government, he stated.

Rule 3(1)(b)(v) of the amended version of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 states that platforms "shall make reasonable efforts to cause the user of its computer resource not to" post content that has been "identified as fake or false by the fact check unit at "Press Information Bureau of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting or other agency authorised by the Central Government for fact checking or, in respect of any business of the Central Government".

--IANS
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Kanpur, Jan 19 (IANS) The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT-K) and University of Alberta, Canada have signed an agreement for a joint degree program (JDP) and research collaborations.

The agreement between the two universities paves the way for doctoral students at either university to participate in the joint degree program and conduct research at the partner university.

The agreement will also foster research collaborations between faculty members of the two universities on energy materials, systems and technologies needed towards clean energy transition.

According to an official release from IIT-K, the agreement was signed by IIT Kanpur Director Prof. Abhay Karandikar and Prof. William Flanagan, President and Vice-Chancellor from the University of Alberta.

The agreement sets out guidelines for faculty from the two universities to jointly supervise a doctoral student and will give admitted students a chance to conduct research and visit the partner university for a period of one year or more.

The program will provide students with the opportunity to work with world-renowned faculty at both institutions in key research areas of mutual interest and will allow them to gain valuable experience while pursuing their doctoral studies.

IIT Kanpur will also collaborate with the University of Alberta in the Joint Research Innovation Network with a focus on developing new, renewable, and efficient energy materials, systems, and technologies for the clean energy transition to address climate issues.

Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Director IIT Kanpur, said: "We are excited to partner with the University of Alberta on this joint doctoral program. This agreement will provide the students with unique opportunities to work with leading researchers in their respective fields and will help to foster collaboration between our institutions. This is another significant addition to the growing collaborative R&D ecosystem at IIT Kanpur."

--IANS
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New Delhi, 19 Jan (IANS) Schools and higher education institutions across the country will organise special programmes on G20 themes under the ambit of India's Presidency starting from this month until September, according to the UGC.

All the events should be amplified through local and social media platforms of the institutions. Reports with photographs and videos may be uploaded on the UGC portal.

With the expectation that India's G20 Presidency should touch every student across the country, an innovative outreach programme, 'University Connect' has also been proposed in which the institutions can involve their students in a range of events on G20 themes spread across the year.

UGC chairman professor M. Jagadesh Kumar said that the programme aims to project the youth as cultural ambassadors who can build long-lasting relationships with the G20 fraternity.

This will be an opportunity to young Indians in bringing new ideas and perspectives to G20-related topics, he said.

The UGC in a letter also requested the universities to initiate an action plan and undertake suitable activities and ensure dissemination of the issues under the ambit of India's G20 Presidency across different locales, Kumar added.

According to the UGC, pre-scheduled events of institutions like convocation, annual days, sporting events, should be branded as G20 events.

Logos, posters, standees of G20 should be displayed on the campus and all events of the institution.

The open file for the design is being shared.

Special events including seminars, quiz, painting, crossword, declamation, marathon, cycling marathon, Insta-Reel and other competitions, can also be organised on G20-related themes at the institution and state levels with a grand finale in September at the national level.

RIS (Resource & information Centre for Developing Countries) is organising seminars at 75 universities.

All institutions will also undertake regular Swachchta Campaigns in and around their respective campuses as part of the G20 event.

G20 branded t-shirts, caps, wrist bands, badges can be distributed to participating students and to NSS, NYKS volunteers

The celebrations will culminate in a grand event in September.

Institutions may ensure maximum community participation in these events.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Jan 19 (IANS) As several state governments have shown their intent of shifting to the old pension scheme, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said that states doing so, would end up curbing current expenditure but may build liabilities for the future.

He also cautioned banks on tilting too much towards retail lending.

In an interview to an online portal on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos, Rajan said that the reason why the new pension scheme was adopted because in the old scheme, huge liabilities had built up.

He further said that defined benefit schemes are easier for governments to adopt as liabilities are not being recognised.

Several state governments like Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Punjab have indicated that they will shift to the old pension scheme while Himachal Pradesh too has indicated the same intention.

Rajan further added in the interview that though it is for each state government to decide, but these schemes should be aimed effectively towards the weaker sections of the society, so as to benefit them.

The former RBI Governor also had a word of caution during the interview, for Indian banks for their shift towards retail lending, as he noted that there could be potential risks in case of a downcycle.

Rajan's comments have come at a time when Indian banks have seen a huge spike in retail assets in comparison to wholesale loans.

He was quoted as saying in the interview that banks should check all risks involved while indulging in infrastructure lending.

The former banker said between 2007 and 2009, the RBI had moved towards infrastructure loans, however later they created problems.

--IANS
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Noida, Jan 19 (IANS) A 47-year-old woman committed suicide by jumping from the fifth floor of a high-rise residential building in Noida.

The incident took place in Sector 62 on Wednesday night.

It was said that the victim had been depressed since the last five years and was undergoing treatment.

The police have sent the body for post-mortem.

Inspector-in-charge, Sector 58 police station, Vivek Trivedi said that the woman lived in the apartment building with her husband, identified as Obid Siddiqui who works in the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Trivedi said that her husband was sleeping when the woman took the extreme step.

He added that she was taken to the hospital for treatment in a critical condition, where she was declared dead.

As per the police, the victim's husband and the couple had been married for almost 15 years.

Trivedi added that the matter would be further investigated in case of any complaints.

--IANS
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Ratnagiri/Sindhudurg, Jan 19 (IANS) At least 11 persons were killed and another 24 injured in two separate accidents on the Mumbai-Goa Highway in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts, here on Thursday, officials said.

In the first incident, at least nine persons died instantly when their car collided with a truck which purportedly lost control around 5 a.m, near Mangaon in Ratnagiri.

While five men and four women perished, a four-year-old boy was retrieved injured from the wreckage and rushed to the local government hospital.

In the second incident, two passengers were killed and 23 others hurt when a speeding private bus overturned near Kankavli village in Sindhudurg.

The bus was proceeding from Mumbai to Goa and suffered the mishap at a treacherous curve near a bridge on the Gad river, officials said.

Local villagers along with rescue teams, fire brigade and police are at the accident sites and further details are awaited.

--IANS
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London, Jan 16 (IANS) Accusing two British Army guards of racially discriminating against them at Windsor Castle, a Sikh family has threatened to take legal action against the UK government.

Rapinder Kaur, 36, said she, her turban-wearing husband and their two-year-old child were subjected to racial taunts by guards during a visit to the castle last year, The Independent reported.

She said that as the family were walking alongside the castle's wall, two soldiers standing in a palace window made inappropriate "We are watching you" gestures while laughing and showing them the middle finger. According to the report, the family then complained to the Royal Collection Trust, which operates the palace, and the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which bears responsibility for the guards.

But the family said that all they have received is an email apology from a top-ranking lieutenant, and guidance that the soldiers would receive refresher training.

"The claimant believes that the sole reason for being targeted and singled out by the soldiers was because of their skin colour and the fact that her husband was wearing a turban," a letter sent from the family's solicitors to the Government Legal Department in January 2022 read.

It further said that Rapinder Kaur's family members were the only non-white people there. In a reply in June 2002, the government's lawyers denied any knowledge of the incident and stated that the lieutenant's apology was "not an admission of liability"."

"It is disappointing (that) the Government Legal Department has denied any record of this incident. First, the lieutenant who investigated the incident apologised, but then the Government Legal Department denied it happened, asking me to prove it. Why apologise at all if there was nothing to apologise for?" Rapinder Kaur told The Independent.

"I feel that there is a level of protection afforded to individuals within certain institutions, which does not apply to people like us, minorities," she rued.

This comes as King Charles III visited a gurdwara in Luton, England, last month, and had a wholesome interaction with community leaders, volunteers, and students of Sikh community.

Respecting Sikh traditions, the 74-year-old monarch covered his head with a kerchief, offered prayers, and sat on the floor with Sikh devotees.

--IANS
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