India, Indonesia renew deal on visa waiver on diplomatic passports 2
India and Indonesia renewed the agreement on visa waiver on diplomatic and official passports, said the External Affairs Ministeron Friday.
This deal was renewed during the 7th India-Indonesia Joint Commission Meeting held in New Delhi.
Taking to social media the EAM S Jaishankar tweeted, “Just concluded a productive 7th India-Indonesia Joint Commission Meeting with FM Retno Marsudi. Renewed our agreement on visa waiver on diplomatic and official passports and witnessed exchange of agreements that will further strengthen our counter-narcotics and trade cooperation.”
During the meeting, the EAM Jaishankar and his counterpart from Indonesia Retno Marsudi also exchanged views on the India-ASEAN partnership and the cooperation of the countries in the UN and G20.
The two countries also discussed the regional and global issues including Indo-Pacific, Afghanistan, Myanmar and the repercussions of the Ukraine conflict.
India hosted the Special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (SAIFMM) on June 16 and 17, marking the 30th anniversary of India-ASEAN dialogue relations and the 10th anniversary of the country’s strategic partnership with ASEAN.
The ASEAN Foreign Ministers, ASEAN Secretary-General and Representatives of Foreign Ministers along with Dr Jaishankar today addressed the Ministerial Session of the twelfth edition of Delhi Dialogue (DDXII) which focuses on 30 years of ASEAN-India relations with the theme ‘Building Bridges in the Indo-Pacific’.
Launched in 2009, Delhi Dialogue is India’s premier annual Track 1.5 Dialogue, which aims to strengthen ASEAN-India relations in the context of the contemporary global and regional scenario. India hosted ASEAN Foreign Ministers and Secretary-General for a Special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (SAIFMM) to commemorate 30 years of ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations. The SAIFMM was co-chaired by EAM Jaishankar and Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Singapore.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a grouping of 10 member countries – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and India.
Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh who is serving a jail term after being convicted in rape and murder cases has been granted parole for a month on Friday.
Singh has been incarcerated, since 2017, in Haryana’s Sunaria jail where he is serving 20 year-term for raping two women disciples at his ashram’s headquarters in Sirsa.
Earlier in February, the Dera chief was granted three weeks’ furlough.
While parole means the release of a prisoner either temporarily for a special purpose or completely before the expiry of a sentence, on the promise of good behavior, a furlough is a short-term temporary release of convicts from jail.
He was convicted by a special CBI court in Panchkula in August 2017 for raping two women followers.
While, on October 8, 2021, the court convicted Rahim and four others in connection with former Dera manager Ranjit Singh’s murder case.
Ranjit Singh was murdered in 2002 on the premises of Dera Sacha Sauda.
European Commission proposes making Ukraine an EU membership candidate 5
The European Commission proposes to give Ukraine the status of a candidate for EU membership, EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday, adding that this was on understanding that Ukraine carry out a number of reforms.
“Ukraine has clearly demonstrated the country’s aspiration and the country’s determination to live up to European values and standards,” she told reporters in Brussels.
For her statement, von der Leyen wore Ukraine’s colours, a yellow blazer over a blue shirt.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Thursday emphasised the country’s interest in trade and engagement with India saying that Pakistan was isolated on the world stage due to past policies.
Pakistan once again shows interest in India for trade 7
“Despite a “long history of war and conflict” and the Indian government’s actions in occupied Kashmir and its anti-Muslim agenda, it was not in Pakistan’s interest to remain disengaged,” Bilawal said while speaking at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad, a government-funded think tank, the Dawn reported.
Referring to the former government of Pakistan-Tahreek-i-Insaf (PTI), he said that the coalition government had inherited an “internationally isolated and internationally disengaged” country, adding “But it was time for pivoting to economic diplomacy and focusing on engagement.”
“Do we achieve our objectives, whatever they may be; be it Kashmir, be it the rising Islamophobia, be it the Hindutva sort of supremacist nature of the government in India. Does it serve our objective?” Bilawal said.
He highlighted the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir and said, “these issues remained the “cornerstone” of Pakistan’s narrative and the government was taking them up “in the most serious and most aggressive manner,” the Dawn reported.
“We have practically cut off all engagement” with India, the Dawn quoted Bilawal as saying. Bilawal further said that if Pakistan had achieved economic engagement with India in the past, it would have been in a better position to influence Delhi’s policy and prevented both countries from taking extreme positions.
The relationship between the two countries worsened in 2019 after India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir by scrapping Article 370 and bifurcating it into two union territories, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Since then diplomatic ties have been downgraded, bilateral trade suspended and there has been no structured dialogue.
Earlier, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that as part of its shift from geo-strategy to geo-economics, Pakistan is looking to forge partnerships, especially within the region, based on connectivity, which apparently includes New Delhi.
“Pakistan and India have a lot to gain from mutually beneficial trade,” he said as quoted by Dawn. “We are cognisant of the economic dividends that can be accrued from a healthy trade activity with India,” the Prime Minister said further.
It is to be noted that after coming to power in Pakistan in early April, Shehbaz Sharif has written a letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing his desire for peaceful ties with India and the resolution of all the outstanding issues.
Meanwhile, Bilawal also stressed the country’s problematic diplomatic relations with the United States, which were affected after the ousted Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government (PTI) accused the United States of collaborating with the opposition parties to remove it from office, the Dawn reported.
PTI chief and former prime minister Imran Khan ran an aggressive campaign after being deposed by a no-confidence vote in parliament, calling for freedom from the “slaves of foreign powers”. This heightened anti-Americanism in the country, the dawn reported.
However, the diplomatic relations between Pakistan and United States were resumed after Bilawal Zardari met the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in New York on the sidelines of the food security conference.
India took the lead and turned the tide of negotiations from failure, gloom and doom to optimism, enthusiasm and consensus-based outcome, said the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal while addressing a press conference at Geneva. Stating that it is a proud day for 135 crores of Indians at the WTO today, Goyal, after the conclusion of the WTO 12th Ministerial Conference in Geneva today, said that India took the lead and was at the centre of the conference.
“It turned the tide of negotiations from full failure, gloom and doom to optimism, enthusiasm and consensus-based decision. India’s efforts to bring members to a table to discuss issues irrespective of the existing geopolitical order has ensured that the world order is not broken.” Terming the just concluded MC12 as an “outcome-oriented” success, Goyal said the Indian delegation, guided constantly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been 100 per cent successful in portraying before the world the priority issues for India and the developing world.
He admitted that India and the Developing countries accepted certain compromising decisions when the WTO was established 30 years ago and during the Uruguay Round of negotiations and said, “India today bats on the front foot rather than being fearful on various issues be it Environment, Startups, MSMEs or gender equality. This is a result of the confidence in New India. India is able to build consensus and get a Win-Win outcome for the world.” “Few countries attempted to create false campaign, initially on Sunday and Monday, that India is obstinate due to which no progress is being made. The real situation has emerged before us all, the issues raised by India, on which Prime Minister had asked us to focus upon, now the whole world acknowledges that was the correct agenda and ultimately India played a vital role in arriving at all solutions,” Goyal added.
Goyal told the press conference that India has been able to secure a favourable outcome at the WTO after many years, despite a strong global campaign against our farmers and fishermen. “Today as we return to India there is no issue on which we have to be the least concerned, whether it is related to Agriculture such as MSP, reinforcing the relevance of the Public Stockholding Programme towards fulfilling the National Food Safety Programme or PM Garib Kalyan Scheme, TRIPS Waiver, e-Commerce moratorium, response to covid and fisheries,” Goyal said.
“Similarly there have been no restrictions on fishing that our fishermen were deeply concerned about, that would bind artisanal and traditional fishermen of India in the future. India has been cent per cent successful; no restrictions or terms have been placed on India or the Government, rather we have been successful in introducing checks on illegal fishing, under-reporting or outside regulation, viz IUU fishing,” he added. Speaking of the World Food Programme, Goyal said that India remains committed to supporting the World Food Programme (WFP). He said the Government has imposed no export restrictions on WFP purchases for food security in other countries; however, domestic food security takes priority, citing India’s recent wheat supplies to Afghanistan.
Commenting on the global fight against the Covid-19, the Union Minister said the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) decision will boost vaccine equity, accessibility and affordability. It will enable ease of authorisation for the production of patented vaccines and India can produce for domestic requirements and exports. He also highlighted the WTO Reforms agenda, and said, “The basic structure and core principles of WTO including Consensus, S&DT provisions, SDG goals, will be retained while making it more contemporary. “I believe it will be good for the WTO, and will be good for the Developing and Under-Developed countries in the future and foster global trade through transparent means.”
Goyal concluded that India’s motto of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ echoes in the WTO, India not only raised its issues but raised the issues of other developing countries, Least Developed Countries (LDCs), poor and vulnerable with sensitivity and fought bravely for their cause.
As the Maharashtra State Board results for SSC have been announced, Students can check their results through the official website. You can follow the below steps to check your results
Step two click on “SSC Examination March 2022 Result”
Step three enter your SSC roll no and mother’s first name which was mentioned in the hall ticket
Step four click on view result and you can print the result by clicking on the print button.
In the current year, a total of 96.64 Per cent of students clear the exam. Out of which the girls surpass boys by 1. 90 Per cent. Where total of 97.96 Per cent girls pass and boys passing per cent is 96.06. Zonal wise passing per cent, Konkan has a passing per cent of 99.27 Per cent. You can check the zonal list below.
DIVISION
Percentage
Pune
96.96
Nagpur
97.00
Aurangabad
96.33
Mumbai
96.94
Kolhapur
98.50
Amravati
96.81
Nasik
95.90
Latur
97.27
Konkan
99.27
Zonal-wise passing per cent
A total of 5.316 per cent of candidates have scored 90 and more percentage and more than 70 per cent of students scored between 60 to 90 per cent.
Technology can be sometimes in public jeopardy? 11
Despite the government’s persistence may not be as clear-cut as a case of state domination and over-reach. It turns out that the Indian government might be right to fear that technology, for all the very real benefits it’s brought India, could also help to magnify ancient communal tensions in a way that costs lives and, perhaps even worse, might destabilize the delicate social balance within the world’s second-largest country. Technology didn’t cause any of this, of course. But social media and text messaging, both of which are becoming increasingly common in the reaches of India’s enormous lower and middle classes, accelerated the flow of rumours and of inflammatory images.
The government, unable to counter the destabilizing rumours, shut down some of the means of their dispersal. Whether the Indian government’s censorship does anything to calm this crisis, their apparent desperation is understandable. Still, India’s willingness to censor the web is part of the government’s longer-running effort to standardize the Internet, to which Western governments and web freedom advocates have persistently objected. Some of India’s sweeping restrictions compel web companies like Google and Facebook to self-police and then self-censor, any content that could be perceived as profane or offensive to ethnic groups.
In the recent past #censorship was a big debate on social networks; the social network authorities deactivate or block these days. Censorship in India, which involves the suppression of speech or other public communication, raises issues of freedom of speech, which is protected by the Indian constitution. A classic example of censorship in India is the Central Board of Film Certification or Censor Board, which comes under the purview of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The Board regularly orders directors to remove anything it deems offensive or subjects considered to be politically subversive.
The Cinematograph Act, of 1952 governs the censorship of films. It assigns certification as Universal, Adults, and Parental Guidance to films in India before the public exhibition. The Indian government has earlier blocked around 250 websites, ordered Google and Facebook to pull content, threatened legal action against Twitter if it doesn’t delete certain accounts, and has arrested several people for sending provocative text messages, all in the name of public safety.
Web freedom activists distinguish this as little more than an excuse for online authoritarianism, and they’re probably often correct. We cannot isolate ourselves from this but can make a safe distance to access genuine information. A parallel system needs to strict its security norms so that any state against information and data is not within the reach of the common citizen of the country.
Being a person from Cyber Security, I know how much it is for us to fool inexperienced people on the internet and then use those resources to do something illegal and improper. There should be a body which will not only work towards the security of cybercrime in government and Militant organizations but also work towards enforcement of awareness of cybercrime. It is always better to take precautions.
A rapidly increasing two-edged sword, social media has created a vibrant online community and widened public discourse, allowing a platform for activists with a thousand causes. On the flip side, it has also become a vehicle for skewered misinformation. The perspective of an individual using a social networking site enigmatically is much more in a social networking site than in a social media. There is no procedure for registration and ownership. And so there is no way to pin down the culprits.
Censorship has become a weapon in the hands of the State to make people agree with its ideology. Now is the time to look into the role that healthy criticism, analysis, and cinema literacy, posts, cartoons, blogs or tweets rather than relying on controllers that act as moral police can play, stopping the dissent. Information technology seems to be the latest weapon for waging proxy wars.
Countries have borders and restrictions on each other’s jurisdiction, but cyberspace has no boundaries. The recent NE exodus was a disastrous moment for Indian Citizens and the Government. With 2-3 online users and a couple of hours of editing work, various groups could trigger the most massive internal exodus of People in India and nationwide protests. Most of the public who does this assumes that they do this with a false sense of secrecy.
While Cyber War between India and Pakistan is not new, something limited it to hack off each other’s websites. Interestingly, this time it may not have been carried out by so-called hackers. Since it was easier to spread hatred than to block websites, 4-to 5 social media addicts have carried the whole episode out. The law is there to prevent this, but enforcement is far from adequate. There are many such instances and evidence that one country rages its anger or one particular religion condemns another religion, hurting its sentiments online.
But we did not do so. It was our prejudice and lack of unity that contributed to the success of the mischief-mongers. To control the situation and stabilize the country, the Government opted for censorship. There is no point in blaming the government. At least the educated should take pains to verify the truth. Pointing a finger at Pakistan will not solve the problem. The crisis has brought social media to the forefront, relegating the print and electronic media to the background. Perhaps it is one more revolution in the history of humanity. People today believe in non-stop, one-to-one communication/conversation, rather than the mass media. Anyway, censorship might help control the situation, but this will remain superficial to the problems that the country is facing.
Making people aware of the “cyber threat” takes an hour but censorship can’t be the exact way out. India really requires proper systems to be adopted in order to be safe or else this might really create colossal disasters in the future. In the information age, we cannot lock our cyberspace because it is one of the primary tools for the sustainable development of the state. But curbing cyber-attack in any form, either cyber war or putting illegitimate material on the web has really become necessary around the globe. Though we are having strict policies, we are still not guarding our information web properly and which causes recent NE exodus-type events.
In an attempt to resist detention during the Congress party’s protest over the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons to Rahul Gandhi, party leader and former union minister Renuka Chowdhury on Thursday held a policeman by his collar while being taken away by other police personnel here in Hyderabad. Telangana Congress held a massive protest here today over the ED investigating Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case. Several Congress workers and leaders were detained by the police.
Chowdhury was seen engaging in a heated argument with the policeman as she held his collar. Women police personnel then dragged the former union minister towards the police van. Congress had given a “Chalo Raj Bhavan” call and at Telangana’s Raj Bhavan police detained several party workers who attempted to stage a protest there.
“The protest is our right. We will fight for justice. They (ED) are not taking cases of any BJP leaders. They are harassing only Congress people,” Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar told ANI.
Bengaluru witnessed traffic snarls and an ambulance was seen stuck in the traffic.
Bengaluru Police said the Congress protest was against the High Court’s order.
“High Court had earlier ordered that protests will not be held anywhere except Freedom Park. We conveyed it to them. They gave us in writing about protest but we rejected it. We conveyed it to them in the morning too. If they proceed, we will take them into preventive custody,” Bheemashankar S Guled, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru East told ANI.
Meanwhile, Congress workers also held a protest in Chandigarh against the questioning of Rahul Gandhi by ED. Several workers of the party were detained by police.
“I cannot understand what has Rahul Gandhi done that he has been called for 3 days? Yesterday, Delhi Police barged into AICC office and beat up our MPs. Such vendetta politics has never been seen before. Government should not try to suppress voices,” Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Warring said.
“We will continue protesting. We were going to Raj Bhavan. Congress party stands with Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. We will not step back. We will not be scared,” said a Congress worker.
Congress workers also staged a demonstration in Chennai and Jaipur.
“They want to suppress Rahul Gandhi’s voice. They can’t scare Indira Gandhi’s grandson with lathis. Congress will be the reason behind BJP’s end,” said Rajasthan Minister P Khachariyawas.
Police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse Congress workers protesting in Thiruvananthapuram over the ED probe against party leader Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case.
Rahul Gandhi has been asked to rejoin the probe on Friday by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in connection with the National Herald case, said sources. The Congress leader left the ED office after 9 pm on Wednesday after he appeared before the ED for the third consecutive day for questioning.
Delhi recorded 1,375 new Covid cases on Wednesday while the positivity rate rose to 7.01 per cent, according to data shared by the health department here. No fatalities were reported due to the infection.
This is the second consecutive day that Delhi has recorded over 1,100 cases in a day. With the new cases reported on Wednesday, Delhi’s tally of COVID-19 cases increased to 19,15,905 and the death toll stood at 26,223, the department said in its latest bulletin.
On Tuesday, Delhi had logged 1,118 cases and two deaths while the positivity rate was at 6.50 per cent. Delhi on Monday reported 614 new COVID-19 cases and zero death due to the disease, while the positivity rate stood at 7.06 per cent.
The city had on Sunday reported 735 new COVID-19 cases and three deaths due to the disease, while the positivity rate was at 4.35 per cent. It had on Saturday reported 795 COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 4.11 per cent and zero death.
The protest which started in Bihar on Wednesday has now spread to other states including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and others. / Image: PTI
After the farm laws repeal BJP government landed in another mess. This time it is Jawan. Hundreds of protesters blocked National Highway and burned tires demanding the scrapping of the scheme. Hundreds of defence force aspirants lying down on tracks protesting against the centre’s ‘Agnipath’ scheme that seeks to recruit soldiers on a short-term contract. The new policy has drawn criticism and questions from several quarters, including a section of veterans. Critics have argued that a four-year tenure will hit fighting spirit in the ranks and make them risk-averse.
The aspirants demand to increase the service period of new recruits to a min of seven years and make the retention of those keen to serve longer at least 50 per cent. Agnipath, the tour of duty scheme, proposes the recruitment of jawans on a contractual basis for a four-year period followed by compulsory retirement for most without gratuity and pension benefits. The new recruitment plan aims to cut down the government’s massive salary and pension bills and free up funds for arms procurement.
Under the Agnipath scheme, about 45,000 people between the age of 17.5 years and 21 years will be inducted into the services for a four-year tenure. During this period, they will be paid a monthly salary between Rs 30,000-40,000 and allowances. They will also be entitled to medical and insurance benefits.
After four years, only 25 per cent of these soldiers will be retained and they will go on to serve for a full 15 years in non-officer ranks. The remaining will exit the services with a package between Rs 11 lakh – Rs 12 lakh, but won’t be eligible for pension benefits. Under the old system, youths aged between 16.5 and 21 years were selected for a minimum of 15 years of service and used to get a pension after retirement.
The new policy has drawn criticism and questions from several quarters, including a section of veterans. Critics have argued that a four-year tenure will hit fighting spirit in the ranks and make them risk-averse. The protesters said they had applied for some government jobs two to three years ago, but the examinations for the recruitment have not been conducted yet, and they have crossed the minimum eligibility age now.
Modi’s government has not solved unemployment issues in the country but they have forced the youth to go through their illogical schemes. 80 per cent of engineers and MBA students are jobless in-country, already India lacks think tanks and now they are messing up with arms forces.
The central government announced Agnipath’s scheme for the recruitment of soldiers in the Army, Navy, and Air Force on a short-term contractual basis, apparently to cut the ballooning salary and pension bills and carve out a youthful profile of the armed forces. These short-term recruitments are seen as milling of watchmen and guards for corporate houses. Such recruitment and training are done with the hard-earned money of taxpayers.
Police in Haryana’s Palwal town fired shots into the air to disperse hundreds of violent protesters out on the streets on Thursday to demonstrate against the Agnipath scheme for recruitment to defence services. / Image: PTI
Job security and pension are two major issues being cited by protesters. Under the previous system, troops joined for a 17-year period, which could be extended for some personnel, and it resulted in a lifelong pension.
The new scheme, however, envisages just a four-year tenure for most, and the Agniveers will not be eligible for pension benefits. This Agnipath scheme is just a placebo being given to unemployed youth. Even parents would now think twice before sending their sons to the Army just for four years.
Just imagine getting retired just after four years. It is nothing but playing with their emotions in the name of giving them some skills before they retire. Students want the old system back.
The anger is also being fueled by the two-year freeze on Army recruitment due to the pandemic. While recruitment under the Agnipath scheme will begin in 90 days, several aspirants who turned overage during the last two years are now seeking relaxation in age criteria. Bharti does, ya arthi do’, was one of the slogans raised as protests first began in Bihar. There used to be about 60,000 vacancies in the Army and other defence forces till two years ago.
There has been no recruitment for the last two years, and now the short duration of service on offer has angered the students… There are examples when students prepare for such exams for four years. Are they working hard to get a job just for four years and remain unsure about what they would do next?
Also, the Agnipath scheme envisions an “all India, all class” recruitment system.
Apprehensions have been voiced against how the new recruits will be adjusted in the existing system under which most of the Army units are region, caste or class-based.
Of the total annual recruits, only 25 per cent will be allowed to continue for another 15 years under permanent commission.
The new system is only for personnel below officer ranks (those who do not join the forces as commissioned officers). The scheme is not optional as all personnel below officer rank will be hired only through this route from now on. Under the Agnipath scheme, aspirants between the ages of 17.5 years and 21 years will be eligible to apply.
