Morning Digest | Opposition seeks PM’s response to hike in fuel prices; Sri Lankan President Gotabaya thanks India for assistance, and more

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March 29, 2022 07:42 am | Updated 07:42 am IST

The Opposition, unwilling to buy the government’s argument that high fuel prices were linked to the Russia-Ukraine war, demanded a a discussion in Lok Sabha on the price rise. File photo for representation.

The Opposition, unwilling to buy the government’s argument that high fuel prices were linked to the Russia-Ukraine war, demanded a a discussion in Lok Sabha on the price rise. File photo for representation. | Photo Credit: PTI

Lok Sabha nod to include two tribes in Tripura ST list

Lok Sabha on Monday passed a bill to include the ‘Darlong’ community as a sub-tribe of the ‘Kuki’ in the list of Scheduled Tribes of Tripura even as Opposition members called for a more comprehensive legislation on including communities in the Scheduled Caste and Tribes lists rather than in a piecemeal allocation.  Moving the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2022, in Lok Sabha, Minister for Tribal Affairs, Arjun Munda, said the Union government was working towards betterment of living conditions of the tribal communities, and good results will be visible on the health, education and employment fronts.

Opposition seeks PM’s response to hike in fuel prices

Opposition members of the Lok Sabha on Monday raised the issue of consistent hike in prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas driving inflation, and sought a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue. The Opposition wasn’t willing to buy the government’s argument that high fuel prices were linked to the Russia-Ukraine war, and demanded a a discussion on the price rise.

Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa thanks India for ‘invaluable assistance’

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Monday thanked visiting External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar for India’s “invaluable assistance” to Sri Lanka, which is grappling with one of its worst economic crises.

Petrol crosses ₹100 in Delhi after 80 paise hike, diesel up 70 paise

Petrol price on Tuesday, March 29, 2022, crossed ₹100 a litre mark after rates were hiked by 80 paise a litre and 70 paise in case of diesel, taking the total increase in rates in one week to ₹4.80 per litre.

Red tape leaves India-bound travellers stranded at Yangon airport

While India has resumed international flights, red tape left roughly 50 passengers stranded for nearly 48 hours at Yangon airport as the baton to allow chartered flights passed on from the DGCA’s hands to the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Nearly 50 Indians, including workers, businessmen and CEOs arrived at the Yangon International Airport for a chartered flight booked with Myanmar National Airlines on Sunday at 4 a.m. for their flight to Kolkata at 8 a.m.

PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif tables no-trust motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan in Pak Parliament

A no-confidence motion against Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was tabled on Monday in the National Assembly by Leader of the Opposition and PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif, setting in motion the process in the lower house to remove the embattled cricketer-turned-politician from office. As the much-anticipated session began after a two-day recess on Monday, Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri asked the members of the Parliament, who are in favour of the motion, to stand up to that their numbers could be counted.

President Ram Nath Kovind confers Padma awards on late Kalyan Singh, actor Victor Banerjee, 63 others

Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister late Kalyan Singh, actor Victor Banerjee, Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra were among the 65 personalities who were conferred the Padma awards by President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday. At the second investiture ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, late Kalyan Singh was conferred the Padma Vibhushan. posthumously. Rajveer Singh, Lok Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh and the son of the former Chief Minister, during whose tenure the Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992, received the honour. Classical singer Prabha Atre was the other recipient of the country’s second highest civilian award.

COVID orphaned 10,600, says NCPCR

The Supreme Court is worried for children, some as young as six year old, whose parents suddenly died of COVID-19, leaving behind unpaid debts, mortgages, loans and insurance premiums. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has so far identified 1,47,773 children who have lost one parent and another 10,600 who have become orphans between April 1, 2020 and March 15, 2022 — the worst months of the pandemic.

Take humanitarian stand on Sharad Yadav’s plea for government bungalow stay: SC

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to come up with a reasonable time by which an ailing former Union Minister Sharad Yadav can vacate his government bungalow. A Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud asked the Union to take a purely humanitarian approach and allow Mr. Yadav some time to leave the residence.

Oscars 2022 | Academy condemns Will Smith’s actions, launches review

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences on Monday condemned the actions of Will Smith during Sunday night’s Oscars and launched an inquiry into his slapping of presenter Chris Rock. sIn a statement on Monday, the film academy said: “The Academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night’s show. We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our bylaws, standards of conduct and California law.”

Nepal PM Deuba to visit Varanasi in April

Prime Minister of Nepal Sher Bahadur Deuba will visit Varanasi during his April 1-3 visit to India. Mr. Deuba will be accompanied by his spouse Arzu Deuba. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said a high-power delegation would accompany Prime Minister Deuba. “India and Nepal enjoy age-old ties. In recent years, the partnership has witnessed significant growth in all areas of cooperation. The visit will provide an opportunity to the two sides to review this wide-ranging partnership and to progress it further for the benefit of the two peoples,” the MEA said on Monday.

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy says tougher Russian sanctions needed quickly

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday urged Western nations to toughen sanctions quickly against Russia, including an oil embargo, to stop Moscow having a free hand to escalate its measures against his country. In his nightly video address to Ukrainians, a clearly irritated Mr. Zelenskiy said the West had miscalculated last year in delaying sanctions and the invasion had followed.

Indian American Raj Subramaniam to be new CEO of FedEx

Indian American Raj Subramaniam would be new Chief Executive Officer of FedEx, according to an announcement made on Monday by the U.S. multinational courier delivery giant. Mr. Subramanian would replace Frederick W. Smith, chairman and CEO, who will step down from this position on June 1. He will now be its executive chairman.

Biden says remark on Putin’s power was about ‘moral outrage’, no change in U.S. policy

U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday said that his weekend comment in Europe that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power” was a moral outrage for his invasion of Ukraine, and that does not reflect any change in American policy with respect to regime change. As such, Mr. Biden refused to apologise for his comments, on which his administration has been having a tough time in explaining over the past few days.

Indian Premier League 2022: GT vs LSG | Tewatia, Shami steer Gujarat to five-wicket win on IPL debut

Rahul Tewatia blasted an impactful 40 off 24 balls after Mohammad Shami’s sensational new ball spell to set up a five-wicket win for Gujarat Titans against Lucknow Super Giants in the battle of IPL debutants in Mumbai on Monday. Deepak Hooda (55 off 41 balls) and Ayush Badoni (54 off 41 balls) smashed quick-fire half centuries to help Super Giants recover to a respectable 158/6 after Shami (3/25) blew away their top-order.

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