Congress’ Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu takes oath as new Himachal Pradesh CM
Congress’s Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on December 11 took oath as the new Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, days after the Congress party edged the BJP out of power in the recently held Assembly election. Mukesh Agnihotri, the leader of the Opposition in the outgoing Assembly, took oath as Deputy CM. Congress leaders including former party president Rahul Gandhi, general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, senior party leader and MP K.C. Venugopal and national president Mallikarjun Kharge and others were present on the occasion.
PM Modi to attend swearing-in ceremony of Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel on December 12
BJP leader Bhupendra Patel will take oath as the Chief Minister of Gujarat for a second straight term in Gandhinagar on December 12 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries, BJP leaders said on December 11. Mr. Patel will be administered the oath as the 18th Chief Minister by Governor Acharya Devvrat at a function to be held at the Helipad Ground near the new Secretariat in Gandhinagar at 2 p.m.
Every family in J-K to get unique ID; BJP welcomes the move, other parties raise concerns
The Jammu and Kashmir administration is planning to create an authentic database of all families in the Union territory with each of them having a unique alpha-numeric code – the objective being an easy selection of eligible beneficiaries of various social welfare schemes. The proposed move to allot “Family ID” has been welcomed by the BJP but the Congress, the National Conference and the PDP slammed the proposed move.
Amid a standoff between the government and the Supreme Court Collegium over the appointment of judges, a Parliamentary panel has asked the Executive and the Judiciary to come up with “out of box thinking” to deal with the “perennial problem” of vacancies in High Courts. The department-related standing committee on Law and Personnel in its report tabled in Parliament on Thursday said it is not in agreement with the comments of the Department of Justice in the Union Law Ministry that “time for filling up of vacancies of judges in the higher judiciary cannot be indicated”. The timeline has been drawn in the Second Judges Case and also in the Memorandum of Procedure (MOP) regarding the appointment of judges, it pointed out. “But regrettably, those timelines are not adhere to by both, the Judiciary and the Executive, which is leading to delay in filling up of the vacancies,” it said.
PM Modi slams Opposition parties indulging in ‘shortcut politics’
Slamming Opposition parties and their leaders for their short-cut politics, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 11 exhorted taxpayers to expose such politicos who were trying to sabotage the economy for their selfish purposes. “A country cannot move ahead by shortcuts. There is a disposition among certain parties to indulge in short-cut politics for selfish ends. Parties who adopt this short cut are the country’s biggest enemies whose aim is to merely come to power by making hollow promises. At a time when India is working on objectives for the next 25 years, these political parties, out of their own selfishness, want to destroy the economy,” said the PM, speaking during the inauguration of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Nagpur.
Government will take all possible measures to meet 230 GW peak demand in April ‘23: Power Secretary
The government will take all possible measures to meet the 230 gigawatt (GW) single-day peak demand expected in April 2023, according to Power Secretary Alok Kumar. On Wednesday, Power Minister R.K. Singh presided over a meeting to review the preparation to meet the high electricity demand expected in April next year. When asked if the government will also keep the option of coal imports open to maintain supply of the dry fuel, he said, “We (government) will do whatever we will have to do to ensure continuous power supply (in April).”
The Pimpri Chichwad police in Maharashtra’s Pune district have suspended three of its officers and seven other personnel in connection with the incident in which ink was thrown at senior Maharashtra minister Chandrakant Patil, a top official said on December 11. The incident had occurred in Pimpri city on December 10 in apparent protest against minister Mr. Patil’s controversial remark about Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and social reformer Mahatma Jyotiba Phule. Three people threw ink at Patil on December 10 evening when he was stepping out of one of the office-bearer’s house in Pimpri. Police have detained the trio involved in the act.
Ousted premier Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party on December 11 warned Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government that it will dissolve the Assemblies in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces if a date for next general election is not announced by December 20. “Leaders of the imported government don’t want polls and they have no idea how to run the country,” former information minister and PTI’s senior vice president Fawad Chaudhry said in a tweet. “If the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) doesn’t bring a formula for holding general elections by December 20, the Punjab and KP Assemblies will be dissolved,” Mr. Chaudhry said.
Ukraine attacks occupied Melitopol, Russian side says two killed
Ukraine attacked occupied Melitopol in the country’s southeast on Saturday evening, the Russian-installed and exiled Ukrainian authorities of the strategically located city said. The pro-Moscow authorities said a missile attack killed two people and wounded 10, while the exiled mayor said scores of “invaders” were killed. “Air defence systems destroyed two missiles, four reached their targets,” Yevgeny Balitsky, the Moscow-appointed governor of the occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region, said on the Telegram messaging app.
Tense overnight violence in north Kosovo, Serbs block roads
Kosovo police and the local media on December 11 reported explosions, shooting and road blocks overnight in the north of the country, where the population is mostly ethnic Serb, despite the postponement of the December 18 municipal election the Serbs were opposed to. No injuries have been reported. The European Union rule of law mission, known as EULEX, also reported that “a stun grenade was thrown at an EULEX reconnaissance patrol last night,” causing no injury or material damage. Recent tensions remain high, with Serbia and Kosovo intensifying their exchange of words.
Indian aviation market has significant opportunities but taxation always an issue: IATA chief
The Indian civil aviation market has exciting and significant opportunities but taxation has always been an issue which also makes the industry less competitive, according to IATA chief Willie Walsh. India is seeing a “much stronger recovery” than the Asia Pacific region in general but there could be challenges in terms of getting new aircraft and spare parts, as per IATA. “When you look at India, I see massive opportunities, the size, population, growing wealth, lack of other alternative infrastructure for travel. It is tailor made for a competitive, very significant aviation market. And you don’t need to incentivise it or tax it, you just need to stand back and allow it to happen. Let the infrastructure be developed, let the airlines develop, grow and compete,” Mr. Walsh said.
A 15-ball 36 not out, in a total of 172 for five, would normally be a match-winning innings in a Women’s T20I. Not against Australia -- Deepti Sharma and India found out on Friday night at the D.Y. Patil Stadium. And especially not when Beth Mooney bats for Australia. After India’s comprehensive nine-wicket defeat, Deepti conceded India’s fielding could have been better. Nobody would argue with her on that point. “We bowled some loose balls, too,” she said. “There was dew after seven or eight overs but that cannot be an excuse.’
Published - December 11, 2022 07:25 pm IST
