The Evening Wrap: Ministers spell out steps to ‘neutralise’ criticism

The Hindu Newsletter - Here are the biggest news stories of the day [The Hindu Logo]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( Thursday 04, March 2021 [alt_text]( The Evening Wrap Here are the biggest news stories of the day [alt_text]( Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. Group of Ministers spells out steps to ‘neutralise’ narratives critical of Modi regime In an effort to “neutralise” narratives critical of the Narendra Modi government, a Group of Ministers (GoM), formed to fine-tune “government communication”, has come out with various suggestions, including tracking “50 negative and 50 positive influencers” on the social media and to [“neutralise the people who are writing against the Government without facts and set false narratives/spread fake news”](. It emerges that the decisions to cap FDI (foreign direct investment) at 26% for the digital media and the new IT rules that have a separate section dealing with a code of ethics for Over The Top (OTT) platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime were the result of the GoM’s deliberations. The FDI cap was essential, the GoM felt, to constrict foreign influence on the Indian media. As a result of this capping, Huffington Post, which had been publishing reports critical of the Modi regime, shut its operations in India. Information Technology (IT) Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani, Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Prakash Javadekar, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, Urban Development Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (MoS) for Finance Anurag Thakur and MoS for the Environment Ministry Babul Supriyo were part of the GoM, which met six times between June 14 and July 9 last year. The GoM’s report was first reported by Caravan magazine. The Hindu also has a copy of it. There is so far no official word on its contents. The GoM report quotes suggestions made by the Ministers. For instance, Prasad suggested, “A list of media personnel and prominent persons, who are pro our line of thought – both nationally and globally, should be prepared. Few eminent academicians, Vice Chancellors, retired Indian Foreign Service officers etc should be identified who can write our achievements and project our viewpoint.” Irani, who held the I&B portfolio in the previous Modi government, recommended, “We should track 50 negative and 50 positive influencers.” The suggestion has been accepted by the GoM and the I&B Ministry has been tasked with implementing it. Naqvi suggested direct action against those writing against the government. “We should have a strategy to neutralise the people who are writing against the Government without facts and set false narratives / spread fake news,” he advised. Among other action points recommended by the GoM include enlarging the Prasar Bharati News Service into a “main line news agency”. Among the long- term agreed strategies include “coordination with schools of journalism as present students are the future journalists.” Puri told the GoM that the journalists who are supportive of the government, even if they are now unemployed, should be roped in. As per the report, this suggestion would also be acted upon. Thakur wanted the BJP and the Modi government to reach out to right-wing parties across the world to arrive at a common ground. Bengaluru, Shimla ‘most liveable’ cities in govt’s Ease of Living Index Bengaluru was adjudged the most liveable among 111 cities in India in the [government's ‘Ease of Living Index’]( on Thursday, followed by Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Surat, Navi Mumbai, Coimbatore, Vadodra, Indore and Greater Mumbai. Of the 49 cities ranked on the livability index in the ‘million-plus population’ category, Delhi figures in the 13th spot and Srinagar at the bottom. [ People take a stroll at the Ridge during sunset in Shimla on February 16, 2021. ] People take a stroll at the Ridge during sunset in Shimla on February 16, 2021. According to the index released by Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Shimla topped the category of cities with ‘population less than million’. In this category, Bhubaneshwar was ranked second, Silvassa came third, and they were followed by Kakinada, Salem, Vellore, Gandhinagar, Gurgaon, Davangere and Tiruchirapalli. Muzaffarpur figured at the bottom of the livability index for 62 cities in the ‘less than million population’ category. New Delhi Municipal Council topped the ‘Municipal Performance Index’ in the ‘less than million’ population category. Indore topped the ‘Municipal Performance Index’ in the million-plus population category. Supreme Court favours regulation of OTT platforms The Supreme Court on Thursday made it amply clear to OTT (over-the-top) platforms like Netflix and Amazon that it is in favour of “screening” content shown by them. It [said some of the films hosted by the platform were pornographic](. “Traditional film viewing has become extinct. Now films and web series are viewed by the public on these platforms. Should there not be some screening? We feel there should be some screening... There is pornography in some films,” Justice Ashok Bhushan, leading a Bench, also comprising Justice R. Subhash Reddy, observed. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Amazon producer Aparna Purohit’s bail, said this “was not about pornography but the right to freedom of expression”. “But a balance has to be struck,” Justice Bhushan retorted. [ ] Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the content included “filthy abuses”. The hearing was based on a plea by Purohit, Amazon Prime’s commercial head, against the Allahabad High Court decision to deny her pre-arrest bail in connection with the probe into Tandav, a web series hosted by the platform. The FIR said the series ridiculed Hindu gods and the country’s political power corridors. Justice Bhushan said the court wanted to consider Purohit’s case in the light of the new guidelines notified by the government to hold social media and OTT platforms accountable for their content. The Bench asked the guidelines to be placed on record and scheduled a hearing for March 5. The Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules of 2021 requires streaming platforms to comply with a new three-tier self-regulatory complaint redressal system. It also includes an independent self-regulatory body headed by a retired high court or Supreme Court judge, which will decide on matters related to content. Meanwhile, the Information & Broadcasting Ministry today clarified that none of the OTT platforms will have to register with the government and no government nominee will be present in the self-regulatory body. The statement was issued after I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar had an interaction with representatives of OTT platforms Labour rights activist Shiv Kumar granted bail Labour rights activist [Shiv Kumar was on Thursday granted bail]( by the Sessions court in Haryana’s Sonipat in an attempt to murder case leading to his release from the jail. He was earlier granted bail in two more cases on Wednesday. Kumar, the district president of Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan, a workers’ rights group, was arrested by the Haryana Police on February 2 in connection with three cases registered against him over the past two months. His fellow activist and co-accused in the three cases, Nodeep Kaur, was granted bail this past week and released from the jail. [Labour rights activists Shiv Kumar and Nodeep Kaur after the former’s release on bail on March 4, 2021. Photo: Twitter/@KaurNodeep]Labour rights activists Shiv Kumar and Nodeep Kaur after the former’s release on bail on March 4, 2021. Photo: Twitter/@KaurNodeep Kumar’s lawyer Jatinder told The Hindu that the bail was granted by the District and Sessions Judge Y.S. Rathore. The medical report of Kumar submitted at the Punjab and Haryana High Court had revealed multiple injuries to him. E Sreedharan will be Kerala CM candidate, says Union Minister E Sreedharan, the ‘metro man’ of India will be the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate for next month’s Kerala Assembly election, Union Minister V Muraleedharan tweeted Thursday evening. “Kerala BJP will fight Kerala polls with E Sreedharanji as its chief ministerial candidate. We will defeat both CPM and Congress to provide a corruption-free, development-oriented governance for the people of Kerala,” Muraleedharan said. EPFO keeps interest rates unchanged The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on Thursday [decided to keep the interest rate on provident funds unchanged at 8.5%]( for the financial year 2020-’21, the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment said in a release. The decision was taken at a meeting of the central board of trustees of the EPFO on Thursday and was headed by Union Labour Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar. [ EPFO logo. File ] EPFO logo. File “The interest rate would be officially notified in the government gazette following which EPFO would credit the rate of interest into the subscribers’ accounts,” the labour ministry release stated. The notification for the interest rate will be done following approval from the Union finance ministry.The rate of 8.5% remains the lowest since 2012-2013. However, the EPFO said it was higher compared to other investments. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The [number of reported coronavirus cases from India]( stood at 1,11,68,458 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 1,58,930. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. Today's Top Picks [alt_text]( [Child labour on the rise among vulnerable communities in T.N.: study]( [alt_text]( [How to read a 300-year-old letter without opening it]( [alt_text]( [WhatsApp may introduce self-destruct photos feature: Report]( [alt_text]( [All about Mars: The Hindu Science Quiz]( You are receiving this email because you are a user of [thehindu.com]( If you do not wish to receive any such emails, [unsubscribe here.](mailto:rm-0bfbh4mfbf2f90kauhrxfebysa8hkkz@newsalert.thehindu.com?subject=Unsubscribe&body=You will be unsubscribed from our mailing list.) To ensure you continue to receive emails from The Hindu in your inbox, please add newsletters.th@newsalert.thehindu.com to your contact. 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