The Government on Friday sought Parliamentâs nod to infuse over â¹62,000 crore into the company that holds residual assets and liabilities of Air India after its privatisation, as part of over â¹3.73 lakh crore additional spending planned in the current financial year. The extra spending would include â¹58,430 crore by way of additional fertiliser subsidy, â¹53,123 crore towards payment of pending export incentives, and â¹22,039 crore to rural development ministry for transfer to National Rural Employment Guarantee Fund. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary tabled the second batch of supplementary demands for grants tabled in Lok Sabha, envisaging a net cash outgo of over â¹2.99 lakh crore, and â¹74,517 crore extra expenditure would be matched by savings by different ministries. As per the document, â¹62,057 crore would be given to the Civil Aviation Ministry for equity infusion in Air India Assets Holding Company (AIAHL) for re-payment of past government guaranteed borrowing and past dues/liabilities of Air India. Besides, an additional â¹2,628 crore would be given towards loans and advances to Air India for recoupment of advance from Contingency Fund of India. The additional fertiliser subsidy include â¹43,430 crore on account of payment towards indigenous and imported Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) Subsidy and â¹15,000 crore towards urea subsidy scheme. Besides, the Department of Food and Public Distribution would be given an additional â¹49,805 crore for meeting expenditure towards various schemes of food storage and warehousing. The 2021-22 Budget had projected governmentâs total expenditure at â¹34.83 lakh crore. But this is expected to overshoot considering the two batches of supplementary demands for grants presented by the government so far. The government had in August received Parliament nod for net additional spending â¹23,675 crore in the first batch of supplementary demands for grants. No proposal for banning any group named âNSO Groupâ: Chandrasekhar The government on Friday said there was no proposal to ban any group named âNSO Groupâ and that it does not have any information on whether the US has blacklisted the group for providing Pegasus spyware. Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar was responding to a written question in Rajya Sabha on the banning of NSO Group. On whether the U.S. has blacklisted NSO Group and Candiru for providing Pegasus spyware that was allegedly used to maliciously target journalists, embassy workers and activists, he said, âNo such information is available in this ministryâ. To a question on whether the ministry has also banned the NSO Group in India, Chandrasekhar said, âThere is no proposal for banning any group named âNSO Group.ââ Earlier this year, a row erupted over Israeli spyware Pegasus allegedly being used for targeted surveillance in India. In October, the Supreme Court set up a three-member independent expert panel to probe the alleged use of the spyware for targeted surveillance in India. The apex court had also observed that the state cannot get a âfree passâ every time the spectre of national security is raised and that its mere invocation cannot render the judiciary a â'mute spectatorâ. Protests over BJP MPâs Bill to amend Preamble A Bill to amend the Preamble to the Constitution to replace the word âsocialistâ with âequitableâ, among other changes, being introduced by BJP MP K.J. Alphons led to protests by Opposition MPs on Friday. Alphons moved the motion to introduce the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2021 in the Upper House to which Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Kumar Jha objected. âAmendment to the Preamble is an attack on the very edifice of the Constitution,â Prof. Jha said, adding that the Bill had not got the Presidentâs prior consent. Deputy Chairman Harivansh, however, said the Bill did not require Presidentâs consent to be introduced and that the House would decide on the matter. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V. Muraleedharan suggested that a ruling be given at a later date, leading Harivansh to say the decision had been âreservedâ. Alphonsâ Bill, which was among the many private memberâs Bills listed for introduction on Friday afternoon, sought to change the words in the Preamble âEQUALITY of status and of opportunityâ to âEQUALITY of status and of opportunity to be born, to be fed, to be educated, to get a job and to be treated with dignityâ. The Bill also proposed adding âaccess to information technologyâ and âhappinessâ as objectives. Among the other private memberâs Bills introduced in the House were the Womenâs (Reservation in Workplace) Bill, 2021 by DMK MP Tiruchi Siva, K.T.S. Tulsiâs Bill to amend the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, setting a three-month limit on deciding matters of disqualification of members under the anti-defection law, and the Population Control Bill, 2021 by BJP MP Harnath Singh Yadav. Bills seeking to extend tenures of ED, CBI chiefs introduced in Lok Sabha The government introduced two Bills in the Lok Sabha on Friday that seek to extend the tenures of the directors of the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) up to a maximum of five years, amid protests from Opposition members, who said that the Bills were against the Supreme Court observations on the matter, and were being brought in to harass Opposition leaders from such agencies. Minister of State for Personnel and Training Dr. Jitendra Singh introduced The Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2021 and the Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill, 2021 to replace ordinances that had been brought in the recess period. Congressâs Shashi Tharoor raised objections to the two Bills, stating that it completely disregarded the Supreme Courtâs observations that were clear in the view that extensions of tenure to superannuated officials should only be done in rare cases. The governmentâs move was mala fide. Trinamool Congress member Saugata Roy opposed the move, contending that both the ED and CBI were used by the government to harass Opposition leaders. Congress members K. Suresh, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and RSP member N.K. Premachandran also opposed the introduction of the Bills. They said piecemeal extensions would lead to officersâ loyalty to the government. Dr. Jitendra Singh, however, said the Bills were being brought in, as earlier laws only fixed a minimum limit on the tenures of the Directors of the CBI and the ED. âThe earlier laws never put any limit on the tenures, we are limiting it to five years,â he noted. The ordinances were necessitated as Parliament remained disrupted. Should the government stop working if the House didnât work, he asked. The CBI and ED chiefs enjoy a fixed tenure of two years from the date of their appointment in the wake of the directives of the Supreme Court in the famous Vineet Narain case. The ED Director is appointed by the government on the recommendation of a committee chaired by the Central Vigilance Commissioner and members comprising Vigilance Commissioners, the Home Secretary, Secretary DoPT and the Revenue Secretary. The CBI Director is selected on the basis of the recommendation of a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Chief of Justice of India and the Leader of Opposition. Implement panelâs anti-pollution measures, SC tells Centre, Delhi Govt. The Supreme Court on Friday approved the measure taken by the Centreâs Air Quality Commission to create an âEnforcement Task Forceâ and flying squads to prevent and penalise polluters in Delhi NCR. Appearing before a Bench led by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the Centre, said the task force was formed on December 2. Mehta, reading out from an affidavit filed by the commission in court, informed the court that 17 flying squads were formed on Thursday and would be increased to 40 in the next 24 hours. The flying squads have already conducted 25 surprise checks since December 2. These squads would directly report to the task force. âThe task force has two independent members. It will meet at 6 p.m. every day. The task force will take action on behalf of the commission against violators,â the Solicitor General submitted. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, on the Bench, asked whether the flying squads would be confined to Delhi or the National Capital Region (NCR) too. âThe NCR... It is therefore that their number would be increased to 40 squads. This is to cover the entire NCR,â Mehta clarified. The court directed the Centre and the Delhi Government to implement the anti-pollution measures introduced by the commission. The affidavit said industrial operations in NCR where gas was not available and not running on PNG or clean fuel would be allowed to operate for eight hours during weekdays and remain closed in weekends. Senior advocate Vikas Singh, for petitioner, suggested harnessing solar or electrical energy to power the plants. When Uttar Pradesh objected to the eight-hour work day, saying the sugarcane farmers would be hit at the peak of the ongoing crushing season, the court asked the State to approach the commission. Mehta, referring to the commissionâs affidavit, said thermal plants within 300 km radius of Delhi would continue to be regulated. Only five of 11 plants were functional. The rest would remain closed till December 15. At this, Justice Chandrachud suggested that the Government should consider shifting these plants to alternative fuel for the long term. The court permitted Delhi to continue its work on the building of 21 hospitals, several of them devoted to COVID-19 treatment in the Capital, provided they meet the directions of the Air Quality Commission. âThey offer excellent facilities. Several of them have been refurbished and re-done,â senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, for Delhi, submitted. The Centre also supported Delhi Government's request to continue work on the hospitals subject to compliance with the commissionâs anti-pollution measures. Singhvi informed the court that schools and colleges had been closed. The court had, in a hearing on December 2, expressed alarm at the sight of children going to school even as pollution remained high. The Delhi Government said schools had stayed closed for 17 months. There were complaints of learning loss, Singhvi submitted. At this point, the Bench referred to media reports wrongly portraying the court in bad light about the December 2 hearing. Singhvi said certain sections of the media had portrayed it as if the court was trying to take over Government administration. In contrast, the atmosphere of the hearings was âconvivialâ with a concerted focus on getting rid of pollution. Chief Justice Ramana said the Government had taken the decision to close the schools and subsequently open it too. Mehta, light-heartedly, referred to Mark Twain saying âif you do not read the newspapers, you are un-informed. If you read the newspapers, you become ill-informedâ. The court posted the case to December 10. âWe will keep this matter pending,â Chief Justice Ramana said. The court, in a hearing on Thursday, had questioned the very purpose of having the Air Quality Commission with the pollution levels continuing to go up. It had given the Centre a 24-hour deadline to act. Cyclone Jawad: Heavy rains expected in A.P., Odisha, West Bengal, Assam and Meghalaya from December 3 to 6 M. Mohapatra, Director General of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), at a press conference on Friday said that a storm in the Bay of Bengal has intensified into a cyclonic storm, Jawad, this afternoon. âThe current wind speed is about 60-70 kmph and itâs now 420 km south east of Vishakapatnam, and 650 km south east of Paradip, Odisha,â said Mohapatra. The maximum impact is expected on North Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Maximum predicted wind speed is 90 kmph by evening of December 4. Heavy rains are expected in AP, Odisha, West Bengal, Assam and Meghalaya from December 3 to 6. By noon of December 5, it will touch Puri coast and keep moving along the coast towards West Bengal. Squally winds hitting 40-50 kmph will be felt from December 3. It will temporarily be a âsevere cycloneâ. By December 5, wind speeds are expected to touch a max of 90 kmph in some districts of Odisha. Fishing operations must be completely suspended. Mohapatra said, âThis cyclone is expected to be much less intense than recent ones such as Titli, and nowhere near extreme ones such as Failin, Fani, Hudhud.â Not all cyclones form an âeyeâ. Only severe and extreme ones do. Currently no eye has formed for Jawad, said IMD. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has earmarked 64 teams to tackle âJawadâ, which is expected to affect the states of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, a senior officer said. NDRF Director General (DG) Atul Karwal told reporters during a briefing here that while 46 teams have been deployed or pre-positioned in the vulnerable states, 18 teams have been kept in reserve. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 3,46,16,888 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 4,70,127. Any decision on COVID-19 vaccine booster dose or vaccines for children would be strictly based on the recommendations made by the expert committee looking into the matter. This decision could not be hurried or politicised. It should be based on pure science and knowledge, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Friday. He was speaking in the Lok Sabha at the end of an over 11-hour discussion that began on Thursday on the pandemic and the governmentâs response. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 03 DECEMBER 2021 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Govt seeks Parliament nod for â¹62,000 crore infusion in Air India Assets Holding Company The [Government on Friday sought Parliamentâs nod to infuse over â¹62,000 crore]( into the company that holds residual assets and liabilities of Air India after its privatisation, as part of over â¹3.73 lakh crore additional spending planned in the current financial year. The extra spending would include â¹58,430 crore by way of additional fertiliser subsidy, â¹53,123 crore towards payment of pending export incentives, and â¹22,039 crore to rural development ministry for transfer to National Rural Employment Guarantee Fund. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary tabled the second batch of supplementary demands for grants tabled in Lok Sabha, envisaging a net cash outgo of over â¹2.99 lakh crore, and â¹74,517 crore extra expenditure would be matched by savings by different ministries. As per the document, â¹62,057 crore would be given to the Civil Aviation Ministry for equity infusion in Air India Assets Holding Company (AIAHL) for re-payment of past government guaranteed borrowing and past dues/liabilities of Air India. Besides, an additional â¹2,628 crore would be given towards loans and advances to Air India for recoupment of advance from Contingency Fund of India. The additional fertiliser subsidy include â¹43,430 crore on account of payment towards indigenous and imported Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) Subsidy and â¹15,000 crore towards urea subsidy scheme. Besides, the Department of Food and Public Distribution would be given an additional â¹49,805 crore for meeting expenditure towards various schemes of food storage and warehousing. The 2021-22 Budget had projected governmentâs total expenditure at â¹34.83 lakh crore. But this is expected to overshoot considering the two batches of supplementary demands for grants presented by the government so far. The government had in August received Parliament nod for net additional spending â¹23,675 crore in the first batch of supplementary demands for grants. [underlineimg] No proposal for banning any group named âNSO Groupâ: Chandrasekhar The government on Friday said there was [no proposal to ban any group named âNSO Groupâ]( and that it does not have any information on whether the US has blacklisted the group for providing Pegasus spyware. Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar was responding to a written question in Rajya Sabha on the banning of NSO Group. On whether the U.S. has blacklisted NSO Group and Candiru for providing Pegasus spyware that was allegedly used to maliciously target journalists, embassy workers and activists, he said, âNo such information is available in this ministryâ. To a question on whether the ministry has also banned the NSO Group in India, Chandrasekhar said, âThere is no proposal for banning any group named âNSO Group.ââ Earlier this year, a row erupted over Israeli spyware Pegasus allegedly being used for targeted surveillance in India. In October, the Supreme Court set up a three-member independent expert panel to probe the alleged use of the spyware for targeted surveillance in India. The apex court had also observed that the state cannot get a âfree passâ every time the spectre of national security is raised and that its mere invocation cannot render the judiciary a â'mute spectatorâ. [underlineimg] Protests over BJP MPâs Bill to amend Preamble A Bill to amend the [Preamble to the Constitution]( to replace the word âsocialistâ with âequitableâ, among other changes, being introduced by BJP MP K.J. Alphons [led to protests by Opposition MPs]( on Friday. [
The Preamble plaque at the Vidhana Soudha.
]  Alphons moved the motion to introduce the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2021 in the Upper House to which Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Kumar Jha objected. âAmendment to the Preamble is an attack on the very edifice of the Constitution,â Prof. Jha said, adding that the Bill had not got the Presidentâs prior consent. Deputy Chairman Harivansh, however, said the Bill did not require Presidentâs consent to be introduced and that the House would decide on the matter. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V. Muraleedharan suggested that a ruling be given at a later date, leading Harivansh to say the decision had been âreservedâ. Alphonsâ Bill, which was among the many private memberâs Bills listed for introduction on Friday afternoon, sought to change the words in the Preamble âEQUALITY of status and of opportunityâ to âEQUALITY of status and of opportunity to be born, to be fed, to be educated, to get a job and to be treated with dignityâ. The Bill also proposed adding âaccess to information technologyâ and âhappinessâ as objectives. Among the other private memberâs Bills introduced in the House were the Womenâs (Reservation in Workplace) Bill, 2021 by DMK MP Tiruchi Siva, K.T.S. Tulsiâs Bill to amend the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, setting a three-month limit on deciding matters of disqualification of members under the anti-defection law, and the Population Control Bill, 2021 by BJP MP Harnath Singh Yadav. [underlineimg] Bills seeking to extend tenures of ED, CBI chiefs introduced in Lok Sabha The [government introduced two Bills in the Lok Sabha]( on Friday that seek to extend the tenures of the directors of the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) up to a maximum of five years, amid protests from Opposition members, who said that the Bills were against the Supreme Court observations on the matter, and were being brought in to harass Opposition leaders from such agencies. Minister of State for Personnel and Training Dr. Jitendra Singh introduced The Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2021 and the Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill, 2021 to replace ordinances that had been brought in the recess period. Congressâs Shashi Tharoor raised objections to the two Bills, stating that it completely disregarded the Supreme Courtâs observations that were clear in the view that extensions of tenure to superannuated officials should only be done in rare cases. The governmentâs move was mala fide. Trinamool Congress member Saugata Roy opposed the move, contending that both the ED and CBI were used by the government to harass Opposition leaders. Congress members K. Suresh, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and RSP member N.K. Premachandran also opposed the introduction of the Bills. They said piecemeal extensions would lead to officersâ loyalty to the government. Dr. Jitendra Singh, however, said the Bills were being brought in, as earlier laws only fixed a minimum limit on the tenures of the Directors of the CBI and the ED. âThe earlier laws never put any limit on the tenures, we are limiting it to five years,â he noted. The ordinances were necessitated as Parliament remained disrupted. Should the government stop working if the House didnât work, he asked. The CBI and ED chiefs enjoy a fixed tenure of two years from the date of their appointment in the wake of the directives of the Supreme Court in the famous Vineet Narain case. The ED Director is appointed by the government on the recommendation of a committee chaired by the Central Vigilance Commissioner and members comprising Vigilance Commissioners, the Home Secretary, Secretary DoPT and the Revenue Secretary. The CBI Director is selected on the basis of the recommendation of a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Chief of Justice of India and the Leader of Opposition. [underlineimg] Implement panelâs anti-pollution measures, SC tells Centre, Delhi Govt. The Supreme Court on Friday [approved the measure taken by the Centreâs Air Quality Commission]( to create an âEnforcement Task Forceâ and flying squads to prevent and penalise polluters in Delhi NCR. Appearing before a Bench led by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the Centre, said the task force was formed on December 2. Mehta, reading out from an affidavit filed by the commission in court, informed the court that 17 flying squads were formed on Thursday and would be increased to 40 in the next 24 hours. The flying squads have already conducted 25 surprise checks since December 2. These squads would directly report to the task force. âThe task force has two independent members. It will meet at 6 p.m. every day. The task force will take action on behalf of the commission against violators,â the Solicitor General submitted. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, on the Bench, asked whether the flying squads would be confined to Delhi or the National Capital Region (NCR) too. âThe NCR... It is therefore that their number would be increased to 40 squads. This is to cover the entire NCR,â Mehta clarified. [Traffic moves on a smoggy weather as the air quality remains in severe category on the Ring Road in New Delhi on December 3, 2021.]  The court directed the Centre and the Delhi Government to implement the anti-pollution measures introduced by the commission. The affidavit said industrial operations in NCR where gas was not available and not running on PNG or clean fuel would be allowed to operate for eight hours during weekdays and remain closed in weekends. Senior advocate Vikas Singh, for petitioner, suggested harnessing solar or electrical energy to power the plants. When Uttar Pradesh objected to the eight-hour work day, saying the sugarcane farmers would be hit at the peak of the ongoing crushing season, the court asked the State to approach the commission. Mehta, referring to the commissionâs affidavit, said thermal plants within 300 km radius of Delhi would continue to be regulated. Only five of 11 plants were functional. The rest would remain closed till December 15. At this, Justice Chandrachud suggested that the Government should consider shifting these plants to alternative fuel for the long term. The court permitted Delhi to continue its work on the building of 21 hospitals, several of them devoted to COVID-19 treatment in the Capital, provided they meet the directions of the Air Quality Commission. âThey offer excellent facilities. Several of them have been refurbished and re-done,â senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, for Delhi, submitted. The Centre also supported Delhi Government's request to continue work on the hospitals subject to compliance with the commissionâs anti-pollution measures. Singhvi informed the court that schools and colleges had been closed. The court had, in a hearing on December 2, expressed alarm at the sight of children going to school even as pollution remained high. The Delhi Government said schools had stayed closed for 17 months. There were complaints of learning loss, Singhvi submitted. At this point, the Bench referred to media reports wrongly portraying the court in bad light about the December 2 hearing. Singhvi said certain sections of the media had portrayed it as if the court was trying to take over Government administration. In contrast, the atmosphere of the hearings was âconvivialâ with a concerted focus on getting rid of pollution. Chief Justice Ramana said the Government had taken the decision to close the schools and subsequently open it too. Mehta, light-heartedly, referred to Mark Twain saying âif you do not read the newspapers, you are un-informed. If you read the newspapers, you become ill-informedâ. The court posted the case to December 10. âWe will keep this matter pending,â Chief Justice Ramana said. The court, in a hearing on Thursday, had questioned the very purpose of having the Air Quality Commission with the pollution levels continuing to go up. It had given the Centre a 24-hour deadline to act. [underlineimg] Cyclone Jawad: Heavy rains expected in A.P., Odisha, West Bengal, Assam and Meghalaya from December 3 to 6 M. Mohapatra, Director General of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), at a press conference on Friday said that [a storm in the Bay of Bengal has intensified into a cyclonic storm, Jawad]( this afternoon. âThe current wind speed is about 60-70 kmph and itâs now 420 km south east of Vishakapatnam, and 650 km south east of Paradip, Odisha,â said Mohapatra. The maximum impact is expected on North Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Maximum predicted wind speed is 90 kmph by evening of December 4. Heavy rains are expected in AP, Odisha, West Bengal, Assam and Meghalaya from December 3 to 6. By noon of December 5, it will touch Puri coast and keep moving along the coast towards West Bengal. Squally winds hitting 40-50 kmph will be felt from December 3. It will temporarily be a âsevere cycloneâ. By December 5, wind speeds are expected to touch a max of 90 kmph in some districts of Odisha. Fishing operations must be completely suspended. Mohapatra said,  âThis cyclone is expected to be much less intense than recent ones such as Titli, and nowhere near extreme ones such as Failin, Fani, Hudhud.â Not all cyclones form an âeyeâ. Only severe and extreme ones do. Currently no eye has formed for Jawad, said IMD. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has earmarked 64 teams to tackle âJawadâ, which is expected to affect the states of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, a senior officer said. NDRF Director General (DG) Atul Karwal told reporters during a briefing here that while 46 teams have been deployed or pre-positioned in the vulnerable states, 18 teams have been kept in reserve. [underlineimg] Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The [number of reported coronavirus cases from India]( stood at 3,46,16,888 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 4,70,127.  Any decision on COVID-19 vaccine booster dose or vaccines for children would be strictly based on the recommendations made by the expert committee looking into the matter. This decision could not be hurried or politicised. It should be based on pure science and knowledge, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Friday. He was [speaking in the Lok Sabha at the end of an over 11-hour discussion]( that began on Thursday on the pandemic and the governmentâs response. [underlineimg] Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. Today's Top Picks [[Analysis | â¹1,000 crore spent on Poshan Tracker, but where is the data?] Analysis | â¹1,000 crore spent on Poshan Tracker, but where is the data?](
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