CURRENT AFFAIRS - 12.12.2023

 

1. Article 370 is history, election future The verdict The Supreme Court gave three judgments to unanimously uphold the Modi government's 2019 decisions to scrap the special status for Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state to carve out Ladakh as a Union Territory. The question of relegating J&K to the status of a Union Territory was left for another discussion as the Centre has promised to restore its statehood as soon as possible. Dig deeper The five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud — who wrote the judgment for three judges — held that the President's exercise of power under Article 370(3) to abrogate this Article was not mala fide. The court held that Article 370 was meant for constitutional integration and not for the disintegration of J&K with the Union. It said Article 370 was temporary in nature, and that there was no need to hold consultation or collaboration with the elected government of J&K before ceasing its operation. It held that J&K didn't retain an element of sovereignty when it joined the Union of India. An election deadline The top court set a deadline for the Election Commission to hold an election for the J&K Assembly, directing it to be completed by the end of September 2024. A panel for justice Justice SK Kaul, who wrote a separate but concurring judgment, highlighted the pain and suffering of the people of J&K due to militancy and violations of their human rights to direct the setting up of a Truth and Reconciliation Committee. The committee will talk to people of J&K and probe human rights violations by "state and non-state" actors since the 1980s — along the lines of post-apartheid South Africa. Reactions PM Modi hailed the verdict as "historic", saying it's a testament to the collective resolve to build a stronger and more united India. The Congress said the debate over the issue has ended and it's time to restore statehood to J&K and hold the election there. Former J&K CMs Mehbooba Mufti, Omar Abdullah, and Ghulam Nabi Azad expressed disappointment over the verdict. More here

2. A surprise in MP, eyes now on Rajasthan The OBC choice Mohan Yadav, the Ujjain South MLA, will be the next Madhya Pradesh CM. The state BJP legislature party elected him to replace Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the four-time outgoing incumbent. Like Chouhan, 58-year-old Yadav also comes from the OBC community, which accounts for about 48% of Madhya Pradesh's population. However, Yadavs are considered less influential among the OBCs in the state. What came as a big surprise was Yadav beating the speculated big names, such as Narendra Tomar, Pralhad Patel and Jyotiraditya Scindia, in the race. Who is Mohan Yadav? Elected as an MLA for the first time in 2013, the three-time legislator was serving as minister for higher education in the outgoing Chouhan cabinet. As higher education minister, he announced to make the Ramcharitmanas an optional subject in colleges in 2021. Considered close to the RSS, the 58-year-old leader began his political career as an ABVP activist. Yadav holds a doctorate (PhD) besides LLB and MBA degrees. Yadav is the first leader to become CM from Ujjain, where PM Modi dedicated the newly constructed Mahakal Lok corridor last year. More here Two deputy CMs Yadav will have two deputy chief ministers — Rajendra Shukla and Jagdish Devda. Also, the BJP named Tomar to be the next MP Assembly Speaker. Rajasthan decision today? The newly elected Rajasthan BJP legislature party will meet in Jaipur today to formally pick the next chief minister. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who has been appointed as the party's observer, and the two co-observers — national vice president Saroj Pandey and national general secretary Vinod Tawde — will be present at the meeting. Following the BJP's decision to replace veterans Raman Singh and Chouhan in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh respectively, speculation is rife that former Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje may not get another term. Union ministers Arjun Ram Meghwal, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Ashwini Vaishnaw are said to be in the running for the CM's post in Rajasthan.

3. Mahua takes her battle to top court Legal challenge Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra moved the Supreme Court on Monday challenging her expulsion from the Lok Sabha, after the House adopted the report of its ethics committee that held her guilty of accepting gifts and illegal gratification from a businessman to further his interest. Report findings The Ethics Committee's 495-page report held Moitra accountable for "unethical conduct" and contempt of the House. The specific charge involved Moitra sharing her Lok Sabha members' portal credentials, including user ID and password, with unauthorized individuals. The committee asserted that this had an irrepressible impact on national security. In light of Moitra's "highly objectionable, unethical, heinous, and criminal conduct," the Ethics Committee recommended a thorough, legal, and institutional inquiry by the government. Emphasizing the gravity of the situation, the committee urged that this inquiry be conducted in a time-bound manner. Motion for expulsion On December 8, following a heated Lok Sabha debate where Moitra was denied the opportunity to speak, Minister Pralhad Joshi swiftly moved and adopted a motion to expel her for "unethical conduct." The motion stated her conduct was "unbecoming" for accepting gifts and illegal gratification, deeming it a serious misdemeanour and highly deplorable. Ethics Committee Chairman Vinod Kumar Sonkar presented the initial report based on a complaint from BJP MP Nishikant Dubey against Mahua Moitra. Dubey alleged Moitra exchanged questions in Parliament for cash and gifts, aiming to attack industrialist Gautam Adani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. CBI's involvement In an October 19 affidavit to the Ethics Committee, businessman Darshan Hiranandani asserted that Moitra shared her log-in details for the Lok Sabha members' website. Following this revelation, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a preliminary FIR, introducing a legal dimension to the situation.

X-PLAINED 4. The December dance of Sensex A new peak Equity benchmark Sensex breached a new milestone of 70,000 points, closing 102 points higher on Monday. Nifty settled just shy of the 21,000 mark, driven by gains in banking, IT and metal shares. As many as 18 Sensex shares closed in the green, 11 declined, and one settled unchanged. What's pushing it up Despite the Hindenburg saga, the Adani Group tops the list of wealth creators among conglomerates — with a return of over 100% to its shareholders in the last 2.2 years while Sensex surged over 39%. The Bharti Group, with its two listed companies, is the second-largest wealth creator followed by Bajaj. Tata is next with Aditya Birla closing the gap. Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Group, however, underperformed the Sensex. The factors Foreign Portfolio Investors: FPIs have invested Rs 26,505 crore into domestic equities in the first six trading sessions of December. Economy: Scripting a swift recovery from the Covid pandemic, the economy is poised to grow at 7% this fiscal year ending in March — on the back of a first-half growth of 7.7%. IPO boost: The advent of new-age IPOs — from Zomato in 2021 to Mamaearth last month — has contributed to the stellar D-street rallies. Barring Paytm, whose valuation has dropped to $5bn from the peak of $16bn, the market capitalisations of other new-age firms are either higher or at par. Elections: The victory of the pro-market BJP in the Hindi heartland states has contributed to the bullish sentiments in the share markets. What's different Unlike earlier stock market rallies, the rupee and stock indices have moved in opposite directions. This is because of the smaller roles played by FIIs. However, some dealers are forecasting that continuous depreciation of the rupee against the dollar may become history from next year. To watch out Investors will be closely watching the upcoming US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting today for clues about potential future rate cuts. The US government will report on consumer inflation today while the Federal Reserve will announce its next move on interest rates tomorrow.

NEWS IN CLUES 5. Have you watched this movie? Clue 1: Its director is also the filmmaker behind Lady Bird and Little Women Clue 2: It is the highest grossing movie worldwide in 2023 Clue 3: It has Margot Robbie as the lead actor Scroll below for answer

6. Why INDIA walked out of Parliament What Lawmakers from political parties belonging to the INDIA bloc staged a walkout in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, alleging that the Centre is imposing an "economic blockade" on states ruled by Opposition parties by withholding central funds to which they are entitled under different schemes. Who The MPs from the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Trinamool Congress, Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Samajwadi Party (SP), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Communist Party of India (Marxist), CPI and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) were among the ones which staged the walkout. Why During the Zero Hour, AAP's Rajya Sabha member from Punjab Sandeep Pathak raised an issue concerning funds to the tune of around Rs 8,000 crores, for various schemes including the National Health Mission, being withheld by the Centre flagging several objections. Pathak also claimed that more than Rs 5,000 crore of rural development funds for Punjab were not released because the previous Congress-led government had diverted money to other heads. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya hit back saying that the government respects the federal structure and funds are withheld only when the concerned states violate guidelines - reacting to which MPs of the INDIA bloc staged the walkout, alleging a trend that applies only to Opposition-ruled states. A heated day in LS On one hand, the BJP continued attacking Congress in the Lok Sabha over the recovery of cash from the latter's Rajya Sabha MP Dhiraj Sahu's possession. Its MPs alleged that Congress and corruption are two sides of a coin. On the other hand, Opposition MPs in the Lower House attacked the government on price rise, unemployment, corruption and poverty. The Congress also sought to know why petrol prices have not been reduced despite low global prices, even as it accused the government of favouring certain industrialists.

7. Does the world need a 'declaration document' for AI? What The Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Summit to be inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi today will see intense deliberations on this new technology and work towards a consensus-based 'declaration document' on approach to AI opportunities and risk mitigation, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Monday. Building a collaborative structure India, which has always championed democratisation of technology for the masses, will moot the use of AI for sustainable agriculture as well as a DPI-like collaborative structure for harnessing the power of artificial intelligence, said Vaishnaw, who is the Minister of IT and Electronics. DPI stands for digital public infrastructure like UPI, Aadhaar and Open Network for Digital Commerce. The good and the bad Vaishnaw further said that the world's view on AI is almost converging, with global recognition and awareness of the dangers as well as the transformative potential of this new technology. What's GPAI? The GPAI - a multistakeholder initiative focused on nuances of AI - has 28 member countries and the European Union (EU). As one of the founding members of GPAI in 2020, and the lead chair for GPAI in 2024, India is hosting the annual GPAI Summit in New Delhi from December 12-14. The discussions will be around responsible AI, and the event will see stakeholders brainstorming on tapping opportunities and benefits of AI.

8. How Israel-Hamas war has triggered mass exodus to Egypt Fight intensifies Fighting between Israel and Hamas intensified across Gaza on Monday, fuelling fears flagged by the United Nations at the weekend of a breakdown in public order and a mass exodus of Palestinians into Egypt, according to a Reuters report. War situation Most of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been driven from their homes and residents say it is impossible to find refuge in the densely populated enclave, with around 18,000 people already killed and conflict intensifying. Since the breakdown of a week-long ceasefire, Israel launched a ground offensive in the south last week and has since pushed from the east into the heart of the major city of Khan Younis, with warplanes attacking an area to the west. Only way out The narrow coastal strip has been under a full Israeli blockade since the start of the conflict more than two months ago and the border with Egypt is the only other way out for Gaza residents. The border with Egypt is heavily fortified, but Hamas militants blew holes in the wall in 2008 to break a tight blockade. Gazans crossed to buy food and other goods but quickly returned, with none permanently displaced. Egypt has long warned it would not allow Gazans into its territory this time, fearing they would not be able to return. Meanwhile Egyptians cast their votes on Sunday and Monday in a presidential election set to hand Abdel Fattah al-Sisi a third term in power, as the country grapples with an economic crisis and a war on its border with Gaza. Al-Sisi, who is believed to succeed in grabbing his sixth-consecutive term, will have to tame inflation, manage a chronic foreign currency shortage and prevent spillover from the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

9. A collision course in South China Sea What The Philippines on Monday called the actions of Chinese vessels against its boats carrying out South China Sea resupply missions over the weekend - including one with a senior Philippine military official aboard - a "serious escalation". Manila accused the Chinese coast guard and maritime militia of repeatedly firing water cannons at its resupply boats, causing "serious engine damage" to one, and "deliberately" ramming another. Philippine Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Romeo Brawner said he was onboard a vessel that was both sprayed with a water cannon and rammed. Diplomatic protests In response to the "aggressive" actions, the Philippines filed diplomatic protests and summoned China's ambassador, terming the incidents a "threat to peace, good order, and security" and describing the actions as a significant escalation by China. China's rebuttal China protested, claiming that Philippine vessels disregarded warnings and entered disputed waters near Second Thomas Shoal situated less than 200 nautical miles from the Philippines' Palawan province. China defended its actions as "professional, reasonable, and legal," blaming the Philippines for ongoing emergencies at the shoal, accusing them of refusing to remove illegally beached warships. Not a first It was not the first time China has used water cannons against Philippine vessels undertaking resupply missions for troops on features Manila occupies in the South China Sea. In August, the Philippines delayed a resupply mission by two weeks after its boats were sprayed. Concerns The maritime confrontation adds to ongoing tensions in the South China Sea, where China claims sovereignty over large portions, conflicting with neighboring countries' claims. Philippine officials and security experts express concerns that Beijing aims to seize and militarize the shoal, similar to its actions at Mischief Reef, located just 25 miles away. US response The United States criticized China's interference in the Philippines' maritime operations, characterizing it as "unsafe operational behavior" and reaffirmed its commitment to the mutual defense pact with the Philippines and called for stability in the region.

10. You share your b'day with... Source: Various

Answer To NEWS IN CLUES Barbie. Summer blockbuster “Barbie” topped the list of nominees for Hollywood’s Golden Globe awards on Monday with nine nods, outpacing the eight for historical film drama “Oppenheimer.” Pink-fueled doll adventure “Barbie” will compete for best comedy or musical film alongside “American Fiction,” “The Holdovers” and others at a red-carpet ceremony in January that will kick off the Hollywood awards season. The Globes are one of the key contests that can provide a boost to movies on the road to the Academy Awards in March. COURTESY : TIMES TOP 10