ED arrests Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in Excise policy case
· Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by Enforcement Directorate ( ED) on Thursday evening in connection with Delhi Excise Policy Scam case . He will be produced before special court on Friday.
· AAP has moved to the Supreme Court for quash his arrest .
· Earlier in the day , the Delhi High Court didn’t give any protection to Kejriwal from ED questioning . The next hearing of this is on 22 April .
· Mr. Kejriwal is the fourth AAP leader to be arrested in the Delhi Excise Policy case .
· Manish Sisodia , Sanjay Singh and Vijay Nair are the other three leaders .
· Congress has criticized the arrest .
TamilNadu governor ‘defying the Supreme Court ‘ says CJI
· The Supreme Court had recently suspended the conviction of DMK MLA K Pondumny in a disproportionate assets case .
· TamilNadu governor R.N . Ravi after the courts judgment refused to administer Oath to Mr. Pondumny as High Education Minister telling that it was against “ constitutional morality “ .
· CJI DY Chandrachud on Thursday slammed the governors for “ defying the Supreme Court “ .
· The court gave the governor overnight “ to set the constitutional position right “ .
SC stays govt notification on establishing. fact check unit
· The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed an intermediary decision on the March 20 notice for establishing the Press Information Bureau’s Fact Checking Unit ( PIB FCU ) .
· A case against the center’s creating a Fact Checking Unit ( FCU) is already going in Bombay High Court . Bombay High Court ’s two Judge Bench had given split verdict over this .
· Bombay High Court is in process of creating. A three Judge Bench that now will hear the case .
· The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the center’s fact checking unit until a three Judge bench of the Bombay High Court takes a Final decision over this .
· Under IT Rules 2021 there is provision of creating a Fact Checking Unit ( FCU ) . The FCU will have power to flag any news regarding the “ business “ of the center Fake if it finds so . The Social Media companies will have to remove the flagged “ Fake “ post from their platform .
· Press Information Bureau (PIB ) was made the Fact Checking Unit .
Thankful for ₹13,000 crore but need more , Kerala tells SC
· The state of Kerala on Thursday thanked the center for ₹13,000 crore . But it is said that it needed additional ₹10,000 crore and has kept it’s case in Supreme Court for that .
· Kerala had sought an amount of ₹24,000 crore from center to ‘ tide over a looming financial emergency .
· Center had accused Kerala of “ financial mismanagement “ .
Ministry of environment tightens rule on bioplastics
· The Ministry of Environment has added new rules over what to be called as ‘ bioplastics ‘ . The new definition includes that bioplastics should not leave “ any microplastics … “
· Earlier bioplastics were those capable of “ degradation by biological processes in
· specific environment such as soil and landfills “.
· Biodegradable plastics includes plastics goods being treated before they are sold .
· Compostable plastics , on the other hand , do not degrade but requires large waste management facilities to do so .
· Microplastcs have been reported a major source of pollution affecting rivers and oceans
Panel to study the scope of altering power lines in bustard habitat
· The Supreme Court on Thursday has formed a committee to look into the matter of shaving the Great Indian Bustard from dying after collision with High Powered cables .
· The committee comprises the Director of Wildlife Institute of India and some other conservationists.
· Great Indian Bustard comes under Critically Endangered in IUCN Red list .
· It is found mostly in Kutch in Gujarat and Rajasthan .
· Their habitats contain Solar Parks and high powered wires crossing . Collision with High Powered wires is a major cause of death .
Great India bustard
MEIL’s ₹584 crore donation is top donation to any party
· Hyderabad based Megha Engineering Infrastructure limited ( MEIL ) donated ₹584 crore to BJP – the most by any donor to a single party . The second largest donor to a single party was ₹542 crore to lottery maganate Martin’s firm .
World
US calls for immediate ‘ceasefire ‘ as Gaza war rages
· The United States for the first time has circulated a draft UN resolution calling for an “ immediate “ ceasefire in the Israel Hamas war .
· Washington had blocked previous UN Security Agreements that talked of “ immediate “ ceasefire .US top diplomat Antony Blinken confirmed the stand on Wednesday .
· Mr. Blinken is to visit Egypt on Thursday to attend a meeting of Arab League leaders . He stressed that any ceasefire must be linked with the release of Israeli hostages by Hamas .
· Palestine is on the brink of a famine after aid has been slow due to Israeli blockades .
· The death toll in the Israel Gaza war has crossed 32,000 .
Sri Lanka may secure moratorium from IMF on debt
· SriLanka is close to finalizing a debt refreshment plan with India and Paris Club members , sources close to Negotiation has said . The debt retreatment plan will likely be Moratorium for six years and likely debt repayment .
· 17 nations that lended to Sri Lanka has formed a committee named Official Creditors Committee ( OCC ) last year . China is out of this .
· India is the largest creditor to Sri Lanka with around 3 billion dollars . Japan , France are among other Creditors .
Global sea level jumped due to El Nino , sea level : NASA
· NASA has released a analysis on Global Sea Level Rise
· Global average sea level rise to .3 inches ( .76 CM ) from 2022 to 2023 , this is four times the increase of the previous year – NASA said on Thursday , attributing a significant jump to “ strong “ El Nino “ and warming climate .
· “ Current level of analysis means that we are in the track to add another 20 CM to global sea level by 2050 “ Nadya Vinahriva Schiffer , the director for the NASA sea level change said .
· The increased sea level means , creating a situation where flooding is more frequent and catastrophic.
· El Nino years have increased sea level temperature in equatorial regions .
Pak rejects US policy warning over ‘ poll irregularities ‘
· The Pakistan government on Thursday dismissed a warning by the United States that the relationship between the two countries would suffer if it does not probe the irregularities in the elections last month .
· A Senior US diplomat had told lawmakers of “ serious concern “ regarding conduct of elections on March 8 .
Arab League lauds India’s Palestinian policy
· Arab League’s Ambassador Yusuf Mohammad Abdullah Jameel in its statement praised India for displaying “ steadfast dedication “ for extending humanitarian assistance to Palestine and sticking with its position in favor of “ two state solution “ for the solution of Palestinian issues .
Great Indian bustard
