Summary of The Hindu 22th MARCH 2024

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