Priest can certify CAA eligibility , says govt helpline
A local priest may issue an “ eligibility certificate “ under the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 , to validate the religion of the applicant , according to a recent response received by The Hindu through the Union Home Ministries helpline .
The entire process is online , but the applicants will have to present themselves on an appointed day before a committee , which will verify the documents .
The applicants have to submit a clutch of documents one of which is an eligibility certificate to validate the religion of the applicant .
Any local priest can certify the faith of the person .
India strongly objects to US remarks on Kejriwal’s arrest
India on Wednesday summoned a US diplomat in New Delhi and expressed “ strong objections “ to the remarks of a spokesperson of the US state department on the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal .
On Monday the US state department had said “ We encourage a fair , transparent and timely legal process for Chief Minister Kejriwal “ .
In the statement MEA said that “ fellow democracies should respect each other’s sovereignty “ and highlighted India’s “ Independent Judiciary “ .
Despite summons ,the US repeated it’s briefing in Washington saying the US “ continues to follow “ the center’s action on the run up of elections .
Election commission issues , notices to Shrinate , Ghosh for ‘ offensive ‘ remark
Election commission on Wednesday slapped show cause notice on Congress’s Supriya Shrinate and BJP’s Dillip Ghose for their “ offensive “ , “ insulting “ and “ undignified “ comment on Kangana Ranaut and Mamta Banerjee respectively .
Supriya Shrinate in
Somalian pirates used an Iranian fishing vessel to hijack MV Ruen
Somali pirates that were using the MV Suez vessel that was later rescued by the Indian Navy had captured the vessel using another captured vessel .
On November 29 , Somali Pirates captured Al Ashkaan which had 24 Pakistani Crew members off the coast of Yemen .
Al Ashkaan. was used to capture MV Ruez on December 14 .
The Indian Navy recently intercepted the vessel MV Ruez and captured 35 pirates in 40 hours .
World
China to develop SriLanka’s deep sea port or airport
Srilankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing on Wednesday .
Dinesh Gunawatdena said China, the Island’s biggest creditor – would “ assist “ Sri Lanka in restructuring its external debt .
Mr Gunawardena said that Beijing had offered “ assistance to develop “ Colombo International Airport and Hambantota port .
A Japanese funded expansion project was on halt since Sri Lanka’s Sovereign bond default .
The southern sea port of Hambantota was handed to a Chinese state owned company for a 99 year old lease .
Debt restructuring
Srilankan PM said that China would “ assist “ Sri Lanka in restructuring of external debt .
a key condition to the 2.9 billion dollar bailout package by the IMF .
China was the biggest creditor to Sri Lanka prior to the Srilankan economic crisis in 2022 . China was reluctant to take a haircut of its loans but could extend the tenure and adjust interest rates .
Palestinians denied homeland , India talks to Russia ‘ bluntly ‘ : Jaishankar
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said that a response in Ongoing conflict in Gaza has to acknowledge the fact that Palestinian people were “ denied the right to their homeland “ .
“ Whatever rights or wrongs of the issue , there is the underlying issue of the rights of Palestinians and the fact that they have been denied their homeland . “ , he said .
India releases second tranche of ₹500 crore , for Bhutan infra work
India has released the second tranche of ₹500 crore to Bhutan for development of infrastructure related to the Gyalsung project .
During the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 23 , the firm has agreed to provide ₹10,000 crore for the next five years . Earlier the amount was ₹5,000 crore .
Myanmar Army behind Facebook pages spewing hate speech : UN probe
A recent probe by the UN has revealed that Myanamr army was behind continuous hate speech and hate attacks against Rohingya on Facebook before the 2017 crackdown against Muslim minority .
In late 2021 , Rohingya sued Facebook for 150 billion dollars claiming that it failed to stop hate speech against them .
Xi meets US business executives in effort to attract foreign investment
Xi said that it will be a win win situation for both sides if they continue to invest more and work together . He also told businesses to ignore minor differences the two countries have .
China is a major production center for many US companies . China however is seeing stagnant growth as many companies are moving to other parts of world such as South East Asia and India .
Science
Study unravels the recipe that gives Kashmiri rice variety unique Aroma
The Kashmir Himalayas is known for Musk Budiji , an indigenous rice variety known for its rich aroma and taste .
Recently researchers in Sher E Kashmir University of Agriculture Science and Technology ( SKUAST ) , Srinagar reported that altitude and aroma play an important part in its aroma .
A recent study published in Nature Scientific Report has reported identifying 35 aromatic components in the variety , at an altitude at nearly 5,000 to 7,000 feets
Is Australia’s Carbon Credit scheme a ‘ Catastrophic ‘
Australia’s Carbon Credit scheme was undermined by damning new research on March 27 , which found the world’s leading reforestation project has been an underforming “ catastrophe “ .
Australia had set aside 42 million hectares of land , an area equivalent to Japan for the Carbon Credit scheme . The Objective was to regenerate native forest to offset emissions .
But researchers have found that 80 % of these are either stagnant or wood lands were sinking .
Text / Context
On sustainable building materials
India is witnessing an unprecedented boom in the construction sector . The building sector is a major electricity consumer accounting for 33% of the total energy consumed .
The India action Cooling Plan has forecasted an eight fold increase of cooling. Demand between 2017 and 2037 .
Autoclaves Aerotated Conclave ( AAC ) has come out as a construction material that is far above from red brick , fly ash and monolithic concrete ( Mivan ) .
The material provides excellent heat insulation . That will save the cost of ACs in Summer .
The material is further good in speed , scalability , strength etc .
Why are Rohingya refugees risking their life at sea ?
Recently Indonesia rescued about 75 Rohingyas from its coasts . The Rohingyas were crossing through wooden boats .
As per United Nations High Commission for Refugees ( UNHCR ) .
In 2023 about. 4500 Rohingya tried to cross to other countries in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea . About 600 of them died because of the lack of proper boats .
Who are Rohingyas ?
Rohingya belong to the Rakhine state of Myanmar . Myanamr has refused to recognise them , denying citizenship since 1982 . Many Rohingya are living in Myanmar having no democratic rights and facing Persecution from the Military Junta . They are living in penury .
Over 1 million Rohingya have fled since 1990 .
Six lakh still live in the country .
About 9.6 lakh Rohingya reside in Refugee camps in Bangladesh mostly in Cox Bazar .
Rohingyas try to flee to Muslim Majority countries such as Malaysia , Indonesia .
They are exploited by human traffickers .
