This week, Parliament passed the Women’s Reservation Bill which has been pending for over three decades. PM Narendra Modi hailed the passage of the Nari Vandan Adhiniyam calling it the beginning of a new step in women-led development. Meanwhile, BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri sparked controversy as he called BSP MP Danish Ali a ‘terrorist’ and made communal remarks against him in the Lok Sabha. The opposition has intensified the attack on the saffron party asking for strict against him. Another incident that took center stage this week is the India-Canada diplomatic row which began after Canadian PM Justin Trudeau alleged intelligence agencies found a “potential link” between the Indian government and the killing of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
INDIA
After Three Decades, Women’s Reservation Bill Set To Become Law On Clearing Rajya Sabha Hurdle
The Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed the long-pending Bill granting 33 per cent reservation to women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies with 215 MPs voting in favour of the Bill. The Upper House of the Parliament underwent a day-long session discussing the 128th Constitution Amendment Bill, the Nari Shakti Vandan Bill, with several Opposititon parties demanding to implement the reservation without delimitation and census and some urging to provide sub-quota for the Other Backward Class (OBC). While the Women’s Reservation Bill has been passed, its implementation still might take some time as it requires a delimitation activity that would take place after the census.
The opposition has come out all guns blazing against the BJP after its Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri termed BSP’s Danish Ali a ‘terrorist’ and used communal slurs against him during Lok Sabha proceedings on Thursday. A video clip of the comment, which has now gone viral on social media, has evoked sharp reactions as well from Speaker Om Birla who said there will be a strict warning if such behaviour was repeated.
India Expels Senior Canadian Diplomat After Trudeau’s Comment On ‘India Link’ To Nijjar Killing
In a swift tit-for-tat move after Canada expelled an Indian diplomat, alleging that ‘agents’ of the Government of India were linked to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistan sympathiser, India summoned the High Commissioner of Canada to India Tuesday morning and informed him about its decision to expel a senior Canadian diplomat based in India. The diplomat concerned has been asked to leave the country “within the next five days”, according to an official statement.
WORLD
Top US Diplomat Confirms Intel Shared By Five Eyes Prompted Canada’s Offensive Against India: Report
India-Canada Diplomatic Row: Admitting for the first time, a top United States diplomat has confirmed that there was “shared intelligence among Five Eyes partners” that had prompted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s offensive allegation about Indian agents’ involvement in the killing of a Khalistani extremist on Canadian soil, according to a media report on Saturday.
Days after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made shocking allegations of a “potential link” between the Indian government and the killing of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, British Columbia (B.C.) Premier has said that Ottawa is holding back on crucial information on the same, reported CBC.
Indian-American Republican presidential aspirant Nikki Haley described China as an “existential threat” to the US and the world. She claimed that Beijing is “preparing for war”. In a major policy speech on the economy in the key early primary State of New Hampshire, Haley said that China has spent half a century plotting to defeat America and in some respects, the Chinese military is already at par with the US armed forces. The speech comes two days after her India-American Republican rival Vivek Ramaswamy delivered a foreign policy speech on China in Ohio.
SPORTS
In a strong response to the discriminatory treatment of some Indian sportspersons from the state of Arunachal Pradesh at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, the Indian government has lodged a vehement protest against China’s actions with Union Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Anurag Thakur cancelling his planned visit to China. Notably, three Indian wushu players from the North-Eastern state of India were denied entry into China.
Lionel Messi Says PSG Didn’t Give Him Recognition For FIFA World Cup Win
Inter Miami star and Argentina legend Lionel Messi has taken a dig at his former club Paris Saint-Germain in a recent interview. Messi said that the Ligue 1 giants did not give him recognition after he returned after winning the FIFA World Cup with Argentina. Notably, Messi left PSG in the summer transfer window for a stint in the Major League Soccer (MLS). Messi was part of the Paris club from 2021-23. “I was the only player on the entire Argentine team that his club didn’t recognise,” he said.
India Second Team In Men’s Cricket History To Be Ranked No. 1 Across Formats
India have displaced Pakistan from the top of the men’s ODI rankings to become the number 1 team in this format of the sport ahead of the ODI World Cup at home. The Men in Blue consequently now occupy the numero uno position in the rankings in all the three formats, given that they were already the number 1 side in Tests and T20Is. This is a historical feat as the team becomes just the second one in the history of men’s cricket to achieve the ultimate ranking across formats at the same time. The only other team to have achieved the feat is South Africa who achieved the distinction in 2012.
ENT
Shoaib Ibrahim, Dipika Kakar Finally Reveal Face Of Their Son Ruhaan – SEE
There have been continuous messages from fans demanding Shoaib Ibrahim and Dipika Kakar post photos of their newborn son. The couple now announced the first public appearance of their son Ruhaan in a sweet family photo shared on social media. They publicly introduced their son, Ruhaan after three months. Additionally, the pair has uploaded a video to their channel on YouTube.
On September 21, Dipika Kakar and Shoaib Ibrahim shared the first photo of their son Ruhaan on Instagram. We couldn’t help but smile when we saw the lovely photo of Shoaib and Dipika kissing their adorable kid on the head.
Jawan Box Office: Shah Rukh Khan Film Crosses Rs. 500 Cr In India, Beats KGF 2 Hindi Collection
‘Jawan’ collected Rs. 75 cr on its opening day, the highest in Indian cinema, and went on to collect Rs. 80 cr on Sunday, its highest single-day collection. The Atlee film collected Rs. 389 crore in the first week and now has crossed Rs. 500 cr mark even before completing its second week at the box office.
‘Jawan‘ has broken many box office records ever since its release on Janmashtami. The SRK film has now become the fourth highest-grossing Hindi film in India after ‘Pathaan’, ‘Baahubali: The Conclusion’ and ‘Gadar 2’. The film has also become the fastest film to cross the Rs. 450 cr mark.
Ahead Of Parineeti Chopra And Raghav Chadha’s Wedding, A Look At Their Love Story
Parineeti Chopra and Raghav Chadha are all set to tie the knot in a two-day wedding festivity in Udaipur starting today (September 23). The couple reached Udaipur on Friday (September 22) amidst a grand welcome with dhol beats. The wedding festivities will begin on Saturday, September 23 with Parineeti’s ‘choora’ ceremony at 10 AM. It will be followed by a ‘Fresco Afternoon’ on the terrace near the hotel’s ballroom from 10 AM to 1 PM. The first-day celebrations will conclude with a 90s theme party.
On Sunday, September 24, Raghav’s ‘sehrabandi’ will take place at the iconic Taj Lake Palace at 1 PM. The ‘baraat’ will then set off from the hotel at 2 PM, pheras will take place at 4:00 PM and Vidai at 6:30 PM.
BUSINESS
JPMorgan To Add India To Emerging-Markets Bond Index, Govt Bonds To Attract Foreign Inflows
JPMorgan Chase & Co. has announced the incorporation of Indian government bonds (IGBs) into its benchmark Emerging Market index. The highly anticipated move has the potential to bring billions of dollars in investments to India’s debt market. This inclusion is scheduled for June 28, 2024.
“India’s weight is expected to reach the maximum weight threshold of 10 per cent in the GBI-EM Global Diversified, and approximately 8.7 per cent in the GBI-EM Global index,” JPMorgan said in a note. The process of including IGBs will occur gradually over a span of 10 months, stretching from June 28, 2024, to March 31, 2025. This gradual approach entails adding a 1 per cent weightage to IGBs in the index each month.
JPMorgan note said that there are presently 23 Indian government bonds (IGBs) with a collective value amounting to $330 billion that meet the eligibility criteria for inclusion in the index. Among these, the GBI-EM GD segment accounts for approximately $213 billion of the total, which is part of the estimated $236 billion benchmarked within the GBI-EM family of indices.
Retail Inflation For Farm, Rural Workers Eases In August, Food Inflation Sees Marginal Rise
Retail inflation for farm workers and rural labourers saw a slight decline in August, easing to 7.37 per cent and 7.12 per cent, respectively, compared to July. The Ministry of Labour and Employment on Thursday said that the major contribution towards the rise in the general index of Agricultural Labourers and Rural Labourers came from food group.
“Point-to-point rate of inflation based on CPI-AL (consumer price index-agricultural labourers) and CPI-RL (rural labourers) stood at 7.37 per cent and 7.12 per cent in August 2023 as compared to 7.43 per cent and 7.26 per cent respectively in July 2023,” the labour ministry statement said. In the same month in 2022, the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Laborers (CPI-AL) stood at 6.94 per cent, while the Consumer Price Index for Rural Laborers (CPI-RL) was at 7.26 per cent.
Food inflation for farm workers and rural labourers stood at 8.89 per cent and 8.64 per cent in August, compared to 8.88 per cent and 8.63 per cent in July 2023 and 6.16 per cent and 6.21 per cent reported in the year-ago month. The all-India CPI-AL and CPI-RL in August 2023 increased by 9 points and 8 points, respectively at 1,224 points and 1,234 points. CPI-AL and CPI-RL were 1,215 points and 1,226 points, respectively in the previous month.
US Federal Reserve Keeps Rates Unchanged, To Continue With Hawkish Stance
The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday decided to keep the interest rate unchanged even as they continue with their hawkish stance. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in his statement indicated that the central bank is nearing the end of its interest rate hikes cycle, while his fellow policymakers conveyed a more impactful message that interest rates should stay elevated for a longer period due to the renewed strength in the economy.
The US central bank raised the target range for the US federal funds rate from near-zero levels in March 2022 to 5.25 per cent-5.5 per cent range in July, marking a 22-year high. Since then the Fed has kept the rate unchanged during the last two Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings.
However, data have shown that the US economy has so far been resilient against the monetary tightening. Consumer spending continues to be robust, and the job market has remained stable, although there are signs of a slowdown in job growth. The unemployment rate is holding steady at 3.8 per cent for this year and is projected to only rise to 4.1 per cent by the end of the year, as per Reuters report.
TECH
MeitY Appoints Official To Set Up Data Protection Board
In a recent development, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) made an announcement on September 20, appointing Sanket S Bhondve, an IAS officer currently serving as a joint secretary in the ministry, as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) for the establishment of the Data Protection Board under the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act. Earlier in the day, MoS IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar reportedly stated that the government plans to officially notify the Data Protection Board (DPB) within the next 30 days.
Microsoft has inadvertently exposed a wealth of information concerning upcoming Xbox updates, next-generation systems, and more. This revelation — touted as the biggest leak in the company’s history — transpired as unredacted documents were uploaded to a court website as part of the ongoing Federal Trade Commission v. Microsoft case. The leak, reverberating across the online sphere on Tuesday, not only provides a glimpse into the gaming giant’s future plans but also offers unprecedented insight into Microsoft’s internal operations.
Customers Queue Up In Front Of Apple Stores In Mumbai, Delhi As iPhone 15 Series Goes Up For Sale
Apple made the much-anticipated iPhone 15 series available for purchase in India on Friday. The lineup, which includes the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max, was unveiled during Apple’s “Wonderlust” event on September 12, alongside the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2.
People eagerly waited in long lines outside Apple’s flagship store in Mumbai’s BKC and outside the Apple Store at Delhi’s Select Citywalk Mall in Saket.
SCIENCE
In the G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration signed on September 9, 2023, world leaders pledged to achieve global net zero greenhouse gas emissions, or carbon neutrality, by mid-century, which is 2050. Harjeet Singh, Head of Global Political Strategy, Climate Action Network International, told ABP Live that achieving “global net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is an urgent necessity to avert climate catastrophe”. He also proposed the idea of a new global mechanism — a Fossil Fuel Treaty. He said that this framework will support developing countries in transitioning away from fossil fuel dependency.
Aditya-L1, India’s first space-based solar observatory to study the Sun, has started conducting scientific experiments. It exited Earth’s gravitational sphere of influence on September 19, 2023, after successfully performing the Trans-Lagrangian Point 1 Insertion (TL1I) manoeuvre, the spacecraft’s fifth and final Earth-bound manoeuvre. Aditya-L1 will reach its destination, which is a halo orbit around Lagrange Point 1 (L1), after about 110 days, through a manoeuvre. Aditya-L1 is equipped with seven payloads, four of which are remote sensing instruments, and three are in-situ instruments. The spacecraft is expected to provide important information about the problem of coronal heating, dynamics of space weather, solar flares, and the propagation of particles and fields in the interplanetary medium.
The Antarctic sea ice extent has reached record low levels. As of September 13, 2023, the Antarctic sea ice extent is over a million square kilometres below the previous record low maximum set in 1968, according to the National Snow & Ice Data Center. This is surprising because it is currently winter in Antarctica, which is located in the Southern Hemisphere. This is a time when the sea ice cover grows. According to the NSIDC, since no further growth occurred, the Antarctic sea ice extent is less than 17 million square kilometres for the first time in the satellite record. It was 16.94 million square kilometres on September 13, 2023.