India News
After Bengal, Kerala slams brakes on National Population Register amid CAA-NRC protests
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has stalled the National Population Register (NPR) in the state amid allegations that the exercise the “first step towards the National Register of Citizens (NRC)”.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has stalled the National Population Register (NPR) in the state amid allegations that the exercise the “first step towards the National Register of Citizens (NRC)”.
The Chief Minister’s office issued a statement that said the NPR “deviates from constitutional values”. “Considering that the apprehensions among the general public that the conduct of NPR related activities leads to NRC in the wake of Citizenship Amendment Act-2019, the state government orders to stay all the activities connected with the updation of National Population Register in the state forthwith,” the statement said.
Earlier this week, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also put a stay on the NPR in her state amid massive protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Critics of the law say that it discriminates against Muslims and along with the proposed NRC, it would mean that “only the Muslims would be filtered out”.
Banerjee’s Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar and Lok Janshakti Party president Chirag Paswan, both allies of the ruling BJP in the state and at the Centre, have objected to the implementation of nationwide NRC. “Kahaan ke liye laagu hoga, ekdum nahin laagu hoga (Why should it (NRC) be implemented? It will not be implemented (in Bihar)”, said the Bihar CM.
As protests against the CAA are intensifying by the day, the government appears to have switched to damage control mode.
Home Minister Amit Shah has more than often announced in the parliament that the government will carry out a nationwide NRC.
However, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said there is “no plan for a nationwide NRC” and that “there has so far been no discussion on the matter at any level of government.”
Naqvi reiterated that the NRC is only limited to Assam and there is no such plans for the country.
What is NPR?
According to the website of the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, the objective of the NPR is to create a comprehensive identity database of every usual resident in the country. The database will contain demographic as well as biometric details.
The pilot project had questions related to demographic details such as name, age, sex, relationship in household, nationality, educational qualifications, occupation, date of birth, marital status, residential address, birthplace and mother tongue.
The NPR exercise will be conducted in conjunction with the house listing phase, the first phase for Census 2021.
The NPR exercise is conducted at the local, sub-district, district, state and national levels.
Origin of NPR
The legal framework for the National Population Register is grounded in the Citizenship Act, 1955. In 2003, the Act was amended by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led BJP government to introduce the category of an “illegal migrant”.
What is NRC?
The NRC is an official record of those who are legal Indian citizens. It includes demographic information about all those individuals who qualify as citizens of India as per the Citizenship Act, 1955. It is a state-specific exercise and has been conducted only in Assam so far.
The NRC includes names of those persons (or their descendants) who appear in any of the Electoral Rolls up to the midnight of March 24, 1971 or in any one of the other admissible documents issued up to mid-night of March 24, 1971, which would prove their presence in Assam or in any part of India on or before March 24, 1971.
How are NPR and NRC related?
Economist and convener of the Joint Forum against National Register of Citizens, Prasenjit Bose has described the National Population Register as the “first step on the road to the National Register of Citizens”, according to a report by news website Scroll.
The data collected during NPR will be used when the National Register of Citizens will be rolled out across the country. The central government has decided to prepare the NPR between April 2020 and September 2020. The mammoth nationwide exercise will be carried out in 16 languages, at a cost of Rs 12,000 crore. The census data will be collected through a mobile app.
The NPR would create a list of usual residents of the country. A usual resident is defined as a person who has resided in a local area for past six months or more or a person who intends to reside in that area for the next six months or more.
The NPR exercise will be conducted in conjunction with the house listing phase, the first phase for Census 2021. It is conducted at the local, sub-district, district, state and national levels.
Once the NPR is completed and published, it is expected to be the basis for preparing the National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC), a pan-India version of Assam’s NRC. The NRC will take the NPR list and identify people of “doubtful citizenship”.
The final NRC will be prepared by asking “doubtful citizens” to prove they are Indians as part of a “claims and objections” process.
India News
Mumbai: Teenager steals family ornaments worth Rs 7.40 lakh and sells them to have fun with his friends
According to reports the boy’s father Selvin Armadurai (48) is a businessman based in Andheri East. Selvin lives with his wife Jaba. The couple have two children. Selvin’s son Edin Joy is 16 years old. He goes to the 11th grade at Shriniwas Bagraga College. His daughter is 14 years old and studies in Class 9.
A teenager stole family ornaments and sold them for enjoyment with his friends in Andheri (East). After his father came to know about the theft the teenager’s father lodged a complaint against his son for allegedly stealing the gold ornaments. According to the police the ornaments were worth Rs 7.40 lakh. Sahar police have arrested the sixteen year old under section 380 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Act. A case has been registered.
According to reports the boy’s father Selvin Armadurai (48) is a businessman based in Andheri East. Selvin lives with his wife Jaba. The couple have two children. Selvin’s son Edin Joy is 16 years old. He goes to the 11th grade at Shriniwas Bagraga College. His daughter is 14 years old and studies in Class 9. Selvin married again after his first wife passed away. His daughter and Edin Joy are from his first marriage. Afterwards Selvin married Jaba.
Selvin had given the ornament that belonged to his first wife and Children to his sister. When his sister was getting ready to visit her hometown in Tamil Nadu, She gave these gold ornaments to Selvin. Selvin placed the gold ornaments in his bed. He kept the gold ornaments in a plastic pouch for protection. Selvin’s wife and sister knew where he had kept the gold ornaments.
The matter came known on September 11, when Selvin’s daughter wanted to wear the gold ornaments. He couldn’t find the pouch containing them. Both of them told Selvin quickly about it. When Selvin asked his son he confessed to taking the gold ornaments. He said he sold them to have fun with his friends. The stolen gold ornaments are valued at Rs 7.40 lakh. The ornaments includes two chains, two bracelets, six rings, a pair of earings, two bangles and two chains.
India News
MotoGP issues apology for live streaming distorted map of India
MotoGP stated that it was never their intent to make any statement other than that of support and appreciation for their host country.
MotoGP has issued an apology for displaying a distorted map during its live-streaming of practice sessions for India’s inaugural MotoGP race, the IndianOil Grand Prix of India, which commenced on Friday at the Buddh International Circuit in Noida. The map omitted the union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, according to reports.
Issuing an official statement, MotoGP expressed its regret. The statement read that they apologise to their fans in India for the map shown earlier as part of the MotoGP broadcast. They added that it was never their intent to make any statement other than that of support and appreciation for their host country.
The statement stated that MotoGP is excited to be able to enjoy the Indian OilGrand Prix of India with fans across India and that they are loving the first taste of Buddh International Circuit. MotoGP Bharat which is now rebranded as the IndianOil Grand Prix of India, marks its debut in India as the 13th race of the 2023 season. The event is being conducted from today and will conclude on Sunday. Reportedly, features riders competing on superbikes at speeds exceeding 300 km/h to claim victory under the checkered flag.
Online controversy broke out when multiple social media users raised concerns about the map displayed during MotoGP’s live-streamed practice sessions. Users on social media platforms like X, formerly Twitter enquired why India’s wrong map was used and demanded an explanation from MotoGP and the Indian organisers.
Several social media users asked MotoGP to clarify why their live-streaming of the practice session had this map with Bharat’s head missing? They added that if it is a mistake, it needs to be immediately corrected and not repeated again in qualifying and the main race. They further requested MotoGP to provide a feed of the practice session, if they think the image is edited debunking the claim which is doing rounds on social media.
Following the uproar, the race organisers corrected the map and issued a clarification in response to the public’s concerns.
India News
Chandrayaan-3: ISRO postpones plans to reactivate Vikram Lander, Pragyan Rover on September 23
After Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover soft landing on the South Pole of the Moon on August 24, both Vikram and Pragyan functioned effectively for a duration of 14 Earth days. The Rover was put on sleep mode on September 2, while the Lander was on September 4.
The Indian Space Research Organisation on Friday postponed the plans to reactivate Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover to September 23.
After Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover soft landing on the South Pole of the Moon on August 24, both Vikram and Pragyan functioned effectively for a duration of 14 Earth days. The Rover was put on sleep mode on September 2, while the Lander was on September 4.
They were put on sleep mode for approximately 16 Earth days before the lunar night enveloped the south pole of the Moon.
Speaking on Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover, Nilesh Desai, Director of Space Application Centre said that earlier we planned to reactivate the Pragyan Rover and Vikram Lander on the evening of September 22, but due to some reasons we will do it on September 23, said Desai.
He further said a plan to take out the Lander and Rover from the sleep mode and reactivate it, adding that, we had a plan to move the Rover to almost 300 to 350 metres but due to some reasons, the Rover has moved 105 metres there.
In collaboration with MyGov, ISRO has invited the citizens to participate in the Chandrayaan-3 Mahaquiz. The step was taken with the motive to honour India’s amazing space exploration journey. This will help to explore the wonders of the moon and show our love and passion for science.
In order to participate in the Chandrayaan-3 Mahaquiz, the participants would be required to create an account on the MyGov website. There is a cash prize for the winners and it also allows individuals to download the certificate.
Earlier, the Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) instrument onboard the Pragyan rover also detected aluminium, calcium, iron, chromium, titanium, manganese, silicon and oxygen, as expected.
ISRO also shared a graph of the observation on X, illustrating the temperature variation of the lunar surface at various depths, as recorded during the probe’s penetration.
