Parliament has passed the Constitution 124th (Amendment) Bill, 2019 with the Rajya Sabha approving it last night. The Lok Sabha has already passed it. The legislation provides for ten per cent reservation in government jobs and admission in educational institutions to economically backward people among upper castes. During division on the bill in the Rajya Sabha, 165 members voted in favour of it while seven members voted against. The motion moved by AIADMK, left parties and others  to refer the bill to the Select Committee was also negated.
 
Replying to a ten hour long debate on the bill in the House, Union Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot said it is a historic steps towards providing 10 per cent reservation to the economically weaker sections of upper castes. He said, the bill has been brought with good intention and it aims at economic and educational empowerment of the targeted  beneficiaries. He rejected the allegation that the bill has been brought in a hurry, saying it was a long pending demand and government wants to deliver justice. Mr Gehlot also clarified that this reservation will be given without tampering with the existing quotas for SC, ST and OBCs. He said, the Law will not be struck down by the Supreme Court if challenged as it has been brought by making required provisions in the Constitution.
 
 Participating in the discussion, Congress leader Anand Sharma said his party supports the bill, but questioned its timing. He alleged that the government brought the bill with an eye on upcoming general elections. He also accused the NDA government of joblessness during its rule. Mr Sharma said that the government could create only 95 thousand jobs in the last three-and-a-half years. Mr. Sharma asked as to how the bill could benefit the people it intends to cover in absence of jobs. Supporting the bill, Ram Gopal Yadav of Samajwadi Party demanded that OBCs should now be given 54 per cent reservation and SCs and STs quota increased to 25 per cent. He also sought reservation for Muslims, saying their condition is worse than the Dalits.

The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2018 which would regulate the use of DNA technology to establish the identity of persons, including offenders, victims, suspects and undertrials, in connection with criminal and civil matters such as parentage disputes, emigration or immigration, and transplantation of human organs.

The Bill provides for establishment of a national DNA data bank and regional DNA data banks. Every data bank will maintain indices such as crime scene index, suspects’ or undertrials’ index and offenders’ index.

The Bill also provides for seeking the consent of individuals when DNA profiling is used in criminal investigations and for identifying missing persons.

India and Norway on January 8 agreed to closely collaborate on ocean economy and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, while vowing to step up bilateral trade, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with his Norwegian counterpart Erna Solberg.

Modi and Solberg held delegation-level talks and discussed ways to give "new energy and direction" to bilateral ties.

The two countries also signed an MoU for holding an India-Norway Ocean Dialogue.

India born Gita Gopinath has joined International Monetary Fund as its chief economist.

She has first woman to occupy the top IMF post. Gopinath succeeds Maurice (Maury) Obstfeld as Economic Counsellor and Director of the IMF's Research Department. Obstfeld retired on December the 31st.

The 11th chief economist of the IMF, Gopinath in a recent interview to The Harvard Gazette described her appointment at the IMF as a “tremendous honour”.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi is expected to consider Verma’s response to the Chief Vigilance Commissioner’s report on the charges against him.

Alok Verma was reinstated as CBI Director by the Supreme Court Tuesday — over two months after the government stripped him of his powers and sent him on leave in a surprise midnight order on October 23. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi overturned the Chief Vigilance Commission order recommending Verma’s removal and returned him to the post.

The court has, however, directed Verma not to take any policy decisions till the statutory committee meets within a week and decides further on the matter. The statutory committee comprises the Prime Minister, CJI and the Leader of the Opposition.

Union Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on Sunday launched the jersey for the second edition of Khelo India, rechristened as Khelo India Youth Games, which will kick-start from January 9-20 in Pune.

Building on the success of the inaugural edition, the Minister alongside Khelo India stars Manu Bhaker, Jeremy Lalrinnunga, Saurabh Chaudhary, Lakshya Sen, Esha Singh, Tababi Devi, and Srihari Natraj started the countdown to Khelo India Youth Games with an evocative “#5MinuteAur” campaign. Scheduled to take place at Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune, the Games will see over 10,000 participants from 29 states and seven Union Territories taking part in the two age categories — under 17 and under 21.

In its inaugural edition, Khelo India had a strong message “Kheloge Kudoge Banoge lajawaab” encouraging more kids to play every day, it was an effort towards changing an age-old belief.

Building on the core of this message through the #5MinuteAur campaign, the Ministry wants India to encourage kids to play for those extra five minutes.

“The success of Khelo India School Games is a testimony to the hunger and multitude of sporting talent in India. Buoyed by the terrific response for Khelo India School Games and with an aim to increase participation in sports across all age groups, we have not just added two sports this year but the games will also be played under two age categories U-17 and U-21 to allow even more enthusiasts to participate and flourish. The ‘5 minute aur’ campaign for the Khelo India Youth Games 2019 to be hosted in Pune, Maharashtra is a reflection of the immense strides we’ve made and the journey that lies in front of us to make India a truly sporting nation. We hope it will inspire India to work towards incorporating sports as a way of life,” Rathore said.

There is good news for small and medium-sized newspapers. Ahead of the 2019 elections, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Tuesday announced a 25% hike for advertisement in print media, over and above the existing rate structure by the Bureau of Outreach and Communication (erstwhile Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity).

The new rate structure will be valid for a period of three years.

The last revision in advertisement rates took place in 2013, when an increase of 19% was announced over and above the rates of 2010. The move is likely to benefit small and medium-sized newspapers greatly, especially those in regional and vernacular languages.

“Every newspaper has a substantial advertising revenue coming in from the DAVP,” said Sanjay Gupta, chief executive officer at Jagran Prakashan Ltd, the company that owns newspapers, including Dainik Jagran and Mid-Day. “Any increase in rates is most welcome and we are grateful given that this was a long-standing demand from the industry.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Solapur in Maharashtra and Agra in Uttar Pradesh today to launch several development projects. Mr Modi will first head to Solapur where he will dedicate to the nation, the four-laned Solapur-Tuljapur-Osmanabad section of NH-211. 

This will help improve connectivity of Solapur with the Marathwada region. An official release said, the Prime Minister will also lay the foundation Stone of 30,000 houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

These will primarily benefit poor homeless people like rag pickers, rickshaw drivers, textile workers and beedi workers. 

Mr Modi will also dedicate to the nation underground Sewerage System and three Sewage Treatment Plants in Solapur. He will also lay the foundation stone of the combined project of improvement in water supply and sewerage system. 

The project is expected to bring significant improvement in service delivery and improve public health enabled by technology as a means to create smart outcome for citizens. The Prime Minister will wind up his visit by addressing a public gathering in the city.

Later in the day, Mr Modi will launch Gangajal project and other developmental projects in Agra. The Gangajal programme will improve water supply in the city. The cost of the project is 2,880 crore rupees and will benefit both residents and tourists. 

The Lok Sabha has passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. The Bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 to make illegal migrants who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, eligible for citizenship. 

Under the 1955 Act, one of the requirements for citizenship by naturalisation is that the applicant must have resided in India during the last 12 months, and for 11 of the previous 14 years. The bill relaxes this 11-year requirement to six years for persons belonging to the all the six religions from the three countries.

Replying to a debate on the Bill, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said, the bill is not just for Assam but for other states too. He said it is also for migrants who have come from the Western borders and have settled down in Rajasthan, Punjab and Delhi. 

The Minister added that Assam is dealing with illegal migration for a long time now and the state's burden is India's burden. He said, it is the central government's responsibility to protect the identity, culture of the people of Assam.

Earlier, moving the bill, Mr Singh said, the government is committed for National Register of Citizens (NRC). He asserted that there will be no discrimination in NRC. He also said, the Centre has taken several measures to implement the Assam Accord.

The government has extended the Winter session of the Rajya Sabha by a day till Wednesday The session of Parliament, begun on December 11 and was to end on Tuesday. (file/Express photo by Ravi Kanojia)

The constitutional amendment bill to provide 10 per cent reservation in jobs and educational institutions for economically weaker sections in the general category has been passed in the Lok Sabha. The Rajya Sabha will take up the bill on Wednesday.

Amid a bandh in the north-east states, Home Minister Rajnath Singh moved the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in Lok Sabha Tuesday and was subsequently passed after a discussion. The bill proposes to make minority (non-Muslim) immigrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who have entered India before December 31, 2014 eligible for Indian citizenship. Amid a discussion over the bill, Congress and TMC MPs walked out of the Lok Sabha.