NEWS BRIEFINGS JULY 2024

Poonam Pandey, a Delhi-based journalist, was prevented by police from filming a protest and subsequently detained while covering the demonstration by the opposition Congress party. The Press Club of India has requested a judicial inquiry into the incident, voicing concerns about the treatment of journalists in the country.

The proposed Broadcast Bill, if passed, will dramatically extend regulatory oversight to include social media influencers and online content creators, potentially impacting not just local digital personalities but also global creators targeting Indian audiences. The bill proposes rigorous registration requirements, stringent content scrutiny and increased governmental intervention, raising significant concerns about freedom of expression, privacy and the dynamic nature of online interactions.

The central government’s infrastructure spending, or capex, will remain at 3.4 percent of GDP, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth said in an interview with ThePrint. This decision, outlined during the announcement of the Union Budget 2024, signals a significant shift in strategy. Seth said it’s now up to state governments and the private sector to step up their investments in infrastructure. Is this move good for the country’s growth and beneficial for its people?

Only 757 out of a sanctioned strength of 1,114 judges are in place across various High Courts, which is just about 68%, according to the Union Ministry of Law and Justice, which also disclosed that over 50 million cases are pending across various courts in India and the Supreme Court has 50 pending Constitution Bench matters, including a longstanding case from 1994.

The decline of vulture populations in India, caused by the common use of the painkiller diclofenac in livestock, has resulted in an average death rate increase of 4.7% and economic losses estimated at $69.4 billion each year, according to a report published by the American Economic Association journal.

India’s 2024 budget introduces significant fiscal changes, which are likely to reshape the economic landscape for various sectors of society, particularly impacting poorer segments and average taxpayers. The nuances of these expected changes reveal a contrast between immediate relief measures and the broader, potentially more burdensome, tax implications that accompany them.

The 2024 budget, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 23, allocated significant funds specifically to Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. These financial commitments to the two states appear to be part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s strategy to support the ruling parties of these states, which are crucial in maintaining the central government's majority in Parliament. This apparent quid pro quo arrangement undermines the principle of equitable development across all states, regardless of their political affiliations.

The Supreme Court of India has issued an interim order, halting the enforcement of directives in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand that mandated eateries along the Kanwar yatra route to display the names of their owners. The court decided that these establishments need only to show the type of food they serve, stressing the irrelevance of the owner’s name or religion in serving the Kanwariya pilgrims.

By 2050, the elderly population in India is projected to double, reaching 346 million, according to Andrea Wojnar, the India chief of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), who stressed the urgent need for expanded investments in healthcare, housing and pensions to accommodate this demographic shift, particularly focusing on older women who face a higher risk of living alone and enduring poverty.

The Editors Guild of India (EGI) has written to Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, urging him to raise the issue of press freedom and right to information in the Parliament. In a letter, the EGI expressed deep concerns over several recent legislative measures which threaten the fundamental freedoms that underpin journalistic practice in the country.

The global disruption of vital digital services by a software bug that took place on July 19 shows that our world, highly reliant on technology, is also incredibly vulnerable to its failings. An update introduced on July 19 by CrowdStrike, which provides antivirus software to Microsoft for its Windows devices among other clients, contained a critical bug, resulting in significant disruptions across a wide range of systems that rely on CrowdStrike’s security software.

The Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) and other tribal groups have accused the Assam police of the extrajudicial killings of three Kuki-Zo youths in Cachar district, describing the incident as “cold-blooded murder.” Reportedly, the youngsters, one of them from Manipur, were killed after being detained by the police on July 16. The police’s explanation of the circumstances and reasons for shooting doesn’t appear to be consistent, say families of the deceased.

The catastrophic collision between the Kanchenjunga Express and a freight train in West Bengal in June, resulting in 10 fatalities and numerous injuries, has been declared an “accident-in-waiting” in a report by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), which has pinpointed multiple administrative and operational errors.

In the ongoing ethnic violence that has gripped the northeastern state of Manipur for over a year, another death of a tribal man has been reported. A 45-year-old resident of a village on the border of Imphal West and Kangpokpi Districts, died after being kidnapped and tortured, according to reports, which say he succumbed to his injuries while being transported to the hospital on July 15.

In response to mercenary spyware threat notifications—likely from Pegasus spyware, with the government as a probable suspect—received by opposition politicians, activists and journalists from Apple, the government reportedly plans to require the victims to prove any breaches themselves and through a government agency.

An investigative report by Boomlive’s Decode reveals a widespread sharing of child sex abuse videos in India. The report, which included undercover interactions with admins of Telegram channels that distribute such disturbing content, shows how easy it is for them to spread child sex abuse material (CSAM).

In Gujarat’s Bhavnagar district, Palitana city has implemented a ban on non-vegetarian food, including the sale, consumption and slaughter of meat. This policy, which enforces the dietary laws of the Jain community across its entire population, clearly constitutes government overreach. It not only imposes a specific dietary preference but also extends government powers into areas of personal choice and freedom, areas typically considered sacrosanct under democratic principles.

The global AI market, projected to grow from $200 billion in 2023 to nearly $2 trillion by 2030, is drawing millions of workers into its rapidly expanding sector. This surge in artificial intelligence affects industries like logistics, manufacturing, and healthcare but masks a harsh reality: the widespread exploitation of labour that powers these advanced systems, according to the authors of an upcoming book.

Nearly 34% of India’s population lives on less than 100 rupees ($1.2) a day, according to the latest household consumption expenditure survey. Further, 47.3% of Indians manage with less than 200 rupees ($2.4) daily. Combined, these figures account for 81.1% of the population living under this threshold.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on July 10 revoked the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration of the parent entity of the non-profit Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA), a group known for its rigorous analysis of financial institutions’ impacts on development, human rights and the environment. The cancellation was ostensibly due to improper financial filings from 2018 and 2019, but Joe Athialy, CFA’s Executive Director, suspects the timing and rationale are politically motivated, aimed at stifling criticism of government policies.

Swami Avimukteshwarananda Saraswati, the 46th Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math in Uttarakhand, has publicly supported Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi, who has faced criticism from leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for his comments on Hindus and Hinduism in the Lok Sabha. In a media interview, the Shankaracharya affirmed that Gandhi’s speech resonated with the non-violent teachings of Hinduism. He also noted that distorting someone’s remarks constitutes a crime and calls for accountability.

A video clip of the Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, circulated widely by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members and supporters, has stirred controversy by suggesting he labelled the entire Hindu community as violent. However, a complete review of the Parliamentary footage by the fact-checking site Alt News reveals the claims are misleading.

Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma has communicated to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the northeastern state will not engage in the forced deportation of Zo ethnic individuals from Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts. Since 2022, about 2,000 civilian refugees have sought asylum in Mizoram in response to military operations against a local militia by the Bangladeshi Army. Lalduhoma’s refusal to deport the asylum seekers aligns with the spirit of India’s Constitution.

A petition filed before the Supreme Court is calling for the confiscation of all funds collected through the controversial electoral bonds scheme, initially introduced in 2018 and recently struck down. The petitioner is also urging the formation of a committee led by a former Supreme Court judge to investigate potential quid pro quo benefits granted to donors by public authorities under political influence.

In a judgment regarding a bail appeal filed by a man charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), the Supreme Court of India has pointed out that bail should not be used as a punishment and clearly articulated the constitutional right to a speedy trial. The Court has reasserted a foundational principle of criminal jurisprudence: the presumption of innocence, as enshrined in the Constitution of India.

A new study examining the effects of exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on daily death rates across 10 Indian cities has indicated that even modest increases in PM2.5 levels can elevate the daily death rate. The study also revealed that locally sourced pollution significantly intensifies the impact on mortality rates.

Over the past three years, a staggering 31,801 women and girls have been reported missing — that’s an average of 28 women and three girls each day, in Madhya Pradesh. This statistic, disclosed during a state assembly session in response to questions, reflects a possible human trafficking crisis in the state.

Emerging details from media reports suggest several failings by local authorities and the police in preventing the tragedy of the stampede in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district, where at least 121 people, mostly women and children, had died as of July 3.

The provision for preventive arrest under Section 172 of the new criminal code, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), raises significant jurisprudential concerns, especially when compared to existing legal standards and principles of justice and fairness as established in landmark cases and constitutional doctrines.

In India, the wedding industry is a behemoth, tipping the scales at a staggering 10 trillion rupees, or $130 billion, according to a report by investment banking and capital markets firms. The average Indian family, the report suggests, spends twice as much on tying the knot as they do on educating the future knot tiers. This confirms our knowledge and experience that Indian weddings are mega-events, rivalling the GDP of some small countries. But should we be content with and continue this trend?