News Digest: HC shrugs off litigant's 'stray' utterance, shuns contempt action

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Sunday, February 19, 2023
		Today's Headlines

		India
		HC shrugs off litigant's 'stray' utterance, shuns contempt action Army to court-martial soldier who gave LAC info to Pakistan spy BMC poll dates to hinge on court order on wards More India News»

		Science
		Study finds space travel influences working of brain Scientists of the University of Antwerp and the University of Liege have found how the human brain changes and adapts to weightlessness, after being in space for 6 months. Mobile health intervention can help prevent secondary stroke: Study Fault's healing behaviour could provide sneak peek into the zone's seismicity: Study More Science News»

		Technology
		Amazon changes back-to-office policy: Read CEO Andy Jassy's email to employees It's time to return to the office for Amazon employees. The employees of the ecommerce giant have been asked to work from the office at least three days per week starting May 1, according to an email sent by CEO Andy Jassy. The email has also been posted on the company’s blog. In October 2021, the company said that it was up to individual team leaders to decide their in-office policies. Amazon joins companies like Apple, Walmart and Disney in announcing back-to-office policy. It is likely that other technology giants too will make return to office mandatory in the coming days. 'mPassport Police app' launched: What it is and all other details The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has introduced the 'mPassport Police app'. The app aims to streamline and expedite police verification during the passport issuance process. Police verification is an integral part of the passport issuance system and over the years several steps have been taken to streamline it. To further expedite this important process, the external affairs ministry has introduced ‘mPassport Police app’. The ministry of external affairs is the nodal ministry for the issuance of passports in the country. Here's how ChatGPT-maker OpenAI says it tackles biases ChatGPT was launched last year. While some heap praises on the AI chatbot's ability to deliver human-like responses, others target both OpenAI and ChatGPT, accusing them of bias. The company has now addressed the issue explaining how ChatGPT’s behaviour is shaped and how the company plans to improve ChatGPT’s default behaviour. More Technology News»

		Business
		GST Council decides to set up tribunals for dispute resolution Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra told reporters that there will be a principal bench with states setting up their own benches. Each of the benches in the states will have two judicial members and an equal number of technical members, of which one will be from the Centre and another from the state. While only one member will decide cases with disputes up to Rs 50 lakh, cases above the threshold will be adjudicated by one technical and one judicial member. Students get GST relief ahead of entrance exams The twin moves will offer relief to students as they had to pay 18% GST on the fees for writing the tests conducted by NTA and state testing agencies. The levy on pencil sharpeners will be cut from 18% to 12%, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters. India targets 7% economic growth this year, expects to cross it in next 5 years: EAM India is targeting seven per cent growth in economy this year and we expect it to cross it in the next five years, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday and adding that New Delhi will try to stay in the 7-9 per cent range at least for a decade and a half. "And you can today see the same reflected in the investment climate, both in the flow of FDI, FII as well as in the investments which the government itself is leading the capital outlay in this year's budget," he said. More Business News»

		Sports
		Women's T20 World Cup: India suffer their first defeat, lose to England by 11 runs Smriti Mandhana's half-century and Richa Ghosh's quick-fire 47 not out went in vain as India suffered their first defeat of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup, losing to England by 11 runs at St George's Park in Gqeberha on Saturday. The defeat left India stranded at second place in the Group B standings with four points, below England, who registered their third win in a row in the tournament to consolidate the top spot with six points. IND vs AUS 2nd Test: Axar Patel, R Ashwin show lights up Day 2 Australia were 61/1 at stumps on the second day, leading India by 62 runs, with Travis Head (39) and Marnus Labuschagne (16) at the crease. The visitors lost their opener and man-in-form Usman Khawaja (6) to Ravindra Jadeja early in their second innings. 'His inclusion shakes belief in justice': Prasad's dig at Rahul In the midst of a horrible lean patch, India opener KL Rahul on Saturday continued to receive severe criticism on social media platforms. Rahul, who fell cheaply on 17 on Day 2 of the second Test was subjected to social media trolling. The 30-year-old was trending on net for all the wrong reasons and the Indian team management, which has backed out of form Rahul for a long time now, faced the anger of the netizens. More Sports News»

		Education
		PSEB 12th Board Exam Date Sheet 2023 revised, check new timetable here Punjab School Education Board has revised the class 12 exam dates for a couple of papers, including Environmental Studies, Music (Tabla), and E-Business. Students can check and download the revised schedule here or on the official website of PBSEB at pseb.ac.in. CBSE 10th English Exam 2023: Download Sample Paper PDF and Past Question Papers The Central Board of Secondary Education will hold the Class 10 English exam on February 27, 2023. Students preparing for the exam can check here the Sample Question Paper (SQP) and Previous Year Question Paper (PYQP) to practice before the exam day. KVS Admit Card 2023 released for PGT, PRT, Non-Teaching posts on kvsangathan.nic.in, download here Kendriya Vidyalaya Samiti has released the KVS Admit Card for the post of PGT, PRT, Hindi Translator, and Non-Teaching posts on the official website at kvsangathan.nic.in. Candidates can download the hall ticket by using their application number and date of birth on the official portal. More Education News»

		Environment
		27 feedback loops, or global warming accelerators, add urgency to respond to climate crisis: Study Scientists have identified 27 global warming accelerators known as amplifying feedback loops, including some that the researchers said may not be fully accounted for in climate models. Scientists said that the findings added urgency to the need to respond to the climate crisis. In climate science, amplifying feedback loops are situations where a climate-caused alteration can trigger a process that causes even more warming, which in turn intensifies the alteration. Antarctic sea-ice cover hits record low for 2nd year in a row Air pollution: New norms for power plants may soften farm fire blow More Environment News»

		World
		Jimmy Carter, 39th US president, in hospice care Carter was a little-known Georgia governor when he began his bid for the presidency ahead of the 1976 election. He went on to defeat then-President Gerald R. Ford, capitalizing as a Washington outsider in the wake of the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal that drove Richard Nixon from office in 1974. Blinken meets China's top diplomat amid balloon spat The US has been in a state of alarm since a huge white balloon from China was spotted over a series of secret nuclear weapons sites, before being shot down just off the east coast on February 4. Time to ramp up support for Iranian people, former Shah's son says More World News»

		Environment
		27 feedback loops, or global warming accelerators, add urgency to respond to climate crisis: Study Scientists have identified 27 global warming accelerators known as amplifying feedback loops, including some that the researchers said may not be fully accounted for in climate models. Scientists said that the findings added urgency to the need to respond to the climate crisis. In climate science, amplifying feedback loops are situations where a climate-caused alteration can trigger a process that causes even more warming, which in turn intensifies the alteration. Antarctic sea-ice cover hits record low for 2nd year in a row Air pollution: New norms for power plants may soften farm fire blow More Environment News»

		Hyderabad
		N Chandrababu Naidu booked for defying police orders, holding meet Telangana HC allows Bharat Mata rally with conditions Justice T Vinod Kumar of Telangana HC on Saturday heard a house motion moved by AV Prashanth of Neredmet in Malkajgiri and directed police to accord permission to celebrate Chatrapati Sivaji birth anniversary celebrations on February 19 in the city. Man held for tweet against BRS government in Hyderabad More Hyderabad News»

		Chandigarh
		GST Council grants Punjab's request to reduce GST on pencil sharpeners Punjab finance minister thanks GST council for clearing state's compensation Haryana to get Rs 629 crore as GST compensation Haryana deputy chief minister, Dushyant Chautala has said that the outstanding amount of Rs 629 crore of GST compensation for June 2022 will be received from the Centre soon. More Chandigarh News»

		Ahmedabad
		Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry offers infrastructure, space for Special Investigation Team for all sectors City-based textile industry has witnessed success in recovering pending dues after a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed in 2020 and now, industry sectors such as chemicals, engineering, plastics want a similar system. The Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) has proposed to provide infrastructure for the SIT for all sectors. Ahmedabad's Vastrapur cop conned of Rs 30,000 over the phone? Cops of Vastrapur police station also fell prey to cheating by a man who identified himself as police sub-inspector Jadeja from headquarters. The person cheated the cops of Rs 30,000 after getting them to instruct a trader to make an online transfer of Rs 30,000 to another mobile. Will US illegal immigration kingpin spill beans on Dingucha deaths? Rajinder Pal Singh, an accused in human trafficking and money laundering cases, has pled guilty in Washington state in the US. The Canadian authorities and those involved in the case of 'Dingucha deaths' - where four family members, including two children, froze to death near the Canadian border while crossing into the US illegally - last January are keenly watching the development. More Ahmedabad News»

		Chennai
		Southern Railway ties up with India Post To capitalise on cargo movement, Southern Railway has started running parcel trains with India Post. The railways plan 15 services across the country to attract more businesses to send their freight by train under the Gati Shakti scheme. New drive: Corporation to clear Chennai's garbage corners The Greater Chennai Corporation will hold special drives to clean up garbage corner hotspots in the city. It has identified nearly 70 so far.These include Raja Street in Madhavaram zone, Flagstaff Road in Royapuram zone, NSC Bose Road, Wall Tax Road, Poonamallee High Road junction, opposite Ethiraj College and 100-feet road. Congress to protest in front of IIT-Madras Condemning the recent suicides in IITs, Congress will conduct a silent march, carrying candles, in front of IIT Madras at 7 pm on Tuesday. More Chennai News»

		Bangalore
		Congress continues 'kivi mele hoovu' protest in Karnataka A day after its MLAs mocked the government in the assembly over unkept promises by tucking flowers on their ears, the opposition Congress took its 'kivi mele hoovu' campaign to the streets. Forest guard dies battling wildfire in Karnataka Posted on range patrolling duty on February 16, a team of four, DRFO Manjunath, Sundaresh and two watchers, spotted the wildfire near Manibeedu and Moorkannu Gudda beats in Sakaleshpur range. Karnataka HC says every irregularity will not amount to illegality Every irregularity would not per se amount to illegality, the Kalaburagi bench of the high court has observed in a recent order quashing the criminal case lodged against two bank managers holding that they were only acting on a customer's mandate and no intentions of criminality can be attributed to the same. More Bangalore News»

		Bangalore
		Congress continues 'kivi mele hoovu' protest in Karnataka A day after its MLAs mocked the government in the assembly over unkept promises by tucking flowers on their ears, the opposition Congress took its 'kivi mele hoovu' campaign to the streets. Forest guard dies battling wildfire in Karnataka Posted on range patrolling duty on February 16, a team of four, DRFO Manjunath, Sundaresh and two watchers, spotted the wildfire near Manibeedu and Moorkannu Gudda beats in Sakaleshpur range. Karnataka HC says every irregularity will not amount to illegality Every irregularity would not per se amount to illegality, the Kalaburagi bench of the high court has observed in a recent order quashing the criminal case lodged against two bank managers holding that they were only acting on a customer's mandate and no intentions of criminality can be attributed to the same. More Bangalore News»

		Mumbai
		Doctor gets 1-year RI for recording woman bathing Mumbai court sentences man for trying to kiss 19-year-old woman A 19-year-old woman had raised an alarm and the accused was caught on the spot at Khar station last year. Gokhale bridge: BMC keeps its 'Plan B' ready The BMC seems to be keeping a 'plan-B' ready if the nodal Gokhale bridge completion works in Andheri gets delayed. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		DCP alleges corruption, probe begins A DCP-rank officer posted at Delhi Police Academy (DPA) has written to the Delhi Police commissioner and alleged corruption in various tenders and collusion with vendors. In an interesting turn of events, the DCP was transferred out of the academy just a day after he sent the letter. As a controversy erupted, his transfer was stayed. Now, an inquiry has been initiated in the matter. A year on, Delhi government to review Deshbhakti curriculum As it has been over a year since the Deshbhakti curriculum was implemented in Delhi government schools, the Directorate of Education (DoE) is working on creating a new teachers' manual for classes VI to XII and training about 10,000 teachers. The department also has plans to create a data collection and monitoring system for better implementation of the curriculum and even conduct an impact study. Drain that will save Delhi airport from flooding to be ready by June Lieutenant governor VK Saxena on Saturday asked Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to complete the construction of the airport drain in Dwarka by this June. More Delhi News»

		Delhi
		DCP alleges corruption, probe begins A DCP-rank officer posted at Delhi Police Academy (DPA) has written to the Delhi Police commissioner and alleged corruption in various tenders and collusion with vendors. In an interesting turn of events, the DCP was transferred out of the academy just a day after he sent the letter. As a controversy erupted, his transfer was stayed. Now, an inquiry has been initiated in the matter. A year on, Delhi government to review Deshbhakti curriculum As it has been over a year since the Deshbhakti curriculum was implemented in Delhi government schools, the Directorate of Education (DoE) is working on creating a new teachers' manual for classes VI to XII and training about 10,000 teachers. The department also has plans to create a data collection and monitoring system for better implementation of the curriculum and even conduct an impact study. Drain that will save Delhi airport from flooding to be ready by June Lieutenant governor VK Saxena on Saturday asked Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to complete the construction of the airport drain in Dwarka by this June. More Delhi News»

		Delhi
		DCP alleges corruption, probe begins A DCP-rank officer posted at Delhi Police Academy (DPA) has written to the Delhi Police commissioner and alleged corruption in various tenders and collusion with vendors. In an interesting turn of events, the DCP was transferred out of the academy just a day after he sent the letter. As a controversy erupted, his transfer was stayed. Now, an inquiry has been initiated in the matter. A year on, Delhi government to review Deshbhakti curriculum As it has been over a year since the Deshbhakti curriculum was implemented in Delhi government schools, the Directorate of Education (DoE) is working on creating a new teachers' manual for classes VI to XII and training about 10,000 teachers. The department also has plans to create a data collection and monitoring system for better implementation of the curriculum and even conduct an impact study. Drain that will save Delhi airport from flooding to be ready by June Lieutenant governor VK Saxena on Saturday asked Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to complete the construction of the airport drain in Dwarka by this June. More Delhi News»

		Allahabad
		IIT experts training teachers on science, tech related subjects Allahabad HC rejects SP MLA's bail plea in fake Aadhaar case The Allahabad high court on Friday rejected the bail application of Samajwadi Party MLA from Kanpur, Irfan Solanki, in connection with a case of allegedly using a fabricated Aadhaar card for air travel. He is presently lodged at the Mahrajganj jail of the state. Man beaten to death in Jhunsi More Allahabad News»

		Bhopal
		12 SA cheetahs released in Kuno National Park, count rises to 20 Twelve South African cheetahs were released into enclosures inside Kuno National Park of Sheopur district in Madhya Pradesh by Union environment minister Bhupendra Yadav and chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday afternoon as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Project Cheetah. 4 killed, 35 injured as bus overturns in MP's Sagar district Four persons were killed and 35 injured after their bus overturned on a stretch of ghat road in MP's Sagar district on Saturday morning. Among the critically injured is the five-year-old daughter of a woman who died. Second batch of 12 cheetahs arrives at MP's Kuno National Park IAF's Mi-17 helicopters carrying the second batch of 12 cheetahs landed at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday morning. The cheetahs arrived from South Africa at Air Force Station in Gwalior and were later airlifted in IAF helicopters from there. After mandatory clearances, the big cats were transported to Kuno. By noon, the cheetahs would be released into quarantine bomas by Union environment minister Bhupendra Yadav and chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. More Bhopal News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Fraudster arrested from Bihar for duping job aspirants in 17 states The economic offences wing (EOW) of the state crime branch on Saturday arrested an alleged fraudster from Bihar for duping more than one lakh job aspirants in 17 states, including Odisha, and taking crores of rupees online from them as fee. 'Odisha should try to get investments from Taiwan' Unlike Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, Odisha has failed to attract investors from Taiwan to set up base in the state, said professor Mumin Chen, deputy representative, Economic and Cultural Centre, Taiwan. MKCG hospital pathology reports now available online After the online registration system for the patients in outpatient department (OPD), the government-run-MKCG Medical College and Hospital here has introduced the pathology testing report online. More Bhubaneswar News»

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