1. Petrol Price Dips Below Rs 70, Lowest in 2018; Diesel Cheapest Since March
Petrol prices in Delhi on Tuesday, 25 December was at its lowest in 2018 at Rs 69.86 per litre, while diesel prices were at their lowest since March. This was also the first time since January that petrol prices fell below the Rs 70-litre mark, according to data on the Indian Oil Corp’ website. The previous low of petrol price in the national capital for 2018 was Rs 69.97 recorded on 4 January.
Petrol prices were reduced by seven paise per litre in the four metros on Tuesday. The decline in domestic fuel prices comes amid the recent fall in global crude oil prices. In Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai, diesel was priced at Rs 63.83, Rs 65.59, Rs 66.79 and Rs 67.38 respectively, against the Sunday’s levels of Rs 64.01, Rs 65.77, Rs 66.98 and Rs 67.58 per litre.
In Chennai, petrol prices declined to their lowest level in 2018 at Rs 72.48, down from Rs 72.70 on Sunday. The previous low in the city during the current calendar year was Rs 72.53 recorded on 4 January.
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. Agusta Bribe-Takers Yet to be Identified
The Enforcement Directorate, which is now questioning AgustaWestland accused Christian Michel, has so far been able to unearth the money trail allegedly establishing a link between the other two alleged middlemen in the deal and cousins of former Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi.
However, all those who are suspected to have received kickbacks through Michel are yet to be identified.
According to the agency, Tyagi’s cousins Sanjeev, Sandeep and Rajeev Tyagi and their companies had received €1.05 million ostensibly for consultancy works. Therefore, five assets worth ₹6.2 crore — located in the National Capital Region — have been attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
(Source: The Hindu)
3. PM Modi Opens Bogibeel Bridge that Boosts Defence along China Border
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, 25 December, inaugurated the Bogibeel bridge in Assam that improves road and rail connectivity in the region, especially to Arunachal Pradesh, but pointed out that the project could have been completed by 2007-08 had former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (25 December was the 95th birth anniversary of the Bharatiya Janata Party leader who died 16 August ) got another term in 2004.
“There can’t be a better tribute to Atal-ji on his birthday,” Modi said.
The Bogibeel Bridge, which also facilitates the movement of troops in a strategically sensitive region, was part of the Assam Accord of 1985 and was finally sanctioned in the year 1997-98. The foundation stone of the project was laid by then Prime Minister, HD Deve Gowda, on 22 January, 1997 and the work commenced under the watch of Vajpayee on 21 April, 2002.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. No Religious Activity Including Namaz in Public Park: Noida Police
The police in Noida has prohibited any religious activity, including offering of Friday prayers by Muslims, in a public park.
The directive was conveyed by the police in Sector 58 of Noida, on the outskirts of Delhi, to a private company, saying its employees were found to be offering Friday prayers without authorisation from the administration.
"It is to inform you that there is no permission from the administrative authorities for any kind of religious activity including the 'namaz' offered on Fridays in the park situated in Sector 58.
(Source: DNA)
5. Caste Balance Maintained as Kamal Nath Expands Cabinet
A 28-member-council of ministers of Kamal Nath government was sworn-in here on Tuesday.
Significantly, three factional leaders of Congress in Madhya Pradesh – Chief Minister Kamal Nath, AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh and party’s chief whip in Lok Sabha Jyotiraditya Scindia – have stamped their authority on ministry formation, if composition of the ministry was any indication.
While Nath had inducted ten MLAs, considered close to him, in his ministry, Singh and Scindia have managed to secure ministerial berths for their nine and seven loyalists respectively.
(Source: Deccan Chronicle)
6. Yogi Grants Crores for Cows
The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has given Rs 10 crore to each of the state’s municipal corporations to construct sheds for stray cattle, drawing fresh criticism that the ruling BJP was trying to milk cow protection for political gain.
The amount of Rs 160 crore for the 16 nagar nigams (corporations) is in addition to the Rs 1.2 crore that each of the state’s 75 districts have got for building new shelters for cows and oxen.
Last year, 69 of the 653 urban local bodies in the state had been chosen for construction of new cowsheds and funds of Rs 10 lakh to Rs 30 lakh had been released to each of these bodies.
(Source: The Telegraph)
7. Atal Memorial Dedicated to Nation on His 94th Birth Anniversary
“Sadaiv Atal”, a memorial of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was dedicated to the nation on his 94th birth anniversary on Tuesday, 25 December.
President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former PM Manmohan Singh and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan were among the dignitaries who paid floral tributes to the former statesman at the memorial built near the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal.
The president said he was a true Indian statesman. He will always live in the hearts and minds of the people of the country. In a tweet, the vice president said, “The nation is ever grateful for the invaluable contributions made by him. Vajpayee Ji was an astute parliamentarian, an administrator par excellence, a visionary statesman, an erudite scholar, a gifted orator, a most beloved leader and above all a great human being who believed in the core Indian values of harmony and synthesis.”
(Source: The Tribune)
8. Indonesia Tsunami: 429 Dead, Toll Likely to Rise Further
Indonesian authorities on Tuesday, 25 December, raised the death toll in the deadly tsunami triggered by a volcanic eruption in Sunda Strait to 429, with search and rescue teams struggling to find survivors and bodies due to heavy rain.
The toll was likely to continue rising as rescue teams were still finding bodies in the water and washed up on small outer islands, National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told a press conference.
According to the latest figures on Tuesday, 1,485 people were injured, 154 remained missing, while 16,082 people sought safety and shelter away from their houses, the Jakarta Post reported.
The tsunami struck the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra almost without warning late Saturday, shortly after the Anak Krakatau volcano erupted in the Sunda Strait dividing the islands.
(Source: The Statesman)
9. Now, Law Minister Pushes for SC/ST Quota in Lower Judiciary
An all-India judicial service, with an entrance exam conducted by the UPSC, could provide reservation for Scheduled Castes and Tribes which would help create a pool of trained judicial officers from the deprived sections and improve the judiciary’s representative character, law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said.
While an all-India judicial service with an exam-based intake at the entry level has been proposed in the past and Prasad has spoken on the need for the judiciary to be more representative, the minister referred to SC/ST quotas at the entry level in judicial services at a function organised by the All India Lawyers Board in Lucknow on Monday, 24 December.
The minister told TOI on Tuesday, “The judicial services examination, if conducted by the Union Public Service Commission, can be on the lines of the intake for the civil services where there is reservation for SCs and STs. Those selected can be allotted states to serve in and reservation will create opportunities for well-trained judicial officers from deprived sections who will, over time, rise to higher positions.”
(Source: The Times of India)