Archives for February 2023

New Delhi: More than 16 lakh Indians renounced their Indian citizenship since 2011 including 2,25,620 last year, according to data provided by the government in Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar presented the details while replying to a question.

He said the number of Indians who renounced their Indian citizenship in 2015 was 1,31,489, while 1,41,603 people gave it up in 2016 and 1,33,049 in 2017.

In 2018, the number was 1,34,561, while 1,44,017 Indians renounced their citizenship in 2019, 85,256 in 2020 and 1,63,370 in 2021.

The number in 2022 was 2,25,620, according to the minister.

For reference purposes, Jaishankar said the data for 2011 was 1,22,819 while it was 1,20,923 in 2012, 1,31,405 in 2013 and 1,29,328 in 2014.

The total number of Indians who gave up Indian citizenship since 2011 comes to 16,63,440.

To a specific query, he said, according to information, five Indian nationals obtained the citizenship of the United Arab Emirates during the last three years.

Jaishankar also provided a list of 135 countries whose citizenship Indians acquired.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and PM Narendra Modi

Ahmedabad, Feb 9: The Gujarat University on Thursday told the High Court here the Right to Information Act can not be used for satisfying someone’s “childish curiosity” as it defended its petition seeking quashing of an order under the transparency law to provide information on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s degree to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.

Citing exceptions granted under the RTI Act for not complying with the seven-year-old order of the Central Information Commission (CIC), Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the university, argued that merely because someone is holding a public office, one can not seek his private information which is not connected with his public activity.

Mehta submitted that information about PM’s degrees is “already in public domain” and the university had also placed the details on its website in the past, and claimed the 2005 Act is being used for settling scores and to make “childish jabs” against opponents.

However, Kejriwal’s advocate claimed information about PM’s degrees was not available in public domain as claimed by Mehta.

The advocate also referred to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) searches at residences of former US President Donald Trump and his successor in the White House Joe Biden, and said no one is above the law.

After hearing arguments from both sides, Justice Biren Vaishnav reserved his order on the petition.

In July 2016, the Gujarat HC stayed the Central Information Commission’s order asking the Ahmedabad-based university to provide information on the degree earned by PM Modi from the educational institute to Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal.

In April 2016, then-CIC M Sridhar Acharyulu directed the Delhi University and the Gujarat University to provide information on degrees earned by Modi to the AAP leader.

CIC’s order came a day after Kejriwal wrote to Acharyulu, saying he has no objection to government records about him being made public and wondered why the commission wanted to “hide” information on Modi’s educational qualifications.

During the hearing on Thursday, Mehta claimed there was nothing to hide in the first place because information about PM’s degrees is “already in public domain” and the university had also placed the information on its website on a particular date in the past.

Citing some past judgements of the Supreme Court and by other HCs about the exemptions granted under section 8 of the RTI Act, Mehta said one can not seek someone’s personal information “just because you are curious about it”.

“To be an RTI Activist has now become a profession. So many people who are not connected are curious about so many things…A stranger can not seek such information. Irresponsible childish curiosity can not become public interest. The RTI Act is being used for settling scores and to make childish jabs against opponents” he said.

As per section 8 of the RTI Act, a university can refuse to divulge information regarding its students to a third person because of the “fiduciary relationship”, a relationship of trust between a trustee and a beneficiary.

“One can seek information if it falls in the category of larger public interest. But, you can not seek private information not related to my public activity. Just because the public is interested in it, it can not become public interest. Courts’ interpretation has established that education qualification is personal information, whether it is of a politician or any other person,” argued the Solicitor General.

Responding to Mehta, senior advocate Percy Kavina, appearing for Kejriwal, told the court that information about PM’s degrees was not available in public domain as claimed by the Solicitor General.

“There is an interview of the PM with (journalist-turned-politician) Rajiv Shukla (in which Modi talks about his education). Otherwise, degrees are not available. This is an ambush hearing. Suddenly you come and say it is available on the internet,” said Kavina.

He argued that when the Representation of the People Act mandates that politicians fighting elections must disclose their educational qualifications, exemptions about nondisclosure under section 8 of the landmark information legislation does not apply in those cases.

Kavina then gave the example of how the FBI searched residences of former US President Trump and his successor Biden.

“(Contrary to what Mehta said) this information about degrees has a direct connection with public activity and interest…This is how Trump’s house and Biden’s house are investigated by the FBI. This is how law works. Be you ever so high (in position), you are not above the law,” said Kavina.

In his response, Mehta said even if the more than seven-decade-old election law mandates that candidates fighting polls need to furnish details about their educational qualifications at the time of submitting nomination papers, a third person can not file an RTI plea with the Returning Officer to seek that information.

Mumbai: The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train is a “dream project of this country and of national importance and in public interest”, the Bombay High Court said on Thursday dismissing a petition filed by Godrej & Boyce company challenging acquisition proceedings initiated by the Maharashtra government and the NHSRCL in Mumbai’s Vikhroli area for the project.

A division bench of Justices R D Dhanuka and M M Sathaye said the project was one-of-its-kind and collective interest would prevail over private interest.

The court said in cases of conflict on inter fundamental rights and intra fundamental rights, the court has to examine as to where lies the larger public interest while balancing the two conflicting rights.

“It is the paramount collective interest which would ultimately prevail. In the facts of this case, the private interest claimed by the petitioner does not prevail over the public interest which would subserve infrastructural project of public importance which is a dream project of this country and first of its kind,” it said.

“In our view the bullet train project is an infrastructural project of national importance, a large numbers of public would be benefited and would have saved other benefits for betterment of this country,” the court said.

Of the total 508.17 kilometres of rail track between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, about 21 km is planned to be underground. One of the entry points to the underground tunnel falls on the land in Vikhroli (owned by Godrej).

The state government and the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) had claimed the company was delaying the entire project which was of public importance.

The bench, in its judgment, said the provisions of the Fair Compensation Act empowers the government to take the acquisition proceedings already initiated to its logical conclusion.

The court also refused to accept Godrej’s contention that the compensation was initially decided to be Rs 572 crore but was reduced to Rs 264 crore when the final award was passed.

“The compensation derived at the stage of private negotiation cannot be considered as final and binding since the said private negotiation had admittedly failed,” HC said.

The authorities had told the HC the acquisition process of the entire line for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project was complete except the land owned by Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Company Limited in Vikhroli area.

The company and the government have been embroiled in a legal dispute over acquisition of the company-owned land in Vikhroli area of Mumbai for the bullet train project since 2019.

The state government had earlier informed the court it has already deposited the compensation amount of Rs 264 crore awarded to the company in October last year.

The Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co Ltd had filed a petition challenging an order of September 15, 2022 passed by the Maharashtra government awarding compensation to it for land acquisition for the bullet train project.

It had termed the land acquisition proceedings initiated by the state government as “unlawful” and claimed there were “multiple and patent illegalities” in the same.

The HC bench, however, said it has not found any illegality in the compensation or proceedings initiated by the authorities. “We have not found any illegality in the compensation,” it said.

The company has not made out a case for the court to exercise its powers and, hence, no interference is required, it added.

Senior counsel Navroz Seervai, appearing for the company, sought the HC to stay its order for a period of two weeks so that they could approach the Supreme Court in appeal. The bench, however, refused to stay its order.

The company had earlier sought the HC to direct the state government not to proceed towards the award passed and initiation possession proceedings.

It said the award granted by the government was “ex facie illegal and hence a nullity”.

It also refuted the allegations made by the government and the NHSRCL that the company was causing unnecessary delay in the project.

Representational Image

Shimla/New Delh: The Himachal Pradesh Excise and Taxation Department inspected an Adani Group company, scrutinising records and checking the stock at the Adani Wilmar warehouse in Parwanoo, officials said on Thursday.

The department was apparently investigating possible Goods and Services Tax violations by the company, a 50:50 joint venture between the Adani conglomerate and Singapore-based Wilmar.

The inspection on Wednesday evening in the Congress-run state comes when the group finds itself in the middle of a political row at the Centre, triggered by a scathing report by US-based Hindenburg Research.

But a Himachal Pradesh excise department official told PTI that it was a “routine” exercise, a point also made by an Adani Wilmar statement later.

Adani Wilmar sells cooking oil and other food products like rice, wheat flour, sugar, besan and soya chunks under the Fortune brand. In Himachal Pradesh, it is a major source of these products for the Civil Supplies and police departments.

A state excise department official said the company’s entire GST input was adjusted through tax credit but no payment was made in cash. But, in its statement, Adani Wilmar cited the Goods and Services Tax rules and claimed “the company is not required to pay tax liability in cash”.

An excise official said the Adani Wilmar recorded a turnover of about Rs 350 crore during the last three years. It disclosed a GST liability of about Rs 20 crore and claimed refunds amounting to a little under Rs 2 crore for that period, according to the official.

During the inspection no variation was found between the physical stock and the stock according to the records maintained by the company, the official said.

Another Adani company, which produces cement, has been facing a tough time in Himachal Pradesh.

Two cement plants, in Solan and Bilaspur districts, remain closed since December 14 following a dispute with truckers over freight rates.

The new government in the state has intervened, trying to break the stalemate.

The Adani Wilmar statement claimed that officials who visited the warehouse did not find any irregularities. All operations by the company are in full compliance with the relevant laws and regulations, it said.

It said depot operations are functioning normally after the inspection.

“This was a routine inspection carried out by the relevant authorities and there was no raid as previously stated or reported in the media,” it said.

The staff extended their support during the inspection, fully cooperating with officials and local authorities, the company spokesperson said.

Adani Group stocks took a severe beating after Hindenburg Research accused it of share price manipulation and other irregularities last month. The conglomerate has dismissed the allegations as lies.

Parliament has been repeatedly disrupted over the row, with the Opposition questioning the rise of the Adani Group over the past decade and demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the allegations in the Hindenburg report.

New Delhi: The IT ministry has given 48 hours to banned websites and apps to prove their genuineness, a senior government official said on Thursday.

Another senior official from the ministry said the ban has been imposed on the platforms because their businesses were not genuine.

“Why would there be any ban if they were genuine? Action has been taken on them,” the ministry official said.

The government last week ordered blocking of 232 apps operated by overseas entities, including Chinese, for being involved in betting, gambling and unauthorised loan services.

“They have been given 48 hours under the rule to submit documents. The decision will be taken based on their presentation. It is going on now,” another senior official said.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued blocking orders on Saturday, based on an emergency request issued by a nodal officer of the home ministry, against 138 betting and gambling websites and 94 loan apps that were engaging in illegal money laundering and posing a threat to financial security of the country.

Fintech firms LazyPay, IndiaBulls Home Loans and Kissht are among the list of blocked websites.

As per the list, MeitY issued orders to block lazypay.in, which is a subsidiary of Dutch investment firm Prosus.

The website www.indiabullshomeloans.com is operated by housing finance company Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd, while Kissht.com is operated by RBI-registered NBFC ONEMi Technology Solutions Private Limited.

Fintech firm mPokket said an app impersonating it has been blocked by the government and it has no link with the blocked platform.

“The domain in the list issued by MeiTY this week,, is a clear instance of impersonation and has no affiliation with mPokket whatsoever. Aptoide is a third-party app store with which we have no official or unofficial partnership,” mPokket said in a statement.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh

New Delhi: BJP member Tejasvi Surya had accidentally opened the emergency door of an IndiGo aircraft last month and the airline did not find the passenger in violation of any rule, according to the civil aviation ministry.

Surya, the ruling BJP’s Bengaluru South MP, has been facing flak from Congress over the incident, which happened on December 10 last year at Chennai airport.

To a question on whether the government through aviation regulator DGCA has identified the passenger who illegally opened the emergency door of a flight at Chennai, Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh replied in the affirmative.

“As per the report submitted by InterGlobe Aviation Limited, the name of the passenger alleged in the incident is Shri Tejasvi Surya who had boarded flight 6E-7339 (Chennai to Tiruchirappalli) at Chennai Airport on December 10, 2022.

“The emergency door opened accidently as clarified by InterGlobe Aviation Limited. This was not a deliberate action and as per InterGlobe Aviation, they did not find the passenger to be in violation of any rule,” Singh said in a written reply.

On whether the DGCA has taken any action, the minister said as per the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) regarding ‘Notification of incidents and investigation thereof”, the occurrence did not come under the category of ‘reportable occurrence’.

“The matter was investigated by the concerned airline. The occurrence took place while the aircraft was on ground and the flight departed only after completing all the safety checks/ protocols,” the minister said.

On January 18, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said Surya himself reported the incident where he accidentally opened the emergency exit of the IndiGo plane and apologised for it.

In another written reply on Thursday, Singh said as per maintenance procedures prescribed by the manufacturer, the emergency exit door is required to be installed back and pressurisation check carried out before the aircraft is released for flight.

Sriharikota (AP): ISRO on Friday tasted maiden success in the small satellite launch vehicle segment, with its SSLV D2 rocket injecting three satellites into an intended circular orbit, months after the maiden mission failed to bring in the desired results.

The satellites included ISRO’s earth observation satellite EOS-07.

ISRO’s first mission in 2023 and SSLV’s sequel saw a strange coincidence–it was launched at 9.18 AM, the same time its predecessor lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here on August 7, 2022 but could not deliver due to orbit anomaly and flight path deviation.

With the earlier SSLV not living up to the expectations, ‘corrective measures’ were put in its successor.

A visibly relieved Chairman of the Indian Space Research Oragnisation (ISRO), S Somanath said SSLV in its second flight put the three satellites in the intended orbit with precision.

“Congratulations to the space community of India…we have a new launch vehicle, the small satellite SSLV. In its second attempt, SSLV D2 has placed the satellites in the intended orbit precisely. Congrats to all three satellite teams,” he said from the Mission Control Centre (MCC) soon after the successful launch that brought all round smiles.

All the problems related to the previous SSLV launch have been identified, corrective action taken and implemented in good time, Somanath added.

Mission Director S Vinod said the ISRO team made a “comeback” is short time soon after the August 7, 2022 failure.

ISRO now has a “new launch vehicle” on offer for the launch vehicle community, he added.

Earlier, the 34-metre tall SSLV soared into majestically into clear skies at 9.18 AM, after a six and a half hour countdown, carrying with it the EOS-07, besides Janus-1 and AzaadiSAT-2 satellites. The rocket placed the satellites into the intended 450-km circular orbit after a 15-odd minute flight.

EOS-07 is a 156.3 kg satellite which has been designed, developed and realised by ISRO. New experiments include mm-Wave Humidity Sounder and Spectrum Monitoring Payload.

Janus-1, a 10.2 kg satellite, built by Antaris, USA is a technology demonstrator, smart satellite mission, ISRO said.
AzaadiSAT-2, weighing about 8.2 kg is a combined effort of about 750 girl students across India guided by Space Kidz India, Chennai. It aims to demonstrate amateur radio communication capabilities, measure radiation, among others, the space agency added.

According to ISRO, SSLV is capable of launching mini, micro or nano satellites in the 10-500 kg segment into the 500 km planar orbit. It caters to the launch of satellites to Low Earth Orbits (LEO) on “launch-on-demand” basis. It provides low-cost access to Space, offers low turn-around time and flexibility in accommodating multiple satellites, and demands minimal launch infrastructure, ISRO added.

It is configured with three solid propulsion stages and a velocity terminal module.

New Delhi: A team of India’s National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) engaged in relief and rescue operations in the quake-hit Turkiye has successfully rescued a six-year-old girl from under the rubble in Gaziantep.

The NDRF has dispatched three teams to Turkiye for rescue operations.

“Standing with Turkiye in this natural calamity. India’s @NDRFHQ is carrying out rescue and relief operations at ground zero. Team IND-11 successfully retrieved a 6 years old girl from Nurdagi, Gaziantep today,” the spokesperson of the Ministry of Home Affairs tweeted along with a video of the girl and how she was rescued.

In a tweet, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, “Proud of our NDRF. In the rescue operations in T rkiye, Team IND-11 saved the life of a six-year-old girl, Beren, in Gaziantep city. Under the guidance of PM @narendramodi, we are committed to making @NDRFHQ the world’s leading disaster response force. #OperationDost.”

India launched “Operation Dost” to extend assistance to Turkiye as well as Syria following Monday’s devastating quake that has killed more than 19,300 people in the two countries so far.

The NDRF is working to extricate live victims from under the rubble and providing first-aid to the injured, before handing them over to medical response authorities.

The force is using chip and stone cutters to breach fallen concrete slabs and other infrastructure and has deep radars that pick feeble sounds like the heartbeat or sound of a person, officials said.

The teams on the ground have quick deployed antenna and satellite phones for communication.

Seven four-wheeled vehicles and trucks, apart from four canines, were sent along the three teams that were airlifted by an Indian Air Force (IAF) C-17 heavy lift aircraft from the Hindon air base in Ghaziabad to the Adana airport in Turkiye.

Kolkata: After sending two missives to Nobel laureate Amartya Sen for allegedly occupying parts of land leased to his family in an “unauthorised manner”, Visva-Bharati University on Thursday said it will conduct a joint survey of the land along with the economist’s side.

In a statement, the university sought a suitable date and time from Sen for the exercise.

“With reference to our earlier letters, this is to inform you that the university wants to survey/demarcate jointly the land mutated in your favour for the residual period of lease as per lease deal executed on October 27, 1943 vide resolution no 8 dated September 3, 2006 of the executive council of Visva Bharati and communicated to you on October 31, 2006,” the letter said.

The varsity, in the letter, said the joint survey will be conducted on at least two days, and sought to know a suitable date and time from Sen.

One of the previous letters issued by the university to Sen on January 27 stated, “You are in possession of 1.38 acre of land which is in excess of your legal entitlement of 1.25 acre. Kindly return the land to Visva Bharati as early as possible “

On January 24, the central university had issued a similar letter to Sen.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee last week came out in support of the economist and handed over land-related documents to the octogenarian during a visit to Birbhum.

Mumbai: The LIC management will soon meet the top management of the crisis-ridden Adani Group and seek clarification on the crisis being faced by the diversified conglomerate, chairman M R Kumar said here on Thursday.

LIC’s investment into Adani group firms’ stock has come under criticism by the opposition parties as well as investors after US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations against the Gautam Adani-led group, saying its companies manage and manipulate share prices, run offshore shell companies for round-tripping and lacking in corporate governance practices.

“Though our investor team has already sought clarifications from the Adanis, our top management could not contact them yet as we have been busy preparing the results. We are soon going to call them to meet us and explain. We want to understand what is happening in the market and in the group,” the chairman told reporters at the earnings conference on Thursday.

“We’ll be calling them in sometime soon to know how are they managing the whole crisis,” Kumar added.

Kumar, however, refused to give a timeline of the meeting between LIC and Adani group officials.

LIC, which is the nation’s largest institutional investor, is the second largest shareholder in most of the listed Adani group companies, with a cumulative investment of Rs 36,474.78 crore as of January 27, which in percentage terms is 4.23 per cent of the total public holding in those companies. But for LIC’s Rs 44.76 lakh crore investment asset under management, this is only 0.97 per cent.

As of January 27, this investment was valued at over Rs 56,000 crore, LIC had said on January 30, but since then these shares have further lost — cumulatively about USD 100 billion or about 60 per cent of their January 24 market value.

When asked, the chairman categorically said, “Our investments are still in the green and we have not made any provisions either for equity, which is the vast majority or for the debt. Our equity holding in the group is 4.23 per cent of the total public holding of those firms. But from our total market investment of Rs 44.76 lakh crore, this is only 0.97 per cent.”

He said the Irdai (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India) norms on investment caps it at 15 per cent of a company’s equity, but “we have some exception wherein we hold more than 30 per cent in some companies”.

“Why should we be making provision when they are in the green. To some of the group companies (ACC and Ambuja Cements) our investments go back to more than two decades,” he said.

On January 30, LIC issued a public statement saying: “Our total holding in the Adani group companies under equity and debt a on date is Rs 36,474.78 crore. This was Rs 35,917.31 crore as of December 31, 2022. Total purchase value of these equities of the group companies, bought over the past many years, is Rs 30,127 crore and the market value for the same at close of market hours on January 27, 2023 was Rs 56,142 crore.”

LIC has exposure to all the 10 listed Adani group companies. However, it did not disclose about its exposure on an individual company basis.

Even after the Hindenburg report, LIC invested about Rs 300 crore in buying 9,15,748 shares in Adani Enterprises’ Rs 20,000-crore follow-on public offer as an anchor investor.

Kumar said, the book value of its Rs 44.75 lakh crore market asset under management is only Rs 6.87 lakh crore, and according to the same book value its exposure to the Adani group companies is only 4.23 per cent.

Since the publication of the Hindenburg report on January 24, three days before the launch of the group’s flagship Adani Enterprises’ Rs 20,000-crore follow-on public offer (FPO), the value of the group companies’ stocks have lost more than USD 100 billion or about 60 per cent from their January 24 value.

The FPO was fully subscribed but called off a day later by the management.