INDO-US 2+2 DIALOGUE TOMORROW

In the 5th 2+2 ministerial meeting on Friday, India and the US will look to build upon the gains from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s landmark state visit earlier this year, with a focus on defence technology transfer and coproduction, strategic technology collaborations, nuclear cooperation, and peopleto-people ties. China and the Indo-Pacific, including Quad cooperation, and Israel-Hamas and Ukraine-Russia wars are among the global and regional issues the two sides will look to address.

India’s diplomatic spat with Canada is also likely to figure in foreign minister S Jaishankar’s bilateral meeting with his counterpart Antony Blinken on the margins of the 2+2 talks. Secretary of defense Lloyd Austin will also have a bilateral meeting with defence minister Rajnath Singh, said the government in its official announcement on Wednesday, as the two sides look to reaffirm the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership.

“The 2+2 will enable a high-level review of progress being made in cross-cutting aspects of defence and security cooperation, technology value chain collaborations and people-to-people ties,” said the statement, adding that the ministers will review progress in the futuristic roadmap for the India-US partnership as envisioned by Modi and Biden during their meetings in June and September.

NITISH KUMAR’S COMMENTS GIVE MODI AMMO IN MP POLL CAMPAIGN

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday criticised Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s crude remarks on how education among women has helped control population, saying he “doesn’t have any shame”, and the country was humiliated in front of the world because of his comments. The CM, meanwhile, apologised for his remarks with folded hands.

“If I have said certain things that have been inviting so much criticism… If what I said was wrong, I apologise. I take back my words. If my statement is being criticised, I apologise,” Kumar said just before the beginning of the third day of the Assembly session. "I condemn myself (hum apni ninda karte hain)," Nitish added.

On Wednesday, Modi addressed three rallies in Madhya Pradesh’s Damoh, Guna and Morena.

Referring to Nitish Kumar’s remarks, Modi said, “Those who have such an attitude towards mothers and sisters, can they ever do good for you? How low will you stoop ? And you are humiliating the country in the world. My mothers and sisters, I will not back down and will do whatever possible for your respect.”

Earlier, speaking in Damoh, Modi remarked on Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s comments in Gwalior a day earlier. Kharge had termed Modi, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, ED, CBI and IT as the “Panch Pandavas”. “But these are not the actual Pandavas, these are ones that need to be defeated.”

Modi said that before 2014, the Prime Minister of the country was remote controlled by the Congress, and these days Kharge is controlled by a remote. “I read somewhere yesterday that he remembered the Pandavas. When the remote runs, he abuses Sanatan. So, when the remote stopped, he remembered the Pandavas yesterday. And he said that there are five Pandavas in BJP. We are proud that we are walking on the path of the five Pandavas. What could cause more pride than this?”

CONG MOVES EC AGAINST ‘MISUSE’ OF CENTRAL AGENCIES TO TARGET ITS LEADERS

The Congress on Wednesday sought the Election Commission’s intervention to stop what it called the “misuse” of Central agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate, by the government to target Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot’s son, Vaibhav Gehlot.

In a memorandum given to the commission, the Congress alleged the ED was acting at the behest of the BJP to tarnish the image of its leaders.

The memorandum cited the ED’s November 3 press release, just days before polling for the first phase of Chhattisgarh elections on Tuesday, that “falsely” linked Baghel to “ill-gotten money being attributed to the Mahadev app case”.

The Congress also cited raids by the ED on October 26 in premises of Congress’s Rajasthan chief Govind Singh Dotsara and his family members in connection with a 2022 paper leak case. Congress said that ED’s action in a case in which Rajasthan Police had already filed chargesheet with more than 60 arrests, and is being tried in a court of competitive jurisdiction is “politically driven and without any lawful basis”.

It added that on the same day, October 26, the ED summoned Vaibhav Gehlot, Rajasthan CM’s son,  in a different case, which the party said was “sheer political vendetta”.

The Congress asked that the EC’s 2019 directions to Central agencies be adhered to, action be taken against those ED officials “misusing” their powers; and the withdrawal of the ED’s November 3 press release mentioning Baghel.

ETHICS PANEL DRAFT REPORT RECOMMENDS MOITRA EXPULSION FROM LS

The Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha, which inquired into the cash-for-query allegations levelled by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey against TMC MP Mahua Moitra, is learnt to have recommended her expulsion from the 17th Lok Sabha in its draft report.

The panel will meet today to adopt the report. It will then be sent to the Lok Sabha Speaker.

Opposition members in the panel are expected to submit dissent notes, disagreeing with the recommendations of the 15-member panel in which the ruling NDA has a majority.

Meanwhile, Nishikant Dubey claimed that the Lokpal had forwarded his complaint against Moitra to the CBI for investigation. “They informed me that they have referred it to the CBI, which is the Lokpal’s agency to investigate,” Dubey said.

In her response, Moitra, in a post on X, said, “For media calling me — my answer: 1. CBI needs to first file FIR on ₹13,000 crore Adani coal scam. 2. National security issue is how dodgy FPI owned (inc Chinese & UAE ) Adani firms buying Indian ports & airports with @HMOIndia clearance. Then CBI welcome to come, count my shoe.” she said.

In another post on X, she said, “Lokpal abhi Zinda hai (Lokpal is still alive).”

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

======================

G7 BACKS ISRAEL’S RIGHT TO SELF-DEFENCE, PUSHES FOR PAUSES TO ASSIST CIVILIANS

Top diplomats from the Group of Seven leading industrial democracies announced a unified stance on the Israel-Hamas war on Wednesday after intensive meetings in Tokyo, condemning Hamas, supporting Israel’s right to self-defense and calling for “humanitarian pauses” to speed aid to desperate civilians in the Gaza Strip.

“All parties must allow unimpeded humanitarian support for civilians, including food, water, medical care, fuel and shelter, and access for humanitarian workers,” said the statement, hammered out by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and foreign ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Italy.

The ministers noted that the G7 is “working intensively to prevent the conflict from escalating further and spreading more widely,” and also using sanctions and other measures “to deny Hamas the ability to raise and use funds to carry out atrocities”.

Blinken also said that Gaza should be unified with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority once the war ends, the strongest signal yet from the Biden administration about what it would like to see at the end of Israel’s fight against Hamas. Blinken went beyond remarks by the White House, which on Tuesday cautioned Israel against reoccupying Gaza after the end of its war with Hamas. PM Netanyahu had suggested that his country could hold a security role there “for an indefinite period.”

EU TAKES UKRAINE CLOSER TO MEMBERSHIP, ZELENSKY CALLS IT A ‘HISTORIC STEP’

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky praised as a “historic step” a recommendation by the European Union executive Wednesday to invite Kyiv for membership talks as soon as it meets final conditions, even as it fights to repel Russia’s war.

The recommendation by the European Commission is an important milestone on Kyiv’s road to Western integration and a geo-political gambit for the EU as Ukraine has been fighting against a largescale Russian invasion since February 2022. The Commission said the talks should formally be launched once Kyiv satisfies remaining conditions related to reining in corruption, adopting a law on lobbying in line with EU standards and strengthening national minority safeguards.

“This is a strong and historic step that paves the way to a stronger EU with Ukraine as its member,” Zelensky said on social media, vowing to press on with necessary reforms.

EU leaders are due to decide mid-December on whether to accept the Commission’s recommendation. Any such decision requires unanimity of the bloc’s 27 members, with Hungary seen as the main potential obstacle. If accepted, EU officials expect formal accession talks with Kyiv to start next year. Such negotiations take years before candidates meet extensive legal and economic criteria to join. The bloc is also wary of taking in a country at war.

The Commission’s report Wednesday showed that Kyiv met four out of seven conditions to start talks, though more were near completion.

THE REST

=========

DELHI TAKES MORE STEPS AS AIR POLLUTION REMAINS HIGH

In further steps to curb pollution even as the air quality index (AQI) deteriorated from 395 (“very poor”) on Tuesday to 424 (“severe”) on Wednesday, the Delhi government said it would stop the entry of app-based taxis registered in other states.

Announcing the decision a day after the Supreme Court raised the issue, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai added that bus and metro services have been enhanced to meet the requirements.

The government has also asked schools to advance their winter vacations to November 9-18. Most schools usually schedule their winter vacations in the last week of December or the first week of January.

According to app-based aggregators, there are nearly 1.5 lakh taxis with different platforms in Delhi-NCR. Of these, only a third are registered in Delhi.

“While we haven’t received any order from the transport department, we want to reiterate that all the cars on the Uber platform in Delhi are CNG or electric, and shared mobility helps more people commute in fewer cars,” Uber said in a statement.

Industry sources expressed the apprehension that banning cabs from other states would increase the number of private petrol and diesel vehicles on the road, and put undue pressure on public transport.

Addressing a press conference, Rai also said that the odd-even car rationing scheme will be implemented after the Supreme Court reviews its effectiveness and issues an order. He said the reports on the effectiveness of the odd-even scheme would be submitted to the Supreme Court, and the government would proceed with the scheme on the basis of the court’s directions.

The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), meanwhile, has been directed to restart the functioning of the smog tower in full capacity by Thursday. To deal with local instances of biomass burning, 611 teams of the Municipal Corporation Delhi, DPCC and revenue department officials have been formed, and a special drive will begin Thursday.

MUMBAI’S LANDMARK AIR INDIA BUILDING SET TO BE BOUGHT BY MAHRASHTRA GOVT

With the Maharashtra government facing a space crunch at the Mantralaya and its annexe, some of its offices will soon have a new address – the iconic 23-storey sea-facing Air India building at Nariman Point, just 600 metres away from the state secretariat.

At a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday, the State Cabinet decided to acquire the building for Rs 1,601 crore.

The building, designed by well-known architect John Burgee, was constructed in 1974 on reclaimed land that the state government had leased to Air India. It is among Mumbai’s well-known landmarks.

UP GOVT MAY GIVE SENIOR CITIZENS RIGHT TO LEGALLY EVICT SONS AND DAUGHTERS

The Uttar Pradesh government is planning to give legal rights to parents and senior citizens to evict their children or anyone living in their house if they are not happy with them.

A proposal to amend the state rules under the Central government’s Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 has been sent to the state Cabinet.

“At a recent Cabinet meeting, the proposal was taken up but couldn’t be passed as some issues were raised like what if the senior citizen is living on an ancestral property where the children and the parents have a shared right. We are doing research and will make changes to the proposal and send it back soon. Hopefully, it will be passed soon,” said a minister.

SC REFUSES TO LIFT STATUS QUO ORDER ON APPOINTMENT OF PRIESTS IN TAMIL NADU

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to vacate its order requiring the Tamil Nadu Government to maintain existing conditions on appointment of ‘Archakas’ or priests in temples governed by the ‘Agamic’ tradition in the state.

A Bench led by Justice AS Bopanna did not agree with submissions of senior advocate Dushyant Dave, representing the Tamil Nadu Government, that appointment of ‘Archakas’ was a secular function and the state was entitled to appoint them. The allegation was that the state government was not following the procedures prescribed under ‘agama’ traditions in appointing ‘archakas’ in temples of a particular denomination, the Bench pointed out.

The Bench will take up the matter on January 25. Refusing to stay the proceedings before the Madras High Court on a similar issue, the SC asked lawyers to inform the HC that the Supreme Court was dealing with the matter.

FACED CRIMINAL TRIAL TO CREATE ‘CHILLING EFFECT’: NEWSCLICK TO DELHI HC

Online news portal NewsClick argued before the Delhi High Court Wednesday that the registration of an FIR for alleged violation of foreign funding laws was an attempt to “target it” and create a “chilling effect”.

The HC was hearing the 2021 plea by the petitioner company, M/s PPK NewsClick Studio Private Limited, which owns the digital portal, seeking quashing of an FIR registered by the Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW), as part of a batch of pleas pertaining to investigations by EOW and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against the company.

Among the various contentions raised, senior advocate Siddharth Agarwal submitted before a single-judge bench of Justice Saurabh Banerjee that the court may have to consider if there had been an abuse of process of law by investigating and prosecuting agencies. He said the registration of the FIR and the investigation of the petitioner company was an attempt to “target the petitioner and silence its independent and impartial reporting of various issues of national importance”. He further said, “Such proceedings are intended to create a chilling effect on various persons including journalists, discouraging them from exercising their constitutional right.

UGC NOTIFIES REGULATIONS FOR FOREIGN VARSITIES TO SET UP INDIA CAMPUS

Close on the heels of Australia’s Western Sydney University announcing plans to establish an independent campus in Bangalore, the University Grant Commission (UGC) on Tuesday notified regulations permitting foreign universities ranked among the world’s top 500 to set up branch campuses in India, decide their admission process, fee structure, and also repatriate funds to their parent campuses.

Universities can collaborate to set up campuses in India, provided each institution meets the eligibility criteria individually. Each foreign university can set up more than one campus in India. However, they shall make a separate application for each proposed campus to the commission.

The guidelines were notified almost 10 months after the draft was made public for feedback. Based on the inputs, the final regulations have been tweaked. For instance, the final rules mandate that foreign universities should ensure that international faculty appointed to teach at the Indian campuses stay in the country for at least a semester.

No programmes can be offered online or in Open and Distance Learning modes under these regulations. However, lectures in online mode not exceeding 10% of the programme requirements are allowed.

Foreign institutions need not pay any annual fees to the UGC other than the one-time application fees. They shall set up their campuses using their own infrastructure, land, physical resources and human resources. Foreign universities may provide on their Indian campuses full or partial merit-based or need-based scholarships and fee concessions to Indian students.

PABLO PICASSO'S 'WOMAN WITH A WATCH' SOLD FOR $139 MILLION

One of Pablo Picasso's masterpieces, "Woman with a Watch," was sold at auction Wednesday night for $139.3 million by Sotheby's in New York, the second-highest price ever achieved for the artist. The 1932 painting depicts one of the Spanish artist's companions and muses, the French painter Marie-Therese Walter, and had been valued at over $120 million before going on the block, according to Sotheby's.

WORLD CUP MATCH 40: ENGLAND GET A CONSOLATION WIN, OVER NETHERLANDS

Ben Stokes’s attacking century after Dawid Malan explosive knock at the top powered England to an easy 160 runs victory over the Netherlands in their penultimate World Cup match in Pune on Wednesday.

Opting to bat, England posted 339 for 9 and then returned to bowl out the Dutch for 179 in 37.2 overs to keep their Championships Trophy qualification hopes alive.

With both teams out of the reckoning for a semi-finals berth, the contest between the two lowest-placed teams was of significance in qualifying for the 2025 Champions Trophy, as only the top Eight in the ongoing showpiece make it to the event.

Results so far: England (7th) Played 8 Matches, Won 2; Netherlands (10th) Played 8, won 2

INDICATORS

Sensex 64,976 (+33), Nifty 19,444 (+37)

Nasdaq 13,650 (+11) Dow 34,112 (-40), S&P 4,383 (+4)

US$-Rs. 83.24, GBP-Rs. 102.20, Euro-Rs. 88.99, UAE Dhm-Rs. 22.66, Can$-Rs. 60.38, Aus$- Rs. 53.46

GBP 0.81 /US$, Euro 0.93 /US$, Jap.Yen 150.74 /US$, Aus$ 1.55 /US$, Sing 1.35 /US$, Bang Taka 109.26 /US$, Can$ 1.37 /US$, Mal Ring 4.67 /US$, Pak Re 284.68 /US$, Phil Peso 55.86 /US$, Russian Rouble 91.96 /US$, NZ$ 1.68 /US$, Thai Baht 35.52 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 35.75 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 35,853, Dollar Index 105.44, Brent Crude 79.54, BDI 1559

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1952 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 6,120 / 5,610, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 76,500

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Nothing changes more consistently than the past; ... the past that influences our lives is not what actually happened but what we believe happened. - Gerald W. Johnson

OFF TRACK

One evening, a young lady came home from a date, rather sad.

She told her mother, "Anthony proposed to me an hour ago."

"Then why are you so sad?" her mother asked.

"Because he also told me he is an atheist. Mom, he doesn't even believe there's a Hell."

Her mother replied, "Marry him anyway. Between the two of us, we'll show him just how wrong he is.