Myanmar nationals pushed back

TOP NEWS IN NUTSHELLS (11 August 2021)

*NATIONAL NEWS*

• NEED TO CLEAN UP POLITICS: The Supreme Court emphasized the urgency for weeding out criminals from the electoral politics. The top court criticized the Center’s lackadaisical approach in enacting suitable laws to decriminalize legislatures. The state governments cannot withdraw pending criminal cases against MPs and MLAs without the approval of the high courts, the Supreme Court said.
• COVID’S 3^RD WAVE TENSION: The government says that the slump in daily cases has not conclusive meaning for India’s coronavirus trajectory if the ‘R’ factor remains high. 3^rd wave tensions worsen as coronavirus “R” factor hovers around 1. UP, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab show disturbing uptick.
• VACCINATION DRIVE: More than 51 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses administered so far; Recovery Rate stands at 97.4%.
• UJJWALA SCHEME:  Ujjwala 2.0 Gas connection scheme launched yesterday by PM Modi. He said, scheme is to provide maximum benefit to lakhs of migrant labour families.
• FREEDOM RUN: Govt will organise Fit India Freedom Run 2.0 throughout country as a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations.
• CIC ORDERS ON EVMs & VVPATs: The Central Information Commission has ordered the disclosure of the total number of EVMs and VVPATs that showed defects and errors during testing and evaluation of their firmware by the Standardization, Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) Directorate.
• RBI STRICT ON ATMs: The RBI will start imposing penalty on banks in case the ATMs remain out-of-cash for a total period of 10 hours in a month from October 1, 2021, onwards.
• ASSAM-MIZORAM BORDER TENSION EASES: Supply of essential commodities is gradually returning to normalcy in Mizoram as trucks carrying goods are entering the state from neighbouring Assam through National Highway-306.

**INTERNATIONAL NEWS**

• MYANMAR NATIONALS PUSHED BACK: More than 8000 Myanmar nationals crossed into India since the country saw a coup in February, the Defense Ministry in a statement in Parliament said.  The statement said that more than 5,500 have been "pushed back" while over 2500 are still in India.
• INDIA-ISRAEL TIE: India and Israel held a fruitful discussion to deepen their defense and industrial ties. Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said this while reviewing the ongoing cooperation between the two countries.
• ACT EAST POLICY:  In pursuance of India's 'Act East' Policy, Indian Naval Ships Shivalik and Kadmatt arrived at Muara, Brunei to participate in various bilateral professional interactions and to conduct bilateral exercises with Royal Brunei Navy.
• INDIA-AUSTRALIA FTA: A free trade agreement between India & Australia would be an important sign of the “democratic world’s tilt away from China”, Australian special trade envoy Tony Abbott said. Actually Australia and India launched negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) in May 2011.
• CANADA BAN ON FLIGHTS EXTENDED: Canada extended the ban on direct flights from India till September 21 due to risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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