NIA court clears Akhil Gogoi in case related to anti CAA protest

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that six years of Digital India programme marks rapid strides that the country has taken in adoption of technology. Modi said, during the last six  years, peoples' lives have been transformed with Digital India.  Addressing a function to mark six years of the government's flagship programme- Digital India, he said, the vision of minimum government and maximum governance will be fulfilled with help of Digital India.  Modi said, Digital India is the Sadhana of Atmanirbhar Bharat and is the slogan for becoming a stronger India in the 21st century. The Prime Minister said, Digi Locker is a good example of how effective Digital India has been. Now, all important documents including school and college documents, Aadhaar, PAN and Voter ID card can now be stored easily and securely in DigiLocker. He said that Digital India has played a key role in providing health care facilities different parts of the country as platforms developed for online education to medicine is benefiting crores of Indians. Mr. Modi added that be it driving license, birth certificate, paying electricity and water bill, filing income tax return and other works have now become very easy and fast. Talking about the benefits of digital india during COVID, the Prime Minister said, people from remote areas are getting benefits of e Sanjeevani especially during the pandemic. He added, Digital India and CoWIN is helping the country during vaccination. CoWin has also attracted interest from several countries across the globe.

-The Goods and Services Tax (GST) system, the country’s biggest tax reform, completes four years today. During these years, several key policy initiatives were taken by the government to make the GST system and compliance mechanism simple, transparent and technology-driven. GST is a remarkable example of cooperative federalism wherein all the decisions have been taken in GST Council through consensus. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said,  GST has been a milestone in the economic landscape of India. Mr Modi said, it has decreased the number of taxes, compliance burden and overall tax burden on the common man while significantly increasing transparency, compliance and overall collection.  The Finance Ministry said, the government will honour 54 thousand 439 taxpayers. 

-India and Pakistan on Thursday exchanged, through diplomatic channels simultaneously at New Delhi and Islamabad, the lists of civilian prisoners and fishermen in their custody. This is in keeping with the provisions of the 2008 Agreement under which such lists are exchanged every year on 1st January and 1st July. The External Affairs Ministry said India handed over lists of 271 Pakistani civilian prisoners and 74 fishermen in India's custody to Pakistan. Pakistan has shared lists of 51 civilian prisoners and 558 fishermen in its custody, who are Indians or are believed-to-be Indians. Government has called for early release and repatriation of civilian prisoners, missing Indian defence personnel and fishermen along with their boats, from Pakistan's custody. In this context, Pakistan was asked to expedite the release and repatriation of one Indian civilian prisoner and 295 Indian fishermen to India whose nationality has been confirmed and conveyed to Pakistan. In addition, Pakistan has been asked to provide immediate consular access to 194 fishermen and 17 civilian prisoners who are in Pakistan's custody and are believed to be Indian.

-In Assam,  the National Investigation Agency court has  cleared activist and Sibsagar legislator Akhil Gogoi in the last case pending against him related to the anti CAA protest in the year 2019. Following the order, Gogoi walked out of the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, where he has been treated for multiple  ailments.Several cases were filed against him in various police stations following the violence, out of which two cases were taken over by the NIA. In both cases, he was charged with sedition and UAPA, among other offences. Last week, he was granted 2 days  to visit his ailing mother.

-In Meghalaya, heavy rains across the Garo Hills region over the past few days have severely affected many parts of the region, with many bridges and roads becoming inaccessible. The incessant rain has affected all across the region with the districts of South Garo Hills and West Garo Hills being the worst affected. The Deputy Commissioner of South Garo Hills, SF Hamid has confirmed that the district authorities had been pressed into service to oversee the situation. Authorities further confirmed that at least three families from the Malikona area of Baghmara had to be shifted out of their homes after overnight rains led to land slips and posed direct threats to them.

-The Reserve Bank today said that the recently announced monetary, regulatory and fiscal policy measures will help in the economic recovery that has been severely dented by the ferocious second wave of COVID-19. As per the 23rd issue of the Financial Stability Report, released by the RBI, sustained policy support, benign financial conditions and the gathering momentum of vaccination are nurturing an uneven global recovery. It added that policy support has helped in shoring up financial positions of banks.The report, however, adds that the gross non-performing asset ratio is likely to increase to 9.80 percent in March 2022 as compared to 7.48 percent in March 2021. The report said the ratio may increase to 11.22 percent under severe stress scenarios, even though banks have sufficient capital, both at the aggregate and individual level.