G20 podiumTatas name Wilson as CEO & MD of Air India
MUMBAI: The Tata Group has appointed Campbell Wilson as CEO & MD of Air India. Wilson is currently the CEO of Singapore Airline’s low-cost subsidiary Scoot. Fifty-year-old Wilson has 26 years of aviation industry expertise across both full service and low-cost airlines. Earlier this year, Tata Group had named Turkish Airlines Chairman Ilker Ayci as Air India’s CEO & MD, but he subsequently denied the position.
SC puts sedition law on hold
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on May 11 stayed the use of the sedition law and directed the Centre and states to not register any fresh FIRs invoking sedition charges until the law is reviewed. In the pending sedition cases, the Supreme Court said those languishing in jail under sedition charges can approach the courts and seek bail. “We expect that till re-examination of this law is complete it will not be used,” the CJI NV Ramana-led Bench of the Supreme Court said. The Supreme Court said, “It is clear that the Centre agrees that the rigours of Section 124A is not in tune with the current situation and it was intended for the time when the country was under colonial law. Thus, the Centre may reconsider it.”
Six officials among 14 held for FCRA violations
NEW DELHI: Six serving officials, including an Assistant Director posted with the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) division of the MHA, are among the 14 people arrested by the CBI for facilitating clearance to NGOs to obtain foreign grants illegally. The agency has named 36 people as accused in the case and more arrests are likely to follow. Cash totalling Rs 3.21 crore has been seized after nationwide raids by the investigating agency on May 10.
Jharkhand IAS officer held in MGNREGA scam
RANCHI: The Enforcement Directorate on May 11 arrested Pooja Singhal, Mines and Industries Secretary of Jharkhand, after questioning the 2000-batch IAS officer for more than 20 hours following allegations that Rs 18 crore of MGNREGA funds were embezzled between 2006 and 2010 in Khunti district when she was the Deputy Commissioner. This is the first arrest of a serving IAS officer in the state.
Booster dose gap reduced to 6 months for travellers abroad
NEW DELHI: The Central government has reduced the gap between the second dose of Covid vaccine and the booster shot from nine to six months for those travelling abroad. The National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) cleared a recommendation since Indians travelling abroad were facing issues as many countries are asking for booster or precaution dose certificates.
Plea to hold inquiry into ‘history’ of Taj
LUCKNOW: A petition has been filed in the Allahabad High Court, seeking a fact-finding inquiry into the “history” of the Taj Mahal, and also opening of the doors of its “22 rooms” to see “the truth, whatever it is”. The writ petition was filed on May 7 in the registry of the Lucknow bench of the High Court by Rajneesh Singh, who is the media in-charge of the BJP’s Ayodhya unit.
Delhi HC gives split verdict on marital rape
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on May 11 delivered a split verdict on petitions seeking criminalisation of marital rape. While Justice Rajiv Shakdher struck down the Exception 2 that protects men, who have forced non-consensual intercourse with their wives, from criminal prosecution under Section 376 IPC, Justice C Hari Shankar disagreed saying that the exception doesn’t violate Article 14, 19 and 21. Both the judges however agreed to grant certificate of leave to appeal before the Supreme Court.
Veteran Cong leader Sukh Ram is dead
NEW DELHI: Veteran Congress leader and former Union minister Pandit Sukh Ram passed away on May 11. He was 94. Sukh Ram was admitted to AIIMS in New Delhi on May 7. Sukh Ram suffered a brain stroke in Manali on May 4, following which he was admitted to the regional hospital in Mandi, from where he was airlifted to Delhi. Sukh Ram was MoS Communications from 1993 to 1996. He was a member of the Lok Sabha from Mandi constituency of Himachal. He won the Vidhan Sabha elections five times and the LS elections thrice
UP govt to provide free wi-fi facilities at gram panchayats
LUCKNOW: In order to make every village a smart village, UP government decided to provide high-speed internet connectivity to the Gram Sachivalaya or village secretariats and a free high-speed Wi-Fi internet facility to the villagers within a radius of 50 meters of the same. The process of establishment of village secretariats in 58,189-gram panchayats of the state is going on continuously. Arrangements are also being made to ensure that all the documents/records required by the villagers can be obtained through Panchayat Assistant/Common Service Center (CSC) in the village secretariat. The move to set up free WiFi would give a fillip to boost “economic activity”, exploring the “hidden potential” of villages and the residents.
Special child ‘denied’ boarding by IndiGo
NEW DELHI: In an incident that raises questions over the handling of air travellers with special needs, budget airline IndiGo allegedly denied boarding to a specially abled child on a Hyderabad-bound flight at the Ranchi airport on May 7. A senior DGCA official said the aviation safety regulator is probing the incident, and that a report has been sought from the airline. IndiGo said in a statement that the child “could not board the flight…as he was in a state of panic”.
Musk says to reverse Twitter ban on Trump
WASHINGTON: Billionaire Elon Musk said on May 10 he would reverse Twitter’s ban on former US President Donald Trump when he buys the social media platform, the clearest signal yet of Musk’s intention to cut moderation of the site. Musk, the world’s richest person and CEO of Tesla, has inked a $44 billion deal to buy Twitter. He is likely to become Twitter’s temporary CEO after closing the deal.
Birth, death registers to get Census-link
NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on May 9 said that the birth and death registers will be linked to the Census. “By 2024, every birth and death will be registered which means our census will be updated automatically,” he said, while speaking at the inauguration of a Census office at Guwahati’s Amingaon. He also said that the Home Ministry has decided to use modern techniques to make the census more scientific.
Rajiv Kumar is the new CEC
NEW DELHI: Rajiv Kumar has been appointed as the new Chief Election Commissioner, according to a notification issued by the Law Ministry. Born in 1960, Kumar will demit office sometime in the middle of February 2025. Kumar was the Chairperson of the Public Enterprises Selection Board, when he was appointed as an Election Commissioner. A 1984-batch IAS officer of the Bihar/Jharkhand cadre, Kumar superannuated from service in February 2020.
