This is the Catchup on 3 Things by The Indian Express and I'm Niharika Nanda
Today is the 11th of November and here are the headlines.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna took oath as the 51st Chief Justice of India, succeeding Justice D Y Chandrachud. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Justice Khanna during the ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Among the few judges who were elevated to the Supreme Court even before becoming the Chief Justice of any high court, Justice Khanna will super annuate in May 2025, after a tenure of a little over six months. He was part of several Constitution Bench rulings, including the one upholding the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution and striking down the 2018 electoral bonds scheme, among others.
Over 2 lakh new beneficiaries above the age of 70 received cards under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana within the first week of Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolling out the expanded version of the flagship health insurance scheme to cover all elderly. According to data available till 7th of November with the National Health Authority, Kerala has registered the highest number of new beneficiaries under the extended version, with nearly 89,000 cards issued for the elderly. The data also shows that 32,000 additional beneficiaries above the age of 70 have re-registered to avail the cover of Rs 5 lakh provided in the extended version with no income limit.
Over the last four years, the J-K administration has terminated 74 government employees under Article 311(2)(C) of the Constitution, which allows the government to act without seeking an explanation or holding an inquiry into their conduct. Former chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti has written to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, seeking an immediate review of the termination of government employees dismissed by the Jammu and Kashmir administration. Mufti demanding that the government set up a committee to review the termination cases wrote, quote “The abrupt dismissal of government employees without due process, a pattern that started since 2019, has left many families devastated and, in some cases, destitute.” unquote
Meanwhile, Supreme Court instructed the Delhi Police Commissioner to establish a special cell to enforce the firecracker ban. The top court also said the police have not taken the ban in the national capital seriously and stated that “What the Delhi government did is a mere eyewash.” It added quote, "The right to live in a pollution-free atmosphere is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution. We are of the view that no religion promotes any activity that promotes pollution or compromises with health of the people," unquote. The top court further asked the Delhi government to decide before 25th of November on a "perpetual" firecracker ban after consulting stakeholders.
On the global front, The US President-elect Donald Trump held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and conveyed his intention not to escalate the Ukraine war, as President Joe Biden plans to lobby with Trump not isolate Ukraine in the war. A Reuters report said that Trump spoke with Putin in recent days. Earlier during the presidential campaign, Trump had criticised the scale at which the US military and financial aid was being provided to Kyiv. When asked about the Trump and Putin’s call, Ukraine’s foreign ministry stated that they weren’t aware of any advance call being made between them and declined to object or endorse it.
This was the Catch Up on 3 Things by The Indian Express.
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