23 January 2021

Six miners killed in Meghalaya

Five of the victims were from Assam, four from Karimganj and one from Cachar district

One of the deceased is yet to be identified. The bodies were recovered on Friday

By Umanand Jaiswal

Guwahati 23, 2021: Six miners were killed while working in a remote coalmine in Meghalaya on Thursday evening after a machine malfunctioned, according to a statement issued by the police.

Five of the victims were from Assam, four from Karimganj and one from Cachar district. One of the deceased is yet to be identified. The bodies were recovered on Friday.

The mine is located in East Jaintia Hills district’s Sorkari Dienshalu area, over 12km from the district headquarters.

The police said prima facie it seems that a “machine at the mining area had malfunctioned, which may have unfortunately led to the untimely demise of the six persons”. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem likely to be completed by Saturday afternoon.

When asked whether the mine was an active or an abandoned one, an official said that there were no traces of coal at the site.

Another official said they could have been involved in coal or stone mining.

The last major mine mishap in the district had claimed the lives of 15 miners in 2018.

First sewage treatment plant in northeast India starts functioning in Manipur

The primary objective of implementing the sewage treatment plant in Imphal is to control pollution in Nambul River which flows into Loktak, the largest freshwater lake in northeast India

By Sobhapati Samom

For the first time in northeast India, Manipur government has started to implement a sewage treatment plant under the banner of Imphal Sewerage Project phase 1 in Imphal to control pollution.

“So far we’ve provided sewerage pipeline connection to 12,000 households and other establishments in nine out of targeted 11 municipal wards,” said executive engineer Arambam Ibohal of public health engineering department (drainage and sewerage division), the implementing agency in the state. “The remaining households will be completed within March 2021.”

The primary objective of implementing the sewage treatment plant in Imphal is to control pollution in Nambul River which flows into Loktak, the largest freshwater lake in northeast India, Ibohal said.

With a project cost of 345 crore, Imphal Sewerage Project phase 1 has a generating capacity of 27 million litres per day and is designed to cover core areas of Imphal through its primary and secondary lines. It was officially commissioned in June last year after conducting a trial run for one-and-a-half years.

“In this project, we are targeting to reutilise the sewerage water collected from the households and other establishments after its proper treatment at the plant site at Lamphelpat for different purposes so that only the rain water runs in our drains,” Ibohal said. “So we’re requesting the public to use the facility judiciously.”

The department is also planning to begin phase 2 with a generating capacity of 49 million litres per day. This project is to be completed within three years. The cost of the project is 1,471 crore. “We’ve already prepared the detailed project report in this regard,” he said.

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Italy orders TikTok to block underage users after 10-year-old girl dies doing viral challenge

Authorities said the temporary ban will last until 15 February.

Authorities said the temporary ban will last until 15 February.Italy's data protection watchdog has ordered TikTok to block access to users whose age cannot be confirmed.

The ban comes just days after the death of a young girl in Palermo, who had been taking part in an online "challenge" that has been viral on the platform.

"The Italian Data Protection Authority (GPDP) has ordered Tik Tok to immediately block the use of user data for which the age of the user has not been ascertained with certainty," it said in a statement.

"The authority decided to intervene as a matter of urgency following the terrible case of the 10-year-old girl from Palermo."

The Chinese-owned app has been prohibited from processing user data that is not "in compliance with the provisions related to the age requirement".

The temporary ban will last until 15 February as the authority continues to assess data privacy regulations. The GPDP also stated that they had informed Irish data protection authorities "given that recently TikTok has announced that it has set its main establishment in Ireland".

The President of Italy's Commission for childhood and adolescence, Licia Ronzulli, described the ban as "right and timely" on Twitter.

"The safety of minors must be protected at all costs and we cannot, as happened in Palermo, allow a social network to be an accomplice in a suicide".

Tiktok had already been accused of data privacy violations by the GPDP in December over the "lack of attention to the protection of minors".

The social network had also been accused of weak policies, which allowed users under the age of 13 to circumvent age-restricted rules.

The public prosecutor's office in Palermo indicated that it has opened an investigation into TikTok for "incitement to suicide" after the 10-year-old's death by asphyxiation, which provoked strong reactions across Italy.

"The safety of the TikTok community is our top priority," the platform said in a statement, adding, "we are at the disposal of the competent authorities to collaborate in their investigation".

RBI puts out a proposal to tighten 'Fixed Deposits' by NBFCs


  • Currently NBFCs are categorized as deposit taking and non-deposit taking

  • Within the second category there are systematically important entities

  • New suggestions would have four layers - base layer would be for non deposit taking

  • Deposit taking NBFCs would have a new superstructure for regulation - this structure has not been fully specified, but is expected to be closer to that of the banks

  • In effect, entities taking deposits from customers would have similar regulations on Tier 1 capital, reserves, etc.

  • This would greatly help the folks who stick to 'Fixed Deposits'

source: https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/rbi-discussion-paper-proposes-tighter-rules-for-big-nbfcs-6384681.html

21 January 2021

Sedition charge on Portal Editors off

Singjamei police in Manipur’s Imphal West district had registered a suo motu case against the portal’s editor-in-chief, Sadokpam Dhiren, executive editor Aribam Paojel Chaoba, and M. Joy Luwang for an article, “Revolutionary Journey in a Mess”.

Senior journalists approached the chief minister N. Biren Singh

Umanand Jaiswal   |   Guwahati   |   Published 20.01.21, 01:24 AM

Two editors of a web portal, The Frontier Manipur, booked on charges of charges of sedition and helping unlawful organisation on Sunday were not only released on Monday but all charges against them were also dropped.

Singjamei police in Manipur’s Imphal West district had registered a suo motu case against the portal’s editor-in-chief, Sadokpam Dhiren, executive editor Aribam Paojel Chaoba, and M. Joy Luwang for an article, “Revolutionary Journey in a Mess”.

The article, written by Luwang and published on the portal on January 8, was a criticism of the state’s armed groups and had also issued a call to “work with togetherness” to streamline the “revolution”.

The police said the article “openly endorsed revolutionary ideologies and activities and expressed shock and dismay at the deteriorating character of the armed revolutionary leaders of Manipur” and lead to the registration of the case against the editors who have admitted to publishing it but denied knowledge about the author.

The FIR says the accused attempted to bring hatred/contempt/disaffection against the government and of hatching a criminal conspiracy and being a sympathiser of unlawful organisation. The were booked under Sections 124A (sedition), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 505(b) (incitement) and 34 (common intent) of the IPC, and Section 39 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, which deals with furthering the activity of a terrorist organisation.

Dhiren and Chaoba’s lawyer, Chongtham Victor, had on Sunday night said they have been arrested and were to be produced in court on Monday. But he refused to comment on the matter on Monday.

Sources familiar with the case told The Telegraph that the “intervention” of the All Manipur Working Journalists Union seeking the release of the duo, the “leniency” shown by chief minister N. Biren Singh and a “clarification” issued by the editors resulted in their release. by noon.  The Editors Guild Of India too had issued a statement seeking their release and withdrawal of the cases that pose a threat to free expression, and to democracy itself.

“Senior journalists approached the chief minister. Both sides explained their positions and concerns and the chief minister ordered their unconditional release. The editors too offered a formal clarification admitting that publishing the article without verifying the source was an oversight on their part and such mistakes will not pass their scrutiny in the future,” a source said.

Imphal West superintendent of police K. Meghachandra Singh told this newspaper that all charges against the duo have been dropped but the investigation against Luwang will continue. “They were released around noon on PR (personal recognizance) bond. The matter was amicably resolved after the intervention of senior journalists and the government,” he said.

Asked whether the police can release persons arrested on charges like sedition and under the UAPA, Singh said: “ We had filed the FIR on our own. It was not reported by anyone. Sometimes prima facie there may be many things but on close examination we find something different. They were detained for 24 hours. Our investigation against Luwang, the author of the article, will continue.”    

According to Singh, the case was registered against the editors and Luwang because the article was alarming. “It has the potential to create unrest, pose a serious threat to rebels who have joined the mainstream, was against the state and had urged the civil society to help, correct and streamline the movement led by the revolutionaries,” Singh said.

Associate editor Kishorechandra Wangkhem is also a part of the portal’s editorial team but was not questioned. He was earlier booked for sedition and was released on bail last month. The web portal was launched last year.

New ‘frontier district’ Noklak inaugurated in Nagaland

 Noklak is located along the international boundary with Myanmar and connects India with other east and south east Asian countries

By Alice Yhoshü

JAN 21, 2021: Nagaland’s political map underwent a major change on Wednesday after chief minister Neiphiu Rio inaugurated Noklak as the state’s 12th district at an official event held at the public ground, Noklak headquarters. The new district was carved out of Tuensang district.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Rio, while conveying his best wishes to the people of Noklak, encouraged them to uphold a competitive spirit and to co-operate with the government for all-round development.

Noklak is located along the international boundary with Myanmar and connects India with other east and south east Asian countries. The chief minister tagged the new district as the “frontier district” and asked the people of Noklak to safeguard and to protect the region.

Meanwhile, vice-president of India M Venkaiah Naidu released a video on Noklak via video conference and extended his best wishes to the new district.