News mostly covered are Bru Tribal settlement, GSAT 30 successful projection, in continuation of CAA, including Taunt of Rahul Gandhi and Politics of Death penalty of Nirbhya’s Rapists.

National

As per government sources, ‘A senior official of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi was summoned yesterday to lodge a strong protest and share serious concerns about the recent cases of abduction of minor girls belonging to the minority Hindu community of Pakistan’.
Pakistan has been conveyed grave concerns as expressed amongst various quarters of Indian civil society at such a shocking and deplorable incident involving minor girls from the minority Hindu community in Pakistan.

As per media report, In Pakistan, 1,000 women and girls from religious minorities are abducted, forcibly converted to Islam and then married off to their abductors every year.

India, Iran need to work together to expedite Chabahar Port: Iranian FM

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said “India and Iran need to work together on the procurement of equipment for the construction of Chabahar Port as well as the rail network connecting the Iranian port city to Zahedan.”

He further added, India has found difficulty in procuring the necessary equipment for the port in spite of the US exemptions.
In 2018, Iran and India had signed an agreement worth USD 85 million to develop the Chabahar Port. Located in southeastern Iran, on the Gulf of Oman, the port provides an alternative route for trade between India and Afghanistan.

Why Chabahar Port matters to India?

The India–Iran–Afghanistan tripartite MoU plans have committed at least $21bn to Chabahar–Hajigak corridor, [$85m for Chabahar port development by India, $150m line of credit by India to Iran, $8bn India-Iran MoU for Indian industrial investment in Chabahar Special Economic Zone, $11-billion Hajigak iron and steel mining project awarded to 7 Indian companies in central Afghanistan], and India’s $2bn commitment to Afghanistan for developing supporting infrastructure including the Chabahar-Hajigaj railway, with potential for several times more trade via connectivity to 7,200-km-long multi-mode North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC) connecting to Europe and Turkey, R297 Amur highway and Trans-Siberian Highway across Russia, and planned.
Herat to Mazar-i-Sharif railway providing access to Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Chabahar Port also provides direct access to India’s Farkhor Air Base in Tajikistan. Chabahar route will result in 60% reduction in shipment costs and 50% reduction in shipment time from India to Central Asia.
He said on Iran nuclear deal that “India can play a leading role in bringing US back into compliance with agreement and we’ll not reject that possibility. India is a very dear friend of Iran has good relations with US, it can encourage US to come back to the table”.

CAA Row!

Tamil Nadu: Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) workers stage protest against CAA, NPR and NRC in Chennai.
11 activists of SDPI taken into preventive custody in Hubli. They were raising slogans against CAA & NRC outside Kasabapeth Police Station in the city.
Delhi HC directs police to look into Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh blockage causing difficulty for students.
However, in response to a petition to remove blockage, HC left it over Delhi police on ground that peaceful protest is right of every citizen.
The Shaheen Bagh protest is an ongoing 24×7 sit-in peaceful protest, led by women, that began from 15 Dec 15 2019, have blocked a major highway in New Delhi using non-violent resistance. It has now become the longest ongoing continuous protest against CAA-NRC-NPR.
Delhi Police said on it that locals of Shaheen Bagh follow the High Court orders. Our priority is to maintain law and order. But everyone in this protest is a common citizen so we don’t want to take strict action.
Many INC, left and other leaders went at the site, time to time to express their support with them, but no party has led any such protest.
One the question to opposition, as what kind of changes they expect in CAA, they have no clear answer.
- One of the basic question is who is behind this ‘organized’ protest?
- Who is managing this protest, because only mob cant orchestrated it?
In same pattern, few female protestors also gathers since yesterday, in Lucknow.
INC leader P Chidambaram in Kolkata: I want all opposition parties to realize the gravity of the issue at stake and come together on one platform.
Delhi: Pakistani refugees, who have been living in Haryana and Delhi, reach BJP headquarters to thank PM Narendra Modi, and BJP president Amit Shah for implementation of CAA.

Hum Aayenge Apne Watan: Said KP

To mark the 30^th anniversary of the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley, members of the community took to social media to post videos of themselves by narrating the “Hum Aayenge Apne Watan” dialogue from an upcoming flick, ‘Shikara’, with the hope that they would return to their homeland one day.
The Hindus of the Kashmir Valley, were forced to flee the Kashmir valley as a result of being targeted by JKLF and Islamist insurgents during late 1989 and early 1990. Of the approximately 300,000 to 600,000 Hindus living in the Kashmir Valley in 1990 only 2,000–3,000 remain there in 2016. [1]

Theatre actor Chandan Sadhu participated in the campaign and said that Kashmiri Pandits have shown “unimaginable resilience” and hope to return to the Valley soon.

CBI is conducting searches today at the premises of the accused in Delhi, Ghaziabad and Gurugram, in connection with a case related to allegations of various irregularities in the evaluation of OMR sheets in examination for recruitment of constables in Border Security Force (BSF).

A Delhi Court has convicted two accused, Manoj Kumar and Pradeep, in connection with a 2013 kidnapping and rape case of a 5-year-old girl in Gandhi Nagar. The court will hear the argument on quantum of sentence on Jan 30.

The Centre has told the SC that it is agreeable to revisit its 2017 proposal to take over the management control of embattled realty firm Unitech Ltd, and complete its stalled projects to bring relief to around 12,000 hassled home buyers.

An average 35 unemployed and 36 self-employed people ended their lives every day in 2018, with the two categories together accounting for 26,085 suicide deaths during the year, according to NCRB data.

Security

JnK: Pakistan violated ceasefire along LoC in Mendhar sector of Poonch and district from 1230 hours to 1315 hours, and Lam, Nowshera sector of Rajouri district today. Indian Army retaliated.

Chhattisgarh: P Sundarraj, IG Police, Bastar Range: 3 trucks and 1 machine involved in Leda and Kummakoleng road construction work between Chidpal and Chiurwada village in Sukma has been burnt down by naxals.

Jharkhand: One naxal arrested after an encounter between security forces and naxals in Chaibasa, today. The encounter took place during joint anti-naxal operation of Chaibasa police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

Southern Army Comdr Lt Gen SK Saini to take over as the new Vice Chief of Army Staff on Jan 25. This is also the first order of a senior military appointment issued through the Department of Military Affairs headed by CDS Gen Bipin Rawat.

International

US President Donald Trump: The so-called “Supreme Leader” of Iran, who has not been so Supreme lately, had some nasty things to say about the United States and Europe. Their economy is crashing, and their people are suffering. He should be very careful with his words.

Political

K S Alagiri, Congress after meeting DMK President MK Stalin: There is no problem in our alliance. There were differences which were sorted out. We put forward our views, the alliance will continue for state elections (2021) and even after that. Previously, Stalin expressed his anger over ignorance of state congress leaders.

WB: BJP leader Mukul Roy is being interrogated by Kolkata Police in a hawala case in Kalighat Police Station. A Court had earlier ordered the police to file an FIR in the case. He has been named accused in the FIR by Kolkata Police. Interrogation underway.

States

JnK

Principal Secretary, Rohit Kansal: After a careful review, the competent authority has ordered today that voice & SMS facilities shall be restored on all local prepaid sim cards across J&K.

UP

BJP MLAs are up in arms against CM Yogi Adityanath, with his detractors calling for the formation of a “MLAs’ union”. They question his claims about “zero tolerance against corruption”, and are publicly criticizing the “attitude” of the UP police: The Print.

India in International Frame

Reuters

India sports ministry says 35 sexual harassment complaints in 2011-19

NEWYORK TIMES

A Blow to the Head Makes an Instant Hero in India