1. Parliament Winter Session today: Opposition protests against the introduction of Uniform Civil Code Bill in Rajya Sabha
2. There is no groupism in Congress: Himachal Pradesh party chief Pratibha Singh
3. Amid Belagavi border row, MNS worker sprays black paint on bus with Karnataka govt ad,
4. Not US Ally, India will be another Great Power: White House Official
5. Top US counter-terror official to visit India to review regional security

What Else

6. Taliban back usage of India-built Chabahar port, say ‘ready to provide facilities
7. Collegium system law of the land, comments against it not well taken: Supreme Court
8. NIA conducts searches at multiple locations in case related to PFI
9. NIA arrests wanted terror accused Bikramjit Singh after extradition from Austria
10. Rupee seen opening higher as oil falls further, Asian FX rise
11. Pakistan SBP’s forex reserves fall to near-four-year low
12. Pakistan ready to play its part for SAARC’s revival: PM Shehbaz Sharif
13. UN human rights chief ‘determined’ to follow up with China on Xinjiang

Parliament Winter Session today: Opposition protests against the introduction of Uniform Civil Code Bill in Rajya Sabha

• Opposition members in RS on Fri opposed the introduction of the Uniform Civil Code in India Bill, 2020 in Rajya Sabha.
• BJP MP moved for leave to introduce the Bill for the constitution of the national inspection and investigation committee for the preparation of a UCC and its implementation throughout India and matters connected therewith during the private member’s business.
• The Centre told the Parliament on Thu that it currently has no plan to reintroduce the National Judicial Appointments Commission, which was struck down by the SC in 2015.
• Too dependent on China for certain goods… need to re-align policy: Piyush Goyal
• Union Minister Piyush Goyal stressed the importance of the Centre’s Make in India initiative.

There is no groupism in Congress: Himachal Pradesh party chief Pratibha Singh

• HP Congress chief Pratibha Singh informed that they will be holding a meeting to decide upon the name of the Chief Minister of the hill state in the evening.
• She said this, hours after her statement sparked a row of controversy.
• Singh, in a conversation, was seen hinting at her desire to be chosen as the CM of the state.
• Congress leader Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had said that the MLA selected by the party’s High Command would become the new CM of HP.
• A decision will be taken by the party leaders, and supervisors Bhupinder Hooda and Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel had taken a meeting with elected leaders.
• “… Priyanka Gandhi Vadra played the most crucial role, and we also had blessings of Sonia ji and Rahul Gandhi Ji,” said Baghel.
• The Congress won 40 seats in the 68-member assembly riding on anti-incumbency. While Congress won 40 seats in Himachal Pradesh, the BJP won 25 seats.
• In terms of vote share in HP, Congress is only marginally ahead of the BJP got 43.88% of votes compared to 42.99% of its rival. (here)

Amid Belagavi border row, MNS worker sprays black paint on bus with Karnataka govt ad,

• Amid the escalating tension between Karnataka and Maharashtra over the Belagavi border, a worker of a local outfit MNS sprayed black paint on a BEST bus.
• The picture of Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in Mumbai at the Ghatkopar area in Maharashtra’s Mumbai on Thu evening.
• Earlier on Wed, members of a local outfit in Maharasthra sprayed black paint on a Karnataka State bus and the picture of CM Basavaraj Bommai in Solapur. (here)
• A meeting took place between Home Minister Amit Shah and a delegation of MPs of the opposition MVA in which HM assured that he will call both CMs and discuss.

Not US Ally, India will be another Great Power: White House Official

• India has a unique strategic character. India will not be an ally of the US but will be another great power, the WH Asia coordinator Kurt Campbell said Thu.
• Added that there is no other bilateral relationship that is being “deepened and strengthened” more rapidly than the two countries over the last 20 years.
• Responding to a question on India at the Aspen Security Forum, Campbell said that in his view India is the most important bilateral relationship for the US in the 21^st century.
• “.. The US needs to invest even more of its capacity, and building in people-to-people ties, working together on technology and other issues, he said.
• There are inhibitions in both of the bureaucracies and there are many challenges, he noted.
• India-US ties not simply built on anxiety around China” said Campbell (here)
• A Presidential Commission has urged the WH to translate all the speeches of the President into Hindi and several other languages from the region which are spoken by more and more Americans. (here)

Top US counter-terror official to visit India to review regional security

• US acting coordinator for counterterrorism Timothy Betts and his Indian interlocutors are meeting in New Delhi from Dec 12-13, to assess the security situation in the region in the context of Afghan and Pakistan.
• Betts will lead the delegation at the annual meeting of the India-US counter-terrorism joint working group, the US state department said on Friday.
• India will be the last leg of a 3-nation tour by Betts, which includes Japan and the Philippines.
• The joint working group will “review regional and global terrorist threat assessments, collaborative bilateral and regional CT programming,”, the department said. (here)

Taliban back usage of India-built Chabahar port, say ‘ready to provide facilities

• The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has backed the use of the India-built Shahid Behesti Chabahar port in Iran and said that it is ready to provide all the necessary “facilities”.
• The Taliban’s FM “welcomed” the proposal to include Chabahar port in the NS International Transport Corridor connects Mumbai to Moscow via Iran and Azerbaijan.
• India is developing the 1^st phase of Port and has invested $85 mn in the project as it provides connectivity across the region, especially to landlocked Central Asia.
• It has also supplied six Mobile Habour Cranes— with 140 tons and four 100 tons capacities—and other equipment worth $25 million.
• In 2020, India utilized the Chabahar port to ship 75,000 MTs of wheat as humanitarian food assistance to Afghanistan. (here)

Collegium system law of the land, comments against it not well taken: Supreme Court

• The apex court dismissed a petition demanding information about a 2018 collegium meeting under the right to information (RTI) act
• The Union govt is bound to follow the collegium system “to a T” because that is the law of the land, the Supreme Court observed on Thu.
• Additionally, there will be a “breakdown” and an “infinite battle” if everyone starts choosing which law to follow
• Marking another chapter in the ongoing tussle between the executive and the judiciary over the judges’ selection mechanism.
• The court’s observations come a day after VP Jagdeep Dhankar commented on it as a “glaring instance” of “severe compromise” of parliamentary sovereignty and disregard of the “mandate of the people”.
• Over the last two months, the Union law minister has been strongly criticizing the collegium system, terming it “opaque”, and “alien to the Constitution”. (here)

NIA conducts searches at multiple locations in case related to PFI

• The top investigation agency on Thu conducted searches at 3 locations in Kozhikode (Kerala), and Kalaburagi (Karnataka) for a terror case related to Popular Front of India.
• The case pertains to a criminal conspiracy hatched by the PFI to raise and collect funds from within and abroad for orchestrating acts of terror in various parts of India.
• The agency revealed that the accused persons were conducting training camps to indoctrinate and train their cadre to carry out terrorist activities.
• “During the searches, incriminating material, including digital devices and various documents were seized,” an NIA official said.
• The case was registered suo-motu by the NIA. Further investigation is underway. (here)

NIA arrests wanted terror accused Bikramjit Singh after extradition from Austria

• The National Investigation Agency on Thu arrested pro-Khalistan terrorist Bikramjit Singh upon his extradition from Austria.
• Bikramjit, (Bikkar Panjwar), NIA said, had formed a terror gang to carry out terror attacks in Punjab.
• He was wanted in an NIA case relating to an explosion in Tarn Taran in 2019, in which two persons were killed.
• The extradition was approved by the authority of Linz, Austria in coordination with Interpol. (here)

Rupee seen opening higher as oil falls further, Asian FX rise

• The Indian rupee was expected to open firmer against the dollar on Fri, amid weaker oil prices and as Asian currencies were led higher by the Chinese yuan.
• The rupee was seen around 82.25-82.30 per dollar in early trades, compared with its previous close of 82.42.
• The currency has stabilized since the Reserve Bank of India hiked interest rates on Wed, having been sold off heavily before the event. (here)

[NEIGHBORHOOD]

Pakistan SBP’s forex reserves fall to near-four-year low

• The foreign exchange reserves held by Pak’s c.Bank (SBP) plunged $784 mn to a nearly 4-year low of $6.72 bn during the week that ended on Dec 2, the bank said on Thu.
• The SBP reserves were last recorded below this level during the week ended on Jan 18, 2019, when it had some $6.64bn.
• Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks now stand at $5.867bn, meaning the country’s total liquid foreign reserves are now $12.58bn.
• However, SBP’s reserves have since dropped by more than $4bn from around $10.9bn at the time.
• SBP currently holds $6.72bn, barely enough to cover over one month’s worth of imports. (here)

Pakistan ready to play its part for SAARC’s revival: PM Shehbaz Sharif

• PM Sharif has said that Pakistan is ready to play its part in revitalizing the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation to tap the vast potential of the region.
• His remarks came on Thu on the occasion of the SAARC Charter Day.
• “SAARC Charter Day today is a reminder of the vast untapped potential of regional development, connectivity, and cooperation among countries of South Asia,” he tweeted.
• He also said the people of SAARC countries were “victims of these missed opportunities” and added: “Pakistan is ready to play its part for revival of SAARC.”
• SAARC’s members include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
• The rivalry between Pakistan and India is considered the main reason for stalling the process of greater cooperation among the members.
• India expressed its inability to participate in the summit due to “prevailing circumstances” after a terror attack by Pakistan-based JeM terrorists on an Indian Army camp. (here)

UN human rights chief ‘determined’ to follow up with China on Xinjiang

• U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk on Fri said he was determined to engage with China over the report issued by his predecessor that said China’s treatment of Uyghurs
• “The report that was issued on Aug 31 is a very important one and has highlighted very serious human rights concerns,” said Turk in a Geneva press briefing.
• “I will personally continue engaging with the authorities. I’m very determined to do so,” he said, adding that “hope springs eternal.” (here)