Central Government

A loud beep and a flash with the words "emergency alert: severe" were received by users across the country.

Reacting to Dorsey who alleged in an interview with YouTube channel Breaking Points that the threats came as Twitter refused to comply with the government's demands to block accounts during the farmers' protests in early 2021, Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, said that no one went to jail nor was Twitter shut down in the country.

Director General of Manipur Police, P. Doungel while talking to the media said that after reviewing the overall situation, Article 355 has been imposed in the entire state allowing the Centre to take all necessary steps to bring the situation under control and protect the lives and properties of the people.

With the improvement in the security situation in the northeast, in a historic move, the Central government from April 2022 reduced disturbed areas under AFSPA in security situation id, Assam and Manipur, and again from April 1, this year. Disturbed areas in these three states are being further reduced, an official statement said.

The notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thursday also stated that ex-Agniveers of the subsequent batch will get an age relaxation of three years. As per the notification, ex-Agniveers will also be exempted from the physical efficiency test. For this, the MHA amended the CISF Act, 1968.

Law Minister Kiren Rijiju has minced no words in criticising the judiciary on several issues at various platforms, and the judiciary has also shot back at Central government -- be it long delay in appointment of judges or underscoring that no case is too big or too small for the Supreme Court as it has to answer the cry of liberty of the citizens.

The Centre's response came on a plea filed by the parents of two girls who had passed away owing to side-effects of the Covid vaccine. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in an affidavit, said: "There is no material to suggest how the state can be fastened with strict liability for the tragic death of the respective children of the petitioners which is the requirement in law to sustain a claim for compensation against the state under Article 32 of the Constitution."

Indices like Freedom in the World Index, V-DEM indices and EIU Democracy Index have placed India at the same level as during the Emergency of the 1970s. Moreover, India has been placed below countries like Northern Cyprus. The government has termed these as "perception-based indices". The paper is a point by point analysis of the methodology used by the three indices.

Recently, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) allowed the environmental release of GM mustard for seed production and testing. In an affidavit filed before the top court, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) said that increased domestic production of edible oil due to deployment of GM mustard hybrids will reduce the dependency on other exporting countries.

In a tweet, the Ministry of Law and Justice said: "As per the MoP on appointment of Chief Justice of India and Supreme Court judges, today the Minister of Law and Justice sent a letter to the Chief Justice of India for sending his recommendations for appointment of his successor."