DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2024, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES Centre asks Punjab how Moosewala’s mother used IVF at age 58 KANCHAN VASDEV & ANONNA DUTT CHANDIGARH, NEW DELHI, MARCH 20 DAYSBEFORElatePunjabisinger Sidhu Moosewala’s parents had a child, the Centre wrote to the Punjab government asking how his mother, Charan Kaur, underwent IVF treatment at 58 when the age limit for assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedures is 50. S K Ranjan, Director of Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, wrote a letter to the Principal Secretary of Health, Punjab Government, on March 14, three days before the baby was born, urging the state to investigate the matter and furnish a report in accordance with the ART (Regulation) Act, 2021. Ranjan’s letter highlighted a newsreportindicatingthatKaur underwent IVF treatment to conceive at the age of 58. “Under… Assisted Reproductive CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Indian cricket’s new challenge: Half in IPL 2024 played one or no Ranji game this season VENKATA KRISHNA B, PRATYUSH RAJ & DEVENDRA PANDEY CHENNAI, NEW DELHI, MUMBAI, MARCH 20 LAST MONTH, the BCCI finally addressed a problem that was looming on the horizon as far back as in 2008 when the cashrich IPL came into being. It warned players against picking “IPL over domestic cricket” and, to set an example, excluded two young stars, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan, from its list of central contracts for missing Ranji Trophy matches this season. There’s a reason why the BCCI is now scrambling to cap this trend. Team lists analysed by CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 GAVASKAR MOOTS CONTRACT SYSTEM, SCHEDULING TWEAKS PAGE 15 RANJI: 0 IPL: `1,00,00,000 0RANJIMATCH ISHANKISHAN MumbaiIndians `15.25crore DEEPAKCHAHAR ChennaiSuperKings `14crore KRUNALPANDYA LucknowSuperGiants `8.25crore RAJVARDHAN HANGARGEKAR ChennaiSuperKings `1.05crore `18lakh Season earning of Ranji Trophy winner Bhupen Lalwani, who got 10 games. Lowest paid IPL player gets `20 lakh. AI spin to Lok Sabha campaign: new videos and audio of icons long gone SOUMYARENDRA BARIK NEW DELHI, MARCH 20 A CONFERENCE organised in January by a wing of the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu had a surprising guest appearance by Dravidian icon M Karunanidhi, who appeared on a big screen in his trademark black sunglasses, white shirt and a yellow shawl. Karunanidhi praised the current leadership in the state under his son M K Stalin. Except, Karunanidhi died in 2018. As the battleground for the Lok Sabha polls heats up, political parties find a new weapon in theirarsenal:sharingcontenton social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and X that are generated through artificial intelligence `5.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 (AI) to either promote their own candidatesorridiculeopponents and send targeted personalised messages to voters. Experts believe AI will be used on an unprecedented scale thiselection—andpotentiallybe a deciding factor like social media was in the 2014 polls — thoughtheimpactof thedisruptive technology in moulding CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HOPE INDIA JOINS PEACE SUMMIT: UKRAINE PMcallsPutin,Zelenskyy amidSwisspeacemoves Modi greets Russia President on his re-election, tells Ukraine leader aid supply to continue SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, MARCH 20 PRIMEMINISTERNarendraModi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Wednesday, conveying India’s consistentpositioninfavourofdialogueanddiplomacyastheway forward and that it would continue to do everything within its NEW DELHI, MARCH 20 THE CENTRE on Wednesday defended the selection of the two newelectioncommissionersbya committee that excluded the Chief Justice of India, saying the independence of the Election Commission “does not arise from” the presence of a judicial member in the selection committee. “To indicate... that selectioncommitteeswithoutjudicial memberswouldinvariablybebiased is wholly incorrect,” it said. SC will hear today challenge to HC interim order declining stay on unit SOUMYARENDRA BARIK & OMKAR GOKHALE NEW DELHI, MUMBAI, MAR 20 India’s policy consistent THE CONVERSATIONS come at a time when Delhi gets ready to receive Kyiv’s Foreign Minister. The phone calls underline India’s consistent position of resolving the Ukraine conflict via talks and diplomacy. No bias: Govt to SC as it defends exclusion of CJI from panel to select ECs ANANTHAKRISHNAN G Centre notifies its fact check unit to red-flag news it considers false RespondingtotheSC’snotice on a plea filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) which challenged the appointments, the Ministry of Law and Justice, in an affidavit on Wednesday,alsodeniedthatthe meeting of the selection committee was advanced to preempt a hearing in the Supreme Court the next day. Supporting The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Terms of Office) Act, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Dialogue and diplomacy are the way forward, Modi tells Putin and Zelenskyy meanstosupportapeacefulsolutiontotheRussia-Ukraineconflict. Moves are afoot to schedule avisittoNewDelhinextweekby UkraineForeignMinisterDmitry Kuleba at a time when Kyiv is keen on India’s presence at the peace summit in Switzerland. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY A DAY BEFORE the Supreme Courtisscheduledtohearachallenge to the Bombay High Court’s interim order refusing to stay the setting up of a Fact Checking Unit (FCU), the Union Electronics and IT Ministry WednesdaynotifiedtheFCUunderthePressInformationBureau as a statutory body with powers to flag what it believes is false information related to the Central government and its agencies on social media sites. With this notification, social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube NEW DELHI, MARCH 20 AFTERECORDER,FIR AGAINSTKARANDLAJE PAGE 4 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NREGS wages set to be hiked, Govt gets EC nod after poll conduct code HARIKISHAN SHARMA EXPRESS NETWORK and X are now legally obligated to take down content flagged as misinformationbythisfactcheck unit, or risk facing litigation. The amended IT rules were challenged in the Bombay High CourtlastyearbycomedianKunal Kamra,Editors’GuildofIndia,and somemediaorganisations.Justice Gautam Patel and Justice Neela K Gokhalehaddeliveredasplitverdict with one ordering a stay and the other upholding it. In his verdictorderingthestay,JusticePatel said it would have a “chilling effect” on the right to free speech and freedom of press. Justice A S Chandurkar, the third judge assigned to give an opiniononthesplitverdict,isyet to give his final decision. THE ELECTION Commission of India has given the Ministry of Rural Development the goahead to notify revised wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment GuaranteeActforthenextfinancial year, effective April 1. It is learnt that the Ministry, which implements the MGNREGS, approached the Election Commission for its permission after the Model Code of Conduct came into effect March 16 when the schedule for the Lok Sabha elections were announced. The poll panel, it is learnt, gave the Ministry its approval to notify the revised wages which islikelytobedonewithinaweek. The Centre fixes state-wise wage rates for MGNREGS workers under sub-section (1) of section6oftheMGNREGA,2005.The wage rates are fixed according to changesintheCPI-AL(Consumer PriceIndex-AgricultureLabourer) which reflects the increase in inflation in rural areas. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ahmedabad
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