1. Excise case: Delhi court remands Sisodia in five-day CBI custody
A special CBI court on Monday remanded Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in five-day custody of the central probe agency till March 4, a day after his arrest in the excise scam case. Special judge M K Nagpal allowed the CBI’s plea for the custodial interrogation of Mr. Sisodia.
2. AAP leaders term Sisodia’s arrest ‘dirty politics’, demand ex-LG Anil Baijal also be probed
AAP leaders Monday termed Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s arrest “dirty politics” while accusing the BJP and the Union government of hatching a conspiracy to trap him and demanded that former LG Anil Baijal also be probed since he had approved the excise policy. Several AAP leaders and workers were detained on Monday after they clashed with security personnel in Delhi during a protest march against Sisodia’s arrest.
3. G20 summit: Sherpas begin meet today
The growing confrontation between Western countries and the Russia-China combine overshadowing the government’s plans for the G20 and the Ministry of External Affairs’ Raisina Dialogue this week. Officials concede that after the public spat at the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governor’s meeting over the weekend, a joint statement at the G20 Foreign Minister’s Meeting looks unlikely for now. A final call will be made on Tuesday and Wednesday, as India’s Sherpa Amitabh Kant leads talks with Sherpas of other G20 nations, ahead of the G20 Foreign Minister’s Meeting on March 1.
4. PM Modi to address post-budget webinar on technology
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a post-budget webinar on the theme ‘Unleashing the Potential: Ease of living using technology’ on Tuesday. According to an official statement, the webinar will discuss the Budget announcements related to DigiLocker entity, national data governance, address update facility, fintech services, Centre of Excellence on AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Mission Karmayogi, E-Courts, 5G and ease of doing business. Discussions would also revolve around simplification of KYC, Common Business Identifier, Unified Filing Process, among others.
5. MP Assembly Budget session starts
The Budget session of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly began on Monday with Governor Mangubhai Patel reiterating the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government’s resolve to make the state self-reliant as per the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The highlight of the session, which is likely to be the last as Assembly polls are to be held at the end of the year, would be the tabling of a “paperless Budget” on March 1.
6. G20 nations to discuss ways to trace, extradite economic offenders: Jitendra Singh
Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh on Monday said G20 nations will deliberate on ways to trace and extradite fugitive economic offenders faster besides recovery of stolen assets during a meeting of the anti-corruption working group beginning Wednesday. He said India will also reaffirm unified action to ensure zero tolerance against corruption and deepen commitments towards countering graft globally during the meet being held in Gurugram.
7. Sisodia’s arrest: Inauguration of Ashram flyover extension scheduled for Tuesday postponed
The inauguration of the Ashram flyover extension scheduled for Tuesday has been postponed in light of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s arrest, officials said on Monday. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was supposed to inaugurate it on Tuesday.
8. Historical town Barsana set to celebrate ‘Lathmar Holi’ today
Historical town Barsana -- the land of Radha Rani -- will witness a spectacle on Tuesday when menfolk will drench womenfolk with colours and the women wielding batons ‘playfully’ hitting the men to drive them away. Every year, thousands of devotees and tourists are attracted to the town here to witness ‘Lathmar Holi’, the festival that honours the couple, Radha and Krishna.
9. Last-minute problem keeps SpaceX rocket, astronauts grounded
Last-minute technical trouble forced SpaceX to call off Monday’s attempt to launch four astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA. The countdown was halted with just two minutes remaining until liftoff from Kennedy Space Centre. With just a split second to blast off, there was no time to deal with the problem, which involved the engine ignition system. SpaceX delayed the launch until at least Thursday.
10. Canada banning TikTok on staff devices: National Post
Canada is banning Chinese social media app TikTok from all government-issued devices effective Tuesday, according to a report in the National Post on Monday, citing official communication to an internal department. The decision was made to ensure the security of government information after an internal review showed that TikTok’s data collection methods may leave users vulnerable to cyber attacks, the report said.
11. US Supreme Court student loan case: The arguments explained
The Supreme Court is about to hear arguments over President Joe Biden’s student debt relief plan, which impacts millions of borrowers who could see their loans wiped away or reduced. So far, Republican-appointed judges have kept the Democratic president’s plan from going into effect, and it remains to be seen how the court, dominated 6-3 by conservatives, will respond. The justices have scheduled two hours of arguments in the case Tuesday, though it will probably go longer. The public can listen in on the court’s website beginning at 10 a.m. EST.
12. South Africa vs West Indies | Bavuma ready to lead against the team that he supported as a boy
Temba Bavuma will start his Test captaincy career against the team that he grew up supporting when South Africa start the first Test against the West Indies at SuperSport Park on Tuesday. South Africa’s first Black African captain grew up in the township of Langa, near Cape Town. “The West Indies was the team I supported growing up,” he said.
