Morning Brief: After Quota, Government Planning Basic Income For Poor, Aid For Farmers, Says Report; Second Repeating Radio Burst Detected In Space; And More

Good Morning, dear reader! Here’s your morning news brief for today.

Government Planning Basic Income For Poor, Aid For Farmers: Report

The Narendra Modi government, which has hinted at ‘hitting more sixes’ ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, is exploring the possibility of providing direct benefit transfers to those below the poverty line through a universal basic income (UBI) and for farmers through direct investment support, The Indian Express has reported. According to the daily’s report, the government is likely to announce a UBI of Rs 2,500 per month initially for families below the poverty line.

The government may budget around Rs 32,000 crore for the UBI scheme for the April-June time period. The income will meet half the nutritional requirements of a family of five in rural areas and one-third of urban poor, the report says.

Second Repeating Fast Radio Burst Detected In Space

For the second time in human history, a repeating short bursts of radio waves has been detected in deep space, according to a study published on Wednesday in the journal Nature. It has been recorded by the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment six times, coming from a location 1.5 billion light-years away. The telescope, located in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, was in its pre-commissioning phase when it made this detection in the summer of 2018.

The burst appear to be coming from far outside our home galaxy, the Milky Way. While such radio bursts aren’t rare in space, this is just the second time a repeating one has been detected by a human. The first one, called FRB 121102, was discovered in 2015 by the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico.

Mamata Banerjee Junks Ayushman Bharat Over Modi’s Photo

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has pulled out of Prime Minister Modi’s Ayushman Bharat scheme saying the Center is taking “all the credit” for the scheme aimed at providing health cover up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year. She said the Center was using Prime Minister Modi’s photo and a lotus logo for the scheme. Banerjee reportedly made these claims at a rally in Krishnanagar.

Officials of the health ministry have said that the states or the Centre have to give three months notice before pulling out of the scheme. Ayushman Bharat CEO Dr Indu Bhusan dismissed Banerjee’s charges saying, “Our cards do not have a photo of the Prime Minister, they are completely apolitical. The letter (that features Modi) is only a way of telling beneficiaries about the scheme”.

Cabinet Approves Re-Promulgation Of Triple Talaq Ordinance

The Cabinet on Thursday gave its approval for the re-issuance of an ordinance making the practice of instant triple talaq a criminal offence. The ordinance, which was introduced last year, will expire on 22 January. A bill which makes the practice of triple talaq a penal offence is pending in the Rajya Sabha, where the Opposition parties have refused to support it in its current form. It has accused the government of bringing the bill with the aim of “penalizing a Muslim man”.

Under the law proposed by the government, giving instant triple talaq, or talaq-e-biddat, would attract a jail term of three years for the husband. The Opposition has demanded that the bill be scrutinized by a select committee. In Lok Sabha, the opposition parties including the Congress had staged a walkout.

From Swarajya

Chief Justice May Be In No Hurry Over Ayodhya, But One Can Hope For Verdict By Mid-November: The Supreme Court will be in no hurry to deliver a verdict before the Lok Sabha election, as it is aware that it could impact the results of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, especially in the northern states.

Himanta Is Right; Distinction Has To Be Made Between Hindu And Muslim Migrants From Bangladesh: Bengali Hindus have largely merged with Assamese society and adopted many Assamese customs and traditions. This is not the case with the Muslim immigrants, most of whom are Wahhabist.

The Indian Science Congress - Pseudoscience Poses A Great Danger: The science congress reflects India’s commitment to science. The #pseudoscience bin is an important element, and the gorillas, who deserve to be in the bin, are huge, several and freely roaming around.

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