SC to hear petitions against passing laws as Money Bills

Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud agreed to list petitions challenging the Money Bill route taken by the Centre to pass contentious amendments in the Parliament.

The Money Bill question was referred to a seven-judge Bench in November 2019 by a five-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi in the case of Rojer Mathew vs. South Indian Bank Ltd. 

The cardinal issue is whether such amendments could be passed as a Money Bill, circumventing the Rajya Sabha, in violation of Article 110 of the Constitution.

A Money Bill is deemed to contain only provisions dealing with all or any of the matters under clauses (a) to (g) of Article 110(1), largely including the appropriation of money from the Consolidated Fund of India and taxation. In other words, a Money Bill is restricted only to the specified financial matters. 

Trade deficit widens 9.4% from a year ago as imports outpace exports

India's merchandise exports grew for the third straight month in June, rising 2.55% to $35.2 billion, but the import bill climbed by a faster 5% to $56.2 billion, widening the trade deficit by 9.4% from a year ago, as per quick trade estimates released by the Commerce Ministry.

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that total merchandise and services exports have hit a record high of $200.3 billion in the first quarter of 2024- 25, surpassing the previous high of $197.1 billion recorded in 2022-23. 

While Services exports numbers for the last month will be released by the Central bank, the Ministry has pegged the number at $30.3 billion, 8.9% higher than a year ago. 

Existing structure at M.P's Bhojshala complex built using temple remains: ASI

The existing structure at the Bhojshala complex in the Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh was constructed using the remains of a temple that existed earlier at the site, said the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in its scientific survey report, which was submitted to the Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

The court had in March asked the ASI to undertake a scientific survey of the Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque complex.

The ASI said that based on the survey, conducted over three months using technologies such as ground-penetrating radar and from archaeological remains studied during the investigation, the pre-existing structure "can be dated to the Paramara [dynasty] period". 

'India and Russia have doubled rupee-rouble payments in 2024'

India and Russia have doubled their payments in national currencies (rupee-rouble) despite sanctions by the U.S. and European Union, says Russia's state-controlled and largest bank, Sberbank, which handles a majority of payments for Indian exports to Russia. 

Rupee deposits by Indian corporates have also increased multifold in 2024.

According to figures shared by Sberbank, in January-June 2024, the volume of payments processed doubled from the January-June 2023 amount, and the number of transactions Sberbank handled increased by 80% in the first half of 2024. 

Two stealth frigates being built in Russia set to be delivered soon

After a series of delays, two stealth frigates under construction in Russia for the Indian Navy are set to be delivered in September. Construction and deliveries were delayed due to COVID-19, the war in Ukraine and Western sanctions. 

"The first ship Tushil is ready for acceptance by the Indian Navy and is scheduled to be delivered by September. The commissioning crew reached Russia," a defence official in the know said. 

"The second ship Tamal is expected to be delivered by February 2025." 

ICAR to release 323 new varieties of 56 crops

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) will launch its "one scientist, one product" programme to improve research in the field of agriculture and animal husbandry. 

The council will formally announce the release of 323 varieties of 56 crops, including cereals, oilseeds, forage crops, and sugar cane, as part of its 96th foundation day.

These crops include 289 climate-resilient varieties and 27 bio-fortified varieties.

Panel reprimands Odisha govt. for building violations in forest land

The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Environment Ministry has reprimanded the Odisha government for building walls, without approval, in forest land that will be part of the proposed Shree Jagannath International Airport in Puri. 

The committee has also asked the State's Wildlife Warden to evaluate the impact of the proposed airport on the breeding of Olive Ridley turtles, which are routinely found in the vicinity of the coast. 

The FAC, under provisions of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, The legislation that protects forests from wanton razing, is an expert committee that evaluates industrial projects that require forest land for their activities. 

The committee may or may not approve a project and can give approval for forest land to be diverted, after imposing certain conditions. 

WPI inflation soars to 16-month high

Inflation in wholesale prices accelerated to a 16-month high of 3.4% in June, from May's 2.6%, led by a spike in food inflation to a 22-month high of 8.7% and a near-doubling in manufactured products' price gains to 1.43%.

Inflation in wholesale vegetable prices surged to a 10-month high of 38.8%, from May's 32.4% pace, with onion and potato prices rising year-on-year by 93.4% and 66.4%, respectively. 

RBI revises rules on fraud risk management

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued three revised master directions on fraud risk management for Regulated Entities such as commercial banks including regional rural banks and All India Financial Institutions; urban, state and central cooperative banks; and nonbanking finance firms and housing finance companies.

"These master directions have been prepared based on a comprehensive review of the earlier master directions, circular and emerging issues. 

These master directions are principle-based and strengthen the role of the Board in overall governance and oversight of fraud risk management in the Regulated Entities (REs)," the RBI said in a circular.