Actor Irrfan Khan passes away at 53 

Irrfan Khan, one of India’s most versatile actors, lost his battle with a rare form of cancer and died in a Mumbai hospital on April 29. He was 53. Irrfan, who was diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumour in 2018, is survived by his wife Sutapa and his sons Babil and Ayan. In a career spanning over three decades, Irrfan Khan acted in over 50 Indian films and also won a National award. Since his debut in 1988 with Salaam Bombay, Irrfan was widely recognised for his outstanding performance in films like Maqbool, Haasil, Life in a Metro, Slumdog Millionaire, Lunchbox, Haidar, Piku and Talvar. He has also acted in English movies like Inferno, Jurassic World, and Life of Pi. He had stayed away from the public eye after his diagnosis in 2018 when he went to the UK for treatment. He returned home in 2019 and shot for Angrezi Medium, which was released in March this year. Irrfan earned a National Award in 2013 for his incredible act in sports drama Paan Singh Tomar. In 2011, Irrfan was honoured with the Padma Shri for his significant contribution to arts and cinema.

BRICS bank to allocate $15 billion to boost economies

The New Development Bank of the BRICS grouping will set aside $15 billion to help its members tide over the economic crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced after a meeting of the five-nation bloc. The impact of the pandemic on trade and investment among the member nations of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) was discussed at a video-conference of foreign ministers of the five countries. The BRICS represents over 3.6 billion people, or half of the world population and has a combined GDP of $16.6 trillion. In his address, Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar conveyed to the BRICS that it is important to provide support to businesses to tide over the crisis and ensure that livelihoods are not lost. He said the influential grouping has an important role to play in shaping the global economic and political architecture.

India rejects USCIRF report on religious freedom

A US commission mandated to monitor religious freedom globally asked the State Department to designate 14 nations, including India, as “countries of particular concern”. India rejected the US Commission for International Religious Freedom’s (USCIRF) observations, terming them as “biased and tendentious”. In its annual report, the USCRF said that 14 nations include nine countries that the State Department designated as CPCs in December 2019 — Myanmar, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan — as well as five others — India, Nigeria, Russia, Syria, and Vietnam. In the 2020 edition of its annual report on International Religious Freedom, the USCIRF alleged that in 2019, religious freedom conditions in India experienced a drastic turn downward. “We reject the observations on India in the USCIRF Annual Report. Its biased and tendentious comments against India are not new. But on this occasion, its misrepresentation has reached new levels,” MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said.

Govt extends deadline to bid for Air India till June 30

The government has extended the deadline to bid for Air India by two months till June 30, as the COVID-19 fallout has disrupted economic activity globally. This is the second extension in the deadline to submit bids by investors for Air India since it initiated the process of stake sale in the debt-ridden national carrier on January 27. Issuing a corrigendum to the Expression of Interest for sale of Air India, the department of investment and public asset management said the deadline has been extended in view of the “request received from the interested bidders in view of the prevailing situation arising out of COVID-19”. After its unsuccessful bid to sell Air India in 2018,the government in January 2020 restarted the divestment process for Air India and invited bids for selling 100 per cent of its equity in the state-owned airline, including Air India’s 100 per cent shareholding in AI Express Ltd and 50 per cent in Air India SATS Airport Services Private Ltd. While issuing the EoI in January, the last date for bids was kept for March 17, which was later extended to April 30. This has now been further extended till June 30. 

SAT releases procedure for hearing urgent matters

The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) came out with a procedure for hearing extremely urgent matters during the ongoing nationwide lockdown period. The tribunal issued standard procedure for e-filing, mentioning and hearing of matters through video conferencing while stating that only matters which involve extreme urgency would be taken up during the lockdown period. The SAT in a notification said that a case for extreme urgency must be made out by way of a signed and verified application, not exceeding two papers, containing a synopsis of extreme urgency involved. The parties should be appropriately attired during the hearing through video conference and maintain decorum including the requirement to mute and unmute the microphones during the hearing.

Govt urges industry players to buy vegetables, fruits

Expressing concern over loss of harvested crops in different parts of the country, the Centre has asked industry players to buy perishable vegetables and fruits besides foodgrains to reduce wastage and benefit farmers amid COVID-19-induced lockdown. Union Food Processing Industries Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal pointed out this issue in a meeting with members of industry chamber FICCI via video conference called to ascertain the requirement of food processing sector for post-lockdown scenario, an official statement said. In the meeting, the minister emphasised on revival of industry operations at full capacity without compromising the safety measures. She also informed that the task force of the ministry is assisting companies in resolving the challenges faced across the country during the lockdown. 

Newsmaker

Former Andhra Bank chief Suresh N. Patel took over as the vigilance commissioner in the anti-corruption watchdog CVC. Patel, 62, has over three decades of banking experience. He was a member of the advisory board for banking and financial frauds of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). He will have a tenure till December 2022.

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