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Home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday defended amendments to an anti-terror law, saying they are was essential to keep law enforcement agencies one step ahead of terrorists.
Responding to a debate in Lok Sabha on a bill seeking to amend the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, he asserted anti-terror laws would not be misused and used only to root out terrorism.

He said that provision in UAPA (amendment) bill, which was later passed in the Lower House by a voice vote, to designate a person suspected to have terror links as terrorist is necessary to root out terror.
Hitting out at the Congress for opposing the amendment, he said if the UPA was correct in amending anti-terror laws in their tenure, then so is the NDA.
He said, in the name of ideology, some people promote urban Maoism and the government has no sympathy towards them.
The government fights terrorism and it should not matter which party is in power, Shah said, referring to amendments made in anti-terror laws by successive governments.
During a division of votes, demanded by AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi for consideration of the bill, as many as 287 MPs supported it and only eight opposed it.
Amendments brought in by some opposition members were also defeated by huge numbers during division of votes.
When the AIMIM member insisted on division of votes over amendments, Speaker Om Birla quoted rule to say that he can ask the members supporting or opposing them to stand up for counting, if he feels it appropriate.
In his speech, Shah lashed out at people behind urban Maoism, a term used by the BJP and its ideological allies for those it blames for supporting Maoists, and said the government had no sympathy for them.
“In the name of ideology, some people promote urban maoism. We have no sympathy for them,” he said.
Left-wing violence was initially considered an ideological and gullible people were misguided to kill others, he said.
“The only purpose of this law is to root out terrorism. We will ensure that this law will not be misused,” he said.
The Congress under the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had brought in UAPA, he said, targeting the opposition party, whose members earlier questioned the rationale behind the law.
Radical preachers are propagating ideology of hate and terrorism, Shah said, claiming that terrorism is born out of a person’s mindset and is not about institutions.
“It is the priority of the government to root out terrorism,” he said.

orty-nine filmmakers, historians and rights activists have written to the Prime Minister highlighting the increasing number of attacks on Muslims and Dalits and said that condemning such attacks in Parliament was not enough.

Among those who signed the letter were filmmakers Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shyam Benegal, Mani Ratnam, Aparna Sen, Anurag Kashyap and historian Ramachandra Guha.

The letter, written on July 23, became public on social media on a day the Lok Sabha was debating amendments to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, where Trinamaul MP Mahua Moitra also spoke about the Opposition being called “anti-national” for criticising the government or the ruling party.

The letter made several points:

First, that the National Crime Records Bureau had cited 840 instances of attacks on Dalits in 2016 and that there was a reduction in conviction rate. It also said that 254 instances of religious identity-based hate crime were also recorded between January 2009 and October 2018 and in 62 per cent of the cases Muslims were targets.

Second, that the Prime Minister’s words of condemnation were not enough. Such attacks should be made “non-bailable”, the letter said, and “punishment should be meted out swiftly and surely”. If punishment for murder can be life term without parole, then “why not for lynchings”, the letter asked.

State Congress on Monday alleged that the BJP which had in the past acted as a guaranteer for chit fund companies was now trying to shield them as Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government was acting tough on them. 

PCC Spokesperson Dhananjay Singh Thakur in a statement alleged that BJP was putting spanner on the stern actions been taken against chit fund companies. “Actually, during the BJP rule the party leaders acted as a guaranteer of the fraudster companies, he accused.

The chit fund companies, which were inaugurated by senior BJP leaders, duped innocent state populace and fled with their hard-earned crores of rupees, he further charged.

“It was the former Raman Singh government during whose regime the chit fund companies mushroomed and walked away after committing scams”, he said

Thakur further questioned why BJP national president Amit Shah and state BJP President Vikram Usendi not taking actions on accused BJP leaders.

As expected, today Oppo officially introduced the K3 to the Indian market. The phone will become available at Amazon, and the first sale starts at 12 noon on July 23.

It’s priced from INR 16,990 ($246 or €219 right now), and that’s how much you need to spend for the version with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. If you need more of both, you can grab a K3 with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for INR 19,990 ($289, €258).

In either case you’re getting a phone with a 6.5″ 1080×2340 AMOLED touchscreen, the Snapdragon 710 chipset at the helm, a 3,765 mAh battery, Android 9 Pie on board underneath ColorOS 6, a 16 MP primary rear camera with f/1.7 aperture, a 2 MP depth sensor alongside it, and a motorized pop-up 16 MP selfie snapper.

If you’re thinking “wow, this sounds incredibly similar to the Realme X”, you’re right but there are differences, primarily in the camera department, where the X employs a 48 MP sensor. Its screen is also 0.4cm2 bigger. But these two clearly share the same DNA, which isn’t surprising considering that Realme is an Oppo spinoff.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday visited the Kargil war memorial in Jammu and Kashmir and paid tributes to Indian soldiers killed during the Kargil war. Mr Singh is visiting Kargil as the Indian army celebrates the 20th anniversary of Operation Vijay, during which it successfully fought against the intrusion of militias as well as regular troops of Pakistan in Kargil sector in 1999.

During his day-long visit, the minister will also dedicate to the nation two bridges built by the Border Roads Organisation at Ujh in Kathua district and Basantar in Samba district. The Ujh bridge is one kilometre-long and the Basantar bridge is 617.4 metres, officials said.

In 1999, Indian troops overcome seemingly insurmountable odds, hostile terrain, weather, and successfully recaptured several mountain tops overlooking the strategic Srinagar-Leh highway from Pakistani intruders.

To commemorate India’s victory, a ”Victory Flame” was lit by Rajnath Singh on July 14 at the National War Memorial in Delhi. The flame will traverse through nine towns and cities before reaching Drass on July 26. It will then be merged with the eternal flame at the Kargil War Memorial.

The event is being celebrated in a grand manner by the Indian Army with a view to rekindling the pride and valour of all the soldiers who took part in Operation Vijay. The 20th anniversary of “Operation Vijay” will be celebrated with the theme ‘Remember, Rejoice and Renew’ and troops from three battalions will undertake expeditions to the peaks where their units had fought under impossible conditions to drive out the intruders, the Army said in a statement.

To mark “Kargil Vijay Diwas”, the ITBP and the BSF, who guard the border, have launched a special series of programmes that will showcase the tales of bravery of soldiers as well as police and paramilitary personnel.

These forces will hold cultural events, honour family members of those army troops who were killed during “Operation Vijay”, organise blood donation and health checkup camps, hold motivational lectures and conduct educational tour of the Kargil area for school children, news agency PTI reported quoting a senior official. “The central armed police forces that guard the borders will felicitate Kargil war heros” families and celebrate ”Kargil Vijay Diwas” with army field formations,” Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) spokesperson Vivek Pandey said.

The task force will also organise special shows to run a seven-minute movie prepared by the Defence Ministry on the victory in Kargil. Photo galleries will also be setup to tell about the bravery of those who laid down their lives in the line of duty, Mr Pandey said.

Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Saturday made himself “unavailable” for the Indian team’s tour of West Indies as speculations raged about his future. An Honorary Lieutenant Colonel in the Parachute Regiment of the Territorial Army, it is learnt that Dhoni will be spending better part of the next two months with his regiment. A top BCCI official confirmed the development.

Dhoni, 38, has intimated his decision to the BCCI prior to the selection committee meeting on Sunday. The official, however, made it clear that Dhoni is not retiring from cricket at the moment.

“We would like to say three things. He is not retiring from cricket right now. He is taking a two month sabbatical to serve his paramilitary regiment which he had committed much earlier,” he said.

“We have now intimated his decision to skipper Virat Kohli and chairman of selectors MSK Prasad,” the senior official added.

With Dhoni pulling out of the tour, Rishabh Pant is expected to be first wicketkeeper in all three formats while Wriddhiman Saha will be Pant’s understudy in the Tests.

Former chief minister of Delhi and senior Congress leader Sheila Dikshit passed away in Delhi on Saturday at the age of 81 years.
On Saturday morning, she was admitted in a critical condition to Escorts hospital in the capital following cardiac arrest.

A multi-disciplinary team of doctors carried out the advanced resuscitative measures. Her condition stabilised temporarily. However, she had another cardiac arrest and despite all the resuscitative efforts, passed away at 3:55pm, hospital said.
Her cremation is scheduled to take place at Delhi’s Nigam Bodh ghat at 2 pm on Sunday.
Dikshit served as the chief minister of Delhi for three terms from 1998 to 2013. She was the longest serving chief minister of Delhi.
In the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, under her leadership, the Congress party managed to push AAP candidates on the third place in five of the seven seats in Delhi, besides registering growth in its vote share.
In January this year, the three-time former Delhi chief minister was appointed president of the city unit after the incumbent Ajay Maken stepped down citing health issues.
Despite being an octagenarian, Dikshit led the party in Lok Sabha polls and herself contested against Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari from the North East Delhi seat. She lost by over 3.66 lakh votes.
Dikshit became an MP for the first time from Kannauj Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh in 1984. She was also a close associate of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and a minister in his cabinet.
President Ram Nath Kovind extended his condolences to the family of the Congress leader and said that her term was a period of momentous transformation for the capital.

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh is going to lay wreath at Kargil War Memorial in Dras tomorrow on the occasion of 20^th Anniversary of Operation Vijay against the intrusion of heights by militias as well as regular troops of Pakistan in Kargil sector in Jammu and Kashmir.

Raksha Mantri will also dedicate to the nation two bridges built by Border Roads Organisation at Ujh in Kathua district and Basantar in Samba district. The Ujh bridge is One kilometre long and the Basantar bridge is 617.4 metre. 

Brave soldiers of the Indian Army had overcome seemingly insurmountable odds, hostile terrain, weather, and a determined enemy occupying dominating heights, to win the Kargil war with the help of Indian Air Force which gave aiur support to the Army. On this momentous occasion, the proud nation is celebrating this victory in memory of its brave martyrs with events covering a myriad spectrum.

One of the major events is the relay of a Victory Flame from National War Memorial (NMW) in New Delhi to Kargil War Memorial at Dras. Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh handed over the Flame to ace army shooter Subedar Jitu Rai who represented India as the first torch bearer, at the NMW on July 14, 2019.

The Victory Flame is being carried by Indian Army’s outstanding sportsmen and war heroes. It is being passed through nine major towns/cities of North India and finally culminate at the Karambhoomi of the martyrs at the Kargil War Memorial located at Dras on July 26, 2019, where it will be received by the COAS. All along the journey, Indian Army personnel are paying homage to the heroes who fought valiantly for the Nation.

This Victory Flame and the journey of the eternal flame from the National War Memorial to the Kargil War Memorial brings alive the theme of the 20^th anniversary of the Kargil Vijay Diwas – ‘Remember, Rejoice and Renew’. We ‘remember’ our martyrs by revisiting their sacrifices, we ‘rejoice’ by celebrating the victory in Kargil and we ‘renew’ our resolve to safeguard the honour of the Tricolour.

Central Hall of Chhattisgarh assembly by all tribal Chief Minister in the interest of tribal society by Mr. Bhupesh Baghel decisions and welfare blooms were honored. 

School Dr. Education Minister on this occasion. Premsay Dr. Singh Tekam, Urban Development Minister. Sivakumar Dhria, Industry Minister Kwasi Lakhma, Food Minister Amarjit Bhagat and MLA Mohan Markam were particularly present. Similarly, MLAs Shri Vikram Mandavi, sandalwood Kashyap, lakheshvar Baghel, Laljit Singh Rathia, Dr.. Lakshmi pole, Jupiter Singh, Chakradhar Singh Sidar, UD Minz, Vinay Kumar were present office bearers of many legislators and all tribal societies, including Bhagat. 

Mr. Baghel said that tackling malnutrition challenge in tribal-dominated area, efforts to improve the system of medical and employment are constant. Powered through the Public Works Department are attempting to give employment to the local youth by the construction works. In these areas, small will encourage small scale industries and processing units based on the forest, leading to civilian employment opportunities and income generation to here. He said that the establishment of processing units based on minor forest in these areas have been urged to relax the provisions of the Forest Act, the Prime Minister, which will facilitate and operate allocated land here for the job market units. 

He said that the amount of the DMF will be used to bring better changes in the lives of people in the area affected by the mine. He said that being gram to malnutrition from the tribal areas, molasses will also. In Dantewada district malnutrition has been started for children and women who work in the egg delivery to remove that policy commission praised. He said that the percentage of irrigation in Bastar and Sarguja is significantly reduced. Nrwa, Gruwa, Gurwa, Bari from the drains through the scheme will work to recharge, thereby increasing the availability of surface water and groundwater. Chairman of Tribal Area Development Authority has decided to build our local legislators, Abdullah said. Similarly Tendu Patta collection rate went to two thousand and four thousand per standard bag increased from Rs. Bastar decision to return acquired land to farmers Lohndigudha area to be proposed steel plant has been. 

Industry Minister Kwasi Lakhma said that the world will be held in the grand main event Raipur Aboriginal Day, the chief chief guest. At the district level will also be organized on World Tribal Day, will include legislators and representatives. 

MLA Mohan Markam said that the state government act to make historical decisions are taken, which to reconsider four million applications, nearly half were invalid formerly state forest rights leases and review in the interests of the tribal lease the included. Similarly Forest Community Forest Rights lease emphasis on function to assign and childbirth take the letter after the father of her caste certificate on the basis of race decided to provide urgent particularly noteworthy areas. 

MLA Shishupal Sori has expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister as well as other decisions as declaring general holiday on the World Tribal Day refers taken in the interest of tribal society by Mr. Baghel by all tribal society in his welcome address. Protection of Mr. Dhananjay the tribal society and urging them to implement the state’s charter issued by the United Nations to join the mainstream of development. Similarly, Mr. Bikpi.ask Netam also made his point. A large number on the occasion of tribal representatives and prominent citizens were present. 

iaomi has been silent for a long time as far as its Mi A series is concerned. The company launched several Redmi and Mi phones but didn’t utter a single word about the Mi A series. But now, no more. On Wednesday, Xiaomi launched the Mi A2 successor aka the Mi A3 in Spain. Yes the Mi A3 isn’t launched in India yet but it will come to the country like Mi A2 and Mi A1 hit the country last year and the year before. Compared to the Mi A1 the Mi A2 was much improved and now that Xiaomi has moved on from Mi A2 to Mi A3, we say the same. The Mi A3 is clearly a much-upgraded version of the Mi A2 that launched in India last year.

The Xiaomi Mi A3 looks better than the Mi A2 and also comes with much better specs sheet when compared to the predecessor device. The best thing about the Mi A3 similar to the Mi A1 and the Mi A2 is its software. Like all Mi A series smartphones yet this one – Mi A3 – also runs on Google’s Android One program. This means the Mi A3 yet again like the Mi A1 and the Mi A2 doesn’t have annoying Ads. Going beyond the clean software, Mi A3 also offers a good gradient design, triple cameras, big battery and Snapdragon processor.

To recall, the Xiaomi Mi A2 was appreciated a lot for its exceptional cameras. The question is users love Mi A3 as much as they loved the Mi A2? That only time will tell. We at India Today Tech will talk about the experience that the Mi A3 offers to the consumers when the phone comes to India. For now, let’s take a quick look at what the all-new Xiaomi Mi A3 offers to the consumers.

Xiaomi Mi A3 specs

Display: The Mi A3 comes packed with a 6.088-inch OLED display that offers screen resolution of 1520×720 pixels.

Processor: The Mi A3 is powered by Snapdragon 665 processor. This is the first smartphone to come with this Qualcomm processor.

RAM: 4GB

Storage: 64GB and 128GB

Front camera: For selfies the Mi A3 brings a 32MP sensor on the front. There’s a waterdrop notch where the camera sits.

Back camera: On the rear panel the Mi A3 includes three cameras. The primary camera uses a 48MP sensor with an aperture size of f/1.79, secondary 8MP wide-angle camera sensor and third is a 2MP depth sensor.

Battery: The Mi A3 comes packed with a massive 4030mAh battery.

Software: The Mi A3 runs Google’s Android One software this means expect no Ads or third-party apps.

Xiaomi Mi A3 key features

–First key highlight of the Xiaomi Mi A3 is its software. Google’s Android One program not only brings clean software to the users but also regular and fast android updates that offer better user experience.

–The design. The Xiaomi Mi A3, unlike its predecessors, comes with good design. The Xiaomi Mi A3 includes gradient finish design. The smartphone mostly looks like the Realme 3 Pro.

–The phone comes in funky colours like black, white and blue. The good bit is all the three colour variants look ravishing.

–The Mi A3 is the first ever phone to come with Snapdragon 665 processor that Qualcomm launched not so long ago. With the Snapdragon 665 processor Xiaomi brings premium experience to budget.

–Good to see a massive 4030mAh battery powering the Mi A3. That’s the biggest ever battery we have seen on any of the previous Ai A series phones.

–Triple cameras. This is yet again the first time that a Mi A series smartphones gets triple camera setup on board. As noted, the primary camera uses a 48MP sensor with an aperture size of f/1.79, secondary 8MP wide-angle camera sensor and third is a 2MP depth sensor.

Xiaomi Mi A3 price and India launch

Coming to the price, the Mi A3 is launched for a starting price of 249 Euros that roughly translates to around Rs 19,000. This price is for the 6GB RAM / 64GB of internal storage. There’s also a second model of the Mi A3 that comes packed with 6GB RAM and 128GB of internal storage and this variant of the phone comes for 279 Euros that translates to Rs 21,500. For now, there are no words whether the Mi A3 will come to India or not but considering India is an important market for Xiaomi they will bring the Mi A3 to the country very soon.