The Daily Brief – 14th November 2019

The incumbent Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth was sworn in for a five-year term on 12^th November, 2019 after elections in which his coalition consolidated its grip on the parliament. Jugnauth, 57, took over from his father in 2017 without going through a vote and the decisive victory of his centre-right Morisian Alliance in the November 7, 2019 elections has strengthened his legitimacy. He proposed a new cabinet of 23 members, including three women. Since attaining independence from Britain in 1968, Mauritius has become one of the most stable democracies in Africa.

Justice Muhammad Rafiq was sworn in as the 8^th Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court by Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy at the Raj Bhavan in Shillong on 13^th November, 2019. He has succeeded Justice Ajay Kumar Mittal, who is now the Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court. In 2008, Rafiq was appointed as a Justice at the Rajasthan High Court. He also served as the acting Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court twice.

The Asia-Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA), the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and the Union Ministry of Agriculture Farmers Welfare and Cooperation jointly organised the 6^th World Congress on Rural and Agricultural Finance in New Delhi on 12^th November and 13^th November, 2019. Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the conference, which was attended by 300 delegates across the globe.

A Supreme Court bench comprising justices N V Ramana, Sanjiv Khanna and Krishna Murari on 13^th November, 2019 upheld the disqualification of the 17 Karnataka MLAs by the then Assembly Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar but allowed their plea to contest the by-election to be held on 5^th December for the seats that fell vacant in July. The tenth schedule of the Constitution lays down the process by which legislators can be disqualified on grounds of defection by the presiding officer of the legislature. The 17 legislators from the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) had resigned at the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in July, leading to the collapse of the 14-month-old H.D. Kumaraswamy-led coalition government.

The 39^th India International Trade Fair is scheduled to be held in New Delhi from 14^th November to 27^th November, 2019 under the theme ‘Ease of Doing Business’. This year, the Partner Country is The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan while The Republic of Korea will be the Focus Country. Bihar and Jharkhand will be the focus states in this edition of the fair. Several countries, including Australia, Iran, UK and Vietnam, will participate in the fair.

Himachal Pradesh Governor Bandaru Dattatreya inaugurated the four-day-long International Lavi fair at Rampur in Shimla district on 11^th November, 2019. The 300-year-old Lavi Fair is an important trade event between India and Tibet. It also provides a platform for social and cultural events. The Governor also inaugurated the ‘Kinnauri market’ and an exhibition organised by various government departments and other organisations.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar represented India at the 2^nd edition of the Paris Peace Forum that was held at la Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris, France from 11^th November to 13^th November, 2019. The event aims to find solutions for the global issues. The Paris Peace Forum is an international event on global governance issues and multi-lateralism that is being held annually in Paris since 2018.

Union Minister Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal represented India at the 9^th BRICS Trade Ministers Meet that was held in Brasilia, Brazil. He deliberated on the global economic climate with his counterparts from other member nations during the meet. The meeting focused on trade facilitation, investment promotion and cooperation in customs among other issues. Formed in 2006, BRICS comprises of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.