Right to freedom of speech and expression is one of the fundamental right provided by our Indian constitution. This right comes under Article 19 (1)A; which states that every person living in India belonging to any caste, creed, colour or status has an equal right to express themselves, that means every person has the right to express their views, thoughts, creations or idea though any media without any interference or obstacles. But this right is imposed with certain reasonable restrictions or limitations which comes under Article19(2). This law is one of the most important part of the whole democracy as it describes how the democracy of the particular nation works.

But now the question arises ‘Are we really getting the right to freedom of speech and expression?’ Well! the answer can be both yes or no because this right to freedom of speech and expression has positive impact on society as people can reach to the world easily by sharing their views or idea and an individual’s idea can incarnate thousands of lives but it can also have negative impact on society as people misuse, violate and misinterpret this right by abusing or defaming others image through their words. Even though many popular journalists, reporters, cartoonist were arrested under this law on the charge on defaming other party.

 There are cases where people are arrested under the law of freedom to speech and expression:

• Teenage student of Uttar Pradesh was arrested on 17^th march 2015 because he commented against Azam Khan on Facebook.
• A cartoonist of Mumbai was jailed on September 2012 on publishing drawings which were based on anti-corruption. So, he was arrested in the charge of sedition of the drawings.
• A teacher in West Bengal was arrested in 2012 because he mailed a cartoon to his friends that was against Mamta Banerjee-chief minister of Bengal.
• Recently one of the most popular journalist of India Arnab Goswami-Chief-in-editor of Republic tv was arrested by Maharashtra police. FIR was registered on him for showing inappropriate content on his channel which created disputes between communities and groups.
• According to Supreme court the ‘Tablighi Jamaat’ case is most abused case of freedom of speech and expression in recent times.

There are many other cases which proves that how much this law is threatened in India.

 Lastly, I want to conclude that, Positive and negative impacts does not end here, there are many other reasons which lead to the violation of this right so giving right to freedom of speech and expression does not mean giving right to use abusive and bad language which   can harm others and can create disputes between communities, groups or individuals. If this right will be taken positively and as responsibility by every citizen of the country, it would give us better results as it will lead to the development and sake of the society as well as the whole nation. So, you decide freedom of speech and expression still exists?

In a first of its kind policy consultation, Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan interacted with the highly-skilled Indian diaspora to facilitate channels for them to contribute to India’s Science Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP) 2020.
 
The Minister stressed that India aims to connect the diaspora with Indian scientific and economic ecosystem to accelerate the growth in Science technology and innovation.

In Cricket, Delhi Capitals entered their first-ever IPL final with a convincing 17-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the second qualifier in Abu Dhabi last night. Opting to bat first, Delhi posted a massive total of 189 for three in 20 overs riding on Shikhar Dhawan’s 78 off 50, Shimron Hetmyer’s unbeaten 42 off 22 and Marcus Stoinis’s 38 off 27 balls.
 
In reply, Hyderabad were restricted on 172 for 8 as pacer Kagiso Rabada took 4 wickets and Stoinis claimed three scalps. For Hyderabad, Kane Williamson scored 67 off 45 and Abdul Samad made 33 runs off 16 balls. Stoinis was adjudged as the Player of the Match.
 
With this win, Delhi will now face Mumbai Indians in the summit clash tomorrow.
 
In the Women’s T20 Challenge Cricket tournament, Supernovas defeated Trailblazers by two runs at Sharjah. Supernovas will take on Trailblazers again in the final which will be played today. Supernovas have won both the earlier editions of the Women’s T20 Challenge. 

US President-elect Joe Biden has announced a 12-member coronavirus task force to mount an effective response to the pandemic that has infected millions and damaged the US economy.
 
In his victory speech in Wilmington, Delaware, Mr Biden said he will spare no effort to turn around this pandemic. He said, the panel will convert his coronavirus-fighting plan into an action blueprint that will be built on bedrock of science.
 
The task force will be co-chaired by former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler and Marcella Nunez-Smith, a professor of public health at Yale University. It will also include Ezekiel Emanuel, a former Obama administration health adviser. Mr Biden has promised a much more muscular response to the pandemic than President Donald Trump has made.
 
The virus has infected 9.8 million people in the US and killed more than 2 lakh 37 thousand people as daily case counts continue to rise.

In Assam, the Education department will start Aadhaar enrolment drive from tomorrow for nearly 70 lakh students. The drive will cover all government and private school students aged between 6 and 18 years.
 
All the Deputy Commissioners will launch the free Aadhaar enrolment drive tomorrow in their respective districts. The drive is expected to be completed by March next year.

India’s total cases have risen to 85,53,657 today with nearly 46 thousand cases reported in the last 24 hours The death toll from the virus has reached 1,26,611 with 490 new fatalities being registered.
 
The number of active cases remained below 6 lakh for the 11th consecutive day. The total active cases are 5,09,673 after a decrease of 2,992 in last 24 hours. Total cured cases are 79,17,373 with 48,405 new discharges. The national recovery rate is 92.56 per cent.
 
A total of 8 lakh 35 thousand 401 samples were tested for COVID yesterday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of various development projects in Varanasi this morning. The total cost implication of these projects is 614 crores rupees. The Prime Minister is presently interacting with the beneficiaries of these projects during the event.

PM spoke with well known basketball player Prashanti Singh. While talking to Prashanti Singh, PM Narendra Modi said that people of Kashi changed the challenges into opportunities and the facilities at housing complex for players in Sampurnanand Stadium will provide ease of sporting to the players and people of Kashi.

While interacting with the PM, Vipin Kumar Agrawal, a businessman from Varanasi thanked the Prime Minister for the basic infrastructure work in the industrial area.

PM suggested to maintain cleanliness in the premises and and provide better facilities to the workers also in the industrial areas.

Earlier, Speaking on the occasion Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi adityanath termed it as a pre Diwali Gift by the Prime Minister to the people of Kashi.  Mr.Yogi said Currently projects worth around 8900 crore rupees are going on in Kashi. Till date Prime Minister has given projects worth 18 thousand crores to his constituency Varanasi, Mr Yogi said.

Around 1500 people are taking part in the program through video conferencing. Arrangement of live display of the program is made at 6 places in the city on big screens and through 5 LED mobile vans. The 16 projects inaugurated include Sarnath Light and Sound show. The show will be a major attraction for the tourists who reach this heritage site from all over the world. The first light and sound show will be organised for the public at 7.15 evening.

During the event, Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for projects including the redevelopment of Dashashwamedh Ghat and Khidkiya Ghat, barracks for PAC police force, along with upgradation of the multi-purpose hall in Girija Devi Sanskritik Sankul, and development of tourist places.