Morning Digest: U.S. SEC seeks help from Law Ministry to serve complaint to Gautam Adani, nephew Sagar in Adani bribery case; Gyanesh Kumar to take over as CEC on February 19, and more

The Hindu Morning Digest gives a select list of stories to start the day. Read the top news today on February 19, 2025

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has requested assistance from Indian authorities in its investigation of Adani Group founder Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani over alleged securities fraud and a $265 million bribery scheme, a court filing showed on Tuesday (February 18, 2025).

Senior Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar would take over as the 26th Chief Election Commissioner of India (CEC) on February 19, a day when the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a petition challenging the law under which he was appointed CEC by a three-member panel led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday asserted that the midnight appointment of Gyanesh Kumar as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) was “discourteous and disrespectful” when the process of appointment and the composition of the selection committee itself was being challenged before the Supreme Court.

The unemployment rate in the urban areas of the country was 6.4% for the period of October to December 2024 for persons of age 15 years and above, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in New Delhi on Tuesday (February 18, 2025). For male, the the unemployment rate was 5.8% during the period, while for female it was 8.1%.

Though the ‘irregular’ migration from Kerala to Russia has sparked concerns in the past, recent developments revealed that Punjab is leading in the table in both illegal and irregular migration. According to the data available with the Ministry of External Affairs, the highest number of Indians who migrated to Russia — to fight in the war with Ukraine — were from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday (February 18, 2025) that the three new criminal laws should be implemented in Jammu and Kashmir by April. With the decline in terror activities and an improved security scenario, Mr. Shah said that the police should now prioritise safeguarding the rights of citizens in the Union Territory. 

President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday (February 18, 2025) accorded sanction to prosecute Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain in a money-laundering case being investigated by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), a senior government official said on Friday.