Mizoram remained cut off by road from the rest of the country on Wednesday with the Opposition, the Mizo National Front, staging a 12-hour blockade to protest against bad condition of the NH-54, the police said. Source  :  https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/mizoram-remains-cut-off-due-to-highway-blockade/article25053297.ece

It is the only digitally-available document for opening accounts online The Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday that Aadhaar is not mandatory for opening bank accounts could affect online opening of accounts. The State Bank of India, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank are among the banks that allow opening of …

It said it was not trivialising the problem of exclusion faced by the elderly, the very young, the disabled and several others during the authentication process. Authentication was found to be only having a .232% failure, Justice Sikri pointed out. It was accurate 99.76% times, Justice Sikri said. He reasoned …

The Election Commission on Wednesday said the supply of VVPATs for use in the Lok Sabha polls in 2019 was on track and that it was committed to 100% deployment of machines at all polling stations in the future. The Commission has placed an order of 17.45 lakh VVPATs to …

As many as 672 people were rescued from Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul and Spiti district after the recent snowfall and rain closed off most roads in the region, officials said on Wednesday. The operations via road were taken up by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and 641 stranded people were reported …

The Supreme Court held that whenever there is tension between two rights — privacy of a few and dignity of a majority — the court should intervene to balance it. Justice A.K. Sikri, writing for the majority on the Constitution Bench, “whenever such tension arises, the task of balancing is …

The Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday notified new rules amalgamating police forces in six Union Territories. The rules effectively mean that officers who are not direct IPS recruits could be posted in any of the six UTs and will be at the disposal of the Ministry. The National Capital …

Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani, who was the first Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India, has said that the landmark judgment was in favour of the unique identification programme. “More than just opining on the constitutionality of the Act, the Supreme Court has unequivocally validated the founding principles for …

The majority opinion on the Constitution Bench that the Aadhaar Act was a Money Bill prevailed on Wednesday, but the dissenting judgment by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud questioned how a statute about an identity proof, Aadhaar, can be possibly passed as a Money Bill. Justice A.K. Sikri, who wrote the majority …

The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce a judgment on Thursday on whether to refer the question if a “mosque as a place of prayer is an essential part of Islam” in the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid appeals to a Constitution Bench. A three-judge Bench of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra …

In a move to enhance governance and quality of medical education, an ordinance was issued on Wednesday, dissolving the Medical Council of India (MCI) and replacing it with a seven-member Board of Governors led by NITI Aayog Member Dr. V.K. Paul. A Bill to replace the MCI with a National …

Registered firms are only dismantling and not processing trash, says report Many of India’s electronic-waste (e-waste) recyclers aren’t recycling waste at all. While some are storing it in hazardous conditions, others don’t even have the capacity to handle such waste, says a new report prepared by the Union Environment Ministry. …

Agriculture Minister pegs output at 141.59 million tonnes India’s foodgrains production is estimated at a record 141.59 million tonnes (MT) in the kharif season of 2018-19 crop year, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said on Wednesday. The country had produced 140.73 MT foodgrains in the kharif season of 2017-18 crop …

The partial striking down of Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act, which allows private entities to use Aadhaar for authentication of a person’s identity, comes as a great blow to corporate entities. Section 57 has been one of the most watched areas in the Aadhaar litigation before a Constitution Bench …

The government on Wednesday welcomed the verdict on Aadhaar, with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad terming it a ‘historic judgment’ that would bolster good governance, and the delivery of services to the poorer sections of society. “The Supreme Court decision is a historic one,” Mr. …

The reconstituted Parliamentary Committee on Finance, headed by M. Veerappa Moily of the Congress, could not build a consensus on the long-pending report on demonetisation with BJP members continuing to oppose its finalisation. A draft report on demonetisation, which was circulated last year, looks at the impact of the move …

A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday modified a 2006 judgment requiring the State to show quantifiable data to prove the “backwardness” of a Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe community in order to provide quota in promotion in public employment. The 58-page judgment by a five-judge Bench led by Chief …

Majority judgment in Aadhaar case silent on erasing Though the majority opinion in the Aadhaar verdict is silent on deleting biometric data already collected by phone companies, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud’s direction to do so will open a Pandora’s box, if implemented. The Constitution Bench on Wednesday was unanimous in declaring …

Non-IPS officers could be posted in any UT and will be at the direct disposal of Home Ministry The Ministry of Home Affairs has notified new rules amalgamating police forces in six Union Territories. The rules effectively mean that officers, who are not direct IPS recruits, could be posted in …

Says it fulfils government’s aimto provide dignity to marginalisedIt’s a unique ID that cannot beduplicated unlike PAN, ration cardMajority opinion upholds it as a reasonable restriction on privacyUpholds the passage of the Aadhaar Act as a Money Bill The Supreme Court, in a majority opinion on Wednesday, upheld Aadhaar as …