Prohibition amounts to smear on individual dignity, says SCBan is the result of hegemonic patriarchy in religion, says CJIIt is a form of untouchability, says Justice Chandrachud The Supreme Court, in a majority opinion of 4:1 on Friday, lifted the centuries’ old prohibition on women from the age of menarche …

Says the actionis ‘unwarranted and mala fide’ The Indian Medical Association (IMA) action committee, in an emergency session in Mumbai, condemned the “supersession” of the Medical Council of India (MCI) and noted that “this action of the Government, at a juncture when the election to the MCI has been announced, …

Merely tinkering with import dutieswill not narrow the current account deficit The Centre’s decision to increase customs duty on imports of 19 “non-essential” items amounts to tinkering at the margins to address a structural macro-economic issue. Using tariffs to curb imports of these items will not have a significant impact …

With its Sabarimala verdict, the SC underlines the Constitution’s transformative power The Constitution protects religious freedom in two ways. It protects an individual’s right to profess, practise and propagate a religion, and it also assures similar protection to every religious denomination to manage its own affairs. The legal challenge to …

The Supreme Court decision to decriminalise adultery is a step in the right direction Following a series of landmark judgments delivered by the Supreme Court this month, it passed yet another remarkable decision on Thursday. It decriminalised the offence of adultery by holding Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code …

The first death anniversary of Santoshi Kumar, a Dalit girl from Simdega, Jharkhand, was this week. She died of hunger, at the age of 11, a few weeks after her family’s ration card was cancelled by the State government because they failed to link it to Aadhaar. The Aadhaar judgment …

In 1341, the ancient port town of Muziris on the Malabar coast was destroyed by a Periyar in spate. This August, the prized archaeological remains of this legendary trading post nearly met with the same fate, report S. Anandan and Shyama Rajagopal In its long history, the Periyar river, which …

Chemical pollutants could lead to the disappearance of half of the world’s populations of killer whales from the most heavily contaminated areas within a period of just 30 to 50 years, according to a study. More than 40 years after the first initiatives were taken to ban the use of …

A man in Hong Kong has been found to have a strain of hepatitis E that had only been seen previously in rats, researchers said Friday. While rats have passed on several other illnesses to people, this was the first discovery in humans of the rat variation of hepatitis E, …

‘Microstars’ is a show that mixes sport, circus and collective catharsis in what Mexicans call “fights” He is just 90 centimetres (less than three feet) tall, but he packs muscles, power and swagger in a little frame: meet Microman, the smallest star in Mexican professional wrestling. Mexico’s “lucha libre,” a …

It will also enable self-service analytics With a view to fast-tracking the adoption of data analytics in the government to improve delivery of services to citizens, Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Friday unveiled a Centre of Excellence for Data Analytics (CEDA). The centre would help build analytic …

Move comes in the wake of challenges in global scenario Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu has approved the constitution of a high-level advisory group (HLAG) to look into the opportunities and ways to address the ongoing challenges in the global trade scenario, the government said on Friday. “The terms of reference …

Guilty participants face temporary or permanent stoppage of access to markets The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday issued the draft guidelines on prohibiting market abuse, which propose to debar errant participants from accessing the market. “Participants found guilty of market abuse may be subject to regulatory action, including …

Only 10 States have revenue deficit of over 20%, says Jaitley The average revenue shortfall of States due to the Goods and Services Tax has fallen to 13% in the ongoing financial year up to August 2018, from 16% in 2017-18, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Friday after the …

There is a dire need to develop and deepen the debt market, says the MD of Sundaram Finance Rates may have eased in the shorter-end with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) relaxing the SLR (statutory liquidity ratio) norms but liquidity, especially in the longer-end, is a challenge, according to …