Monthly Archives: September 2018

Chasing the monsoon

How has the monsoon fared this year? Even though the monsoon is fairly consistent in the amount of rainfall that India receives between June and September, there is a sharp variation every year that makes it unique. This year, the floods in Kerala and the torrential rains in Himachal Pradesh …

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Portraying stereotypes

Hindi films that depict writers deepen our understanding of neither the writers nor their writing Nandita Das’s film Manto compelled me to think about the portrayal of writers in Hindi cinema. Good examples are hard to come by. But why? Are writers of no consequence to our Hindi film producers? …

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Aadhaar survives

The Aadhaar project has survived a fierce legal challenge. Ever since a nine-judge Bench ruled unanimously last year that privacy is a fundamental right, opinion began to gain ground that the unique identification programme was vulnerable in the face of judicial scrutiny. It was projected by sceptics, detractors and activists …

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Free, but not really

Understanding the differences in taxation of free services and sale of goods between the pre-GST and GST regimes There may be free lunches, but it is quite clear that such lunches will not be free from tax. Recently, the tax department withdrew its demand notice to banks on free service. …

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Opacity in the name of privacy

The draft Personal Data Protection Bill poses a danger to the hard-won right to information On August 24, 2017, the Supreme Court declared the right to privacy a fundamental right, a ruling widely welcomed. But many transparency advocates also felt apprehension, fearing that the right to privacy — meant to …

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I was raped at 16 and I kept silent

When I was 16 years old, I started dating a guy I met at the Puente Hills Mall in a Los Angeles suburb. I worked there after school at the accessories counter at Robinsons-May. He worked at a high-end men’s store. He would come in wearing a grey silk suit …

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Cutting through the white noise

After a sudden and brief moment of clear signal, the ‘India-Pakistan channel’ has gone back to static, with the cancellation of talks between the two Foreign Ministers in New York this week. The Foreign Ministers will, no doubt, spar at the UN General Assembly, with a host of diplomats backing …

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Cabinet approves 100% govt stake in GST Network

The Union Cabinet approved increasing the government’s ownership in the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) to 100% from the existing 49% and also change the existing structure in line with a transition plan. “The Union Cabinet approved acquisition of the entire 51% equity held by the non-government institutions in …

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U.S. hard-sells its almonds to India

Direct shipments of almonds from California to India grew by 68% from 53,965 tonnes to 90,500 tonnes between 2011-12 and 2017-18, according to the Almond Board of California (ABC). ABC president and CEO Richard Waycott told The Hindu that the board was now targeting to sustain 20% year-on-year growth rate …

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