Yearly Archives: 2018

Govt. accepts Nath Pai’s Bill

Parliament

The Union Cabinet to-day [December 10, New Delhi] had a brief discussion on Mr. Nath Pai’s bill to restore to Parliament the right to amend any part of the Constitution. It is believed they took note of the divergence of opinion in the ruling party over the decision to support …

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Opening shot

Opening shot

India wins its first maiden Test of a series in Australia, firing hopes of a larger turnaround When R. Ashwin dismissed Josh Hazlewood and Virat Kohli roared in delight at the Adelaide Oval on Monday evening, they firmly threw down the gauntlet to hosts Australia. India’s 31-run victory over Australia …

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Shock resignation

Urjit Patel stepping down

Urjit Patel stepping down as RBI Governor is a major embarrassment for the government The Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel has cited personal reasons for resigning with immediate effect, but anyone who has followed the events of the last couple of months will know it was anything but …

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The Congress’s experiments

Congress’s experiments

Its electoral tactics have logic but its ideologicalstrategy does not On December 11 last year, Rahul Gandhi was elected as president of the Congress party. Four and a half years after the party’s debacle in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Assembly election results of five States that will be …

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Anchored in human rights

human rights

Instead of surveillance technologies, help TB patients by providing rights-based interventions Decades of global neglect have resulted in tuberculosis (TB) becoming the leading cause of adult deaths in most of the global south — it kills nearly two million people a year. This is shocking given that TB is curable …

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Don’t believe the anti-GMO campaign

anti-GMO campaign

GM crops reduce pesticide use, increase yields and profits, and pose no health hazards A review article, “Modern technologies for sustainable food and nutrition security”, which appeared in the November 25 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Current Science, is deeply worrying. The article was authored by geneticist P.C. Kesavan and …

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Ascent to the temple of democracy

temple of democracy

The opposition to the Sabarimala order is reflective of a wider gender inequality in Malayali society Kerala’s reputation as a society that has evolved to an exceptional degree may have taken a bit of a beating. The reputation itself has been built on the strides made in the sphere of …

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Market may turn jittery: Economists

Market may turn jittery

Urjit Patel’s resignation as the RBI Governor will cause jitters in the stock market and uncertainty over the central bank’s policies regarding non-monetary policy issues such as Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) norms, and diluting the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code rules for power sector companies, economists have cautioned. “This [the resignation] …

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Direct tax collections surge 15.7% in Apr.-Nov.

Direct tax collections

Gross direct tax collections surged 15.7% to Rs. 6.75 lakh crore for April-November, the finance ministry said in a statement on Monday. Refunds worth Rs. 1.23 lakh crore have been issued in the eight months of the current fiscal, which is 20.8% higher than refunds issued in the same period …

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Sour notes in ties with Centre

Sour notes

The government had appointed Urjit Patel as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor after his predecessor Raghuram Rajan’s tenure ended. With Dr. Patel’s appointment in September 2016, it was believed that the ties between the Centre and the RBI would improve. However, the relationship showed signs of stress just after …

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May postpones House vote on deal

House vote on deal

A meaningful vote on the British government’s Brexit withdrawal deal is set to be postponed till as late as January as, faced with certain defeat, British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Monday that she will be returning to emergency negotiations with Brussels in an attempt to wrestle new concessions. …

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HC questions Maharashtra on job ads

HC questions

The Bombay High Court on Monday questioned the Maharashtra government on the advertisements issued by the State to fill jobs under reservation granted to the Maratha community A Division Bench of Chief Justice Naresh Patil and Justice MS Karnik was hearing a bunch of public interest litigations and petitions opposing …

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Land acquisition law challenged in court

law challenged in court

The Supreme Court on Monday decided to examine a plea challenging the legality of amendments brought in by Tamil Nadu and four other States, which allow authorities to bypass the need to take farmers’ consent before their land is acquired for large infrastructure projects. A Bench of Justices Madan B. …

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