Reports have been received of a number of public meetings from all parts of the country protesting against the introduction of Rowlatt Bills in the Imperial Legislative Council. [At the Imperial Council in New Delhi on February 5] – Notice of the following further amendments to the Rowlatt Bills has …
Read More »Daily Archives: February 6, 2019
Israel rejects Nasser’s plan
Israel last night [Feb. 4] flatly rejected the ideas of President Nasser for a solution of the West Asia conflict as “a plan for liquidating Israel in two stages.” The first official reaction to President Nasser’s interview with ‘Newsweek’ magazine this week came in a statement from the Israeli Foreign …
Read More »Timely review
Start-ups troubled by the so-called angel tax may soon receive some concession from the government. On Monday, the Centre set up a five-member working committee to look into revising the norms of the angel tax imposed on start-ups. The tax, which was first introduced in 2012 to curb money-laundering through …
Read More »Unedifying episode
The Supreme Court has defused the situation,but concerns remain over stand-off in Kolkata In its ostensibly even-handed intervention in the stand-off between the Central and West Bengal governments over the manner of investigation of the Saradha Chit Fund case, the Supreme Court has de-escalated political tensions, at least for now. …
Read More »A series of unfortunate missteps
K.T. Jaleel, who represented Kerala at the conclave, complained that he was not allowed to raise the issue there. The bitterness over the flood money still persists. Competitive federalism, in the context of interaction with foreign countries, promoted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has proved to be a double-edged sword. …
Read More »Cracks in the framework
The Government of India has reportedly suppressed its own data on current employment, or rather job loss, in the country. It has, thereby, compromised the autonomy and the standing of the National Statistical Commission. This is the latest instalment in the rather sordid story of institutional decay in India, overseen …
Read More »‘The 2019 election is going to be all about alliances’
The global investor on the coming general election, the anti-incumbency trend and why he thinks the Indian state is socialist In his latest book, ‘Democracy on the Road: A 25 Year Journey Through India’, investor Ruchir Sharma has catalogued the 27 national and State elections that he has tracked over …
Read More »Study links depression to digestive bacteria
Bacteria in the gut may affect our mental well-being and could be linked to depression, said a study published in the journal Nature Microbiology on Monday. The World Health Organisation says an estimated 300 million people suffer from depression, and there are known links between a patient’s physical and mental …
Read More »These dinosaurs used spiny backbone for self-defence
A herbivorous dinosaur that fended off predators with a row of spines running along its back and lived 140 million years ago has been found in Argentine Patagonia. The discovery of the new species of dicraeosauridae, christened Bajadasaurus pronuspinax , was revealed in scientific journal Nature . A reproduction of …
Read More »Why women outlive men, stay mentally sharp longer
Women tend to outlive men and stay mentally sharp longer, and a new study out could explain why: female brains appear on average about three years younger. The study enrolled 121 women and 84 men, who underwent PET scans to measure brain metabolism, or the flow of oxygen and glucose …
Read More »Govt. subsidy spend on the rise again
May constitute 9.83% of overall total expenditure in 2019-20; LPG dole takes the major chunk Rising LPG prices and higher subscribers have resulted in the government’s subsidy expenditure over the last two years reversing a declining trend established in the previous six years, an analysis of Budget documents by The …
Read More »Taliban demands new Afghan Constitution
The Taliban demanded a new Constitution for Afghanistan and promised an “inclusive Islamic system” to govern the war-torn country at a rare gathering with senior Afghan politicians in Russia on Tuesday that excluded the Kabul government. The manifesto, outlined in Moscow, comes a week after the Taliban held unprecedented six-day …
Read More »Russia to develop new missile systems by 2021
Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on Tuesday said the country must develop new types of missile systems in the next two years after Washington and Moscow ripped up a key arms control treaty. The United States has repeatedly accused Russia of violating the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) agreement and on …
Read More »U.S., India discussing solution to detention of 129 students
Of the 129 Indian students detained in the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit’s University of Farmington sting operation, consular officers have established contact with 117, sources told The Hindu . These individuals are being held across 36 locations across the country as per the source. The goal is to …
Read More »100% use of VVPAT for Lok Sabha polls: EC
The Election Commission on Tuesday informed the Madras High Court that it had made it clear way back in 2017 that there shall be 100% use of the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system during the Lok Sabha election this year to gain voter confidence. Justices S. Manikumar and …
Read More »‘Ayushman Bharat world’s largest health scheme’
“Ayushman Bharat has stabilised as the largest health scheme in the world, benefiting over 10 lakh patients since its launch, and created an atmosphere of positivity,” said Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare J. P. Nadda at the inauguration of the newly-constituted National Health Authority (NHA). The minister, who …
Read More »Kartarpur corridor site plans shared with Pak.
India has shared with Pakistan coordinates of the ‘zero point’ along the border in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district where the 100-yard corridor, leading to the Kartarpur Sahib shrine, will be built. “The notification to acquire land for an Integrated Checkpost (ICP) will be issued on Wednesday. The Punjab government has assured …
Read More »Train project will eat into forestland
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed train corridor project was accorded wildlife clearance on January 10, according to records of the meeting of the committee chaired by Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan. The Thane Creek Flamingo (TCF) Wildlife Sanctuary, which the project will eat into, came into being on August 2015 and …
Read More »Govt. earnest on NRC: Rajnath
Home Minister Rajnath Singh said here on Tuesday that the government was committed to completing the process of National Register of Citizenship update in Assam within the stipulated time and would ensure that no foreigner was included or any Indian citizen excluded. Mr. Singh said the Home Ministry wanted that …
Read More »Bullet train gets green light via flamingo haven, national park
A committee, chaired by Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan, has accorded wildlife clearance to the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed train corridor that encroaches upon a flamingo sanctuary and the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, the home to leopards, in Mumbai. The proposal involves diversion of 3.2756 ha of forestland from the Thane …
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