The Supreme Court on Friday transferred to itself petitions pending in various High Courts seeking legal recognition of same-sex marriage. A three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud said there was broad consensus among the petitioners to shift the cases to the Supreme Court for an authoritative …
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JAPAN OFFERING MONEY TO MOVE OUT OF TOKYO
According to local media reports, Japan will pay up to one million yen (approximately ₹6 lakh) per child to families if they move out of the Tokyo metropolitan area. This amount was previously set at 3,00,000 yen and has been raised to reduce population concentration in the capital area. The …
Read More »INDIA’S PLAN TO DEVELOP GREEN HYDROGEN
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a ₹19,744 crore National Green Hydrogen mission that aims to make India a ‘global hub’ for using, producing and exporting green hydrogen. What is green hydrogen? Hydrogen is a key industrial fuel that has a variety of applications including the production of ammonia (a …
Read More »IMPORT LEVY ON NATURAL RUBBER REMOVED
The All India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA) has urged the government to not impose further restrictions on the import of rubber compounds. The industry imported 1,12,500 tonnes in 2021 under the ‘4005 Compounded rubber, unvulcanised, in primary forms or in plates, sheets or strip’ category to make products such as …
Read More »DRAFT NORMS TO ALLOW FOREIGN UNIVERSITIES TO SET UP CAMPUSES IN INDIA
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has announced draft norms for facilitating foreign universities and educational institutions to set up campuses in India which allow them autonomy in determining fees, as well as a 90-day approval process. The final norms will be notified by the end of the month after feedback …
Read More »CENTRE PLANS TO PROMOTE INDIA AS A GLOBAL HUB FOR GREEN HYDROGEN
The thrust of India’s National Green Hydrogen (NGH) Mission is to promote India as global hub for producing green hydrogen, R.K. Singh, Minister for New and Renewable Energy said at press briefing on Thursday. Green hydrogen is when hydrogen is from a renewable energy source, such as solar or wind. …
Read More »STRATEGIC DIALOGUE OF INDIA AND FRANCE
National Security Adviser (NSA) AjitDoval on Thursday held the 36th round of the Indo-French Strategic Dialogue with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Bonne. Mr. Bonne’s visit was the first major diplomatic visit of the New Year, and according to a statement from the Embassy of France in India, both participants agreed …
Read More »MAKING INDIA AN UPLINKING HUB
There have been two major developments in the television industry in India in the last two years. In 2021, the Cable Television Network Rules, 1994, were amended to include a statutory mechanism for redressal of grievances and complaints of viewers relating to content broadcast by television channels in accordance with …
Read More »SMALL ENTERPRISES AND GREEN ECONOMY
The Union Cabinet has cleared a ₹17,490-crore National Green Hydrogen (NGH) mission that aims to facilitate the production of hydrogen from renewable energy. Hydrogen is an essential industrial fuel that has a range of uses from producing ammonia, making steel and cement, to powering fuel cells that can run buses …
Read More »FREEDOM IN AUTHORITY- MISUSE OF FREE SPEECH
In a recent verdict, the Supreme Court has shown sound restraint while examining the issue of misuse of free speech, especially by political functionaries holding public office. It is to the credit of the Constitution Bench that it did not make any adventurous attempt to expand the scope of the …
Read More »ASIAN ELEPHANT HAS LOST MOST OF ITS OPTIMAL HABITAT IN NILGIRI RESERVE’
Elephants winding their way up the rocky green hills in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR) make for pretty photographs. But a recent article says the endangered Asian Elephant has lost most of its “optimal” habitat: flat terrain that is easily negotiable. A paper, ‘Fencing Can Alter Gene Flow of Asian …
Read More »LARGEST LIQUID WASTE TREATMENT PLANT
The Municipal Corporation of Tirupati (MCT) is set to take a giant leap in water treatment by putting in place what is claimed to be the country’s largest liquid waste treatment plant to use phytorid technology. The plant coming up next to Vinayaka Sagar will treat 5 MLD (million litres …
Read More »‘NO CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTION FOR STAFF TAKING PART IN STRIKE’
The Kerala High Court has reiterated that no State government employee, worker, or association has the legal right to call for a general strike or instigate the employees to strike, in the guise of the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by the Constitution. A Division Bench …
Read More »CASH CROPS HAVE RECORDED HIGHER COVERAGE
Cash crops have recorded higher coverage in Tamil Nadu this time than the previous year, while the coverage of food crops is marginally lower than last year. In respect of the former, the performance in the coverage of cotton and sugar cane has made a difference and in respect of …
Read More »DEMOLITION AND CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES COULD LEAD TO EMISSION OF CO2
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) predicted that Chennai would emit around 232 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) by 2040. Construction activities and operations of the buildings in the city could lead to as much as 231.9 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. The buildings consume around 75% …
Read More »COLOUR OF THE YEAR FOR 2023
The defining global authority for all things colour-related chose Viva Magenta (Pantone 18-1750) as its shade for the year, saying it “acknowledges our gravitational pull towards natural colours as movements swell around climate change, sustainability, and land protection”. Viva Magenta is described by Pantone as a “nuanced crimson red tone” …
Read More »THE POULTRY CAPITAL OF TAMIL NADU
Sometime in the late 1960s, some of those involved in the transport business in Namakkal entered poultry farming, operating from thatched sheds. Over the years, many more entered the business. By the 1990s, the town was bustling with more than 5,000 poultry farms. Post-modernisation, these poultry farms moved into multi-storey …
Read More »CABINET APPROVES NATIONAL GREEN HYDROGEN MISSION
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved National Green Hydrogen Mission. The initial outlay for the Mission will be Rs.19,744 crore, including an outlay of Rs.17,490 crore for the SIGHT programme, Rs.1,466 crore for pilot projects, Rs.400 crore for R&D, and Rs. 388 …
Read More »HIGH-POWER LADAKH COMMITTEE
On January 2, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) constituted a high-powered committee chaired by Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai for the Union Territory of Ladakh. The committee will discuss measures to protect the region’s unique culture and language taking into consideration its geographical location and strategic importance; …
Read More »JALLIKATTU-CULTURAL PRACTICE OR CRUELTY
With the Supreme Court recommencing its work after the winter vacation, all eyes in Tamil Nadu are on the verdict of a five-member Constitution Bench of the Court on a batch of petitions seeking to strike down a 2017 Tamil Nadu law that protects jallikattu, a traditional event involving bulls. …
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