Government Policy

Punjab bans sale of herbicide glyphosate The Punjab government has banned the sale of the herbicide, glyphosate. “This chemical has been observed to be a group 2A cancer-causing material. It is also known to cause other health problems and has the potential to damage human DNA,” said an official statement …

Survivors of child sexual abuse can file a police complaint after they become adults. The government clarified on Tuesday that there is no time bar on reporting such crimes. The Law Ministry concurred with the opinion of the Ministry of Women and Child Development that unlike the Code of Criminal …

Survivors of child sexual abuse will be able to file a police complaint when they are adults after the government clarified on Tuesday that there is no time bar on reporting such crimes. The clarity comes after the Law Ministry concurred with the opinion of the Ministry of Women and …

The rupee snapped its three-session gaining streak to end 26 paise lower at 73.83 against the dollar on Monday after crude prices rose amid intensifying geopolitical tensions. Dealers said a spurt in dollar demand from importers dragged down the domestic currency. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex), the rupee opened …

The Supreme Court has upped the ante on the States, Union Territories and High Courts which have not provided it with details of criminal cases pending against sitting lawmakers, warning that their Chief Secretaries and Registrars General will be made personally liable for non-compliance. The Centre informed the court that …

To forge ties and make developed nations keep promises Ahead of the December climate talks in Katowice, Poland, India is having discussions with 40 countries, including China, to forge alliances and compel developed countries to make good on promises, made over the years, to provide enough finance and technology to …

Women in agriculture face multiple challenges due to lack of land entitlements, recognition Shahjahan Begum Mehboobani grows corn, onions, tomatoes and vegetables on her three-acre plot in Dharwad district of Karnataka. She’s also a responsible member of her local gram panchayat. But without a land patta in her name, it’s …

Mahesh Sharma says it will have no connection to NMML on Teen Murti Estate The Union Culture Ministry will construct a museum on Prime Ministers on the Teen Murti Estate here within a year, Minister Mahesh Sharma said on the occasion of the project’s ground breaking ceremony here on Monday. …

Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, has topped the first-ever standalone ranking of Indian higher education institutions by QS, a think tank that is famous for bringing out world rankings of institutions. Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, which tops Indian institutions in almost all rankings, stands second. The top 10 Indian …

India and France are in discussions for a bilateral tri-service military exercise to take forward the strategic cooperation while also exploring ways to operationalise the logistics agreement. These issues were discussed during the visit of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to Paris last week. “We have agreed on a bilateral tri-service …

Accusing the State government of utterly failing in providing employment to youth, actor and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan on Monday said employment generation would be accorded top priority once his party voted to power in the ensuing elections. “We promise jobs to the eligible, scrapping the contributory pension …

Incentives for honest taxpayers on the anvil The government is working on a proposal to help honest and consistent taxpayers enjoy public services and get tax-related work done on priority, officials said on Sunday. A committee under the Central Board of Direct Taxes is working on the proposal. It is …

Centre to develop ‘model shelters’ for homeless The Centre will develop “model shelters” for urban homeless in States, equipped with facilities such as playground, television and common kitchen, an official said. According to the Housing Ministry, two model shelters will be developed in each State under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana …

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited has launched AskDisha, a chatbot powered by artificial intelligence, to troubleshoot customers’ travel-related queries. AskDisha will support several regional languages and will be voice-enabled. Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/a-chatbot-for-customer-support/article25222779.ece

Soon, an app to file complaints from trains Passengers can soon file complaints through a mobile app from trains. The complaints will be registered as ‘Zero FIRs’ and will be investigated immediately by the RPF. A pilot project on the mobile application is under way, RPF D-G Arun Kumar has …

The shortlists for the best Indian literary fiction and non-fiction work were also announced. Half the Night is Gone by Amitabha Bagchi, A Day in the Life by Anjum Hasan, All the Lives We Never Lived by Anuradha Roy, Requiem in Raga Janki by Neelum Saran Gour, Poonachi by Perumal …

Total number of cases now stand at 60 Five new cases of Zika virus were detected in Jaipur on Sunday, taking the total number of infected people to 60, a Rajasthan health department official said. The figures were issued after a review meeting chaired by Additional Chief Secretary, Medical and …

Congress has objected to it being located on the Teen Murti Estate premises The foundation stone for a museum of Prime Ministers on the Teen Murti Estate premises will be laid on Monday, despite objections from the Congress. Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma and Minister of State for Housing and Urban …

Adityanath government says it’s a tribute to the Sangam city; Samajwadi worker held for protest What’s in a name? For the BJP-led government in Uttar Pradesh it’s a lot, as it has begun moves to soon change the name of Allahabad to Prayagraj. While the government views it as a …

Verma panel proposed State-level employment tribunal to deal with complaints The Centre recently announced its plan to set up a panel of judges to look into the legal and institutional framework to curb sexual harassment at workplaces following the #MeToo campaign on social media. However, as early as 2013, the …