The reconstituted Parliamentary Committee on Finance, headed by M. Veerappa Moily of the Congress, could not build a consensus on the long-pending report on demonetisation with BJP members continuing to oppose its finalisation. A draft report on demonetisation, which was circulated last year, looks at the impact of the move …
Read More »Boost to SC/ST quota in promotions
A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday modified a 2006 judgment requiring the State to show quantifiable data to prove the “backwardness” of a Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe community in order to provide quota in promotion in public employment. The 58-page judgment by a five-judge Bench led by Chief …
Read More »Deleting biometric data is difficult
Majority judgment in Aadhaar case silent on erasing Though the majority opinion in the Aadhaar verdict is silent on deleting biometric data already collected by phone companies, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud’s direction to do so will open a Pandora’s box, if implemented. The Constitution Bench on Wednesday was unanimous in declaring …
Read More »Rock band sets protest tune atop a palm oil tank
Greenpeace activists on Tuesday scaled storage tanks at an Indonesian palm oil refinery along with a popular rock band which played pro-environment songs, protesting against a commodity found in everything from soap to biscuits. The green group said 30 activists and Indonesian metal group Boomerang had been “occupying” the site …
Read More »India ranks 158th in ‘human capital’ score, behind Sudan
India ranks 158th in the world for its investments in education and health care, according to the first-ever scientific study ranking countries for their levels of investment in human capital. The nation is placed behind Sudan (ranked 157th) and ahead of Namibia (ranked 159th) in the list. The U.S. is …
Read More »Exploring the life and struggles of a tribal transgender
Udalazhamtells the story of A. Raju who was born in a tribal settlement inside the Nilambur forest in Kerala While the country continues to debate social exclusion and marginalisation of the third gender, the life and struggles of Kerala’s only known tribal transgender, who died seven months ago, is now …
Read More »Apex court wants government to fill SAT vacancies quickly
The Supreme Court wants the government to quickly fill the vacancies at the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), which is an important appellate body for filing appeals against orders passed by the capital market, insurance and pension regulators. While hearing an appeal filed by Quantum Securities, the apex court highlighted the …
Read More »Short-term power volume at new high as demand surges
Short-term power trading volumes for delivery, on Tuesday, hit an all-time high of 268.3 million units (MU) at the Indian Energy Exchange, in the wake of a surge in demand for electricity in the eastern, southern and western States mainly due to inadequate supply of coal and decrease in wind …
Read More »Liquidity crisis hits NBFC stocks hard
Concerns related to IL&FS has made investors turn wary of the whole sector The recent sell-off in the shares of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and housing finance companies (HFCs) has been so severe that some of the sector constituents are currently trading at a discount of over 50% when compared …
Read More »IL&FS, 40 group firms knock on NCLT doors seeking relief
Infrastructure Finance & Leasing Services, which is facing a severe cash crunch, along with 40 other group companies, filed an application with the Mumbai Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), seeking relief under Section 230 of the Companies Act. By moving NCLT, IL&FS can get more time to …
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