An apex body of the scheduled tribes (STs) of Assam has resented the “snub” by the Centre while constituting a high-level committee on the implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord. This clause of the Assam Accord, signed in August 1985 to end a six-year agitation for the ejection …
Read More »Lok Sabha clears Bill on NHRC constitution
The Lok Sabha on Friday passed the Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2019 by voice vote. The Bill expedites the process of appointment of Chairperson and members of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and provides for, among others, including the chairpersons of the National Commission for Backward Classes, …
Read More »RTI Bill introduced amid Opposition flak
Centre to set service terms of panel Amid protests by the Opposition parties, a Bill to amend the Right to Information (RTI) Act and give the Union government the power to set the service conditions and salaries of Information Commissioners was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Friday. The Bill …
Read More »‘Mgmt. quota students can’t be charged more’
Higher fees only for NRI category: HC Frowning upon the practice of private medical colleges charging exorbitant fees from students gaining admission under the management quota, as compared to those admitted under the government quota, the Madras High Court held that there should not be any differentiation in the fee …
Read More »Supreme Court questions need for NRC sample reverification
Centre, Assam had wanted July 31 deadline extended The Supreme Court on Friday questioned the plea made jointly by the Centre and Assam to indefinitely extend the deadline for the publication of the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) from July 31 to conduct a “sample reverification” to quell the …
Read More »Mosquitoes wiped out on two islands
Scientists have used a new technique to wipe out a population of mosquito species on two islands in China. The results of the pilot trial, published in the journal Nature , show that combining incompatible and sterile insect techniques enabled near elimination of Aedes albopictus , or the Asian tiger …
Read More »7,000 species added to IUCN ‘Red List’
Habitat destruction and hunting by humans are reasons for fall in numbers Mankind’s destruction of nature is driving species to the brink of extinction at an “unprecedented” rate, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) warned on Thursday, as it added more than 7,000 animals, fish and plants …
Read More »‘Government can prosecute IL&FS auditors’
The NCLT has given a go-ahead to the government to prosecute Deloitte and BSR Associates for their failure to detect and report the scams that took place across the now bankrupt IL&FS Group and 21 other entities, when they were the auditors of IL&FS Financial Services. The NCLT, in an …
Read More »Quick nod for green energy transmission
Power and Renewable Energy Minister R.K. Singh on Thursday approved the proposal for early regulatory approvals of transmission schemes identified for 66.5 GW of renewable energy projects by designating them ‘projects of national importance’. “As the gestation period of renewable energy (RE) projects is much shorter in comparison to the …
Read More »EU fines chipmaker Qualcomm $271 mn for ‘predatory pricing’
‘It sold 3G chipsets at below cost of production’ In yet another European Union (EU) move against a U.S. tech giant, the bloc’s antitrust chief on Thursday fined chipmaker Qualcomm $271 million, accusing it of “predatory pricing” to drive a competitor out of the market. EU Antitrust Commissioner Margrethe Vestager …
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