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During a visit to the U.K. last week, WhatsApp’s head Will Cathcart said that WhatsApp would not comply with the country’s proposed Online Safety Bill (OSB) which will in effect outlaw end-to-end (E2E) encryption. Mr. Cathcart said that it was the first time a “liberal democracy” was attempting to block …

The issue of holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies has been referred to the Law Commission for further examination. Currently, elections to the state assemblies and the Lok Sabha are held separately. Whenever the incumbent government’s five-year term ends or whenever it is dissolved due to various reasons. The idea of “One Nation, One …

Congress moves privilege motion against Prime Minister Parliamentary privileges are certain rights and immunities enjoyed by members of Parliament, individually and collectively. Without these they cannot discharge their functions efficiently and effectively. When any of these rights and immunities are disregarded, the offence is called a breach of privilege and is punishable under law of Parliament. A notice is moved in the form of …

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for war crimes for Russian  President. The court says Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children since Russia’s full-scale invasion began. Russia has defended the transfers on humanitarian grounds. What is the International Criminal Court? The International Criminal Court is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal. It is the first and only permanent international …

herSTART platform to encourage women entrepreneurs inaugurated recently The ‘herSTART’ platform will boost innovation and start-up efforts of women entrepreneurs and also help them connect with various government and private enterprises. The platform will include: a digital platform to provide resources and training modules free of cost to aspiring women entrepreneurs, a digital community for them, and a digital publication to spread their …

Key provisions: The Bill provides for the prevention of offenses against advocates, such as assault, grievous hurt, criminal force and criminal intimidation, along with damage or loss to their property. The objective of the Bill is to prohibit increasing “violence” and “false implications” against advocates in the state. The Act also deems these offenses as cognizable, …

The President of India recently launched Unnathi programme. The President inaugurated the silver jubilee celebration of ‘Kudumbashree’ – one of the largest women’s self-help networks in the world. She also launched ‘Unnathi’ Programme. It is an umbrella programme to create opportunities for employment and self-employment, among the youth belonging to SC and ST communities. SOURCE: THE HINDU, THE ECONOMIC TIMES, PIB

The time limit fixed by the Supreme Court for the constitution of an inter-State river water disputes tribunal for Pennaiyar river expired and Tamil Nadu is waiting for the Centre’s next course of action. In 2018, Tamil Nadu filed an original suit against Karnataka constructing check-dams and diversionary structures on the river. In 2019, …

Two United States Senators have introduced a bipartisan resolution reiterating that the US recognises the McMahon Line as the international boundary between China and India in Arunachal Pradesh. The resolution reaffirms India’s well-known and established position that Arunachal Pradesh, which China calls ‘South Tibet’, is an integral part of India. What is the McMahon Line? …

Atal Innovation Mission – NITI Aayog launches ATL Sarthi What is ATL Sarthi? It is a comprehensive self-monitoring framework to strengthen the ever-growing ecosystem of Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL). ATL Sarthi will enable the ATLs to be efficient and effective. The initiative has four pillars: a self-reporting dashboard known as ‘MyATL Dashboard’ Compliance SOPs for schools to ensure financial and non-financial …