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Justice N. Anand Venkatesh of the Madras High Court is ensuring that the Union government, State government as well as allied entities put in place the systems required to ensure a dignified life for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual and others (LGBTQIA+) community. As a result of …

Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud on Saturday appealed to Parliament to have a relook at the issue of age of consent under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, as it posed difficulties for judges examining cases of consensual sexual intercourse between two adolescents. “In …

Public health experience has shown that undernutrition and TB form a vicious cycle. Poor nutritional status predisposes an individual to get infected by the disease, or have a dormant disease manifest clinically. TB leads to depletion of nutrient reserves and aggravation of undernutrition. Optimum nutritional support to TB patients improves …

While anaemia among adolescent girls and boys, and women, particularly those of reproductive age has been studied extensively, anaemia in men has been largely ignored. In 2019, apaper published inThe Lancet Global Healthhighlighted that nearly one in four men (23.2%) in the age group 15-54 yearsin India were anaemic (mild, …

International Monetary Fund chief Kristlina Georgieva said she had a “fruitful exchange” with her Chinese counterparts this week on her repeated calls for accelerating debt treatments for countries like Zambia and Sri Lanka. Georgieva, World Bank President David Malpass and other financial leaders met in person in China’s Anhui province …

The National Perspective Plan (NPP) was prepared by the then Ministry of Irrigation (now Ministry of Jal Shakti) in August 1980 for development of water resources through inter basin transfer of water, for transferring water from water-surplus basins to water-deficit basins. Under the NPP, the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) …

The Ministry of Rural Development launched Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) as a one-time special intervention to provide rural connectivity, by way of a single all-weather road, to the eligible unconnected habitations of designated population size (250 & above, in case of North Eastern States as per 2001 Census) …

On December 1, India assumed the presidency of the G20 forum. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it a “huge opportunity for India”. The G20 comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the U.K., the …

Failure to expedite a water pricing policy in the face of a plummeting water table risks droughts, unrest in a decade’s time, says Boston Consulting Group’s India chief; urges doubling spending on education, health to tap the demographic dividend India needs to urgently fix the ‘fundamental gaps’ in areas like water, …

Sri Lanka will soon resume talks with India on the stalled Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement (ETCA), authorities said, as Colombo looks to trade pacts and foreign direct investments to rebuild its crisis-hit economy. “We hope to commence negotiations on the ETCA later this month,” said K.J. Weerasinghe, Chief Negotiator …

The Supreme Court on Thursday said nobody was stopping the Union government from bringing a new law on judicial appointments, but till then, the Collegium system and its Memorandum of Procedure was the “final word”. The court’s remarks came after Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar on Wednesday criticised the striking down of …

25th November is observed across the globe as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.  Furthermore, 10th December is observed every year as International Human Rights Day. The 16 days period between 25th November and 10th December is observed by various institutions, civil society organizations including the United …

The Information Technology Act, 2000 (“IT Act”) and rules made thereunder contain several provisions for safeguarding users in the cyberspace. The IT Act penalises various cybercrimes relating to computer resources, including dishonestly or fraudulently accessing a computer resource without the permission. Each such cybercrime is punishable with imprisonment for a …

ODOP initiative is operationally merged with ‘Districts as Export Hub (DEH)’ initiative of the DGFT, Department of Commerce, with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) as a major stakeholder, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Shri Som Parkash said in reply to a parliament question …

The State of Punjab has furthered the cause of right to life and personal liberty of prisoners by allowing conjugal visits for inmates. It is expected that this initiative will lead to strengthening of matrimonial bonds and also ensure good conduct of prisoners. What are conjugal rights? Broadly speaking, conjugal …

Last week, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar commented on the on-going heated debate between the Central government and the Supreme Court over the matter of judicial appointments. Referring to the 2015 verdict of the SC which struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) and the 99th Amendment, Mr. Dhankhar asked how …

The University Grants Commission on Wednesday held a meeting with international publishers to discuss bringing out textbooks for undergraduate courses in Indian languages, and has set a timeline of six to 12 months for the same. Representatives from Wiley India, Springer Nature, Taylor & Francis, Cambridge University Press India, Cengage …

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would examine the question whether the court should wait for the report of the Justice K.G. Balakrishnan Commission or go ahead and hear a series of petitions seeking Scheduled Castes quota benefits for Dalit converts to other religions, primarily Christianity. The Centre, through …

December 8 is commemorated as SAARC Charter Day. It was on this day, 37 years ago, that the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), an intergovernmental organisation, was established by Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to promote economic growth in South Asia. Afghanistan acceded …

Early last month, the Supreme Court of India upheld the 103rd Constitutional Amendment Act, which had introduced 10% reservation for the economically weaker sections (EWS). The EWS quota and the Court judgment that followed have shifted the discussion on the legacy of affirmative action based on caste in India. With …