The Kerala High Court has reiterated that no State government employee, worker, or association has the legal right to call for a general strike or instigate the employees to strike, in the guise of the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by the Constitution. A Division Bench …
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CASH CROPS HAVE RECORDED HIGHER COVERAGE
Cash crops have recorded higher coverage in Tamil Nadu this time than the previous year, while the coverage of food crops is marginally lower than last year. In respect of the former, the performance in the coverage of cotton and sugar cane has made a difference and in respect of …
Read More »DEMOLITION AND CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES COULD LEAD TO EMISSION OF CO2
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) predicted that Chennai would emit around 232 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) by 2040. Construction activities and operations of the buildings in the city could lead to as much as 231.9 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. The buildings consume around 75% …
Read More »COLOUR OF THE YEAR FOR 2023
The defining global authority for all things colour-related chose Viva Magenta (Pantone 18-1750) as its shade for the year, saying it “acknowledges our gravitational pull towards natural colours as movements swell around climate change, sustainability, and land protection”. Viva Magenta is described by Pantone as a “nuanced crimson red tone” …
Read More »THE POULTRY CAPITAL OF TAMIL NADU
Sometime in the late 1960s, some of those involved in the transport business in Namakkal entered poultry farming, operating from thatched sheds. Over the years, many more entered the business. By the 1990s, the town was bustling with more than 5,000 poultry farms. Post-modernisation, these poultry farms moved into multi-storey …
Read More »CABINET APPROVES NATIONAL GREEN HYDROGEN MISSION
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved National Green Hydrogen Mission. The initial outlay for the Mission will be Rs.19,744 crore, including an outlay of Rs.17,490 crore for the SIGHT programme, Rs.1,466 crore for pilot projects, Rs.400 crore for R&D, and Rs. 388 …
Read More »HIGH-POWER LADAKH COMMITTEE
On January 2, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) constituted a high-powered committee chaired by Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai for the Union Territory of Ladakh. The committee will discuss measures to protect the region’s unique culture and language taking into consideration its geographical location and strategic importance; …
Read More »JALLIKATTU-CULTURAL PRACTICE OR CRUELTY
With the Supreme Court recommencing its work after the winter vacation, all eyes in Tamil Nadu are on the verdict of a five-member Constitution Bench of the Court on a batch of petitions seeking to strike down a 2017 Tamil Nadu law that protects jallikattu, a traditional event involving bulls. …
Read More »VALUES OF LOCAL SELF-GOVERNANCE
In December 1992, Parliament passed the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments, which instituted panchayats and municipalities, respectively. These amendments mandated that State governments constitute panchayats (at the village, block and district levels) and municipalities (in the form of municipal corporations, municipal councils and nagar panchayats) in every region. They sought …
Read More »GAMING AND GAMBLING
The Union government’s proposed measures for regulating online gaming in a draft amendment to the Information Technology (Intermediary Liability and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 leave several questions unanswered. Some of these proposed measures, such as the establishment of a self-regulatory body, collection of know-your-customer (KYC) information from players, …
Read More »MANUFACTURING SECTOR IN INDIA
Recent macro-economic data, including the official Index of Eight Core Industries for November and S&P Global’s survey-based Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the manufacturing and services sectors for December, offer mixed signals on the underlying momentum in the economy. The government’s provisional data show that output across the core industries, …
Read More »SILENT VALLEY BIRD SPECIES’ NUMBER GOES UP TO 175
A bird survey conducted at the Silent Valley National Park in Kerala in the last week of December identified 141 species, of which 17 were new. So far, 175 species of birds have been spotted in Silent Valley. The survey held on December 27, 28 and 29 marked the 30th …
Read More »TALACAUVERY IS SOUTH INDIA’S TOP ‘STAR PARTY’ DESTINATION
Talacauvery in Kodagu district of Karnataka, which is the source of the Cauvery river, has emerged as South India’s Hanle, as astronomers have been hosting “star parties” there for some time now. Hanle, located in Ladakh, and known for its pristine skies and minimal light pollution, is also India’s first …
Read More »KRISHNA WATER DISPUTE
Poondi reservoir, which is a major storage point for the city’s drinking water, is filled to the brim with copious inflow of Krishna water and run-off from catchment areas. Water is now being diverted to fill the three other reservoirs that feed Chennai’s needs. Chennai’s daily water supply at the …
Read More »GREEN HYDROGEN MISSION -OUTLAY OF ₹19,744 CRORE
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission with an initial outlay of ₹19,744 crore, in a move aimed at making the country a global hub to produce, utilise and export green hydrogen and its derivatives. The government expects that the initiative will help abate nearly 50 …
Read More »INDIA MOVING TO REGULATE ONLINE GAMING
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has released draft amendments in relation to online gaming. The idea is to ensure that online games are in conformity with Indian laws and to safeguard users against potential harm. The Minister of State at MeitY Rajeev Chandrasekhar stated that the draft …
Read More »LEGALITY OF ISRAEL’S OCCUPATION
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) ended 2022 by passing a resolution that asked the body’s highest court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) , to render its opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s prolonged occupation of Palestinian land. The resolution was passed with 87 member countries voting favourably, …
Read More »$17 BN CUT IN FOOD, FERTILIZER SUBSIDY
India aims to cut spending on food and fertilizer subsidies to ₹3.7 trillion in the fiscal year from April, a 26% cut from this year, two government officials said, to rein in a fiscal deficit that ballooned during the COVID-19 pandemic. Food and fertilizer subsidies alone account for about one-eighth …
Read More »BAN ON PURSE SEINE NETS
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre what would happen to the small and traditional fishermen in the State of Tamil Nadu if “affluent” purse seine fishermen on mechanised boats are allowed to operate beyond the 12 nautical mile territorial waters and end up catching hundreds of tonnes of …
Read More »DISCIPLINARY ACTION ON COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
A Prime Minister or a Chief Minister in a country where there is a multi-party system cannot afford to crack the whip every time a Minister makes a statement which may either be in bad taste or disparaging, the Supreme Court said in a Constitution Bench judgment on Tuesday. “The …
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