Budget 2018-19

  Research shows that the number of air quality monitors in India per million people is lower than other highly populated countries. This prevents it from gauging the true extent of various pollutants With its size, population and aggravating air pollution, India needs 1,600 to 4,000 air quality monitors but has only 804 as of September 16, 2021, most of which are concentrated in urban areas, shows research. This, experts say, prevents India from knowing the true extent, scale and geographical spread of various pollutants, and limits the government’s ability for preventive public health measures. India has nine of the 10 most polluted cities in the world, but with 200 particulate matter (PM) 2.5 monitoring sites in operation during the 2010-2016 period, India’s air quality monitor density–about 0.14 monitors per million people–is below China (1.2), the United States of America (3.4), Japan (0.5) and Brazil (1.8), according to research from 2019. As a consequence, India does not acc...

  The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it doesn’t want women to be denied their right. The induction of women cannot be posted by one year, it said. The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to accept the Centre’s request to allow women candidates to appear for the entrance exam to the NDA from next year, saying it doesn’t want women to be denied their right. The induction of women cannot be posted by one year, it said. The Centre had told the top court that a notification allowing women candidates to appear for the entrance exam to the  National Defence Academy  will be out by May next year. A bench headed by Justice S K Kaul said the armed forces are the best response team to deal with emergency situations and it is hopeful that necessary arrangements will be put in place to pave the way for the induction of women in NDA without delay. It said the needful should be done by the defence department in collaboration with the UPSC. The top court noted the submissions made by sen...

  The Supreme Court Monday asked CBSE and ICSE to respond by tomorrow to the concerns raised by some students and parents on the schemes of both the boards formulated to evaluate Class XII students The Supreme Court Monday asked CBSE and ICSE to respond by tomorrow to the concerns raised by some students and parents on the schemes of both the boards formulated to evaluate Class XII students, whose examination was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A parents’ association and students flagged several concerns with regard to the CBSE and ICSE schemes for evaluation for  Class 12 results  and said that many clauses are arbitrary and would be detrimental to future prospects of the students. A special bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari said that it will hear the response of counsels for CBSE and ICSE on Tuesday on the concerns raised by interveners. The bench also directed registry to list all pending petitions in the matter on Tuesday, June 22, in whic...

  The government, on June 1, cancelled the   CBSE Class 12 board exams   due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Thursday told the Supreme Court that it will declare Class 12 board exam results by July 31, using performance in Class 11 and Class 10 as a factor in evaluating students. Total marks will be based on a school’s past performance in Class 12 exams, multiple media reports said. About 40 per cent of the marks will be based on Class 12 pre-board, the Board told the bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari, according to NDTV.com. The performance of the students in Class 11 and Class 10 exams will be factored in while making the assessments. While 30 per cent marks will be based on  Class 11 final exam , 30 per cent marks based on best-of-three Class 10 marks will also be included while making the assessment, it said. Practicals will be for 100 marks and the students will be marked based on the marks submi...

  Rahul Gandhi says new acts will destroy country’s agriculture; V-P Naidu calls for keeping farmers’ welfare in mind while framing farm policies The members of a panel set up by the Supreme Court to resolve the crisis of farmer protests said on Tuesday they would keep aside their ideology and views while consulting stakeholders, even as they indicated a complete repeal won’t augur well for much-needed agriculture reforms. The panel met for the first time on Tuesday. The biggest challenge, the members said, is to convince the agitating farmers to come and speak with them. “We will try our best. We also want to request those farmers who don’t want to come before us that we are neither from any party nor from the government’s side. We are from the Supreme Court’s side,” said Anil Ghanwat, a member of the panel. Agriculture economist Ashok Gulati and former director of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Pramod Kumar Joshi, are the remaining members of the panel....

Officials said while the central government wanted farmers to discuss the three Acts clause by clause, the farmers wanted nothing less than an assurance of total repeal The seventh round of talks between agitating farmers and the central government to resolve the impasse over the three farm laws and a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) yet again failed to make headway. Both sides dug in their heels before deciding to reconvene on January 8. Officials said while the central government wanted farmers to discuss the three Acts clause by clause, the farmers wanted nothing less than an assurance of total repeal. The central government in its submission to farmers said the government was willing to discuss the Acts threadbare with farmers from the rest of the country before moving ahead. “The Centre wants the unions to raise specific issues in the three farm laws they have problems with. Both sides need to find a solution. We are hopeful of a solution on January 8. Monday’s talk...

  It has become clear that the special trains operated by the government to ease suffering – and to counteract a disastrous lack of lockdown planning – played a significant role in spreading the virus The crowds surged through the gates, fought their way up the stairs of the 160-year-old station, poured across the platforms and engulfed the trains. It was May 5, around 10 a.m. Surat was beastly hot, 106 degrees. Thousands of migrant laborers were frantic to leave — loom operators, diamond polishers, mechanics, truck drivers, cooks, cleaners, the backbone of Surat’s economy. Two of them were Rabindra and Prafulla Behera, brothers and textile workers, who had arrived in Surat a decade ago in search of opportunity and were now fleeing disease and death. Rabindra stepped aboard carrying a bag stuffed with chapatis. His older brother, Prafulla, clattered in behind, dragging a plastic suitcase packed with pencils, toys, lipstick for his wife and 13 dresses for his girls.“You really think...

  The SC allowed the govt to go ahead with the foundation stone laying ceremony after the govt assured it that no construction will take place till the apex court makes a decision The Supreme Court on Monday expressed displeasure over the way the Centre is “aggressively” going ahead with the construction work of the Central Vista and directed that no construction, demolition or felling of trees shall take place for the project. A bench of the apex court, headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar, observed that the Central government may lay down the foundation stone for the project but it cannot go ahead with construction work of the project. The bench was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Rs 20,000 crores project for the redevelopment of the Central Vista in the national capital, which made certain allegations of violations in the project. No construction, demolition or felling of trees shall take place for the Central  Vista project , the bench said. Solicitor General Tusha...

The top court will hear pleas from the consortium of banks and RCom against stay of assets sale by HC on April 5   The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered that status quo be maintained on Reliance Communication's sale of assets to R-Jio on pleas by a consortium of banks. The apex court bench, comprising Justices A K Goel, R F Nariman and U U Lalit, refused to lift the stay ordered by Bombay High Court on R-Com asset sale. The top court will hear pleas from the consortium of banks and RCom against stay of assets sale by HC on April 5. The State Bank of India had yesterday moved the apex court challenging a tribunal's order, which was upheld by the Bombay High Court, allowing Ericsson to stake a claim on RCom Consolidated's assets. RCom owes Indian lenders Rs 420 billion. RCom Consolidated incorporates the Anil Ambani-led group's Reliance Communications, Reliance Infratel and Reliance Telecom. Apart from SBI, 24 other Indian lenders const...

Rajesh Talwar and Nupur Talwar will have to prove their innocence in the Supreme Court, even as India waits to know who the culprits in the 10-year-old Aarushi-Hemraj murder case were The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday moved the Supreme Court against the Allahabad High Court's order acquitting Nupur Talwar and Rajesh Talwar in the Aarushi- Hemraj murder case. The Allahabad High Court, in a judgment last year, observed that the Noida-based dentist couple couldn't be held responsible for the murder of Aarushi and household help Hemraj because of insufficient evidence. That verdict itself was the outcome of a nine-year-long case that dragged on following several twists and turns. A CBI court in Ghaziabad had earlier sentenced the doctor couple to life imprisonment in 2013. The CBI has said that the Allahabad HC made a mistake in overturning the trial court's 'well-reasoned' judgment. However, following the High Court's Octob...

Another Valentine's day is upon us and young men and women across India will risk head shavings, face blackening, public thrashings and forcibly solemnised marriages   It’s that time of the year again. Time for fear to stalk hearts that beat with love and longing. Time for the memories of humiliation and harassment in the name of moral policing to haunt those who commit the “crime” of dating. Time for the looming threat of abuse and assault to strike again. Another Valentine’s day is upon us and young men and women across India will risk head shavings, face blackening, public thrashings and forcibly solemnised marriages – all in the name of saving our impressionable youth from the wicked influence of sinful Western culture and its notions of romantic love. Politically-connected petty criminals claiming to be self-appointed protectors of India’s ancient culture will be out chasing young men and women in card shops, parks, hotels, restaurants and shopping malls, thre...