-The Telegraph Don’t casually curb rights, govt told The Supreme Court on Friday frowned on the Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir governments for claiming statutory immunity from revealing the reasons for the restrictions imposed in the region, quoting legal philosopher Lone L. Fuller to say “there can be no greater legal monstrosity than a secret statute”. “A democracy, which is sworn to transparency and accountability, necessarily mandates the production of orders as...

-Livemint.com * 10,349 farmers and agricultural labourers killed themselves in 2018 compared with 10,655 in the previous year * In 2015, the government published elaborate data on farmer suicides, including reasons for suicides BENGALURU/ NEW DELHI: A total of 10,349 farmers and agricultural labourers committed suicide in 2018, a marginal dip from the 10,655 cases in the year before, home ministry data showed. According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data on accidental deaths...

-The Indian Express The exercise — Houselisting Operations of Census 2021 — will also seek data, for the first time, on smartphones, piped gas connections and mobile numbers. Amid fears expressed by the Opposition and states such as West Bengal and Kerala over the National Population Register (NPR), the government Thursday notified another pre-Census exercise that will seek new information on household consumption, including the use of cereals. The exercise — Houselisting Operations...

-The Hindu While opening up the coal mining sector, the govt. must protect the interests of Coal India The Centre’s decision to liberalise norms for entry into coal mining and relax regulations on mining and selling coal in the country is significant in many respects. Amendments to two legacy Acts through the Mineral Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2020 cleared by the Cabinet on Wednesday will free the sector from restrictions that were inhibiting...

-The Hindu Eurasia Group places India as 5th highest geopolitical risk in 2020 list India has been ranked the 5th highest “Geopolitical Risk” in 2020, according to a list of 10 global risks in the year ahead, compiled by the Eurasia Group, a leading global political risk management consultancy. It said that in its second term, the Narendra Modi-led NDA government’s “social” policies were affecting India’s economic agenda and foreign policy image. “Prime...