-The Hindu The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill is a twin attack on accountability and the idea of federalism “Amendments” have haunted the Right to Information (RTI) community ever since the RTI Act came into effect almost 14 years ago. Rarely has a law been so stoutly defended by activists. It is not possible to pass a perfect law. But it was a popular opinion strongly held by most RTI activists that...

-TheWire.in In the name of simplification and universalisation, the new labour codes will likely result in increased worker exploitation. The Indian government has brought out four labour codes with the stated objective to rationalise and simplify the existing 44 labour laws. It is a welcome initiative to consolidate and simplify the delivery of justice to the working class. The four labour codes relate to wages, industrial relations, social security and welfare and...

-The Telegraph The obvious question: if the cash withdrawal isn’t designated as “income”, how can you tax it under the “income” tax act? The Narendra Modi government has left tax consultants and legal eagles deeply puzzled as they try to wrap their heads around the legalese of a change to the income-tax act. The change, incorporated in the budget presented by Nirmala Sitharaman and amended afresh on Thursday, mandates banks to deduct a...

-The Hindu Situation is the most bleak in low-income countries, says Lancet report “Oral diseases present a major global public health burden, affecting 3.5 billion people worldwide, yet oral health has been largely ignored by the global health community,” noted a new Lancet Series on Oral Health. The report warns that with a treat-over-prevent model, modern dentistry has failed to combat the global challenge of oral diseases, giving rise to calls for the...

-The Telegraph Labour minister Santosh Gangwar said that Rs 178 would be the minimum wage New Delhi: An existing tripartite advisory committee of employers, employees’ unions and state government officials will determine a national-level minimum wage that will be binding on all states after the passage of a draft law, the Centre said on Wednesday. Labour minister Santosh Gangwar had last week said that the government would table a Code on Wages Bill...