-The Telegraph Bench condemns the practice as ‘regressive’ and ‘invasive’ New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday banned the decades-old “two-finger” test on rape survivors and said anyone violating the directive would be held guilty of misconduct. The two-finger test is conducted on victims of sexual assault and rape to determine whether they are habituated to sexual intercourse. Condemning the practice as “regressive” and “invasive”, a bench of Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Hima...

-Down to Earth Experts welcome move but call for a complete ban The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare issued a notice October 21, 2022 restricting the use of glyphosate, a widely used herbicide, citing health hazards for humans and animals. Only authorised Pest Control Operators are allowed to use it.  Earlier, state governments of Maharashtra, Telangana, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh have tried similar steps but failed. Pesticide Action Network (PAN) India...

-IndiaToday.in The production-linked incentive scheme has helped boost India's mobile exports but is yet to show results in some other sectors. Agility and ease of doing business in its implementation will determine its success For over a decade, the share of manufacturing in India’s GDP has remained in the 15-17 per cent range, with various measures by the present and past governments barely helping the needle move. A recent effort to give...

-Newsclick.in The initiatives by Odisha and Rajasthan governments have prompted political leaders from other states to raise demands for similar action from their state governments. Kolkata: The recent decisions by two state governments – Odisha and Rajasthan – abolishing contractual engagement of people for government jobs have come as a morale booster for trade unions. The unions have been agitating for several years demanding contract workers' regularisation. The General Administration and Public...

-Newsclick.in The farmers are also demanding free electricity for irrigation and grants for borewells, tubewells, ponds and tanks, as promised by BJP during the last Assembly election. Lucknow: Sugarcane farmers of Kaptanganj sugar mill, in Kushinagar district of Uttar Pradesh (UP) and surrounding villages have been protesting outside the tehsil under the banner of multiple unions demanding payment of around Rs 44 crore due for the ongoing crushing season for almost two...