-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed concern over abusive and derogatory comments on social media and agreed with the contention of two senior advocates that people doing so should face the consequences. The court also hit back at those alleging that judges were increasingly becoming "pro-government". It said such accusations were unfortunate and people should come and sit in courtrooms to see how courts "hauled up"...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Supreme Court today sought the response of the Centre and the Election Commission on a joint petition filed by NGOs challenging amendments to the 2016 and 2017 Finance Acts that allegedly allow unfettered donations by corporate houses in India and foreign entities to parties in the name of "political bonds". According to advocates Prashant Bhushan and Neha Rathi, appearing for the NGOs Association of Democratic Reforms and...

-TheWire.in The World Bank’s estimate that Aadhaar has the potential to save $11 billion in subsidies every year has repeatedly been used by the Centre to justify the programme. But does this figure hold up under close scrutiny? Evidence-based policy-making usually proceeds by outlining the problem at hand, discussing various solutions, conducting studies to understand the effectiveness of these solutions and then prescribing a course of action based on accumulated evidence. It’s safe...

-TheWire.in The K.R. Rao committee has only recently taken on board the views of civil society stakeholders, raising questions as to whether illegal mining and environmental issues will be properly addressed. New Delhi: A government committee in charge of revamping India’s 2008 mineral policy has belatedly agreed to rectify its industry-skewed composition by roping in several civil society stakeholders as ad-hoc members. However, according to multiple industry and environmental experts, it is unclear...

-The Times of India BENGALURU: You needn't visit the sub-registrar's office to get your marriage registered. Forget all the hassles, and apply and print your certificate online -all from your home. Karnataka's stamps and registration department has decided to launch a dedicated portal, on the lines of property registration, to minimize visits to the government office. "We are streamlining the process of getting marriage certificates online. Till now, you could apply online and...