The Select Committee on the Prevention of Torture Bill, 2010 has recommended stringent punishment for acts of torture by a public servant, including life imprisonment and death sentence for death caused by torture in custody.The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha in May but was referred to a Rajya Sabha Select Committee following concerns over certain inadequacies in the draft legislation.Chairman of the Select Committee Ashwini Kumar told journalists...

Delhi's private schools had complained that they were reeling under the burden of having to pay teachers higher salaries recommended by the 6th Pay Commission. A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), however, said they used the Pay Commission as an alibi to fatten themselves. In a damning indictment, the auditor held that 25 elite private schools passed on the burden of implementing the recommendations of the 6th Pay...

Union Minister for Labour and Employment Mallikarjun Kharge said the major challenge facing India today was that of the unorganised sector. He was speaking at the second World Social Security Summit organised by the International Social Security Association in Capetown, South Africa, on Friday. Mr. Kharge is heading a six-member high-level delegation from India, which held discussions with several Labour Ministers of the nearly 120 countries participating in the meet. Mr. Kharge...

Though persons with disabilities are entitled to at least 3 per cent jobs in the government sector, they account for barely 3,650 of the estimated 5.25 lakh State Government employees. Nearly 15 years after Parliament passed the Persons with Disabilities Act (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) providing 3 per cent reservation in jobs, persons with disabilities continue to struggle for their rights and livelihood. Posts not identified “A majority of...

The much-awaited Bill on sexual harassment at workplaces gets the Cabinet nod for presentation in Parliament. ON November 4, the Union Cabinet gave the go-ahead for the enactment of a law on protection of women from sexual harassment at the workplace. Titled Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill, 2010, the draft law is basically a new avatar of the ones prepared in 2004. This development has been...