A document of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) dated 25th June, 2018 says that the number of members subscribing to the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) scheme gives one an idea of the level of employment in the formal sector viz. mostly employment in establishments employing 20 or more persons (though EPF is applicable for certain organisations, which employ less than 20 persons, subject to certain conditions and...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Union cabinet chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved guidelines for granting special remission to certain categories of prisoners, including women, transgenders and the differently abled, as part of commemorating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. According to the decision, women and transgender convicts who are at least 55 years old and have completed half their sentences will be granted the remission and set...

-The Hindu Many BJP MPs make it to the list of top 10 performers based on attendance, questions asked, and debates participated. The monsoon session of Parliament is set to begin on July 18 and it marks the beginning of the fifth year of the 16th Lok Sabha. With barely a year to go for the general election, here is an analysis, based on the data available in the Lok Sabha and...

-Newsclick.in “According to media reports, the proposed amendments seek to fundamentally weaken the institution of the information commissions by allowing the central and state governments to decide salaries of commissioners,” says NCPRI Press Release. Among the bills listed under the ‘Legislative Business’ to be carried out during the monsoon session of Lok Sabha,which will be held from July 18 to August 10, is ‘The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2018’. Although included...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: In the Lok Sabha bulletin for legislative business of the upcoming monsoon session, one bill stands out because it is the only one about which no details have been furnished. The bill seeks to amend the Right to Information Act of 2005, and the ironical opaqueness has alarmed transparency advocates who have mounted a pushback. As many as 18 bills are listed for introduction, consideration and passage in the...