-PTI   The entire north India shivered on Monday as 11 more people succumbed to the cold sweeping the region pushing the death toll to 39. Dense fog and dipping temperatures threw normal life out of gear at several places as nine deaths occurred in Punjab and two in Uttar Pradesh since last evening. The death count from the harsh weather has risen to 30 in Uttar Pradesh where Fatehgarh with a minimum...

-The Hindu   Not a single person should die this winter from the freezing cold: Supreme Court Expressing concern over the lot of homeless persons during the winter, the Supreme Court on Monday directed Delhi and other States to ensure that adequate shelters were provided for night stay. The Bench observed that not a single person must be allowed to die from having to sleep on the pavement in the freezing cold. A Bench...

-The Indian Express   As indictments of the lower judiciary go, this one is pretty damning. Each and every sub-judge from Punjab and Haryana who sat for the qualifying exam for superior judicial service two months ago has flunked. Only two — one each from the general category and OBC — of 148 lawyers who appeared for the exam passed. All candidates — lawyers and sub-judges — were cleared in a preliminary test of...

Two ministries concerned with rural development are at loggerheads over running of the government's flagship scheme- the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The agriculture ministry is protesting the way the Rs 40, 000 crore programme is being executed, saying it has increased the burden on agriculture, which is showing just about two percent growth now.   "State-level studies by the Agro Economic Research Centres on wage rate, food security...

Global retail chains looking to set up shop in India may face several challenges such as delay in the implementation of goods and services tax and restrictions imposed by the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act, besides political opposition. These hurdles can be roadblocks in providing real benefits to farmers and consumers as intended by the government in opening the multi-brand retail sector to foreign direct investment. “GST (goods and services tax)...