-The Indian Express The opposition’s main contention is that the GM mustard hybrid incorporates three alien genes — barnase, barstar and bar — rendering it inherently unsafe for human and animal health. Fifty years ago, Union Minister for Food and Agriculture Chidambaram Subramaniam took the decision to import 18,000 tonnes of seeds of Lerma Rojo 64A and Sonora 64 wheat from Mexico. The seeds arrived just in time for their planting in...
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Govt to keep Aadhaar records for 7 yrs, prompts fears of surveillance -Aloke Tikku
-Hindustan Times New Delhi: The government will keep a record of all the services and benefits availed using the Aadhaar number for seven years, say new rules, prompting fears that the database could be used for surveillance. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which issues the 12-digit biometric identity to all Indian residents, will be required to preserve its record of verification of an Aadhaar number for the duration. “This is an...
More »Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Law Minister, interviewed by Nistula Hebbar & Krishnadas Rajagopal (The Hindu)
-The Hindu Framers of the Constitution were clear that we must move to a common personal law, the Union Law Minister says. Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said the Centre’s affidavit on the triple talaq issue, which is being heard in the Supreme Court, was based on the principles of assuring gender justice, gender equality and dignity. The Minister stressed that the right to freedom of religion did not enjoin...
More »Now, transactions older than 6 years in govt cross hairs in war on black money -Suchetana Ray and Mahua Venkatesh
-Hindustan Times New Delhi: The crackdown on black money is not over. With the scheme for voluntary disclosure of unaccounted for wealth now closed, tax officials have launched a drive to unearth hidden incomes and are looking at transactions carried out beyond a six-year ceiling under existing rules, sources said. “The tax department can scan transactions older than six years by invoking clause 197C of the Finance Act, 2016. This clause was introduced...
More »The End TB strategy -Soumya Swaminathan
-The Hindu The Global TB Report 2016, recently released, has revised the estimates for the tuberculosis (TB) burden in India upwards. The country has 27 per cent of the global burden of incident tuberculosis and 34 per cent of global TB deaths. For the year 2015, the updated estimate of incidence (new and relapse TB cases per year) is 2.8 million cases. India diagnosed and notified 1.7 million incident TB patients...
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