-The Hindu Affidavit says that legislators are not bound by specific service conditions like that of government employees. The Central government has told the Supreme Court that it rejected the idea of barring convicted legislators for life from contesting elections, forming or becoming an office-bearer of a political party. The Union Ministry of Law and Justice said an elected representative of the people cannot be equated with public servants who are banned for...

-The Indian Express As protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act spiralled across Assam since December last year, the Sarbananda Sonowal-led state government promised a speedy implementation of Clause 6 as an antidote to the agitation and a measure to protect the interests of the “indigenous” people of Assam. A high-level committee on implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs has said that ‘Assamese people’...

-The Hindu The Citizenship (Amendment) Act provides a path for citizenship to minorities (non-Muslims) from three Muslim majority nations - Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Data show that religious minorities, including Muslims, in other neighboring countries such as Myanmar, China and Sri Lanka also face persecution. In many countries, minority sects within the majority religions (including Islam) are also persecuted. According to UN estimates, there are over 51 lakh international migrants in India...

-Down to Earth To reduce the consumption of water and maximise agricultural productivity in the country, the government is trying to introduce different innovations The gap between irrigation potential created, through major and minor projects, and the actual usage is increasing and affecting the country’s agricultural productivity, according to the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), the premier agricultural education and research body under the Union Ministry of Agriculture. "The key challenge facing...

-The Hindu The lives of tea-estate workers in West Bengal have worsened in many aspects over the years The tea plantation sector continues to play a significant role in the economy of north Bengal. There are 276 organised tea estates spread over the three tea-growing regions of West Bengal: Darjeeling Hills, Terai and Dooars. Besides the formally registered large tea plantations, there are thousands of small growers. According to one estimate, the...