HRD Ministry says the seminaries are protected under Articles 29, 30 of the Constitution The Union Human Resource Development Ministry on Friday clarified that madrasas are protected under Article 29 and 30 of the Constitution, and hence the Right of the Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act does not come in the way of continuance of such institutions or the rights of children enrolled there. Madrasas imparting religious instruction do...

-PTI   The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) today said it would submit its report to the government in September, suggesting changes required in the key economic Acts such as Income Tax and FEMA to tackle the menace of black money and ways of retrieving it from tax havens abroad. ICAI had said earlier this month that the report was expected in August. A committee, headed by ICAI President G Ramaswamy, is...

-The Telegraph   The Union cabinet today approved the Lokpal bill after overruling Manmohan Singh, who again advocated bringing the Prime Minister within the corruption ombudsman’s ambit. The higher judiciary, conduct of MPs inside Parliament, and the lower bureaucracy too have been kept out of the Lokpal’s jurisdiction. Anna Hazare, whose civil society group had insisted on all these sections and the Prime Minister being included, termed the draft a “cruel joke” and...

-The Telegraph   All chief ministers will be requested to give their suggestions on a proposed land acquisition law in the next one month before the draft goes to the cabinet. Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today said that his ministry had prepared the draft of the Land Acquisitions (Amendment) Bill which will be sent to chief ministers next week. “We cannot do anything without consulting the states. Land is a state...

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the draft of the anti-corruption Lokpal Bill that is to be tabled in Parliament during the upcoming monsoon session. The Prime Minister and the judiciary have been excluded from the ambit of the Lokpal Bill. According to this draft, the body will have a chairperson and eight members, including four judicial members. Information minister Ambika Soni said the chairperson would be a serving or retired Supreme Court...