-The Hindu Notes several instances of govt pressure on media outlets Washington DC: In its 2020 Human Rights Report, the U.S. State Department said the harassment and detention of journalists critical of the (Indian) government in their reporting and on social media, has continued, although the government generally respected the freedom of expression. It also said government’s requests for user data from Internet companies had increased “dramatically.” The report, which is submitted each...

-NDTV.com India Covid-19 Cases: Total now stands at 1.2 crore with 1,61,843 deaths recorded till. New Delhi: Up to 68,020 fresh coronavirus cases were reported in India over the past 24 hours, making it the biggest one-day surge since October, Union Health Ministry data indicate. This includes 291 deaths. The total number of active cases has risen by 35,498, it show. The total number of Covid-19 cases in the country now stands at...

-The Indian Express One year since the Covid-19 lockdown was imposed, there’s been little change in the hunger levels and unemployment rate among migrant workers, especially women. Today marks the first anniversary of the day the central government announced an ill-planned national lockdown. India is home to nearly 500 million informal sector workers with practically non-existent social security and the unilateral decision pushed them into perilous circumstances, triggering their great exodus from...

-The Hindu Nearly 24 hours after the Centre’s request, the label remains. The government does not have the power under the Information Technology Act to direct Twitter to remove the ‘manipulated media’ tag from certain tweets, experts said. They say the Centre’s move raises concerns of censorship and view the action as “needless interference” in implementation of the terms of service of a private company conducting business in India. The government on Friday had...

-The Hindu If passed in its current form, the NCT of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021 will strip the elected government of almost all its powers. It must be referred to a select committee and not passed in haste. The political theorist Jean Louis De Lolme had once famously observed that “British Parliament can do everything but make a man a woman, a woman a man”. The English statesman Lord Burleigh had remarked...