-Deccan Herald One of the proposals under debate at Montreal is a call for slashing harmful subsidies by at least $500 billion annually from the estimated $ 1.8 trillion India has sought more public finance to protect its biodiversity and strongly opposed proposals to reduce subsidies on fertilisers and pesticides for the sake of biodiversity, asserting that the livelihood of hundreds of millions of farmers in the developing world depend on farming.  “Our...

-The Telegraph Committee asks govt to take steps to strengthen radiotherapy facilities in the country, expressing concerns about inadequate infrastructure A parliamentary panel has asked the Centre to provide free cancer treatment to middle-class households through a government-funded health insurance scheme and to cap cancer diagnostics and treatment services in government and private hospitals. The parliamentary standing committee on health has also called on the government to take steps to strengthen radiotherapy facilities...

-Hindustan Times The petitioners had questioned whether the Government carried out any study linking demonetisation as an effective tool to achieve the objectives of curbing black money, terror financing or fake currency. Hardships caused due to demonetisation cannot be the basis for faulting the Government’s 2016 notification to ban currency notes of ₹500 and ₹1000, the Centre told the Supreme Court, adding that the cutoff date December 30 fixed by the Centre...

-India Today Attorney General of India R Venkataramani informed the Apex court that nothing was being hidden and the information, if asked by the court, would be provided.  The Supreme Court on Monday inquired into the number of members present in the RBI’s Central Board meeting that decided to make the recommendation regarding the demonetisation of 500 and 1000 rupee currency notes in 2016. A 5-judge Constitution Bench orally asked counsel for the...

-Moneycontrol.com A five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court was hearing a batch of 58 petitions that challenged the Union Government’s decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes six years ago. Junking allegations of any procedural lapses by the Centre during the demonetisation in November 2016, the Reserve Bank of India told the Supreme Court on December 5 that the central bank itself had recommended the Government of India...