-Human Rights Watch Reform Laws Choking Freedom of Expression, Association New York: The Indian government failed to stop or credibly investigate vigilante attacks against minority religious communities during 2017, Human Rights Watch said today, releasing its World Report 2018. Many senior leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) publicly promoted Hindu supremacy and ultra-nationalism at the expense of fundamental rights for all Indians. Extremist Hindu groups, many claiming to be affiliated...

-TheCitizen.in Govt admits no stakeholders consulted; Opposition parties demand Bill deferred to a Standing Committee NEW DELHI: The debate in the Lok Sabha over the Triple Talaq Bill that criminalises the practice with a three year, non bailable prison term, for the erring Muslim husband belonged to Congress MP Sushmita Dev from Assam. After her senior leader Maillkarjun Kharge, had assured the BJP that the Congress was supportive of the Bill, but...

-Down to Earth A new study is focusing on identifying vulnerable farmers in Punjab, Maharashtra and Telangana, the three states that experience high rate of suicide In India, farmer suicide is an issue that has been talked about widely. The cases of farmers’ suicide rose by 42 per cent between 2014 and 2015. In 2015, one farmer committed suicide every hour. The latest report of the National Crime Bureau (NCB) shows that...

-The Hindu Business Line New Delhi: In a bid to curb misleading claims and adulteration in edible oils, the Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI) has notified a draft regulation that sets standards for the permissible composition of fatty acids in various types of edible oils. The amendments in the regulation have been introduced at a time when edible oil companies have been increasingly looking at launching blended oil products to woo...

-The Hindu Surakhpur, declared ‘fully digital payment enabled’ by government, rues low literacy, poor connectivity Around 10 days ago, a team of Delhi government officials handed over two PoS (point of sale) machines to kirana (grocery) store owners Surat Singh and Ramesh Kumar, both residents of Surakhpur village in Najafgarh, on the Delhi-Haryana border. The officials taught the two how to use the machines. On Wednesday, when The Hindu visited the village, where...