-IANS The environment ministry, on May 26, modified the rules to prevent cruelty to animals, making it mandatory to ensure that cattle are not bought or sold for slaughtering. The Centre is understood to be having a rethink on its order restricting the sale of animals, including cows and buffaloes, for slaughter following the stiff opposition from some states, including Kerala. The government is likely to exempt buffaloes from the ‘no slaughter’ list,...

-Scroll.in The definition of cattle under the new rules include bulls, buffaloes and even camels. The Ministry of Environment and Forests on Thursday notified new rules under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, which bans sale of cattle for slaughter in open markets across the country. Farmers’ unions see the new rules as an assault on agriculture. They said that in a time of distress, sale of cattle was one of...

-The Indian Express Both the EC and the Law Ministry have been asked to furnish their written replies at the next meeting. New Delhi: AMID THE demands for state funding of elections, the Election Commission (EC) has categorically told a parliamentary panel that it is “not in favour” of the move. It has, instead, called for “radical changes” in the “provisions regarding receipt of funds” and expenditure by political parties to...

-PTI New Delhi: NGOs whose licences were suspended for non-compliance of government rules have been given a final deadline of 14 June to file their returns for the last five years. They would have to upload their annual returns for the financial years 2010-11 to 2014-15 along with a renewal application under the mandatory Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, a home ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday. The government is estimated to have cancelled the...

-The Hindu The discourse must move beyond a top-down approach to listen to the people and formulate best insurance practices Much ink has been spilled in documenting the inadequacy of budgetary allocations for public health insurance, specifically for the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), the world’s largest publicly-funded health insurance (PFHI) scheme. Though the 2017-18 budget allocation has marginally increased from last year’s revised estimates, it has declined relative to last year’s...