-PTI NEW delhi: Seeking to stem the flow of black money in polls, the Election Commission has urged the government to amend laws to ban anonymous contributions of Rs 2,000 and above made to political parties. There is no constitutional or statutory prohibition on receipt of anonymous donations by political parties. But there is an "indirect partial ban" on anonymous donations through the requirement of declaration of donations under section 29C of...

-The Hindu Business Line No special treatment for political parties, clarifies Jaitley New delhi: Political parties registered with the election commission may not necessarily escape scrutiny of their returns with regard to deposits of old demonetised notes just because they are exempted from taxation under Section 13 A of income tax law. For political parties to gain exemption under Section 13 A, certain conditions have to be met. Also, there are "enough provisions" in...

-The Hindu One of the first things to get affected during natural disasters and accidents is the communication network. In a country where over a billion use mobile phones, providing mobile connectivity during a disaster, at least for emergency usage, is a priority. In this context, an IIT Madras team is developing a low-cost communication system that can enable rescue workers to communicate with a locally established centre and, through this centre,...

-The Hindu Business Line Sowing of rice, coarse cereals continues to be lower than last year New delhi: An increase in sowing of pulses has pulled up total sowing in the ongoing Rabi season so far to 519.27 lakh hectare, which is marginally above the previous five-years’ average acreage (normal of corresponding weak) of 517.45 lakh hectare. Compared with the acreage last year, which was a drought year, sowing till December 16 is...

-PTI NEW delhi: India is one of the most generous countries for refugees, ensuring safety and employment to the displaced people in the best of her capacity, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Friday. Yasuko Shimizu, the chief of mission for UNHCR in India and the Maldives, who was awarded the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development 2015, said that the country has helped refugees by providing...