-The Hindu FTAs are about pursuing economic goals. They should have little to do with achieving social or geo-strategic objectives After hurtling for many months towards finalising the India-UK FTA by Diwali, a substantial trade deal appears unlikely by this deadline. Instead of bemoaning this as a missed chance, it should be taken as an opportunity for introspecting India’s approach to FTAs, particularly with the developed countries such as the UK, European...

-Down to Earth The employment scheme worked as a lifeline for rural Indian households during the COVID-19 pandemic Lack of awareness and complexity of application process hold women back from applying for work under the central government’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), according to a recent report. Women beneficiaries struggled to enrol in the scheme, the report suggested. Most of them found enrolling for work a complex and time-consuming process....

-NDTV.com The Competition Commission of India, or CCI, said Google's operating system Android was configured to unlawfully crowd out rivals New Delhi: Google has been fined ₹ 1,338 crore by India's anti-trust watchdog for allegedly abusing its commanding position in the smartphone market. Google said the move was "a major setback for Indian consumers and businesses." It will evaluate next steps. Here's your 5-point cheatsheet to this big story: * The Competition Commission of...

-Hindustan Times The CCI accused Google of reducing the ability and incentive of device manufacturers to develop and sell devices operating on alternative versions of Android by making pre-installation of Google's proprietary apps conditional. Search engine giant Google on Friday called the ₹1,337.76 crore fine imposed by Competition Commission of India a ‘major setback for Indian consumers and businesses’. The tech behemoth said it would review the decision to evaluate next steps,...

-The Hindu “Hesitation” to comply with the direction would attract proceedings for contempt of the Supreme Court against the erring officers, the court said. The Supreme Court on October 21 said it is "tragic what we have reduced religion to" in the 21st century and a "climate of hate prevails in the country", while directing police and authorities to immediately and suo motu register cases against hate speech makers without waiting for...