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The Supreme Court is expected to pronounce on Tuesday its verdict on a batch of petitions challenging Section 66A of the Information & Technology Act today. The case has been closely followed, mostly for its implications on how Indians can use the Internet and social media, and because of its implications on the freedom of speech. Here is all you need to know about section 66A, the cases against it, and what the controversies surrounding it are: What does section 66A of the IT act actually say? "Any person who sends, by means of a computer resource or a communication device,— (a) any information that is grossly offensive or has menacing character; or (b) any information which he knows to be false, but for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred or ill will, persistently by making use of such computer resource or a communication device, (c) any electronic mail or electronic mail message for the ...

The Supreme Court is expected to pronounce on Tuesday its verdict on a batch of petitions challenging Section 66A of the Information & Technology Act today. The case has been closely followed, mostly for its implications on how Indians can use the Internet and social media, and because of its implications on the freedom of speech. Here is all you need to know about section 66A, the cases against it, and what the controversies surrounding it are: What does section 66A of the IT act actually say? "Any person who sends, by means of a computer resource or a communication device,— (a) any information that is grossly offensive or has menacing character; or (b) any information which he knows to be false, but for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred or ill will, persistently by making use of such computer resource or a communication device, (c) any electronic mail or electronic mail message for the ...

Study also stresses on positive impact of sanitation on nutrition status of children The Global Food Policy Report has urged the governments of middle-income countries to focus on nutrition and health (photo: J P Davidson/Flickr) Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and Mexico may be rising economic powerhouses, but these fast-expanding, middle-income countries are still home to nearly half of the world’s hungry people, numbering 363 million, says a new report. In such a scenario, attention must be paid to those living in the “economic middle” to effectively combat hunger and malnutrition on a global scale, according to a report published by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), a global agricultural research centre. The  2014–2015 Global Food Policy Report (GFPR ) urges the governments of middle-income countries to focus on nutrition and health, close the gender gap in agriculture and improve rural infrastructure to ensure food security for all. “It...

NEW DELHI: The Finance Ministry has operationalised an ambitious electronic national database of judicial orders and appeals to de-congest and streamline huge litigation in the Income Tax Department and the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). The much-talked about repository called the National Judicial Reference System (NJRS) was envisaged about three years back for the I-T Department which is one of the largest litigant among government departments. According to data, tax demand of more than Rs 3.5 lakh crore is under dispute and litigation before various courts and appellate authorities under the direct taxes category. "The CBDT has launched the limited edition (beta version) of NJRS recently after it was conceptualised few years back to revolutionise and ease litigation in the I-T Department for the benefit of both the government and taxpayers. The full and public operationalisation of the portal is expected to be done by Union Fi...

India has overtaken the US to become the third-largest steel producer in the world with a production of 14.56 million tonnes (MT) in first two months of the year. India has been the fourth-largest steel producer for the past five years, behind China, Japan and the US. Data compiled by World Steel Association (WSA) showed that the country’s production growth was the highest during the January-February period at 7.6 per cent as compared to the global average of just 0.6 per cent at 127.6 MT. Production in China, which accounts for nearly half of the global steel production, fell during the period by 1.5 per cent. It produced 65 MT steel during the period. Japan, the second-largest producer, reported a total output of 17.4 MT, but production in the country fell 2.2 per cent. The US, which was the third-largest steel producer since 2010, produced 13.52 MT during the January-February period, giving away its position to India. On a yearly basis, India may retain the position gi...

Opportunity to truly reform mining governance to balance economic growth with social justice and environmental safety has been lost Photo by Chandra Bhushan The upper house of Parliament on Friday passed the controversial mining bill, which is perceived as anti-people and pro-miners. The Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) (Amendment) Bill (MMDR), 2015, tabled before Parliament to amend the mining Act of 1957, was passed on the strength of 117 votes; 69 members voted against it and two abstained from voting. The members of Janata Dal (United) walked out in protest as voting started. 

The Hindu “Women have difficulty participating in the industrial labour force.” Photo shows women workers involved in clearing silt under MNREGS at a tank in Kumular. Photo: A.Muralitharan TOPICS labour labour dispute labour legislation work relations The primary policy challenge is to increase employability and help shift labour from agricultural to non-agricultural jobs Over 25 per cent of the world’s workers are Indian. And 300 million young people are set to enter the labour force by 2025. With an average age of 29, India’s population is in the middle of a demographic boom. By 2020, when the global economy is expected to run short of 56 million young people, India, with a youth surplus of 47 million, could fill the gap. It is in this context that  labour reforms are often cited as the way to unlock double-digit growth in India. Why reforms? Because India still does not use its vast labour force productively or judiciously. In 2014, India’s labo...

The desirability of a bicameral legislature at the State level has been debated since the days of the Constituent Assembly, and recent developments may revive the debate. Assam and Rajasthan want to join the small seven-member club of States (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh) with a Legislative Council in the country and Odisha is also examining the creation of one. A second chamber has always been attractive to those who believe in

Left over from a previous phase of conflict, India’s landmines are no longer useful,instead producing severe hardship on border communities India, since its independence, has been a passionate advocate of disarmament measures in the United Nations system. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, “India has a long-standing commitment to the goal of general and complete disarmament based on the principles of universality, non-discrimination and verification...” In 1996, India voted in favour of a UN General Assembly Resolution urging states to vigorously pursue an international agreement banning anti-personnel mines. However, in 1997 when the Mine Ban Treaty came into existence, India chose to remain outside it. This key contemporary disarmament measure has saved thousands of lives. Eighty per cent of governments in the world have joined this treaty, and the UN Secretary General has acknowledged it as a ‘near universal’ convention. But India is still waiting and watching from...

As power lines and roads slice up forest cover, it becomes clear that a knowledge economy must tackle development with a wider perspective than that of mere short-term gains In just two meetings in August 2014 and January 2015, the National Board for Wildlife considered projects involving over 2,300 hectares of land in and around wildlife sanctuaries and national parks. In four meetings between September and December 2014, the Forest Advisory Committee considered diversion of over 3,300 hectares of forests for 28 projects. All the proposals were for linear projects and most of them are likely to be cleared. Linear infrastructure projects — roads, trains and power lines that make long intrusions into forests and stretch ribbonlike over thousands of kilometres — are the new threat to our forests, in addition to submergence by dams or clearing for mining and agriculture. The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has been gradually diluting the norms for such projec...

The re-election of Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu after his Likud Party  secured the first place  with 30 out of the 120 seats in the 2015 Israeli legislative elections came as a bit of a surprise. Exit polls pointing to a better showing by the centrist-moderate coalition, the Zionist Union including the Labour Party, turned out to be wrong as the Likud emerged with far more votes than what was expected. While the Likud lacks a majority of its own, it now gets the right to form the government in coalition with other parties, and it is clear that Mr. Netanyahu will be Prime Minister for a fourth term. The Likud victory, belying expectations, can be attributed to the polarising campaign led by Mr. Netanyahu who took a hyper-racist position denouncing Israeli Arabs and rejecting, in the run-up to the polls, the statehood demand by Palestinians. The triumph of the right wing also reflects the sharp change in attitudes in Israeli society that has become militantly oppos...

The Central government headed by the BJP does not possess the kind of levers needed to deal with the ground realities in Kashmir. It needs to do more than merely making strong statements from time to time in the belief that this would check the profligacy of the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and his cabinet on matters of security Events in Jammu and Kashmir seemingly appear more surreal than real, making it difficult to separate the truth from perceptions. The 2014 elections in Jammu and Kashmir had raised expectations of a significant shift in a progressive direction as far as the State was concerned. The national parties, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), had between them secured over 45 per cent of the vote, an increase of more than 14 per cent when compared to the 2008 elections. Thus, the perception was that this would herald closer cooperation between Srinagar and New Delhi. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be happening — at least not yet. Skew...

The Finance Minister, in his budget speech, while acknowledging the limitations under the existing law, had conveyed the considered decision of the Government to enact a comprehensive new law on black money to specifically deal with black money stashed away abroad. He also promised to introduce the new Bill in the current Session of the Parliament.

(Reuters) - The Rajya Sabha passed a bill on Friday to auction mines that supply minerals like iron ore and bauxite for the first time, in a thumbs up for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's bid to kickstart an industry that has languished for years. The passage of the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation bill by the Rajya Sabha was crucial for Modi because the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lacks a majority in the second chamber. The bill will now be taken up by the Lok Sabha, where BJP enjoys an overwhelming majority. A bill to auction coal mines is also likely to be passed later on Friday by both houses. The mining sector in Asia's third largest economy has been mired in controversy over the illegal allocation of resources, causing a near standstill in granting permits to open new mines for firms including South Korean steel giant POSCO. India was once the world's third-largest exporter of iron ore but is importing heavily now due to court action on il...

Since October 2014 the euro has slumped almost 20% versus the dollar as expectations of monetary tightening in the US and loosening by the European Central Bank have taken hold. A strong dollar and rising US interest rates is tough going for emerging market currencies at the best of times and more so following a period of easy money. The collapse of the Russian rouble, Nigerian naira and Ukrainian hryvnia could be explained away by the collapse in oil prices and geopolitical tensions, but the emerging market currency weakness is broad based. Versus the dollar the Brazilian real is down 28% and even the Indonesian rupiah, cosseted by long-term gas contracts with Japan, has lost 8.3%. Even the renminbi is at risk of popping out of its tight fluctuation band on the side of weakness. The Indian rupee is alone in bucking that trend. Since October, the rupee has hardly budged against a rampaging dollar and were it not for fear of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) intervention, maybe it c...