2024

Watershed moment
On December 8, 2023, HM Amit Shah announced in the Lok Sabha, that new Bharatiya Sanhita legislations were being introduced to replace British era enactments relating to criminal law, to Indianize the criminal justice mechanism. The Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita Bill 2023 (BNS, hereinafter) replaces the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita Bill 2023 (BNSS, hereinafter) replaces the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and the Bharatiya (…)

AS Prime Minister Modi leads the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya this month — built on the rubble of the Babri masjid upon the supreme court’s directives — another landmark mosque in the sights of the old parliament house is gasping for the luck of the turkey at the White House. A solitary bird is traditionally spared the knife on Thanksgiving Day, a symbol of the US president’s generosity. The Sunehri Bagh mosque has enjoyed the status of a heritage monument of Delhi, but the (…)

Katwaroo, a victim of violence, inflicted by a high-profile British Barrister Fuller at Agra died instantaneously in 1876. Soon after arrival of Lord Lytton, the Governor-General and Viceroy of India (1876-1880), a vernacular newspaper of Calcutta highlighted this tragedy which caught his close attention. He waded straightway to redress the grievance for the humble victim. The Viceroy caused a letter to be addressed post haste to the North-Western Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) Government (…)

On 25th December, Prime Minister Mr. Narnedra Modi invited many Christians for an interaction and to greet them. He lauded the community for their social work and hailed the inclusive teachings of Lord Jesus Christ. Also recalling his long association with the community leaders. A couple of days later in Kerala nearly two hundred Christians joined the BJP. The Hindu reports, “A meeting of the BJP State leadership in Kottayam here on Monday decided to launch a 10-day-long Sneha Yathra, which (…)

The Parliament on 18 December passed the Post office bill, 2023 that repealed the erstwhile Indian Post Office Act of 1898. This move by the government was justified on the grounds to streamline the postal administration and efficient service delivery mechanisms.
Initially, the Indian Post Office Act, 1898 was enacted to replace the Act of 1866 which in several matters did not suited to the requirements of the postal department and works. Moreover, the issues pertaining to protection of (…)

The telecom sector has played a significant role in the growth and development of India. It has helped to provide employment to four million people. It serves 117.9 crore subscribers, contributing to 6% of GDP, growing at a CAGR of over 9%.
The current telecom framework, is based on outdated laws dating to the 19th Century that badly need an overhaul, given the rapid technological advancements, the advent of next generation services pivoted on Digital and the fast-changing demands of our (…)

“If gods, goddesses, and their abodes require state and government support for their survival and revival, citizens must abandon such gods, goddesses, governments, and electoral politics surrounding them. Instead, they should focus on their own development based on science, secularism, and human solidarity enabled by technology."
The BJD led Government of Odisha under the leadership of Chief Minister, Mr Naveen Patnaik is pandering to Hindutva majoritarian politics by spending huge amount (…)

As the world undergoes unprecedented urbanization, the relationship between urban areas and carbon emissions has become a central concern in the ongoing climate crisis. Combating pollution necessitates distributing pollution guides and standard operating procedures among diverse governmental departments and agencies. These resources should not merely be accessible but should also seamlessly integrate into the fabric of urban existence.
Crucially, the impact of pollution is (…)

Two main sources of funds which companies normally tap include equity and debt; in addition, for existing companies their internal funds are preferred sources. Every source has a cost, internal funds though don’t have explicit cost, shareholders expect return as that of equity, and debt has relatively low cost due to the tax exemption. Debt can be in the form of borrowings or through issue of bonds or debentures, borrowings are relatively procedurally simple and less costly.
Debt adds to (…)

Nepali mediapersons gathered on the first day of the new year to mourn the killing of Palestinian journalists, to break the silence, and to stand for a press that speaks out.
As dusk settled on ancient terracotta palaces in a historic town square of Kathmandu Valley on the first day of the new year, a group of Nepali journalists read out loud the names of Palestinian journalists killed in Israeli attacks over the past two months.
“Duaa Sharaf, Yasser Abu Namous, Nazmi Al-Nadim...” (…)