Thursday, January 1
Home>>India (Page 2)

Category: India
ArticleHealthIndiaLaw

India Overturns Surrogacy Rules: What Should You Know About New Changes?

Snehashish RoyFebruary 26, 20240

The Indian government has recently amended the surrogacy rules, allowing couples to use donor eggs or donor sperm for surrogacy. This amendment has overturned the previous rule made in March 2023 that banned the use of donor gametes. However, the new notification states that if the District Medical Board certifies that either husband or wife constituting the intending couple suffers from a medical condition necessitating the use of donor gamete, then surrogacy using donor gamete is allowed. The relaxation in the rules is primarily for intending couples. However, the notification specifies that if a divorced or widowed woman opts for surrogacy, the egg has to come from the mother. Single women (widow or divorcee) undergoing surrogacy must use self-eggs and donor sperms to avail of...

Read More
ArticleEconomyFinanceIndiaNewsPolitics

India At Key Juncture Of World Trade: Israel Suggests Gujarat Alternative To Red Sea Tensions; What Is It?

Snehashish RoyFebruary 22, 20240

In recent weeks, Yemen's Houthi rebels have intensified their attacks on ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea as a show of solidarity with Gaza. This has put a halt on global trade, as around 12% of it passes through the Red Sea, which links the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal. Given the current situation, ships are being forced to take a longer route, traveling all the way to the south of Africa and crossing the Cape of Good Hope, which increases both costs and time taken. Due to this disruption in trade, seafarers now have the right to refuse to sail on ships passing through the Red Sea, as per a new industry agreement signed last week. To bypass the Red Sea and continue trading, Israel has been exploring alternative routes. On February 13, Transpor...

Read More
ArticleEnvironmentFeaturesIndiaLaw

What Is A Forest?: How Govt Defines It, What Supreme Court Suggests

Snehashish RoyFebruary 21, 20240

The Supreme Court of India has issued a directive to the government, instructing it to follow the broad and all-encompassing definition of forest as laid down in its 1996 judgment in the T N Godavarman case. This directive will remain in effect until a consolidated record of all types of forests across the country has been prepared. The directive was issued by a three-judge bench, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud, on Monday, February 19, in response to petitions challenging the 2023 amendments to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 (FCA). These amendments were being challenged on the grounds that they had substantially diluted the definition of forest and reduced the scope of the FCA. The government had passed the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023, in ...

Read More
ElectionsFoodIndiaLawPolitics

Bharat Bandh Today: What Are Farmers Demanding, That Didn’t Resolve In 2020 Protest?

Snehashish RoyFebruary 16, 20240

Farmers across India are once again protesting for guaranteed crop prices, demanding a host of unmet demands. The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), which is part of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), has called for a Gramin Bharat Bandh on Friday, February 16. Farmers have been asked to suspend work for a day to press the government for demands, and traders and transporters have also been encouraged to join the strike. The farmers' protests began in 2020 when they rode on tractors and trucks from Haryana and Punjab to demand the repeal of three contentious agricultural laws that they believed would hurt their incomes. The protests drew international support and triggered nationwide demonstrations. In 2021, the Modi government repealed these laws, which was widely seen as a victory for the farme...

Read More
ArticleElectionsIndiaLaw

Is Electoral Bond Scheme Unconstitutional? What Supreme Court Has To Say

Snehashish RoyFebruary 15, 20240

On February 15, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court declared the electoral bonds scheme unconstitutional. The scheme allowed individuals and corporations to donate money to political parties anonymously by purchasing electoral bonds from the State Bank of India (SBI). The SBI had sole access to the details of those who purchased electoral bonds, and any unencashed bonds were to be deposited in the Prime Minister Relief Fund. The scheme was introduced in 2017 by then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as a solution to the issue of opacity in political parties’ funding. However, it was challenged in court by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and NGOs Common Cause and ADR. The court raised several issues in its verdict. Firstly, it held that the electoral bond scheme violated t...

Read More
ArticleBusinessFoodIndiaNews

Farmers’ Protest 2.0: Why Is MSP A Major Demand And How Will It Help In Agriculture Sector?

Snehashish RoyFebruary 13, 20240

Farmers often operate in a buyer's market which can lead to sudden supply increases relative to demand, putting downward pressure on prices. This means that they are price takers, lacking the market power to influence the prices of their produce. Farmers sell at prevailing supply-and-demand determined rates while paying retail prices for everything from seeds, pesticides, diesel, and tractors to cement, medicines, toothpaste, and soap. Farmers sometimes demand minimum support prices (MSP) for their crops, and there could be a clamour for political parties to include a “legal guarantee for MSP” in their manifestos as the Lok Sabha elections approach. While most economists oppose government-fixed MSPs based on cost-plus pricing, sans any consideration to market demand, they largely...

Read More
ArticleBusinessIndiaNews

White Paper On India’s Economy: NDA Govt’s Comparison To UPA Was Informative, Though Not Complete

Snehashish RoyFebruary 10, 20240

The Union Ministry of Finance recently released a report called 'White Paper on the Indian Economy' which aims to highlight economic issues leading up to the Lok Sabha elections. Although the report is not factually incorrect, it selectively chooses data to showcase the failures of the previous government and the successes of the current government while neglecting the opposite scenarios. For instance, the report mentions that in 2013, Morgan Stanley assessed India as one of the "fragile five" global economies, which is true. However, it fails to mention that India was not among the "fragile five" during the UPA's 10-year rule from 2004 to 2014. India saw the fastest period of growth rate between 2004 and 2009, despite the Global Financial Crisis. Additionally, while the report i...

Read More
ArticleFinanceIndiaPolitics

Kerala Govt Protests Against Centre: What’s The Tussle Over Fund Distribution To States? What The Law Says

Snehashish RoyFebruary 8, 20240

The Kerala government, led by the CPI(M), is staging a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. This comes after the Karnataka government held a similar protest over the distribution of central funds. Kerala alleges that the fiscal policies of the BJP-led government at the Centre are financially stifling the state. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his cabinet colleagues, LDF MPs and legislators are likely to participate in the protest. Here is a look at the issues. Kerala claims that COVID-19 has made a curtailment of Rs 57,400 crore in the State Receipts in the current fiscal, and it is not getting its due share from the tax collected by the Centre. According to an RBI report on state finances, the Centre is to provide Rs 35 for every Rs 65 collected by the states on average. ...

Read More
ArticleFeaturesIndiaPolitics

Country’s First UCC Bill Tabled: To Live-In Or Not To Live-In? Understanding Its Constitutional Challenge

Snehashish RoyFebruary 7, 20240

The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill was introduced in the Uttarakhand Assembly on Tuesday, which has raised concerns about privacy and personal liberty. The Bill looks to equate heterosexual live-in relationships to the status of marriage. The proposed Code defines live-in relationships as a “relationship between a man and a woman” who “cohabit in a shared household through a relationship like marriage, provided that such relations are not prohibited.” The Bill requires partners to notify the “Registrar” within a month of entering into a live-in relationship or terminating one. A jail term of up to three months is prescribed for not registering a live-in relationship. In case of failing to produce a certificate of live-in relationship, a term of six months is prescribed on conviction....

Read More
ArticleBJPIndiaNewsPolitics

Lal Krishna Advani’s Road To Bharat Ratna: From Gandhian Socialism To Rath Yatra; A Look Back

Snehashish RoyFebruary 5, 20240

On February 3, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that L K Advani, a veteran BJP leader, would be conferred with the Bharat Ratna, which is India’s highest civilian honour. PM Modi shared the news on his social media account and praised Advani for his monumental contribution to the development of India. Advani played a crucial role in transforming the Bharatiya Janata Party into a national political force in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The BJP emerged in 1980 after the Janata Party dissolved. In its first national conference, party president Atal Bihari Vajpayee underscored that the BJP was not a new incarnation of Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Instead, Vajpayee claimed the legacy of Jayprakash Narayan and declared Gandhian Socialism to be the party’s ...

Read More
ArticleBusinessElectionsIndia

Interim Budget 2024: 6 Key Takeaways From Nirmala Sitharaman’s Speech; What Should You Know

Snehashish RoyFebruary 1, 20240

India's interim Budget speech for 2024 was completed by FM Nirmala Sithatraman within an hour. Here are the six key takeaways from the Budget 2024-25 documents based on the revised estimates for the current year and the Budget Estimates for the coming financial year. 1. The government expects the nominal GDP to grow for the coming financial year (2024-25), projecting India's nominal GDP to be Rs 3,27,71,808 crore, assuming 10.5% growth over the estimated nominal GDP of Rs 2,96,57,745 crore in the current financial year (2023-24). 2. The fiscal deficit has been reduced to a 5.8% level and the FM announced similarly ambitious targets for the FY25 — at 5.1% of GDP— and FY26 — at 4.5% of GDP. While this is welcome news, it leads to questions about how fiscal consolidation is being ac...

Read More
ArticleBJPElectionsFeaturesINCIndiaOthersPolitics

Nitish Kumar’s Split From INDIA Bloc Dampens Opposition’s Caste Pitch, Revamps ‘Hindutva’ Tone

Snehashish RoyJanuary 29, 20240

Nitish Kumar's return to the NDA just before the Lok Sabha elections has significant implications for the BJP. As the mastermind behind Bihar's caste survey, he provided the blueprint for the Opposition's caste census call and social justice pitch against the BJP in 2024. Nitish also chaired the first meeting of the Opposition (INDIA) bloc in Patna in June 2023. This move not only gives the NDA a possible bump in Bihar's tally but also challenges the Opposition's strategy of countering Hindutva with social justice. This strategy has been the political commonsense of the Opposition since the early 1990s when an alliance of Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati prevented the BJP from coming to power in 1993 in UP. Nitish's crossing comes soon after Karpoori Thakur was awarded the Bharat Ratna,...

Read More