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International relations:
The French connections(The Hindu Opinion)
The Macron visit underlined the growing strategic convergence that draws India and France together
Indian Constitution and Polity:
SC shuts the door on foreign law firms(The Hindu)
Keeping India’s legal market exclusively for Indians, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that foreign law firms or foreign lawyers cannot practise law in the country either on the litigation or non-litigation side. This means overseas lawyers or firms cannot open offices in the country, appear in courts or before any authority or render other legal services such as giving opinions or drafting documents.
Legal experts divided over SC ruling on foreign law firms(The Hindu)
Opinion among legal experts is divided over the Supreme Court’s Tuesday order ruling that foreign law firms cannot set up offices or practice in India but can “fly in and fly out lawyers to offer legal advice.”
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Economy:
Aadhaar link deadline extended indefinitely(The Hindu)
In a relief for citizens, the Supreme Court indefinitely extended the deadline for linking Aadhaar with mobile phones, tatkal passports and for opening bank accounts from March 31, 2018 till the Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra pronounces its final verdict on the validity of the Aadhaar scheme.
Post-scam, RBI stops issue of LoUs(The Hindu)
In the wake of an escalating controversy over the Nirav Modi-centred scam at the Punjab National Bank (PNB), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to discontinue the practice of providing guarantees by issuing letters of undertaking (LoUs) and letters of comfort (LoCs) for trade credits for imports to India.
CAG flags Railways’ parlous finances(The Hindu)
The reported operating ratio of 96.5% in 2016-17 does not reflect the true financial performance of Indian Railways, as this would have deteriorated to 99.54% if the actual expenditure on pension payments was taken into account, according to the CAG report tabled in Parliament.
‘Laws on location services shouldn’t hit innovation’(The Hindu)
Any new regulation or law that the government may bring for location-based services should ensure that the pace of innovation is not impacted, said Suren Ruhela, Director, Google Maps Next Billion Users.
What was the 20:80 gold import scheme?(The Hindu)
The Centre on Monday announced its intention to probe the circumstances behind the extension of the 20:80 gold import scheme, previously restricted to banks and PSUs, to private parties in the final days of the previous government’s term in 2014.
Science and Technology:
ICMR wins the 2017 Kochon Prize for TB research(The Hindu)
The 2017 Kochon Prize was awarded to the Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR) today in New Delhi for building a tradition of excellence in TB research and development. The $65,000 Prize is awarded annually by Stop TB Partnership to individuals and/or organizations that have made a significant contribution to combating TB. The ICMR emerged the winner from amongst 18 nominations.
An urgent prescription(The Hindu Opinion)
India is rightly acclaimed to be the pharmacy of the world, with its huge private sector capacity for producing branded and unbranded generic drugs. Much of this growth took place after India opted for process patenting over product patenting in 1970.
First, the basic sciences(The Hindu Opinion)
India needs to invest more widelyand deeply in scientific enterprise
TB elimination goal advanced by five years(The Hindu)
Advancing India’s TB elimination goal by five years ahead of the global target, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said, “India is determined to address the challenge of TB in mission mode. I am confident that India can be free of TB by 2025.”
Yesterday’s current affairs material by Forum IAS
7 PM Editorial: Child sexual abuse: An overview
