Newspaper Must Read Articles of The Day – 30 July 2015

Cabinet clears changes to GST Bill: The Bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha last December and had then been referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee, which recommended the amendments. The Cabinet has cleared these amendments, that include giving States full five-year compensation for any revenue loss due to the introduction of the goods and services tax and exempting stock transfers within group companies from the 1 per cent additional tax on inter-State supplies.

India under pressure to declare emission targets: Ahead of the major UN climate summit in Paris in December this year, most industrialised countries have declared assurances to limit their pollution reduction by various margins. We, a developing economy, argue that larges masses of our people do not yet have access to energy/electricity. And so, if we talk about reducing our emissions, then that target will never be reached. Plus, we contribute little to global warming, and the countries that are the major pollutants should assume primacy in this issue.

Inhuman and unconscionable: Carrying out the death sentence, even in case of terrorists, will only have the appearance of a justice that is retributive and vengeful. That justice will not be substantially or morally any different from the very offence that gave rise to the proceedings.

A coherent response: Ever since the joint statement by India and Pakistan in Ufa earlier this month, the border region has been tense. Rogue elements in Pakistan want to sabotage any breakthrough in bilateral ties by creating mischief from the Pakistani side, so that India retaliates and all hopes of peace again go up in smoke. India must not give in to knee-jerk reactions, and should continue the dialogue with Islamabad.

All form, little substance: A good read The author is concerned about foreign policy under the present govt. which only seems to be pleasing to the eye, rather than being substantive.

In search of freedom: The United Nations (UN) has designated July 30 as World Day against Trafficking in Persons. Human trafficking results in and fuels all forms of slavery such as sexual exploitation, forced labour, other forms of labour exploitation, forced marriages, and the abuse of children in armed conflicts. Money generated from human trafficking supports other illicit trades too, thus setting off a booming economy based on trafficking. India needs, first of all, policies to be created to counter trafficking and for the rehabilitation of victims, because we do not have many such policies. And the public must be involved to get real results.

Compulsory BIS registration will push up LED bulb sales: Compulsory registration of electronics products is coming into force from August 13. A major impact will be on the LED-bulb market, where there are hundreds of firms, not all of whose products satisfy BIS criteria. These spurious forms will get weeded away from the market after regulation.

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