POCSO Act: Assault on boys punishable by death
The government on Friday approved amendments to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, to bring punishments for sexual assaults on boys on a par with those against girls. These include the provision of death penalty when the child is under 12 years and when a penetrative sexual assault is committed by a relative.
The amendments approved by the Union Cabinet will now have to be passed by Parliament. An official of the Ministry of Women and Child Development said the government intends to introduce the amendment Bill in the Rajya Sabha.
Forays of the Kashmir stag
Similar in appearance to the European red deer, the Kashmir stag has a tiny white rump patch and a short dark tail. But unlike its European cousin, its coat is not red, but dark grey and dark brown. The local name, ‘hangul’, is said to have come from either the preferred food of the animal — the Indian horse chestnut ( Aesculus indica ), also known as ‘Han Doon’ — or its antlers (known as ‘heng’ in the local dialect). The hangul is known to favour ridges facing south, and which receive maximum sunlight, as resting places.
Bulandshahr mob violence: U.P. officer was assaulted first
Officer Subodh Kumar Singh who was killed during mob violence in Bulandshahr earlier this month was hit with a sharp axe first, assaulted with stones and sticks before being shot dead, new information on the incident revealed on Friday.
The police on Thursday arrested Prashant Natt , the person they claimed shot dead officer Singh after snatching his service pistol. They are now trying to nab others who assaulted the officer before he was shot.
Rath yatras are not meant to kill: Mamata Banerjee
Targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for its proposed rath yatras in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said rath yatras are not meant to “kill people or incite riots”.
“ISKCON conducts rath yatra here, it is Sri Jagannath’s rath yatra, not a yatra to kill people. A rath yatra is not meant to kill people, otherwise it is a danga (riot) yatra,” Ms. Banerjee said at an event at Sunderbans.
Govt acts to check onion price fall
The Centre on Friday doubled the incentive granted for the export of onions under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) to 10% from 5% as a measure to help farmers, by stabilising the slumping price of the commodity.
“This will result in better price for onion in domestic markets,” the government said in a release. “It may be noted that the onion arrivals have increased in the market at present due to which the prices in the mandis are subdued.”
Opinion | The Transgender Bill defeats its purpose
The 2018 transgender Bill in Section 6 establishes a District Screening Committee for the purpose of recognition of transgender persons. This Screening Committee includes a chief medical officer and a psychologist/psychiatrist, which goes to show that medical and psychological tests would be required for grant of change of gender identity. There is no provision in the Bill that gender change would be permitted without medical or psychological treatment.
The Bill also does not allow for recognition of gender identity as male or female. It only allows for an identity certificate as ‘transgender’. This goes against the decision of the Supreme Court.
Syrian army enters Manbij in new alliance with Kurds
Syrian troops deployed in support of Kurdish forces around a strategic northern city on Friday, in a shift of alliances hastened by last week's announcement of a US military withdrawal.
Nearly eight years into Syria's deadly conflict, the move marked another key step in President Bashar al-Assad's Russian-backed drive to reassert control over the country.
The latest buzz around e-commerce
The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion on Wednesday issued a clarification to the existing rules pertaining to Foreign Direct Investment in e-commerce companies. The main features of the clarification include the provision that vendors that have any stake owned by an e-commerce company cannot sell their products on that e-commerce company’s portal.
Another provision says any vendor who purchases 25% or more of its inventory from an e-commerce group company will be considered to be controlled by that e-commerce company, and thereby barred from selling on its portal.
Health of banks set to improve: RBI
Indian banks, especially those in the public sector, that have been reeling under stressed assets for the last few years, may have something to cheer about in the new year.
This is because the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its annual ‘Trends and Progress of Banking in 2017-18’ report, pointed out to the revival in credit growth in the first half of current financial year, and said, “overall improvement in the health of the banks is on the cards.”
Dhoni for pacers playing in IPL ahead of World Cup
There has been a lot of debate on how to keep fast bowlers fresh for the upcoming World Cup, with suggestions like resting some for the Indian Premier League, that precedes the quadrennial event. It was something former India captain and coach Anil Kumble suggested here on Friday though M.S. Dhoni had some interesting counterpoint to that.
Dhoni, who led India to WC triumph in 2011 said, “keeping our bowlers injury-free will be very very important. If you rest them, the first thing commentators say is they are rusty, and if you make them play, then they are fresh.
