Calling itself the "custodian of the Constitution", the Supreme Court on Thursday asked if it could "sit idle" if a constitutional functionary like governor failed to discharge duties, as it reserved its verdict on the presidential reference on grant of assent to bills.
Overall economic activity continued to hold up in November with demand conditions remaining robust, thanks to strengthening urban demand, but manufacturing and rural demand showed some signs of deceleration even as services remained strong, according to an article on the State of the Economy written by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) officials in the central bank's December bulletin.
The rupee is undervalued as compared to its peers, shows the latest data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), even as the local currency keeps hitting new lows.
Earlier, such entities were only permitted to invest their rupee surplus balance in accounts in central government securities, including treasury bills. "It has now been decided to also permit investment of these balances in non-convertible debentures/bonds and commercial papers issued by an Indian company," the RBI said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched his Bihar assembly poll campaign, asserting that the NDA under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will break all previous electoral records. He criticized the INDIA bloc and highlighted the NDA's cohesiveness and development efforts in Bihar.
The weaker rupee will push the country's import bill due to higher payments for crude oil, coal, vegetable oil, gold, diamonds, electronics, machinery, plastics, and chemicals, economic think tank GTRI said on Friday. Citing an example, it said the depreciating domestic currency will increase India's gold import bill, especially as global gold prices have jumped 31.25 per cent, rising from $65,877 per kg in January 2024 to $86,464 per kg in January 2025.
A Congress source termed the process of drafting and presenting of the Bill before the state cabinet on Monday as a "unilateral" effort by the chief minister's office and ministers that are close to him.
The NDA in Bihar, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, strategically countered the Mahagathbandan's moves by implementing similar policies and announcements, effectively neutralising the MGB campaign promises and maintaining their political advantage.
'They are positioned as defensive products and can potentially give marginally higher returns than liquid funds.'
He will hold the office till February 9, 2027.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said she is likely to introduce the new income tax bill, which will replace the six-decade-old I-T Act, in the Lok Sabha in the coming week.
'In the long run, India's strong growth story and reforms to make assets globally attractive will determine the rupee's resilience.'
The women's reservation bill is back in focus ahead of Parliament's winter session, with several opposition parties, including the Janata Dal-United, which had once opposed the move, demanding that it be introduced and passed in this session.
The Telangana government has become the first state in India to implement Scheduled Castes (SC) categorisation, dividing the 59 SC communities into three groups with varying reservation quotas. The decision was made after a commission headed by retired High Court judge Justice Shameem Akther recommended the categorisation. The implementation of SC categorisation in Telangana coincides with the birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar, architect of the Indian Constitution.
The rupee breached 90-levels against the greenback for the first time on Wednesday, falling 6 paise to 90.02 in early trade, as banks kept buying US dollars at higher levels and FII outflows continued.
After a spirited eight-hour debate in which 60 members participated, the Lok Sabha passed the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, with 454 members voting in favour and two against it.
The Supreme Court is hearing arguments regarding a presidential reference on whether fixed timelines can be imposed on governors and the president for acting on bills passed by state legislatures. The court is considering objections to the maintainability of the reference under Article 143 of the Constitution.
'Other sectors that manage the savings pools of Indians are giving tough competition to life insurance companies.'
The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce interim orders on key issues related to the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, including the power to denotify waqf properties.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce interim orders on key issues related to the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, including the power to denotify properties declared as waqf.
Sources within the Congress, including those who have been members of the teams that drafted its 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha poll manifestos, said the Karnataka government decision lacked any empirical basis.
He said the bill will be taken up for discussion in the next cabinet meeting to clear the doubts.
'In Western UP, last time a lot of Dalits voted for the BJP.' 'This time, there is a rethink among Dalits about the extent of their support for the BJP.'
Participating in a debate on the bill in Lok Sabha, Moitra said women's reservation is dependent on two totally "indeterminate dates" and asked, "can there be a greater jumla".
"In Pahalgam, terrorists not only shed the blood of Indians, but also attacked our culture. They tried to divide our society and the biggest thing is that the terrorists have challenged the women power of India," Modi said.
While the major fronts, the CPI-M led LDF and Congress-led UDF have given three and one seat respectively to women, the BJP-led NDA has set aside five seats for their female politicians in the upcoming LS polls.
A Constitution bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, P S Narasimha and A S Chandurkar, would fix the timelines on July 29 and commence hearing on the presidential reference in mid-August.
On October 14, 1956, Dr B R Ambedkar, fulfilling his long-held vow to renounce Hinduism, embraced Buddhism along with over 500,000 followers at Nagpur's Deekshabhoomi, marking a new era of social and spiritual liberation for India's Dalits.
'I realised why the farmers and the rural folks are going for Trump. They are so insecure and vulnerable that anybody who is throwing a line of hope to them, they seize it.'
The special session saw the women's reservation bill being passed by both Houses.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's move to get reservation for women in legislatures promises to shape the political discourse ahead of key state polls and Lok Sabha elections, and a parliamentary approval to the long-contested proposal will be used by the Bharatiya Janata Party to burnish his credentials as a decisive leader.
The state government said these bills had been pending with the governor for as long as about two years and his action "subverted" the functioning of the state legislature, rendering its very existence "ineffective and otiose".
The Supreme Court of India has agreed to hear on May 6 the pleas of the Kerala government against the governor over the delay in approving bills passed by the state assembly. The court will consider whether the issues raised in the Kerala petition are covered by a recent judgment on a similar plea by Tamil Nadu, which set timelines for governors and the President on granting assent to bills.
The government on Tuesday introduced a constitutional amendment bill reserving 33 per cent seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, reviving a proposal pending for years and blending history, politics and societal imperatives on the first day in the new Parliament building.
The Tamil Nadu government has urged the Supreme Court to dismiss the Presidential reference concerning the Governor's powers to assent to bills, arguing it is an 'appeal in disguise' to overturn settled law.
The Karnataka Legislative Assembly passed a Bill providing 4% reservation for Muslims in public contracts, sparking protests from the opposition BJP. The Bill, which amends the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (KTPP) Act, aims to increase Muslim participation in government contracts valued up to Rs 2 crore for civil works and Rs 1 crore for goods and services. The BJP criticized the move as unconstitutional and vowed to challenge it in court.
It was also the only session in the 17th Lok Sabha when the lower house did not lose any time due to adjournments, according to data compiled by a think tank.
President Droupadi Murmu has exercised powers under Article 143(1) used in rarity to know from the Supreme Court whether timelines could be imposed by judicial orders for exercise of discretion by President while dealing with the bills passed by state assemblies.
Justice Surya Kant is set to become the 53rd Chief Justice of India, bringing extensive experience and a record of significant verdicts on key issues.
A substantial number of castes and groups are already placed in the reserved category, getting about 52 per cent of reservations altogether. It would be completely inequitable to place the Maratha community in the Other Backward Class (OBC) category, it said.
