Rawat also said a legal framework is needed to be in place for holding simultaneous polls.
Communications between the USTR and the world's most powerful pharmaceutical and trade lobbying groups reveal that many raised concerns about India's push to exempt Covid vaccines from intellectual property.
The Income Tax department is likely to initiate prosecution against close to 300 people whose names have been submitted to the Supreme Court on Wednesday in connection with the probe into alleged black money accounts in HSBC bank in Geneva.
'A separate 'Investigation Agency (Other Offences)' or IA(OO), can be created under the state governments, with the expertise and resources required for investigating non-violent offences,' recommends Alok Tiwari, a Cabinet Secretariat officer.
The BJP leadership is understandably mulling all options on the roll-out of the GST.
'Most of the testing capacity in India is in the private sector.' 'Whether it is the established RT-PCR test for COVID-19, or it is other innovations in testing that are now coming up, all these are fully within the capabilities of the private sector.' 'Health policy should harness these capabilities,' says Ajay Shah.
Defining challenge in India is augmenting state capacity, says Finance Minister P Chidambaram.
'Make no mistake, legally Chanda Kochhar was not and still is not obliged to quit.' 'But quitting earlier would have placed her personally and as a leader on a very high pedestal, indeed where she belonged until this lapse,' says S Muralidharan, former managing director, BNP Paribas.
The Bankruptcy Bill seeks to ensure predictability of outcome for creditors.
'By not only decriminalising routine business failures, but by ensuring that institutional lending and corporate rescue frameworks are strengthened via the IBC, the prime minister has ensured there is no room anymore for the proverbial 'reckless, prodigal debtor',' notes Sanju Verma.
Three Indians have pleaded guilty to criminal charges of conspiring to commit student visa and financial aid fraud through a for-profit school they ran and agreed to forfeit over USD eight million to federal authorities.
Even Delhi does not have a full-time registrar of chits.
The DCW had last Tuesday summoned Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi to appear before it on February 8 at 4 pm for producing the required records and explaining the 'unreasonable' delay in sharing the data.
The second episode ably shed some light on the lesser known side of police apathy -- another topical issue that has evoked nationwide anger lately. But did the topic fit in the show's format, asks Nishi Tiwari.
The probe report, however, gave a 'clean chit' to Navjot Kaur Sidhu, who was the chief guest at the Dussehra event, saying 'she had no role in organising the event'.
"Why is it that whenever there are no political overtones to a case, the CBI does a good job?" he said.
One shocking finding of the investigation was the extent to which sexual violence was committed against detainees, often extremely brutally, by the Sri Lankan security forces, with men as likely to be victims as women.
The BJP needs to worry about the kinds of professions it has landed up glorifying -- chai vendors, pakora vendors and now guards. These are not professions that any one of its voters would like to cherish, points out Mahesh Vyas.
'The Naxalite strategy is to periodically attack police forces to provoke a reaction.' 'Once the security forces over-react and cause suffering to innocents by high-handed actions, the people will be alienated and support the revolution.' 'This appears to be the Naxalites' strategy and hence, their recent brutal killings of policemen,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Yadav had moved the top court challenging the decision of Returning Officer to reject his nomination papers from Varanasi Lok Sabha seat, saying it was intended to "give walkover" to PM Modi.
The judiciary was the "last bastion of hope", he said.
Major opposition parties met President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday and put forth their concerns over recent incidents of violence, including attacks by cow vigilantes, and attempts to "muzzle voices of dissent".
The Income Tax department is likely to initiate prosecution against close to 300 people whose names have been submitted to the Supreme Court in connection with the probe into alleged black money accounts in HSBC Bank in Geneva.
The Sports Ministry on Wednesday issued a show-cause notice to the Indian Olympic Association, threatening to derecognise the body if it does not reverse its decision to appoint scam-tainted Suresh Kalmadi and Abhay Singh Chautala as Life Presidents.
While courts are there to tackle crime and a few non-government organisations support victims of crime, NCW, a body empowered to take suo moto interest in a case, is in between, says Aparna Kalra
'The COVID-19 pandemic must push the military into a long-term reconsideration of its primary challenges.' 'There must be greater emphasis on humanitarian aid and disaster relief including the management of contagious illnesses and impending crises caused by climate change,' notes Ajai Shukla.
Among the most deprived communities in India live and work under asbestos roofs. The National Institute for Health and Family Welfare estimates exposure to asbestos has resulted in higher incidence of cancer among those living under asbestos roofs, points out Gopal Krishna.
'The political leadership is not realising that it is dividing the uniform on the lines of religion.' 'This will lead to anarchy.'
Sreehari Nair reviews Ayyappanum Koshiyum.
The government notified the compliance window under the Act.
'They have no other agenda, but to perpetuate hate.' 'They have destroyed the economy and polity and they survive only on hate.' 'They think through hatred, they can mobilise the large chunk of Hindu votes.'
'The deeper problem is big government -- a giant monster with a giant appetite, which requires it to put more and more pressure on tax officials to extort. 'And the monster is getting bigger by the day. But then, Mr Modi too knows this,' says Debashis Basu.
Notification, FAQs likely after FM Jaitley returns from the US
'We are a plural society that for centuries, not for 70 years, has lived in a certain ambience of acceptance.' 'It is under threat,' outgoing Vice President Hamid Ansari tells Karan Thapar.
Has Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee created a situation with dangerous overtones in Bengal? In the six years that she has been in power, her detractors feel she has overplayed the politics of appeasement.
According to a FOIA request in 2015, more than 900 Indians were in various federal prisons on charges of illegally staying in the country.
India's majoritarian regime is now making a dangerously fast-paced move towards theocracy, like its western counterpart did a few decades ago, warns Mohammad Sajjad.
All eyes will be on the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Biju Janata Dal and the Sena itself to see which way they vote.
The South Delhi Municipal Corporation's decision to make washrooms in hotels and eateries open to the public for a fee highlights India's failure to expand access to toilet facilities.
'Before the elections, fake news can create law and order hassles and that is the reason they want social media firms to follow the amended IT Act.'
