An elderly couple in their eighties who both had dementia were sold £125 'insurance' for the same TV twice by the same company under different names.

Jaitley said India, from policy paralysis, has transformed into the fastest growing global economy for two years in a row

Watch the 1975 trailer for "Jaws," in which a deadly threat forces reluctant politicians to order a shutdown of the economy. Image: Universal Pictures via Everett Collection

The Bahujan Samaj Party on Saturday attacked the Uttar Pradesh government for exempting industries in the state from some labour laws, saying it comes at a time when the condition of labourers is the "worst" during coronavirus pandemic. In a series of Hindi tweets, BSP chief Mayawati said, "Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the condition of labourers is perhaps the worst, and even then a mechanism has been implemented where instead of 8 hours of work, they are made to work for 12 hours. This is very sad and unfortunate. Change in labour laws should be in the interest of the labourers." "Babasaheb BR Ambedkar had brought the concept of overtime, if the labourers had worked for more than 8 hours in a day, when exploitation of labour was at its peak. Is it correct to push the country to that era," she asked in another tweet. The BSP chief also said, "Keeping the current situation prevailing in the country, the labour laws should be changed in a way, so that labourers working in a factory .

The Gujarat government on Saturday announced exemption from certain labour laws for 1,200 days to firms that want to set up new units in the state in order to "boost economic activities" post-lockdown. Earlier, governments of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh had offered concessions from labour regulations in their states to attract investment. The government also announced relief amid coronavirus pandemic for industries which use natural gas supplied by Gujarat Gas, a subsidiary of state-owned Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, by giving more time to pay gas bills. "Companies in Gujarat, India and abroad willing to bring new projects and set up new units in the state will be freed from labour laws for 1,200 days, except those related to the minimum wages and industrial safety," said Ashwani Kumar, secretary to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. Local MSME owners willing to set up new units will also get this exemption, he said. In a tweet, Chief Minister's Office said that ...

A coastal tourism development project in Andhra Pradesh threatens the natural environment, puts livelihoods at risk, and quite possibly flouts the laws on several counts. Kanchi Kohli reports.

Laws addressing sexual violence may have changed in India, but with judicial response mired in scepticism and age-old attitudes towards rape survivors, there is little hope for justice. In conversation with Pamela Philipose, noted lawyer Vrinda Grover exposes the contradictions in the legal system.

Several women’s groups are now fighting the age-old gender bias perpetuated by Sharia law and finding ways to help Muslim women who have suffered due to its patriarchal dispensations. Pushpa Achanta reports on some of these, including one which proposes a codification of such law, reinterpreted.

Cases on child labour or trafficking are rarely filed by the labour department and police. Even when cases are filed, offenders get away quickly. Navya P K reports.

Fifth in the series of articles on civil society and governance Jayaprakash Narayan assesses the challenges from where a process of transformation must emerge.

If the government fails to take on board some of the constructive suggestions made on the draft Women's Reservation Bill, it might not serve the purpose for which it has been conceived, writes Kalpana Sharma.

The Cabinet Commitee on Investment, set up with the express aim of expediting projects considered critical to economic growth, has passed several orders overturning regulatory mandates instituted earlier. Kanchi Kohli on where that leaves the environmental laws of the land.

Left to “take its own course”, the law invariably manages to meander into a dead end. Time to make it chart a more meaningful course, says Dilip D’Souza.

Colonial-era laws that dispossess the nation's adivasis need both legislative reform and the administrative diligence to be justly implemented, says Videh Upadhyay.

The abhorrent remarks by actor-turned-Trinamool MP Tapas Pal, stating that he would get the women among his opponents raped, have left many outraged but drawn mild reactions from his party and no legal action at all. Shoma Chatterji exposes the milieu where leaders like Pal enjoy complete impunity.

A September report from the Law Commission of India identified 72 antiquated laws that require immediate repeal, among a total of 261 that must be reviewed. Tanvi Bhatikar looks at a few of these and the rationale behind the Commission’s recommendation.

''First - there is a law, then there is awareness, then comes assertion and then action,'' says Leila Seth, former Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh and first woman judge at the Delhi High Court. Charumathi Supraja caught up with her in Bangalore recently.

A Karnataka Bank branch in Mysore is the setting for a unique tale of investment - in water. The bank's senior manager devised a simple plan to allow accumulated rainwater, which was earlier just pumped out and wasted, to percolate into the earth. Shree Padre reports.

Teesta Urja’s penchant for getting into trouble and illegalities continues unabated. Soumik Dutta reports.

Covid-19 lockdown: Sitaram Yechury writes to President Kovind on labour laws

Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat ease labour laws

The SC said cooperative banks cannot carry on any activity without compliance of the provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and any other legislation applicable to such banks relatable to 'Banking'.

The employers' organisations also sought relaxation of the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act to treat the lockdown period as lay-off.

Taiwan's baseball league games are being streamed with English commentary, racking up millions of views for matches featuring cardboard cut-outs of fans and robots beating drums.

They say that the Aarogya Setu app is designed to collect a user’s location at certain points in the process.

Gagandeep Kaur scored as India's junior women's hockey team held hosts Australia to a 1-1 draw.

JK Rowling tweeted in support of a researcher who lost her job for stating that people cannot change their biological sex. A spokeswoman for Rowling said that the author would not have any further comment.

US women's national team's case against US Soccer Association for equal pay was dismissed by the federal court.

The constable, who was on medical leave, had married Dharmendra five years ago and the couple had a three-year-old daughter.

Several state governments have eased labour laws to attract more investment and jump-start the cycle of demand after days of lockdown that has hit the economy badly.

The move follows similar decisions taken by Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh governments to revive the economy that has been badly hit due to the ongoing coronavirus-induced lockdown.

A request was also made for tweaking benefits under ESI and PF. However, as both fall under the central government, the state authorities have reportedly expressed it inability to make any amendments to the norms.

The Congress party slammed the Khattar government's move to 'burden people' in the time of a crisis.

In the SOP, the railways said the responsibility for food, security, health scanning, providing tickets to the stranded will be with the state from which the train is originating.

The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday passed an ordinance to suspend most of the labour laws in the state, in order to attract new companies to invest in the state amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

The decision was an unfortunate one, withdrawing the protection given to workers and labourers, BMS general secretary Virjesh Upadhyay said.

Following outrage, the South Indian Film PRO union had a meeting with TN film journalists today and passed two resolutions.

Its is extremely surprising and funny to see these bizarre lovemaking laws. Many countries across the world have some weird lovemaking rules that is ridiculously described in detail about what their citizens and animals can or can't do while getting intimate.

It seems that Microsoft Xbox One users in some parts of the world are not happy with the controllers as they have reportedly been suffering from "stick drift" issue similar to the Nintendo's Joy-Cons. An angry gaming enthusiast filed a class-action

The gaming scenario across the globe has evolved exponentially. Now, we have massive gaming computers and consoles with dedicated CPUs and GPUs which take responsibilities of running high-end graphics games seamlessly. Technology companies have dedicated departments which focus specifically on gaming

The concessions will be in place for the next 1,000 days to help industries “get back on their feet”

Madagascar is putting its self-proclaimed, plant-based "cure" for COVID-19 on sale and several countries in Africa have already put in orders for purchase, despite warnings from the World Health Organisation that its efficacy is unproven.

Cham : Springer, c2019.

Cham : Palgrave Macmillan, c2019.

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2019.

[S.l.] : APRESS, 2020.

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