1. Maharashtra Doctors Call Off Strike, To Resume Work From Friday
In a late night development, the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) on Thursday urged all resident medicos to call off their four-day-long mass CL agitation immediately.
The MARD said the Bombay High Court had taken a very sympathetic view of the doctors’ concerns about physical security and related issues, which it would monitor every 15 days.
In view of the same and high court orders, MARD requested all doctors to resume work immediately, MARD President Yashowardhan Kabra said in a statement.
Hospitals expect doctors to resume normal duties from Friday morning.
Read the full story on The Quint
2. Shiv Sena MP Gaikwad’s Attack on AI Staffer
High-on-power politicians are not new to India. Incidents of ‘VVIPs’ throwing their weight around have become so common that it doesn’t shake up the public anymore.
Another such incident reared its head on Thursday, when Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad thrashed an Air India employee with his slipper 25 times onboard a flight. It raises concerns that are there any lines that these VVIPs will not cross as a show of power?
The MP from Osmanabad, Maharashtra was on his way to Delhi from Pune and had a business class coupon from his office. According to reports, the MP refused to alight when the flight reached Delhi because he was angry at being made to fly economy class. He also admitted to hitting the staffer on the plane.
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. No More Fat Appeals, SC To Go Digital In 200 Days: CJI Khehar
The Supreme Court will go “paperless” within six to seven months, Chief Justice JS Khehar said on Thursday. The observation on the issue of digitisation of the top court was made when senior advocate Indira Jaising, who has filed a PIL seeking uniform guidelines on designating lawyers as senior, sought an expeditious disposal of her plea by a larger bench.
“Within six to seven months you will not file any paper. We will electronically pick up trial court and high court records and there will be no need of case records being filed afresh in SC,” the bench comprising the CJI and Justices DY Chandrachud and SK Kaul said.
(Source: The Times of India)
4. Meat-Exporters Mull Legal Options Against Ban on Mechanised Slaughterhouses in UP
The Adityanath Yogi government’s decision to ban mechanised slaughterhouses in Uttar Pradesh is at odds with the policy of the Centre, which has granted “industry status” to abattoirs, meat exporters feel as they consider taking recourse to legal means.
“The Centre has granted industry status to slaughter houses and the food processing ministry too provides an aid of 50 per cent to encourage them. But, the UP government has ordered ban on all mechanised slaughter houses,” a senior functionary of the All India Meat and Livestock Exporters Association said.
It is in “contravention” to the central government policy, the functionary, who wished not to be named, said.
Source: The Indian Express)
5. Scrap Courses With Few Takers, IITs and Other Institutions Told
Close down centres and courses which have got few takers. That is the message conveyed to all Centrally-funded technical institutions, including the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology by the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
The ministry has asked these institution to close down branches and courses which have seen a decline in applicants in the past three years. The ministry has also asked the institutions to introduce new courses and disciplines after analysing market opportunity, employability and requirement of higher education.
This information was shared by Minister of State for HRD, Mahendra Nath Pandey in response to a written question in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
(Source: The Times of India)
6. Men Dictated Answers From the Window, Nobody Stopped Them
According to sources, each of these students had paid anything between Rs 5,000 and Rs 15,000 for “help“ from the cheating mafia, also called “nakal mafia“ locally . These “cheating packages“ – of Rs 5,000, Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 – have been specially designed by the mafia to meet the needs of “all kinds of students“. Sources said while Rs 5,000 is charged from students who come and write their papers with the help of their own cheating material, Rs 10,000 is charged from students who opt for dictation of the correct answers.
The highest package, of Rs 15,000, is for students who just come to mark their attendance and their papers are written by touts and their agents. Students sit together in groups according to the packages. There have been instances in the past when students, believing in their own merit, have refused to shell out money to the mafia and were threatened and beaten into submission.
(Source: The Times of India)
7. AIADMK Officially Splits: TTV Throws Hat in Ring, Electric Pole Lights up OPS Camp
The split in the AIADMK became official on Thursday when the two factions chose new names and picked poll symbols from the election commission's 'free basket' ahead of the RK Nagar byelection.
The VK Sasikala faction, now called AIADMK (Amma), settled for 'hat' as its symbol for the RK Nagar bypoll; the OPS group that christened itself AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma) chose the 'electric pole', with its forked arms, appeared to have an uncanny resemblance to 'two leaves,' the popular symbol of the parent party. The settlement came hours before the deadline for filing nominations.
Sasikala faction candidate TTV Dinakaran wore a hat – and a – when he went to file his nomination papers, but OPS and his candidate E Madhusudanan had a hearty laugh as the 'electric pole' appeared to have an uncanny resemblance to 'two leaves,' the popular symbol of the parent party.
(Source: The Times of India)
8. Four Bills for GST Roll Out Will be Introduced Next Week
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said the four bills that are crucial for the rollout of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) will be introduced in the Lok Sabha by early next week and the rate structure would be worked out after March.
The four crucial bills – Central GST Bill, Integrated GST Bill, Union Territory GST Bill and GST (Compensation to the States) Bill – have already been cleared by the Union Cabinet.
The current session of the Parliament will end on 12 April and there is a constitutional compulsion for the government to rollout the new tax structure before September 2017.
Underlining the need to take up the four bills on an immediate basis, the finance minister said that the GST Constitutional Amendment Bill has no provision for an extension of GST deadline beyond September.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
9. Babri Case: Final Hearing on Plea Against LK Advani From 6 April
Days after CJI JS Khehar suggested a negotiated settlement of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri masjid dispute, the Supreme Court on Thursday decided to start final hearing on the CBI's six year-old appeal challenging a trial court order dropping conspiracy charge against LK Advani and other top BJP leaders in the criminal case relating to demolition of Babri masjid in 1992.
A bench of Justices PC Ghose and RF Nariman posted the case for hearing on 6 April and asked all parties including the CBI to file their summary arguments saying it would help adjudicate the issues involved in the politically sensitive case. The bench deferred hearing on Thursday as senior advocate KK Venugopal, appearing for Advani, sought adjournment on the ground that he was busy with another case in the SC.
(Source: The Times of India)
More From The Quint:
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)