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The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958’s killing spree continues, begging the question for the nth time whether it isn’t long overdue for its removal lock, stock and barrel? Thirteen Naga civilians cannot reply to that question. They were in coffins wrapped in colourful linen, killed in a “botched” army operation in a Nagaland district bordering Myanmar on December 4, 2021.

The cryptocurrency and regulation of official digital currency bill 2021 is awaiting introduction during the current winter session even as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in Parliament that the government has no proposal to recognise Bitcoin as a currency in the country. She also informed the House that the government does not collect data on Bitcoin transactions. Privately, however, cryptocurrency is very much in circulation in India as it is in many other economies across the world. No one really knows if it is being tracked by the government. The Supreme Court of India already overturned the ban on Bitcoin imposed by the Reserve Bank in 2017. The apex court struck down the restriction in March 2020.The court ruled that the ban was in violation of the freedom of business and profession under Article 19(1)(g) of the Indian Constitution. Thereon, cryptocurrency continues to be operated in the country in a legal vacuum.

Pune: Chandigarh-based Abhijit S Singh Chadha carded his third consecutive bogey-free round, as he shot four-under 66 on the last day to win to the Rs. 40 lakh Pune Open Golf Championship here on Saturday.

Bhubaneswar: Chief Coach Graham Reid on Saturday expressed confidence that India will be back to the level "we need to be up against France' in a match for the third place of the Junior Hockey World Cup here on Sunday.

Neither the government nor the gas companies have explained why the LPG prices for commercial cylinders have been increased, a decision that has caused widespread concern on its effect on the slowly recovering economy. Both seem to believe that they don’t owe an explanation anyway as their approach has been arbitrary and inconsiderate: a kind of like it or lump it attitude. The public at large is at a loss to understand why prices have been hiked even as petroleum prices have been on a downward trajectory, further aided by Omicron concerns, the depth of which still remains unclear.

Though COVID-19 is almost under control in India, the emergence of Omicron variant should be considered as early warning for the challenges ahead. Gearing up for the Omicron challenge must also include scaling up of health infrastructure for making the country fully prepared for any eventuality.

‘Gentlemen, I am late because we are at war. Pakistan has attacked India on the western front and we have retaliated. We are officially at war now’. That was what the Information & Broadcasting Secretary of the Government of India R C Dutt, belonging to ICS, told impatient newsmen at the Press Information Bureau (PIB) conference hall at Shastri Bhavan, New Delhi in the evening of December 3, 1971.

On a visit to Mumbai on Wednesday, Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made two politically significant statements. She said it would be easy to defeat the BJP, should all regional parties come together. And after a meeting with NCP chief Sharad Pawar, she said: “What is UPA? There is no UPA.”

Pune: Chandigarh’s Abhijit Singh Chadha carded bogey-free six-under 64 to take a one-shot lead over Gurugram-based Kartik Sharma to emerge third-round leader as the rest of the field were another eight shots behind in the Rs. 40 lakh Pune Open Golf Championship here on Friday.

Delayed by a year, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections on December 19 will be dominated by two somewhat negative features: first, parties opposing the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) are at their weakest and secondly, no party has designated any contestant as the next city Mayor.