"Only a few women represented at the top": Justice N. V. Ramana

  • CJI of India added merely 11% of women representatives achieved with great difficulty in the Supreme Court. 

  • He said women should have 50% representation at all levels since it is 75 years of Independence.

  • He asserted that “Judicial appointment was an 'ongoing process'. The Collegium intended to live up to the herculean task of filling up 41% of vacancies existing in all the High Courts and in another one month, we expect 90% of the vacancies filled in this country”.


Karnataka Government decided to ban online gambling

  • Karnataka Police Act, 1963 will be amended in order to ban online gambling, lottery and horse races will not be included.

  • The decision was taken following the High Court of Karnataka repeatedly asking the state government to take a stand on online betting.

  • The draft Bill defined ‘online games’ as “involving all forms of wagering or betting including in the form of tokens valued in terms of money paid before or after the issue of it, or electronic means and virtual currency, electronic transfer of funds in connection with any game of chance”


65-year-old Urban Development Act amended by Odisha government 

  • The Odisha Assembly passed the Odisha Town Planning and Improvement Trust (Amendment) Bill, 2021, by amending the Odisha Town Planning and Improvement Trust Act, 1956.

  • As per the new amendments, town planning function has been delegated to all the local bodies in accordance with the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act.

  • Modern concepts of planning such as transferable development rights have been introduced.

  • Moreover, standardizing the planning norms across the State by bringing the Odisha Town Planning and Improvement Trust Act, 1956 at par with the Odisha Development Authority Act, 1982 is a major feature of the new Bill.


Bombay High Court upholds the right of women to live with her partner

  • The High Court judges after meeting the girl who did not want to go with her parents recorded that “The girl is a major and appears to be resolute and is at liberty to act as per her wish”. 

  • However, the Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court, considering the apprehension expressed by the girl, directed the Commissioner of Police, Aurangabad, to safeguard and protect the girl up to the destination she wishes to go.


What are the new I-T rules on PF savings?

  • The Finance Ministry on Tuesday notified new Income Tax rules to impose a fresh tax on Provident Fund (PF) savings. 

  • In her 202122 Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed taxing the income on PF contributions of over ₹2.5 lakh a year which was later enhanced to ₹5 lakh for PF accounts wherein employers make no contributions. The new rules seek to address lack of clarity on how this tax was to be levied.

  • The Union Finance Minister has said some people contribute ₹1 crore each month into their PF accounts. For such people to get tax concessions as well as an assured income is not comparable with an employee who earns ₹2 lakh and 8% return.


CBI seeks to invoke UAPA in Dabholkar murder case

  • The Central Bureau of Investigation has argued in a court that the five accused in the 2013 murder case of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar be tried under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for striking “terror among a section of people”.

  • The Defense counsel however, opposed the prosecution's demand to invoke Section 16 of the UAPA as the prosecution has been stating since 2016 through their various documents that Tawde used to despise Dabholkar and he had killed him as a fallout of that, thus no question of terror arises.



Philippines allow travel to India

  • The Philippines decided to allow travel from India and 9 other countries from September 6, 2021.

  • The Turkish Embassy said that effective from September 4, passengers travelling from India to Turkey, who certify that they have had at least two doses (single dose for Johnson & Johnson) of the vaccines approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization or Turkey, provided that at least 14 days have passed since the last dose, will be exempted from mandatory quarantine.


India urges early TRIPS waiver ruling on Covid-19

  • Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal stressed on finding a permanent, adequate and equitable solution to the public stock holding programmes for food security purposes.

  • In May 2021, 62 nations including India, South Africa and Indonesia sent in a revived proposal.


 

ASEAN envoy holds talks with Myanmar junta

  • The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been trying to end violence in Myanmar and open a dialogue between the military rulers and their opponents following the overthrow of Ms. Suu Kyi in February.

  • Requests seeking access to Ms. Suu Kyi have been made to the State Administrative Council, chaired by junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, Mr. Erywan said. But access to the deposed leader was not a requirement under a five point consensus reached by ASEAN in April, he added.


How does South Korea’s ‘anti-Google’ law free up in-app payments? 

  • On August 31, the South Korean Parliament passed an amendment to the country’s Telecommunications Business Act that has been dubbed the "anti-Google" law. 

  • The law prevents dominant app store operators — effectively Alphabet’s Google and Apple — from forcing South Korean app developers to use their in store payment systems. This effectively prevents Apple and Google from charging commission on payments made in their app stores. 

  • The law also empowers the South Korean government to intervene in payment disputes within app stores, and to haul up app store operators for delaying the publishing of apps or deleting them.

Extracted & Compiled by- Rajat Gupta, Advocate- Delhi High Court

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