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Essential HuffPost
In a piece of happy news for Feni connoisseurs, the Goa state government has now proposed to amend the four decade-old Goa Excise Duty Act to ensure that the exotic drink is marketed and sold across all states. "We want to place Feni alongside tequila and scotch, which used to be country liquor once," Excise Commissioner Menino D’Souza said.
The HRD Ministry has asked the Delhi University to make corrections in a text book that described freedom fighter Bhagat Singh as "terrorist". The step was taken after a book titled India's Struggle for Independence, authored by historians Bipin Chadra and Mridula Mukherjee, mentioned Singh, Chandra Shekhar Azad, Surya Sen and other freedom fighters as "revolutionary terrorists" in Chapter 20.
The Indian government, who is the country's largest litigant responsible for nearly half of the three crore cases pending in courts across the country, is doing little to unclog the overburdened system. From disputes involving civilians suing either the Centre or the state governments; to government bodies suing one another, precious judicial bandwidth is clogged, sometimes even for procedural matters which could easily be resolved through internal arbitration.
The Modi government is no longer asking Urdu writers in India to refrain from producing content which is critical of the government, but they are still asking them to desist from writing anything which is 'against national interest' or which 'creates hatred' among communities.
Main News
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has dared the BJP to arrest Congress president Sonia Gandhi and other leaders of the party in connection with the controversial ₹3,600 core AgustaWestland chopper deal. He also claimed there was a 'strong relationship' between the Congress and the BJP via a series of tweets.
The SC's order directing the Medical Council of India to hold the National Entrance and Eligibility Test (NEET) from this year onwards has put medical aspirants from Maharashtra and other states in a fix. The order has put a question mark over the fate of state-level CET, which is slated to be held on 5 May. While the state CET is based on Maharashtra board (SSC) syllabus, the All India Pre-Medical/Pre-Dental Entrance Test (AIPMT), now called as NEET, is crafted on the CBSE syllabus. The confusion and the re-application process has left Maharashtra students with less than three months to prepare for the exam.
After being barred by JNU from pursuing any course in the university for the next five years, Anirban Bhattacharya has received a notice from the university’s Chief Procter over his alleged participation in the screening of a documentary titled, Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai, on campus without prior permission of the administration. The varsity has asked him to appear before the Procter to present his ‘defence’.
Off The Front Page
Gender activist Trupti Desai's plan to make sure women are allowed to enter and pray the inner sanctum of Mumbai's Haji Ali dargah went awry on Thursday. Because when she drove down to protest the cause, she was met with violent and angry protestors who banged on her car window and refused to let her get out. She was eventually asked by the police to leave the site to diffuse the volatile situation.
Impressed with Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU)'s online paper delivery system, Japan has now signed an MOU with the Karnataka-based university to hire 40,000 engineers from the state.
After a failed attempt to sell Kingfisher House, erstwhile headquarters of liquor baron Vijay Mallya's defunct carrier, lenders will auction the trademarks of the airline, including the 'Kingfisher' logo and once-famous 'Fly the Good Times' tagline on 30 April.
Opinion
Several studies demonstrate that high-quality preschool learning makes a child school-ready, with greater chances of academic success, faster adjustment to school, and reduced behavioural problems, writes Sashwati Banerjee in Hindustan Times. "An active public-private partnership must be initiated to reformulate policies for providing universal access to high-quality, educational content for young learners. The power of emerging media and advanced communication can be used effectively to help children, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, reach their highest potential," she writes.
The industry’s herd approach to investing in the past has led to capital being concentrated in a few segments and created valuation bubbles, writes Snigdha Sengupta in Mint. "Most active venture capital firms in the country are well capitalised but are using the correction to evaluate deals more carefully and spend time understanding businesses. While that doesn’t imply that me-too ideas won’t get funded — the consumer internet sector remains a top draw with investors as more India-appropriate businesses are beginning to attract investor attention," she writes.
In a time of dating apps, serial short-term monogamy is viable. "But you know how it is with progress - there's always an environmental cost," writes Paromita Vohra in Mumbai Mirror. "Jumping into sexual relations in the world of seduction has shifted from a talent or an art to a listicle or formula... One misses the thrill of slowly unfolding ambiguous communication," she writes.
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