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The Morning Wrap: Kashmir Man Found Dead With 300 Pellets In His Body; Vijender Singh Holds 10th Rank In WBO

Our selection of interesting news and opinion from the day's newspapers.
File photo of boxer Vijender Singh.
Reuters Staff/Reuters
File photo of boxer Vijender Singh.

The Morning Wrap is HuffPost India's selection of interesting news and opinion from the day's newspapers. Subscribe here to receive it in your inbox each weekday morning.

Essential HuffPost

After locking horns with many filmmakers over certification of films and proposed cuts, CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani is reportedly proposing a new way to promote "clean" films that promote "traditional values". Reportedly, Nihalani is going to propose the introduction of a new category for film certification — 'Q', which stands for 'quality'.

In a culture that rampantly sexualises women's bodies, public breastfeeding in India is often reduced to the fact that a breast is semi-exposed in public. In Nestle India's 'Breastfeeding Song' was released on YouTube earlier this week, many were glad that an organisation that sells baby food and processed milk among other things, is promoting breastfeeding. While one can see that the commercial is urging workplaces to support lactating mothers, the advertisement itself seems awkward and uncomfortable depicting a nursing mother.

A recent video of fitness enthusiast and actor-model Milind Soman's 74-year-old mother running barefoot in a saree made waves on social media. Soman told agencies that though though they have discovered his mother's exploits just then, she has been participating in the 100-kilometre trek for years.

Main News

Srinagar was gripped in tension on Wednesday after a guard at an ATM booth was found dead, with hundreds of pellets reportedly fired from close range. With the death of the youth, the total number of people killed since 9 July has risen to 53.

In a bid to tackle the intense staff crunch at the Ministry of External Affairs, foreign secretary S Jaishankar has suggested that the UPSC should have an additional paper for those candidates interested in joining the Indian foreign service (IFS) and a specially created personality test to assess qualities of future diplomats.

Nepal's parliament on Wednesday elected Prachanda, who led a decade-long insurgency that topped a feudal monarchy, as the Himalayan nation's new prime minister, a week after KP Oli stepped down to avoid a no-confidence motion.

Off The Front Page

Indian boxing star Vijender Singh on Wednesday broke into the World Boxing Organisation's (WBO) rankings at number 10 after being crowned the Asia Pacific super middleweight champion in July.

In a curious 'love' story, a Bihar woman fell in love with her son-in-law when she went to visit him at her daughter's house when he was sick. Their affair progressed so further that the husband left his wife for his mother-in-law and they got hitched. The daughter presented the matter in front of the panchayat, and they allowed the man and mother-in-law to stay together. They believed the two loved each other and it was for the best that they stay happily with each other.

30 second, to five minute videos of actual rapes are reportedly being sold across Uttar Pradesh. Dealers reportedly upload videos directly into buyers' smartphones or pass them along in pen drives. Sometimes videos are also shared over social media. Depending on the "exclusivity" of the clips, they are priced anywhere from ₹50 to ₹150.

Opinion

For the GST regime to be successful, it is important to not only reduce the costs of compliance within the system but also make more effective the costs associated with evasion, writes R Kavita Rao in The Hindu. "There are still a few major decisions to be taken before we can witness the roll-out of the GST. There are still a few challenges that need to be addressed. But given that the first step has been taken, it would stimulate efforts to iron out the other difficulties and resolve the other challenges. At least now, the commentators on the Indian economy would need to think of something else to comment about," she says.

There are many hurdles standing in the way of India achieving glory at the Rio Olympics, from low GDP per capita to barriers to public participation, says an editorial in Mint. "Intangibles like India's often-cited lack of a sporting culture also play a part. In current circumstances, a de-emphasis of sports in culture is understandable. More conventional career choices are better when sporting achievement often doesn't ensure economic security and there is no social safety net to mitigate the cost of failing," it says.

Lokpal amendments underline the resistance of political class to scrutiny, write Anjali Bhardwaj and Amrita Johri in The Indian Express. "In Parliament, the relevant minister stated that the amendments were being brought about due to concerns raised by NGOs. This justification is fallacious as two concerns were expressed by the NGO sector — one, that the deadline for asset disclosure was too short; and two, functionaries of NGOs should not be termed "public servants". The government could have extended the deadline without diluting the provisions of asset disclosure. The contentious issue of bringing NGO functionaries under the category of "public servants" has not even been addressed by the amendments. The hasty passage of the Lokpal amendment bill shows yet again the unwillingness of the political class to submit itself to scrutiny and accountability," they write.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.