
Harsh Vardhan hails clearance for COVID-19 vaccines as 'watershed moment'; Congress questions 'premature' nod to COVAXIN
India's drugs regulator on Sunday also approved the Oxford University-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine 'Covishield', manufactured by the Serum Institute for restricted emergency use in the country, paving the way for a massive inoculation drive

Disappointed with party's performance in Bihar polls, CWC will review it soon, says P Chidambaram
The Congress managed to win only 19 of the 70 seats it had contested, down from its previous tally of 27 seats out of the 41 seats it had fought in the 2015 Assembly elections

Congress mulls using Article 254(2) to bypass farm laws: All you need to know about the rarely-used provision
Article 254 (2) of the Constitution essentially allows a state law to prevail over a conflicting Central law in some circumstances

Enact laws to override Centre's farm sector legislations, Congress urges party-ruled states
President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday gave assent to three contentious farm bills passed by Parliament last week. These laws have triggered ' protests by farmers, especially in Punjab and Haryana.

Ex-Jharkhand Congress chief Ajoy Kumar rejoins party after nod from Sonia Gandhi, says 'inspired by Rahul'
Kumar, a former IPS officer and an MP from Jamshedpur in the 15th Lok Sabha, quit ahead of last year's Jharkhand Assembly elections after calling local Congress leadership 'corrupt'

Parliament's Monsoon Session: Opposition to oppose four legislations that 'take away rights of states', says Jairam Ramesh
The legislation will be brought in to replace four ordinances — three related to the farm sector and the amendment to the Banking Regulation Act

Congress urges Centre to scrap Rs 22,000-cr Central Vista project, says funds can be used in fight against COVID-19
Taking a dig at Centre's ambitious Central Vista redevelopment project, the Congress named the plight of migrant workers across India and the lack of PPEs for doctors at the forefront of the COVID-19 battle as some of the costs "India has to bear" for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "dream to live in a new house and address MPs from a new Parliament building"

IBC led to recovery of just 10% of defaulted loans in non- major companies: Jairam Ramesh
The insolvency and bankruptcy law has resulted in recovery of just 10 percent of defaulted loans in case of companies other than the seven big ones referred for resolution, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in Rajya Sabha on Thursday

S Jaishankar cites VP Menon's biography to claim Nehru didn't want Patel in Cabinet; Jairam Ramesh, Shashi Tharoor rebut charge
Jaishankar's tweet evoked a sharp response from Guha, who said 'this a myth that has been comprehensively demolished by Professor Srinath Raghavan.'

RS panel calls for making monitoring apps mandatory on all devices to contain child pornography, demands amendment of POCSO and IT Acts
The report was presented to Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu by the panel chief and Congress parliamentarian Jairam Ramesh

Zee JLF 2020: On Day 2, a wide-ranging discussion on surveillance and data, and Howard Jacobson's musings on writers
A somewhat muted Day 2 of Zee JLF 2020 kicked off with Howard Jacobson sharing quite a bit of wisdom and advice with the morning audience. The day's most compelling session was the one featuring Martin Goodman, Jairam Ramesh and David Wallace-Wells.

SC Hearing on CAA Highlights: No stay on CAA-NPR, Assam-Tripura matters segregated; top court bars HCs from hearing pleas on law
SC Hearing on CAA Live Updates: The Supreme Court today made it clear that it will not grant any stay on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) without hearing the Centre. It has given the Centre four weeks to reply to all the generic petitions regarding CAA, while Assam and Tripura specific matters should be responded to within two weeks.

Supreme Court refuses to stay Citizenship Amendment Act, gives four weeks to Narendra Modi government to respond
Supreme Court has refused to grant any stay (interim or otherwise) on the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act, National Register for Citizens or the National Population Register saying that the Centre is free to implement these laws. The apex court, however, gave the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre four weeks to respond to at least 140 writ petitions which challenge the constitutional validity of the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Students of universities in North East call for shutdown of educational institutes in view of SC hearing on CAA today
In view of the Supreme Court hearing on CAA, students unions of universities across the North East have called for a 'total shutdown' of all varsities and colleges on Wednesday.

'It's do-or-die battle': Women protesters at Kolkata's Park Circus Maidan to continue anti-CAA stir till favourable outcome
About 60 Muslim women are determined to carry on with their demonstration indefinitely at the Park Circus Maidan in Kolkata to protest against the CAA and the proposed NRC till there is a 'favourable judgement'

ISRO official P Kunhikrishnan ends parliamentary panel meet with flute performance, wins praise on internet
Veteran Congress leader Jairam Ramesh shared a video of a top Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) official playing the flute at the conclusion of the final meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee

'BJP trying to fool country': Congress hits out at Narendra Modi for saying his government never discussed nationwide NRC
Home Minister Amit Shah has said NRC will be implemented across country, but the prime minister is now claiming just the opposite, the Congress said

SC decides to examine constitutional validity of Citizenship Amendment Act, refuses to stay its operation; next hearing on 22 Jan
The top court issued notice to the Centre and sought its response by the second week of January next year on a batch of pleas challenging the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Books of the week: From These, Our Bodies, Possessed by Light to VK Krishna Menon's biography, our picks
Our weekly roundup of books that should be on your radar.

Winter Session of Parliament: RS approves Taxation (Amendment) Bill; Nirmala Sitharaman says 'good reforms' to boost economy will continue
The Rajya Sabha on Thursday gave its consent to the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019, replacing an ordinance that was used to slash corporate tax rates in order to stimulate growth. The Lok Sabha has already passed the bill and the Upper House cleared the legislation with voice vote without any changes.