The Supreme Court of India, by a majority opinion, has struck down the 99th Constitution Amendment, which provided for the establishment of the National Judicial Commission to appoint judges of the High Court and the Supreme Court. Having read the opinion of the five hon'ble judges, a few issues arise in my mind.The key rationale behind the majority opinion appears to be that independence of the judiciary is an essential ingredient of the basic structure of the Constitution. This is unquestionably a correct proposition. Having stated this, the majority transgresses into an erroneous logic. It argues that the presence of a law minister in the commission and the appointment of two eminent persons in the commission by a group, which will, besides the Chief Justice of India, comprise the prime minister and the leader of the Opposition, will constitute political involvement in judicial appointments. Judges appointed on this basis may feel gratified to politicians. Political persons would be

The NJAC verdict: An alternative view

Business Standard

I beg to move that the Payment and Settlement System (Amendment) Bill, 2014 be taken into consideration.I have gone through the provisions of the Amendment and I have a written note which is ready and I could read out to explain what the amendment is about.Sir, the payment and settlement system in commercial transactions is the backbone of all financial transactions. I issue a cheque in favour of somebody. It goes through a clearing house from my banker to the recipient bankers and, therefore, there is a payment and settlement system involved in this. Prior to 2007, this was all being managed through an executive notification and authorities created under that.In 2007, the government at that time, and rightly so, enacted the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. I would just read from the preamble of that Act one sentence. It will be clear as to what the purpose of that Act was. "An Act to provide for regulation and supervision of payment systems in India and to designate the Reser

'The backbone of all financial transactions'

There is no contradiction in an economy that if something encourages industrial activity in the country, it is bound to be anti-poor

'Does this Budget help the poor? It does'

The Indian economy today is passing through a difficult phase. There is a sense of anxiety about the state of the economy if not restlessness

'The current government has lost its will to rule'

The fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of India are an integral part of the basic constitutional structure

Arun Jaitley: Opinion polls are also a part of free speech

We live in an age of both cynicism and hope. When we see the depressing environment around us, public opinion tends to become cynical. However, India has shown tremendous resilience. Hope, therefore, emerges from the sense of resilience to overtake cynicism.Sixty per cent of our population depends on agriculture for livelihood. Agriculture contributes only 16 per cent to the GDP [gross domestic product]. The share of services in the GDP is touching almost 60 per cent. Services in India have grown because they are not entirely dependent on either government policy or the lack of infrastructure. It is an important challenge for us that we tackle the problem of under-employment in agriculture by transferring a very large number of people from agriculture to the manufacturing sector or the services sector.Quality of politicsIn a parliamentary democracy, politics impacts the life of the nation. Politics formulates the policy. Policy determines the direct

'Surnames, castes must be replaced by proven ability'

In Kokrajhar, the Bodo population is significant. Adjacent to the region is Dhubri. The 2001 Census shows here, almost 71 per cent of the population comprises not the ethnic minority but migrants. When the results of the 2011 Census are declared, this figure is likely to cross 80 per cent. Where do you have 80 per cent illegal immigrants adjacent to the Bangladesh border? Right next to the chicken's neck. Therefore, that is the kind of security threat it constitutes to India, besides being an expansion of the territory.

'Throw out illegal immigrants by process of law'

The finance minister in his Budget speech... has spoken in terms of providing tax certainty. He says this in the context of advance pricing agreements. Now, tax certainty is essential for any taxation planning. When investors come in, they must know how much tax they are going to pay if they earn money.