1. Achhe Din for Delhi MLAs: Is 400% Pay Hike A Bonanza or Fair Wage?
The Delhi legislative assembly recently passed a Bill, raising the salaries of MLAs from Rs 12,000 per month to Rs 50,000 per month – a 400% hike. Concurrently, the monthly constituency allowance has been raised from Rs 88,000 to Rs 2 10,000. With this, the Delhi MLA is among the highest paid legislator in the country, barring perhaps Assam. Read TSR Subramanium’s opinion piece on how this decision is a blow to AAP’s ideology.
2. Baby Born To Rape Victim Is ‘Illegitimate’, Says Allahabad HC
In a gross violation of a Supreme Court order, the Allahabad High Court recently forced a 13-year-old rape victim to live in stigma and shame by describing the baby born – as a result of the sexual assault – as “illegitimate”.
The high court judgement, delivered earlier this month, comes five years after the Supreme Court held that “illegitimate children, for all practical purposes, including succession to the properties of their parents, have to be treated as legitimate.”
But are the legislations handed out in tandem with the mental, physical and social conditions of the victims of this horrendous crime?
Read Rakesh Bhatnagar’s piece on the legal custody of children born out of rape.
3. Why Pakistan Acceded to NSA Level Talks in a Third Country
Just three months after all talks with Pakistan were called off, the NSAs of Pakistan, Ajit Doval and Naseer Janjua, held a four-and-a-half hours long meeting in Bangkok on Sunday.
The choice of a third location away from the sub-continent met India’s needs perfectly, as the Hurriyat could easily be outmanoeuvred. For the Indian government, there is an additional plus. There have been many suggestions that India must attempt to speak directly to the Pakistan military establishment which actually runs the country’s foreign policy or at least sub-continent-related foreign policy. But what were Pakistan’s stakes in this meeting? Syed Ata Hasnain explains.
4. Double Win: Woman Airlifted During Chennai Floods Delivers Twins
Last week, Indian Air Force (IAF) team rescued 28-year-old Deepthi Velchamy on December 2, from one of the worst rain-affected areas in Chennai. The woman has delivered healthy twin girls. This has brought some cheer as residents deal with the aftermath of the unprecedented deluge. Watch The Quint’s video on this story.
5. Father Didn’t Know Dying Boy He Rushed to Hospital Was His Son
Check out this curious story of Sajan, who rushed a severely injured boy to a hospital on Sunday, only to realise that the boy dying in his lap was his own son.
6. Twitter Top 10: Modi the Only Non B-Town Celeb, Bachchan at No.1
Bachchan with 18.1 million followers till Dec 4, 2015, was followed the most, while Shah Rukh Khan was next with 16.5 million. Narendra Modi was ranked a close third with 16.4 million, while the 10th position was held by AR Rahman – 9.5 million. Find out who else made it to the top 10.
7. Shah Rukh Khan & ‘Dilwale’ Donate 1 Cr for Chennai Flood Relief
Shah Rukh Khan has donated a sum of Rs 1 crore for the flood relief work in Chennai. The actor has contributed this amount to the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund on behalf of Red Chillies Entertainment and Team Dilwale. Read Shah Rukh’s heartfelt letter to Tamil Nadu CM Jaylalithaa on the Chennai flood situation.
8. In Stats: Ashwin’s Record in SA Series, Virat’s Captaincy and More
Statistician Arun Goplakrishnan takes a look at the effect of the India-South Africa Test series on numbers and gives an insight about Virat Kohli’s captaincy and the performance of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in his statistical report.
9. Google Could Have a Needle-Free Cure for Diabetes With This Watch
We already have the technology for smart-watches to collect data about your heart rate, exercise pattern and stress levels, but read about search-engine giant Google’s new watch that will replace needles used in hospitals.
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