Sitharaman to begin giving stimulus details
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to begin from Wednesday giving details of the Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation on Tuesday.
The special economic package will have emphasis on land, labour, liquidity and laws, and will be for "our labourers, farmers, honest taxpayers, MSMEs and cottage industry", Modi had said. The stimulus package had been awaited since early April as various sectors of the economy faced disruption on account of the lockdown due to coronavirus.
Single-justice bench in SC
A single-justice bench will from Wednesday begin taking up matters on bail and anticipatory bail as well as offences entailing punishment of up to seven years in jail. This is the first time the Supreme Court has constituted single-justice benches; most benches have at least two justices. The Supreme Court had amended its rules last September to allow for single-justice benches.
The Supreme Court decided to constitute single-justice benches to address pendency in the apex court. As of July last year, there were more than 11.5 lakh cases pending in the Supreme Court.
Postal dept to launch postal cover on migrants
India Post will on Wednesday launch a special postal cover as a tribute to migrants stranded in various parts of the country on account of the coronavirus lockdown. The launch event will be held at the General Post Office in Mumbai. The Time of India reported the cover will be inaugurated by migrants including a construction labourer, a taxi driver, a jewellery craftsman and a tailor.
Opposition leaders to protest in Delhi against labour law amendments
Leaders of eight opposition parties, including the CPI(M) and CPI, are planning to stage a protest in Delhi on Wednesday against moves by several states to amend labour laws in order to revive economic activity following coronavirus disruption. The protest will be held at the A.K. Gopalan Bhavan, the headquarters of the CPI(M), at 12pm. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI's D. Raja and LJD chief Sharad Yadav will lead the protest.
The Deccan Herald reported, "Senior RJD MP Manoj K Jha, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) president Thol Thirumavalavan as well as general secretaries of CPI(ML)-L (Dipankar Bhattacharya), Forward Bloc (Debabrata Biswas) and RSP (Manoj Bhattacharya) will also take part in the protest."
Additional bus services in Bengal
The West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) will start bus services in some more routes for frontline workers and for returnees from Wednesday amid the lockdown, an official said in Kolkata on Tuesday.
Already, the WBTC is running a skeleton bus service for frontline workers. The service will be further augmented with some more some new routes added, the official said. The services by the state transport undertaking, on designated routes in Kolkata and adjoining areas, will be operational daily with hourly frequency between 7am and 7pm. Of the routes that will be operational, several will be connecting Howrah station with different parts of the city and suburbs.
