News Digest: Bar on RSS, Jamaat Men in Govt Service Set to Go

Here are some important reports from the biggest newspapers of India.

1. Bar on RSS, Jamaat men in govt service set to go

The government is set to repeal a 1966 law, reiterated subsequently in 1975 and 1980, requiring those joining government service to declare that they are not affiliated to either Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) or Jamaat-e-Islami.

The department of personnel and training now plans to hold consultations with the home ministry on the need to do away with this “unreasonable and absurd“ norm, with a senior government functionary pointing out how RSS had always maintained that “it is a cultural and non-political organisation“. This will be part of the government's drive to repeal defunct and archaic laws.

2. Punjab’s war on drugs: Untold toll, one death in custody every four days

There is at least one man or woman dying in custody, either in a police station or a prison, every four days over the last two years — that’s the staggering human and social cost of Punjab’s skewed crackdown on drugs.

This is the finding of an investigation by The Indian Express of data obtained under the Right to Information Act and analysis of police and jail records.

3. Consume alcohol, but up to limit, Gujarat minister tells tribal parents

Gujarat Minister of State for Tribal Development, Kanti Gamit, courted controversy at a Shala Praveshotsav in the tribal district of Chhota Udaipur on Wednesday, when he suggested parents of wards to “consume alcohol in limits”.

Pointing towards the tribal practice of consuming palm wine (Tadi) and alcohol regularly, Gamit said that he had no intention of “asking to give up alcohol”, but urged the parents to ensure that they are not in an inebriated state through out the day. The Minister said that festivals and weddings should be a definite excuse for “day long” revelry.

4. Will Rajnath be BJP's face in UP elections?



With just three days to go for BJP's national executive in Allahabad, speculation escalated on Thursday that home minister Rajnath Singh could play the “lead role“ in the party's campaign for next year's UP polls.

Though BJP has steadfastly refrained from spelling out if it plans to project anyone as its CM candidate, there has been insistent buzz that the brass may consider giving Singh, a former UP CM, a prominent role in the campaign even if it does not necessarily declare him to be its choice for the top political office in the state. The party will tread cautiously in UP because of the caste divisions which define the poll equations.

5. Bill Gates to Donate 100,000 Chicks to Fight Poverty

Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates, speaking in front of chickens pecking and clucking in a New York City skyscraper, announced plans on Wednesday to donate 100,000 chicks to poor nations in an effort to end extreme poverty.

The chicks will go to rural areas in two dozen countries from Burkina Faso to Bolivia, where the Heifer International charity manages breeding operations and distribution, according to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Raising and selling chickens can lift families out of poverty, and a farmer breeding 250 chickens a year could make $1,250, said the Foundation, which is partnering with the Heifer International. “There's no investment that has a return percentage anything like being able to breed chickens,“ said Gates.

6. 68 years ago, Air India first went international

Thursday marked the 68th anniversary of Air India's first internation al flight touching down at London. The historic 24-hour trip from Mumbai to London by the Malabar Princess, a 40 seater Lockheed L-749 Constellation, was marked by refuelling stops at Cairo and Geneva. The propeller-driven four-engine aircraft, registered as VT-CQS, was piloted by Captain K R Guzdar on its maiden voyage.

The aircraft carried 35 passengers including luminaries such as Maharaja Duleepsinhji, who was looking forward to watching the Ashes, his highness the Jam Saheb of Nawanagar, the Rajpramukh of Saurashtra, JRD Tata the father of Indian aviation and Indian cyclists H B Malcolm and R R Noble, who were to represent India at the Olympic Games at Wembley.

7. Goldman Sachs axes Japan girl over porn past

A former Japanese pornstar who had secured a job at Goldman Sachs found herself dropped from the job after the banking major discovered her past, Daily Mail said.

Adult actress Shizuka Minamoto, who had featured in dozens of porn movies, had secured a job at the bank's Tokyo arm after her graduation. However, her would-be employers terminated the contract citing violation of the bank's code of ethics.

8. 1.46 lakh lives lost on Indian roads last year

An official report, released by Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday, said 1.46 lakh people were killed in road accidents in India in 2015 — an increase of five per cent from 2014.

Road accidents as a whole rose 2.5 per cent during 2015 to 5.01 lakh or 374 accidents every day, claiming 400 lives, the report said.

9. Sexual harassment law likely to be amended

The Centre is contemplating an amendment to the rules on dealing with sexual harassment cases to make the committee on sexual harassment share its findings with the complainant in cases where no action is recommended or contemplated against the accused.

The panel will not only have to provide a copy of its report to the complainant but would also have to consider any representation against its findings as an appeal before completing its report. In a circular, the Department of Personnel directed all Ministries and departments to notify the change to stakeholders and get their views by June 21.

10. Most employees in India prefer to work from home

A substantial number of employees are interested in working from home with the preference more prevalent among those aged above 45 years, says a survey.

HR services provider Randstad said on Thursday that almost an equal number of men and women opined that they would like telecommuting.

“53 per cent of the respondents from India said they prefer telecommuting, while 47 per cent prefer to work from the office every day,” it said, citing the results of a survey on workplace flexibility. The findings are based on a survey of around 7,500 employees from India.