The Central government will today introduce the Bankruptcy Bill in the Parliament. The Bill when enacted will improve ease of doing business in India. The Rajya Sabha, which has passed only one Bill during the ongoing session of Parliament because of frequent disruptions, is likely to pass as many as half a dozen bills before the session concludes on Wednesday. However, the Constitutional amendment on a proposed national goods and services tax will not be one of these. The only bill the Rajya Sabha has passed in this session is the one on negotiable instruments.

The Rajya Sabha is likely to take up bill on SC and ST prevention of atrocities, on commercial courts and commercial appellate divisions in high courts, amending the arbitration and conciliation act, atomic energy act, appropriation bills on supplementary demands for grants and excess demands for grants. All cleared by the Lok Sabha.The Lok Sabha has passed 12 bills and six more have been introduced. The session began on November 26.A Whistle Blower Protection (Amendment) Bill and a Juvenile Justice Act amendment, as passed by the Lok Sabha earlier, are likely to be referred to Rajya Sabha committees, as is another seeking to amend the law on child labour, on which a standing committee gave a report at the end of 2013.

Saab offers Gripen fighter jets under 'Make in India'
Swedish defence major Saab has offered to manufacture its fifth-generation Gripen fighter aircraft with technology transfer to India, in a renewed bid for a pie in the multi-billion dollar worth India Air Force modernisation plan.Saab, which had lost out in the medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) tender in 2011, won by French firm Dassault Aviation, anticipates that the Indian Air Force will need more the 36 Rafale fighter jets that India is buying from France, to strengthen its depleting fleet. With the government cancelling the multi-billion tender for 126 MMRCA, there is renewed hope in the aviation industry that India may go in for fresh bids to fill up the gaps.Saab is not only offering to set up a base here, but also help in the development of aerospace capability for the next 100 years and partner in developing the next version of indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas and the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), being developed and designed by Aeronautical Development Agency.The Indian Air Force had in October said, it would need at least six additional squadrons comprising 108 Rafale fighter jets or similar jets to shore up its capabilities.

FIR against Arun Jaitley today, says AAP leader as defamation case threat is hurled

The political slugfest over DDCA affairs intensified between AAP and Arun Jaitley, the ruling party in Delhi on Sunday hit back at the Finance Minister saying it will file an FIR against him on Monday."I will file an FIR against @arunjaitley and others tomorrow (Monday)," AAP leader Sanjay Singh said in a tweet.Jaitley had earlier said that he was slapping criminal and civil defamation cases against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders in Delhi courts on Monday for making "false and defamatory" statements against him.
Jaitley will file cases in his in his personal capacity. A civil defamation case in the Delhi High Court and criminal defamation cases in the Patiala House courts against Kejriwal, Kumar Vishwas, Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chadha and Deepak Bajpayee will be filed. 
He accused them of issuing false and defamatory statements against him and his family members.Jaitley’s action comes in the backdrop of attacks on him by Kejriwal and other AAP leaders over alleged irregularities and financial bunglings in Delhi’s cricket body, Delhi and District Cricket Association, of which he was the president for about 13 years till 2013.Kejriwal and the five AAP leaders have publicly been making allegations against Jaitley with regard to the DDCA affairs although some of the allegations have gone beyond that.

SC hearing today on juvenile convict in 'Nirbhaya' gangrape case
A vacation bench of the supreme court will hear the matter of juvenile convict in December 16 rape case while it  declined to stop his release. A vacation bench comprising justices AK Goel and UU Lalit will hear the petition filed by the Delhi commission for women (DCW) seeking a stay on juvenile's release.The DCW's late night effort to stall it failed after the supreme court post-midnight held a sitting and refused to stay it.Swati Maliwal, chairperson of the DCW which had approached the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court had also declined to stay his release, hoped that since the matter has become sub judice, the government and Delhi Police will not release the juvenile offender.

The juvenile convict in the December 16 gangrape was on Sunday released and sent to an NGO at an undisclosed destination with police no longer guarding him, amid continued protest by the victim's parents.The freedom for the 20 year-old convict came as parents of the gangrape victim continued their protest along with activists protesting against his release and demanding death for him."We have left him with an NGO," police sources said. Government sources said when asked two days back whether he would like to go home in Badaun in Uttar Pradesh or to an NGO, he opted for the latter citing security concerns.

BSNL cuts mobile call rates by 80% for new customers
To speed up customer acquisition, state-owned telecom firm BSNL has slashed mobile rates by up to 80 per cent for the first two months under a scheme for new customers.The call rates have been reduced both per minute and per second billing plan, and will be valid only for the first two months of a customer's joining BSNL.New customer buying BSNL connection will have to buy plan voucher of Rs. 36 for per second plan and Rs. 37 for per minute plan, including MNP customers.Customers opting for Rs. 37 scheme will be charged 10 paisa per minute for making local as well as STD calls within BSNL and 30 paisa per minute on other network.

Similarly, after recharging phone for Rs. 36, customer will be charged 1 paisa for every 3 second duration on local and STD calls made within BSNL network and 2 paisa for 3 second on other network.The state-run telecom company has roped in Aegis BPO for its customer service which also serves leading private telecom operators. BSNL has also started monitoring complaints on the social media to provide resolution to aggrieved customers

Schools to remain closed during odd-even scheme trial in Delhi
Schools in the national capital have been ordered to shut down for 15 days starting January 1 during the trial period of odd-even vehicle formula by the Delhi government. School buses would run under the fleet of Delhi Transport Corporation or DTC from January 1-15."To make the new Scheme functional with least disturbance to our children and also to augment public transport during the 'Odd Even Scheme' days, the government has decided to declare holidays for all schools from January 1 to 15 and also to procure the services of school buses for the requirement of DTC at notified rates," an official notification by Directorate of Education (DoE) said."This order may result in some deviation to the number of school days prescribed in the Right to Education Act, but the government is of the opinion that we can be flexible about the number of days in the interest of health and wellbeing of our children for all times to come," it added.