Take day off to grow food: Sri Lanka govt
In a bid to prevent misuse of Section 498A (punishment for cruelty by husband and his relatives) of Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Allahabad high court has said that after the registration of a first information report (FIR), no arrest should be made before expiry of a “cooling period” of two months. During the “cooling period”, the matter should be immediately referred to a family welfare committee for an attempt to resolve the matrimonial dispute through mediation, it added. “No arrest or police action to nab the named accused persons shall be made after lodging of the FIR or complaints without concluding the ‘cooling-period’ which is two months from the lodging of the FIR or the complaint. During this ‘cooling-period’, the matter would be immediately referred to family welfare committee in each district,” Justice Rahul Chaturvedi said in an order on Monday. HT has seen a copy of the order.
Crisis-hit Sri Lanka is asking civil servants to take an extra day off each week to grow crops in their backyards in a bid to forestall a looming food shortage. The island nation’s unprecedented economic downturn has left several staple foods in short supply, along with petrol and medicines, and rampant inflation is ravaging household budgets. “It seems appropriate to grant government officials leave for one working day of the week and provide them with the necessary facilities to engage in agricultural activities in their backyards,” a cabinet statement said Tuesday. The extra day off would be a “solution to the food shortage that is expected to occur in the future”, the statement read, adding that cutting down on civil servant commutes would also help reduce fuel consumption.
The government has finally announced the details of the muchdebated short-term recruitment policy for the armed forces called Agnipath. The scheme is undoubtedly a massive change from the existing intake format in the armed forces, writes Lt Gen (Dr) Rakesh Sharma, who commanded the Fire and Fury Corps in Ladakh responsible for Kargil, Siachen Glacier and Eastern Ladakh and is currently a distinguished fellow at Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) and Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS). Agnipath has far-reaching implications. The armed forces are revered national institutions, the ultimate source of hard power, and have a critical role to perform. Therefore, a solid and long-term vision is required to implement Agnipath, he writes. In addition, the scheme must be constantly evaluated to remove the rough edges and implement the feedback. Rigidity needs to be obviated, and sufficient dynamism built in.