The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the Consumer Protection Bill, 2018, amid protests by Congress and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) members.

The new measure provides for protection of consumers’ interests and proposes to establish a Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission and forums at the district, state and national levels for adjudicating consumer complaints.

Eleven members participated in the discussion, which was marked by slogan-shouting and conduct of parallel mock proceedings by Congress members Sunil Jakhar and Sushmita Deb.

Responding to the discussion, Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said the legislation had not been amended for 32 years, and needs changes to strengthen the consumer rights. He sought support for the legislation by pointing out to members that it is non-controversial and is only aimed at strengthening the rights of consumers.

Former India opener W V Raman has been appointed head coach of the Indian women’s cricket team, the BCCI said in a statement on Thursday. Raman, who was most recently a batting consultant at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, was selected by an ad-hoc committee comprising Kapil Dev, Anshuman Gaekwad and Shantha Rangaswamy. The panel had recommended three names – former South African batsman Gary Kirsten, former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad and Raman.

The BCCI said in a statement that the committee had put Kirsten, who led the Indian men’s team to victory at the 2011 World Cup, as the frontrunner for the job. However, his ongoing contract with Indian Premier League side Royal Challengers Bangalore made him ineligible.

“Mr Kirsten was unable to take up this assignment due to his ongoing contract with an Indian Premier League franchise, which would have entailed Conflict of Interest as per the BCCI constitution,” said the board. Raman was second in preference ahead of Prasad and was hence selected. PTI quotes a BCCI official as saying that Kirsten was “not very keen to leave the RCB role.”

Seasoned diplomat Harsh Vardhan Shringla was Thursday appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the United States.

Shringla, a 1984-batch Indian Foreign Service diplomat will succeed Navtej Sarna.

“He is expected to take up the assignment shortly,” the Ministry of External Affairs said.

At present, Shringla is serving as Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh.

Senior diplomat Riva Ganguly Das, presently Director General of Indian Council for Cultural Relations, has been appointed as new High Commissioner to Bangladesh.

Gujarat was ranked the best state for startups in India, by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, which falls under the Commerce Ministry. The DIPP Thursday announced rankings of states and Union Territories (UTs) for 2018 on the basis of the environment they’ve created for startups. Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha and Rajasthan were ranked as the other top performers.

The representative for Gujarat explained during the event today that the state has allocated an Rs 100 crore budget for startups and provided assistance to at least 200 projects.

The rankings are based on steps taken by the states and UTs to create a conducive environment for startups and promote entrepreneurs. The exercise was carried out by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), which falls under the ambit of the Commerce Ministry.

The DIPP examined 14,565 startups across the country. Maharashtra has the largest number of startups (2,787), followed by Karnataka (2,107), Delhi (1,949), Uttar Pradesh (1,201), Haryana (765) and Gujarat (764). These companies offer services in various sectors including IT, healthcare, education, food, agriculture, renewable energy, and technology hardware.

The government launched ‘Startup India’ in January 2016 to give impetus to entrepreneurs in the country. Under the initiative, it promised tax exemptions for startups for three years and quick patent registrations among other things.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Pranab Kumar Das as the Chairman of CBIC from January 1, 2019.

Das will take over from current Chairman S Ramesh, who retires on December 31.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) is the apex indirect tax policy-making body under the Finance Ministry.

The CBIC is headed by the Chairman and consists of six members, who overlook various areas such as customs, central excise, service tax, Goods and Services Tax (GST), administration and budget, among other.

IDFC Bank and non-banking financial company (NBFC) Capital First have announced completion of their merger, creating a combined loan asset book of Rs 1.03 lakh crore for the merged entity IDFC First Bank. “IDFC Bank and Capital First merged effective 18th December 2018. Merged entity to be called IDFC First Bank, subject to shareholders’ approval,” the firms said in a joint statement.

Following the merger, the board of IDFC Bank approved the appointment of V Vaidyanathan, founder and chairman of Capital First Ltd, as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the merged entity, said the statement. His appointment awaits shareholders’ approval. The boards of IDFC Bank and Capital First met yesterday to take note of all requisite approvals and the order from National Company Law Tribunal; and approved the scheme of amalgamation.

Adoption may get a leg-up in India following the passage of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016, by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, banning commercial renting of wombs and allowing only “altruistic surrogacy”.

According to the Bill, all except legally married Indian couples who otherwise would not be able to conceive will be barred from opting for surrogacy. Besides, only a close relative can become a surrogate for “medically proven infertile” couples.

Experts claim that the stringent rules and regulations may encourage couples to turn toward adoption. “As surrogacy services were easily available, people used to hire a surrogate for having a baby, no matter if they were married, single or same sex couples,” said Ranjana Kumari, director of the Centre for Social Research.

“As commercial surrogacy will not be an option in the near future, intended single parents or couples willing to have a baby will look at adoption to fulfil the need. This may possibly boost the dismal adoption figures in India,” she said.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi has promised to waive of farm loan nationwide if the party is voted to power in the next general elections. In Assam, in a move seen as warming up to the farmers, the state’s BJP-led coalition government has announced that it will make agricultural loan interest-free from the next financial year.

The Sarbananda Sonowal government on Wednesday announced three schemes—Assam Farmers’ Credit Subsidy Scheme (AFCSS), Assam Farmers’ Interest Relief Scheme (AFIRS) and Assam Farmers’ Incentive Scheme (AFIS)—for the welfare of farmers.

“Under AFCSS, whatever amount of loan the farmers took from banks and whatever amount they repaid, 25 per cent of the money will be reimbursed by the state government. For example, a farmer availed of a loan of Rs.1 lakh and repaid Rs.50,000. If he repays another Rs.25,000, then the remaining Rs.25,000 will be paid by the state government. The upper cap of the government’s assistance will be Rs.25,000,” he said.

Legendary kabaddi player and India’s World Cup-winning captain, Anup Kumar announced his retirement with immediate effect. Kumar, who began his international career in 2006 at the South Asian Games in Sri Lanka,  made the announcement as his team, Jaipur Pink Panthers squared of against Gujarat Fortunegiants at Panchkula. In a career spanning over 15 years, Kumar has led several teams to victory and grown the sport in the country.

A veteran in his sport, was part of the Indian National Kabaddi team that won gold medals in 2010 and 2014. Thereafter, he captained the Indian National team in 2014 and it was during his tenure that the team won 2 gold medals at Asian Games in 2014 and the Kabaddi World Cup in 2016. In season 2 of the Pro Kabaddi League, Anup captained U Mumba and led the team to victory. Kumar has also won the Arjuna Award.

As Jammu and Kashmir completed six months under Governor’s rule, President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday imposed President’s rule in the state.

Kovind signed the proclamation for imposition of Central rule in the state, which plunged into a political crisis in June after the Mehbooba Mufti-led coalition government collapsed.

After 1996, this is the first time the Central rule has been imposed in the militancy-hit state. The gazette notification issued on Wednesday said the President has received a report from Governor Satya Pal Malik and after considering it, he was “satisfied” that President’s rule was required.