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Indian transparency activists, journalists set for court fight over Modi’s privacy law

NEW DELHI, March 20 (Reuters) – Transparency activists and journalists are taking the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to India’s top court ​over its new privacy law, arguing the legislation will have a “chilling” effect on journalism and enable officials to withhold information of ‌public interest. Four lawsuits are due to be heard in the Supreme Court on March 23, following criticism from media and activists that Modi’s government is diluting a 20-year-old Right to Information (RTI) law that is similar to the Freedom of Information Act in the U.S. Modi’s government has also faced criticism of curbing dissent

Iran is defiant nearly 3 weeks into the war, hitting oil facilities around the Gulf

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, March 20, 2026 (AP) — Iran defiantly insisted Friday that it would deny its enemies their security and that it was still building missiles nearly three weeks into U.S.-Israeli strikes that have killed a slew of Tehran’s top leaders and hammered its weapons and energy industries. Iran fired on Israel and energy sites in neighboring Gulf Arab states as many in the region marked one of the holiest days on the Muslim calendar. With little information coming out of Iran, it was not clear how much damage its arms, nuclear or energy facilities have sustained since

Stock markets recover on buying in IT, PSU bank stocks; Sensex climbs 325 pts

Mumbai, Mar 20 (PTI) Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty gave up most of their intra-day gains to end nearly 0.5 per cent higher on Friday, following intense buying in PSU bank, IT and metal stocks amid concerns over a further spike in fuel-driven inflation. In another volatile session, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 325.72 points or 0.44 per cent to settle at 74,532.96. During the day, it jumped 1,079.15 points, or 1.45 per cent, to 75,286.39. The 50-share NSE Nifty edged higher by 112.35 points, or 0.49 per cent, to end at 23,114.50. Intra-day, it jumped 343 points, or

CBDT notifies rules for simplified income tax law, to be effective from April 1

Income Tax Law

New Delhi, Mar 20 (PTI) Central Board of Direct Taxes on Friday notified the rules for Income-tax Act, 2025 which provided enhanced tax benefit for HRA to salary earner but makes disclosure of landlord-tenant relationship mandatory. The Income-tax Rules, 2026 will operationalise the simplified direct tax legislation that was approved by Parliament last year and will come into effect from April 1. “These rules may be called the Income-tax Rules, 2026. They shall come into force on the April 1, 2026,” a gazette notification said. Parliament on August 12, 2025 passed a new Income Tax Bill to replace the six-decade-old

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