The rajya sabha will take up the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2015 for consideration and passage at 2 pm today. Parliamentarians decided to cut across party lines to seek the passage of the amendments to the Juvenile Justice Act after the Supreme Court's dismissal of a plea against the release of the juvenile offender in the December 16 gang-rape case. The bill has been languishing in the upper house since the budget session.The bill seeks to treat juveniles between 16 to 18 years as adults for committing heinous crimes such as rape.  The bill defines these crimes as: (i) a heinous offence is an offence that attracts a minimum penalty of seven years imprisonment under any existing law, (ii) a serious offence is one that gets imprisonment between three to seven years and, (iii) a petty offence is penalized with up to three years imprisonment.Meanwhile, the December 16 gang-rape victim's parents  – mother Asha Devi and father Badri Singh Pandey –  will watch the proceedings of rajya sabha as it debates the juvenile bill on Tuesday.

Special Delhi assembly session on DDCA
The Delhi government will on Tuesday convene a special session of the Assembly to set up a panel to probe the alleged financial irregularities in the working of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA).The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has accused Finance Minister Arun Jaitley of indulging in corruption in the working of the DDCA. Jaitley headed the DDCA for 13 years.Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia told the media: "In the Cabinet meeting it has been decided that a special session of the Delhi Assembly will be convened to set up a commission of inquiry in the DDCA matter".

Jethmalani to represent Kejriwal in defamation case filed by Jaitley
In a major development in defamation case filed by union finance minister Arun Jaitley over DDCA row, eminent lawyer Ram Jethmalani has agreed to represent Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. Now, Ram Jethmalani will appear before court for the Delhi CM and argue against the Jaitley. In 2010, Jethmalani was elected to Rajya Sabha on BJP ticket from Rajasthan.  In May 2013, BJP expelled Jethmalani from the party for 6 years for having made anti-party statements.Earlier, on Monday, Jaitley had filed both civil and criminal defamation cases against Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders for allegedly defaming him and sought Rs 10 crores in damages and their prosecution for offences that entails a punishment of upto two years in jail.

Hema Upadhyay murder case cracked with arrest of Chintan Upadhyay
Mumbai Police arrested artist Hema Upadhyay's estranged husband Chintan in the wee hours of Tuesday on charges of killing his wife and her lawyer Harish Bhambhani on December 11.Chintan was first called for interrogated by the Kandivali Police in connection with the case and later formally arrested.One of the main suspects in the case - Vidya Rajbhar - is still at large. It was learnt that Vidya used to work under Chintan.Hema's family members had earlier accused Chintan for killing her. They demanded that Chintan's name should be added in the FIR as the prime accused.The family alleged that a property dispute led to the murder of Hema as Chintan was not ready to give her share of the property.Her family had accused Chintan of threatening Hema and pressed the police to probe the property dispute angle.

Modi seeks inputs from people for 'Mann ki Baat' programme
Prime minister Narendra Modi has sought inputs for his radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat' on December, 27, 2015.He posted on micro-blogging site Twitter: "What are your ideas for the radio programme this month? Let me know."People can post their suggestions on: https://mygov.in/group-issue/give-your-inputs-prime-ministers-mann-ki-baat-27th-december-2015.Mann Ki Baat broadcast is at 11 am on December 27.

Nepal government to amend Constitution to address Madhesis' demands
The Nepal government led by KP Oli has decided to amend the nation's new constitution to address two key demands of agitating Madhesis for proportionate representation and constituency delimitation. India, which has been worried over the unending crisis, welcomed the developments as "positive steps to help create the basis for a resolution of the current impasse in Nepal.Nepal's deputy PM and foreign minister Kamal Thapa informed external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj that the Nepalese cabinet had taken some important decisions to address and resolve demands regarding the Constitution raised by agitating Madhes-based parties.New Delhi had advised both the Oli government (when Thapa was here on quiet visit) and the Madhesi leaders to work out a compromise formula.

Infosys at work on GST tech framework
Infosys, which a few months ago won a landmark Rs 1,380-crore contract from the government to develop a stateof-the-art technology platform for the proposed goods and services tax (GST), is going ahead with the project despite the delay in the GST Bill getting passed, reports Economic Times.PricewaterhouseCoopers is the official consultant for this project."The three most important functionalities in the online system are registrations, returns and payments. We are closely monitoring the passage of GST Bill and as of now targeting the system to be ready by April-May 2016, with the key functionalities in place," said Anurag Dua, director, government and public sector, at PwC.

International artists to join swachh bharat abhiyan from tomorrow
Prime minister Narendra Modi's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is all set to get an international endorsement with 25 street artists, including 12 from abroad, set to propagate the cleanliness drive by painting murals on the walls of Lodhi Colony in the capital.After a celebrity push on its launch in 2014, the new Swachh initiative, which will kick start on Wednesday, is a part of Street Art Festival in Delhi, reports Economic Times. On the first day, walls of Lodhi Colony's Khanna market would get a coat of fresh paint and then French artist Chifumi and Delhi-based Anpu would start painting the murals, turning the South Delhi locality one of the first "open art galleries" in the country.