1) The Supreme Court is to hear on Tuesday a plea challenging the government’s decision to make Aadhaar mandatory for filing of income-tax returns as well as for obtaining and retaining the permanent account number (PAN). A bench comprising justices A.K. Sikri and Ashok Bhushan asked the government to justify the notification in this regard.

2) Major Opposition parties in Tamil Nadu led by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam will on April 25 organise a day-long strike to demand a crop loan waiver for the state’s farmers and to press for its rights in inter-state river water sharing. The resolutions were adopted at a multi-party meeting called by the DMK. Opposition leaders, including those from the Congress and the CPI(M), urged the State government to convene a special session of the State Assembly to discuss the problems faced by the farmers. Trade and industry has acceded to the call of the political parties for the statewide bandh on Tuesday. The call is to show their solidarity not only to the farmers demands but for impressing the need for implementation of an efficacious scheme towards bringing a permanent solution to the perennial water shortage in the state.

3) The Board of Control for Cricket in India may not name the Indian squad for the 2017 Champions Trophy within the deadline of April 25 stipulated by the International Cricket Council as they await a final confirmation on the much-disputed revenue sharing model in the sport. Speculation is rife that the BCCI could even force the Indian team to pull out of the Champions Trophy tournament in June should the sport’s governing body go ahead with their plans to roll back the existing Big Three model for revenue sharing which sees India, Australia and England pocket a lion’s share of the income generated from the game.

4) Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will be visiting India from April 25-29, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to the island nation next month for the Vesak Day celebrations. Modi will inaugurate the 14th UN Day of Vesak celebration in Sri Lanka on May 12, an important Buddhist festival. The Vesak festival would be held from May 12 to 14.

5) BJP President Amit Shah is to visit Siliguri on a three-day visit starting from Tuesday. He is expected to further push the party’s prospects in the area, which will hold panchayat polls next year. The strategy, according to reports, is to replicate the booth-level penetration that the party was able to creates in UP and other states. Apart from Shah, MoS External Affairs VK Singh will also be arriving in Siliguri to open a passport seva kendra for north Bengal in April.

6) The board of IT company Nucleus Software Exports will meet on April 25 to consider the buyback of equity shares. Share buyback typically improves earnings per share and is a mechanism to return surplus cash to shareholders besides supporting share price during periods of sluggish market condition. Indian IT companies are under pressure to return excess cash on their books to shareholders through generous dividends and buybacks.

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