-The Hindu Limiting RTI responses based on locus standi of the applicants could create a chilling effect The Right to Information Act’s role in fostering a more informed citizenry and an accountable government has never been in doubt ever since its implementation in 2005. But there have been persistent and growing misgivings. Section 4 of the Act calls for pro-active and voluntary dissemination of information, but only a few Central and State...

-The Hindu Business Line Clause for compensation panel, regulation of seed prices scrapped New Delhi: The revised draft Seeds Bill 2019, which the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare placed in the public domain recently for suggestions and comments, seems to be a watered down version of a draft prepared about nine years ago by the then United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. Among other things, the new draft has done away with the...

-The Asian Age The source further said DICGC has proposed to hike deposit insurance to Rs 3 lakh from Rs 1 lakh, depending upon the demands of circumstances. New Delhi: With several financial institutions in the country standing on the edge of distress, the Central government is likely to increase insurance cover for bank deposits. Currently, only Rs 1 lakh deposit of each customer is issured. The Finance Ministry is also mulling to...

-The Telegraph Can issuing work permits and settling people outside Assam resolve the problem temporarily? In his Outlook article, (retired Union Cabinet secretary and a long-time North-east hand at the Centre) G.K. Pillai offered a temporary arrangement of granting ‘a five-year work permit’ to those not included in the final NRC, basically to maintain status quo, ‘to calm things down and allow a range of policy options to be developed carefully over...

-The Hindu Data on demonetisation’s contribution to the deepening economic slowdown may have been suppressed Was a task force report that recommended a new law to replace the more than 50-year-old Income Tax Act, 1961 suppressed because it inadvertently provided factual evidence for the debilitating impact of demonetisation on the formal corporate sector? On September 1-2, 2017, at the Rajaswa Gyan Sangam (an annual conference of senior tax administrators), Prime Minister Narendra Modi...