-The Indian Express The deafening silence from official circles on the Verma committee recommendations is in sharp contrast to the widespread well-deserved appreciation that the committee has received. It is common for governments to form such committees to buy time and take the heat off themselves. Perhaps that was the government’s intention when it set up the committee at the height of the protests in the wake of the brutal gangrape...

-The Hindustan Times The government has decided to give the Election Commission the powers to make changes in seats reserved for Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, where fresh changes have been detected during the last one decade in the population percentage of any caste.   The law ministry is ready to seek the cabinet's approval for an Ordinance soon, which will empower the EC to determine the...

-Live Mint The Sonia Gandhi -led National Advisory Council (NAC) may be moving closer to formulating a pre-legislative process that will involve a thorough, time-bound discussion of Bills before they become law. “The need for such a policy of consultation is necessary to evolve from a representative democracy to a participatory, deliberative democracy, particularly for accountability to the people in the formulation of law and policy,” said the draft recommendation of NAC’s working...

-The Economic Times The monsoon session that ends on Friday will enter the hall of shame as the second least productive session of the 15th Parliament with legislators having worked for only a quarter of the scheduled time. Only four bills were passed in the month-long session leaving a backlog of more than 100 pending legislations, some as old as 25 years old. According to data analysed by PRS Legislative Research, Lok Sabha...

-PTI The government’s attempts to push through a bill to set up AIIMS-like institutions in the country failed today with Left parties objecting to passing it without discussion. After the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (Amendment) Bill, 2012 was moved by minister of state for health and family welfare S. Gandhiselvan, Left members were on their feet in the Rajya Sabha, with some from the CPM storming the well. As the BJP raised...