-PTI   India has contributed to a large reduction in global poverty, according to the UN annual report on the Millennium Development Goals , which also pointed out that despite progress, the most vulnerable sections of society were being left out. The report, which was released on Thursday , said that poverty continues to decline in many countries and regions. It said that the fastest and sharpest reductions in poverty were in Eastern...

The current debate on the Lokpal Bill is split along two lines: the UPA’s draft and that of Team Anna Hazare. But now, not just the political establishment, other sections of “civil society” are standing up to call for a wider debate and cautioning against a rush to push any version through. So while the Sonia Gandhi-LED National Advisory Council may have made it clear that it wouldn’t discuss the Lokpal...

-The Telegraph   Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) leader and RTI activist Akhil Gogoi was today granted bail by Gauhati High Court in connection with the case fiLED by Assam police, alleging his involvement in the June 22 violence at Dispur Last Gate. A single bench of Justice Anima Hazarika granted bail after the police submitted the case diary before the court. Akhil’s lawyer Santanu Borthakur said, “The court, after going through...

Why is the ruling party unable to pass 3 very important bills? The National Advisory Council draws its exalted status from the fact that UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi heads it. But its inability to get its way on three new Bills indicates that its influence is waning. A couple of weeks ago, the Sonia Gandhi-LED National Advisory Council (NAC) cleared the drafts of two significant Bills — the Food Security Bill and...

-The Telegraph   Tata Motors today sought Calcutta High Court’s permission to move an ex-parte petition to make amendments to its earlier plea as it had been fiLED in “great hurry”. The original petition of the Tatas had challenged the constitutional validity of the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011, through which the government has taken back the land acquired for the Nano project in Singur. A Tata Motors spokesperson said in...