-The Hindu The Election Commission, headed by reform-oriented CEC S.Y. Quraishi, is unhappy the government has not considered the changes it has been pushing for so many years, including declaring “paid news” a poll offence. Mr. Quraishi, known for his voter-friendly reforms, is demitting office on June 10. On February 3 last year, the EC suggested that publication and abetment of “paid news” for furthering the election prospects of any candidate or prejudicially...

— PTI   He performed abortions well beyond five months into pregnancy   A doctor in Maharashtra has been arrested for allegedly carrying out three illegal abortions, the police said on Sunday. Shivaji Sanap, who runs a private maternity clinic on Jalna Road in the city, has been booked under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code; the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques Act; and the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act for performing abortions well...

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided to send an additional 4,000 paramilitary personnel to Chhattisgarh, to strengthen anti-Naxal operations being carried out jointly by the Centre and the State government. The move follows Union Home Secretary R. K. Singh's visit to the state capital, Raipur, on Tuesday. It is learnt that the State government urged Mr. Singh to augment central paramilitary personnel in one of the worst Naxal-affected states....

Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar’s statement in Parliament that the Government plans to shift subsidies from chemical fertilizers to organic manures has finally earned him some admiration from grassroots organisations working with small and marginal farmers in the country’s vast dry-lands. Pawar’s statement, if translated into policy action, may go a long way in improving the condition of some of India’s poorest farmers in the rain-fed areas which account for...

-Kafila.org With a comfortable gap of time after the revelations of paid news, private treaties and the Radia tapes, the media is once again on the offensive to guard its independence. The trigger this time is a private member’s bill, the Print and Electronic Media Standards and Regulation Bill, 2012. The proposed legislation has been widely and energetically panned by the industry, with the Congress subsequently distancing itself from the Bill....