-The Hindu Oblivious of the fact that misrepresentation on the Internet amounts to creation of false electronic record, which is punishable with even imprisonment, a large number of people, including minors, are opening accounts on social networking websites by making false disclosures about their name, age and place. Legal experts have cautioned that such misrepresentation can invite penal action. "Creating false electronic record is an offence under the Information Technology Act and...

-Live Mint Mani Shankar Aiyar, India's first panchyati raj minister, talks about the challenges the institutions face On Wednesday, India marked 20 years of panchayati raj, an exercise in devolving power to people at the grassroots. Rajya Sabha memberMani Shankar Aiyar was India's first panchyati raj minister, appointed to the newly created ministry in 2004. He headed a committee that examined the reasons why attempts at sharing power with self-governance units haven't...

-Live Mint   Panchayati raj minister V. Kishore Chandra Deo on how the system can function more effectively With the amendments that effected mandatory constitutional powers to panchayats and urban local bodies marking 20 years, V. Kishore Chandra Deo, Union minister for panchayati raj, acknowledged in an interview that the units of local self-governance could function more effectively. He also suggested that the three-tier system of panchayats could be improved to meet challenges...

-The Indian Express Chit fund scams shine the light on the need to overhaul the financial regulatory architecture Cases of semi-regulated or unregulated entities making unrealistic promises to consumers are roiling the financial landscape. It is high time the government sees the pattern and undertakes fundamental change. The search for a solution must factor in two realities. The first is the failure of the formal regulated financial system. The breakdown of present...

-The Times of India The increased brutality in committing crimes, including gang rapes in the recent past, has not been lost on the Supreme Court, which has promised to the society that the accused if convicted would get adequately punished not only for the crime but also for their depravity. It said all trial courts, while awarding punishment to a convict, must follow the cardinal principle of sentencing policy which mandated "the...