The performance of the upcoming biotechnology regulatory authority of India (BRAI), would be supervised by an inter-ministerial governing board, even though the time frame in which the regulatory body would come up is not clear. This is a clear deviation from the previous stance, which conceptualised the setting up of the regulatory body under the direct control of the department of biotechnology. “The Bill provides for setting up of inter-ministerial governing...

A High Court judge in the eastern Indian city of Calcutta faces possible impeachment after a judicial committee found him guilty of corruption. Justice Soumitra Sen misappropriated "large sums" of money and made false statements, said the three-member committee set up by parliament. The indictment paves the way for impeachment proceedings against Justice Sen. He denies any wrongdoing. It would be the first time such a senior Indian judge has been impeached. Such a...

Several newspapers and TV channels, some of them among India’s biggest, have claimed credit for exposing the Adarsh society scam in which the who’s who of India’s defense and political establishment are involved. The scam exposes the nexus between bureaucrats, politicians and unscrupulous defense service officers. Obviously it wouldn’t be anyone’s ‘exclusive’ if so many newspapers and channels broke the news. Or else there would be one journalist who reported...

Right to Information (RTI) activist Santosh Daundkar on Tuesday gave a written complaint to the Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) against State Information Commissioner Ramanand Tiwari in connection with the Adarsh Housing Society scam. Mr. Daundkar has requested the ACB to register an FIR against Mr. Tiwari, former Principal Secretary, Urban Development; MLC Kanhaiyalal Gidwani and R.C. Thakur, chief promoter of Adarsh, for violations for law. In his complaint, supported by annexures of...

POSCO wants to build a USD 12 billion steel mill in eastern India, but the project has faced delays because of environmental worries and protests by local residents concerned about the mill's impact on their agriculture-based livelihoods. Here are some questions and answers about the project, which has already been delayed by three years: What is the project? The world's third-largest steel company wants to set up a mill in the eastern state...