Ahead of next year’s assembly elections, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government plans to revise a proposed food security law to bring it in line with a previous draft that is deemed more liberal, and expedite its execution. Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who also heads the National Advisory Council (NAC) that drafted the initial National Food Security Bill, has suggested some crucial changes to the version that was made public...

A buzz that the world’s “seven billionth baby” will be born in Uttar Pradesh on Monday has prompted several NGOs to descend on villages of their choice near Lucknow and draw up plans to welcome some or other newborn that day with a generous dose of hoopla. One primary health centre in western Uttar Pradesh has gone a step further and predicted the baby will be born to 25-year-old Pinky Pawar,...

-EPW   The Anna Hazare group’s foray into electoral politics exposes its shaky foundations. The script of this drama was already written. A single issue campaign, focused narrowly on corruption in public life without a wider world view on the root causes of corruption or on the myriad other problems afflicting Indian society, had to come apart at the seams at some point. That moment arrived when “Team Anna”, as the people behind...

Biraj Patnaik, principal adviser to the Supreme Court commissioners on the right to food, is up in arms against the National Food Security Bill. “Despite multiple meetings and many suggestions put forward, what we have is a mockery of a bill. The government has made a dog’s breakfast out of the right to food bill,” he exclaims. Patnaik’s is not a one-off complaint. Some argue that the country’s law-making process is...

-PTI   Facing allegations of financial misconduct, activist Arvind Kejriwal broke his silence on Tuesday daring the government to conduct a probe against him and other Team Anna members even as he questioned the motive behind the "smear campaign". Defending himself and Kiran Bedi, who is under attack for inflating her travel bills, Kejriwal said, "If someone paid the ticket examiner in Railway because he needed a ticket, so that person cannot question...