-The Hindustan Times The European Union on Friday staunchly defended its decision to re-engage with Narendra Modi a day after it emerged that the Gujarat chief minister had a quiet lunch with the ambassadors of the member countries here early this year, ending a decade-old boycott.   The January 7 lunch is likely to be seen as a major boost for Modi, who after his third successive win in the western state, is...

-Outlook At a time when Narendra Modi is reaching out to cross-section of people nationally and internationally, the European Union today stressed on the "accountability" for the 2002 Gujarat riots, maintaining that the matter was of "interest" to everyone. It also said the issue of 2002 riots figured in its meeting with Modi, who had met the EU delegation last month after victory in the Gujarat assembly polls. "Modi came to (have) lunch...

-The Hindu The architects of the unique identification scheme are yet to provide satisfactory answers to concerns about data security The Aadhaar scheme of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is to provide India’s billion-plus people with a unique identification number. Enrolment is not mandatory, though it was mentioned that it would be difficult for people to access public services if not done. The scheme requires individuals to provide their photograph,...

-Live Mint Of the total amount paid to media firms (around 40% of the poll expenses of parties), the EC estimates half to be towards paid news The Election Commission of India (EC) has estimated the market in so-called paid news, or political advertising masquerading as journalism, at as much as `500 crore.   The move is likely to buttress demands for greater scrutiny of election expenses. EC has been seeking to crack down...

-First Post The Jaipur literary festival is almost notorious for creating storms in a teacup. To its credit though, if offers a different flavor of literary tea every year. Last year, it was a variant of the Rushdie phenomenon, where a group of aspiring litterateurs read out passages from the Satanic Verses and then succumbed to political correctness. This year, the controversy came in a session chaired by Urvashi Butalia, publisher Zubaan, where...