-The Times of India Private companies have hijacked the government's flagship scheme to provide food to Poor children and their mothers, the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), with contractors in Maharashtra alone controlling Rs 1,000 crore worth of supplies in contravention of Supreme Court orders, a report of the SC commissioners office has said. The SC orders bar contractors from supplying rations under the scheme. It only permits village communities, self-help groups...

-NDTV Hyderabad: The already-flooded regions of coastal Andhra Pradesh - districts like Vizianagaram and Srikakulam - will continue to be beaten by heavy rain over the next 24 hours, says the MeT department. More than 20 people have died in the last five days, the savage after-effect of Cyclone Nilam that hit last Wednesday. Initially, the Andhra Pradesh government had said Cyclone Nilam was in fact good news for the state because...

-The Hindustan Times Crediting the Right to Information (RTI) Act with demystifying the government and how it works, the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) of India has said the Act has revolutionised the way we are governed. “No longer is the government a mystery. It (RTI Act) has robbed the government of its certainty. Everything can be questioned,” said CIC Satyananda Mishra during a conference of Lokayuktas. Enacted by Parliament in 2005, the RTI...

-NDTV Mumbai: In a grim reminder of the continuing misery of the Poor in India, a report by a Supreme Court panel has revealed widespread irregularities in the production and supply of food for malnourished children in Maharashtra. While private contractors illegally supplied food and made massive profits, the Poor children, who were entitled to the benefit under the anganwadi scheme, were fed stale and low-quality food. The shocking revelations are part...

-The Hindu After facing harassment and extortion at the hands of corrupt police and civic body officers over the years, the Capital’s rickshaw pullers can finally heave a sigh of relief. A far-reaching Supreme Court order in a case filed by an NGO has come to their rescue. It has put an end toimpounding and scrapping of their vehicles. However, the battle against officialdom which sees them as "vermin" continues.... Rickshaw-puller Shiv...