From retired and serving babus to journalists to even RTI activists and academicians, everyone seems to be angling for the posts of chief information commissioner (CIC) and information commissioners (ICs). In a delicious irony, all the names have come out in an RTI reply. Replying to an RTI plea filed by Mannish Bhatnagar, the department of personnel and training said 32 names were received for the posts of CIC and...

Agitators to stage indefinite dharna outside mini secretariat The agitating farmers of Gorakhpur-Kumharia village of Haryana have decided to stage an indefinite dharna outside the mini secretariat at Fatehabad, over 300 km from here, to protest against the acquisition of over 1,400 acres by the government for a nuclear power plant there. “We are not against technology; we just don't want it to be at the cost of farmers. We will convey...

An inter-ministerial meeting on infrastructure constraints ended up discussing the coal ministry’s accusations against the environment ministry of going slow in clearing mining projects that meet green norms. At the end of the meeting, the exasperated chairman of the group, a secretary from the cabinet secretariat, suggested the environment ministry should henceforth attend the meetings on infrastructure. The ministry should be present in the next meet and listen to the complaints...

This will speed up payment of wages under employment guarantee scheme In a major step to alleviate delays in wage payments under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday launched an “e-Shakti Financial Inclusion” scheme – the first of its kind in the country. The scheme aims at providing about three crore villagers with ‘e-Shakti' biometric smart cards, with the Central Bank of...

New Delhi : Stating that only 33 per cent of the urban population knew about the Right to Information Act, the government on Wednesday informed the Lok Sabha that steps were afoot to increase awareness about the law. “Government instituted a study in 2009 which found that awareness level about the RTI Act is low. Only 33 per cent of people in urban areas were aware of the Act till 2008-09,”Minister...