-The Telegraph New Delhi: When the Union cabinet yesterday decided to amend the Right to Information Act to exempt political parties from its ambit, it argued that citizens already have several legal avenues to find out about the donations the parties receive and details of their poll candidates. The cabinet approved the draft bill to be introduced in the coming Parliament session to amend the 2005 act, excluding political parties from the...
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PIL filed against CAG’s appointment
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Former Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami and eight other eminent citizens Saturday filed a PIL in the Delhi high court challenging appointment of Shashi Kant Sharma as Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). The petition has been filed afresh as on July 15 an apex court bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir, who has since retired, refused to hear it saying, "The high court...
More »Walmart's investment in Cedar violates FEMA, RBI rules: CBI -Rasul Bailay
-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has said Walmart's $100-million investment in Cedar Support Services, the holding company of Bharti Retail, in 2010, violated India's foreign exchange rules as well as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines but said as these violations did not fall within its purview, it cannot investigate the matter. "The case was analysed which reveals violations of RBI guidelines and Fema regulations," the...
More »Lethal surveillance versus privacy-Shalini Singh
-The Hindu There has been no public debate on the level of watch citizens can be put through, and on what the red lines should be while using intrusive mechanisms The tussle between government agencies' need for a better, faster and real-time interception, surveillance and monitoring mechanism through the Central Monitoring System (CMS), on the one hand, and demands by privacy, civil rights and free speech activists, for ensuring higher privacy for...
More »Time to check the Khemka syndrome-Pradeep S Mehta
-The Hindu Despite attempts at reform, frequent transfers of civil servants by loyalty-seeking politicians continue. Only a guarantee of tenure can end the menace. In April this year, the Haryana government transferred senior IAS officer Ashok Khemka for the second time in six months, or for the 44th time in his 22-year career. The use of transfers and postings in States as a means of harassing officers who are inconvenient because of...
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