-TheWire.in Former CICs say 'independent minded commissioners' are being targeted by the Centre and question why similar mechanisms do not exists for judges and election commissioners. New Delhi: The move by the Centre to set up two separate committees to receive complaints against chief information commissioner (CIC) and the central information commissioners has not gone down well with former incumbents. They argue that it is a bid to rein in “independent minded...
More »SEARCH RESULT
RTI trumps Official Secrets Act, says SC -Krishnadas Rajagopal
-The Hindu Justice Joseph cites information law as government seeks to keep Rafale pricing details under wraps An all-out effort by the government to claim privilege and push the Rafale jets’ pricing details back into the dark zone was met with a stoic counter from Justice K.M. Joseph in the Supreme Court on Thursday. The government’s reasons to hush the Rafale prices ranged from national security to not upsetting a “solemn undertaking” given...
More »Aruna Roy, well-known social and political activist, interviewed by Jipson John and Jitheesh PM (Frontline.in)
-Frontline.in Interview with Aruna Roy. ARUNA ROY is a well-known social and political activist. A former Indian Administrative Service officer, she resigned from the IAS in 1975 and has since worked with the most oppressed in society. Aruna Roy’s observation on government service is indicative of her future concerns: “Everyone calls it an elite service; I always felt the discourse should be a bit better than what it was. I was shocked...
More »Information Panel Strength Hits All-Time Low in Modi Era -Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar
-TheWire.in No new appointments have been made to the Central Information Commission since 2016. New Delhi: From Monday, the Central Information Commission (CIC) will function with only three commissioners – as opposed to a sanctioned strength of 11, including the chief. The present crisis has arisen because the Narendra Modi government has since 2016 failed to fill any vacancies in the body – probably because the commission has been at the forefront...
More »Jean Dreze, development economist, interviewed by G Sampath (The Hindu)
-The Hindu The Indian education system would be a good place to start with reforms, says the development economist Jean Drèze is possibly the world’s most famous Belgian-Indian. He has lived in India since 1979, and is an Indian citizen. As a development economist and activist, he has helped draft some startlingly pro-people legislations, such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, and the National Food Security Act, 2013....
More »