NIIRA RADIA, the lobbyist at the heart of India’s audacious multi-billion telecom swindle, inaugurated a Krishna temple she funded in south Delhi on her birthday — that, interestingly, coincides with Indira Gandhi’s. Those present on the occasion said Radia prayed for long, presumably seeking divine intervention to wriggle out of the country’s biggest scandal. Before the temple visit, notices from the country’s Enforcement Directorate (ED), Income Tax (IT) Department and the...

Younger widows seem open to idea of remarriage, says study The widows in Braj, a region around Vrindavan town in Uttar Pradesh that provides shelter to probably the largest number of widows in the country, are happier there than in their homes in villages, and most of them have no intention of returning. They also seem to be veering away from traditional beliefs on how widows should live and what they...

The Bombay High Court at Goa on Friday quashed the allotment of land on lease by the State-owned industry promotion body to the promoters of seven Special Economic Zone(SEZ) projects upholding the State Government's power to scrap the SEZ policy and the projects in public interest. A Bench comprising Justice A. S. Oka and Justice F. M. Reis, inter alia ruled that that there was lack of fairness and transparency in...

Maharashtra weeded out 2.9 million bogus ration cards last year, launching an identity verification drive to make the system foolproof. Residents had to provide electoral roll numbers, electricity bills and Rent receipts to receive a ration card. Migrants had to present an official document confirming their change in residence. That led to the exclusion of many poor, homeless and migrant families as they lacked the necessary papers. This is the kind...

Sonia Gandhi visited a farmer widow's house in August 2004, soon after the UPA came to power. However, this visit did not bring as much change in her life as Rahul Gandhi's visit on July 18, 2008, to Kalawati's house. In fact, the damaged canal that led to the suicide by Ranjana Deshmukh's husband has still not been repaired. The struggles of Kalawati of Yavatmal and Ranjana Deshmukh of Wardha, both...