There was wide criticism of the perceived attack on federalism Members of Parliament across the political spectrum are apprehensive of what the establishment of a supreme Lokpal — answerable to none — may hold for the future of the parliamentary system of governance as India has known and for the entire political establishment. Even as the process for the historic legislation for establishing a Lokpal began on Thursday with the introduction of...

Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar’s suggestion to ban Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) during farming season may not get government’s approval. Instead, the MGNREGA guidelines may be amended to increasing synergy between the world’s biggest social security scheme and agriculture sector to improve production. A set of green methodologies could be included in works allowed under the scheme. Pawar had written to Prime Minister on November 28 seeking the ban....

The 25 per cent admission quota for children from poor families in Right to Education Act (RTE) has thr­own up an avoidable headache for budget private schools in underprivileged areas. Managements of such sch­o­ols say the regulation is not required as far as they are conc­erned. Budget private schools are low-cost private schools providing education to children from slums and rural areas. “We welcome the RTE Act; I think it should have happened...

-The Business Standard   Faced with a supply glut, potato farmers in Gujarat headed to streets and dumped thousands of kilos of potato in Deesa, a major potato market in the state on Tuesday. Farmers demanded an intervention from the state government with a financial assistance to the farmers, who are facing a steep fall in the potato prices at Rs 1 per kg in recent weeks. "We had approached the government about...

The uncertainty over the Lokpal Bill has overshadowed an equally significant National Food Security Bill, which was cleared by the Union Cabinet last week and is to be introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. The Bill has been in the eye of the storm over targeted coverage of beneficiaries as against universalisation in view of the immense ramifications for the aam aadmi , struggling with rising food prices. In the second...