-The Times of India blog Last week, NDA government succeeded in getting contentious amendments to RTI Act passed by Parliament. Social activist Aruna Roy, who was at the forefront of the movement to persuade Parliament to enact the original law, speaks to Anindo Dey about the development: * The government said the RTI Act amendments set right the anomaly of the Information Commissions, which are statutory bodies, being treated on a par...

-The Telegraph Call to Kovind to back law he helped draft New Delhi: Former central information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi has started an online petition to persuade President Ram Nath Kovind to stand by the transparency law he helped draft as a member of a parliamentary standing committee in 2004. While the petition, started on Friday, is finding traction, more such letters are being planned to appeal to the President’s conscience so that he...

--The Indian Express Replacing subsidies with direct cash transfers to farmers’ accounts will empower them as well as consumers. In her budget speech, the Union finance minister (FM) said: “At the centre of everything that we do, we keep gaon, garib aur kisan in mind.” Here then is a small mantra for her to transform the lives of the kisan and the poor in rural areas. Just streamline the food and...

-The Telegraph The obvious question: if the cash withdrawal isn’t designated as “income”, how can you tax it under the “income” tax act? The Narendra Modi government has left tax consultants and legal eagles deeply puzzled as they try to wrap their heads around the legalese of a change to the income-tax act. The change, incorporated in the budget presented by Nirmala Sitharaman and amended afresh on Thursday, mandates banks to deduct a...

-The Indian Express Replying to a question on whether the SC had suggested that the government bring out a national policy to control farmers suicides, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the court order stated an issue like this could not be dealt with overnight. Union Minister of State for Agriculture Parshottam Rupala on Tuesday said that suicides by farmers increased after a loan waiver of Rs 70,000 crore was announced...