-Down to Earth For RTI activists of Bihar the cost of exposing corruption is life Twenty-year-old Rahul Kumar, a right to information (RTI) activist, knew the land mafia was behind his parents' murder. His mother and father were involved in a land dispute in Muzaffarpur's Sirisia Jagdish village. Barely a week after filing an RTI application to seek information about the murderers, Kumar was kidnapped. A day later, on March 10, 2012,...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Giving in to pressure from the autorickshaw lobby, the Delhi government on Wednesday decided to raise auto and taxi fares by a significant 25%. The government defended the hike citing inflation and costlier CNG but remained silent on a deadline for installing GPS in 55,000-odd older autorickshaws, a move that could prevent unsuspecting passengers from being taken for a ride. The auto fare hike is substantial. From...

-Live Mint Lack of decentralization means municipalities lack power, resources to meet rising aspirations of ‘middle' India Othakadai, Madurai (Tamil Nadu)/Hubli (Karnataka): S. Paramasivam , president of the Othakadai panchayat, has big plans for his area. "Rainwater harvesting, removal of encroachments on roads, waste recycling, covered drainage, bigger primary health care centres and community parks," lists the 58-year-old, who has spent 30 years in the stainless steel business that dominates industry...

-The Telegraph Kolkata: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the chief minister has asked district superintendents of police to initiate against Sudipta Sen cases of abetting the suicide of depositors. The SIT, led by director-general of police Naparajit Mukherjee, held a meeting today to discuss the strategy to pin down the Saradha Group chief for masterminding the default crisis that allegedly led five depositors to commit suicide in the districts. "Other...

-The Times of India JABALPUR: Live-in relationships are set to get official sanction in Madhya Pradesh. The final draft of Women's Policy 2013-2017, submitted to the state government for a formal nod, protects legal rights of live-in partners. Coming as it does just months before the state goes to polls, the draft policy provides for free legal aid for rape victims apart from offering sops to women like two years of...