-The Hindu Social audits ensure a citizen-centric mode of accountability The breakdown of institutions has underlined the fact that democracy — and especially public funds — need eternal public vigilance. But in India, the elites close ranks to neutralise voices of dissent and alarm, thus preventing public vigilance. Democratic governance needs the citizen to be legally empowered to ask questions, file complaints, and be a part of the corrective process. Social audits, as...

-ThePrint.in According to a Common Cause-CSDS report, just 8% of people in UP and 9% in Punjab find performance and perception of police satisfactory. Himachal & Haryana top the list with 71%. New Delhi: The people of Himachal Pradesh and Haryana are rather satisfied with the way their respective police forces function, while Punjab and Uttar Pradesh think they’re awful. According to a report by NGO Common Cause and the Lokniti programme of...

-Bangalore Mirror In Hassan, Kalyanis are being rejuvenated to get water for the parched district When she saw that her district, Hassan, was listed among the 16 permanent drought-prone districts of the state by the Central drought study committee, writer and social worker Rupa Hassan was dismayed. Rupa, who hails from Mysuru and settled in Hassan post-marriage, could not fathom how a green district that has Sakaleshpur of the Western Ghats as...

-The Hindu Not conducted hearings: RTI reply The State commission to ensure delivery of public services has been inactive since its inception in 2015, an RTI reply by the West Bengal government has revealed. The West Bengal Right to Public Service Commission has not conducted any hearing since its inception and is unable to provide any information about it through RTI, an activist claimed. The RTI queries were filed by Kolkata-based Biswanath Goswami. The...

-Business Standard The task force also highlighted that companies had been misused to channel unaccounted cash after demonetisation in November 2016 Mumbai: The government’s task force has arrived at a formula to define a ‘shell company’, a move critical for enforcement agencies to crack down on dubious entities exploiting the regulatory framework. According to sources, the task force has listed 18 key parameters, including beneficial ownership and the nature of business dealings, to...