Can Information Technology Act deal with the dynamics of the Net? THIS is one series of court cases the nation is following keenly. Within one week, in December last year, a criminal and a civil complaint were filed against 20-odd online giants like Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Yahoo for hosting anti-religious and anti-social content on their websites. While the judge hearing the civil case ordered immediate removal and blockade of all...

Behave well, step out of jail. Select inmates of Tihar jail can now work outside the high-security walls of Asia’s biggest prison, provided, of course, they have not violated jail manuals and their conduct has been good. The inmates will have to come back to their cells at night. The move to allow well-behaved prisoners to work outside the jail complex follows a recent nod from the Delhi Government to a rehabilitation plan...

Mamata Banerjee today lent her voice to a pitch to facilitate land acquisition for a life-saving project — an uncommon plea that betrayed the government’s frustration at the slow pace despite the urgency and the promise of generous compensation. The chief minister persuaded the people of Sunderbans to offer their land to build embankments in low-lying areas of South 24-Parganas, which were devastated by the Aila cyclone in 2009. The embankment project...

-The Indian Express   The West Bengal government announced Tuesday that it had decided to withdraw the trade union rights of its employees. The announcement, made at the secretariat by the labour minister, triggered outrage among state government staff. Minister Purnendu Bose said the government would withdraw a clause in the service rules, introduced by the LF government in 1981, giving full trade union rights to state government staff. Withdrawal of the amendment will...

-The Business Standard   Its guarantee of non-duplication can have far-reaching cost benefits but it has deep design flaws that can be compromised. PRAVEEN CHAKRAVARTY Former Volunteer, Financial Inclusion, UIDAI* “Aadhaar is an unadulterated identity programme that answers the question: Is the individual who he or she claims to be?”   The word “unique”, and not “identity”, is central to the unique identity programme or Aadhaar. It may be true that the vast majority of people possess some...