-The Economic Times India may have policy of preferring free and open source applications, but still the world's largest software maker Microsoft and others, including Adobe, Norton and McAfee, have managed to weasel their way into some of the largest government purchases in the country's history. Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan are in the process of procuring over eight million laptops preloaded with proprietary software in clear violation of India's national...

-Outlook The issue of fuel price hike rocked Parliament today with opposition members in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha disrupting proceedings, demanding an immediate roll back. Several parties protested against the price hike with SP, Left, Trinamool Congress and AIADMK storming the Well of the Lok Sabha, while BJP members were on their feet. In the Rajya Sabha, the entire NDA - BJP, JD-U, SAD and Shiv Sena - protested as...

-The Business Standard Channel to represent people intersted in public issues Anti-corruption activists Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan,  are planning to launch a television channel, which they say, will be non-profit and will focus on public issues. “We are starting a channel which will focus on public issues,” Bhushan told Business Standard. He indicated that the channel would not just be confined to people from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), but would be a...

-PTI Bowing to opposition pressure, the government on announced a time-bound inquiry by a retired judge into reports of lobbying by retail giant Walmart to gain entry into India. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath made the announcement as soon as the Lok Sabha met for the day. “Government will appoint a retired judge to hold a time-bound inquiry into the media reports regarding Walmart,” Mr. Nath said. The issue of retail giant Walmart lobbying...

-Outlook Talking ‘communal’ about FDI trivialises the secular cause If one adds up the number of MPs in the Lok Sabha belonging to political parties that have a stated position against FDI in retail trade, it will certainly be bigger than the number of MPs in favour of FDI. Actually, the figure goes well past the Lok Sabha majority mark of 272. Yet the resolution opposing FDI received only 218 votes...