-The Telegraph New Delhi: Forced to defer introduction of the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2018, in the face of stiff opposition in Parliament and outside, the Narendra Modi government appears to have brought it into effect without parliamentary approval through an advertisement. On July 26, the department of personnel, public grievances & pensions issued an advertisement for appointment of information commissioners in the Central Information Commission (CIC) that said the "salary,...

-The Hindu The RTI Act Amendment Bill must be junked The Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, has empowered millions of Indians to question governments and hold public functionaries accountable. Of the nearly six million RTI applications filed every year in the country, a large proportion are by the poorest and the most marginalised who seek information about their basic rights and entitlements, like rations, pensions and health facilities. The use of...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission has rapped the Uttar Pradesh government over the strip search of 70 girls at a government residential school in Muzaffarnagar last year. It has issued a notice to the chief secretary asking him to explain why a compensation of Rs 25,000 should not be awarded to each of the girls, and directing him to arrange for their counselling. It has also summoned the principal...

-Caravandaily.com Petitioner PUCL has also sought compensation to victims’ families. NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India on Monday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to file a detailed report on the police shootouts in which more than 50 people have been killed in the last one year. A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra has sought response in two weeks from the Uttar Pradesh government of Yogi Adityanath on a petition of...

-The Hindu It is time the government finds a sustainable solution to the malnutrition crisis Development is about expanding the capabilities of the disadvantaged, thereby improving their overall quality of life. Based on this understanding, Maharashtra, one of India’s richest States, is a classic case of a lack of development which is seen in its unacceptably high level of malnutrition among children in the tribal belts. While the State’s per capita income...