-The Times of India CHENNAI: India ranks second globally in accessing private details of its citizens, next only to the US, if the latest data from Google is to be believed. The transparency report by the internet search giant lists out requests it received from governments across the world to access information on the users of its various services. In the first six months of 2012, India made 2,319 requests involving 3,467...

-The New York Times blog You could be pardoned for thinking that light pollution is someone’s idea of a Diwali joke. With concerns about rising air pollution hanging over India’s capital like the thick blanket of smog that appeared a few weeks ago and activists against noise pollution jostling to be heard over the burst of holiday firecrackers, the relatively benign problem of light pollution may not seem too important. But astronomers in...

-The Hindu Applications for various services can be submitted online Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala State Information Technology Mission (KSITM) is gearing up for a State-wide roll out of e-district Kerala, a mission mode project under the national e-governance plan. District e-governance committees have been formed in all the 14 districts. As many as 10-lakh digital certificates have been issued to applicants in less than two years since the launch of the pilot project in...

-Down to Earth Pollution build up in recent days corresponded with peak traffic hours and freight movement The dense smog enveloping Delhi over the past few days lifted partially on November 6, but it may return with renewed vigour, as the factors causing it remain in force, warned Delhi non-profit Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). CSE has reviewed the magnitude and severity of the smog. Its researchers  say that while every winter,...

On November 23, the Supreme Court is slated to hear a damning report submitted by the court-appointed Commissioners on how politically connected contractors—legally barred from the ICDS program—might be subverting the social welfare measure in the state of Maharashtra.  The ICDS is an Rs 8000 crore government-funded program aimed at ending India’s abysmal rates of child malnutrition by supplying hot cooked meals and take home rations to children through decentralised women-run,...