-Live Mint Lack of decentralization means municipalities lack power, resources to meet rising aspirations of ‘middle' India Othakadai, Madurai (Tamil Nadu)/Hubli (Karnataka): S. Paramasivam , president of the Othakadai panchayat, has big plans for his area. "Rainwater harvesting, removal of encroachments on roads, waste recycling, covered drainage, bigger primary health care centres and community parks," lists the 58-year-old, who has spent 30 years in the stainless steel business that dominates industry...

-Economic and Political Weekly The Saradha group's collapse has possibly bankrupted lakhs of small investors robbing them of their life svaings, and has rendered thousands of its agents jobless. The scam highlights the failure of the government and its regulatory agencies to reign in the mushrooming chit fund companies in West Bengal. It also brings under the scanner the Trinamool Congress' proximity with the tainted group. In the wake of the...

-The Hindustan Times   Even as the logjam in Parliament over ‘coalgate' and the JPC shows no sign of resolution, government managers moved ahead with two key social-sector bills - food security and land acquisition. The government has listed the food bill for discussion and passing on May 3 and the land bill for May 8. While the steps are seen more as the UPA's attempt to showcase its commitment towards its pending...

-The Times of India The broad consensus finally reached by major political parties on the land acquisition Bill is a major breakthrough. The Bill, if passed, will bring transparency to the land acquisition process, help clear investor uncertainty and hopefully improve the supply of land for development. The break in the stalemate was made possible by a flexible approach of the government, which incorporated proposals of opposition parties. This is a...

-The Hindu The Sunday Story India's police forces are generally hostile and corrupt. They are also often brutal, as the recent beating of unarmed people in Tarn Tarn and Patna demonstrated. The Indian Police Act of 1861, a colonial relic, needs to be replaced with a law that befits a free country. The former Border Security Force (BSF) Director-General, Prakash Singh, refers to his favourite game of ping pong whenever he has...