-The Economic Times   The Planning Commission has raised questions about the administrative structure of the Nandan Nilekani-led Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI) and called for the appointment of an independent financial advisor to monitor its finances and transactions, days after the finance ministry rejected the authority's Rs 15,000 crore funding proposal. "The UIDAI's present system represents a major departure from government procedures and removes all inbuilt checks and balances. We...

-The Times of India   In a decision, perhaps first in the region following the implementation of Right to Information (RTI) Act 2005, a consumer court in Mohali has held that a person seeking information under the RTI Act is a "consumer" and the department delaying information can be held liable for "deficiency in service" under the Consumer Protection Act. The decision was pronounced on Wednesday by the district consumer forum, Mohali,...

-PTI   The Bihar government has decided to rope in professionals from the private sector to monitor the rural development schemes in state, Rural Development Minister Nitish Mishra said. "We have decided to hire the best brains from across the country to monitor ongoing rural development schemes inBihar, he said. The state government has already published ads in national dailies for inviting applications for the post of 32 executives and the recruitment of the...

This wedding season, anxious grooms from Parsa and Ghatburra, two villages in Chhattisgarh's Surguja district, were offered financial assistance from an unlikely source. Adani Mining Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Ltd, was handing out loans to all those who could prove that the money would be spent on marriage arrangements. “A company official took us to the bank, opened accounts in our names, and gave us cheques for Rs....

Farmers will not have to cough up any tax upfront on the compensation money they receive for their land acquired by the government. The rural development ministry has clarified after complaints that in absence of clear rules the harshest provisions were being imposed. "We have issued orders that all compensation money for agricultural land acquisitions in both urban and rural areas should be made without any deductions," said an official in...