-Deccan Herald Proposed amendment criticised for being harsh on applicants A proposed amendment in the Right to Information Act may end up diluting the Act, according to an RTI activist.  The amendment will make it mandatory for an appellant to be present in person or send a representative during case hearing by the Centre of Information Centre (CIC). “The appellant may be present in person, through an authorised representative or through video conferencing at...

The Guwahati molestation incident throws light on the violence women face overtly and covertly in India, at home and outside. The shocking incident of the beating and molestation of a young woman by a mob in Guwahati in Assam on July 9 has exposed the ugly underbelly of modern, globalised India, where women face violence, covertly and overtly, at home and outside. The incident has also exposed the lackadaisical manner in...

-The Times of India A middleclass dream that politics can be redeemed by means other than politics has just ended, with Team Anna’s decision to launch a political party and join the fray. Many of his ardent supporters and well-wishers have registered deep disappointment. Anna is becoming part of the problem, they cry. The problem was with the hope that gods out of the machine can serve up deliverance on a...

-The Business Standard Madhav Gadgil headed the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel set up by the ministry of environment and forests in 2010. The report zoned 75 per cent of the Western Ghats into different grades of ecological sensitivity. The recommendation was to protect these zones with measures by phasing out mining and introducing organic farming and eco-friendly urbanisation. The report also proposed a development model executed in consultation with the...

-PTI The UPA-II government is all set to connect 2.5 lakh gram panchayats with broadband within 16 months with a view to improving public delivery mechanism. "In a review meeting of the project, the Planning Commission was assured by the Knowledge Commission Chairman Sam Pitroda that country's all 250,000 panchayats will have broadband connectivity in next 16 month", a source privy to the development said. This is also part of an attempt to...