-The Tribune India is governed by a written Constitution and any policy decision, programme by the Central or state government must be within the constitutional parameter of the Constitution. The State under our Constitution is mandated to protect the human rights. Any government policy, which seeks to shift this responsibility from the state to the private sector, would be, without anything more, unconstitutional and hence impermissible. The United Nations, since its inception, has...

-Outlook Dudu (Rajasthan): Rajasthan government today said that in a phase wise manner it will make mandatory Aadhaar number for people applying for ten important services or schemes in the state. Aadhaar would be made compulsory for applying for pension schemes of old age, widow, differently abled, MGNREGA job card, ration card, driving license, water and electricity connections, property registration, Indira Awas Yojna, scholarships in future, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said. "This will...

-The Economic Times A new book by Bibek Debroy on Gujarat looks at how this much-talked about state has performed in economic terms. The author argues history, luck and administrative clarity have been the determining factors. There has been a discernible pickup in Gujarat's growth performance since the 10th Plan (2002-07), the five-year Plans being natural periods for breaking up the timeline. It's tempting to argue that there is nothing exceptional in...

-The Indian Express Activist Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday launched a 'bijli-paani satyagraha' here to protest against "inflated" power and water bills and hike in tariffs by restoring electricity connection to the household of a labourer, which was disconnected for non-payment of bills. The protest was launched at Tigri Colony on Saturday morning when Kejriwal and his supporters restored the power connection of the labourer, who claimed that he got a bill for...

-The Hindu The draft law on acquisition strikes a balance between development and justice for those who will be displaced in the process India is a rapidly industrialising economy and society with intense demands for better infrastructure from its people. The last 20 years have seen a great acceleration in this process, with India becoming one of the world’s fastest growing economies. However, for those whose lands were acquired for these purposes...