-The Tribune The biggest lesson of the last 10 years since the Right to Information Act came into force is that Indian democracy, if it has to be meaningful, has to have a strong, effective RTI regime. That regime has to be equally owned by those who govern and those who are governed. TEN years after the Right to Information Act promised the country a "practical regime of right to information for...
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RS chaos may stymie joint session on ordinances -Krishnadas Rajagopal
-The Hindu The government's refrain that it would resort to all procedures, including a joint sitting of Parliament, to legislate a spate of ordinances into Acts of legislature, may come to nothing if the Rajya Sabha is stalled in the next session. For one, a pre-condition for a joint sitting is that a Bill, along with a statement of reasons for promulgating the ordinance, should have been first defeated in one...
More »Homes of horror: When juvenile shelters become exploitation centres -Danish Raza
-The Hindustan Times New Delhi: For a long time, 12- year-old Rohan, an HIV positive child, was in pain but could not comprehend why. For months, he passed blood with his stools. Finally, a counsellor drew a sketch after Rohan pointed to his mouth and back and the truth emerged: He was regularly being forced into oral and anal sex. Rohan then drew a picture of Ashish, one of his co-inmates at...
More »Report on India’s tribal population kept under wraps -Mukta Patil
-Down to Earth High-level committee report was submitted to the Prime Minister's Office in May 2014, and includes radical recommendations Tribal communities have historically faced the brunt of the state's development agenda. It seems the attitude of the government towards the tribal communities has changed little over the years. A report of the current status of tribal communities, submitted to the Prime Minister's Office in May 2014, has been kept under wraps with...
More »Wither Away the Pressure on India's Patent Law -Saradindu Bhaduri
-Vikalp Once again, India is under pressure from the US to revise its patent law. Anyone familiar with the activities of the United States Trade Representatives (USTR) would know that this is nothing new. It has been among the USTR's primary mandates to use trade restrictions in order to persuade (to put it mildly) countries to strengthen their IPR laws. There is, however, a qualitative difference between the actions it has...
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