-The Hindu Limiting RTI responses based on locus standi of the applicants could create a chilling effect The Right to Information Act’s role in fostering a more informed citizenry and an accountable government has never been in doubt ever since its implementation in 2005. But there have been persistent and growing misgivings. Section 4 of the Act calls for pro-active and voluntary dissemination of information, but only a few Central and State...

-The Hindu Mobs attack the houses of MLAs, Ministers; BJP, AGP offices vandalised. Guwahati: Violent protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB), 2019, continued across several districts in the Brahmaputra Valley on Thursday with an indefinite curfew imposed in Guwahati, Dibrugarh and Tezpur. Two persons were killed in firing by security forces in Guwahati. Incidents of police firing were reported from several areas of the State capital, including Hatigaon, Lachitnagar, Bashishta, and Lalungaon....

-The Hindu Owing to low health insurance coverage in India, especially for the poor, households have to dip into their savings or borrow to meet hospital bills A majority of Indians did not have health insurance as of 2017-18. Coverage levels varied widely based on ‘wealth classes’. The poorest were the least covered as they mostly depended on government schemes, while the richest fared better and relied more on private insurance Abysmal coverage Among...

-The Indian Express In another significant departure from the draft Bill, the Bill allows personal data to be stored and processed abroad, without requiring a mirror of the data in India. The Personal Data Protection Bill listed to be introduced in Lok Sabha on Wednesday has allowed transfer of certain types of personal data overseas, but has given broad powers to government agencies to collect personal and sensitive data of citizens. An earlier...

-The Indian Express Running an economy, especially one that is in a predicament such as India’s today, is infinitely more complicated and the data demands are hence commensurately greater. A Data Big Bang effort along the lines proposed here would make that difficult task less challenging. As the government responds to the challenges posed by the economic slowdown, there’s an ignored area of reform, where simple measures could have potentially big payoffs....