The accumulated interest collected by microfinance institutions (MFIs) on loans shall not exceed the principal amount, according to the much-awaited ordinance promulgated by Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan here on Friday to put a check on their activities. However, the interest rate chargeable by the MFIs finds no mention in the ordinance as the government is of the view that this falls under the purview of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), according...

Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare has lambasted chief minister Ashok Chavan and deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal over the recent selection of the four information commissioners. Calling the selection, ``improper and unfortunate'', Hazare has instructed the duo in a letter on Monday to rectify the situation. Chavan, Bhujbal and Eknath Khadse, leader of the opposition, formed the three-member panel which approved of the name of Vilas Patil, till recently the information commissioner for...

When the revenue departments sleep over cases they had lost in the courts and do not appeal for long, it is difficult to tell whether it is just red tape or something else. Their lethargy causes losses to the government and gains to tax dodgers. The new chief justice of India (CJI) started his stint in the Supreme Court a few months ago with a strict code for the indolent babus....

Vigilance officers probing misappropriation of over Rs 2 crore from funds meant to build schools in Bokaro district today revealed how a schoolteacher siphoned off money and kept his opponents at bay by threatening them with Punishment postings in Naxalite-hit areas. DSPs Narendra Singh, Jayant Kumar, Dhaneshwar Ram and inspectors Shashi Bhushan and Tej Narain, who arrived here from Ranchi two days ago following a high court censure over the tardy...

Cracking the whip on private tuitions given by school teachers in the capital, the directorate of education (DoE) has prohibited the same in an order passed on September 30. Asking the schools to follow the provisions under Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 ( RTE Act 2009), the DoE has ordered schools to stay away from corporal Punishment and abstain from detention and expulsion of students. In...