-The Telegraph   Indian bureaucracy is the worst in Asia with a rating of 9.21 out of 10, according to a report by a Hong Kong-based consulting firm. Singapore was rated the best in the report by Political & Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd released today. (See chart) But many bureaucrats The Telegraph spoke to raised questions about the report. “This is a Hong Kong-based firm. China has one of the most political bureaucracies in the...

Yesterday was the last day of the Auto Expo 2012 in New Delhi. It should have been the first day of ending our obsession with cars and instead, realise what this fascination is doing to our insides.  Over a decade ago, Delhi was a heroic city. It had successfully reduced air pollution by shifting buses and three-wheelers from diesel to CNG. But now, Delhi's residents are choking again. Recently, this paper...

-PTI In order to guard against possible leakage of names figuring in the secret bank accounts lists it has received from foreign shores, the Central Board of Direct Taxes CBDT has ordered the I-T department to obtain a signed undertaking from any government entity or department who demands the data for their own probe. The CBDT fears that if these names are leaked and they are publicised, global financial bodies like OECD...

Mother Dairy’s retail model helps farmers but is under pressure from chains Call it the Safal model. For close to 25 years, a large chunk of households in the National Capital Region have had access to fresh fruits and vegetables at affordable prices—at rates much lower than what the local vegetable and fruits market or the handcart vendor would charge. This was made possible by standing the concept of buying on...

ICAR, agricultural universities and state agriculture departments issue advisories, alerts Agriculture departments in northern Indian states have been put on high alert following the appearance of yellow rust disease in wheat crops in parts of Ropar district in Punjab and Una district in Himachal Pradesh. Yellow rust is a fungal disease which manifests as powdery yellow stripes on leaves. These stripes hinder photosynthesis, make the grains shrivel and stunt growth of the...