-TheWire.in The report shows that barring Pakistan, the rest of South Asia has also ranked well in implementing RTI laws with only Bhutan yet to enact one. India has slipped one point down to fourth place on the global RTI (Right to Information) Rating index that provides a comparative assessment of the national legal frameworks of 112 member countries with respect to the right to information. The rating was developed and applied...

-IndiaSpend.com It was raining heavily last monsoon when Heerabai’s youngest child, Seshkumari, 4, collapsed with a fever. The family could only watch helplessly as her temperature soared and she turned delirious late night. The nearest primary health centre for Pachkol, Heerabai’s village in Chhindwara district in south-west Madhya Pradesh, is 25 km away. And every monsoon, the swollen Bhagbhel river floods the road linking the village to the health centre. If you...

-Hindustan Times New Delhi: The government has refused to divulge information about riot control weapons and ammunition used to disperse protesters, saying this was “sensitive defence information” and making it public could jeopardise the country’s security. A Delhi-based rights activist Venkatesh Nayak had filed a right to information (RTI) request asking the Ordnance Factory Board for details on the sale of weapons and ammunition, particularly pellet shotguns that have injured thousands of...

-Hindustan Times Gurgaon: Parents seeking admission for their little ones complain that a number of private schools are not complying with Right to Education Act (RTE) in nursery admissions. They say private schools continue to screen students and parents looking for admission though RTE norms prohibit the exercise. A number of parents said schools, in the name of admission processes, conduct interactions and try to get information about their financial status and...

Rising prices of dal: How to deal with it? The 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly declared 2016 as the International Year of Pulses. In India, however, ordinary citizens are under enormous duress due to the skyrocketing prices of dal/ lentils since the last one year. The website of Price Monitoring Cell of the Department of Consumer Affairs shows that dal prices varied across places. For example, the...