-CNN-IBN On May 13, 2012, the Indian Parliament completed 60 years since its first sitting. To mark the occasion, a special sitting of both Houses was organised on the day. Recently, there has been much public scrutiny of the work of MPs and the functioning of Parliament. This document presents some information on the changing profile of MPs and the trends in the working of Parliament over the past 60 years. Fewer under-matriculates,...

-The Telegraph The Mamata Banerjee government’s move to appropriate the financial powers of the zilla parishads in North 24-Parganas, Nadia and Murshidabad has set the stage for battle in next year’s panchayat elections. Senior Trinamul leaders said with the financial powers gone, these three zilla parishads have effectively been wrested from the Left. Panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee said the move to take away the financial powers was an “administrative necessity” as in the...

-The Telegraph The Mamata Banerjee government today curtailed the financial powers of three CPM-run zilla parishads where funds disbursals have come to a standstill because of an alleged tussle to claim credit. The district magistrates of North 24-Parganas, Nadia and Murshidabad have been empowered to disburse funds. The Left had been reduced to a minority in the Standing Committees of the three zilla parishads after it lost power last May. State panchayat minister...

Parliament must use budget session to discuss key pending bills The budget session of Parliament begins today. The last few sessions have been characterised by disruptions and consequent loss of productive time. To see one indicator, the 15th Lok Sabha, half-way through its term, has lost 30 per cent of scheduled time — the worst ever. As a result, many important bills have been pending. It is to be seen whether...

Funding agency for rural NGOs may be on its last legs IT IS a government agency that was set up specially to fund non-profits working on rural development. But of late the Council for People’s Action and Advancement of Rural Technology (CAPART) has been plagued by allegations of corruption and inefficiency. After a few failed attempts to reform CAPART, the government has now decided to overhaul the agency which has close...