-The Hindu NCPRI urges government and Opposition to pass the bill for time-bound services to citizens The Right of Citizens for Time-Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011, will not violate the spirit of federalism, civil society groups said here on Saturday, urging Opposition parties to help the government pass it swiftly. The existing Public Services Guarantee Acts in some States, they said, did not have as...

-The Hindu In the recent incidents at Dhule and Thangadh, the communal bias of the police was caught on camera and is there for anyone who cares to see Images of the Delhi police lobbing tear gas shells at and using water canons on protesters at India Gate on a Sunday, December 23, 2012, who were agitating against the gang rape of a young girl are embedded in the nation’s psyche, courtesy...

-The Telegraph The world lauds us as the largest democracy. Yet, how much of a democracy are we and where must we improve? Elections and their consequences: We have regular elections. They are supervised with increasing effectiveness as far as booth capturing, bogus voters and violence are concerned. The influence of money has not waned; if anything, it has increased. It is not as it used to be, for paying voters only....

-Outlook While great awareness has been raised about sexual violence against women in India, much less is known about the problem of sexual abuse of children' Summary The rape and murder of a student in New Delhi on December 16, 2012, followed by large public protests, has led to a great deal of soul searching about the problem of sexual violence in India. Politicians, lawyers, women’s rights activists, and an independent government...

-The Times of India HYDERABAD: Opposing the impending appointment of new information officers with political affiliations, RTI activists across the state are planning massive protests. They said they are afraid that the biased information officers would not provide important information. Activists are now trying to get an audience with governor ESL Narsimhan, to convince him about the issue. Activists said the whole procedure was clear contempt of Supreme Court orders as it clearly...