-Live Mint The news that a parliamentary committee has rejected its proposed Bill must come as a jolt to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). Reports say that the committee was concerned about duplication with the National Population Register (NPR), the technology, data protection, and the cost. This comes closely on the heels of the home ministry’s contention that UIDAI does not meet the “degree of assurance” required for NPR,...

-CNN-IBN The Union Cabinet on Tuesday cleared three major anti-corruption bills – Citizen's Charter Bill, Judicial Accountability Bill and the Public Interest Disclosure and Protection to Persons Making the Disclosures Bill (Whistleblower's Bill) – in a crucial meeting. The Cabinet, however, met amid reports of clearing four crucial bills, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi's favourite, the National Food Security Bill. However, a decision on the Food Security Bill was deferred to next week...

The number of journalists in prison worldwide has spiked to its highest level in 15 years. Of them, nearly half worked online, raising larger questions about Internet freedom for more than just reporters, but average citizens as well. Eighty-six out of 179 journalists who were in prison worldwide as of Dec. 1, 2011 were reporters or bloggers whose work appeared online, according to a new report by the Committee to Protect...

-Express News Service   Disagreeing with the parliamentary committee report on the Lokpal Bill, the BJP Friday said the legislation failed to include the citizens’ charter as well as lower bureaucracy within its ambit and that it was a clear deviation from the sense of the House that was agreed upon. Claiming it was the handiwork of a lawyer — the chairman of the committee is Congress’ Abhishek Singhvi — the BJP said...

-The Indian Express   Supporting the ongoing discourse in India over the issue of FDI in the retail sector, the United States has said even though it is of view that this is in the benefit of India, it would desist to comment on India's internal affairs. "I think they have to work through their domestic political process and I don't want to comment on their internal affairs at this point," the Under...