-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....

-The Hindu Sequel to complaints that minority welfare schemes not percolating to intended beneficiaries Ahead of the next general elections in 2014, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government has proposed constitution of a high-power committee to review and assess the implementation of Justice Rajinder Sachar Committee’s recommendations and Prime Minister’s 15-Point Programme. This comes after a barrage of complaints from the Muslim community and a perception widely shared by people inside and...

-The Hindu By exempting some projects on forest land from gram sabha consent, the government has undermined the rights of local communities and their crucial role in protecting the environment In early February, the Ministry of Environment and Forests partially revoked a crucial order it had issued in August 2009, which made the consent of gram sabhas mandatory for projects seeking diversion of forest lands for non-forest purposes. Now, the ministry has...

-Business Today What does the proposed food security law mean for the government's finances? Most days, around half a dozen middleaged men in Tamil Nadu's Nemam village head for a slushy pond. They are farm labourers who have had little work for the past few months because of a drought in their Tiruvarur district. As an alternative they catch fish, but the income from it is not enough to survive on. "But...

-Live Mint Food minister K.V. Thomas is holding day-long discussions with state food ministers and officials in the national Capital in a bid to overcome their objections and push forward the government’s ambitious food security legislation.   The government will present the revised food security Bill in the Budget session of Parliament beginning 21 February, he said in his opening remarks. “We intend to present the revised Bill in Parliament in the forthcoming Budget...