-The Indian Express In 2013, the Supreme Court ordered the poll panel to introduce VVPATs in a phased manner, and the Commission has committed to have it in place by the time of the 2019 general elections. New Delhi: ARGUING that the involvement of private players could hurt the credibility of the electoral process, the Election Commission (EC) rejected the government’s proposal to buy voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) units from private...
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Courts can see House reports
-The Telegraph New Delhi: A five-judge Supreme Court constitution bench on Wednesday ruled that parliamentary standing committee reports can be examined by courts for evidence evaluation, rejecting the Centre's argument that it would be a breach of parliamentary privileges and an encroachment into the domain of the legislature. The apex court, however, said "admissibility of a parliamentary committee report in evidence does not mean facts stated in the report stand proved", as...
More »Improving social audits -Suchi Pande & Rakesh R Dubbudu
-The Hindu Telangana’s experience is instructive The institutionalisation of “social audits” to ensure implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) has been challenging. Since being included in the 2005 Act at the behest of social movements, social audits have been ineffective in most parts of the country due to government indifference. So far, 26 States have created social audit units (SAUs), but the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG’s) detailed guidelines...
More »Transparency test for symbol of trust -R Balaji
-The Telegraph SC refuses to give copy of order forming bench, MPs withdraw petition on Chief Justice New Delhi: A transparency test was staring at the Supreme Court after a constitution bench refused on Tuesday to entertain a persistent plea for a copy of an order through which the same bench had been formed to look into a plea linked to the Chief Justice of India. Following the court's reluctance to furnish the...
More »Know your Aadhaar -Jean Dreze
-The Indian Express Bill Gates’s claim that it raises no privacy concerns is misleading. Crucial issues that have to do with confidentiality of data and state surveillance are at stake. According to Bill Gates, privacy is not a concern with Aadhaar (‘Aadhaar doesn’t pose any privacy issue, says Bill Gates’, IE, May 3). This widely-quoted statement would have been more convincing if Gates had shown a clear understanding of the Aadhaar project....
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