-Scroll.in The suggested changes will weaken environmental clearance processes, favour industry, say experts. In April, as India was busy in the 2019 parliamentary elections, the Central Government moved to “re-engineer” the Environment Impact Assessment Notification 2006, which governs environment clearance for industrial projects. Experts who have analysed the zero draft (a first attempt at the draft) of the Environmental Impact Assessment notification 2019 opined that it weakens the existing notification and favours the...

-IndiaSpend.com Bengaluru: Indian voters do not vote on the basis of  development or policies, according to a recent study, confirming the results of the 2019 general elections. Despite a raft of economic woes afflicting the country, ranging from joblessness to farm distress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has swept to power in India, winning 56% of seats. The study, ‘Do Citizens Enforce Accountability For Public Goods Provision?’, by Oxford University scholar Tanushree Goyal...

-The Indian Express While Uttar Pradesh’s sugar belt has post-Independence shifted to the western and central districts, sugar cane still retains political relevance in the four northeastern constituencies that vote in the last phase of polls on May 19. Kushinagar: It is past mid-May, but the sugar mills at Hata, Ramkola, Kaptanganj, Khadda and Siswa Bazar — the first four in Kushinagar and the last in Maharajganj constituency — are still...

-The Times of India BENGALURU: Central Government officials are scrambling to compile information about vacancies in their departments and ministries and steps taken to fill posts following instructions from the Prime Minister’s Office. The move follows the opposition’s accusations that the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have failed in not only creating jobs but also filling up existing vacancies. The instruction has resulted in ministries and departments issuing internal circulars seeking...

-CaravanMagazine.in India is often hailed for its democracy, for empowering its poor and ordinary citizens to participate in the electoral process and play a role in shaping the country. This narrative has increasingly come under strain since the Supreme Court, through its March 2003 judgment in Union of India vs Association for Democratic Reforms, made it mandatory for candidates contesting elections to disclose their wealth, educational qualification, and criminal cases pending...