-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed the Prime Minister's Office to disclose the names of delegation members who accompany PM Modi on foreign visits. The order, however, exempts the PMO from disclosing the names of people linked to the PM's security detail. The direction came after chief information commissioner R K Mathur rejected the PMO's objection to disclosing the information on the grounds of "national...

-The Hindu Where the citizen-government gap is bridged by using the RTI Act for administrative reforms April 18, 2014 is a day the shepherds around Budgam town near Srinagar will not forget. This was the day when Tosa Maidan — a vast pasture that shepherds from seven districts traditionally grazed their livestock in — was reclaimed from the Indian Army. Leased out to the Army in 1964, Tosa Maidan or ‘the king of...

-The Hindu Business Line Will help strengthen existing channels of distribution, says Finance Ministry New Delhi: The Centre’s social security scheme for the aged — the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) — will now also be available at small finance and payments banks, the Finance Ministry said on Friday. “To strengthen the existing channels of APY distribution, it is felt that these new payments banks and small finance banks will provide a boost to...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Puducherry administration has approached the Union food ministry to seek a return to the system of distributing subsidised foodgrain, instead of crediting the subsidy to the bank accounts of beneficiaries. The Union territory administration has claimed the beneficiaries are not using the subsidy amount to buy foodgrain. "The chief minister recently put up this proposal before Union minister Ram Vilas paswan. The UT administration...

-The Financial Express Over 14 crore households who cultivate on land owned by others under a formal lease agreement or even under a temporary arrangement overseen by the gram panchayats or other official functionaries may soon start getting assorted sops doled out to “farmers” by the government just as their land-owing counterparts do. According to official sources, the definition of farmer will be changed via a gazzette notification to include cultivators...