-PTI Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said the issue of delayed payment to workers under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) should be addressed at the earliest, and sought concurrent audit of rural development schemes. ”I am surprised to hear from (Rural Development Minister) Jairam Ramesh that concurrent evaluation processes are not in good shape. When I was in the Planning Commission long ago, I think we have started the...

-The Hindustan Times The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing irregularities in the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scheme in Uttar Pradesh, is likely to register as many as 50 more cases. It will help the investigating agency track ‘beneficiaries’ who allegedly siphoned off funds from the office of chief medical officers (CMO) in 72 districts. The number of cases to be filed by the CBI will spiral as it will...

-The Times of India R V Raju, a retired IPS officer and former director general of National Investigation Agency, has been appointed on an advisory board of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) to monitor and assist CBI in cases of commercial fraud and banking irregularities. Raju was appointed on the CVC board along with R Ramachandran, a former CMD of Andhra Bank. With the induction of two new members, the CVC has...

Institutions the bill proposes to set up are not adequately independent of the government The government is reported to be making efforts to seek a consensus amongst its allies and the opposition parties on the Lokpal Bill that is awaiting approval of the Rajya Sabha. People’s movements and some of the main opposition parties have objected to various provisions of the Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill, 2011, as passed in the winter...

The World Bank's allegations of fraud and corrupt practices in highway projects funded by the multilateral agency could just be the tip of the iceberg. The Bank's report has an annexure of "collateral" evidence showing how contractors produced fake invoices and certificates to get advance from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The investigation team of World Bank's Institutional Integrity Unit tracked down three companies supplying aggregates (construction material) in Nepal...