As the Right to Information Act (RTI) celebrated the sixth year of its coming, there has been much heated discussion, often emotional, of the benefits that it has brought and also the challenges with which it has confronted government. This debate came to a head with the prime minister’s inaugural address to the Annual Convention of the Central Information Commission on October 14. It is accepted in all circles that the...

-The Economic Times   The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) will soon have a dedicated cell to monitor election-related expenditure by political parties and donations made to them. "A special cell is being created under CBDT to look at election funding," said a finance ministry official. The new cell will be headed by a commissioner rank officer of the I-T department and will monitor election-related expenditure and political funding and enforce...

The global 'farmland grab' in Ethiopia and the rest of Africa has become competitive, with companies from Asia, including India and China, joining it. AN extraordinary new process has been at work in the past few years: the aggressive entry of Indian corporations into the markets for agricultural land in Africa. At one level, this process is simply following the hoary old tradition in global capitalism of firms (often supported...

The Right to Education Act, which lacks a transformational vision, is geared to preparing foot soldiers for the global market. THE most encouraging and delightful news regarding school education in India since the pro-market reforms began in 1991 came from Erode district in Tamil Nadu recently. To be sure, it is neither about the World Bank-sponsored District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) of the 1990s nor about the internationally funded and...

-The Hindustan Times   After the midnight purge, Baba Ramdev now faces CBI and income tax department scrutiny. The government activated the two agencies to look into the companies, properties and audit accounts of the yoga guru and his aides on Sunday, the day it broke up his fast, evicting him and his supporters from the Ramlila Maidan. Initial paperwork has begun. Under the scanner is the functioning of about 200 companies with...