Recent actions of some senior BJP leaders hint at an understanding between the Congress and the main opposition at the leadership level. THE Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) credentials and commitment as the principal opposition party of the country have been repeatedly questioned in the past seven years, the period in which the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) has held the reins of power at the Centre. Recent developments in Parliament...

The Right to Information Act 2005 is likely to figure prominently on the agenda of the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council when it meets on March 24. Discussion will centre on the two amendments to its rules that have been proposed by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). One, to restrict each application to 250 words. And two, to confine one application to one subject. The Right to Information Rules,...

If reports as appearing in a section of the local media are to be believed, several crores of funds under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) have been siphoned off “under the DAN government”. Detailed charges have been put up by the Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) against the large scale misuse of public fund under the MGNREGA by the present ‘DAN government”. The charges have been...

The World Bank and the United Nations have hailed it as one of the best health insurance schemes around the globe. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's Budget called this UPA flagship, the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), an 'effective instrument' for providing basic health cover to the poor. Yet, UPA-ruled states have virtually disowned the scheme - just 11% of the scheme's Rs 2.31 crore active beneficiaries are in UPA-run territories, an...

Food inflation, hovering in the double digits, may play spoilsport to India’s ability to continue its rapid economic growth. It is truly troubling that food still consumes half of the expenditure of the average Indian household. No wonder a sharp spike in onion prices has the potential to upset the political calculus of social stability. India’s biggest challenge still remains ensuring food and nutritional security to its masses. Notwithstanding the nation’s...