-The Hindu The Comptroller and Auditor-General’s report on the allocation of coal blocks, reviews how it took seven-and-half years to move the allocation procedure for captive coal blocks from a discretionary procedure to competitive bidding that was demonstrably transparent. It turns out that the process began within six weeks of UPA-I coming to power in 2004. Ironically, the amendment to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) (MMDR) Act rules for auction...

-The Hindu Saturday’s violence by Muslim youth has shaken Mumbai. This is probably the first time that policemen have borne the brunt of the violence — of the 63 injured, 58 are policemen. What kind of mob has the guts to attack the police and think it can get away with it? A Muslim social worker has filed a complaint with the police against the organisers for instigating the public; a...

-The Times of India Neeraj Banerjee and his family are regular visitors to Nainital. This June, too, the Delhi-based computer engineer made a trip to what he calls his family's favourite tourist spot, nestling in the Kumaon hills at almost 2,000m above sea level. However, Banerjee says all they talked about this time was water — the paucity of it. "With summers being particularly harsh this year, things looked like they...

-The Hindustan Times Although some detailed exposés of India’s nefarious role in purchasing or leasing agricultural land in other countries — notably in Africa — have been surfacing in the last few years, the full picture of what some critics term a land grab and new form of colonialism has only emerged during the Rio+20 envIronmental meet in June. The Washington DC-based think tank, the Worldwatch Institute, released a report based...

-The Indian Express The Reddy brothers’ Iron grip on Bellary has come undone. Mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy is already in jail. In the most severe blow to the family since his arrest, his younger brother Somasekhara Reddy has now been detained for questioning by Andhra Pradesh’s Anti-Corruption Bureau for allegedly bribing a CBI judge in Hyderabad to grant bail to Janardhana Reddy. Friday’s “catch” — it has not yet been declared...