-Hindustan Times A 6% fall between 2015-16 and 2016-17 was reported in RTI applications filed with the 1,950 public authorities of the Central government, which receives maximum information applications followed by Maharashtra and Karnataka. The right to information law meant to empower Indians and bring transparency in governance appeared to be losing steam with the number of queries going down mainly because of stone-walling of information by officials and slow disposal of...

-The Indian Express An ordinance to overturn the Supreme Court order on SC/ST Atrocities Act is much needed The controversial judgment on the SC/ST Atrocities Act has yet again brought to the foreground the faultlines of our democracy. A cornered government, anticipating political repercussions, has moved the apex court for a review of the judgment. In its written submissions, it has stated that the judgment has created disharmony in society and violated...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Junior home minister Hansraj Ahir on Tuesday said 47,338 cases were registered in 2016 under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, a 2,000-plus rise over the year before, with disturbing statistics hidden in the details that pointed to a worrying trend. A close examination of figures provided by the National Crime Records Bureau for 2016 by this newspaper revealed that Uttar Pradesh topped the list with 10,426 cases...

-The Telegraph MP markets black chicken on mobile app Bhopal: Cock a doodle, er Google, do. The Madhya Pradesh government has launched a mobile app, available on Google Play Store from Thursday, to market a rare chicken breed - the Kadaknath - whose delicious black meat is in high demand for its nutritious content and purported aphrodisiac and medicinal properties. Through the Android app - MP Kadaknath - fowl meat and egg will be...

-PTI Recently, the breed virtually became a bone of contention between Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh with both the States staking claim over its nativity. Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government has come up with a mobile application to market rare chicken breed — the “Kadaknath” — whose black meat is in high demand for its nutritious content and purported medicinal properties. The “MP Kadaknath” mobile app aims to connect poultries that sale the breed...