-The Pioneer   The elected from two major political dispensations on Friday converged on the need for the presence of civil society groups but cautioned them against usurping the role and responsibilities of the constitutionally mandated institutions like Parliament. Similar opinion also emerged from the two leading editors and other participants on a seminar on civil society in the national Capital on Friday. While Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Leader...

The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved verdict on petitions seeking uniformity in the criteria for OBC admissions to central universities, including the Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru universities. Last week a Bench of Justices R.V. Raveendran and A.K. Patnaik had referred the matter to Chief Justice of India S.H. Kapadia for posting it before another Bench. However, the CJI asked the same Bench to continue with the hearing. The issue is whether students...

The recent estimates of employment and unemployment from the 66th round (2009-10) of the National Sample Survey (NSS) belie any hopes that the growth of the Indian economy between 2004-05 and 2009-10 has been inclusive. Employment has expanded by only a million jobs during this period. Not only is this lowest ever growth recorded in any such period, the fact that it occurred during the period of highest growth in...

There is no gainsaying that corruption breeds cynicism which undermines the democratic foundations of our polity. There is no gainsaying, too, that corruption results in a net shift of resources away from the poor. There can therefore be no two opinions about the need for controlling corruption through an appropriate lok pal bill. But the impression is unavoidable that the current hullabaloo about ‘corruption’ constitutes a case of mistaken identity:...

-Outlook   The Arunachal RTI Activists Forum (ARTIAF) has called a 24-hour Itanagar bandh on July 29 demanding resignation of Health Minister Atum Welly and Chief Information Commissioner Y D Thongchi. The health minister recently landed in a controversy after his son and daughter allegedly submitted fake educational certificates for government jobs while his three aides were arrested on the charge of plotting to murder an RTI activist who brought the matter...