-The Hindu   The National Campaign for People's Right to Information has expressed its concern at the reported official move to exclude agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) from the Right to Information Act. In a statement signed by Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey, Prashant Bhushan, Venkatesh Nayak and Anjali Bharadwaj, among others, the NCPRI described the proposed exclusion...

A Working Group (WG) set up by the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) has drafted a detailed note on land acquisition and relief and rehabilitation which seeks not only to go beyond the pending government bills on the subject, but recommends that the two be merged into a single National Development, Acquisition, Displacement and Rehabilitation Act. Interestingly, it rejects the Haryana model that Congress leaders only too often hold up...

Elected five months ago, panchayat members of the state can finally look forward to carrying out development work in their respective areas with the state cabinet approving two sets of rules to guide the rural bodies. Approved last week and set to be notified in the gazette in the next couple of days, the Jharkhand panchayat (mukhiya, upmukhiya, pramukh, uppramukh, zilla parishad chairman, vice-chairman ke shaktiya evam kritya) niyamavali, 2011, and...

-The Hindu   Soon after being sworn in as Puducherry Chief Minister Founder leader of the All-India NR Congress N. Rangasamy was sworn in as Chief Minister of the Union territory for the third term at Raj Nivas on Monday at 3.20 p.m. Lieutenant Governor Iqbal Singh administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mr. Rangasamy. Immediately after the swearing-in function, Mr. Rangasamy visited his office in the Legislative Assembly and...

-The Economic Times   India's grain bins are overflowing and the forecast for a normal monsoon promises another bumper crop, but political disagreement over a bill to secure food rights for the poor means the country is expected to steer clear of large-scale exports. Shipments from the world's second-biggest producer of wheat, sugar and rice could come as a relief for governments across Asia who are trying to combat food-led inflation,...