-The Hindu The outgoing CEA also batted for the lateral entry of talent into the government The compensation payable to the States for revenue loss arising due to GST is just ?5,000 crore, far lower than was estimated, according to Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian. In a candid interview to The Hindu, the outgoing CEA also batted for the lateral entry of talent into the government, saying that it was a “no brainer”...

-The Hindu The social activist whose new book on the RTI is just out, worries about the doublespeak in politics today, where rhetoric and substance never match The past couple of months have been hectic for Aruna Roy. The social activist and Magsaysay Award winner has been travelling across the country to promote her book, The RTI Story: Power to the People, which came out in April. After waiting more than a...

-The Indian Express International treaties hold lessons for the Cauvery dispute. More than 80 per cent of Indian rivers are inter-state rivers. According to the Central Water Commission, there are 125 inter-state water agreements in India. Many of these agreements are more than 100 years old and had been executed without seriously considering socio-economic, political and geographical factors. These treaties have now become permanent sources of problems for many states. Continuous redrawing...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The National Campaign for Peoples' Right to Information on Friday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to put the proposed amendments to the RTI Act in the public domain in keeping with the government's policy of pre-legislative consultations. The policy, adopted in 2014, mandates that all draft legislation (including subordinate legislation) should be placed in the public domain for 30 days and comments invited from the public. It also requires...

-The Economic Times If anyone thinks jail is a leveller of gender discrimination, think again. It can be quite stark, even in jail. The men and women in Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad are treated quite differently as far as work is concerned. In stereotypical fashion, only the men in the jail got to work, while the women had nothing to do and no opportunity to earn. The men in this jail make...