-The Indian Express Those who want parties under RTI have not specified whether this advances transparency or electoral reform. It is time for a more nuanced debate. The tussle around the proposed RTI Amendments to nullify the CIC order bringing the six national parties under the RTI Act is notable for many reasons: first, the Amendments were sent to the standing committee for deliberation despite near political unanimity. This is significant, since...

-The Times of India India must discuss phasing down hydrofluorocarbons which endanger the planet. In September, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Barack Obama agreed to discuss how hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are hundreds to thousands of times more potent global warming compounds than carbon dioxide, could be phased down. They agreed, bilaterally and at the G20 summit, to use the expertise and institutions of the Montreal Protocol and report emissions under...

-The Hindu     Realising that New Delhi needs to clear its food security legislation at the WTO in time for the election, the West has sought increased market access in return for temporary relief A few months ago, the most optimistic observers of international politics were not willing to hedge their bets on the Doha Development Round at the World Trade Organisation. The Doha Round negotiations have been stalled for more than a...

-The Hindu Landed communities in Haryana thwarting women's rights to inheritance Jhajjar (Haryana): Hawa Singh is an 80-year-old, rheumy patriarch with a failing voice that one has to strain to hear. But mention his two daughters and their two year old legal battle with him to claim their share of the ancestral property and fire flashes inhis eyes and the voice acquires strength. "There is no question of giving ancestral land to...

-The Hindu Mining companies have received favourable impact assessments even as they do great damage to the environment because regulators are willing to look the other way Last week, world leaders concerned about economic development got together at the International Monetary Fund, and gave a series of most instructive interviews. Our Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, said that his problem was the slowing down of India's economic growth and reduction in government revenues....