-Down to Earth State government yet to revoke ban on non-motorised transport despite repeated protests, calls from civil society and advisory from Union Ministry of Urban Development "I have been fined three times this month while delivering milk," says an angry Omkar Mandal. For over two decades now, Mandal has been cycling about 10 km every day to pick up and deliver milk. "Each time I have to pay Rs 120. How...

-The Hindu     The political executive and the permanent executive should realise they are public servants first and work in harmony to achieve the constitutional objectives There is a need to arrest the ‘laal batti' [red beacon] culture in public governance. The Supreme Court of India has been delivering a variety of judgments on matters of public governance, and these have been the subject of debate and discussion. Some of these related to...

-The Hindu Pune: The two-day State bandh called by sugarcane farmers in Maharashtra started on a violent note on Thursday, especially in the western part of the State. The farmers, under the leadership of MP Raju Shetty of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS), have been agitating for a higher first advance from the government. The protest, which started on November 15, disrupted normal life as transport services were stopped across west Maharashtra....

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: A high-level meeting on judicial reforms has been called by law minister Kapil Sibal on Thursday to deliberate on important issues, including the litigation policy and making audio-video recording of all court proceedings mandatory. The meeting of the advisory council of the National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms, headed by the law minister, will be attended by advisor to the prime minister Sam Pitroda,...

-The Telegraph Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has decided to impart disaster management training to 10,000 college students in the wake of the state witnessing two consecutive calamities within a fortnight. "We have planned to integrate youth power with disaster management. Ten thousand student volunteers from 100 colleges will be trained on basic management skills by the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority," chief minister Naveen Patnaik said today. Stating that people in the 13...