The CBI today registered a case against some retired Army officials and bureaucrats of Maharashtra government in connection with the Adarsh housing society scam . The case was registered after the CBI last week received flak from the Bombay High Court for its tardy probe in the case. It was not immediately clear whether the name of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan figures in the FIR registered at the special designated...

A courier company in Mumbai shows the way in providing employment for the hearing impaired. IN the milling crowds of Mumbai, they stand apart with their orange T-shirts printed with the name Mirakle Couriers. Every day, during the busy hours of the working week, one sees them on the sidewalks, in public transport and elsewhere with large black bags slung on their shoulders. It would not be enough to say...

The Food and Agriculture Organisation has raised the red flag over a potential spike in global prices of sugar and cereals, especially wheat. Although India might just get away thanks to a bumper output this year, it could get caught in the SPIRalling milk and edible oil prices. In any case, the government has virtually thrown its hands in the air on taming fruit and vegetable prices. But it isn't just...

The key to the United Progressive Alliance’s return to power in 2009 lay in its promise of “inclusive growth” centred on the aam aadmi. On top of the launching of the Mahatma Ga­ndhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), this gave the UPA immeasurably greater appeal and legitimacy than its rivals. But it also entailed obligations to implement other rights-based programmes, on food security, education and healthcare, am­ong others. The National...

The National Advisory Council (NAC) had been widely credited with framing three pro-people legislations — the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), the Right to Information (RTI) and the Forest Rights Act — under the UPA 1 government. So when NAC 2 began discussions on the Food Security Act in mid-2010, expectations were high. The initial vision of an act with a universal public distribution system (PDS), extensive children's entitlements...