-Outlook Apparently taking a cue from AAP's policies, the government has asked the civil servants to be empathetic and adopt "people first" approach with special care for the marginalised and disadvantaged section. "Passion for serving people with special care for the marginalised and disadvantaged. Being approachable, welcoming, caring and rising above bias while interacting with people. Understand the need of the people and constantly strive to improve the services," said a competency...

-The Hindustan Times New Delhi: Nearly half of the operations launched by the anti-corruption branch based on complaints lodged by residents on the Delhi government's anti-corruption helpline are against the police. According to sources in the helpline, the staff of the three municipal corporations is the second most 'corrupt' group. In nearly 30% of the cases, civic officials are under the scanner of anti-corruption sleuths. "There are 350 cases that require a sting...

-The Hindustan Times Strengthened by Rajiv Gandhi in 1988, the Prevention of Corruption Act (PC Act) is set to be rendered toothless by the Manmohan Singh government. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), headed by the PM, introduced an amended version of the Act in Parliament late last year. If the amendments are passed, it may be impossible to investigate and prosecute cases similar to the 2G, Bofors and coal allocation...

-The Hindu For the first time in decades, the Maoists have encouraged calibrated polling in some areas, instead of fanatically implementing a policy to boycott the election The districts of Chhattisgarh partially controlled by Maoists - with 12 Assembly constituencies - voted overwhelmingly in 2013. Compared to 2008, voter turnout in 2013 increased by 9.67 percentage points in 12 constituencies, while the overall polling was 6.81 percentage points higher than in the...

-Survival International Anthropologist Dr. Felix Padel works with the tribes of Odisha in eastern India, including the Dongria Kondh, for whom Survival International has campaigned for 10 years. Felix is the great great grandson of Charles Darwin and lives in a remote village in Odisha. In this interview, he talks to Survival about the Dongria Kondh's relationship to their mountains, their heroic struggle against Vedanta, Darwin's evolution theory and the experience...