As minister for rural development, Jairam Ramesh oversees the largest spending in the social sector by the government. This includes the marquee Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) that was pioneered by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance in 2006. The minister, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is known for his forthrightness. In a typically candid interview to Mint on...

-BBC   India's Supreme Court has cancelled 122 telecommunications licences awarded to companies in 2008. The licences were issued by former minister A Raja, who is accused of mis-selling bandwidth in what has been called India's biggest corruption scandal. Mr Raja denies wrongdoing. Government auditors say the scandal cost the country about $40bn (£24.5bn). The judges also ordered a court to decide whether Home Minister P Chidambaram should be investigated. Opposition MPs accuse Mr Chidambaram of...

-The Indian Express Pitching for immediate reforms in the Centre's flagship rural job scheme MGNREGA, Congress President Sonia Gandhi today said the complaints of corruption and irregularities regarding the scheme cannot be ignored. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Gandhi also expressed concern over the delay in wage payment to MGNREGA workers, emphasising the need to ensure that they get it within 15 days. "Talks about reform in MGNREGA have been on for quite...

-The Indian Express SC wants a four-month deadline for govt to give sanction; what about the years of trial in a court? The Supreme Court is right in underlining the need for speedy sanction to prosecute public officials in corruption cases. The court was responding to a petition by Subramanian Swamy, who alleged “inordinate delay” by the prime minister’s office in responding to his petition on the 2G spectrum scam, and withholding...

-The Indian Express   The cancellation of 2G licences by the Supreme Court has further exposed the big scam, Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy said today. He said the scam was a "collective failure" of the government, which "overlooked" warnings given by the CAG and the CVC on the issue. "Everyone had warned including the CAG and the CVC but the government overlooked it," Swamy said soon after the Supreme Court cancelled the 122...