-The Indian Express The Union CABinet has reversed its July 2006 decision to limit the disclosure of file notings to certain issues and to exclude certain departments under the RTI Act. While the CABinet decision is welcome, a major hurdle in the path of transparency in governance is yet to be addressed as file notings of the Appointments Committee of CABinet (ACC), which clears appointments to more than 2,500 key posts...

-PTI Criticising the land acquisition bill cleared by the CABinet, social activist Medha Patkar today said it has left many basic issues of conflict over forcible land acquisition unresolved. "It is also against the Parliamentary democracy that a unanimous report of the Standing Committee is not given due importance before finalising the draft and approving by the CABinet," she said in a release. "We would also like to point out that whole process...

-The Hindu New investment committee can hasten,not compel clearance After the Environment Ministry’s vociferous objections to a National Investment Board (NIB) which could assume some of its authority, the Union CABinet on Thursday approved a renamed and watered down version of the original proposal, creating a new CABinet Committee on Investment (CCI) to expedite decisions on infrastructure and manufacturing projects over Rs. 1,000 crore. The new CCI will be chaired by Prime Minister...

-The Hindustan Times The CABinet on Thursday cleared the land acquisition bill, paving way for its introduction in the winter session. With the new law in place, the government hopes to facilitate land acquisitions that have become a roadblock for the economy. The CABinet also removed bureaucratic hurdles that hold up highway projects. According to the provisions of the bill, consent of 80% of landowners would be needed to acquire land for private...

-PTI Chidambaram’s proposal to fast track projects approved after renaming Seeking to remove investment bottlenecks and promote growth, the government on Thursday decided to set up a CABinet Committee on Investment (CCI) to accord single-window approval to mega projects of over Rs 1,000 crore. CCI will be headed by the Prime Minister. “The proposal to set up the CABinet Committee on Investment, headed by Prime Minister, to fast track mega projects of over...