-The Hindustan Times   Never a dull moment in Indian politics —  or whatever you choose to call what the nation was subjected to last week that culminated in self-styled activist, yoga teacher Ramdev being evicted from the Ramlila Maidan on late Saturday night. The government finally did the right thing. After days of wooing the man — with the four Union ministers sent to placate the Baba-ji outside an airport — and...

11-year delay in deciding on mercy petition cruel, degrading punishment' Amnesty International has expressed concern over the imminent execution of Mahendra Nath Das of Jorhat in Assam following the rejection of his mercy petition by President Pratibha Patil recently. In a statement, the AI said the 11-year delay in announcing the verdict of the mercy petition and the resultant prolonging of the stay on death row might amount to cruel, inhuman and...

The concept of “a ubiquitous magic plastic” that bring out the unique in a living person has caught the fascination of most of us. An unpopular government sees in it the ability of cutting a long red tape short to correctly identify the genuine citizens in need. The agonised cops of India see in it a great ally to apprehend the much-wanted terrorists, whose biometric data could now be verified...

Cash transfers are now suggested by many as a silver bullet for addressing the problems that plague India’s anti-poverty programmes. This article argues instead for evidence-based policy and informed public debate to clarify the place, prospects and problems of cash transfers in India. By drawing on key empirical findings from academic and grey literature across the world an attempt is made to draw attention to three aspects of cash transfers...

-The Economic Times   Militants lobbed a grenade at a Food Corporation of India (FCI) godown at Sangaiporou area in Imphal West district but no casualty was reported, official sources said today. The militants lobbed the grenade at the godown at around 9 pm yesterday. The godown was guarded by central para military forces at Sangaiporou, about 7 km from here. The officer in charge of nearby Lamphel police station along with police personnel...