Corporate donations to political parties, a long-standing lightning rod for criticism for the implicit conflicts of interest in a controlled economy, will come under greater scrutiny when a new Companies Bill, expected to be passed in the winter session of Parliament, gains the force of law. Provisions enforcing greater transparency and disclosure norms on such donations will be part of the upcoming bill, which is currently being studied by a...

It is potentially a game-changer so far as rules of media reporting are concerned. The Supreme Court on Monday virtually slapped a ban on source-based news stories in matters under investigation, in an order which can alter the journalism landscape. The provocation for the severe order, already being seen as a gag order, was violation of the apex court's two-year-old ruling asking newspapers and TV channels to exercise restraint in...

The Supreme Court’s observations on the public distribution system (PDS) which call for exclusion of people living above poverty line (APL); fixing monthly ration on per head rather than per household basis; and using unique identification (UID) cards for targeting PDS supplies have implications that go beyond the PDS. The court has virtually set new parameters even for the proposed food security law since that is also likely to be...

Residents of India's worst Naxal-affected states want development and if forced 10 times the number of people will prefer Government over Naxalites. These are the stunning findings of the first-ever opinion poll of people living in India's Naxal-infested areas. The extensive opinion poll conducted in seven of India's worst Naxal affected states has thrown up some myth-shattering findings. Commissioned by CNN-IBN and The Week the findings establish that people living in...

Mani Shankar Aiyar has probably not read Dale Carnegie's best-seller, How to Win Friends and Influence People. A few years ago, in a St Stephens alumni register, former External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh wrote, "I am what I am because of  the college". Prompt came Aiyar's rejoinder: "Why blame the college!" Politics though is not a college campus. The ready wit and pungent sarcasm which might earn applause in a debating...