-The Hindu Business Line   The Open Government Data initiative is gaining ground, but it needs to be in step with the Central Information Commission Open government data (OGD) is fashionable. Governments and public institutions in Europe and other parts of the globe are making increasing numbers of datasets available to the public by means of national, regional, local or thematic portals, in keeping with their political commitments towards open government and open...

-Mumbai Mirror Second punch: Govt issues circular telling officials to hold back any files that they think are not in public interest. Outraged Right to Information (RTI) activists have railed at two government notifications, issued in the last two weeks, which they say seek to dilute the efficacy of the RTI Act. Some advocates of transparency and the regime of accountability have termed the orders "illegal" and have written letters of protest...

-Down to Earth NSSO report shows half of India has no access to sanitation, drainage or waste disposal A national sample survey report, released on Thursday, reveals that a third of married couples in India do not have separate room to themselves, affecting their privacy and health. The 69th round of survey report of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) states that only 68 per cent rural households and 73 per cent of...

-The Times of India Mitu Kumari, in charge of a government school in Patahin, a village on the outskirts of Muzaffarpur, Bihar, has a measured enthusiasm for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement that toilets for girls will be built in schools that still don't have this basic facility. For her 146 students and three women teachers, absence of toilets is an intolerable problem. "I have written to everybody, from the village mukhia...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The government is examining proposals from the information technology industry to intensify real-time analysis of social media platforms for keeping tabs on developing events, public mood and impending threats. Sources said senior officials of the National Security Council held a meeting with representatives of software giant Infosys late last month after which a committee was constituted to brief the private company for developing a web application portal that...