Sending a clear message that the 2G spectrum allocation of 2008 is a scam and not the result of a government policy decision, the Supreme Court today quashed the grant of 122 UAS licences and allocation of spectrum to 12 private companies. Even as the trial in the 2G case progresses in a Patiala House trial court in Delhi, a bench of Justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly held...

-The Times of India   The SC order said quite clearly that then telecom minister A Raja "wanted to favour some companies at the cost of the public exchequer" and lists seven steps he took to ensure this happened. Here are the steps as the SC saw them:  1. After taking over as telecom minister, Raja directed that all applications received for UAS licences should be kept pending till receipt of the Trai's...

-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...

For the Government of India the first phase of the national solar mission has been a grand success. It not only managed to attract industry to invest in the generation of an energy considered costly, but also dramatically drove down the cost of producing this energy. In its celebration, little did the government realise that a major conglomerate had subverted rules to acquire a stake in the solar mission much...

Indian law promotes arbitrary removal and blocking of websites, website content, and online services —making it much easier than getting offline printed speech removed Without getting into questions of what should and should not be unlawful speech, let's take a look at how Indian law promotes arbitrary removal and blocking of websites, website content, and online services, and how it makes it much easier than getting offline printed speech removed. --Pranesh Prakash...