Under fire from all quarters for its inability to tackle the problem of black money, the government plans to focus on the real estate and gold and jewellery sectors to stanch the movement of unaccounted funds. The proposed white paper on black money, to be tabled in Parliament’s current session, is likely to propose a debate on “offshore voluntary compliance” for tax evaders with large sums stashed abroad, officials involved in...

Empower school principals to truly deliver education to India The Right to Education (RTE) law, and the subsequent Supreme Court judgment, has focused attention on the future of school education in India. The judgment on the provision that requires private schools to offer 25 per cent of their seats to economically weaker sections opens new opportunities for the poor, and that is welcome. But in our fiercely hierarchical society, class-conscious...

-Kafila.org With a comfortable gap of time after the revelations of paid news, private treaties and the Radia tapes, the media is once again on the offensive to guard its independence. The trigger this time is a private member’s bill, the Print and Electronic Media Standards and Regulation Bill, 2012. The proposed legislation has been widely and energetically panned by the industry, with the Congress subsequently distancing itself from the Bill....

In an attempt to bring the fight against bribery to the private sector, the home ministry is working on tough amendments to the anti-corruption law. The amendments, if passed, will be so tough that tipping the parking attendant in your office for a better slot could leave you facing jail time. It will make receiving a gift a crime, if it a court says it was in return for undue...

A probe panel of the road ministry has recommended a CBI investigation into allegations of fraud against private contractors involved in the Lucknow-Muzaffarpur highway project. The inquiry committee, instituted by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, supported findings of the World Bank Institutional Integrity Unit report, which alleged fraudulent practices and graft by private contractors involved in the Lucknow-Muzaffarpur highway project. The committee, formed in April by minister CP Joshi, recommended...