Vinod Rai’s searing honesty in his job as the country’s CAG has the government in many a bind CAG Catch 1     2G Spectrum, 2010     The CAG audit over a six-year period from 2003 finds loopholes in the implementation of norms, leading to DoT allocating spectrum at 2001 prices. Estimated loss to exchequer: the now-household figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.     Outcome Former telecom minister A. Raja, MP Kanimozhi, telecom and...

The rise in food prices, with inflation at 9.06% in May, is more teary a problem than onions suggest. Macroeconomics managers, who safely steered the economy through the downturn, are perhaps grappling with the biggest economic crisis- persistently high food prices. Rising food inflation driven by costlier fruits and protein-based items such as milk, egg, meat and fish is putting policy makers in a spot of bother. Prices are not under...

The Right to Education Act, which lacks a transformational vision, is geared to preparing foot soldiers for the global market. THE most encouraging and delightful news regarding school education in India since the pro-market reforms began in 1991 came from Erode district in Tamil Nadu recently. To be sure, it is neither about the World Bank-sponsored District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) of the 1990s nor about the internationally funded and...

Being trained as solar-power engineers enables women from rural India and Africa to introduce electricity in isolated areas Securing the end of her bright yellow and orange sari firmly around her head, Santosh Devi climbs up to the rooftop of her house to clean her solar panels. The shining, mirrored panels, which she installed herself last year, are a striking sight against the simple one-storey homes of her village. No...

-The Telegraph   Tata Motors refused stay by Calcutta High Court, government takes Delhi precaution Tata Motors said tonight the company would move the Supreme Court after failing to obtain a stay order against land distribution in Singur from Calcutta High Court after two attempts. “As per the country’s legal procedures, the company will agitate the matter before the Supreme Court,” it said. The statement came at the end of a day during which...