Denmark (Rank 1) Denmark along with two other countries have been ranked as the world's least corrupt countries. With a score of 9.3, Denmark has consistently topped the Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index. The country has a strong tradition of openness to global trade and investment, and transparent and efficient regulations are applied evenly in most cases. Denmark also boasts an efficient, independent judiciary that protects property rights, and the level of corruption is...

The National Advisory Council (NAC) headed by Sonia Gandhi has endorsed the proposal of the Central Employment Guarantee Council (CEGC) that the Minimum Wages Act be adhered to even for workers under MGNREGA. The NAC endorsement came on Saturday during its meeting in New Delhi. Earlier on Saturday, during a meeting of the sub-group of the CEGC, attended by representatives from about six states, the issue of minimum wages being paid...

Two years ago, when I told some of my more cynical fellow-tribals from the journalistic fraternity that I was about to complete a textbook on media ethics, they smirked. Media ethics? That’s an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms, they said glibly. What became apparent to me then was that the image of the journalist in India has taken quite a battering. There are many among the aam admi who still...

Ahead of the Central government's proposal to table the land acquisition amendment bill during the winter session, representatives of over 300 villages in Delhi are congregating to push the demand of abolishing the archaic rules, which they claim are against farmers. The mahapanchayat, which will be held at Mahipalpur on Sunday would largely talk about how the existing laws, including the Delhi Land Reforms Act, give absolute power to the government...

A patent is an artificial property right; it is created by the government, and would not exist if there were no government or if it did not grant patents. It is then for the government to decide whether to grant a patent or not. But a government would not normally make the decision arbitrarily; it would follow some rules. The rules universally followed are novelty, non-obviousness and commercial value. A...