The central government has decided to make each of its 6,000 websites disabled-friendly. Under new government guidelines, the visually challenged will be able to use a “screen reader software” that will read out the text that appears on a computer monitor. People who have difficulty handling a mouse can use the “voice recognition software” to work the computer with verbal commands. The websites will provide features like “iconic learning” for those...

Are income-tax returns filed by individual citizens open to public scrutiny under the Right to Information? Yes, says the Central Information Commission. In a controversial December 14 ruling with far-reaching implications, the CIC held that individual assessees could not invoke privacy concerns to prevent an unrelated “third party” from inspecting returns filed with the Income-Tax Department. Sources in the Commission said the ruling must be seen as a trendsetter that could...

Ironically, the Right to Information (RTI) Act is being used to unseat Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) Wajahat Habibullah himself.    Using documents got using the Act, Mumbai-based RTI activist Girish Mittal on Monday served a legal notice on the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and the Ministry of Personnel & Grievances (DoPT) saying that Habibullah, whose resignation is still hanging fire, is being accorded preferential treatment and that he should be relieved...

Fake entries and wrong entries have been the bane of the government’s flagship welfare plan — the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). However, Uttar Pradesh has found a way out. Starting July 2009, the state Department of Rural Development introduced the biometric smart card attendance system in 10 villages of two blocks, and in 2010, it plans to extend the same to at least one block in each of...

Notwithstanding controversies, it passed several important judgments The year 2009 was eventful and memorable for the Supreme Court and Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan. The Court faced several controversies, the notable being the collegium’s decision to elevate Karnataka High Court Chief Justice P.D. Dinakaran as one of its judges. This controversy was preceded by a clean chit to Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge Nirmal Yadav in the Rs....