-The Telegraph   Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today opposed sharing of certain “privileged” and “secret” matters under the right to information (RTI) law, echoing cabinet colleagues Salman Khurshid and M. Veerappa Moily. “Ministers write to the Prime Minister on a variety of issues. There has to be a concept of Secrecy in government,” Ramesh said. According to Ramesh, communications leading to a cabinet decision or a policy decision of the government should be...

The Union Government has prepared the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill, 2001 (BRAI in brief) for the regulation of the biotechnology sector in India. While the need for strong and careful regulation certainly exists keeping in view the serious threats posed to health and environment by the genetically modified (GM) crops, the BRAI can actually increase this threat by paving the way for the rapid spread of GM crops...

The Central government exempts the CBI from the Right To Information Act's purview without seeking Parliament's approval. THE Right to Information Act, 2005, originally exempted 18 public authorities under the Central government from disclosure of information. Section 24 of the Act provided this exemption to intelligence and security organisations specified in the Second Schedule of the Act, and permitted the Central government to amend the Schedule, by notification in the...

A PIL questions the very legitimacy of the IB No whereofs to it?     * A PIL filed in and admitted by the Karnataka High Court asks if the IB is “extra-constitutional”     * The IB hasn’t been constituted under an Act of Parliament, does not have a charter of duties     * The British set it up in 1887     * The court has served notices on the home ministry and the IB *** Is...

-The Hindu   Since the time of Dadabhai Naoroji, Indians have always been captivated by the idea that our national wealth is slowly being drained abroad. That is why the Supreme Court's decision to set up a Special Investigation Team to ensure the return of money stashed abroad will be widely welcomed. What happens to the ill-gotten gains stashed at home, however, is anybody's guess. Black money is generated by the...