-The Hindu A properly designed and implemented procurement law is long overdue. It can improve financial management, and bring large financial and governance benefits Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s 2015-16 budget speech signalled the government’s commitment to formally legalise India’s public procurement system as a part of its continuing reforms in public financial management. Following this, the Ministry of Finance is seeking suggestions to refine the Public Procurement Bill of 2012, introduced by...

-Hindustan Times Hamirpur/ Jalaun/ Banda: The dangerous sand mafia stops at nothing. It kills, runs over men in uniform, kidnaps and, in Uttar Pradesh, even molests and rapes. Its impunity stems from the fact, as an HT investigation found, that complaints lodged with police often remain confined to files. Shivpal Singh, gram pradhan of Bansariya village, testifies to the mafia’s dominance. “In March 2014, the musclemen of a kingpin sexually assaulted two women...

-India Today "The butterflies will show you the way to the farm." Farmer Sunil Gupta is not talking of mythical butterflies that will appear to guide me to the organic farm I am trying to locate amidst swathes of farmland, some lush with the standing paddy, some damaged in parts from last week's strong winds, others dotted with vegetable patches or freshly ploughed for the next crop. Can one tell an organic...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: At a time when NGT-as well as Supreme Court-has been emphasizing the need for a robust public transport system to rein in the rising pollution as well as the number of private vehicles on city roads, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal feels running buses is not the government's job. Kejriwal, who was speaking at an event organized by Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) on Tuesday, said:...

-The Telegraph Jharkhand: Teeming arsenic and fluoride devils will no longer hold a thirsty Jharkhand to ransom. The state drinking water and sanitation department has made its first move to set up plants that can purge the contaminants before groundwater reaches households in several affected districts, including Ranchi. Special apparatus will be launched in the capital district and Sahebganj, where areas like Pathalkudwa and Rajmahal have high arsenic concentration in water - around...