-The Times of India   Twelve states, including Madhya Pradesh, will go under the CAG scanner to audit alleged corruption and irregularities in the implementation of the Mahatma GandhiNational Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS), a pet project of the UPA Centre.  Out of the 12 states to be investigated, at least four are BJP-ruled, which are going to the polls in the next 18 months. BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka go to...

Amit Kumar, an Indian journalist based in the eastern state of Bihar, received a tip in 2009 from a village called Manan Bigha just two kilometers away from his home. There was a man there dying from starvation, he was told. The situation was urgent. Mr. Kumar rushed off to visit the man, Kangresh Manjhi, and exhaustively documented his story. He learned how Mr. Manjhi, a lower-caste, landless laborer, was forced...

-The Economic Times The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutional validity of the Right to Education (RTE) Act. Constitutional validity does not mean sense - after all, being stupid is not illegal. Public opinion is most exercised about all schools, even those that get no aid from government, being asked to provide 25% of their seats free to poor students.  The court has pronounced this a blow for affirmative action. Private schools...

A group of 21 jailed Maoists, led by former “sub-zonal commander” of the Sone-Ganga-Vindhyazal zone Sudama Oraon, have accused senior comrades of “living in town” and exploiting the lower cadre, mostly illiterate and poor tribals. In a two-page “press release” on jail application paper, duly signed or carrying their thumb impression, the 21 say the senior Maoists “hobnob with jungle mafia and landlords, embezzle party funds and put the blame on...

-The Hindu The Rajasthan Assembly on Thursday passed a significant anti-corruption legislation which would facilitate the Government to confiscate and attach any disproportionate property amassed by the corrupt public servants. The Rajasthan Special Courts Act, 2012 passed in the Assembly by a voice vote is modelled after existing legislations in the States of Bihar and Orissa. The legislation brings everyone who draws salary from the Government, including the Chief Minister, under its...