-DNA "Frivolous and vexatious” — these were the words that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh used while addressing this year’s edition of the annual Right To Information (RTI) convention. His choice of words raises several disturbing questions. The PM conveniently ignored the fact that there is no legal definition of what constitutes “frivolous and vexatious” and there is unlikely to be one in the future. Will one person’s understanding of “frivolous” be...

-The Economist A new form of radical centrist politics is needed to tackle inequality without hurting economic growth BY THE end of the 19th century, the first age of globalisation and a spate of new inventions had transformed the world economy. But the “Gilded Age” was also a famously unequal one, with America’s robber barons and Europe’s “Downton Abbey” classes amassing huge wealth: the concept of “conspicuous consumption” dates back to 1899....

-The Hindu For much of India, toilets are all about an issue of sanitation, health, privacy and dignity, and gender rights Let’s forget about what Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh said and focus on what he is trying to do. It is not an easy campaign to launch and run. IMAgine someone asking what do you do? And having to answer, I promote toilets — toilet construction and toilet use....

-PTI Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday decried creation of “mindless atmosphere of negativity and pessimism” on the corruption issue and promised to strengthen the anti-graft law by including corporate failure to prevent bribery as a new offence besides other steps. “The mindless atmosphere of negativity and pessimism that is sought to be created over the issue of corruption can do us no good. It can only damage the nation’s IMAge and...

-Outlook While some question my motives in seeking information on Rahul Gandhi's foreign trips, others say that parting with such information will jeopardize his security. Really?  I am really puzzled by some of the responses to my RTI regarding Rahul Gandhi’s foreign trips. One set of persons have echoed the arguments used by Congress spokespersons Manish Tiwari and Jayanti Natarajan questioning my motives for demanding information that “violates the privacy of Rahul Gandhi.”...