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...

Last week, an enterprising resident welfare association in Ghaziabad organised a registration camp for unique identification (UID) numbers. It found people queuing up till midnight for a week with infants, grandmothers and some with domestic workers in tow. No one had a clue as to how UID was different from the several other identity documents each of them had been scrupulously accumulating and treasuring. They were initially informed that all they...

The Lokpal is designed to be a comprehensive anti-corruption institution independent of the government, empowered to effectively investigate corruption of all public servants. But most of the critical elements in this vision have been rejected. The latest draft report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on hydrocarbon production sharing contracts and the transfer of oilfields to Reliance is only the latest of the mega scams to surface in...

Over 60,000 people of Jharkhand are fast realising the benefits of aadhaar, having already opened bank accounts with the help of their unique numbers issued by the Nandan Nilekani-headed Unique Identification Authority of India. UIDAI started enrolments in the state last September, and already six lakh residents have their numbers with another 16 lakh waiting in the wings, having completed formalities that include recording fingerprints and retina scans. “According to latest figures...

Baba Ramdev's close associate Acharya Balkrishna has been missing after the June 4 clash at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi. Sources say the Government will probe the alleged fake Passport Balkrishna holds. If the immigration department puts up a complaint, action will be taken against him. The going is getting tough for Ramdev too, as the Government looks to probe his assets. From yoga guru to would be politician to business tycoon...