The headlines in the media, the constant talk of how deep corruption has sunk in our body politic and the nefarious role played by ill-gotten contributions to political parties is a spectre, haunting the public all the time. But why is the government still not persuaded to seriously consider enacting an effectively genuine Lokpal legislation to deal with this menace of corruption? If the draft of the Lokpal Bill 2010 is...

Joint committee can help avoid delay and duplication of work: Jaiswal Seeking to put an end to duplication in work and fast-track the decision making process, Statistics and Programme Implementation Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal has urged Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar to constitute a single Parliamentary Committee comprising members from both Houses to monitor the Member of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) fund scheme. In a letter to Ms. Kumar, Mr. Jaiswal stated...

The Raipur sessions court judgment against civil liberties defender and health activist Binayak Sen has provoked outrage. His two-year long detention had drawn protests from the world over. The only substantial charge against Sen is that he passed on three letters from Narayan Sanyal, an undertrial, suspected -- but not yet proved -- to be a Maoist, to the Maoist leadership. It takes several leaps of imagination, or nasty prejudice, to...

CPM general secretary Prakash Karat today backed politburo member S. Ramachandran Pillai on genetically modified crops, saying his remarks were in line with the party’s views. “What he has said is the understanding of the party. He (SRP) also explained why we are opposed to Bt cotton and Bt brinjal,” Karat told The Telegraph. Pillai told a seminar in Kerala that “it is superstitious to completely oppose” genetically modified seeds, a shift...

The Indian government is exploring a proposal to reduce the limit on foreign direct investment (FDI) allowed in the pharmaceutical industry through the automatic route to 49% from 100% amid concerns over the takeover of local drug makers by overseas firms. Officials from the ministry of commerce and industry and the ministry of health have had multiple rounds of discussions on the proposal following a note written to them by the finance...