-The Financial Express There has been an ongoing debate over India’s stand at the WTO Ministerial Conference on the issue of public stockholding for food security purposes, including in this newspaper. There have been strong arguments on whether India’s stand is correct in the context of the subsidy phase out, in various sectors that the Modi government has been following over the past couple of years. But when this issue is...

-TheWire.in While synergising state and business interests through ‘single window’ mechanisms helps investors, it can compromise the role of regulatory agencies like the state pollution control board. On November 16 ,2017 Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik launched an online system called GO-SWIFT for supporting the state’s existing ‘single-window clearance system’. Odisha continues to be ranked high among different states in India on the ease of doing business index. It is part of a...

-The Hindu Low conviction rates and a lack of a lawful definition of crime mark criminal administration in India Police reform in India has been concerned with political interference ever since the landmark Supreme Court judgement, in 2006, on the subject. The focus should really be on reorganising criminal administration. The annual publication of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), “Crime in India 2016”, which was released recently, presents a dismal picture of...

-Down to Earth The local administration in Jharkhand is undermining the decentralised scheme, created to enhance livelihood, manage natural resources and improve basic infrastructure in rural areas Yojna Banao Abhiyan (YBA) was an outcome of two government programmes – Mission Antodaya (Intensive Participatory Planning Exercise (IPPE-II)) of the Ministry of Rural Development, and Gram Panchayat Development Planning of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. It gave an opportunity to newly elected gram panchayats...

-TheWire.in Developed countries want to include new issues like e-commerce, investment facilitation and government procurement in the discussion. New Delhi: Battle lines have been drawn between developed and developing countries over the agenda for the forthcoming WTO ministerial conference at Buenos Aires, with India saying it will oppose discussion on new issues like e-commerce, investment facilitation and government procurement. If India remains firm on its stand, the upcoming ministerial, to be held from...