-The Business Standard IT laws have clauses that can be too easily misused The arrest of two women in Palghar (near Mumbai) for an innocuous Facebook status update is the latest indicator of an increasing intolerance of free speech, especially online. The state has also increased its surveillance. The focus on surveillance and censorship is evident not only in specific instances but also in the statistics. In February, the government said...

-The Economic Times Mumbai: The ministerial panel entrusted with framing the country's drug pricing guidelines will meet Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday to discuss its final draft policy. The Group of Ministers, led by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, has decided to keep the market-based pricing mechanism but tweak the methodology used for calculating the price increase, a move it hopes will address the concerns of the finance ministry. The ministry was initially...

-The Business Standard No full stops for forcible acquisition, poor compensation Lawmakers have been tinkering with a new land acquisition regime for a cynically long number of years. However, there is no change at the ground level. The news that a displaced woman in Madhya Pradesh immolated herself last week, starting a Chita (funeral pyre) satyagraha, was buried below the fold in the last page of newspapers. Meanwhile, more and more gross...

-The Hindu Mumbai: Two young women were arrested here on Monday on charges of “promoting enmity between classes” and “sending offensive messages through [a] communication service,” after one posted, and the other ‘liked,’ a message on Facebook on Sunday, questioning the Mumbai bandh that followed Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray’s death. Both of them were released on bail by a local court on Monday afternoon. “With all respect, every day, thousands of...

-The Times of India Maharashtra Police today arrested nine people from Palghar for vandalizing a clinic, after the niece of the clinic owner posted a comment on Facebook questioning the shutdown in the wake of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray's death. Two girls — Shaheen Dhada and Renu — were arrested over their post opposing the Mumbai shutdown but were granted bail after they furnished personal bonds, police said. "So far, we have...