Bhukan Singh is a small, shy figure, with a nervous smile - he does not look like a hero. But standing in a field near his home, he recalls the day last March when his fight for transparency and justice in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand nearly resulted in his death. "In today's India speaking the truth is not easy," Mr Singh, 44, says wistfully, remembering how, on that March day...

This is a saga of how the Hindu outfit saw the promise in Anna and pursued him for its gains. How often do we meet strangers on a flight and realise that it could possibly be the beginning of a lasting friendship? This is how yoga teacher Ramdev and super cop Kiran Bedi met in mid 2010 when both of them were on the same flight and Ramdev spotted her. Although fate...

-The Deccan Herald   In an attempt to usher transparency regarding functioning of the banking sector, the Central Information Commission on Friday directed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to reveal the details of Annual Financial Inspection (AFI) reports of banks and also the fines imposed on them based for violating rules. Direction to make public the annual inspection reports of banks was given by Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi while he overruled the...

The contentious revised Sports Development Bill has got a fresh thrust with the Aruna Roy-led civil society group, the National Campaign for Peoples' Right to Information (NCPRI), throwing its weight behind the move to bring about transparency and accountability in the running of sports in the country. The NCPRI statement signed by Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan along with others like Ms. Roy, Nikhil Dey, Shekhar Singh and Anjali Bharadwaj has...

It seems the people's representatives are oblivious to the fact that making phone calls costs money and they have to pay bills like the man on the street. Altogether 405 present and former members of Parliament owe Rs 7.30 crore to public sector Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd for bills not paid for years. Every MP is entitled to two fixed line telephone connections – one in Delhi and other in his...