-Livemint.com Arvind Subramanian’s conclusions about GDP growth figures are in the right direction. There’s no point being in denial Arvind Subramanian was the chief economic advisor (CEA) to the Government of India from October 2014 to June 2018. Among other things, he became well known and was praised deservingly for his Economic Surveys. He made that document interesting, useful and accessible. He also took it to the country by hosting online lectures...

-Hindustan Times It is also important to remember that both these laws were the product of sustained, grassroots-level social movements. Consequently, perhaps the surest remedy against possible future dilution may lie not in judicial challenges (although that remains important), but in popular mobilisation. With the 2019 general election yielding a decisive mandate for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), attention will soon turn to the new government’s legislative agenda. As the government is...

-Financial Express Given the health impacts of Bt brinjal on animals, one needs to keep in mind that the GM crop surely cannot be declared as safe. Bt brinjal has been found to be released illegally and predictably it has sparked furious reactions on all sides. Some have unsurprisingly already started to ask for Bt brinjal moratorium to be lifted in the light of illegal Bt brinjal cultivation. In the light of...

-The Tribune Cannot disclose third-party information, states the MC Chandigarh: The Appellant Authority of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation has refused to give the information regarding the survey of vendors in the city. RK Garg, an RTI activist, has challenged the order of the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the MC denying sharing the details of the survey under the RTI Act by terming it as “third-party information” before the Appellant Authority. Garg in...

-Frontline.in An RTI-based Public Interest petition in the Bombay High Court points out that 20 lakh EVMs that the manufacturers affirm to have delivered are “missing” from the possession of the Election Commission. Issues relating to the “vulnerability” and “unreliability” of electronic voting machines (EVMs) have come up regularly in the context of the 2019 general election. Complaints filed by opposition parties on specific instances of malfunctioning of EVMs as well as...