-PTI Ahead of elections in five states, the Union CABinet on Wednesday cleared a proposal to fill pending vacancies in Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories in the central government, a move that will benefit around 50,000 people. The proposal, discussed and approved in the CABinet meeting held here this morning, comes soon after the government decision to allow 4.5 per cent reservation to the minorities within the OBC quota. Sources said a...

-DNA The state government has strongly opposed the land acquisition bill proposed by the Centre, claiming that the rehabilitation cost of development projects will go up by at list four times if the provision in the bill comes into force. The government has stated that the monetary compensation given to the landholders would be higher than the profit from the project. Comparing the existing expenditure for land acquisition and rehabilitation with that of...

-The Hindustan Times   Different Central government departments have different interpretations of the transparency law, Right To Information, when it came to disclosing information. While some government departments have proactively disclosed the information, others have denied similar information citing prohibitory clauses of the RTI law. This reporter had filed a RTI application with the CABinet Secretariat seeking copies of the minutes of the Group of Ministers and Empowered Group of Ministers constituted since June...

-The Economic Times   The Trinamool Congress on Sunday reiterated that its support for the Lokpal bill will be contingent upon the removal of the Lokayukta provision from the proposed legislation. "Trinamool Congress is not going to compromise on the federal structure of the Constitution and amendments put forward by the party have to be accepted," Trinamool Congress general secretary Mukul Roy said. He was reacting to a statement of home minister P...

If we get it right, the Food Security Bill carries the potential to alter the destinies of millions of India's poor and disadvantaged people, by assuring them as a legal right sufficient food to live with dignity. It was approved by the CABinet after over two years of intense, sometimes fractious debate. Opinion in the CABinet itself was reportedly divided around the proposed law. Gaping divisions persist, even as the...