-The Asian Age   In order to plug the PILferage of food items meant for distribution to people below the poverty line, the Supreme Court on Friday directed the Union food secretary to hasten the process of computerisation of entire PDS system. A bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Dipak Misra set a deadline of two months to put in place the computerisation process for the PDS in entire country while asking the...

The 2012-13 Budget may not have to provide as big a jump in the food subsidy bill as expected earlier. This is because of a series of measures initiated by the government to cut wastage and improve efficiency, food minister KV Thomas has said. The measures that would bring down the need for funds include the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) and the setting up of modern grain storage facilities, which...

The battle to provide food security took an interesting turn after the apex court vested itself with a supervisory role in the ongoing computerization of the public distribution system (PDS), currently behind schedule. Accordingly, it directed the topmost bureaucrat in the food ministry—food secretary Bhushan Chander Gupta—to not only monitor the PDS computerization, but also submit monthly updates to the Supreme Court. The court was hearing the long-standing public interest case on...

The PM, Raja, TRAI, telecom firms... the apex court lets no one off the hook The Supreme Court’s stinging judgement against the government in the 2G spectrum scam case is an extremely significant attempt by the country’s highest court to curb the corrupt nexus between business and politics and will further damage the UPA’s already battered credibility. The court’s decision will not merely have far-reaching consequences on India’s political economy,...

Often criticised for alleged judicial overreach, the Supreme Court on Thursday justified its order cancelling 122 licences for 2G-spectrum, saying it was duty-bound to strike down policies that violate constitutional principles or were contrary to public interest. An apex court bench said this was needed to “ensure that the institutional integrity is not compromised by those in whom the people have reposed trust and who have taken oath to discharge duties...