‘There is no such thing as self-regulation, every institution is accountable to the people.' We publish here an edited excerpt from a clarification issued by Press Council chairman Markandey Katju. The full text of his clarification can be read at www.thehindu.com. ‘No doubt, the media should provide some entertainment also to the people. But if 90 per cent of their coverage is devoted to entertainment, and only 10 per cent...

-The Times of India   The Central Information Commission has directed the external affairs ministry to comply with the norms of statutory suo-moto disclosures to be made under the Right to Information Act.  The move comes following a complaint that some information given on the ministry's website under Section 4 of the RTI Act, which relates to proactive disclosures by a public authority, was not complete and comprehensive.  Complainant Saurabh Sharma alleged that the...

The Mamata Banerjee government has begun to explore the possibility of modifying a land-ceiling clause to accommodate some concerns of industry. If the proposals are accepted, more industries will be exempt from the land-ceiling rule and transfer of land acquired for setting up industry would be allowed without diluting the new government’s hands-off policy. The land and land reforms department has sent a letter to four departments — commerce and industries, urban...

-The Hindu   The government has finalised rules for the implementation of the country's new nuclear liability that aim to meet the concern of American nuclear suppliers wary of being exposed to unlimited liability in the event of a Fukushima-type accident involving any of their reactors. The rules, which were notified on November 11, were made public on Wednesday on the eve of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Bali for a regional...

The six interlocutors appointed by the West Bengal government more than four months ago to explore the possibility of talks with the Maoists informed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday of their decision to pull out of the exercise. “We have expressed our desire to be relieved of the responsibilities assigned to us by the State government,” a key interlocutor told The Hindu here. The decision conveyed in a letter comes on...