Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata group, plans to move the Supreme Court against publication of conversations he had with Niira Radia, the corporate lobbyist. The recent publication of transcripts of conversations intercepted by the security agencies between Radia and well-known businessmen like Tata, editors and politicians has blown the lid off tapping phones in India. Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa reveals how you can know if your phone is being tapped. Nearly 6,000 phones...

Short films play an important role in dissemination of information: Vijay Mallya Short films on environmental issues ‘Niyamgiri You Are Still Alive,' directed by Suma Josson, and ‘Kaippad,' directed by Babu Kambrath, were declared joint winners of ‘The Vasudha Award,' the country's only government award for an environmental film, on Tuesday. The award instituted by the Short Film Centre (SFC) at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) carried a cash prize...

Each of the 18 samples of concrete cubes from the Shivaji Stadium site failed the test for required strength. The sample strength was 60%-85% less than the expected standard, raising questions on structural safety. * The tendered cost for Naraina flyover was 48% higher than the estimated cost. While cost overruns were double in the case of the road underbridge at Sewa Nagar. * Targets were revised, penalties waived for the contractor...

NIIRA RADIA, the lobbyist at the heart of India’s audacious multi-billion telecom swindle, inaugurated a Krishna temple she funded in south Delhi on her birthday — that, interestingly, coincides with Indira Gandhi’s. Those present on the occasion said Radia prayed for long, presumably seeking divine intervention to wriggle out of the country’s biggest scandal. Before the temple visit, notices from the country’s Enforcement Directorate (ED), Income Tax (IT) Department and the...

For past several weeks, thousands of farmers in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Jharkhand have been left in the lurch. They had planted urd and til crops in a large acreage, and to their dismay no grain formation took place in the standing crop. Unable to bear the economic loss, at least four farmers have reportedly committed suicide. Thousands of farmers have been pushed deeper into economic distress....