-The Hindu Apart from PPE kits, RT-PCR tests, masks and gloves, Empowered Group later managed supply of medical oxygen The Central Information Commission (CIC) has slammed the Centre’s blanket denial of information related to a committee overseeing medical oxygen supplies during the pandemic, saying its rationale was “far fetched” and “unjustified”. In its order on Saturday, Information Commissioner Vanaja Sarna directed the Centre to respond to the Right to Information (RTI) request...

The recent Supreme Court of India’s judgments (please click here and here) related to ensuring food security of the migrant and unorganised sector workers through the provision of dry ration, running of community kitchens and proper implementation of the 'One Nation One Ration Card' scheme should come as no surprise to us. A recent review of some of the robust studies, which relied on multi-state surveys (or reference surveys), having...

In his Mann ki Baat address to the nation on 30th May, 2021, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi appreciated the fact that the farmers received "more than the minimum support price (MSP) for mustard" pertaining to the rabi production. One can easily guess from this statement of the PM that the mustard growers in Haryana (and elsewhere) preferred to sell their produce to private traders in the open market instead...

-The Hindu The committee constituted by Home Ministry on reforms to the IPC may propose a separate Section A panel constituted by the Union Home Ministry to suggest reforms to the British-era Indian Penal Code (IPC) is likely to propose a separate Section on “offences relating to speech and expression.” As there is no clear definition of what constitutes a “hate speech” in the IPC, the Committee for Reforms in Criminal Laws is...

-Hindustan Times HT learns that the meeting, attended by several secretaries of the government, saw the minister emphasising the need to focus on positive news. Around 300 top officials of the central government participated in a workshop titled Effective Communications, conducted by Abhishek Singh, the CEO of MyGov, a government platform for citizen engagement, aimed at helping them “create a positive image of the government”, manage “perception through effectively highlighting positive stories...