-The Indian Express For a government that won office on the plank of fighting corruption and promising ‘‘achhe din'' to citizens disgruntled by poor service delivery, one would have thought putting in place an effective anti-corruption and grievance redressal framework would be a top priority. However, after 100 days of being in power, the Modi sarkar's report card on transparency and accountability disappoints. It is well established that openness in government functioning...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Will the Lokpal become just another retirement home for ex-bureaucrats? Government rules say only serving and retired secretary-level officers to the government of India and their equivalent can become non-judicial members, ensuring that the fledgling Lokpal goes the way of the Central Information Commission and power and telecom regulators like CERC and Trai. Describing this as "unfortunate" and "illegitimate", activists under the aegis of the National...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: While the Central Vigilance Commission's (CVC) role as the prime anti-corruption and vigilance agency against Group A civil servants and equivalent will continue; its overall workload could go up in the lokpal era. There are several noticeable similarities in both the Lokpal Bill and the Central Vigilance Commission Act in their role as anti-corruption agencies, but there are also discernible differences between the two. A false complaint...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Parliament on Wednesday passed the crucial Lokpal Bill with the Lok Sabha adopting the measure as amended by the Rajya Sabha after a short discussion. Following are the salient features of the amended Lokpal Bill. 1. Lokayuktas: The new bill mandates states to set up Lokayuktas within 365 days. States have the freedom to determine the nature and type of Lokayukta. The old bill said the law...

-Outlook   Rejecting the Lokpal Bill under consideration in Rajya Sabha as "weak" and ineffective, Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal today said nobody except Congress will be benefited by its passage while Rahul Gandhi will get the credit for it. He also said he was saddened by Anna Hazare's stand that he would break his fast if the Lokpal Bill which is in the Upper House is enacted, warning that the proposed...