-The Times of India The UPA was caught in a fresh controversy over the comptroller & auditor general (CAG) after V Narayanasamy, minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office, was quoted as saying that the government was "actively considering" converting the federal auditor's office into a multi-member body. "It (VK Shunglu panel's suggestion to make changes in CAG) is under active consideration. The government is actively considering it," news agency PTI...

-The Hindustan Times The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) should be given constitutional status empowering them with appropriate autonomy and independence to make them effective instruments for fighting corruption, Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Vinod Rai said on Wednesday. “If you really want some of these institutions to deliver, you must take a risk and ... take courage to make them constitutional,” he said, while speaking...

-The Economic Times India has moved up 8 points to 105th position in the global Gender Gap Index of 135 countries for 2012, from 113th position in the previous year, according to the World Economic Forum. The index, which examines the gap between men and women on the basis of economic participation and opportunities; educational attainment; health and survival, and political empowerment is topped by Iceland, followed by Finland, Norway, Sweden and...

PROFESSOR Shamnad Basheer joined the National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS), Kolkata, in November 2008 as the first Ministry of Human Resource Development Chaired Professor in Intellectual Property Law. Before this, he was Frank H. Marks Visiting Associate Professor of Intellectual Property Law at the George Washington University law school and a research associate at the Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre (OIPRC).  He is the founder of several initiatives, including...

-PTI Allegations of fund leakages notwithstanding, the MGNREGA scheme has improved access to financial services for farmers and holds a great scope for further agricultural and economic growth of the country, a World Economic Forum report said today. Focus on soft infrastructure in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has led to successes in land rights issues, it said. Launched in 2005, MGNREGA is UPA government's flagship social programme. The...