-The Indian Express The son said that after his father's death in 2010, the little produce from a small farm with the family lasted barely two-to-three months. Officials are also probing as to why the woman, or any other member of her family, was reportedly not getting any other government benefits. Ranchi: A 58-year-old woman allegedly died of starvation at a village under Dumri Block of Giridih district in Jharkhand. District officials...

-The Hindu Social audits ensure a citizen-centric mode of accountability The breakdown of institutions has underlined the fact that democracy — and especially public funds — need eternal public vigilance. But in India, the elites close ranks to neutralise voices of dissent and alarm, thus preventing public vigilance. Democratic governance needs the citizen to be legally empowered to ask questions, file complaints, and be a part of the corrective process. Social audits, as...

  One of the salient features of the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act (2005) is that there are provisions in it to ensure transparency and accountability. Section 17(2) of the MGNREGA says that the gram sabha shall conduct regular social audits of all the projects under the scheme taken up within the gram panchayat (GP). In addition to that, Section 17(3) of the MGNREGA states that the GP shall make...

-The Indian Express The preliminary findings in three of these districts — Pune, Nandurbar and Raigad — show that percentage of wasting and of under-nutrition is higher than as recorded by the NFHS-4 and the Integrated Child Development System (ICDS). Mumbai: A survey by the public health department in four districts of Maharashtra has found significant under-reporting of malnutrition cases. The preliminary findings in three of these districts — Pune, Nandurbar and...

-The Hindu Where the citizen-government gap is bridged by using the RTI Act for administrative reforms April 18, 2014 is a day the shepherds around Budgam town near Srinagar will not forget. This was the day when Tosa Maidan — a vast pasture that shepherds from seven districts traditionally grazed their livestock in — was reclaimed from the Indian Army. Leased out to the Army in 1964, Tosa Maidan or ‘the king of...