-IPS News Bhubaneswar: More than a month after Cyclone Phailin battered Orissa, tribes in the eastern Indian coastal state are still feeling its wrath. Besides the damage to their homes and hearths, it has also meant a loss of their traditional food. "Calamities like Cyclone Phailin affect all equally, but the tribes are far more vulnerable to the impact of calamities because of lesser resilience," Special Relief Commissioner P.K. Mahapatra tells IPS. This...

-The Business Standard Nearly half the 3,337 politicians contesting elections in 5 states have not provided details of their I-T returns With total assets of around Rs 56 crore, Dhanvantri Chandela, fielded by the Congress from the Rajouri Garden constituency, is easily one of the richest among candidates for the Delhi Assembly election. But she neither has a permanent account number (PAN) nor has she reported details of her income-tax returns to...

-The Telegraph Bhubaneswar: The Naveen Patnaik government would soon invite applications from people wishing to be included as beneficiaries under the Food Security Act to be implemented in the state from July 2014. Application forms will also be available online. A six-member committee headed by the development commissioner would be constituted to chalk out the modalities for identification of the beneficiaries. Under the provisions of the act, each beneficiary would be entitled...

-The Indian Express Mumbai: Admitting that charitable hospitals flout norms despite monitoring, the Maharashtra government will now set up and maintain an online real-time database in all such hospitals to make sure the indigent and economically backward citizens can avail of affordable medical services. Having issued a Government Resolution to this effect on October 22, the government will spend on setting up computer hardware and employ one 'Aarogya Mitra', under the Rajiv...

-The Indian Express The Supreme Court has said it was not for the courts but for Parliament to decide whether there should be a "cooling off" period before considering a retired government official eligible for the post of State Chief Information Commissioner (SCIC). Steering clear of the issue, a Bench of Justices A K Patnaik and J S Khehar said the appropriate authority to dwell on the necessity of a "cooling off"...