The Assam government has failed to utilise central funds meant for granting scholarships to minority students, prompting Delhi to ask Dispur to either come up with a transparent procedure or drop the scheme altogether. A long-winding process has apparently delayed the scholarships in Assam, though the Centre has sanctioned funds for the scheme for the past three financial years. A source told The Telegraph that the adviser to the Prime Minister, T.K.A....

-The Telegraph   The Supreme Court today diluted its July order asking the Centre and states to stop using special police officers in their war against Naxalites or other internal terror, clarifying it would now be confined only to Chhattisgarh. The Centre had urged the top court to clarify or modify its July 5, 2011, order saying it would “hamper” internal security measures in states and lead to “chaos”. Besides Chhattisgarh, there are SPOs...

-The Hindu   Making it clear that it will not go into the policy mechanism of deregulation, the Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain a public interest writ petition questioning the repeated hike in the price of petroleum products. Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia told counsel Upamanyu Hazarika, appearing for the All-India Youth Federation, “We cannot decide on pricing. It is a policy and legislative matter. We will not interfere in it. The...

-The Times of India   By failing to honour a Madras high court order directing the territorial administration to notify the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 before November 1 this year, the Puducherry government has earned the dubious distinction of being one of the last states in the country to comply. The high court in its order dated August 1, directed the Puducherry government to notify the...

-PTI Home Minister P Chidambaram has expressed concern over the data collection process of Unique Identification Authority of India saying there was real chance of inclusion of non-usual residents and creation of false profile in the project which may compromise internal security. In a letter to Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Chidambaram said the process of the National Population Register being prepared by the Registrar General of India have been...