“This is a country on the make.” The speaker was a young assistant to one of India’s rising political stars. And from his perspective, it did look that way. We were sitting in the lobby restaurant of New Delhi’s luxurious Taj Mahal Hotel. That evening, the Taj was not only the place for a government reception following Prime Minister manmohan singh’s decisive re-election victory, but it was also the scene...

The family of a kidney patient on Tuesday alleged that he died as their vehicle failed to reach the emergency section of PGIMER hospital here due to tight security measures for the visit of Prime Minister manmohan singh even as the PMO sought a report on the incident. The family of deceased S P Verma, a resident of Ambala in Haryana, claimed that security personnel, including those from Chandigarh Police,...

With less than two months to go until the big-ticket UN climate change conference in Copenhagen from 7-18 December, are cracks appearing in the tough-as-nails approach that has characterised Indian officialdom? A leading Indian newspaper reported on Monday that Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh had written to Prime Minister manmohan singh, suggesting that Delhi should accept a deviation from the 1997 Kyoto protocol on climate change which puts the onus squarely...

Primarily to address issues related to spending and implementation India’s apex planning body is drawing up a set of proposed reforms for the country’s flagship rural job guarantee programme, primarily to address issues related to spending and implementation. The changes proposed under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) will be sent to Prime Minister manmohan singh by the end of this month for consideration, said Mihir Shah, member, Planning...

Reacting to the proposal by the government to amend the Right to Information (RTI) Act, over a 100 civil society activists and academics have written to Prime Minister manmohan singh asking him to abandon the “ill-advised move.” An amendment in this landmark legislation would be a “retrograde step” at a time when there was a popular consensus to strengthen it through rules and better implementation. The Act and its use...