-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Will the Lokpal become just another retirement home for ex-bureaucrats? Government rules say only serving and retired secretary-level officers to the government of India and their equivalent can become non-judicial members, ensuring that the fledgling Lokpal goes the way of the Central Information Commission and power and telecom regulators like CERC and Trai. Describing this as "unfortunate" and "illegitimate", activists under the aegis of the National...

-PTI People can now buy Postal orders online to file RTI applications after payment of fee through a Postal department website. Earlier this facility was only available to Indian citizens living abroad. "This facility has been provided for Indian citizens to facilitate them to seek information from the Central Public Information Officers (CPIOs) under the RTI Act, 2005. "Debit or Credit Cards of any Bank powered by Visa or Master can be used to...

-The Hindu Programme Officer in every State should help workers get UIDAI numbers, says Ministry The Ministry of Rural Development on Tuesday directed the States not to deny workers job cards under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act for non-possession of either bank/Post office account numbers or the Aadhaar card. The instructions, a copy of which is available with The Hindu, say it is the responsibility of the MGNREGA Programme Officer...

-Outlook Raipur: The Chhattisgarh government today said that 43 people, who were part of the urban network of the Maoists, were arrested in the state during past five years. In a written reply to a question from senior Congress legislator Bhupesh Baghel in the state Assembly, Home Minister Ramsewak Paikra informed the House that as many as 43 people, including women, were arrested from 2009 till January 20 this year on charges...

-Live Mint Rural livelihoods have improved because of MGNREGA. It is wrong to say the scheme has not worked If some recent news articles are to be believed, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), a scheme that costs less than 0.35% of India's gross domestic product (GDP), has crashed the country's economy. The latest to join this bandwagon of criticism is an editorial in Mint. ("MGNREGA: A tale...