The United Progressive Alliance government may have shown a willingness to draft a new Lokpal Bill, but it is dragging its feet on a proposal to strengthen the public institution that has done so much to expose wrongdoings in public life: the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG). For the past two years, the CAG has been pushing the Finance Ministry — its nodal ministry — for crucial changes in the 1971 Audit...

-The Times of India   The home ministry has asked the finance ministry to conduct a probe into the assets of former Chief Justice of India, K G Balakrishnan, in what could possibly lead to action against him for allegedly possessing wealth disproportionate to his income. Sources said the ministry has written to the revenue secretary, asking him to institute an inquiry through the Central Board of Direct Taxes. "The inquiry would be...

-The Hindu   There is good news for 47.50 lakh domestic workers in the country: they will now be entitled to health insurance cover under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY). The extension of the medical insurance scheme, approved by the Union Cabinet here on Thursday, envisages smart card-based cashless health insurance cover of up to Rs. 30,000 annually to below poverty line workers in any empanelled hospital in the country. The RSBY will...

-The Economic Times   The ninth and final session of the Lokpal Bill drafting committee dispersed with little meeting of minds between civil society representatives and their government counterparts. Forget the six points on which differences have been enumerated; the basic disagreement is on the essential nature of the proposed ombudsman. The civil society representatives seek to create a new body that is all-powerful, gets appointed with minimal participation by the...

-Live Mint   The investigating agency has been placed on the same footing as security and intelligence agencies—something that exempts them from RTI The government’s total exemption of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act could not have come at a more inopportune time. The investigating agency has been placed on the same footing as security and intelligence agencies—something that exempts them from RTI. It does...