The village bureaucrat shifted from foot to foot, hands clasped behind his back, beads of sweat forming on his balding head. The eyes of hundreds of wiry village laborers, clad in dusty lungis, were fixed upon him. A group of auditors, themselves villagers, read their findings. A signature had been forged for the delivery of soil to rehabilitate farmland. The soil had never arrived, and about $4,000 was missing. The...

For a government that has been busy granting the people of India rights to employment, education and food, the United Progress Alliance has been lackadaisical in protecting the citizens’ right to privacy. Industrialist Ratan Tata was, therefore, right to seek the protection of the Supreme Court in the matter relating to leaked tapes of telephone tapping undertaken by the Union government’s tax authorities. After finishing its internal investigations, the government...

Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata group, plans to move the Supreme Court against publication of conversations he had with Niira Radia, the corporate lobbyist. The recent publication of transcripts of conversations intercepted by the security agencies between Radia and well-known businessmen like Tata, editors and politicians has blown the lid off tapping phones in India. Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa reveals how you can know if your phone is being tapped. Nearly 6,000 phones...

The Centre today ordered a probe into the leak of lobbyist Niira Radia’s purported phone conversations allegedly tapped by the income tax department. The home ministry announced the probe on the same day Tata group chairman Ratan Tata moved the Supreme Court demanding action against people responsible for leaking the contents of tapes. The Radia tapes feature purported conversations she had with journalists, politicians and industrialists, including Tata. A home ministry spokesperson...

In a move that could further delay South Korean steel giant Posco’s plan to build a $12-billion steel plant near Paradip in Orissa, the expert appraisal committee of Coastal Regulation Zone on Tuesday decided to defer its decision on giving approval to the project. The panel has cited absence of sufficient details on the likely environment impact of its captive port at Jatadhari, near Paradip, said people involved in the matter....