-Press Information Bureau The official Wholesale Price Index for ‘All Commodities' (Base: 2004-05 = 100) for the month of December, 2013 declined by 1.3 percent to 179.2 (provisional) from 181.5 (provisional) for the previous month. INFLATION The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, stood at 6.16% (provisional) for the month of December, 2013 (over December, 2012) as compared to 7.52% (provisional) for the previous month and 7.31% during the corresponding month...

-The Times of India PATNA: Call it the AAP effect. The Bihar government has decided to wage a war on corruption and 576 officers and employees are likely to be dismissed from service within two months over graft allegations. Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday reviewed the progress in the investigation of corruption cases against these officers and employees. Since departmental proceedings against 187 of the 576 government employees are in the...

-The Hindu Business Line Clientelism - tying benefits to political choices - cannot work because voting preferences cannot be ascertained. Do parties and their local agents link access to government services and benefits from government welfare schemes to how voters vote, or are expected to vote? This political strategy, which social scientists refer to as clientelism, depends on a massive investment in local leaders who collect information on voters' party preferences, vote choices...

-SunStar.com FARMERS, particularly those growing rice, can help reduce methane emissions into the atmosphere by adopting controlled irrigation or alternate wetting and drying (AWD) technology. Developed by the Laguna-based International Rice Research Institute (Irri), AWD is a technology that allowed rice fields to dry for a certain period before applying irrigation water. Also called controlled irrigation or intermittent irrigation, AWD technology can actually save farmers almost one-third of irrigation water without sacrificing yields....

-PTI NEW DELHI: Government departments should not insist on seeking address of an RTI applicant if a Post box number is being provided to them for communication, the Centre has said. The ministry of personnel has written to all central government ministries or departments, who act as public authorities mandated with providing information on RTI applications made to them, citing a judgement by Calcutta high court in this regard. "When the legislature thought...