-The Times of India CHENNAI: The UPA government is likely to introduce the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill in the Parliament during the second leg of the winter session which began on Wednesday. The bill has driven a wedge between disabled rights activists who have widely divergent opinions on the bill, which many see as a watered down version of the document made available by the government on the website of...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: In a remark which may cheer agriculture scientists and farmers across the country and signal a change in stance, Prime Minister manmohan singh on Monday said the government should not succumb to "unscientific prejudices" against genetically modified (GM) crops. Responding to anti-GM activists who have been opposed to even scientific field trials of genetically engineered crops, Singh said his government remained committed "to promoting the use...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Backed by villagers and displaced people from different states, members of 200 NGOs from across the country on Monday slammed environment and forests minister M Veerappa Moily for ignoring environment and social concerns while granting speedy clearances to mining and infrastructure projects. Alleging that recent clearances pointed to "high corruption", the groups wrote to Prime Minister manmohan singh. They also demanded immediate rollback of the...

-The Hindustan Times Facing allegations of policy paralysis, the government has often said bureaucrats are afraid to take decisions in the face of increased scrutiny by the national auditor, but HT has found that CAG doesn't have the authority to monitor more than half of the Centre's schemes and programmes. In fact, a draft bill to broaden and clarify the powers of the Comptroller and Auditor General, which has had several run-ins...

-The Hindu Benefits elude minorities, says RTI activist New Delhi: Inspired by Arvind Kejriwal's recent dharna outside the Rail Bhavan, Delhi resident Faheem Baig staged a dramatic protest, to catch the Prime Minister's attention, during the launch of the National Waqf Development Corporation here on Wednesday. manmohan singh had just finished his address when Mr. Baig got up and said government schemes for religious minorities had never reached the beneficiaries. The Unani practitioner and...