-The Hindu A properly designed and implemented procurement law is long overdue. It can improve financial management, and bring large financial and governance benefits Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s 2015-16 budget speech signalled the government’s commitment to formally legalise India’s public procurement system as a part of its continuing reforms in public financial management. Following this, the Ministry of Finance is seeking suggestions to refine the Public Procurement Bill of 2012, introduced by...

-The Indian Express New Delhi: India is facing a debilitating shortage of health specialists, including in basic disciplines such as surgery, gynaecology and paediatrics, statistics compiled by the National Health Mission show. Rural community health centres face over 82 per cent shortage in surgeons, physicians and peadiatricians — 82.5%, 82.6% and 82.2% respectively — and have only 23.4 per cent of the obstetricians and gynaecologists they require. The story in urban centres is...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Constitution bench hearing on the controversial National Judicial Appointments Commission today got entangled in "conflict of interest" issues for the second time in two weeks, with presiding judge J.S. Khehar being asked to recuse. Justice Khehar is in line to take over as Chief Justice of India in January 2017 after Justice T.S. Thakur attains superannuation. Last week, Justice A.R. Dave had been forced to recuse on...

-Hindustan Times Hamirpur/ Jalaun/ Banda: The dangerous sand mafia stops at nothing. It kills, runs over men in uniform, kidnaps and, in Uttar Pradesh, even molests and rapes. Its impunity stems from the fact, as an HT investigation found, that complaints lodged with police often remain confined to files. Shivpal Singh, gram pradhan of Bansariya village, testifies to the mafia’s dominance. “In March 2014, the musclemen of a kingpin sexually assaulted two women...

-Hindustan Times The government appears to be having second thoughts about throwing the rulebook at officials who are a little late to work, as long as they do their job well and don’t mind staying back if there is a deadline to meet. The department of personnel & training (DoPT) had last year made it mandatory for central government offices in Delhi to implement the Aadhaar-based biometric attendance system from January 1,...