Hit by allegations of corruption in the Commonwealth Games, the government today promised to take action against those found guilty even as another venue was inaugurated with a leaking roof. Union urban development minister S Jaipal Reddy was in damage-control mode over the Central Vigilance Commission's report on widescale corruption in Games' Construction projects. "CVC has come out with preliminary remarks on the alleged irregularities in the Construction of Commonwealth...

The government on Thursday said a Bill to protect whistleblowers is in the final stage of formulation. “A Bill to protect the persons who make public interest disclosures is nearing finalisation,” Minister of State for Public Grievances Prithviraj Chavan said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha. “There have been reports in the media and government has been informed about the increased threat to RTI (Right to Information) activists. Such incidents...

The Central Vigilance Commission is examining all Construction work related to Commonwealth Games being undertaken by civic agencies following complaints of alleged large-scale corruption. The anti-corruption watchdog has also decided to formulate vigilance guidelines to check Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects. "Apart from expeditiously attending to complaints relating to the Games, the Commission, through its Chief Technical Examiner's Wing, is keeping a close watch on all the contracts and works undertaken...

Antiquated food storage methods and technologies have been costing India dearly. The chairman of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), Siraj Hussain, admits that food worth Rs 50,000 crore is wasted every year. This comes roughly to 20 per cent of the total food produced by the country. Though this figure includes food that is lost in processing, packaging, transportation and even marketing, yet a substantial portion of it is lost...

The National Advisory Council's proposals on the Food Security Bill represent a bad deal for the poor. The struggle for an effective and equitable Food Security Bill (FSB) has received a setback with the disappointing proposals put forward by the National Advisory Council. There is a disturbing disjuncture between what is being claimed and the actual implications of the proposals. Indeed it may be said that the NAC proposals create new...