-DNA    Drilling into government’s draft of grievance redress bill, National Advisory Council (NAC) member Aruna Roy and her colleagues from National Campaign for Peoples’ Right to Information (NCPRI) on Wednesday demanded some critical changes in the proposed law to make it more useful to a common man. They also vowed to start a “public movement” in case government refused to pay heed to them. Congress led-United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government is already...

-IANS   The government on Wednesday said it is determined to pass the Lokpal bill as it unveiled its agenda for the winter session of parliament that includes a slew of anti-corruption legislations apart from the ambitious food security bill. Apart from Lokpal, other anti-corruption bills slated for consideration and passing in the winter session include whistle blower protection bill and judicial standards and accountability bill. Talking to mediapersons, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar...

-The Telegraph   The government has listed the Lokpal bill for discussion and passage during the winter session of Parliament but has failed to line up the land acquisition bill though an unscheduled introduction is not ruled out. Both bills had gone to House standing committees around the same time after the monsoon session of Parliament, and both hold electoral significance for the Congress. Failure to get the Lokpal bill passed in the November...

-The Hindu   The High Level Expert Group of the Planning Commission on Universal Health Coverage for India has laid out a clear road map: it is to provide access to affordable, accountable, and appropriate health services for all Citizens in a meaningful time frame. Free India adopted the goal of preventive and curative care for all, as recommended by the Bhore Committee in 1946. But it faltered and failed to raise...

-The Hindu   Aruna Roy writes to PM The National Campaign for Peoples' Right to Information (NCPRI) has sought a new provision in the government's draft Citizen's Right to Grievances Redress Bill, 2011, to compensate a complainant for entitlements wrongly denied or delayed. The government's draft empowers the independent appellate authority to penalise for denial or delay in entitlements but does not provide for compensating a complainant. Rather than have the Grievance Redress as part...