Taking serious note of the incident where an RTI applicant, Sanjay Bhalika, was asked to pay Rs 1.3 lakh as photocopying charges for an RTI reply by an Adharwadi Jail official, the state inspector-general of police (prisons) has directed officials to inquire into the matter.  A source said two senior officers from the jail administration would look into Bhalika's allegation. The inquiry was ordered following media reports on the incident.  Speaking to...

-CNN-IBN   The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) submitted their status report on the Adarsh Society scam was filed in the Bombay High Court on Monday. The court asked the CBI, ED and I-T Department to have a high level meeting to share information so that investigation is quicker. Two former Maharashtra chief ministers Ashok Chavan and Vilasraso Dekshmukh have been accused of allotting flats meant for war veterans...

-The Economic Times The government has decided to lift the ban on cotton exports from Monday, just a week after imposing it, buckling under pressure from farmers, traders and politicians.  "Keeping in view the facts, the interests of farmers, industry and trade, a balanced view has been considered by the group of ministers to roll back the ban and a formal order will be made public on Monday by the government," Commerce...

Notification today; GoM will work out riders   Allies of the ruling United Progressive Alliance have again forced the Manmohan Singh government to take a step back, this time over the ban on cotton exports. The government has now announced that a new notification revoking the ban imposed on March 5 will be issued on Monday, in what is considered a victory for Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who stoutly opposed the decision, along...

Right to Information (RTI) activist Sanjay Bhaklika has alleged that the Adharwadi prison authorities demanded Rs 1.29 lakh from him for 12,500 pages of information on the jail. Bhaklika, 40, a resident of Sai Chowk, Kadakpada in Kalyan, said, “I was in jail for 43 days on a false forgery case. During my time inside the prison, I saw many irregularities. So, after getting released on bail, I decided to expose...