The Congress has proposed the introduction of an RTI-like legislation exclusively for “corporate corridors”, floating what looks like a nascent idea at a time some industrialists have criticised the government after the leak of the Niira Radia tapes. The suggestion was made in the latest issue of the Congress mouthpiece Sandesh and released today at the plenary where Sonia made an anti-corruption drive the cornerstone of her speech. “The Right to Information...

The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) headed by ecologist Madhav Gadgil has decided to walk the untrodden path. In the summary report which raises environmental concerns in the Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri regions of Maharashtra and emphatically supports the rights of its people, while strongly criticising the government's role, the WGEEP gave voice to the years of protests witnessed by the regions. The report seeks to answer various questions related to...

Announces need for introspection conclave; pulls up Ministers for being insensitive to party workers Giving a clarion call to “confront corruption head-on,” Congress president Sonia Gandhi, on the second day of the party's 83rd plenary session, outlined an action plan in a powerful no holds-barred speech. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, Ms. Gandhi said, should seriously consider state funding of elections; fast-tracking of all cases that concern corruption by public...

Experts and consumer activists have asked the Centre and the States to implement more effectively the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (COPRA) which they hailed as a strong and powerful legislation. The group, participating in a round-table of GRANIRCA (Grassroots Reachout and Networking in Rajasthan through Consumer Action) here, lamented that consumer protection remained a neglected area for the governments which failed to create the basic infrastructure for...

WHAT the Government of India did when it appointed P.J. Thomas Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) is inexplicable. For that public office, the government, naturally, ought to have looked for a person whose record did not have even the slightest of ambiguities, and such persons are not difficult to find. There are several civil servants whose integrity is unquestionable. The myth that all bureaucrats are corrupt is not just that, a...