What can power do to a political party’s financial health? Quite a lot, it seems. An RTI query by a Chennai-based activist shows that the income of India’s longest-ruling national party, the Indian National Congress, increased from Rs 69.55 crore in 2002-03 to a whopping Rs 467.57 crore in 2010-11. Documents accessed by activist V Gopalakrishnan show that the jump is even more evident when figures from 2003-04 are compared with...
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Correcting a practice by V Venkatesan
The apex court upholds an order allowing students to inspect their answer sheets but makes discomfiting observations on the scope of the RTI Act. IN 2008, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) rejected an application filed by a candidate under the Right to Information Act for the inspection and re-evaluation of his Secondary School Examination answer books. The reason cited was that the CBSE shared a fiduciary relationship with...
More »Expanding RTE to next level: scope for media
-The Hindu In his Independence Day address, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made two important announcements, both relating to education. One affirmed the government's intention to improve the quality of education at various levels and appoint an Education Commission to go into the issues. The other outlined a plan to universalise secondary education as a follow-up to the enactment of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE), 2009...
More »Hazare runs into civil society protest by Radhika Ramaseshan
The National Campaign for People’s Right to Information has rejected Anna Hazare’s Jan Lokpal bill and said it had sent its version of the proposed anti-graft law to the parliamentary standing committee that is examining the Centre’s draft. At a media interaction today, NCPRI members Aruna Roy and Harsh Mander, who are also part of the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC), emphasised the importance of the standing committee which, they...
More »Court issues notice to Gujarat government by Manas Dasgupta
Seeks explanation on why Lokayukta has not been appointed in the State The Gujarat High Court on Thursday issued a notice to the Narendra Modi government asking it to explain why no Lokayukta had been appointed in the State so far. A Division Bench comprising justices Akil Kureshi and Sonia Gokani, issued the notice to the Chief Secretary, asking him to file an affidavit detailing the latest status. The court notice comes a...
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