After hanging fire for several years, the Ashok Gehlot government has begun processes for framing by-laws to implement the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act in the state. In a recent interaction, officials informed representatives of Suchna Evum Rozgar Ka Adhikar Abhiyan and Rajasthan Adivasi Adhikar Manch that the state government after framing preliminary rules of the by-laws for the Act on March 14, a meeting was held among departments...

The Centre has approved a performance related incentive scheme (PRIS) that will allow babus performing well to avail of cash incentives from the next fiscal onwards. A committee of secretaries chaired by CABinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar approved the scheme last fortnight and has asked the Department of Expenditure to work out guidelines for its implementation. To avail of the incentive scheme, government departments will have to get a performance rating of...

I take it you have heard about the blasphemy law and all the uproar it is causing? No, not the one in Pakistan. India now has its own blasphemy law now. It has a narrower focus and it is not rooted in any kind of religiosity, but at the end of the day, it is the exact same as Pakistan's blasphemy law. The government of India has brought forth legislation that...

WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange says Indian leaders are trying to mislead the public by challenging the authenticity of US diplomatic CABles suggesting some MPs were bribed during a 2008 parliament trust vote. "It is not correct to say that all these CABles are mere opinions by US diplomats, that is not true," Assange told NDTV's Prannoy Roy in an interview telecast on Monday. "These are official correspondence sent by ambassadors, sent in...

Overwhelming presence of military, paramilitary and police forces gave visiting American diplomat the impression that Imphal was under occupation In an assessment of the situation in Manipur in 2006, American Consul General in Kolkata Henry Jardine wrote that the overwhelming presence of military, paramilitary and police officers contributed to the impression that Imphal was under military occupation. “In ConGen's many interactions, even with some government officials, a reoccurring comment was that...