The popular impression is that starvation deaths happen mainly because the information about potential victims fails to reach authorities. But can it amount to murder if a starvation death is caused despite adequate warning? A recent Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) report tells us a story of corruption and negligence leading to starvation and death in Odisha. Worse still is the fact that many more villagers await the same fate...

-Express News Service Queationing the methods and the ethics of Anna Hazare’s proposed fast in Mumbai next week to press for a strong Lokpal bill, the Bombay High Court today refused to intervene in the petition by his supporters seeking concessions in charges for using a government ground as the venue for its campaign. Reacting to the court’s observations, Hazare said that his team would hold the protest at the MMRDA ground...

Chances of a single answer to two opposing questions on the RTI Act means there is something to it which the rule-books don’t tell you about—but you can bowl googlies to them, too, when the system expects you to hold a straight bat to their bouncers Here is a single answer to two diametrically opposite questions—“Yes, you can file an application under the Right to Information Act of India 2005 (RTI...

-PTI The Bihar Lokayukta Bill, 2011, has proposed constitution of a three-member Lokayukta with jurisdiction to probe corruption charges against public servants from the chief minister down to employees of the lowest rung of the administration. Public servants including the chief minister, ministers, members of the state legislature, officials, employees, companies, NGOs and chairpersons of the various boards and corporations in the state would be within the purview of the Lokayukta,...

The government is likely to allow advance part payment of wages in a bid to restore faith of beneficiaries in its flagship rural jobs scheme. The proposal is part of a slew of measures to address mounting criticism of the centrally-funded Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) which is beset by administrative logjam and charges of leakages.  The rural development ministry has asked states to initiate a monthlong pilot...