Good politics and good economics can make compatible bedfellows, if the timing is right. Food, its producers and consumers, are now the Centre's most potent political and economic battleground. Politically speaking, this could be the best time for the UPA to reclaim its dog-eared pro-people credentials through the Bill. The Right to Food Bill has triggered many apprehensions, including fears of a higher subsidy burden, an adverse impact on private...

India is today the world's largest importer of arms. These include fighter jet planes, missiles and radar systems for strategic partnerships and geo-political power. India is also investing in security and surveillance to combat foreign threats and resistance from its own people in places like the Kashmir valley, and the North East and tribal regions of Central India. This provides tremendous opportunity for multi-national corporations to sell and invest in...

-The Hindu   The Census of 2011 revealed that the sex ratio in the 0-6 age group is worse now than in any decade since Independence. It is indisputable that this distressing trend is the result of more people having easier access to medical technologies that reveal the sex of the foetus, and opting for sex-selective abortions. New research published by The Lancet provides further insights into the phenomenon of ‘missing...

The Delhi High Court on Monday stayed an order that would have allowed Indians to seek information from the Supreme Court under the country’s Right-to-Information act, rather than under existing court rules, after the top court appealed the ruling. Earlier this month, the Central Information Commission, which oversees the implementation of India’s transparency law, ruled that people seeking information from the court were entitled to use the four-year-old statute if they...

The Centre is “determined” to make both State governments and individuals responsible for law and order “accountable” in cases of communal violence, Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said on Thursday. He was responding to a question on the criticism of the Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill, 2011, drafted by the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council's Working Group, by Leader of the Opposition...