-The Hindu Identifying 37 per cent - or about 60,000 square km - of the Western Ghats as ecologically sensitive, a high-level panel has recommended that "destructive" activities such as mining, thermal power, major construction, and some hydel power projects should not be allowed there. However, the panel was silent about any restrictions in the remaining 96,000 square km area, thus creating the perception that it had diluted earlier recommendations that the...

-PTI The Supreme Court today said it will wait for the Centre and the State Governments to explore ways to regulate sale of acids for domestic use before it imposes a ban on the chemical, being increasingly used to attack women. Expressing displeasure that the matter has been pending for seven years, a bench headed by Justice R M Lodha said the apex court will consider banning sale of acids for domestic...

-The Times of India The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed its seven-month-old controversial order directing governments to appoint retired SC and HC judges as heads of Central Information Commission and State Information Commissions. In an interim order passed on a petition by the Union government seeking review of the apex court's September 13, 2012 judgment, a bench of Justices A K Patnaik and Arjan K Sikri also stayed the earlier directive to...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Traffic challans will very soon be paid online across the country and will not constitute a court case. The government has written to all states to make online payment of traffic challans mandatory and the ministry of road transport and highways is likely to issue a directive to take challan cases out of the domain of courts. After the intervention of the Prime Minister's Office, the...

-Deccan Herald With just a little more than a year left before the nation goes to polls, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Government has proposed to raise the allocation for rural development to Rs 80194 crore in 2013-14, although an amount of about Rs 21371 crore is estimated to be left unspent from the fund earmarked for the sector this year. The Ministry of Rural Development is likely to leave unutilized...