The fourteenth Public Accounts Committee (2014-15) report, submitted to the 16th Lok Sabha in April this year, has found that despite various interim orders issued by the Supreme Court from time to time (based on a writ petition that was filed by People’s Union for Civil Liberties in April, 2001), the Government of India has failed to universalize the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme. This means India has to...

-FirstPost.com Former Central Information Commissioner (CIC) Shailesh Gandhi on Monday lashed out at the Centre for allegedly rendering the Right to Information (RTI) Act "dysfunctional" by taking retrogressive steps. In an open letter written to a section of the media, Gandhi said, "the present Prime Minister has taken preemptive action by not appointing a Chief Information Commissioner at all to render it dysfunctional." Gandhi, a noted RTI activist from Mumbai, was appointed to...

-PTI NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today agreed to hear on Monday the plea of farmers' organisations challenging legality of the fresh promulgation of the land acquisition ordinance by the Narendra Modi-led government. "We will have it on Monday," a bench comprising Chief Justice H L Dattu and Justice Arun Mishra said, when senior advocate Indira Jaisingh, appearing for farmers' organisations sought urgent hearing of the petition. The farmers' organisations, in their plea...

-The Indian Express UPA's version was inadequate. NDA must improve upon it. In your editorial on July 7 (‘A stronger Aadhaar', Indian Express) you have stated that "The BJP is complicit in Aadhaar's uncertain legal status - the UPA was forced to rely on executive orders because the UIDAI bill was held up by the Yashwant Sinha-headed standing committee on finance." The impression your editorial seeks to convey is entirely erroneous. It...

-The Hindustan Times   New Delhi: The absence of an elected government in Delhi has seemingly slowed down the pace of several infrastructure, development and social welfare projects in the Capital. While the administration - under the Lieutenant Governor - has taken control of the day-to-day affairs and has managed to carry out "routine" work with ease, sources confirmed that several development projects, which require constant direction, coordination and monitoring, have lost pace. Construction...