-The Hindu The public now sees the Internet not just in market terms, but as a social phenomenon that requires public interest regulation. In its aggressive campaign for Free Basics, couched in simplistic developmental language, Facebook underestimated the political sophistication of the Indian public. It must be regretting it now. The social networking service’s reportedly Rs. 100-crore campaign, through double full-page newspaper advertisements, billboards and television, appears simply to have congealed public...

-The Hindu Business Line Electoral Trusts bring some transparency to India Inc’s donations to parties, but more needs to be done New Delhi: India Inc makes big donations to political parties, but very little is made public on the amount or to whom it is given. Electoral Trusts revealing such data were expected to bring in more transparency. A change in income-tax rules in January 2013 paved the way for the setting up...

-The Hindu India’s fundamental belief in democracy is often taken as a given, but it is instructive to understand the basis and strength of this belief. A new national survey by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies shows that in 2013, under half the country unequivocally preferred democracy as the best form of government in all cases; the outcome was the same when a similar survey was conducted in...

-PTI New Delhi: There has been a rush for registration of political parties, with as many as 239 new outfits enrolling themselves with the Election Commission between March, 2014 and July this year, taking their number to 1,866. According to the Commission, as on July 24, there are 1,866 political parties which are registered with it. Out of these, 56 are recognised as registered national or state parties, while the rest are...

-The Hindu After sitting on a key Bill to strengthen the law against atrocities on people belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the Modi government now appears keen on pushing it through during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, possibly with an eye on the forthcoming Bihar Assembly elections. The United Progressive Alliance government had promulgated the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Ordinance on March 4,...