-Press release by Azim Premji University dated October 13, 2022 New Delhi & Bangalore, October 13:  About 39 percent of all jobcard-holding households interested in working under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 did not get a single day of work in the Covid year of 2020-21. Also, on average, only 36 per cent of households that worked received their wages in 15 days, showed a survey of...

-Press release by Satark Nagrik Sangathan dated October 11, 2022 Tomorrow (October 12, 2022) marks 17 years of implementation of the RTI Act in India. The law has empowered millions of people to seek information and hold the government accountable. Under the RTI law, information commissions are the final appellate authority and are mandated to safeguard and facilitate people’s fundamental Right to Information. Information commissions (ICs) have been set up at...

-The Hindu Vacant posts, inadequate members take a toll on the transparency regime A good 17 years after India got the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the transparency regime in the country remains a mirage with nearly 3.15 lakh complaints or appeals pending with 26 information commissions across India. According to a report by the Satark Nagrik Sangathan, the backlog of appeals or complaints is steadily increasing in commissions every year. The number of...

-The Hindu The best way to support the manufacturing sector is to free it from the umpteen regulations that have stalled investment for decades Many Indians on a daily basis use sophisticated goods that are either fully imported or just simply assembled in India. This is because India lacks a well-developed manufacturing supply chain that could help produce things from scratch. To tackle this, in 2020, the Central government came up with...

-Centre for Financial Accountability Jawabdehi Yatra organised by Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) along with 80 other organisations in Rajasthan is making history. Rajiv Gandhi once said that only 30% of the government funds reach the ultimate beneficiary.  The government machinery in many states is seen as uncaring and unaccountable.  There are various reasons, mainly shortage of staff poor training, large-scale outsourcing and also insensitivity among a section of the employees and...