-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday slammed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for refusing to make public through Right To Information (RTI) its reports on inquiry into offensive practices by private and public sector banks and said as a "watchdog", the central bank had a duty to make public reports on non-transparent activities of banks. "We have surmised that many financial institutions have resorted to acts...

-The Indian Express Government must ensure the disabilities law reaches out to the most needy The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, (PWDA) completed two decades of existence this month. However, the majority of disabled people is yet to avail the entitlements envisaged under the law. Inaccessible public places, non-accommodative educational institutions and the lack of employment opportunities for the disabled are widespread. Under Section...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI) has put out a detailed analysis on the Kejriwal government's Delhi Janlokpal Bill 2015. Pointing out that as per the draft the Janlokpal is not independent of the government, the report also questions the silence over how expenses will be met. NCPRI, which has been continuously questioning the government's decision to bring the bill without any public consultations,...

-Economic and Political Weekly The importance of hand-washing in personal and public hygiene has evolved over the centuries. While the market with its countless number of soaps and hand-wash products for personal hygiene with the accompanying advertising has created a false sense of security, it is community hygiene implemented through public health measures that is really effective in the battle against disease. Lekha D Bhat (lekhabhatd@gmail.com) teaches at the Department of Social...

-Livemint.com What’s essential for the unique identification number to continue is a strong law. But what should it look like? A key thrust of the 2012 writ petition filed in the Aadhaar case (Puttaswamy versus Union of India) was that the executive action in implementing Aadhaar was unconstitutional in the absence of a law. Later developments in the case, including the government’s argument that there is no fundamental right to privacy, and...