-Live Mint   Panchayati raj minister V. Kishore Chandra Deo on how the system can function more effectively With the amendments that effected mandatory constitutional powers to panchayats and urban local bodies marking 20 years, V. Kishore Chandra Deo, Union minister for panchayati raj, acknowledged in an interview that the units of local self-governance could function more effectively. He also suggested that the three-tier system of panchayats could be improved to meet challenges...

-The Indian Express Chit fund scams shine the light on the need to overhaul the financial regulatory architecture Cases of semi-regulated or unregulated entities making unrealistic promises to consumers are roiling the financial landscape. It is high time the government sees the pattern and undertakes fundamental change. The search for a solution must factor in two realities. The first is the failure of the formal regulated financial system. The breakdown of present...

-Bloomberg   In all likelihood, Nandan Nilekani's Aadhaar will lead the world. Exactly where it will lead, we'll find out People who grew up in Britain in the 1960s will remember a television programme that built a cult following: The Prisoner. It was about an oddly luxurious detention camp-a kind of Guantanamo Bay by Four Seasons, spa services and brainwashing included. Even if you wanted to, trying to escape was pointless. A...

-The Hindu   Kozhikode: An audit report of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has slammed the State government for non-performance and poor maintenance of records in implementing the scheme from 2007 to 2012. The performance audit report, prepared by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) and tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, revealed "delays ranging from four to six years in FRAming rules.'' "There were significant variations between...

-The Telegraph Mumbai: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) today asked Saradha Realty India to wind up its collective investment schemes and refund investors within three months. The company as well as its managing director Sudipto Sen have been prohibited from accessing the capital markets until all collective investment schemes are wound up and the refunds are complete. Legal proceedings and steps to wind up Saradha Realty would also be...