-First Post A lot has been written in recent weeks about crony capitalism, but an important issue for the media to introspect over is this: can this happen without significant amounts of crony journalism? When media companies begin to think they can run coal plants, surely this compromises them (Lokmat Group, DB Corp). When political parties think they ought to own media houses or be aligned to one (YSR Congress’ Sakshi, the...
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Government to assure, not insure, health--Vidya Krishnan and Anuja
-Live Mint NAC wants Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna to be absorbed into new policy for universal health coverage The National Advisory Council (NAC), which sets the policy agenda for the Congress party led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, wants the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY) insurance scheme to be absorbed into the new policy for universal health coverage (UHC), taking the latter closer to realization. This is part of the government’s bid to move...
More »Is the Centre correctly assessing Maoist situation? -K Srinivas Reddy
-The Hindu PM’s statement that seven States are naxal-affected is at variance with Home Ministry’s figure How many States are affected by left-wing extremism? The answer could vary, if one is to go by official statements made at different times. Addressing the annual conference of the DGPs/IGPs in Delhi on Saturday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said seven States were affected. He spoke about the “ability of left-wing extremists in increasing their numbers and...
More »Companies donate big to Congress, BJP-Anuja and Liz Mathew
-Live Mint/ The Wall Street Journal Contributions more than doubled between 2004 and 2009 polls; experts say published figures just tip of the iceberg Contributions, including money from top companies, to the country’s two largest political parties, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), more than doubled between the 2004 and 2009 general elections. This revelation affirms a trend of companies, most of which are listed, opting for a transparent route to...
More »Birla trust tops in political donations
-The Times of India Unwilling to risk their futures to political vagaries, corporate houses tend to hedge their bets and contribute to political parties across the spectrum. Data analyzed by the Association for Democratic Reforms and the National Election Watch has found that the trust which made the maximum contributions to political parties is the General Electoral Trust of the Aditya Birla Group, with Rs 36.46 crore to the Congress between 2003-04...
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