Indian politicians appear too sensitive on how they're portrayed online. Why else would government agencies inundate Google - with an estimated 100 million users in India - with requests to remove content, especially those showing political leaders in bad light. Kapil Sibal's suggestion for pre-screening online content may have sparked controversy today, but when it comes to post-screening law enforcement agencies in India have been active. They regularly approach Internet service...

India has scored 3.1 (down from 3.3 last year) on a scale - where 10 indicates very clean and zero, highly corrupt - of Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). The CPI focuses on corruption in the public sector, involving public officials, civil servants or politicians.  The data sources used to compile the index include questions relating to the abuse of power and bribery of public officials, kickbacks in public procurement, embezzlement of...

Chairperson of the Atomic Energy Commission of France Bernard Bigot on Monday said the controversial European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) technology was re-evaluated after the Fukushima disaster and it had got the green signal from the nuclear safety regulatory bodies of his country, the United Kingdom and Finland. The three regulatory bodies had expressed reservations about the design aspects of the EPR. This happened due to greater transparency, which was the top...

Recent events in south Asia have led to an unexpected reversal in the narrative of microfinance, long presented as a development success. Despite charges of poor treatment of clients, exaggeration of the impact on the poorest as well as the risks of credit bubbles, the sector can play a non-negligible role in reaching financial services to low-income households. In regulating the sector, there is need for caution in setting interest...

CHANDRAWAL, India—Satbir Sharma's wife is dead. His family lives in fear. His father's left leg is shattered, leaving him on crutches for life.   Sharma's only hope lies in a new law that gives him the right to know what is happening in the investigation of his wife's death. Most of all, he wants to know what will happen to the village mayor, now in jail on murder charges. He talks quietly, under...