-The Hindu New Delhi: The measures come a year after the setting up of a "High Power Committee" following a series of media reports criticising the government for being indifferent toward traffic congestion in Delhi. The Ministry of Urban Development on Sunday announced a package of Rs. 19,762 crore for decongestion of the national capital and recommended a set of stringent measures, including the introduction of a Congestion Tax. “The explosive growth in...

-The Hindu ‘It didn’t go well with India’s IPR policy’ New Delhi: The former Deputy Chairman of the erstwhile Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia criticised an Agriculture Ministry order earlier this year to cap the royalty and sale price of cotton seed. The Ministry, in March, used its powers under the Essential Commodities Act — a legislation that allows the government to determine the price of commodities including seed — to declare that...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: A high-powered government appointed panel on "Decongestion of Traffic in Delhi" has recommended disincentivizing use of private vehicles through deterrent parking pricing and congestion tax. It has also recommended no more huge investment in building flyovers and signal-free corridors. The panel has recommended Rs 20,000 crore interventions through BRTS, buses, walking and cycling infrastructure. Headed by urban development secretary Rajiv Gauba, the committee has noted that 21...

-The Hindu ‘Groundwater will not be a free resource’   New Delhi: The government has for the first time said that citizens had a right to safe water and laid out stringent rules on how corporations and large entities can extract groundwater in two separate pieces of draft legislation uploaded on the website of the Union Water Ministry and open for public comment. The Bills —in a first — also propose fines ranging from...

-The Indian Express A study in the National Capital Region shows why the search for a house is longer and more arduous for a Muslim tenant. Earlier this month, this newspaper reported that a Muslim IAS aspirant in Pune resorted to a “Hindu” pseudonym to overcome the difficulty of obtaining paying-guest accommodation. Keen followers of the news from India, like us, recognise this as an example of periodic reports from cities...