-The Hindu Whether it is suicide or homicide, the death of Ram Singh — the main accused in the Delhi rape case of December 2012 — inside Tihar Jail is a damning indictment of the functioning of the prison authorities. There were warning signals, early on. Ram Singh and the other accused were put on special watch, or suicide watch, after they stopped interacting with other inmates. But despite the checks...

Introduced in the Lok Sabha in December 2011, the UPA government’s Food Security Bill is finally going to be discussed in the current (Budget) Session of Parliament. The proposed legislation is now slated to see many additional amendments from the government, following criticism from the States, NGOs and diverse stake-holders working on access to food and child health. Attempt here is to summarise in a Q & A format the...

-The Business Standard Team set up after movement began under Aruna roy, activist Baba Adhav 2 years ago demanding universal pension as a right for all A task force set up by the Government to look into reforms in pension for the unorganised sector has recommended universal pension for those below the poverty line, and a target of covering them in the next five years. It also recommended a slight increase in pensions...

-The Hindu While the people of Jammu & Kashmir have a deep-rooted mistrust of state institutions, there are also substantive and unacceptable provisions in the proposed legislation While much of the country is focused on the budget and its implications for the economy and individual pocketbooks, Kashmir is focused, with much trepidation, on a draft police reform bill. This in itself gives one a sense of the disconnect that exists between Kashmir...

-The Hindu On February 11, the Supreme Court issued notice to the government, seeking its response on making intelligence agencies accountable to Parliament. This question is pertinent and in some ways captures the sentiments expressed by many and best vocalised by two leaders in recent times. Vice-President Hamid Ansari had said in his 2010 speech on this subject “....responsibility to the legislature, and eventually to the electorate, is an essential element...