Expressing his "helplessness" on high food inflation, Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar today said the farmers must get right value for their produce so that they are encouraged to increase production of essential farm commodities to rein in price rise. He, however, said that it was states' responsibility to ensure proper distribution of food grains to the people through ration shops while the Centre is responsible for production, procurement and moving...

The class bias in government policy is clear in the decision to release a small amount of foodgrain in the open market to tackle inflation. MOST people would agree that there is a strong element of speculation underlying the current inflation and that forward trading contributes to it. Yet the government, though it has banned forward trading in certain commodities under public pressure, is curiously reluctant to see this point....

A courier company in Mumbai shows the way in providing employment for the hearing impaired. IN the milling crowds of Mumbai, they stand apart with their orange T-shirts printed with the name Mirakle Couriers. Every day, during the busy hours of the working week, one sees them on the sidewalks, in public transport and elsewhere with large black bags slung on their shoulders. It would not be enough to say...

A Faridabad-based RTI activist has alleged that he has been receiving threat calls from the local land mafia for filing a PIL against illegal conversion of industrial land for commercial use in the city. Although the Punjab and Haryana High Court had asked the city police to look into his threat perception in 2009, police have done nothing so far. Kishan Lal Gera, who was appointed as an adviser to...

A case where request for info on some Budget 2007 notings was rejected by the CBDT, but made available by the Central Information Commission, the Second Appellate Authority under the RTI Act. The Right to Information Act of 2005 is a very important piece of legislation to bring about complete transparency in the functioning of the bureaucracy and thus increase accountability as well as reduce corruption. Since it is a relatively new...