-Governance Now Only 20 percent wage payments are time bound under NREGA, says a new study A new research on the implementation of national rural employment guarantee law (NREGA) disputes the way central government measures and offers the delay in compensation to workers. A group of three independent researchers claim that the figures in the NREGA management information system (MIS) have been manipulated to only partially calculate the duration of wage...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: In a major setback to mining companies indulged in illegal extraction of iron and manganese ore in Odisha since 2001, the Supreme Court on Wednesday cracked the whip and directed them to pay a compensation of about Rs.17,576 crore. A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta ruled that the companies would be liable to pay back 100 percent of the price of mineral...

-The Indian Express In January, Arvind Panagariya had raised the first red flag on the possibility of taxpayers being harassed post-demonetisation and had reportedly written to the Prime Minister’s Office. Under Arvind Panagariya, the Niti Aayog piloted several reforms ideas in both economic and social spheres, but the sudden departure of its vice-chairman has put under the spotlight the numerous occasions when difference of opinions between the think-tank and other wings of...

-The Hindu India must counter Japan’s U.S.-style pressure at the RCEP talks and ensure affordable generic medicines Leaked texts are like leaked gases — you may never find the one responsible for it, but the mayhem caused by its release is hard to contain. Unsurprisingly, all public discussions on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) are centred around leaked documents. As India negotiates the RCEP — a free trade agreement that looks...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Expressing concern over disgruntled wives misusing the anti-dowry law against their husbands and in-laws, the Supreme Court on Thursday directed that no arrest or coercive action should be taken on such complaints without ascertaining the veracity of allegations. Acknowledging a growing trend among women involved in marital discord to abuse Section 498A of IPC to rope in their husbands' relatives — including parents, minor children, siblings...