The government will announce a 30-member joint parliamentary panel with terms of reference expected to cover the period of the execution of the first-come, first-served policy for telecom licences including the opposition NDA's term in office. The committee is expected to submit a report in six months but sources were doubtful if this might be sufficient. The announcement on the JPC, its membership and terms is to be made on Thursday...

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act — or MGNREGA as it is commonly known — has completed five years. Since its inception, I remember how joyous I was while becoming part of the process of its being passed in the Lok Sabha. In fact, we were restless for the delay in the presenting of the standing committee's report. I felt it took too long a time in deliberating...

Besieged as it is by a spate of scams, the Centre has revived the 40-year-old proposal of setting up a national ombudsman called the Lokpal to probe political corruption. But, far from overcoming the existing deficiencies, the latest draft Bill – which could be promulgated any time soon as an ordinance - provides a legal veneer to them so that crooked politicians will continue to enjoy almost as much impunity...

Twelve districts that face no apparent Maoist threat have recently been added to the list of those worst affected by the rebels, officials said. They hinted that powerful politicians with influence in these 12 districts were eyeing a share of the development funds earmarked for the Red zones. Of the 12 districts, at least eight fall within the Lok Sabha constituencies of Congress MPs. Seven of the districts are in Madhya Pradesh...

The Public Accounts Committee, chaired by senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Murli Manohar Joshi, on Wednesday described Union Communications Minister Kapil Sibal's recent comments on the CAG report on 2G spectrum allocation as “improper” and “inappropriate.” The committee's comments came after BJP leader Arun Jaitley rubbished Mr. Sibal's remarks within a few hours of his press conference here. Privately, BJP leaders were talking about “breach of privilege,” though it was not...