Kiran Bedi, one of the most vocal members of Team Anna, who riled Members of Parliament with her Ramlila ghoonghat act, may herself have some explaining to do. The issue: the inflated travel expenses she has been charging NGOs and institutions which invite her for seminars or meetings.   Records of bills, invoices and copies of cheques with The Indian Express show that Bedi, who is entitled to a rebate on Air...

A PILOT study to assess free treatment for the poor in Delhi’s private hospitals, conducted by Oxfam, revealed that most such hospitals are not offering the mandatory free treatment to poor.   The study, held in collaboration with a Delhi-based NGO Sama, was based on the findings of interviews with administrative and finance department officials at nine private hospitals, built on subsidised land obtained from the government. As per a Delhi High Court...

-The United Nations   A new report by the United Nations labour agency warns of a youth jobs crisis in both developed and developing countries, with young people aged 15 to 24 finding it increasingly difficult to obtain decent employment and future prospects are dim. As it released its “Global Employment Trends for Youth: 2011 Update,” the International Labour Organization (ILO) notes that the recent global economic crisis led to a “substantial” increase...

-The Business Standard   After lingering tantalisingly close to 10 per cent for about a month-and-a-half, food inflation climbed to double digits for the week ended October 8, signalling that Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may continue with its tight monetary stance in its policy review later this month despite the economy showing signs of a slowdown in growth. As protein-based items turned dearer, wholesale price-based annual food inflation rose by a whopping...

First such verdict by Election Commission The Election Commission delivered a historic verdict on Thursday by disqualifying Uttar Pradesh MLA Umlesh Yadav from contesting again for three years for not including in her official accounts of expenditure the amount she spent on advertisements in two Hindi dailies that were masquerading as news items. Umlesh Yadav is the wife of liquor baron and billionaire strongman D.P. Yadav and mother of Vikas Yadav, the...