India's income tax department has ruled that illegal commissions were paid to an Italian businessman accused over an arms scandal which ended Rajiv Gandhi's term as prime minister 20 years ago. It found over $9m was paid as commissions to Ottavio Quattrocchi and an Indian arms dealer, Win Chadha. In 2009, India dropped a graft case against Mr Quattrocchi and withdrew his name from the Interpol "wanted list". The main opposition BJP has...

Hidden behind all the administrative scandals that rocked India in 2010, illegal mining is an unnoticed beast that has been eating into the country's soul.   While corruption in spectrum allocation and the conduct of the Commonwealth Games are primarily about monetary loot, illegal mining is about invaluable non-renewable natural resources.   In at least five major states, there were more than 20,000 complaints of illegal mining filed, but the perpetrators carried on with...

In a new year bonanza, about 5.92 lakh government school students in Karnataka would get a cash dole of Rs 2,250 each for purchase of bicycles during 2010-11 academic year under a welfare scheme. Citing its own delay in finalising the process of issue of tenders for procuring the bicycles under the two-year old scheme, the state cabinet chaired by Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa today decided to extend Rs 2,250...

Mai-baap. That is how poor Indians referred to the state ever since independence. The benign provider looking after its subjects like the rajas of yore. But, today, the people have started demanding accountability from the mai-baap. Why? Because a clutch of new laws, like the Right To Information Act (RTI) and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), are moving the government's developmental promises beyond "the realm of a privilege that...

Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday ruled out review of the conditional environmental clearance given to the Jaitapur nuclear power plant in Maharashtra, and urged ‘interest groups' not to use environment as an issue to target the government. “As far as environment clearance is concerned, we have done all that is required and all different interest groups should not use environment as a shield behind which...