-The Hindu Corruption in India has undergone a qualitative shift from the days of licence Raj to the era of liberalisation. Opportunities for making money have come in handy for politicians, who were also dealing with a new political situation of fragmentation and instability. In the days leading to the 2008 Assembly election in Karnataka, slum-dwellers in Bangalore were startled to see small bundles flying in through their windows at night. The...

-The Hindu Business Line   Opening bank accounts in rural areas is all very well, but biometric frauds are a serious possibility The ambitious Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) aims at bringing millions of rural Indians within the financial mainstream by opening bank accounts. In 2006, the Reserve of India, recognising that a majority of rural Indians had little or no access to banking services, allowed banks to use third-party, non-bank agents...

-Tehelka The Centre must empower forest-dwellers and strengthen legislation instead of bypassing the Forest Rights Act and playing into increased conflict What did not raise much chatter last week was a hint that the ‘development' juggernaut was considering scrapping the Forest Rights Act, using one of many backdoor methods available to bypass legislation. It will force the country back to intense mineral-based conflict and also the never-ending struggle for land, which fill over-crowded...

-PTI New Delhi: After the recent failure of WTO talks, India on Wednesday hoped that by September it will convince the multi-lateral trading body about the need for developing nations to give subsidies on food stocks so that it is relieved of the "draconian sword". Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitaraman told Rajya Sabha that the tough position adopted by India and the recent talks in Geneva had been supported by many least developed...

-Live Mint BJP says bringing parties under RTI Act would hamper smooth functioning of parties, information could be misused by opponents New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government on Thursday said bringing political parties under the Right to Information (RTI) Act would hamper the smooth functioning of parties and the information could be misused by opponents, in a departure from BJP's earlier stance. The ruling party's U-turn,...