Giving a thumbs up to the defence ministry’s proposal to raise a territorial army battalion consisting of local tribal youth in Maoist-affected areas, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked it not only to take it up on priority basis but also to raise three battalions instead of one. After being vetted and cleared by both the key ministries, the proposal is expected to come up in in the cabinet...

-The Times of India A Delhi court has charged Nestle India for violating the law in advertisements and labelling of its infant food products.  The order, which was in response to a 17-year-old complaint, said that Nestle India had violated the Infant Milk Substitutes Feeding Bottles, and Infant Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution) Act.  Reacting to the order, the complainant Dr Arun Gupta, representing the Association for Consumers Action on Safety...

Often, municipal corporations carry out flawed projects which go against public interest and only suit vested interests. Use of RTI can help unearth such irregularities. Here’s a startling example... The Mula-Mutha rivers in Pune resemble stinking nallahs, yet the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) had a brainwave of implementing a river navigation project on a 25-odd km stretch from Ramwadi to Kharadi, envisioning boat rides as one of the activities to save...

Funding agency for rural NGOs may be on its last legs IT IS a government agency that was set up specially to fund non-profits working on rural development. But of late the Council for People’s Action and Advancement of Rural Technology (CAPART) has been plagued by allegations of corruption and inefficiency. After a few failed attempts to reform CAPART, the government has now decided to overhaul the agency which has close...

-Governance Now Govt's flagship programmes remain poorly publicised because ministries issue direct advts, bypass DAVP, says I&B min Why the government does not launch a sustained media campaign to let the people take notice of its flagship and other socio-economic programmes? Information and Broadcasting minister Ambika Soni at the receiving end of the Congress Party repeatedly asking this question has tried to put the blame on the ministries issuing direct advertisements bypassing...