-The Hindustan Times Patna: Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh has called for "serious government response" and "monitoring at the highest level" in the cases of violent attacks on whistleblowers in Bihar. He said his ministry was working on a ‘protocol' for whistleblowers, and that would soon be applicable to the entire country. In a letter to chief minister Nitish Kumar, Ramesh said whistleblowers and their families were facing constant torture and...

-The Hindu The representatives of the recognised national and State-level political parties on Friday expressed satisfaction over the functioning of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT), developed by the Election Commission (EC) and made some suggestions for further improvement. The Commission said "the suggestions will be considered by the Expert Committee and the EC." Informed sources said the improved VVPAT could possibly be used for field...

-The Hindu I am sure all efforts are being made, but no arrests have yet been made, said Jairam Patna: Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has written to Bihar Chief Minister raising concerns over the recent murders of RTI activists in Bihar. Mr. Ramesh said in the letter that his ministry was working on a protocol - that would be applicable for the entire country - for such cases. In two recent incidents,...

-Live Mint Court says government should decide allocation of captive mine; move could lead to protests by rival steel makers New Delhi/Mumbai: A Supreme Court (SC) order on Friday raised the prospect that Posco's showcase $12 billion (`65,400 crore today) steel project in Orissa, stalled for at least six years, could be allocated a captive iron ore mine, but experts said such a move could lead to protests by other firms...

-The Hindu   In making a case for the investigative agency's autonomy, the Supreme Court is only stepping in where the executive has failed The proceedings in the Coalgate case earlier this week saw the Supreme Court asking the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) many uncomfortable questions. The Court also asked the government to tell it what steps it was going to take to enact a law to ensure the CBI's autonomy. The...