The mask is off. Team Anna and his lieutenants are batting for the BJP On 30 October last year, when Mohan Bhagwat claimed that Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement was actually supported by the RSS, the remark conveyed palpable nervousness and attracted criticism from Team Anna. Three months later, as Team Anna launches its voters’ awareness campaign in UP, there is not even an attempt to keep its secular mask intact. The mask,...

-The Hindustan Times The government is pushing for making it mandatory for recipients of funds from abroad to clearly identify themselves. The reason: intelligence agencies caution that some small money transmission agents are funneling funds for terror activities. As recording all recipients’ photographs has been found cumbersome, the authorities, on the RBI’s advice, may demand Aadhar unique ID numbers — after the numbers are made available — even from individuals receiving less than...

Meet Vinay Rai, the man who took Google, Facebook and 20 others to court for posting ‘objectionable content’ Sitting in a plush office in Noida, Vinay Rai, 39, says he is a troubled man these days. He claims he does not want to be seen as a social activist fighting for censorship of the internet social network websites and search engines Facebook and Google. He is the one ‘activist’ whose name...

How economically sustainable is food subsidy? The cost could even be double of what the government estimates Food deprivation and malnutrition are completely unacceptable and everything has to be done to eliminate such an evil. The prevalence of malnutrition in a country like India is in itself a cause for serious concern since malnourished children may jeopardise India’s favourable demographic dividend (as per independent estimates, close to 60 per cent of...

Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday cleared the decks for a huge fund outlay which is set to bolster Bihar's rural infrastructure. Speaking to journalists here, Mr. Ramesh said the Union Rural Ministry would pump in Rs. 2,500 crore for laying of over 6,500 km of rural roads across the State for fiscal 2011-12. “Bihar is a top priority for us with Rs. 8,000 crore being allotted from the Central...