Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamul Congress today expressed “serious objections” to the proposed bill against communal violence, saying the current draft undermined the country’s federal structure. The BJP said it would intensify its campaign against the Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Access to Justice and Regulations) Bill, 2011, emboldened by the objections of other non-Congress parties, although none backed its pet “bias against Hindus” line. ( ) Mamata did not attend the National...

Anna Hazare isn't taking his eyes off Parliament yet and his next campaign, announced on Saturday, will demand annual performance audits of MPs, right to recall elected representatives, right to reject candidates contesting elections and mandatory approval of gram sabha before acquiring any land. "Hazare will send the letter shortly and seek Prime Minister's views on these three vital issues", said Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal, who briefed the media after...

A report from a sample survey of the functioning of the public distribution system in 12 villages in two districts in Orissa, a state usually associated with a poor PDS. While there are errors in exclusion and inclusion of households covered, there has been a vast improvement in operation of the PDS; below the poverty line households seem to be receiving their entitlements. The households also express a strong preference...

-The Economic Times   At a time when the social media is said to have spawned revolutions across the world, including our very own Anna Hazare movement, the government looks set to use the medium as a governance tool. The department of information technology has framed guidelines for social media interaction with government organizations to optimize use of the popular communication tool to connect with citizens. The guidelines - stressing on issues like professionalism,...

The government's auditor has accused Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd of violating terms of the contract for its showcase Andhra offshore acreage and expressed doubt over the costs at which India's biggest private sector oil company contracted goods and services for bringing the largest gas discovery into production. The Comptroller and Auditor General's final report on a special audit of Reliance's Krishna-Godavari basin fields, presented to Parliament on Thursday, also suggests...