-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party, already battling controversies over its funding, found itself in another embarrassing spot on Thursday. A sting operation by a web portal on eight AAP candidates and one member, including well-known faces like Shazia Ilmi and Kumar Vishwas, allegedly found some of them willing to take donations in cash without a receipt and get work done in return for funds. AAP's political affairs...

-Outlook Patna: The Bihar government would bear the interest rate above 7 per cent on loans taken by Self Help Groups (SHGs), Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said today. The SHGs paying loan on time would be given incentive by providing loan at a lower interest rate of 4 per cent, Kumar said addressing a review meeting of "Jeevika" (Bihar state rural livelihood mission) here. Banks are at present providing loan to SHGs at...

-PTI CHANDIGARH: Punjab is unlikely to achieve paddy procurement target of 130 lakh tonnes (LT) for the central pool during the current kharif marketing season in the wake of dip in yield at certain places because of inclement weather conditions. However, crop purchase target of 36 LT in Haryana is expected to be achieved, officials said here today. "Against the target of 130 LT, paddy procurement is likely to be around 125 LT...

-The Times of India HUSSAINPUR (Muzaffarnagar, UP): Diwali was meant to be a happy day for many families in Hussainpur. It was decided, says village pradhan Shaista's husband, Shahnawaz Khan, that some Muslims who had taken shelter from the neighbouring Mohammadpur-Raisingh village during the recent riots would go back to their homes shortly after the festival of lights on coming Sunday. But the killings of three Muslim boys on Wednesday has again...

India's landmark Right to Information Legislation is called the biggest single step since independence to build transparency in governance. However, its remarkable success is owed only to just 0.3 per cent of Indians who file RTI applications. It's anybody's guess as to what would be the impact if even one or two per cent of Indians began to ask tough questions to hold their rulers accountable. It is noteworthy that...