-The Hindu No transparency in appointment process, says petitioner. New Delhi: The Centre has denied a Right to Information Request for a copy of the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill 2018, which had been notified for introduction in the monsoon session of Parliament. The Bill sought to give the Centre power to set the tenure and salaries of State and Central Information Commissioners. Critics worry this could threaten the independence of Commissioners. An...

-The Hindu Congress aims to tap into ryots’ anger. Simrol (Madhya Pradesh): Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s repeated attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over demonetisation at election meetings in Madhya Pradesh led the Prime Minister to declare that Mr. Gandhi’s party is yet to revive from the “shock” inflicted by the note ban. “Only the Congress and one family are still crying because what they had pilfered for four generations was lost in...

-The Hindu Seizures from premises of Christy Friedgram Industry included documents related to suspicious payments and classified documents like proposals for posting of IAS officers. Chennai: The Income Tax Department has unearthed documents that expose an alleged nexus between a major supplier of food items for Tamil Nadu’s flagship noon meal scheme and politicians, bureaucrats and their associates. Analysis of electronic storage devices and documents seized from the premises of Tiruchengode-based Christy Friedgram...

-The Hindu For state-sponsored insurance, governments should avoid insurance companies World Bank data, in 2015, showed that nearly 65% of health-care expenditure in India is “Out of Pocket” (OoP). A report by the World Health Organisation has shown that around 3.2% of Indians would fall below the poverty line because of high OoP health expenditure. Thus, a national health insurance scheme like the Ayushman Bharat is welcome. While the principle of insuring a...

-The Hindu What happened? At the end of October, the Maharashtra government declared drought in 151 taluks in 26 of 36 districts, mostly in the Marathwada region and in the north. Experts said rainfall had been below par in large swathes of the State and faulty water conservation methods had added to the problem. How serious is it? The total number of villages affected by the drought — though the government has not shared...