It began as an expose: the story of how Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh’s relatives allegedly received illegal mining contracts in Madhya Pradesh. Then, a tale of arm-twisting: government officials forced cable operators to pull out the news channel, Etv MP, that aired the story. Now, the story has a twist: Allegations of a failed “paid-news” deal. Officials claim that the channel carried the report—which Singh claims is baseless—after the government...

The Chhattisgarh High Court has directed that no further action be taken towards granting environmental clearance to a coal mine operated by DB Power Ltd, a subsidiary of DB Corp, one of India's largest media corporations. The respondents have been given three weeks to reply. A writ petition filed in the court accuses the company of adopting “deliberate, illegal and manipulative” measures to influence the outcome of a public hearing held...

A Lakhisarai-bases RTI activist, who had filed dozens of RTI applications on hoarding, black marketing, appointment of panchayat teachers and aanganwadi workers and status of development schemes in villages, was shot dead on Thursday morning at his native village, barely five km from the district town. The RTI activist, Ramvilas Singh (56), also Amhara panchayat samiti member, is suspected to have been killed because of political rivalry with a person whose...

Health care in India, at its finest, matches the standards of international best practice. The knowledge, skill and confidence of its doctors and nurses, the sophistication of available technology, quality of service and five-star hospitality compete with the best in the world. Its relatively low cost has made it an important player in the health tourism sector. However, at the other extreme, publicly funded health care services often do not...

-CNN-IBN   "Many said that Kentucky (KFC) will drive the dhabas out of the market. The dhabas have driven out Kentucky. The Indian sherbet is still there despite Coca Cola and Pepsi. Don't underestimate India." That was former NDA finance minister Jaswant Singh in 2004 when he supported FDI in retail. "Fifty per cent of our population, comprising of small traders, street-vendors and the self-employed, sustain themselves through retail businesses. The UPA government...