-The Hindu   Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is to meet a small group of editors on Wednesday morning to discuss issues ranging from corruption charges against the government to continuing inflation and unemployment. The informal interaction comes days after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, which took stock of the current political situation. Some CWC members were reportedly of the view that Dr. Singh should engage the Media more often and dispel...

-PTI   Several political parties on Tuesday pledged their support to journalists and non-journalists who staged a day-long dharna across the country to protest against the “delay” in notification of the Wage Boards for them and promised to raise the issue in Parliament. Senior leaders of the BJP, the CPI(M), the CPI and the JD(U) alleged that the government was “dithering” on the issue as “it wants to serve the interests of...

Greenpeace India's ongoing campaign, “Fools for forests”, has received a tremendous response from people from diverse professional backgrounds primarily due to wholehearted support from the who's who of Bollywood. The campaign has attracted more than 30,000 people who have pledged their support to it. According to Bollywood actor Vinay Pathak who is renowned for his wisecracks, he is extending support to the campaign not to gain mileage but because he feels strongly...

-IANS   Under attack from civil society activists, the Media and some of his own party members, over perceived communication gap over critical issues, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has decided on a Media outreach plan that kicks off with a meeting with some senior editors Wednesday. The prime minister will meet a group of editors of regional and national dailies Wednesday, government sources said. Manmohan Singh has so far held only three nationally...

The episodes of violence in land acquisition by the government, as witnessed recently in Bhatta-Parsaul in Uttar Pradesh and in other states earlier, occur because patterns of violence are inbuilt into the process. Despite a bill pending in Parliament since 2007, there has been little effort by political parties to evolve a consensus on acquisition of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes. The law as at present and also the provisions...