-PTI   Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh today said that had the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act been implemented properly, the naxal menace would not have become so big in Chhattisgarh and other places. Talking to reporters after his tour of the naxal-affected areas of the state, Ramesh said that PESA was brought in in 1996 to strengthen panchayats of scheduled areas, but it was not enforced in the right...

-Live Mint   In an unprecedented move, farmers in East Godavari and adjoining districts of Andhra Pradesh declared a crop holiday last season, refusing to cultivate paddy in this fully irrigated region of the state. Farmers say the reason for this drastic step is that cultivating paddy has become unremunerative and they are left with no other choice. The agrarian crisis and its neglect by successive governments are responsible for the low...

-The Times of India   As sports minister Ajay Maken sets out to getting the revised National Sports Development Bill tabled in the winter session of parliament, the biggest opposition is once again going to come from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). BCCI, who have refused to come under the purview of Right To Information (RTI) Act, has been vocal about its objection to the B. Board officials...

From hypocrisy and secrecy to arrogance, nepotism and plagiarism, all bedevil the higher judiciary, said former Supreme Court Justice Ruma Pal today in one of the most scathing indictments of the higher judiciary by one who has been part of it. With sitting and retired judges of the Supreme Court and Delhi High Court listening, Pal, delivering the fifth V M Tarkunde Memorial Lecture on ‘An Independent Judiciary’, turned the searchlight...

While the Karnataka government's decision to penalize officers if they delay services is laudable, the penalty itself is too low to act as a deterrent. For instance, an officer in Punjab is fined Rs 500 per day, if he exceeds the stipulated time in delivering service to a citizen, but an officer in Karnataka will be fined a meagre Rs 20 per day. The penalty amount is given to the...