-The Hindu A couple of days ahead of the next meeting of the Joint Drafting Committee on the Lokpal Bill, the five civil society members have written a joint letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking his response to the proposal that his post should be brought under the purview of the Lokpal. The letter seeks to counter the alleged tirade against them by the Union Ministers on the Lokpal panel. Signed...
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Lokpal Bill: Anna lowers pitch, all for dialogue with govt
-The Indian Express Amid a war of words between government and civil society members over the Lokpal Bill, both sides will meet here tomorrow to draft it even as Anna Hazare today reminded ministers that differences could be resolved through dialogue and not through confrontation. As the government and Congress continued its attack on civil society members, Hazare said he could not force anyone not to level allegations like he was...
More »New norms for rural households under BPL census by Sanjeeb Mukherjee
Rural households having a member earning more than Rs 10,000 a month or anyone serving in a government or government-aided organisation or owning a landline phone will not be included in the below poverty line (BPL) category in the new poverty census being conducted by states. However, the new census, which also includes questions about religion and castes, will compulsory include rural households without shelter, destitutes living on alms, manual scavengers,...
More »CBI exempted from RTI Act by Neeraj Chauhan
In a decision which might irk RTI activists, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been exempted from giving information under Right to Information Act. The decision was taken by the Cabinet on Thursday following repeated requests by the agency on the grounds that it probed sensitive cases, and in doing so, it "becomes difficult for it to share information and also in accessing the information'. The Cabinet took note of CBI's...
More »Engineered ban by Surinder Sud
Indian plant biotechnologists feel demoralised and displeased at the recent developments concerning genetically modified (GM) crops. Their dismay is chiefly because the indefinite moratorium on the release of genetically engineered Bt-brinjal has clouded the prospects for several other GM crops that are in the pipeline. Intensive scientific effort and heavy investments have gone into the development of these crops. Their displeasure is largely because the present opposition to the GM technology...
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