-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Centre has decided to involve RTI activists in formal discussions on the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2013. A standing committee has, for the first time, asked activists lobbying to bring political parties within the purview of the transparency law to attend its November 6 meeting. RTI activist Subhash Agarwal, the National Campaign for People's Right to information and others have been asked to present their opinion to...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: Government agencies and departments, regarded as bywords for inefficiency and red tape, have recorded over a billion e-governance transactions so far this year, watershed for the world's largest democracy that is betting on technology to cure its ills. "It is an important milestone for India's e-governance initiative," said J Satyanarayana, secretary in the department of electronics and information technology. "With better accessibility and more projects getting completed,...

India's landmark Right to Information Legislation is called the biggest single step since independence to build transparency in governance. However, its remarkable success is owed only to just 0.3 per cent of Indians who file RTI applications. It's anybody's guess as to what would be the impact if even one or two per cent of Indians began to ask tough questions to hold their rulers accountable. It is noteworthy that...

-The Hindu Denying basic amenities to residents of ‘unrecognised' slums is an affront to their dignity; resettling them fails to address their concerns and is unviable financially Since 2005, the Central government has given significant amounts of money to the States to improve conditions for the country's urban poor, first under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and more recently through the slow-moving Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY). Unfortunately, very few...

-The Telegraph Kolkata: The Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) had not only alerted officials in Bengal to the possibility of releasing water from two dams four days in advance but also waited until the danger mark was crossed by four feet, a senior official of the central PSU has told The Telegraph. "The claim of the state government that it was not informed regarding the release of excess water is incorrect. The state...