-Outlook In his maiden visit to Naxal-hit Chhattisgarh, President Pranab Mukherjee today praised the "young state" for its all-round development. Asserting that Chhattisgarh has a rich legacy of one of the oldest panchayati raj systems, he said it has emerged as one of the fastest developing states in the country. "This young state has registered all round development on many fronts and made its presence felt at the national level," he said in...

-Outlook Locking horns with the Haryana government, senior IAS officer Ashok Khemka today said there was no need to set up a committee after he cancelled the sale of over three acres of land to realty major DLF following a deal with businessman Robert Vadra. Khemka, who kicked up a political storm three weeks ago alleging irregularities in Vadra-DLF land deals, also said there was no need of security that was provided...

-PTI In a major relief for former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and BSP supremo Mayawati, the Allahabad High Court on Monday dismissed petitions against her in the Taj Corridor case. The Lucknow bench of the court also dismissed the petitions against her cabinet colleague Naseemuddin Siddiqui. Passing the order, the bench comprising justices Imtiyaz Murtaza and Ashwani Kumar Singh said all petitions were devoid of merit and were accordingly being dismissed. BSP leader and...

-The Economic Times Pan Singh Tomar, the legendary steeplechase athlete-turned-dacoit, earned an annual salary of 120 or thereabouts from the Indian Army, where he served as a hawildar in the 1950s. These days, his great grandson roams around their ancestral village dispensing similar amounts to those at the bottom of the Indian pyramid. If Tomar Sr had resorted to guns for the latter part of his life, Anuj Singh Tomar too has...

-The Hindu The Right to Information Act was a marvel in a country that boasted unbreachable barriers between the ruler and the ruled. It was outside the imagination of the ordinary folk raised in a cloistered environment of fear and secrecy that they could actually call for and obtain records of decisions that critically impacted their lives. Yet in only seven years, the RTI law has not just penetrated the fortress...