Yet another son-in-law of former Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan has been accused of amassing wealth disproportionate to his declared income in Kerala’s commercial hub of Kochi. Land registration documents show that advocate M.J. Benny, husband of Balakrishnan’s younger daughter K.B. Rani, bought nearly one acre of land under five different title deeds in fast-growing Marad, near the site of a proposed hi-tech city, for a total Rs 81 lakh...

The Orissa government today filed a 500-page response in the Supreme Court on the stricture made by the apex court on the alleged irregularities committed in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the state. "We have filed a 500-page response in the Supreme Court on the status of the implementation of MGNREGA in the state. Action has been taken against around 600 errant officials in...

‘For the Indian Media, the key question is one of covering mass deprivation' Time to rediscover concept of freedom of press in Marxist terms: Sashi Kumar N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, has called for “bold and radical” ways to check the ethical failings of the Media. Inaugurating a seminar ‘Whither Media,' organised as part of the three-day Third International Congress on Kerala Studies, which concluded here on Monday, Mr. Ram said that...

Hidden behind all the administrative scandals that rocked India in 2010, illegal mining is an unnoticed beast that has been eating into the country's soul.   While corruption in spectrum allocation and the conduct of the Commonwealth Games are primarily about monetary loot, illegal mining is about invaluable non-renewable natural resources.   In at least five major states, there were more than 20,000 complaints of illegal mining filed, but the perpetrators carried on with...

The Indian government is exploring a proposal to reduce the limit on foreign direct investment (FDI) allowed in the pharmaceutical industry through the automatic route to 49% from 100% amid concerns over the takeover of local drug makers by overseas firms. Officials from the ministry of commerce and industry and the ministry of health have had multiple rounds of discussions on the proposal following a note written to them by the finance...