-Live Mint Of the total amount paid to media firms (around 40% of the poll expenses of parties), the EC estimates half to be towards paid news The Election Commission of India (EC) has estimated the market in so-called paid news, or political advertising masquerading as journalism, at as much as `500 crore.   The move is likely to buttress demands for greater scrutiny of election expenses. EC has been seeking to crack down...

-Outlook UPA’s populist trumpcard of 2008—the farm loan waiver—has fallen short of its intended target, as a CAG audit throws up The Scheme     2008 Union finance minister P. Chidambaram announces farmer debt waiver and relief scheme in budget; PM Manmohan Singh writes to beneficiaries “seeking their support”     Rs 52,275 cr Total money that was disbursed to eligible farmers across the nation as part of loan waiver scheme     Rs 50,000 The loan...

-The Hindu By opting for a U.S.-style medical care model, India is endangering its universal health coverage goal, and paving the way for a corporatised, for-profit system As India continues to debate how best to implement universal health coverage, two recent and seemingly unrelated news items need to be analysed carefully. The first one pertains to a report released earlier this year by the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine in...

-Reporters without Borders Access the 2013 World Press Freedom Index here. After the “Arab springs” and other protest movements that prompted many rises and falls in last year’s index, the 2013 Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index marks a return to a more usual configuration. The ranking of most countries is no longer attributable to dramatic political developments. This year’s index is a better reflection of the attitudes and intentions of...

-BiharDays.com If familiar with Indian politics and society, here is an IQ test for you. This is what Nandy said during a panel discussion as transcribed from a video clip doing the rounds in the media. Read it as carelessly as you wish and see if you can get the sarcasm. I bet you will, unless you are a towering intellectual or a star media analyst-panelist-commentator. Here it goes: ‘It is a fact...