Six items prioritised for Prajapatham The State Cabinet has identified six priorities for this year's Prajapatham mass-contact programme proposed to be held from May first week to solve the people's identified problems. They are drinking water supply and sanitation; implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) with emphasis on arresting migration of labour; social security benefits like pensions and ration cards; disbursement of arrears to self-help groups under Pavala Vaddi...

There can be little question that the news media, print as well as television, have contributed significantly to bringing the issue of corruption to political India's centre stage. The focus on the corruption of elections through ‘cash for votes' comes in tandem with the proactive intervention by the Election Commission of India during the April-May elections to State Assemblies. There can also be little doubt that the U.S. Embassy Cables,...

Eight days after Gandhian Anna Hazare called off his fast demanding a stronger Lokpal law, the joint committee to draft the bill met on Saturday for the first time amid a controversy over a CD allegedly involving eminent lawyer and panel co-chairman Shanti Bhushan. The meeting chaired by Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee was held at North Block and attended by Ministers P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, M Veerappa Moily and Salman Khurshid...

Shanti Bhushan denies allegations on undervaluation of property Ahead of the first meeting of the newly-formed joint committee on the anti-corruption Lokpal Bill here, Anna Hazare-led members said here on Friday that they wanted the draft Jan Lokpal Bill prepared by the civil society as the “working or the base draft.” The joint committee, chaired by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and co-chaired by former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan, is meeting here on...

Social activist Anna Hazare has cash assets worth Rs.68,688.36. He owns 0.07 hectares of family land in Ralegan Siddhi which is being used by his family. Two other pieces of land donated to him by the Army and by a villager have been donated by him for village use. This is all that Mr. Hazare, who lives in a temple in Ralegan Siddhi, a model village, owns. Sent to chairman The assets of...