-Hindustan Times The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) is facing a shortage of investigators for conducting surveys, a response to an rti filed by Hindustan Times revealed, raising questions about the quality of data being generated from these surveys. The field operations division of the NSSO, which is responsible for collecting primary data, has around 24% of positions vacant for the posts of junior and senior statistical officers. Data from NSSO is central...

-TheWire.in Banks are deducting ‘crop insurance premiums’ from farmers’ current accounts without their knowledge. In the Bhivani district of Haryana, a 49-year-old farmer, Bansi Lal, complained that Rs 2,480 was deducted from an account that was linked to his Kissan Credit Card (KCC), without his knowledge. Upon enquiry, the bank informed him that the money was deducted under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY). But when he told the bank that...

-Scroll.in rtis filed by Scroll.in show complaints about enrolling agencies demanding bribes and doing fraud enrolments. On Wednesday, the Unique Identification Authority of India said that it had blacklisted the enrolment agency that had inadvertently leaked details of former Indian cricket team captain MS Dhoni’s application to join the Aadhaar programme. The day before, Dhoni’s wife Sakshi had sent a tweet to Information and Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad informing him of...

-TheWire.in The Department of Personnel and Training, responsible for implementing the rti, has claimed it is exempt from sharing details on the appointment of information commissioners. New Delhi: When it comes to transparency, it seems the Narendra Modi government is moving in reverse. The Department of Personnel and Training, the nodal agency responsible for effectively implementing the Right to Information (rti) Act, has refused to share details on the appointment of information...

-The Times of India Gurgaon: Only 565 environmental norm violations were reported in Gurgaon and Mewat areas of Aravali Hills between April 1992 and March 2015, and no action has been taken against any officials so far, according to an rti reply. Of the 565 violations, 524 were filed in the court, which hears complaints that allege violations of environmental norms in Gurgaon and Faridabad areas, while 41 plaints are still pending...