-Live Mint It's obvious that Indian experience with local governance is not what it should have been, but a change is underway Later this week, the country will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the constitutional amendments that made it mandatory for the creation of panchayats-the village-level bodies that deliver self-governance. Most may not be aware that this could well have been the eve of its 25th anniversary, but for the three-vote defeat...

-The Hindu Bangalore: Byatarayanapura Assembly constituency that was carved out from Yelahanka ahead of the previous Assembly elections has become a hot destination for real estate developers. Its proximity to the international airport and the six-lane highway that passes through this constituency providing smooth connectivity to the central parts of the city have put real estate development on a fast track here. But this has unleashed its ugly impact as real estate...

-The Hindu "We are trying to strengthen the humint component " Amid indications of no major headway in last week's blast outside the State Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office in Bangalore, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Monday again pushed for the controversial National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) that would strengthen intelligence set up of the States. "We are trying to strengthen the ‘humint' (human intelligence) component in our intelligence agencies. That will...

-The Hindu Business Line After the 1980s, special interest groups have preferred to knock on the doors of the judiciary. In India today, matters of public interest seem to get their due only when the Supreme Court has added its two cents. Interest groups, representing both general and special interests, petition the judiciary actively. In an era where virtually all institutions in India have been vulnerable to political capture, the judiciary seems like...

-PTI Srinagar: The Jammu & Kashmir Police on Tuesday detained Saradha group chairman & managing director Sudipto Sen and a director of the company from Sonamarg, where they had fled after their Calcutta-based chit fund business collapsed last week leaving thousands of depositors and agents stranded. "We have detained Sudipto Sen and Debjani Mukherjee, chairman-cum-managing director and a director of the Saradha group respectively, and Arvind from Sonamarg," the inspector general of...