Are environmental clearances delaying industrial development in the country? Some in the government might claim so and argue for further easing of green norms but government data shows otherwise. In the past three years, the rate of rejection of projects for environmental clearance was an insignificant 1.13%. Out of the 1,689 projects that the environment ministry decided upon from 2008 up to August 2011, only 19 were rejected. The ministry...

-The Times of India After Anna Hazare's refusal to walk out, Tihar jail authorities allotted him a room to spend night in the jail, TV channels reported. Anna is continuing his fast in the jail. The government on Tuesday was at sixes and sevens over Anna Hazare's steely determination to carry on with his indefinite fast despite his unexpected arrest and his equally sudden release in the face of mounting countrywide protests....

The Delhi High Court today appointed an adhoc regulatory committee to examine the 2009 notification of the Delhi government which allowed schools to hike tuition and development fees. The court in its judgment on a bunch of petitions filed by various parents associations, including the Delhi Abhibhavak Mahasangh, also suggested to the Delhi government to constitute an expert committee which can go into the feasibility of establishing a regulatory body for...

But impractical demands under Act will be counter-productive The right to information is a cherished right. Information and the right to information are intended to be formidable tools in the hands of responsible citizens to fight corruption and to bring about transparency and accountability, the Supreme Court has held. A Bench of Justices R.V. Raveendran and A.K. Patnaik gave this ruling (briefly reported on August 10) while allowing disclosure of answer sheets...

-The Hindu   The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Monday urged the Government to reconsider the present design of Below Poverty Line (BPL) census expressing apprehension that the current format would result in “undercounting” of the poor. Referring to the Independence Day speech of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the CPI (M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat found it “objectionable” that Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh called the BPL census design “non-negotiable.'' “I find...