-DailyMail.co.uk Your friendly neighbourhood NGO worker may have been crying themselves hoarse for years over social ills, but there is a high chance that the organisation he or she represents lacks financial transparency. Nearly 25 lakh NGOs across the country, most of whom receive funds worth crores of rupees from the government and abroad, came under the Supreme Court's scrutiny on Monday after the CBI submitted that only 10 per cent of...

-Business Standard The ordinance has returned near absolute power of discretion in land acquisition, except in tribal areas, into the hands of the bureaucracy yet again Even after the National Democratic Alliance's land ordinance, governments will still need the consent of tribal gram sabhas in all Schedule V and VI areas of the country before acquiring land for themselves or for public-private projects. While the land ordinance has done away with the need...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Central Information Commission (CIC) has been headless for the past five months, spawning an unprecedented backlog of applications and fears the delay could sound the "death knell" for transparency. Over 200 people - other commission members and retired bureaucrats - are vying to become the chief information commissioner, according to activist Lokesh Batra who had filed a plea on the matter under the Right to Information Act...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Centre today said it was "considering" two new penal code provisions to punish racial discrimination and racial insults, recommended by a panel as a safeguard for people from the Northeast living elsewhere in the country. Home minister Rajnath Singh announced a slew of other measures too for migrants from the region while signalling acceptance of the M.P. Bezbaruah committee's recommendations. Officials clarified that the proposed Sections 153C...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Rural development minister Birender Singh today said he could not be traced on Wednesday when President Pranab Mukherjee asked the government to clarify the need for an ordinance to amend the land acquisition law, explaining why it was left to other ministers to justify an ordinance brought by his ministry. The minister ruled out speculation that he was unhappy with the amendments being made to the Right to...