-Newsclick.in “According to media reports, the proposed amendments seek to fundamentally weaken the institution of the information commissions by allowing the central and state governments to decide salaries of commissioners,” says NCPRI Press Release. Among the bills listed under the ‘Legislative Business’ to be carried out during the monsoon session of Lok Sabha,which will be held from July 18 to August 10, is ‘The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2018’. Although included...

-The Indian Express A look at the scheme Rythu Bandhu, seen by Arvind Subramanian as a template for agriculture policy. Hyderabad: A support scheme for farmers in Telangana has earned the appreciation of outgoing Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian, who spoke about it during an Idea Exchange interaction with The Indian Express journalists and then wrote in The Financial Express that it can be the template for social and agricultural policy. Called...

-DNA Union minister for women and child development Maneka Gandhi has again raised objections against the provision of implementing cash transfers in lieu of dietary supplements, known officially as Take Home Ration (THR), marking perhaps the third time the ministry has officially spoken against it. A decision to implement the provision in ten vulnerable districts was passed at the National Nutrition Council's inaugural meeting on APRIl 18, chaired by NITI Aayog...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: In the Lok Sabha bulletin for legislative business of the upcoming monsoon session, one bill stands out because it is the only one about which no details have been furnished. The bill seeks to amend the Right to Information Act of 2005, and the ironical opaqueness has alarmed transparency advocates who have mounted a pushback. As many as 18 bills are listed for introduction, consideration and passage in the...

-TheWire.in Accusing the government of having deceived farmers by not fulfilling its MSP promise, and yet claiming that it has, the AIKSCC has announced a series of agitations over the next four months. New Delhi: The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), a coalition of over 180 farmer organisations across the country, has termed the announced hike in minimum support PRIces (MSP) a ‘historic betrayal’, and not a ‘historic increase’ as...