-The United Nations A top United Nations official today strongly encouraged governments to adopt special temporary measures, such as quotas, to boost the number of women in parliament and decision-making positions, pointing to the progress achieved by women in India as a result of affirmative action. “Here in India, quotas have spurred one of the world’s greatest successes in women’s empowerment and grassroots democracy,” Michelle Bachelet said in her keynote address to...
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Winning the case for promotion quotas -Anup Surendranath
-The Hindu More than a political consensus, it is hard data on the absence of marginalised sections from the higher bureaucracy that will give legitimacy to the measure The decision to amend the Constitution to ensure reservation in promotions for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes has been the subject of much scrutiny without paying sufficient critical attention to the discourse of the Supreme Court on the issue. While the Court...
More »Don’t undermine the auditor -Era Sezhiyan
-The Hindu When the draft provisions relating to the Comptroller and Auditor General were under consideration in the Constituent Assembly, Dr. B.R Ambedkar, Chairman of the Drafting Committee, said: “I am of the opinion that this dignitary or officer is probably the most important officer in the Constitution of India. He is the one man who is going to see that the expenses voted by Parliament are not exceeded, or varied from what has been...
More »No interim stay on roadside meetings-J Venkatesan
-The Hindu The Supreme Court on Tuesday admitted an appeal from Kerala challenging a Kerala High Court judgment declaring unconstitutional certain provisions of a law enacted by the State to allow meetings on public roads and road margins. A Bench of Justices D.K. Jain and Madan B. Lokur issued notice to the respondents (who were petitioners in the High Court) and directed the hearing to be expedited. When senior counsel K.K. Venugopal,...
More »CAG official splurged on air fare, says Goa RTI activist
-IANS A right to information (RTI) activist here Monday complained to the Comptroller Auditor General (CAG), accusing a senior official of the premier auditing and financial propriety of splurging government money. Aires Rodrigues, in his letter of complaint to CAG chief Vinod Rai, said that Additional Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General Shankar Narayan, who was in Goa for a legislative orientation programme in June, splurged government money on business class air travel...
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