AN Tiwari may have taken the oath of office to succeed Wajahat Habibullah as the next chief information commissioner. However, this has agitated information activists. On their blogs, they have slammed the government for executing the appointment while the nation was distracted by the Ayodhya verdict. Blogs and group mails dedicated to the Right to Information (RTI) like Humjanenge and rti4empowerment have seen comments from activists across India. “This is certainly not...

Trade unions and labour rights activists blame the high suicide rate in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, on the practices of the garment industry. TIRUPUR has carved out a niche for itself in the world of garments. Its phenomenal growth in the highly competitive global scenario, particularly in the past two decades, has been made possible by the entrepreneurial spirit of its manufacturers and exporters and the sweat and labour of thousands of...

The Central Vigilance Commission has advised prosecution proceedings against 17 officers, including an IAS, working in different government organisations for their alleged involvement in corruption. After conducting preliminary inquiries, the CVC has found that Sanjiv Kumar, a 1985-batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre, working with Ministry of Personnel, PG and Pensions and Bose Partha Sarathi, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Special Crime Branch, in Central Bureau of Investigation were allegedly involved in...

KEY TRENDS   • Maternal Mortality Ratio for India was 370 in 2000, 286 in 2005, 210 in 2010, 158 in 2015 and 145 in 2017. Therefore, the MMRatio for the country decreased by almost 61 percent between 2000 and 2017 *14    • As per the NSS 71st round, among rural females aged 5-29 years, the main reasons for dropping out/ discontinuance were: engagement in domestic activities, not interested in education, financial constraints and marriage. Among rural males aged...

Pratyush Sinha retired as India’s central vigilance commissioner on Monday. During his tenure Sinha, a 1969 Bihar cadre IAS officer, conducted several high-profile investigations such as the ones into the allocation of 2G mobile phone spectrum and preparations for the Commonwealth Games (CWG), among others. In an interview conducted in mid-August, Sinha spoke about issues ranging from the whistle-blower’s Act to the collapse of governance. Edited excerpts: What are the...