-The Hindu Accepting that political parties were in violation of its order, the Central Information Commission however said it was unable to impose any action against them, a move that the petitioners called "an abdication of its responsibilities." Faced with the only such case of non-compliance in the RTI's history, the CIC, in an order posted on Monday night, said that further action could be taken by the Union government...

-NDTV Yavatmal, Maharashtra: Another fresh spell of heavy unseasonal rains lashed large parts of Maharashtra on Sunday evening, again hitting the SPIRit of already-beleaguered farmers. Many districts in Vidarbha, Marathawada and western Maharashtra were hit by strong showers and hailstorms accompanied by gusty winds, damaging the standing rabi crop. Wheat, soya bean, jowar and fruits like watermelon and grapes were all set to be harvested. But the fresh showers have further damaged...

-Business-Standard Even funds for disaster relief being impeded when these come from international bodies Late last year, Caritas India, a venerable and respected voluntary organisation that has responded with alacrity to one Indian humanitarian crisis after another, sent out an appeal through its international network for funds for contributions to relief and rehabilitation work in Jammu and Kashmir, where devastating floods and landslides in September had claimed 282 lives and damaged 2.53...

-The Hindu Business Line   Economic Survey says Parliament can pass laws to override States' powers to create such a thing The Budget has proposed the setting up of a national agriculture market. Agriculture in the country is a State subject and thus all the States have set up Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMC) to regulate the marketing of agricultural commodities. Thus, APMCs have been considered an inhibiting factor for establishment of a national...

-Economic and Political Weekly The National Sample Survey Office's survey of consumption expenditure is woefully inadequate for estimating the number of food-insecure households in India. Future surveys of NSSO need to collect information on the four pillars of food security: availability, access, nutritional adequacy/utilisation and stability. The Comprehensive Nutrition Survey in Maharashtra is an example of such a survey and appears to do a decent job of capturing the different elements...