-The Times of India The Central Vigilance Commission has asked the CBI to examine a complaint about alleged losses suffered by the public exchequer in the allocation of coal blocks between 2006 and 2009, in what can potentially be fodder for civil society as well as the opposition seeking to attack the government over Coalgate. Although the complaint of BJP MPs Prakash Javadekar and Hansraj Ahir was forwarded by the CVC to...

State-run fuel retailers don't tire of flashing their "autonomy" to justify raising petrol price. But when it came to a reduction on Thursday, they suddenly appeared to have developed political bones: the three oil marketers firms hastily pulled back plans to cut price by Rs 1.60 or so, excluding taxes, to prevent the opposition from taking credit. The retailers had raised petrol price by Rs 6.28, excluding taxes, on May 23....

Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years "undemocratic" and "regressive", a trial court feared it would act as a "tool for the police to harass minors". The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act ( PCSOA), passed by Parliament in the recently concluded session, criminalizes all sex by teenagers. "Such a move would open the floodgates for prosecution of boys for offences...

-The Economic Times The Left and the Right came together on Thursday to protest against the steepest petrol price hike, even as the government accused the opposition of unnecessarily politicising the issue. The nation-wide bandh evoked a mixed response, with incidents of violence being reported from Maharashtra, Karnataka and West Bengal. BJP and Left leaders courted arrest in several states. Activists targeted commercial establishments that refused to down shutters. In Delhi, the bandh...

With the Central government unsure of getting the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill, 2010, through the Rajya Sabha, the Human Resource Development Ministry is now trying to allow “backdoor” entry to foreign institutions. The Ministry has asked the University Grants Commission (UGC) to identify possibilities within the existing laws of regulating and allowing the foreign educational institutions. The two possible ways of going about it are allowing these...