The past couple of months have seen a renewed attack on the National Advisory Council (NAC). The NAC has been decried as an unconstitutional, undemocratic, “super-cabinet” where unaccountable “jholawalas” hatch harebrained schemes guaranteed to run the government aground. Another line of criticism has focused on the process of the formation of the NAC, its space within the Indian Constitution, and its capacity to influence policy. The two criticisms merge with...

-The Times of India   Defending the Congress's stand of keeping the Prime Minister's Office out of the ambit of the Lokpal, PM Manmohan Singh on Sunday said the move was not considered advisable and a decision had been taken keeping all factors into account. This is the first time Singh has come out openly in favour of keeping the PMO out of the Lokpal's ambit. Incidentally, Singh had been overruled by...

In keeping with the government's promise to bring Lokpal legislation to Parliament in the monsoon session, the Cabinet will consider a bill to set up the anti-corruption ombudsman at its meeting on Thursday. The draft bill, framed by five ministers, who were on the joint drafting committee with the Anna Hazare-led group of representatives, does not contain the references to the prime minister, higher judiciary and actions of MPs in Parliament...

The government ignores the NAC, puts out a diluted draft bill on food security As many as 46 per cent of the malnourished children of the world—of whom at least 75,000 die every month—are in India. Another alarming official statistic—36 per cent of Indians live on less than Rs 20 a day. One would think figures like this would act as a reality check for a government that proudly chants...

Plans to hold an Asia level conference in Delhi in November The National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI), which plans to form an Asia-level alliance to give momentum to the street vendor movement in different parts of the continent, is planning to hold an Asia-level conference in Delhi in November later this year. The organisation hopes the Union Housing and Urban Poverty Ministry will be a key partner for this...