Nandkumar Naitam is relieved after a month of “torturous” anxiety. “I thought it over again and again,” the 20-year-old tribal youth says. “I thought that if I couldn’t get a rifle, I’d pick up my traditional weapon, the bow-and-arrow.” It was a desperation that Nandu, as he is fondly called, shared with his 5,000-odd fellow special police officers (SPOs), who till a month ago formed the Chhattisgarh government’s frontline against the Maoists...

-PTI   The Supreme Court today asked an expert panel appointed by it to explore the possibility of exporting the unused stock of Endosulfan manufactured here to other countries. A bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia said the panel would also consider how much of the Endosulfan stock can be exported against the orders for supply of the pesticide from other countries. It also said the committee will also look into the...

If the Lokpal Bill presented to Parliament is a dud, Anna Hazare and his team must accept their share of the blame. They took their eyes off citizens and concentrated almost exclusively on big people in important positions. What tempted them to take this stance? Is it because enemies in high places are better ego boosters than humble friends? For ordinary people it is of little consequence if the prime minister...

-The Telegraph The government today introduced the Lokpal bill in the Lok Sabha amid protests by Anna Hazare’s group on the streets and the BJP in Parliament. While Hazare’s group dismissed the bill as a joke and burnt its copies, the BJP said that excluding the Prime Minister from the Lokpal’s ambit violated the constitutional scheme. As soon as the minister of state for personnel, V. Narayanasamy, moved the bill, Opposition leader...

Steelmakers and mine owners, reeling under a ban on mining in Karnataka, are keeping their fingers crossed about the Supreme Court hearing scheduled on Friday. The uncertainty in iron ore and the resultant rise in ore prices have led the steel industry to actively consider an upward revision in prices, just days after most companies mentioned of keeping product price levels unchanged. "Iron ore spot prices have been rising by $1-2 daily...