-The Telegraph   Indian bureaucracy is the worst in Asia with a rating of 9.21 out of 10, according to a report by a Hong Kong-based consulting firm. Singapore was rated the best in the report by Political & Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd released today. (See chart) But many bureaucrats The Telegraph spoke to raised questions about the report. “This is a Hong Kong-based firm. China has one of the most political bureaucracies in the...

Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz today said he was aware of the problems industry was facing in acquiring land in Bengal and suggested that government role in facilitating acquisition could help reduce the difficulty. “I talked to some people and they said it’s (land acquisition) a problem here,” said Stiglitz, a professor of economics at Columbia University, during an interaction with journalists. The former chief economist at the World Bank expressed his...

An internal enquiry by the ministry of external affairs into the dubious manner in which sub-standard gifts for foreign dignitaries were acquired by its protocol division is being conducted at a leisurely pace by the ministry’s vigilance department.  The enquiry, which has been going on for the past two months, is yet to pin responsibility on the officials behind the scam that took place in contravention of proper procedures and in...

  -PTI Experts from the University of Oxford and Indian researchers are looking into the impact of climate change policies on India's informal economy, and to diagnose ways of reducing CO2 emissions and improving jobs.  By and large the global response to climate change has ignored informal economies and yet the larger part of India's economy and almost all its jobs are informal and not directly affected by government policy, a university release...

-IANS The Delhi high court Wednesday took suo moto cognizance of media reports that 70 per cent of the milk in the national capital was adulterated and issued notice to the city government's food adulteration department and the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Acting Justice AK Sikri and Justice Rajiv Shah sought a response from the central and state governments by Jan 25. The court took note of a report filed...