A 24-hour nationwide strike called by trade unions has caused major disruption in parts of India. The walkout was felt mostly in Tripura, Kerala and West Bengal states where the ruling Communists backed the action. Called to protest against price rises and alleged labour law violations, the action caused major disruption to air and road transport in those states. The coal, power, telecom, banking, insurance, defence, port, petroleum and construction sectors joined the...
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SC shouldn’t go into policymaking: Singh by Ashis Chakrabarti and Samanwaya Rautray
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the Supreme Court should not go “into the realm of policymaking”. This was his response at an interaction with newspaper editors here to the recent order by the apex court that the government give food free to the poor. The court’s directive had caused the government some embarrassment but it had been uncertain whether the Centre would legally challenge it. While appearing to be unwilling to...
More »UN climate change panel to face Himalaya error verdict
An international committee reviewing the "processes and procedures" of the UN's climate science panel is set to report on Monday. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has faced mounting pressure over errors in its last major assessment of climate science in 2007. The review was overseen by the Inter-Academy Council, which brings together bodies such as the UK's Royal Society. The findings are to be unveiled at a news conference in New...
More »Secrecy around Bill by V Venkatesan
The Union Cabinet approves a new Bill to protect whistle-blowers, but there is concern whether its provisions will amount to much. ON March 22, a special court in Patna pronounced three persons guilty in the murder of Satyendra K. Dubey, a civil engineer from Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. He was shot dead on November 29, 2003, for blowing the whistle on corrupt practices in the Golden Quadrilateral Project in Bihar....
More »Crucial process by V Venkatesan
The method of selection of Information Commissioners cries out for reform. FOR the Right to Information (RTI) Act to be successful, it is not enough if it has provisions that encourage information-sharing and punish those Information Officers who deny requests for information on specious grounds. Activists have found that while deciding appeal cases the degree of commitment of Information Commissioners to the Act's objectives matters more than the supportive provisions of...
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