Later this week, the Registrar General of India (RGI) will unveil the first flush of its findings from the 15th census. This once-in-a-decade effort is the seventh in independent India and is expected to showcase an entirely new set of vital statistics, consistent with the ongoing social and economic transformation of the country and something that should enthuse demographers and policy planners alike. Expectations are that the array of socio-economic data...

To facilitate larger lease holdings of land for agro-based units The amendment allows the lease period for 15 years instead of five years Accounts of the panchayati raj institutions placed under the purview of CAG Rajasthan has amended its tenancy laws to facilitate larger lease holdings of agricultural land for longer periods by entrepreneurs who are interested in setting up agro-based products. The move takes into account the big potential the State has...

The quashing of the appointment of P.J. Thomas as the CVC shows the judiciary can go beyond the express provisions of law to render justice. THE Indian Constitution does not envisage strict separation of powers among the three branches of the government – the executive, the Legislature and the judiciary. This flexibility permits marginal incursions though one branch cannot usurp the essential functions of the other. One of the essential functions...

Have right, will ask. That's the spirit of the growing number of information seekers in the state who are increasingly using the Right to Information (RTI) Act to know who's spending taxpayers' money — and how. Enacted in the summer of 2005, the RTI Act has seen a dramatic rise in its users with Karnataka registering a 10-fold increase in just four years. Latest figures by the Karnataka Information Commission, the...

57 lakh tonnes of ore purchased from unlicensed dealers The Department of Mines and Geology has initiated proceedings to recover Rs. 600 crore from iron ore exporters for buying a staggering 57 lakh tonnes of ore from unlicensed dealers since 2003-04. According to sources in Hospet, the scam came to light when the Department of Mines and Geology tapped the offices of the Commercial Taxes Department and verified records. It was found...