India has slipped to 87th spot in Transparency International’s latest ranking of nations based on levels of corruption, with the global watchdog asserting that perceptions about corruption in the country increased in the wake of the Commonwealth Games Against the backdrop of alleged irregularities in the recently held Commonwealth Games (CWG), India’s perceived corruption levels have gone up, with a corresponding worsening of its world ranking. According to Transparency International’s Corruption...

Former chief justice of India KG Balakrishnan on Friday said the Right To Information (RTI) Act "was grossly misused" and needed amending to prevent the misuse. "It is time for introspection on the five-year-old RTI Act. It is grossly misused. Most of the applicants are applying the RTI not for public good, but for misuse," Balakrishnan said at a seminar on "RTI-Key to good governance", organised by the Institute of Secretariat...

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is distributing wheat seeds that will benefit over half a million farming families, or nearly five million people, whose seed supplies were destroyed during the recent flood disaster. The floods, which began in late July and inundated one fifth of the country, claimed more than 1,800 lives and have affected more than 20 million others. Agriculture is the mainstay for over 80 per cent...

MP H Vishwanath expressing disappointment over the slow progress of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in the district, asked the officials to work in co-ordination with each other to ensure that the Scheme reaches as many beneficiaries as possible. Addressing the District Vigilance Committee meet on Tuesday, he said that the programmes are made by the Government for the people. All the programmes will fall meaningless if it...

The Central Vigilance Commission has received complaints that put the cumulative value of alleged corruption in projects related to the Commonwealth Games between Rs 5,000 crore and Rs 8,000 crore. Sources said the complaints included payment to non-existent parties, wilful delay in execution of contracts, inflated prices and bungling in purchase of equipment through tendering. “The total misappropriation amount may touch a figure of Rs 5,000-8,000 crore. The commission is still awaiting reports...