The colossal hubris, ignorance and smugness of India’s nuclear czars take one’s breath away. The day Japan’s crisis took a decisive turn for the worse, with an explosion in a third Fukushima reactor and fresh radiation leaks, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) secretary Sreekumar Banerjee declared that the nuclear crisis “was purely a chemical reaction and not a nuclear emergency as described by some section(s) of media”. Nuclear Power Corporation...

Institutional apathy must not be allowed to creep into scheme Lapses can be reduced by ensuring kitchens in schools Noting diversion of funds and foodgrains under the ambitious Mid-Day Meal Scheme in Kerala, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Nagaland and Bihar, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has said confirmed cases of diversion are indicative of widespread fiscal indiscipline in implementing the scheme. Institutional apathy and lack of concerted efforts should not be...

A government proposal seeking to police blogs has come in for severe criticism from legal experts and outraged the online community. The draft rules, drawn up by the government under the Information Technology Amendment Act, 2008, deal with due diligence to be observed by an intermediary. Under the Act, an 'intermediary' is defined as any entity which on behalf of another receives, stores or transmits any electronic record. Hence, telecom networks,...

The government is looking at allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retailing as part of a slew of measures to make India more attractive to overseas investors. Senior government officials told TOI that the thinking was that a gradual opening up would be a better strategy with global chains first allowed to open stores in metros, while wholesale cash-and-carry being limited to smaller towns and cities, at least for the...

Draft rules proposed by the Indian government for intermediaries such as telecommunications companies, Internet service providers and blogging sites could in effect aid censorship, according to experts. Under the draft rules, intermediaries will have to notify users of their services not to use, display, upload, publish, share or store a variety of content, for which the definition is very vague, and liable to misuse. Content that is prohibited under these guidelines ranges...