How would you rate the functioning of the RTI Act five years into its enactment? It has been a mixed experience. It is encouraging that we have one of the best laws in the world but its shoddy implementation is taking the sheen away. The two nerve centers of RTI are simplifying the process of filing an application and making the functioning of the Commission effective. The posts of Information Commissioner...
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The Real Concern by Ashok V Desai
A patent is an artificial property right; it is created by the government, and would not exist if there were no government or if it did not grant patents. It is then for the government to decide whether to grant a patent or not. But a government would not normally make the decision arbitrarily; it would follow some rules. The rules universally followed are novelty, non-obviousness and commercial value. A...
More »MFI interest rate on loans likely to be capped at around 24 pc by Mashusudan Sahoo and George Mathew
Interest rates on loans from microfinance institutions (MFIs) are likely to be capped at around 24 per cent. Currently, MFIs are charging 26-40 per cent on small loans extended to their rural customers — many of whom are yet to get even a bank account — while urban customers get personal loans at 12 per cent from commercial banks. Though neither the RBI nor the government has fixed any ceiling on...
More »Dalits fined for fighting over water with Muslims by Guddi Vyas
The upper castes, it seems, are not the only ones who discriminate against Dalits. Three Dalit men in Rajasthan were fined R15,000 each by their Muslim sarpanch (village headman) for drinking water from a public tap on Wednesday evening in Randhisar village, 90 km from Bikaner town in the northwestern part of the state. The trio, Beer Balram Meghwal, Sattu Ram and Nandu Ram, has lodged a police complaint. “We were drinking...
More »Parliamentary panel may oppose GM food by Saubhadra Chatterji
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh's crusade against genetically modified or Bt food will get a political fillip as well. Parliament's Standing Committee on Agriculture, currently studying the pros and cons of allowing Bt brinjals or other genetically modified foods, is likely to oppose these on various grounds. The Parliamentary panel will give its report during the monsoon session. After holding meetings with various interest groups, the members feel it will not be...
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