The Delhi government has reportedly asked the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to persuade owners of residential and commercial buildings that fall along the roads leading to Commonwealth Games sites to get their facades spruced up in preparation for the arrival of foreign athletes and other guests. MCD might even make it “mandatory” if it determined that residents would
In reply to a question during his first press conference in four years, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stated that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was an autonomous organisation and that his government did not interfere in its functioning. The question arose because of the way the CBI has been conducting itself and the way it is being seen to facilitate the political agenda of the part
Open any newspaper today and you will find less news and more advertisements remembering the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The ministry of commerce industry, ministry of information and broadcasting, ministry of social justice and empowerment, ministry of petroleum and natural gas, ministry of power and government of Delhi are frontrunners in placing these tributes/ads this time.
This is a decade when e-governance and information technology are the buzz words in every government office. There are examples of successful implementation of virtual offices in national and international organisations. These days it does not matter which part of the world the chief executive officer (CEO) of a company is based, he can look after his organisation through the e-controls from an
A task force of the National Social Security Board, which has been set up under Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008, has recommended that maids and other domestic workers should be extended the protection of the minimum wages laws. The task force observed that the domestic workers have been overworked and underpaid and exploited by the ‘placement agencies’ t
The Planning Commission has reportedly refused to finalise Centre’s annual allocation to Uttar Pradesh unless the state chief minister Mayawati attends the meeting called for the purpose. Hindustan Times has reported that the Planning Commission has decided to hold back funds to the states in all cases where the chief ministers do not attend the meetings called by the Planning Commission
Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who famously visited Uttar Pradesh and Bihar last week, has said innovation is very crucial for Indian agriculture. In particular, the businessman-turned-philanthropist has transgenic foods in mind. On one hand, we need something akin to the Green Revolution to deliver a multiplier effect so that food reaches the poorest of the poor. Also, it would take car
Ramesh Bagwe is not fit enough to get a passport as a variety of criminal charges are pending against him. But he is of course fit enought to be Maharashtra`s minister of state for home. Bagwe`s application for renewal of passport was rejected as the passport office got a negative police verification report. During the police verification it was reported that he had been booked in 15 co
Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh’s outburst against his own government’s policy while visiting China constitutes gross misconduct, not only because of the intemperate language he used, it was said in connection with bilateral relations with the host country. Mark his words. He said New Delhi was unduly “paranoid” and “alarmist” about Chine
A couple of days ago six Delhi University colleges asked students to vacate their hostels by the end of this month so that these could be renovated and made fit to house sportspersons and officials who would be participating in the Commonwealth Games. Now comes the news that 50 community halls in the city have been given out to the paramilitary personnel who would be moving in to provide securi
The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has been identifying spots in Delhi where people can feed dogs following a Delhi High Court directive, based on animal rights activists` plea. Now, the resident welfare association (RWA) of a prominent colony, MS Apartments touching the India Gate, has gone to the court complaining that the Board had marked a spot within its premises (read the Hindustan
At first glance it may seem odd that Congress MP from Kurukshetra Naveen Jindal is batting for the khap panchayats of Haryana who are in the eye of the storm for condemning youngsters to death for marrying within the “gotra”. But a closer look would suggest that he is lending his voice to their demands for legally banning such marriages. In a way, the khap panchayats want to b
Now that Ajmal Kasab has been sentenced to death two very divergent views are being put out. One that insists he must be hanged without delay, by fast tracking the rest of the appeals process and even jumping the long queue of convicts awaiting the noose. That they say will be a fitting reply to the terrorists and their sponsors. The other view says that keeping Kasab alive by condemning him to
Members of Parliament may finally be set to get their due. A Joint Parliamentary Committee has recommended a five-fold hike in the salaries of members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha from Rs 16,000 per month to Rs 80,000. According to media reports, the committee, in a report submitted to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, outlined a mechanism to equate the salaries of MPs with government officers of
Sheila Dikshit government sent on Tuesday a `directive` to the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) to withhold the notification of latest tariff order until the latter has examined certain issues raised by the distribution companies, which are managed by private players, BSES and Tata Power. The issues include, predictably, discoms’ worries over their “precarious f
Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi has claimed that Union Telecom Minister A Raja has been targeted by the Opposition over the alleged 2G spectrum scam because of his caste. Had Raja not been a Dalit, the DMK chief’s defence implies, nobody would have raised the small matter of an alleged loss of Rs 20,000 crore to the exchequer. Had Sunanda Pushkar not been a woman, by the sa
The Sam Pitroda panel on restructuring BSNL has recommended enhancing the quality of senior executives to make the PSU more competitive. Following that, BSNL is contemplating hiring top talent from the market and is reportedly ready to pay top dollar as well (Rs 10 crore per annum for the CEO and up to Rs 5 crore for deserving board members, is what is being talked about). But t
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said last week that people living in the capital can afford to pay more taxes or higher electricity rates. Dikshit also said earlier that since all the facilities being built for the Commonwealth Games will be used by Delhi, its citizens should pay up for creating the same. The Games are a big deal for India`s prestige and just how big you will know
The Bharatiya Janata Party’s seeming inability to act as a credible and confident national party in the Shibu Soren affair raises several pertinent questions about the country’s principal opposition that led the nation until just six years ago. More than the mercurial Jharkhand chief minister’s shifting stand, it is the BJP’s flip-flop over support to the Soren-led state
Ahead of a revision in electricity tariffs in Delhi, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit reportedly argued on Wednesday for hiking tariffs for upper slabs of electricity consumption. She based her argument on what she perceived as Delhiites’ increasing salaries and ability to pay more for electricity. She also brought in the element of subsidy to reinforce her argument. "We used to
