Stories you should not miss this weekend -Governance Now

Stories you should not miss this weekend

A list of columns and interviews that you should read this weekend

GN Bureau | May 7, 2016

#Tamil Nadu election #UN general secretary #Ban Ki moon #mohalla sabha #AAP #Atishi Marlena #Dinesh Thakur #fake drugs #spurious drugs #public affairs index #Jayalalithaa #AIADMK

“We have a colonial law which governs our regulatory system. Successive governments have tried to address the gap and loopholes in a patchwork way which is the root cause of the mess we are in. The problem is that there is no proper governance or accountability of people in the system,” says whistleblower Dinesh Thakur. His campaign against his former employer Ranbaxy’s unsafe practices and lax quality control in its US facilities concluded successfully: the drug-maker was forced to pay $500 million to the authorities. He has since turned his energies to researching and campaigning against substandard and fake drugs.

Read: Drug regulatory structure is not sound

Despite no concrete development during her tenure, experts predict Amma’s tradition of freebies and a split in the opposition will make her win again. A ground report from Chennai.

Read: Tamil Nadu Polls: All eyes on Amma

AAP’s original concept of mohalla sabha has undergone some changes this year. Atishi Marlena, who is advisor to the deputy CM and is spearheading the initiative, talks about the emergence of a new brand of grassroot politics and reaching out to people through mohallas across the city.

Read: Giving people’s money back to them to spend on their own

The Public Affairs Centre, a not for profit organisation, assessed states and union territories using data available in the public domain in key areas of governance and came out with ‘Public Affairs Index’, presenting an inter-state comparison. Read our series on the index and know where your state stands.

Read: Manipur tops in preventing crime and maintaining law & order, Haryana at the bottom

Read: Delhi tops in essential infrastructure, Odisha at the bottom

Read: Manipur tops in women and child development, Jharkhand at the bottom

Read: Mizoram tops in social protection, Bihar at the bottom

The process of selecting United Nations secretary-general has often been questioned and criticised. Will this year see some transparency in selection?

Read: Selecting for the top UN job

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