In 2009, four members of British Parliament`s upper house — the House of Lords — were accused of accepting bribes to introduce motions for amendments that would have helped change the law to benefit a Chinese businessman wanting to expand a chain of stores in the country. Later, it was found out that the `Chinese businessman` was a front for another party and was completely fictitio
Just about a year ago, when Anna Hazare started his anti-corruption movement from Jantar Mantar, few would have predicted the reception he was to get: passionate support from masses across the country along with fierce criticism from some commentators. The movement became a platform for the expectations of the common man. Be it at the India Gate or at the Ramlila Maidan, the huge support the Ga
The recent 28th shodhyatra in Mizoram has been quiet cathartic for me. I had been aware of the need to conserve water and the proper practices we should follow in our daily life. But I must confess when I washed my hands in the morning, the tap used to remain open while scrubbing soap. It is difficult to do so now. I want to share the experience which has made me feel embarrassed about my own b
Indian cities lose almost 45 percent of their water supply, thanks to huge distribution and transmission losses, says a new study. “Rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge, protection of existing local water bodies, relocation of non essential water intensive activities (e.g. soft drinks or water bottling plants),” are the need of the day in cities, according to the study
The supreme court on Tuesday dismissed the union government’s petition seeking review of its judgment in the Vodafone tax case - giving the much needed consistency and finality to its earlier said judgment. The fine print of the newest order is not yet available and thus reliance has been placed on newsreports. Following the verdict of the supreme court on January
A disconnect runs through the nomenclature, preamble, objectives and content of the National Food Security Bill, 2011. The Preamble goes beyond the Title and states that the Bill provides “for food and nutritional security in human life cycle approach, by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable price….” Even on cursory reading, it is clear that
Going by the controversial daily consumption number of Rs 28.65 per day, one out of every three Indian is poor as per the new Planning Commission`s estimates which has pegged the poverty ratio in 2009-10 at 29.8 per cent, down from 37.2 per cent in 2004-05. An individual above a monthly consumption of Rs 859.6 in urban cities and Rs 672.8 in rural areas (at per 2009-10 prices) is
Justice Pranab, in the budget 2012, proposes clarificatory and retrospective amendments to Sections. 9 and 195 as if to restate the legislative intent regarding the scope and ambit of these provisions, thus far not expressed in the language/text of the provisions. Following are the proposed amendments to Sec 9 and other related sections of the income tax act:- (i) Amend section
A disconnect runs through the nomenclature, preamble, objectives and content of the National Food Security Bill, 2011. The Preamble goes beyond the Title and states that the Bill provides “for food and nutritional security in human life cycle approach, by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable price….” Even on cursory reading, it is clear that thes
India is losing thousands of crore per year due to illegal or unreported fishing from its water by foreign vessels, said a report released by international NGO Greenpeace. “India’s lucrative commercial fish resources, including one of world’s last healthy tuna stocks are being systematically exploited by fishing vessels of foreign origin as a result of the letter of pe
The Election Commission of India as an institution enables the people of India to exercise their right to choose a government of their choice through free and fair elections, held periodically. The underlying assumption being that the participation of people in adequate numbers is guaranteed and the role of the commission is merely to facilitate and administer the election process. The reality
In the last few weeks, the international media has been flooded with articles asking "What is Iran thinking?” This is indeed an important question and I certainly don’t have an answer nor does my article intend to provide one. However, this article suggests that somewhere debates have lost sight of what I believe is the core problem and therefore to even try and understand what
Dr. Manmohan Singh Prime Minister of India &nbs
When union steel minister Beni Prasad Verma was booed in Rahul Gandhi`s presence in his constituency in Gonda during the campaign, I asked a senior journalist friend who belongs to the city if he found it surprising. ‘No,’ he said matter-of-factly. “Had Rahul not been there, Beni would possibly have been roughed up,” he added. The poll results have reflected
Just when it became apparent that the BJP had fared badly in Uttar Pradesh where the party had pinned great hopes, party president Nitin Gadkari appeared before the press with his usual bravado. Given his penchant for doing politics in Bollywood style, Gadkari cannot be faulted for mistaking content for style. But he committed an unforgivable faux pas which is symptomatic of what ails the
Till recently, whenever I chatted with my friends in the media and academics in Lucknow and Delhi, many of them used to insist that Rahul Gandhi’s travels in dalit villages and sharing meals with them would not have any effect on the dalit electorate. Mayawati too said as much, terming Rahul’s gesture as ‘nautanki’. When the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family visited Bhatt
UP may not have achieved headline-making growth rates, but it has gone a step further, by reducing poverty over a decade. Uttar Pradesh is often regarded as part of the backwaters of development in India. The picture, it seems, is changing and is changing fast. There are at least two threads of change, one that has been noticed by some and the other which has gone almost completely unno
For years we worried about computers taking over the world. Science fiction writers made a fortune out of our fears, the more daring of them even extending the argument to salt shakers and bedside lamps taking over the world. And then it happened. They took over the world; the computers, I mean, not the salt shakers, although the one on my table has been staring at me meaningfully in the past m
India has been named the biggest consumer of narcotics substances in South Asia, according to a report by the INCB, an independent monitoring body for implementation of the United Nations International drug control conventions. “India has a market estimated at $1.4 billion for heroin, while it is $1.9 billion for the entire South Asian market,” said the United Nations Office o
The Karnataka assembly believes that its honour has been besmirched not by members watching porn even as proceedings were on but by the news channel that ran the exposé. Our sanctimonious representatives think they are above public scrutiny, much less reproach; that the very grounds that they conduct their business on are hallowed. The questions posed by the inquiry committee to
