Governance

Central Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu , who took on the Prime Minister’s Office and the Reserve Bank of India in a case dealing with the non-disclosure of wilful defaulters of major bank loans, warned on his last day of hearing RTI appeals that by December, he and three other CICs …

The government must divulge the list of wilful defaulters of large loans, Central Information Commissioner (CIC) Sridhar Acharyulu said on Friday, dismissing the Prime Minister’s Office’s latest response disclaiming responsibility. In his order, the Commissioner slammed the PMO for refusing to comply with his November 2 direction to explain what …

It was as if the collective mood of optimism had a fragrance, and it wafted through the narrow streets of Male, bringing the Maldivian citizenry to its feet. People thronged to the picturesque Republic Square that overlooked the presidential jetty. Saturday was a day of monumental change in this tiny …

“The CVC findings can be divided into four categories. It is very complimentary on some charges (against Mr. Verma), not so complimentary on some charges, very uncomplimentary on some charges and requires further inquiry into some charges. The report is exhaustive with documents,” Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi summed …

‘Publicise antecedents or face action’ Candidates with criminal antecedents and their political parties can be charged with contempt of the Supreme Court if they fail to widely publicise the cases against them as prescribed. They may also be penalised for false statements, the Election Commission has said.Separate formats have been …

Punjab CM Amarinder writes to PM Modi, seeks his intervention on the issue Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to maintain the status quo in filling up of civil posts in Chandigarh (UT), according to an official statement here on Friday. In a letter to …

The costs incurred on publicising information about the criminal cases against a candidate, as recently directed by the Supreme Court, will be counted as part of poll expenditure, according to the Election Commission. The expenses will be borne by the candidate and the political parties. “This being an expenditure [made] …

Have not questioned anyone so far, says K.V. Chowdary Chief Vigilance Commissioner K.V. Chowdary on Wednesday said that the commission had not examined any Central Bureau of Investigation officer till now. He added that the commission was still examining the files sought for and sent by the CBI with reference …

PIL plea says it will help check abuse against women The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a PIL petition to extend the Vishakha guidelines against sexual harassment in workplace to ashrams, madrasas and Catholic institutions. The Vishakha guidelines introduced by the apex court in 1997 were evolved into a …

The Centre has set up a Rs. 7,522-crore fund to create infrastructure facilities for the fisheries sector and help boost annual fish production to 20 million tonnes by 2022-23 from the current production of 11.4 million tonnes. The establishment of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund was approved by …

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the setting up of a high-level steering committee chaired by the Chief Statistician of India and Secretary to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) to review if India was on track to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The panel …

‘CVC has no role in curtailing tenure of CBI Director’ The Supreme Court has to examine whether the government and the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) can unilaterally remove the CBI Director on the assumption that the move will restore public faith in the country’s premier investigative agency. The CVC and …

An estimated 312 villages in Gujarat and Maharashtra will have to give up land for the Rs. 1.08 lakh crore project. Additionally, 7,974 plots belonging to the forest department and railways will have to be acquired in the two States. Mr. Modi, at a meeting with the Maharashtra Chief Secretary …

What happened? Early this month, migrants working in several districts of Gujarat, and hailing mostly from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, began fleeing, fearing for their lives. What was the trigger? On September 28, a 14-month-old was raped allegedly by a migrant labourer in a small village in Sabarkantha …

Since Friday night, Vijay Kumar, 44, the inconsolable father of 18-year-old Manish Kumar, has been running from one hospital to another in the hope of finding the remains of his son, who was presumably killed in the Amritsar train mishap. “I saw his severed head lying on the railway track …

Such events should not be organised close to tracks, says Manoj Sinha; Punjab CM orders probe The Railways on Saturday denied any negligence on its part in Friday’s tragedy when a train mowed down 59 Dasara revellers at Joda Phatak near Amritsar, even as Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh …

A Class IX student in Bihar’s Lakhisarai was charred badly after she fell on a live high-voltage wire while fleeing from the roof of a three-storied building, where she was gang-raped, police said. The girl, who was admitted to a hospital, was battling for her life. Local police said the …

Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi has urged political parties to set up internal complaints committees, which is mandatory under law for all workplaces. “I have requested the presidents/ in-charge of all recognised National and State political parties to constitute the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) as mandated under the …

The telecom department is considering allowing only data services initially in flights and water vessels within Indian territorial boundaries, an official source said. Under the proposed in-flight connectivity guidelines, both voice and data services would be provided to passengers on flights and maritime transport within the national boundaries. “DoT will …

Cong. says Parrikar is being retained as CM because he has details on Rafale deal Goa Congress chief Girish Chodankar on Saturday said the BJP was forced to continue with Manohar Parrikar as Chief Minister because he was privy to many details about the Rafale deal. The Congress objected to …