Governance

The biggest challenge as CEC was back-to-back elections throughout the year and it is almost getting resolved. I took over in the midst of Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland polls. All those elections were very sensitive, because of issues like the terrain and underground cadres. But, that went off very well. …

In yet another major initiative towards paperless administration, the State government conducted a paperless Collectors’ conference on Friday.Lauding the efforts of the officials, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said the conference was being conducted paperless for the first time. The government would save Rs. 6 lakh to Rs. 7 lakh …

The fifth phase of panchayat elections in J&K on Thursday saw a 33.7% turnout in the Kashmir division and a high 85.2% in the Jammu division. “Overall poll percentage stood at 71.1,” Chief Electoral Officer, J&K, Shaleen Kabra said. Pulwama registered a mere 0.5% and Anantnag 10.1%. The south Kashmir …

The fifth phase of panchayat elections in J&K on Thursday saw a 33.7% turnout in the Kashmir division and a high 85.2% in the Jammu division. “Overall poll percentage stood at 71.1,” Chief Electoral Officer, J&K, Shaleen Kabra said. Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/kamala-mills-fire-9-civic-officers-found-guilty/article25628812.ece

Delhi’s Chief Electoral Officer Vijay Kumar Dev has been appointed as the new Chief Secretary in the Delhi government, according to an order of the Union Home Ministry.Mr. Dev, a 1987-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre, takes over from Anshu Prakash, a 1986-batch officer of the same cadre, the …

The Centre has denied a Right to Information (RTI) request for a copy of the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill 2018, which had been notified for introduction in the monsoon session of Parliament.The Bill sought to give the Centre power to set the tenure and salaries of State and Central …

With Erumely remaining largely peaceful during the first week of the annual Sabarimala pilgrimage season, the Kottayam District Collector on Friday decided not to continue with the imposition of Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in the pilgrim town.Collector B.S Thirumeni said a decision to this effect was …

A Ministry of Home Affairs document in the Supreme Court on Thursday shows that vacancies in the country’s forensic labs are alarmingly high even as cases pile up in trial courts and undertrial prisoners languish in jails.The forensic laboratories, at both the Central and State levels, are used to examine …

Civil-military relations in the Defence Ministry are strained once again, this time over the issue of junior officers staying in hotels and not Army guest rooms when on temporary official travel.Expressing concern at the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (PCDA) asking for a Non-Availability Certificate (NAC) and rejecting refund claims …

The government had planned to introduce the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2018, in the Lok Sabha in July this year. But the Bill was not tabled following protests from civil society and the Opposition. The Bill proposes to give the Centre the power to decide the tenure and salaries …