Last year, when Team Anna members started their campaign against corruption, it did elicit results to some extent. The campaign gained momentum with yoga guru Ramdev chipping in. But of late, statements from Hazare and Ramdev don’t seem to strike a similar chord. Is this lack of a common method to fight graft affecting their common purpose? Is the movement currently lacking spirit
India`s growth rate fell to its slowest pace in almost a decade. Country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew at a mere 5.3 percent in the January-March (fourth quarter of the financial year). The growth is lowest since 2003. While the government says the downtrend in economy is imported and the worst is already over, experts and the opposition blames government’s own policy
Last week, when petrol prices were raised, we were told that oil companies were running in huge losses. Yet, yesterday, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) reported that its net profit rose to Rs 12,670.43 crore in the January-March quarter from Rs 3,905.16 crore a year earlier. Its chairman said the company got Rs 45,484 crore in subsidy from the government to make up for losses it incurred on sale o
In the steepest-ever fuel price hike, the government have raised petrol prices by Rs 7.54 a litre. The common man already groaning under a stagnant economy and sky-high inflation is hit hard by the hike. Indians are now buying petrol costlier than people in most other nations buy. This is being justified in the name of falling value of rupee against dollar. However, if you come to think
MPs have joined hands across party lines to demand red beacons atop their vehicles. But Congress chief Sonia Gandhi has not accepted their demand. Their argument: `even MLAs use red beacons, why can`t we?` Their logic: `it will ensure faster movement through their constituencies.` Do you think their demand is born out of their concern for public service? Or is it just the
In the white paper on black money, the government has proposed a one-time tax amnesty to recover funds stashed abroad and a gold deposit scheme as possible ways to recover the unaccounted money. This trick has been used in the past, with little success. Do you think people will come clean on black money if they are offered amnesty?
Troubled economy forced finance minister Pranab Mukherjee to announce austerity measures to reduce government expenditure. Minister has put a blanket ban on buying new vehicles by the government, besides imposing curbs on holding workshops/meetings by government officials at five-star hotels. Foreign trips by government officials will also be restricted. Just as these measures we
Union minister for rural development Jairam Ramesh’s Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011 proposed that the states can acquire land for industries and PPP projects in “public interest” covering a large number of projects. A parliamentary committee that examined it has questioned this logic, saying that the state should acquire land
After a TV sting operation on the IPL and the subsequent surfacing of the spot-fixing and murky dealings, sports minister Ajay Maken has suggested that the BCCI must stay away from the IPL. Pitching for the two bodies to be treated as separate organisations, Maken said the BCCI must come under the RTI Act. Ever since the IPL came into existence in 2008, people raised the conflic
The Thorat committee has said there were too many references to former PM Indira Gandhi. It has recommended 40 deletions and modifications to cartoons especially depecting politicians in the textbooks. The committee was set up after the row over BR Ambedkar`s cartoon. A cartoon in the eleventh standard political science textbook was able to disrupt parliament. The caricature in question had Bab
A news agency has reported that a cabinet secretariat officer, who is a woman from the Indian Economic Service and was handling the charge of intelligence agencies, has been repatriated to her parent cadre after being found guilty of leaking the classified letter addressed to the PM in March. The letter highlighted “critical hollowness” in the army`s operational capabilities. The go
The women and child department in Haryana has asked its field staff to wear "decent" clothes to work, which means they should desist from wearing jeans and T-shirts to work. The controversial order has virtually termed the attire as "indecent" clothing. A circular was issued in this regard which stated that jeans/T-shirts/western dresses look odd. Women in fi
The railways have found a novel way to ward off stench from toilets in long distance trains. Passengers of AC coaches will be provided with a phenyl-like spray along with linen and bedroll. They are required to spray the liquid on flush before use. It’s a good way to fight stench but only if passengers remember to carry the spray each time they use the toilet. On the contrary, can
Sports minister Ajay Maken has requested the government to make provision for mandatory use of school playfields by local children in an area of up to 3km during non-school hours. The proposal applies to schools whose playground land has been allotted by the DDA at a concessional rate. The proposal sounds good considering the shrinking space for kids in the city. Parks are there but not all gam
The centre has received a proposal from the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) to raise the price of blood per unit — 350 cc — in hospitals by 140%. If the centre gives the go-ahead, the cost of one unit of blood will shoot up to Rs 1,200 from the present Rs 500. Once government hospitals raise rates, private hospitals are likely to follow suit. Such a steep h
A parliamentary panel has suggested a separate examination for IPS where "attitude and aptitude" of aspirants are tested so that the quality of `service` is not compromised. Until now, candidates joined as IPS only when they didn`t get their choice as IAS or IFS. The panel, in its report, has put a question mark on the current examination system, observing that `reluctant` entrants in
Dana Silva M Sangma, niece of Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma was recently found hanging from the fan of her hostel room in Noida. Sangama has alleged that discrimination drove his niece to take the extreme measure. Another such incident is the alleged ‘murder’ of an architecture student Loitam Richard from Manipur in Bangalore recently. As a citizen, do you bel
Sachin Tendulkar is now a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha. Prime minister Manmohan Singh recommended his name to the home ministry and it has got the president’s approval. But does the constitution allow for such a nomination? According to clause 80 (3) of the constitution: "The members to be nominated by the president under sub-clause (a) of clause (1) shall consist of p
A clause in the HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control) Bill 2012 that HIV testing cannot be a precondition for employment has raised some practical roadblocks in the recruitment process of the paramilitary forces and police, and become a bone of contention between the ministry of home affairs and the department of AIDS control. The MHA holds that it is not possible to recruit HIV-positive people
Planning commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia`s wants tea to be declared a national drink. The idea was welcomed during the Assam Tea Planters` Association platinum jubilee celebrations recently. Chief minister Tarun Gogoi had also submitted a memorandum to prime minister Manmohan Singh regarding the same. Ahluwalia believes tea is the only industry associated with our national mov
