PUBLIC INTEREST


Public-private partnership comes under RTI Act Central Information Commissioner (CIC) and former activist Shailesh Gandhi’s path-breaking order in connection with the powerful Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) is set to shed a great deal of sunlight on secretive public-private...

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Is there a solution to the lack of will by government department heads in voluntarily providing information under Section 4 of the RTI Act, because of which information is primarily delayed? PricewaterhouseCoopers along with IMRB which conducted a study at the behest of the central government...

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Cure rarely, comfort mostly but, console always should be our motto when one is ill. Patient care simply is caring for the patient “A reasoning, self-sufficing thing, an intellectual all-in-all!”— William Wordsworth The quote below is one of the many brilliant sayings of that great brain, Sir...

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The right-to-reject button alone will create plenty of pressure in entrenched political parties to find better candidates As I write this piece, over 2,200 candidates are vying for the 227 corporators’ seats of India’s richest municipality—the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Yet, I...

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A conflict of interest situation arises when the private interest of a public servant competes with or is in conflict with the interest of the government or his public duties. This sort of thing happens in India every day. Lokayukta is the only solution In 1998, the Independent Commission...

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Since 2004 when the Mumbai Metro Master Plan was unveiled, three of the nine lines should have been completed and should have been in operation. Ironically even the Line 1 is not complete. What is in store for the citizens of Mumbai? Before setting out to deal with Line 3 of Mumbai Metro, a...

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Moneylife Digital Team 21 February 2012
The deputy director of Income Tax (Exemption), where the RTI petition was transferred, declined to give information on the grounds that the sole cricketing body concerned assessed to tax with his office, GCA, has raised objection to divulge information The Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) has...

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The Constitution of India says in sum and substance that all of us in this country are entitled to be protected against crime in whatever form it hits us. But what about the starving children, women and children of this country? One cannot hide under the tabled excuse of the distribution system...

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Moneylife Digital Team 20 February 2012
The loss-making public carrier widened its losses by running with less seats while accommodating the minister's family, which was termed as ‘impropriety and favouritism in aborting the flight on the behest of an influential person or persons in violation of the rules’ by the CIC Air India,...

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Moneylife Digital Team 20 February 2012
This is not the first time, Dharmana Prasada Rao, minister for roads and buildings in Andhra Pradesh, has intimidated people from Srikakulam district, and yet there is no action In a shocking incident, Dharmana Prasada Rao, minister for roads and buildings in Andhra Pradesh has allegedly...

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“Thanks to the government’s attitude towards the whole episode, there appears to be a huge cover-up underway when by right the two captains of Enrica Lexie along with the six armed mercenaries and the watch-keeping officer, who happened to be an Indian national chief officer, should have been...

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Till the early seventies of the previous century, Hong Kong was much like India, a cesspool of graft and bribery, probably one of the most corrupt cities in the world. Hong Kong today has been transformed into one of the cleanest places in the world Till the early seventies of the previous...

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What is even worse than the actual cold-blooded murder of Indian seafarers (fishermen) in Indian waters off Kerala by Italian gun-for-hire mercenaries is the way the disinformation and misinformation campaign is being spread by vested interests in India and abroad The biggest casualty is...

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The UN and IAEA should take the initiative to arrange for a tri-partite   agreement between Iran, Israel and the US to ensure that these arrangements are put in place and implemented as early as possible Iran’s nuclear program is one of the most vexing issues in one of the world’s most...

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The killing in cold blood of Indian fishermen off the Indian coast by armed mercenaries on the Italian ship Enrica Lexie has deeper ramifications which impact not just our seafarers but the roots of our commerce and economic strength. That this has been on sale and barter to the highest bidder...

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Moneylife Digital Team 16 February 2012
UAE Exchange, a leading global remittance and foreign exchange brand, and Union Bank of India (UBI) has launched the real-time account credit service called ‘Union Flash Remit’. This service ensures that the beneficiary will receive money in his or her bank account within minutes, in a...

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Moneylife Digital Team 15 February 2012
PPPs envisage a certain degree of government control in their functioning so that the decisions taken are in accordance with the objectives for which the partnership was set up. Therefore PPPs also come within the ambit of ‘public authorities’ as defined in the RTI Act enabling citizens to know...

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The vibrating condom is banned (possibly and probably) because it gave women (or at least promised) women pleasure. And a minister who thinks women ‘flaunt’ themselves and therefore deserves to be molested, watches them flaunting themselves for his own satisfaction Just the other night I was...

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Citizens in various cities have used the RTI Act effectively to stall felling of trees or halt their abuse. You can do it too Whether it is a Delhi High Court order or the Delhi or Maharashtra Tree Act, preservation of trees is mandatory and any felling requires legal permission from the...

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Moneylife Digital Team 14 February 2012
Finally, the cold war between Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), under the Planning Commission and the home ministry’s National Population Register (NPR), has been put to an end. The Cabinet committee has allowed UIDAI to carry out the enumeration process of 400 million more...

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