Plugging the RTI Act loopholes

On the face of it, the Right to Information (RTI) Act has empowered the citizen to a large extent. However, it seems obvious that the RTI has not been understood properly, given that the impulse to take shelter under the Official Secrets Act (by the Executive), the Parliament Privileges (by the Legislature), the Contempt of…

India contests claim on call, mail tapping

The US Department of State’s 2015 country report on human rights practices in India has raised concerns over the central monitoring system (CMS), which provides for authorised interception of voice calls and emails of all phone/internet subscribers in India, highlighting how it allowed government agencies to monitor electronic communications in real time “without informing the…

India to pilot test online agricultural trading facility for farmers in 8 states

The government of India will today launch an online trading platform for farmers, connecting them to a network of wholesale agricultural markets. To begin with, only 12 different farm commodities will be traded on the online platform, and only 21regulated wholesale markets (mandis) from eight different states are being considered under the pilot launch. The platform is…