View Articles

No government in India has bent over backwards to please a civil society campaign as much as the Manmohan Singh government, in respect of the Jan Lokpal (ombudsman) Bill, drafted by a small group of people, including Anna Hazare, nominated by an NGO called India against Corruption (IAC). And no single individual’s act has recently attracted as much popular support as Mr Hazare’s fast for passing the Bill on terms dictated by him by an impossibly short deadline. Anna’s suspension of the 12-day fast on August 28 morning following the adoption of the resolution conveying the sense of the house by Parliament on Saturday, is apparently a big victory for this particular civil society group.

Having hustled the government into accepting the Jan Lokpal bill almost in its entirety, except for the inclusion of the higher judiciary and the conduct of MPs in parliament, Anna Hazare has every right to congratulate himself on his famous victory. The enthusiasm caused by his movement has also evidently made him eager to jump back into the fray with fresh demands with the electoral reforms as the starting point. However, notwithstanding the current fervour, especially in the previously politically apathetic middle class, his future path may be more bumpy than what he has experienced so far.

New York: The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today urged heightened preparedness and surveillance amid signs that a mutant strain of the deadly bird flu virus is spreading in Asia and beyond.

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force took a significant step towards ifor ensuring its cyber security, when the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne was formally handed over the license to issue Digital Signature Certificates by the Controller of Certifying Authorities (CCA), Dr N Vijay Aditya at Air Headquarters on Monday.

Call it its habitual double-speak or helplessness, Pakistan’s role in encouraging militancy in Jammu and Kashmir is again back in media headlines. Ironically, this is happening amidst stepped-up efforts by India and Pakistan to normalize their relations. Pakistan’s youthful Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar during her last week’s China visit said that “India and Pakistan should learn to live with each other”. She also repeated in her August 24 Beijing statement her country’s resolve not to allow its territory to be used for terror activities.

India has gone through a new “August Kranti” (revolution), remarkably non-violent, and on a much larger scale than civil movements of the past, aimed at bringing about a corruption-free society, inspired by the renowned social activist Anna Hazare with his epic fast on Delhi’s Ram Lila grounds. A Parliamentary commitment to come up with a toughest law possible to root out the evil at all levels enabled him end his 12-day ordeal (August 16-27) on the morning of August 28, and the nation rapturously celebrated victory.

New Delhi: In a span of less than four days yet another daring rescue mission was successfully undertaken by pilots of Leh based Helicopter Unit, when they evacuated one American national, Steven John Swenson from one of the most difficult glacier, named ‘Shupka Kunzang’ located at the base of Saser Kangri-II peak in the East Karakoram range of Ladakh region in India, according to sources in the Defence Ministry.

India’s public sector banks have made huge strides since the days of nationalization. They now handle unrecognizably large deposits compared with the pre-nationalisation days; they have far greater resilience in terms of capital base and own funds; they are offering varied products to their customers; and, the public sector banks handle no less than 80% of all banking transactions in the country.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will be paying an official visit to Bangladesh on September 6 and 7 to impart a new dimension to the bilateral relations between the two neighbouring countries. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be accompanying Dr. Singh and this will be the first foreign visit of Banerjee after becoming the Chief Minister in May this year.

New York: A group of independent United Nations human rights experts will on Monday begin a session to discuss 43 confidential cases of arbitrary detention concerning 22 countries and review information relating to those cases, including communications from States.