Dear all, A short while ago I sent you an preliminary analysis of the Public Interest Disclosure and Protection of Persons Making Disclosure Bill, 2010 (the Whistleblower Bill) has been tabled in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of India's Parliament) yesterday (26th August 2010). Here is an additional facet to the complex issue. The Department of Personnel which prepared this Bill…
The elderly owner of the guest house in the upper Assam tea town of Dibrugarh was worried. It was near midnight and his young guests were not in yet. A search party set out, a frantic search began. They were finally located at the only restaurant open, watching the Greece, Nigeria soccer World Cup group…
Floodwaters ravage the remote island of Lamba Sapori in Assam’s Dhemaji district as the monsoons rage. Trapped in their water logged home, Punyadhar and Oipuli Morang are in dire distress. Their two-year child has had an acute asthmatic attack. There is little they can do but hope. Time ticks off, each moment’s breath a greater burden…
The Government of India obviously believes in governing through Groups of Ministers (GoMs) for major policy issues (the Finance Minister, PranabMukherjee, is a very overworked man – he heads not less than 35 GoMs) while the Prime Minister remains amazingly silent on critical issues, breaking that maun very rarely. The other thing it does is…
A national level conference on ‘Cost Effective Sustainable Sanitation- An Indian Experience’ was held at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi from 28th to 30th June 2010. Manik Ch. Boruah, Assistant Programme Manager, C- NES participated in the conference and represented C-NES ; the conference was organized by the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Institute (WASH) …
The Caravan-Panos South Asia Special Assignment Fellowship programme is designed to encourage in-depth coverage of important topics in South Asia. Applications are invited from journalists and writers with over five years relevant experience to work either on a freelance basis over a few months, or fulltime for five weeks on a single assignment. Selected candidates…
Here is the full text of 9th Kamala Saikia Memorial lecture delivered by eminent development journalist of India, Usha Rai today (August 9, 2010) in Guwahati. The program was organized by Journalist Kamala Saikia Memorial Trust in association with Guwahati Press Club at Vivekananda Kendra in the city. Dear fellow journalists and friendsI am not a public speaker and…
==================================== CSE's Fortnightly News Bulletin (August 5, 2010) ==================================== An e-bulletin from Centre for Science and Environment, India, to our network of friends and professionals interested in environmental issues. Scroll to the bottom of this page for information on how to subscribe and unsubscribe. ---------------------------------------------------------------- You would be aware of the February 2001 study done…
During the rainy season, rural Indian states find themselves cut off from the mainland and basic services like medical care. That’s when a team of doctors from a clinic boat are most welcome guests in remote villages.One hundred thousand people live in the district of Nalbari, but there is only one functioning medical center. Sixteen-year…
The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) is a pioneer of the Right to Information campaign. The following is a link to an interesting discussion it has developed on the role of Information Commissioners. C-NES Managing Trustee Sanjoy Hazarika is a member of CHRI's Executive Board. Email alert: Are Information Commissioners in India barred from sitting on…